Energy Unplugged by Aurora

EP.58 Stef Murphy and Paro Konar, Directors of Industrial Energy at BEIS

In this episode, our CEO John Feddersen is delighted to be joined by Stef Murphy and Paro Konar, Directors of Industrial Energy at Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Stef and Paro are job share directors for the Industrial Energy Directorate which provides focus and leadership of BEIS strategy, policy development and delivery on industrial energy issues, and also ensure that industrial energy policies maximise the economic opportunities to the UK from the global move to cleaner growth, as part of the overall Industrial Strategy. The focus of the conversation is around industrial decarbonisation as the UK government has published its strategy in March this year, and the upcoming hydrogen strategy. The main topics include:•Key challenges and opportunities for industry in the move to Net Zero•The progress against commitments in the UK’s Energy White Paper and the Ten Point Plan•The UK’s upcoming Hydrogen Strategy and what to expect from it•UK’s Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS), what did it take to set it up from scratch & lessons learnt since the early EU ETS in 2005•The impact of EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on the UK industryNOTE: At ~ min. 23:15 in the recording the ‘Net Zero Hydrogen Fund’ supporting the development and adoption of hydrogen is mentioned and referred to as the £250 million fund. We would like to clarify that the ‘Net Zero Hydrogen Fund’ is £240 million.Support the show

EP.57 Federico Giannandrea, Partner, Head of Continental Europe at Foresight

Our Head of Iberia, Ana Barillas speaks to Federico Giannandrea, Partner and Head of Continental Europe at Foresight, a sustainability-led listed infrastructure and private equity investment manager. Federico joined Foresight in 2010 and leads Foresight’s infrastructure investments in continental Europe and the business development for infrastructure globally. Ana and Federico discuss:•How is renewable investment changing across Europe and value shifting across development stages•Vertical integration in development and construction•Local partnerships and how difficult is it to enter a new marketSupport the show

EP.56 Andrew Butler, Managing Director at Nectr

Our Managing Director in Australia - Hugo Batten speaks to Andrew Butler, Managing Director at Nectr – an Australian energy retailer that’s a subsidiary of the Korean group Hanwha. Andrew has successfully led three retail energy start-up ventures - Australian Power & Gas, Alinta Energy and now Nectr and he’s also spent time in telco and infrastructure more broadly. Hugo and Andrew discuss:•The retail space shift in Australia over last decades and other major aspects in the evolution of the Australian retail •Nectr and Octopus Energy Kraken Technology Platform•The state of Australian energy in terms of energy start-ups and innovation•Rising government intervention in energy markets with focus on wholesale and retailSupport the show

EP.55 Dolf Gielen, Director of the IRENA Innovation and Technology Centre

Dolf Gielen, Director of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Innovation and Technology Centre joins our Research Director Richard Howard for this week’s Energy Unplugged podcast. Dolf has been with IRENA for over 10 years, having previously been Chief of the Energy Efficiency and Policy Unit at UNIDO, and spending a number of years with IEA – starting as a Senior Energy Analyst and being promoted to Project Head of Energy Technology Scenarios.He has a strong engineering background, following his degree in Chemical Engineering with an MA in Environmental Sciences and a PhD in Energy and Materials Modelling. The interview covers a breadth of key market concerns around decarbonisation, focusing initially on IRENA's flagship publication setting out the pathway for a 1.5 degrees celsius ambition and closely examining the key issues and opportunities en route. The chat takes a deep dive into:•What we need to achieve•Hitting the targets by 2050 – what we can do with what we have, and the importance of joined-up thinking, including:oInterconnectionoFlexibilityoRetrofitoCarbon Capture and Storage •and crucially includes for the burning hot topics of the sector: 'kalte dunkelflaute' and green hydrogenSupport the show

EP.54 Julian Popov, ECF Fellow and former Minister of Environment of Bulgaria

In this episode, our CEO John Feddersen is joined by a leading thinker on South Eastern European energy - Julian Popov. Julian is former Minister of Environment of Bulgaria, European Climate Foundation (ECF) fellow and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Buildings Performance Institute Europe. He has been voted twice as one of the most influential voices in European energy by EURACTIV. John and Julian discuss:•Julian’s journey, his novel called ‘Island of Mists’ and his experience as the Bulgarian Energy Minister•Energy transition and the power investment climate in South Eastern Europe •Offshore wind potential and growing interest •The European Commission as a force for good in South Eastern European power sector governance, structure, rules and marketsSupport the show

