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  • 212. Heat Pumps rise again - Jan26

    212. Heat Pumps rise again - Jan26
    2026/01/19
    Heat pumps sit at the heart of Europe’s strategy to cut emissions and reduce dependence on imported gas. Under the EU’s REPowerEU plan, the bloc is targeting 60 million heat pumps by 2030. By the end of 2025, almost 30 million units were already installed — progress, but still only halfway to the goal.

    Gerard and Laurent are joined by Paul Kenny, Director General of the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA), to unpack why adoption has surged in countries such as Japan, Scandinavia and parts of the US, while many European markets continue to lag.

    After a strong year in 2022, European heat pump sales slowed in 2023 and 2024 amid high upfront costs, a shortage of qualified installers, weaker policy support and an unfavourable price relationship between gas and electricity. Paul explains why confidence is returning in 2025, with 1m heat pumps sold across 13 European countries in the first half of 2025, a 9% increase on 2024.

    We also look beyond residential heating to the rapid rise of industrial heat pumps, which could become a major decarbonisation tool for sectors requiring heat below 200°C, including food processing and pharmaceuticals. The conversation explores how heat pumps can add flexibility to the power system, in some cases reducing the need for battery storage, and why data centre heat management is emerging as a key new application.

    As the leading voice of Europe’s heat pump industry, EHPA is working to make heat pumps the preferred technology for sustainable heating and cooling — strengthening Europe’s competitiveness, resilience and energy security in the process.

    -----
    At Redefining Energy, we are excited to be part of International Energy Week, where some of the biggest names in global energy come together for a packed agenda tackling the ideas, technologies, and policies shaping the future. ENGIE's CEO Catherine MacGregor will be speaking, as well as IEA Executive Director Dr Fatih Birol and Shell's CEO Wael Sawan.

    Join us there and get 20% off your ticket with the promo code REIEWEEK20. https://www.ieweek.co.uk/

    --
    Finally, Gerard and Laurent are invited by Jan Rosenow, professor of energy and climate policy at Oxford university and an energy policy expert, for a live session at Oriel College in Oxford on 25/2/26.
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    32 分
  • 211. The last Mile revolution: turning Distribution Networks into Flexibility Powerhouses - jan26

    211. The last Mile revolution: turning Distribution Networks into Flexibility Powerhouses - jan26
    2026/01/12
    Laurent and Gerard sit down with Jo-Jo Hubbard, CEO of Electron, to explore why the centre of gravity in the energy transition is shifting decisively toward the distribution grid. Jo-Jo explains why the “last mile” is becoming the true engine of system flexibility, how demand at the edge must become a core resource, and why DSOs aren’t confused about flexibility at all — they simply respond to the incentives regulators design. Flexibility, she argues, isn’t replacing grid reinforcement but making it smarter, helping utilities target and sequence investments far more efficiently at a time when distribution upgrade costs are rising quickly.

    We discuss how to escape the sector’s obsession with endless pilots, and why real scale only arrives when year-round, rules-based products give suppliers and aggregators the confidence to automate and invest. The conversation then turns to the economics of location — from REMA to zonal pricing — and why congestion at the distribution level is where flexibility competes most effectively with copper. Jo-Jo also lays out what it takes to get millions of households engaged without overwhelming them, making the experience effortless, automated and consistent across retailers.

    She breaks down the hardest parts of the DER orchestration stack, noting that the real challenge isn’t cloud infrastructure but standardising how device capabilities and network constraints are described across a patchwork of utilities. Looking ahead to 2030, Jo-Jo argues that no single asset class “wins”: value depends on time, place and service, with EVs likely providing tens of gigawatts of potential flexibility but orchestration remaining the true hero.

    We cover the future of interoperability and open data — not via global standards, but through adapters and translation layers similar to those that shaped the internet — and examine the cybersecurity demands of cloud-based orchestration as it becomes critical infrastructure. Jo-Jo also gives a global view of progress, from Australia’s rapid adoption to the US’s accelerating regulatory push and Europe’s mix of strong TSO-level progress but uneven local action. She closes with reflections on whether the centralised grid is dying, who should ultimately control DERs, whether blockchain still has a role, and what a nightmare scenario looks like in a DER-dominated world.

    A fast, clear, and deeply insightful conversation on the rise of flexibility, the reinvention of the distribution grid, and the technologies and rules needed to orchestrate millions of devices.
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    31 分
  • 210. Our Predictions for 2026

    210. Our Predictions for 2026
    2026/01/05
    Happy New Year energy nerds

    As tradition demands (and lawyers insist), the first episode of the year is the annual ritual where Gerard, Laurent, and Michael boldly predict the future of the energy transition… and then publicly roast themselves for last year’s bad calls.

