Energy Unplugged by Aurora

EP.136 Julian Nebreda, CEO & President, Fluence

In this episode, we’re delighted to welcome Julian Nebreda, CEO & President of Fluence, in a conversation with our Head of USA, Oliver Kerr and our Head of Advisory, US West, Felix Chow-Kambitsch. Julian leads the Fluence team and its efforts to accelerate energy storage adoption globally. Prior to joining Fluence, he had a distinguished career at the AES Corporation serving as President of the South America Strategic Business Unit and other multiple positions. Julian has over 20 years of experience in the energy industry as well as a remarkable expertise as a Fluence board member since September 2021.Main topics include:•The outlook for battery storage globally going forward •The evolution of battery business model and to what extent business ownership models need to change •The impact of the Inflation Reduction Act •How easy it is to scale battery optimisation in-houseSupport the show

EP.135 Daisuke Tsujimoto, Co-Founder, RENOVA

This week on Energy Unplugged, we are delighted to welcome Daisuke Tsujimoto, co-founder of Renova Inc – a Japanese renewable and storage developer. Joined by our Managing Director of APAC & California, Hugo Batten, and Rowan von Spreckelsen, our Head of New Markets in APAC, this discussion focuses on the trajectory and strategy of Renova, the evolution of Japan’s power markets, and the politics and policies of energy security in Japan.Main topics include:•Market reforms in Japan including switching from Feed-in-Tariffs to Feed-in-Premiums and introduction of 20 yr capacity market•The future of Japan’s nuclear fleet•Network access reform and the challenge of connecting renewables and batteries in parts of Japan•Future demand for hydrogen and ammonia in JapanSupport the show

EP.134 Simon-Erik Ollus, EVP, Generation and Member of the Executive Management, Fortum

In this episode we’re delighted to welcome Simon-Erik Ollus, EVP, Generation and Member of the Executive Management at Fortum in a conversation with our Nordics & Baltics Lead, Alexander Esser. Simon-Erik has been with Fortum since 2009 and held various roles in strategy and market intelligence and has been a member of the division’s management team since 2013. He has been appointed Executive Vice President of Fortum’s Generation division and member of Fortum’s Executive Management in March 2021. The Generation division is responsible for Fortum’s Nordic power generation in nuclear, hydro, and wind power plants.Simon-Erik and Alexander discuss:•Fortum’s new strategy after exiting Russia and Uniper•What’s missing in recent reform proposals for electricity market design•The role of nuclear in the NordicsSupport the show

EP.133 Kate Tuohy, Director, Energy, MUFG

In this episode, we are delighted to welcome Kate Tuohy, Director, Energy at MUFG in a conversation with our Co-Head of Advisory in Central Europe, Thekla von Bülow. Kate has over 12 years’ project finance experience focusing on structuring and arranging project financing, financial advisory and restructuring across the infrastructure, power and renewables sectors. Kate joined MUFG in September 2019 from ESB, Ireland’s state electricity utility where she had responsibly for structuring debt and equity funding solutions for new generation projects (thermal, renewable and flexible generation) within ESB’s portfolio. Main topics include:•The renewables landscape in Europe, US & China•The offshore wind and differences in various European markets•The hydrogen investment space If you want to hear more from other global energy leaders, join the Aurora Spring Forum 2023 taking place on 29 March in Oxford, UK. The Forum offers a full day of intellectual engagement and thought-provoking analysis, with the opportunity to network with hundreds of the most influential players in the energy sector. The topic for this year focuses on: Facing New Realities: Rethinking Energy Use, Supply, and Policy in the Wake of the Global Energy Crisis. Spaces are limited so book your ticket now!Find out more at auroraer.com/events/spring-forum/Support the show

EP.132 Keith Anderson, CEO, ScottishPower

This week, on Energy Unplugged, we welcome Keith Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of ScottishPower in a conversation with our Managing Director for UK & Ireland, Dan Monzani. Keith is the CEO of ScottishPower since 2018 and prior to being the CEO of ScottishPower, Keith spent 12 years as the CEO of ScottishPower Renewables. As part of Iberdrola, ScottishPower Renewables is one of the leading global wind companies with over 20 GW of installed capacity. Main topics include:•The value ScottishPower sees in maintaining an integrated business model•The level of ambition in grid networks and how do we deliver it to get to NetZero•The UK retail market, vulnerable consumers and how the future is looking for themIf you want to hear more from Keith and other global energy leaders, join the Aurora Spring Forum 2023 taking place on 29 March in Oxford, UK. The Forum offers a full day of intellectual engagement and thought-provoking analysis, with the opportunity to network with hundreds of the most influential players in the energy sector. The topic for this year focuses on: Facing New Realities: Rethinking Energy Use, Supply, and Policy in the Wake of the Global Energy Crisis. Spaces are limited so book your ticket now!Find out more at https://auroraer.com/events/spring-forum/Support the show

