Talking New Energy

81. Utility venture capital

Traditional utilities are evolving fast to navigate and help drive the energy transition. As part of this evolution, a number have established venture capital teams, investing in innovative companies at the leading edge of the transition. In this episode, Jon Slowe talks with two people from utility venture capital funds, exploring their aims, investments, and experiences. He is joined by Terhi Johanna Vapola, Head and Founder of Helen Ventures in Finland; and Jan Lozek, Founding and Managing Partner at Future Energy Ventures, owned by E.ON in Germany.

80. BP’s Lightsource Labs at the grid edge

Big oil is engaging with the energy transition in a number of ways – from building large scale renewables to rolling out electric vehicle charge points and many more. Quite how major oil companies pivot their businesses towards the energy transition is a fascinating topic.
Today we’re looking into one of the ways that BP in engaged in the energy transition, through a subsidiary of Lightsource BP, a developer of large-scale solar projects that is 50% owned by BP. The subsidiary, Lightsource Labs, is focusing on the ‘grid edge’, and bringing products to market for residential customers.
Host Jon Slowe is joined by Ann Davies, COO of Lightsource BP; Charlie Vey, Head of International Development at Lightsource Labs and Delta-EE expert Charmaine Coutinho.

79. The 50 litre home initiative

In this episode, we’re looking at sustainability in the water sector, and seeing what we in the energy sector can learn from that. Host Jon Slowe is joined by Frantz Beznik, Global Head of Sustainable Innovation and Senior R&D Director at Procter and Gamble, the global consumer goods corporation behind brands such as Head and Shoulders, Fairy and Gillette. Frantz is leading an initiative called the “50 litre home”, reducing our daily water consumption from 100s of litres a day down to 50 litres. What can we in the energy sector learn from this? And what can we learn from a company like Procter and Gamble that has a laser-like focus on customers, something that the energy sector is still working towards.

78. Smarter grids in action

In this episode, we’re delving into smart grids, and the integration of distributed assets into both distribution networks and other parts of the energy system. It’s amazing how electricity networks have changed in some parts of the world in the last twenty years. Huge amounts of distributed generation have been connected to networks at a scale that some people would not have thought possible at the turn of the century. But having said that, we’re only part-way through the transformation that’s taking place in electricity networks. To explore this area, host Jon Slowe is joined by Sotiris Georgiopoulos, Head of Smart Grid Development at UK Power Networks; Graham Ault, Executive VP at Smarter Grid Solutions; and Delta-EE expert Jon Ferris.

77. Developing EV charging propositions – an energy retailer perspective

In this episode, we talk with two energy retailers about how they are helping customers how to get started with their first electric vehicle – how to find the best tariff, how to get a wallbox and more. They also discuss their plans for their role in the coming collision between energy and mobility. Host Jon Slowe is joined by Goncalo Castelo Branco, Director of Smart Mobility at Portuguese energy retailer EDP; Tom Hart, Head of Portfolio for Energy Management and EVs at British Gas, part of Centrica, in the UK; and Delta-EE expert John Murray.

76. The rise and rise of PPAs

Large energy customers are increasingly walking the walk and buying their energy from green sources – not just through green tariffs, but with linkages directly to the generator through a multi-year deal. On the other side of the fence, renewable energy generators like the guarantee of a long term agreement to sell their energy. And in the middle of this often sit energy companies – facilitating and enabling these transactions. In this episode we talk with energy company Alpiq and renewable energy asset owner Aquila about the rise and rise of PPAs, with a focus on the Spanish market. Host Jon Slowe is joined by Jesus Reyes, Head of Sales & Origination at Alpiq; Marcos Dominguez, Director of Power Markets, Aquila Capital; and Delta-EE expert, Dina Darshini.

75. What can we learn from the Texas power crisis?

In this episode we head to Texas, to explore what we can learn from the February power crisis. The crisis left over 4.5 million homes and businesses without power, some for many days, and some estimate the economic damage at a staggering $195 billion. Lots has been written about the causes, with much of the attention on the supply side of the market. There’s been less focus on what we saw happen with customers – or the demand side. And while these crises have had terrible impacts, they also provide an opportunity to step back and see how markets could be reformed.
Host Jon Slowe is joined by Lynne Kiesling, an economist and Visiting Professor at Carnegie Mellon University; Sid Sachdeva, Founder and CEO at Innowatts, a SaaS platform that leverages insights from more than 40 million meters, many of which were in the region affected by the crisis; and Delta-EE expert Jon Ferris, one of our experts on how the demand side can participate more in electricity markets.

74. In conversation with Jai Thampi, Schneider Electric

Schneider Electric is a global giant in the energy sector – not in terms of producing energy, but in terms of how we distribute, use and manage energy. Its products and services are found in electricity grids, in industries, and in buildings around the world. Like many, Schneider is embracing the energy transition and embracing digitalisation – what it calls the fourth industrial revolution. In this episode, host Jon Slowe is in conversation with Jai Thampi from Schneider Electric. Jai is Senior Vice President for Strategy and Innovation in the Home and Distribution part of Schneider’s energy management business. We’ll be talking about how Jai sees the future of energy in homes, what he thinks Schneider’s role is in this, and how to drive this forward in a large, global company.

73. The role of hydrogen in the energy transition, with Nel Hydrogen

We are hearing more and more about hydrogen – and the role it can play in a decarbonising world that will be increasingly electrified. In this episode we’ll be talking with one of the world’s leading manufacturers of electrolysers, Norwegian company Nel Hydrogen, exploring what life is like for them given the rapidly rising interest in hydrogen, and their plans and views on the future. Host Jon Slowe is joined by Raluca Leordeanu, VP of Business Development at Nel Hydrogen.

72. How do we become profitable from public charging?

In this week's episode, our host Jon Slowe and Abhishek Sampat from our EVCS team at Delta-EE talk to Ole Henrik Hannisdahl, CEO of Mer Norway, discussing how to be a profitable public charging provider, customer interactions, experiences, revenue models and key trends in internationalising a public charging network.