    Before unleashing our 2026 Predictions, we do a mandatory rewind to the crystal-ball disasters of 2025: The 2025 prophecy graveyard:
    1. US oil production down in 2025 (MB — bold, brave… wrong)
    2. Oil at $40/bbl in 2025 (GR — oof)
    3. Geopolitics + broken supply chains + energy chaos = a better, more innovative world (LS — still hoping)
    4. A bloodbath for hydrogen in transportation (MB — disturbingly accurate)
    5. Record installs: Solar 700GW, EVs 20m, Batteries 200GWh (spot on)
    6. The death of all things labelled ESG, Climate, and Carbon (LS — prematurely optimistic)
    Scorecard: Gerard absolutely nailed Silver: from $30/oz to $60/oz in 18 months. BP technically survived 2025… but welcomed a new CEO, so partial credit at best.

    Michael wins overall, which he will remind us of repeatedly. After heroic levels of co-host sabotage, Laurent loses again, as is now canon.
    Our 2026 Predictions:
    🔥 China battery systems at $40/kWh, full-system LFP (MB)
    🔥 Half of all announced datacenters will never be built — welcome to the credit + grid crisis (LS)
    🔥 Wind and solar installs DOWN in 2026 vs 2025 (GR — spicy)
    🔥 20GW of solar in Africa in 2026 (MB)
    🔥 The GhG Protocol revision fight gets ugly, personal, and possibly litigious (LS)
    🔥 LNG glut creates stranded assets everywhere: flat demand, too much supply, tears on spreadsheets (GR)

    And yes, plenty more hot takes, bruised egos, and inconvenient truths to kick off the year the right way.

    🎙️ Welcome to 2026. Let’s redefine energy.
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    33 分
  • 209. Deals, Scandals and other memorable moments of 2025

    209. Deals, Scandals and other memorable moments of 2025
    2025/12/22
    For our final episode of the year, Laurent jumped onto the Wolfe Power podcast, where he and host Alex Wolfe took a no-nonsense tour through the big energy moments that shaped 2025.
    • Deals of the Year: The spectacular offshore wind meltdown in the US — Orsted’s year of pain — contrasted with the blazing global boom in battery deployment all over the world, up a staggering 50% year-on-year.
    • The AI & Datacenter Surge: An extraordinary rise… but how much of it is grounded in facts, and how much is built on faith?
    • Scandals & Disgraces: From the SMR pump-and-dump circus to Venture Global’s LNG “ghosts ships,” and of course the Tony Blair report debacle — 2025 delivered drama.
    • Innovations That Actually Mattered: V2G is born thanks to Octopus and BYD and ever larger LFP form factors are reshaping storage — real progress amid the noise.
    • Quotes of the Year: A remarkable harvest of sharp insights capturing the zeitgeist… and, inevitably, a mountain of nonsense worth calling out.
    To all our listeners: Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and thank you for riding through 2025 with us.

    We’ll be back in early January with our Predictions episode — always a very popular one.
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    38 分
  • 208. AI vs. Energy: the cost of speed - dec25

    208. AI vs. Energy: the cost of speed - dec25
    2025/12/15
    Will artificial intelligence reshape the power grid, or will the inertia and complexity of today’s infrastructure slow progress—or even redefine how large language models, chips, and datacenters are designed and located?

    To meet the exponential rise in energy demand, parts of the industry have taken shortcuts—rapidly adding behind-the-meter capacity through open-cycle gas turbines - OCGT (such as the Titan 350 from Caterpillar) with little regard for environmental regulations. The mantra seems to be speed at any cost.

    Is the AI boom we are witnessing justified—or sustainable? From a technological standpoint, certainly yes: AI capability is roughly doubling every seven months. But from a financial perspective, it is harder to defend—given the sky-high valuations, credit fuelled growth and mounting losses at many of the sector’s biggest players.

    The bigger question is what all this means for the energy system itself. How will AI be powered? What will it do to the cost of energy and the shape of our infrastructure? Will it accelerate—or hinder—the energy transition?

    Hope is powerful—but it can also be blind. Between AI’s explosive growth and the traditional energy system’s entrenched realities, who will bear the cost?

    These are the questions Laurent and Gerard pose to Andrew Perry, Director of the Energy Transition and Environment business unit at Faculty.ai, where he leads AI-driven innovation in the energy sector. We have a heated debate, trying to honestly lay out the dilemmas in front of the industry.

