Energy Transitions

In this episode of the Energy Transitions podcast, Dr Sama Bilbao y Leon, Director-General of the World Nuclear Association, delves into how the sector is implementing the lessons learned over past decades to become more cost and energy-efficient. She also explains why she believes nuclear power is critical to providing energy security and resilience in our energy system. In this episode you will gain insights into: The nuclear projects coming online around the world, including China, UAE and Bangladesh. Why nuclear power is critical for decarbonising industry, heating and cooling. New reactor technologies and why old-school, big builds are still needed. How innovation, digitalisation and AI are making nuclear power plants more cost-effective and efficient. How the nuclear power sector is embracing circular economy. The Net Zero Nuclear initiative and its role in ushering in the next generation of nuclear power through supporting policy and supply chain growth. What the sector is doing to increase diversity, as well as attract and retain women. This episode is brought to you in partnership with the World Energy Council leading up to the 26th World Energy Congress in Rotterdam, 22-25 April 2024.Register to be a part of the conversation

Rotterdam, a Dutch city with one of the biggest ports in the world, is notorious for its polluting industry. In fact, the city's harbour is responsible for 20% of all emissions in the Netherlands and has more work to do than most cities to achieve climate neutrality. However, there is hope on this emissions-heavy horizon, according to Rotterdam Vice Mayor, Chantal Zeegers. In this episode of the Energy Transitions podcast, Zeegers, who considers herself a proud 'Rotterdammer', spoke to Pamela Largue about how this city is becoming a trendsetter in terms of implementing net-zero strategies. Zeegers shares the positive progress being made across Rotterdam industry and society and answers the following questions: How is Rotterdam balancing industrial growth with achieving energy transition? How is the city ensuring its citizens participate in and profit from the sustainability agenda? What policies are being employed to achieve deep decarbonisation? How is the national government collaborating with industry for green operations? Which clean energy technologies, resources and projects are making the biggest impact in Rotterdam? How are strong "conviction and cooperation" turning this city from an underdog into a trendsetter of energy transition in the Netherlands and Europe? Rotterdam is the host city for the World Energy Congress taking place from 22-25 April 2024. According to Zeegers, the city is well suited to such an event as it showcases innovative solutions to all aspects of the energy transition and the impacts of climate change. Register to be a part of the conversation

Addressing the energy trilemma of security, affordability and sustainability, while ensuring a healthy planet and better life for its inhabitants, will require more than good leadership. It will require great leadership and collaboration, which we have never seen before. In this episode of the Energy Transitions podcast, Dr Angela Wilkinson, Secretary General and CEO of the World Energy Council, maps a divergent, uncomfortable but critical path to great leadership in energy and beyond. Dr Angela Wilkinson shares her multi-dimensional and people-centred insights by answering the following questions about leadership in energy: How does the leadership in the energy transition differ from traditional leadership qualities? What are the differences between good leadership and great leadership? Why is it important to recognize emerging leaders who may not be well-known or celebrated in the energy transition space? How can leadership qualities in the public, private, and civic sectors be blended to drive effective energy transitions? What does it mean to have a "communal cookery kitchen" approach to leadership? How can the energy transition be redesigned for people and the planet? How does the people-centric approach to energy transition align with the goal of engaging a wider and more diverse pool of leaders and participants? Why is it important to include future generations in the dialogue and decision-making processes surrounding energy transitions? What role does emotional intelligence play in effective leadership? How can the energy transition movement promote collaboration and diverse perspectives to drive meaningful change? This episode is brought to you in partnership with the World Energy Council leading up to the 26th World Energy Congress in Rotterdam, 22-25 April 2024. Register to be a part of the conversation

A just transition to decarbonisation is more than merely an abstract concept. It’s a complex issue based on human rights and if ignored will result in real world consequences for vulnerable people and species.In fact, many scholars refer to this as a ‘wicked problem’ – a problem that is incredibly difficult to solve because of the very complex and often undefined nature of it. In this episode of the Energy Transitions podcast, Susie Ho, Director of the Monash Innovation Guarantee, Monash University and Gerry Nagtzaam, Associate Professor at Monash University, unpack what it means to achieve a just transition to decarbonisation. They elaborate on the different groups that will be most impacted by climate change and the critical importance of agreed definitions to achieve policy cohesion and ensure no one is left behind. They describe the concept of climate justice and its various forms, with Ho explaining that there are many different forms of justice, such as inter generational justice, something the youth are championing. “Today’s youth are going to see more severe climate impacts than any generation before and as custodians of the future what is our responsibility to them not only in terms of protecting earths life support systems and their health and wellbeing but also in terms of preparing them to lead through this change.” Added Nagtzaam: “When we have this debate we often characterise it as we did with sustainable development, as a human problem, but it isn’t. There are myriad other species on the planet that climate change is going to affect as well.” Both Ho and Nagtzaam also speak to the recent big issue at COPs being loss and damage, with Ho highlighting that while a great deal of funding has been mobilised, “the money that’s been pledged so far is several magnitudes short of where we should be”. Susie Ho and Gerry Nagtzaam have coauthored a book with Diane Kraal, Katie O'Bryan and Jadranka Petrovic titled: A Just Transition to Decarbonisation: Themes of Loss and Damage, Transport, Nature and Youth. This Palgrave Macmillan title tackles the challenge of a just transition to decarbonisation based around four UN COP themes.