EP.53 Guy Newey, Strategy and Performance Director at Energy Systems Catapult

Our CEO John Feddersen speaks to Guy Newey, Strategy and Performance Director at Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) - an independent, not-for-profit centre of excellence that bridges the gap between industry, government, academia and research. ESC has recently published its report called ‘Rethinking Electricity Markets – EMR 2.0’, an initiative aiming to develop proposals to reform electricity markets so that they best enable innovative, efficient, whole energy system decarbonisation. Guy has had a diverse career across the energy sector. He has been a Special Adviser to two former Energy Secretaries of State, and was previously Head of Policy at Ovo Energy and Head of Environment and Energy at the think-tank Policy Exchange. Before this, Guy worked as a journalist in Hong Kong and in the UK. John and Guy discuss:•Guy’s journey, his early experience as a journalist and the impact on his present role•ESC’s mission in the energy transition and avoiding clean growth costs •‘Rethinking Electricity Markets’ report with a focus on the role of consumers •The agreement on decarbonisation in 5 years’ timeSupport the show

EP.52 Harald Överholm, CEO and Co-founder of Alight

Our Nordics Lead Alexander Esser speaks with Harald Överholm, CEO and co-founder of the leading solar Power Purchase Agreement provider in the Nordics - Alight (previously Eneo). Harald has been an advisor to WWF, the Swedish government and the Stockholm Environment Institute, as well as a former board member of Swedish Solar Energy. He is a Cambridge alumni with a PhD focused on market development of US solar PPA market and holds a masters degree in Industrial Engineering of Energy Systems. Alex and Harald discuss:•Harald’s in-depth studies of the US solar market, importing concepts to Europe and his inspiration in founding the company•Nordics as one of the most advanced PPAs markets and long term supply of PPAs •Alight and how does Solar as a Service differ from a typical project developmentSupport the show

EP.51 Pat O’Doherty, CEO of Electricity Supply Board (ESB)

In this episode, Our CEO John Feddersen speaks to Pat O'Doherty, CEO of the leading Irish utility Electricity Supply Board (ESB). Pat was appointed CEO of ESB in 2011 and to the ESB Board in 2013. He is Director of Energy UK and until very recently he was President of Eurelectric - the sector association which represents the common interests of the electricity industry at pan-European level. John and Pat discuss:•Pat’s journey and the job of the utility CEO now compared to 10 years ago•ESB and how the enterprise is measuring its ESG success •State-owned utilities’ role in enabling a just energy transition•Cyber security and how well is the European utility industry prepared for itSupport the show

EP.50 Julien Pouget, Senior Vice President for Renewables at Total

Welcome to our 50th official Energy Unplugged episode!Our Head of Digital Solutions Mateusz Wronski is joined by the creator of the renewables division at one of the largest energy companies in the world - Julien Pouget, Senior Vice President for Renewables at Total. Julien joined Total in 2016, after two years of service as Senior Advisor to the President of France, François Hollande where he was entrusted with the overhaul of the French nuclear industry.Mateusz and Julien discuss:•Key challenges in shifting the focus of an oil supermajor by creating the renewables division within Total •Total’s target of 100 GW by 2030 as one of the most ambitious renewables goals in the industry•Floating offshore wind and Total’s strategy in bringing the costs down•The impact of green hydrogen in enabling renewables investmentSupport the show

EP.49 Henrik Tordrup, Partner at Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners

Our CEO John Feddersen speaks to Henrik Tordrup, Partner at Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP). CIP is one of the leading clean energy investors globally, having recently raised a EUR 7 billion renewable energy investment fund. Henrik is a veteran of Europe’s offshore wind boom of the past decade and has deep expertise on the emerging energy transition in the US. John and Henrik discuss:•Henrik’s journey and his motivation to focus on the US markets•CIP’s current strategy and the main risks as a renewable investor•Current US policy and the recent federal election impact on decarbonisation •Texas’ big freeze in February and lessons for policy makersSupport the show