Talking New Energy

103. Getting into the decarbonisation of heat: an energy retailer perspective

In this episode Jon talks with Alex Thwaites and Michael Harper from energy retailer OVO Energy about their activity and ambitions to help households decarbonise heat. Roxanne Pieterse, Senior Analyst, from Delta-EE adds her expert views.

102. Solar Power Purchase Agreements – In conversation with Harald Overholm, Alight

In this episode we’re looking at the business of solar power purchase agreements (or PPAs as they’re known) – essentially connecting corporate energy users with new sources of solar generation. Loyal listeners may remember a previous episode in Series 10 with Alpiq and Aquila Capital looking at PPAs in Spain, with its plentiful wind and solar resources. Today we’re heading further north – all the way to Sweden, and talking with Harald Overholm, founder and CEO of Alight, the Nordics' leading Solar PPA company.

101. Women in New Energy - Part 2 (an International Women’s Day special)

This week we are celebrating International Women’s Day – with a key theme for this year being gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow. We want to focus on why women have so much to offer in the energy industry – but also explore what role companies can, or should play in supporting women to succeed in their careers. Jennifer Arran, Head of Products at Delta-EE, hosts this episode, and is joined by Ulrike Hetke, Director of Innovation Program at Vattenfall; Rowena McCappin, Group Head of External Relations & Engagement at Glen Dimplex; and Tessa Clark, Consulting Delivery Lead at Delta-EE.

100. Our 100th episode - Jon’s top ten

This is the 100th episode of Talking New Energy! We are delighted to reach this milestone. Today, Jon talks us through extracts from 10 episodes which he feels best bring the energy transition to life. 

99. In conversation with Tom Thorp, CEO of Horizon Energy Infrastructure

The energy transition will involve millions of assets in people's homes: batteries, solar panels, electric vehicles, electric vehicle chargers and more. And while some people may be able to dip their hand in their pocket to finance this, many people won't. So connecting the world of finance to distributed energy assets will be a key part of the transition. In this episode, Jon Slowe is joined by Tom Thorp, CEO at Horizon Energy Infrastructure.

98. Making hot water tanks smart

In this episode we’re looking at the intersection of electric heating and the electricity system. In some parts of the world, there are times when there’s too much electricity produced from wind turbines. What if we could change the times that we heat up our hot water – or our homes – so that this surplus electricity was used? We look at the same concept, but with two companies focused solely on the controls aspect. We’ll explore both the customer proposition, and the benefits to the electricity system. Jon Slowe is joined by Sandro Iacovella, founder and CEO of ThermoVault; Eamon Conway, Managing Director of Climote; and Delta-EE expert Lindsay Sugden.

97. Public Charging of Electric Vehicles: The challenges and opportunities

Electric vehicle sales are going like gangbusters – sales are increasing faster than many expected. While EVs continue to be mostly charged at home and at fleet depots, public charging is still a critical part of the mix. But is the growth of charging networks keeping pace with demand? What are the key issues in the charging network sector? Jon Slowe is joined by Peter Badik, Co-founder of GreenWay, a leading builder and manager of charging infrastructure in Slovakia and Poland; Mel Shufflebotham, Co-founder of Zap-Map, the UK’s leading app and digital platform for EV charge points; and Delta-EE expert John Murray.

96. Large heat pumps for industry and district heating

Regular listeners will know we talk about heat pumps quite a lot in this podcast. But, so far, we’ve focussed on residential-scale heat pumps. Today we’re going big, and talking about industrial-scale heat pumps. Why? Well, industrial heat is only slightly behind residential heat when it comes to demand for heat across Europe. So the challenge to decarbonise heat is as much an challenge in industry as it is in buildings. And, heat pumps have a role to play in industry as they do in buildings. To explore this topic further, Jon Slowe is joined by four guests: Jonas Loholm Hamann and Drew Turner from Danfoss; Dave Pearson from Star Refrigeration; and Delta-EE heat pump expert Lindsay Sugden.

95. Integrating heat pumps into the electricity system: TenneT and Viessmann on the leading edge

As heat pumps and distributed energy become a bigger part of our energy system, they will bring additional demands on the grid. But smart control of these appliances can help to solve these demands, as well as providing new ways to help balance the grid. Optimising millions of heat pumps and other appliances in our homes requires new approaches, and in this episode we look at one such new initiative in Germany, involving Viessmann, a manufacturer of heat pumps, and TenneT, one of the four transmission system operators in Germany, and the Equigy Crowd Balancing Platform. Jon Slowe is joined by Axel Kiessling from TenneT in Germany, one of the four German TSOs; Hans Schermeyer from Viessmann's Energy Services, one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of climate solutions; and Delta-EE expert Lucy Murley.

94. In discussion with... Lisa Lambert of National Grid

In this episode, Jon Slowe talks to Lisa Lambert, Chief Technology & Innovation Officer at National Grid. Lisa is also the Founder & President of National Grid Partners, the venture capital and innovation arm of National Grid. In addition, she’s Founder and CEO of UPWARD, a non-profit organisation with a mission to accelerate the careers of executive women. Jon and Lisa discuss the challenges and opportunities that utilities face in evolving and transforming their businesses as part of the energy transition. Lisa brings a fascinating perspective to this, with a career in the investment sector in Silicon Valley prior to joining National Grid nearly four years ago.