    More insights in this excellent research by the FT
    https://ig.ft.com/ai-power/

    Today’s show is supported by the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt. The BMW Foundation unites leaders from diverse sectors to develop solutions that foster an innovative economy and a future-proof society. A key focus is "Energy Transition & Climate Change," where the Foundation drives "International collaboration to accelerate the energy transition." With rising energy demands from AI and data centers, new partnerships, effective collaboration, and the exchange of science-based solutions and strategies are essential. That’s why the BMW Foundation supports this podcast and brings these discussions to global stages by hosting the Energy Security Hub at the Munich Security Conference 2026, streaming live February 12–14.
    Learn more at www.bmw-foundation.org
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    31 分
  • 207. E-Mobility and V-2-X - dec25

    207. E-Mobility and V-2-X - dec25
    2025/12/08
    Gerard is on stage with Adele Zhao - Trina Solar and Thomas Raffeiner- The Mobility House at the Smarter E Conference.

    In a conversation hosted by Jonathan Gifford, they discuss about the future for the intersection of e-mobility and renewable energy.

    The conversation has been released as an Episode of “Powering Through” entitled The Resilience of Renewables. Participants take a closer look at the power of the e-mobility revolution, and what is needed to continue to push it forward. The uptake of e-mobility in Europe and China is discussed, along with the implications for energy storage and industry.

    Ultimately, the promise of a vast, mobile fleet of batteries is presented – offering a hopeful vision for emissions-free mobility and energy provision.

    Main topics:
    • What is the status of e-mobility adoption and implications for car makers
    • How EVs can interact with the grid and the promise for energy security
    • What Global EV-Battery Cooperation Might Look Like
    You can watch it on Youtube
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=M2qM58Vz9Rc
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    29 分
  • 206. Renewables Repriced: Hedge Funds and Algo power trading - dec25

    206. Renewables Repriced: Hedge Funds and Algo power trading - dec25
    2025/12/01
    For much of the past two decades, renewable energy investment was viewed as a core infrastructure play—favoured by funds and long-term capital seeking predictable, government-backed cash flows. Yet the gradual phase-out of subsidies and the increasing exposure of renewables to wholesale power price volatility have eroded that stability.

    Are investors misreading the new market dynamics? And can renewable portfolios be optimized under a fundamentally different investment logic?

    FlexPower, founded in 2022 in Hamburg and, as of October 2025, fully owned by Citadel, the global hedge fund, represents this shift. The firm operates at the intersection of short-term power trading and battery optimization, deploying data-driven strategies across European markets.

    FlexPower exemplifies how agile, technology-led firms are reshaping power markets by leveraging algorithmic trading, high-frequency data analytics, and real-time dispatch optimization. Their approach contrasts sharply with traditional infrastructure investors who continue to rely on fixed offtake agreements and policy support.

    In conversation with FLexPower Managing Director Amani Joas, Laurent and Gerard examine how algorithmic trading and hedge fund participation are redefining price formation in grids increasingly dominated by intermittent renewables. The discussion highlights a structural divergence: while incumbents pursue regulatory certainty, new entrants monetize volatility itself—treating renewable assets as dynamic trading platforms rather than passive infrastructure.

    The energy transition is no longer just a technological revolution—it’s a financial one.
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    32 分
  • 205. Elexon: The Hidden Engine of Britain’s Power Market - nov25

    205. Elexon: The Hidden Engine of Britain’s Power Market - nov25
    2025/11/24
    Running a power market isn’t just about generating electricity—it’s about making sure every kilowatt is accounted for. Someone has to calculate who owes what, make sure the rules are fair, and keep the system balanced in real time. Think of it as being an accountant, a banker, and a referee—all rolled into one. In the UK, that vital but largely invisible role is handled by Elexon.

    Elexon is the Balancing and Settlement Code Company (BSCCo) for Great Britain. They are the neutral heartbeat of the electricity market, making sure the lights stay on and energy imbalances are accurately billed. They provide the transparency, fairness, and precision that keeps the whole system running—and prevent anyone from gaming the market. Formerly part of National Grid, Elexon has always been independent and is owned by the 13 largest market participants.

    In this episode, Laurent and Gerard sit down with Peter Stanley, CEO of Elexon, to dive deep into the nuts and bolts of the balancing market. They break down why system costs have quintupled in recent years, hitting £8 billion a year, how settlement processes are being modernized, and the surprising ways AI is starting to shape the market.

    Elexon isn’t just about numbers—it’s the backbone of the UK’s Clean Power by 2030 plan (CP30). By keeping the system balanced and efficient, Elexon is helping drive the near-total elimination of fossil fuels from the power grid, making a cleaner, greener future possible.

    Get ready for a technical—but fascinating—ride behind the scenes of the UK electricity market.
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    30 分