Redefining Energy

For the past decade, Natural Gas has been promoted as the “Clean, Reliable and Cheap” fuel to assist the Energy Transition. Well that cosy theory, heavily promoted by the fossil fuel companies, is collapsing in front of our eyes with the Gas crunch affecting Europe, Asia and Latin America. As of 6 October 2021, TTF (the Dutch gas hub) front month prices briefly touched 160EUR/MWh, 8 times higher than where they were at beginning of the year, and equivalent to a staggering 56USD/mmbtu or 350USD/bbl of Oil.In this episode, that we record almost live, Gerard and Laurent try to analyse the causes, the impacts, and the long-term consequences of what we dub “The Natgaspocalypse”. We might as well have called the episode “From Russia with love” as we are discussing, amongst other factors, the role of Russia in the current energy crunch. But a lot of other long-term and short-term factors have come together to create the perfect storm. So, if supply is being analysed, there is also a lot to discuss about demand.How those crazy energy prices are fed to the final consumers is creating havoc within the Energy supply chain and triggers heavy-handed, hastily designed, government interventions. Such crises certainly distract the decision makers from their lofty “Net Zero by 2050” goals. Even when the market ends up rebalancing, as commodities market always do, the suddenness of the shock and its magnitude will generate significant consequences that will go beyond price controls and geopolitics. Governments will need to be more hands-on, whether through a faster decarbonisation or simply doubling down on gas. The Energy Transition will not be a smooth journey.We thank Aquila Capital for their supporthttps://www.aquila-capital.de/en/

Exploring long-duration energy storage solutions to combat low wind and solar periods. Discussing the potential of pumped hydro storage, flow batteries, and new technologies. Analyzing the challenges and opportunities for grid storage and the need for government intervention and market reforms.

Steel and cement with their 2,000 mills and 3,000 kilns, together currently emit 15% of the world’s CO2. So far, they’ve been exempted from carbon trading or carbon pricing, which means no significant reductions have been implemented. But in a 1.5degree and Net Zero scenarios, they start to feel the pressure. We brought Dolf Gielen, Director Innovation and Technology at IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency) into the conversation to try to understand why those industries are so hard to decarbonise. And we are focusing the debate on a very simple choice: do you fix the fuel (with CCS – Carbon Capture and Storage of CO2) or do you switch the fuel (with – for example Hydrogen or Biomass)? There are a lot of hurdles to overcome, such as: bad economics, international competition (especially for steel, not so for cement), and regulators who don’t seem to be very interested.Some promising options are now on the table, but they will require massive governments interventions. References:Engineering with Rosie (Youtube) on CCS technologies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC388uNJhUY An excellent blog on cement emissions:https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/co2-emission-from-cement-industry-whats-best-estimate-claude-lorea/McKinsey on decarbonizing Steel:https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/metals-and-mining/our-insights/decarbonization-challenge-for-steelDolf Gielen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dolf-gielen-852ab514/And, last but not least, a hilarious video explaining really how CCS/CCUS workshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSZgoFyuHC8 Many Thanks to Aquila Capital for supporting the showhttps://www.aquila-capital.de/en/

Exploring the impact of methane emissions in the energy sector and the importance of transparency. MIQ's grading system revolutionizing methane monitoring. Insights on reducing flaring and standardizing gas assets globally. Discussing challenges in methane emissions from gas imports and certification solutions. Emphasizing the need for transparency in tracking methane emissions for rapid decarbonization.

Explore the challenges of decarbonizing aviation through electrification, innovative electric plane startups, and the potential of hydrogen, biofuels, and e-fuels. Learn about the advancements in electric vehicles and vertical takeoff aircraft for sustainable transportation. Discover the technologies and challenges in sustainable aviation, such as battery-powered planes and different approaches for short-haul vs. long-haul flights.

Discussion on the current state of the EV market, Tesla's competitors, and laggards. Exploring the future of transport, data collection in car manufacturing, and the impact of individuals on the energy transition.

The development of renewables has made power markets much more volatile, hence “volatility is the new gold”. Harnessing that volatility requires skills much beyond the traditional Energy Trader’s capabilities: welcome to the new digital energy trading system. To discuss those changes, we are invited Peter Bance, CEO of Origami. Origami’s patented technology enables energy companies to seamlessly bring together real-time data from physical assets, financial markets, and existing customer systems to optimise power trading. Peter offers us a view into a new type of Energy Trading where the Grid is dominated by Renewables. Thanks again to our partner, Aquila Capitalhttps://www.aquila-capital.de/en/

Navigating the Energy Transition for an Oil Major is not that simple. Decades-old simple centralised molecules energy systems are making way to decentralised electrons models. Some Oil Majors have simply decided to ignore the Energy transition, others - like Shell - are trying to adapt their business to it. A trading company by DNA, Shell has decided to mostly focus its strengths on the mid-stream and downstream segments. New businesses are being launched or acquired, centred around digital, trading, Virtual Power Plants (VPP) and EV charging. It is still early days to conclude if Shell will be able to ride the Energy Transition, but some green shoots, under the leadership of our guest, Ulrika Wising, Global VP Customer Solutions at Shell Renewables & Energy Solutions, are certainly promising.Will Oil Majors turn into Energy Majors? For once Gerard and Laurent disagree on pretty much everything!-----Thank you to our partner Aquila Capitalhttps://www.aquila-capital.de/en/

Germany is rightly portrayed as a pioneer in the development of wind and solar. For the past two decades, the German government has granted a) a very stable framework b) very generous terms to renewables. And the “Energiewende” (the Energy Transition) as this policy is named, has delivered exceptional results, as the share of renewables has jumped from 6% to 50% of the electricity mix. But the cost to consumers has been significant. German Energy policy is very political and there is a lot of money flowing around without much consideration for economic realities. As the German Green party is expected to become an ever-dominant political actor, especially in view of the Autumn 2021 elections, we wanted to have a conversation with one of its most prominent inspirers: Patrick Graichen, who – after a long career in the German Ministry of Energy and Environment – leads the Agora Energiewende think tank. Where is the Energiewende today? What lessons can we learn from the past? How would a green-inspired Energy Transition continue to evolve both for Germany and Europe? Patrick delivers a unique insight into the future of the Energiewende. Agora-Energiewende: https://www.agora-energiewende.de/en/Thanks to our partner - Aquila Capital: https://www.aquila-capital.de/en/

While coal is being phased out in Europe and America, it is still the dominant source of energy in Asia. Why is that? And how will the situation evolve? Is there any teeth behind the net zero pledges for the second part of the century? In other words, is coal here to stay in Asia or has the tide started to turn?There is no better expert on the subject that Tim Buckley, Director of Energy Finance Studies at IEEFA (The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis), a thinktank examining issues related to energy markets, trends, and policies.With Tim, we discover that the debate is much more than about pure climate change: it is about growth, jobs, energy security and technology. We end up with a positive message: it is really the beginning of the end for coal in Asia.Thank you to Aquila Capital for supporting the showhttps://www.aquila-capital.de/en/Links to IEEFATim Buckley https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-buckley-0a654313/IEEFA https://ieefa.org/Ember Climatehttps://ember-climate.org/And finally, our hero from down underPablo Brait https://www.linkedin.com/in/pablo-brait-37a716117/