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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Our Research Director, Richard Howard speaks to Henry de Zoete, Co-founder of the energy switching service provider - Look After My Bills. Henry has a career background working as Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for Education prior to his success with Look After My Bills – which secured the best deal in the history of the UK Dragons’ Den business pitch competition. The company is now owned by industry giant Go Compare. Henry and Richard discuss:•Henry’s career and experience working for then Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove•His inspiration and motivation for establishing Look After My Bills•Raising funds in Silicon Valley and securing the investment from UK television’s notoriously tough Dragons panel•Transferring the ownership of his business to Go Compare and what’s nextSupport the show

Our Head of Iberia, Ana Barillas is joined by Dulce Mendonça, Director and Fund Manager at InfraRed Capital Partners. Dulce joined InfraRed in 2013 and is currently focusing on business development and origination of infrastructure investments in Europe. After attaining an M.Sc in Business Administration from ISCTE Business School in Lisbon, she began her career in investment banking before moving to infrastructure investment around 16 years ago. Ana and Dulce discuss:•InfraRed’s approach to the risk-reward trade-off of investment•The energy transition and scale of investment challenges •The Iberian market and whether there is a solar bubble in the peninsula •Sustainable investment and green hydrogen incentivesSupport the show