A minimum of controls and a maximum of simplicity used to be the defining characteristics of wind turbines. However, over the past few decades, turbines have become highly sophisticated and are now the world’s biggest rotating machines. In this episode of the Energy Transitions Podcast, Pamela Largue speaks to two pioneers of the wind industry. Referred to as the Godfathers of wind, Denmark’s Henrik Stiesdal and Britain’s Andrew Garrad, winners of the 2024 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, describe how turbines have advanced over the years. From building turbines in their parent’s fields in the 70’s, these two stalwarts have been on the boundary of what is possible, contributing to and witnessing wind turbines become an important contributor to the electricity supply and having a greater impact on the grid. “Gradually, as the turbines got bigger and bigger, they also became more and more complicated…going from something like a tractor in the early 80’s to more like a giant helicopter now,” explained Garrad. The old turbines were heavier, whereas now they are lighter and smarter with enhanced controls, said Stiesdal. “They did not become more complicated just because engineers like to make them like that…they got more complicated partly because we needed them to change their behaviour,” he added. Stiesdal and Garrad explain why bigger isn’t always better and why the industry now needs to focus on increasing efficiency and reliability rather than size. They also discuss why floating offshore wind will provide the next quantum leap in wind turbine technology.

The cleantech investment space is an ever-evolving and complex ecosystem, with increasing pressure to innovate and an increasing need for investment to bring new technology to fruition. And while there have been some big investments over the past decade, a liquidity crunch, rising interest rates and geopolitical tumult are making the cleantech investment landscape tricky to navigate. In this episode of the Energy Transitions Podcast, Joseph Jacobelli, managing partner of Bougie Impact Capital and host of The Asia Climate Capital Podcast, delves into identifying and mitigating the risks impacting the cleantech investment space. Jacobelli unpacks the importance of policy and government support in fostering investor confidence and explains why China continues to dominate the space. He also answers the question about which technologies are gaining the most attention from investors and why. "What make investors most comfortable are those technologies with a long track record...and whose levelised cost of energy per unit of electricity produced is falling relatively quickly..."

Home to one of the most diverse marine energy testing facilities in the world, the Orkney Islands are a picture of natural beauty, as well as green energy innovation. The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) began testing technology in 2004 and since then, the Centre and the industry have developed in leaps and bounds. In this episode of the Energy Transitions Podcast, Pamela Largue speaks to Neil Kermode, Managing Director of the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), about the origins of tidal and wave energy and how EMEC has played a role in the development of the marine energy sector. "People realised the best way to try and bring an industry forward is to have a test centre where you can get ideas out of the lab or out of the bathtub and get them to into saltwater..." In the 20 years that the test centre has been functioning, 35 different types of technology from 22 different developers across 11 countries have graced the waters around Orkney. The centre has seen a great deal of progress. One of the first milestones saw the world's first floating deepwater offshore wave machine generate power into a national grid. EMEC has also been making hydrogen from power generated by an Orbital Marine turbine and is generating synthetic fuels using air-captured carbon, something that holds great promise for aviation. Listen to this episode to hear what's next for tidal and wave energy.

The energy sector is facing multiple challenges that require innovation that goes beyond technology. From energy security to economic turbulence and a changing energy mix, it has been a bumpy road for the energy industry in the past few years. In this episode of the Energy Transitions Podcast, Pamela Largue spoke to Claudia Blanco of GE Vernova about the role of policy, technology and specifically leadership in solving these challenges now and for future generations. During the conversation, that took place at Enlit Europe 2023 in Paris, Blanco speaks passionately about the progress that has been made so far, for example in terms of making gas plants hydrogen-ready. However, she also addresses the fact that there is a significant skills gap and that she believes that there is a lot to be done to make the industry more attractive.

Fusion energy has moved from the realm of science to being an energy force with tangible benefits to society. In this episode of the Energy Transitions Podcast, Pamela Largue speaks to Christopher Mowry, CEO of Type One Energy and Chair of the Fusion Industry Association, about why he believes fusion is finally ready to take its place in the energy mix and why the power source is the ‘vaccine of climate change’. “It causes me to consider how the world mobilised to develop a vaccine against Covid and when the chips were down, government worked with private sector and academia to produce in one year, something that usually takes a decade.” Mowry explains that the technology exists, but as with the Covid response, we now need the social mobilisation and acknowledgement to really drive fusion acceptance and deployment. “Theres no practical way to achieve net zero globally in the energy space without fusion being part of the future energy mix,” stated Mowry. Despite the technological maturity, Mowry explains there are still policy and supply chain developments needed to make fusion a reality. However, he is optimistic that the first pilot fusion power plant under contract will be finalised by the end of this decade, putting fusion electrons on the power grid by the mid 2030s.

In this episode of the Energy Transitions Podcast, Pamela Largue speaks to Jeff Earl, Director of Business Development at Sapphire Technologies, about the latest innovative turboexpander technology and the promise it holds for the decarbonisation journey. Unpacking the latest trends, Earl talks about turboexpanders, a specific kind of power generating equipment that converts pressure energy into electricity through an inlet and outlet. Unlike combustion turbines, this technology has no ignition, which means there are no CO2, NOx or SOx emissions. Earl explains that this power generation equipment is not only carbon friendly, but that the levelized cost of electricity generated is also competitive contributing to a strong business case. This episode is brought to you by Sapphire Technologies; which develops, manufactures, and sells energy recovery systems for hydrogen and natural gas industrial applications.