EP.131 Deborah Harvey & Hugo Lidbetter, Partners Energy, Osborne Clarke

In this episode, our Co-Head of Advisory for Central Europe, Casmir Lorenz is joined by Deborah Harvey and Hugo Lidbetter, both Partners for Energy at Osborne Clarke. Deborah specialises in energy sector transactions and agreements and advises on a range of commercial and regulatory energy matters across a range of technologies. Hugo has particular expertise in project development work in the energy sector and in construction law in the energy industry, and is interested in all aspects of the Net Zero agenda having recently authored a book called "Decarbonising Energy: The Pathway to Net Zero".The focus of the conversation is on long-term offtake contracts, including: •The shift from subsidy support to revenue support/sharing•The role of shorter-term corporate and virtual Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)•The revenue structuring and optimisation of co-located assets•Contract structuring for newer technologies such as hydrogenSupport the show

EP.130 Ben Backwell, CEO, The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC)

In this episode, our Research Lead for European Power Markets, Ryan Alexander is joined by Ben Backwell, CEO of The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). Ben is a former journalist and analyst who has covered energy policy and markets in a number of geographies including Europe, the US and Latin America. Before joining GWEC, he worked for the global advisory company FTI Consulting, as a Managing Director in its Clean Energy Practice. Ben and Ryan take a global tour of the offshore wind discussing:•The offshore wind sector in the US and the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act •Europe’s challenges of having the largest installed capacity of offshore wind by region •Offshore wind targets in Asia and the massive expansion of renewables in China•Oil & gas majors moving into the offshore wind space and where we see the most promising marketsSupport the show

EP.129 Katherine Blunt, Energy Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

This week we have a very special episode on Energy Unplugged where we focus the discussion around a book. Our Managing Director in APAC & California, Hugo Batten and Kimberly Liu, our Head of Research in California are delighted to be joined by Katherine Blunt, Energy Reporter at The Wall Street Journal. Katherine is the author of “California Burning: The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric and What it Means for America’s Power Grid”, a history of Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), one of California's major utilities. Main topics include:•PG&E and its major challenges were over last 10-15 years•The future of PG&E and how do they resolve their current challenges•Regulation of transmission as one of the central challenges identified in the book •The challenges of regulating the energy transitionSupport the show

EP.128 Nils Aldag, Co-Founder and CEO, Sunfire

In this episode, our Managing Director for Central Europe, Hanns Koenig is joined by Nils Aldag, Co-Founder and CEO, Sunfire, a leading manufacturer of electrolysers.Nils spent his entire professional life at Sunfire, company he co-founded in 2009, right after graduating from EBS Business School in Germany. He has been Chief Executive Officer since 2020 and previously he was Chief Commercial Officer and before that Chief Financial Officer of Sunfire. Nils and Hanns discuss:•Sunfire business and the motivation for founding a hydrogen start-up •The interaction between alkaline and solid oxide electrolysers and when solid oxide is expected to enter the market at scale•The European hydrogen space and where is the largest hydrogen demand coming from•Whether we are on track to meet the REPowerEU plan's target to produce 10 million tonnes and import 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen in the EU by 2023Support the show

EP.127 Julien Dumoulin-Smith, Managing Director, BofA Securities

In this week’s episode, we’re delighted to welcome Julien Dumoulin-Smith, Managing Director at Bank of America’s (BofA) Securities, in a conversation with Julia Hoos, Aurora’s Head of USA East. Julien is a Managing Director in Bank of America’s Equity Research team covering US power, utilities, and alternative energy. He is a double ranked #1 analyst in both utility and alternative energy categories of the Institutional Investor All‐America Research Poll for several years. Julien has a BS in applied math and an MBA both from Columbia University.Main topics include:•The current state of the US power markets and the impact of the inflation reduction act (IRA) •The differences between vertically integrated and competitive power markets in the US•The future of batteries in the short and long term •The potential for carbon capture and storage (CCS)Support the show