Energy Digital Magazine - November 2021

November 2021 | energydigital.com

HARNESS

UN COP26

CLOUD AND IOT

Energy’s key role at Glasgow meeting

Batteries

Trucks gear up for electric era

TO BETTER SERVE CUSTOMERS

Technology

Low-carbon tech targets decarbonisation

Business transformation and customer centricity

Offshore

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The Energy Team EDITOR IN CHIEF

DOMINIC ELLIS EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

SCOTT BIRCH

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FOREWORD

Threats and opportunities at UN COP26 Conference “Ministers must be allowed this time to debate – but the clear message is we need less talk and more action”

ENERGY DIGITAL MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY

Sustainability is sure to dominate the agenda this month as the much-touted UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) gets underway in Glasgow.

Will world leaders pass resolutions that set us on a clear net-zero pathway, or talks fail as unilateralism prevails? Ministers must be allowed this time to debate – but the clear message is we need less talk and more action.

The energy industry finds itself under intense scrutiny, with the transition from fossil fuels and current euphoria surrounding supply pressures and rising prices. Renewables investment is spiralling however, and the industry must continue to harness technology to drive efficiencies and protect the environment.

In the grand sweep of history, COP26 is a tiny marker. The global meet does provide an opportunity to drive lasting change though, and it falls on everyone – politicians, corporations and consumers – to make positive changes if we are to beat the negative forecasts.

DOMINIC ELLIS

dominic.ellis@bizclikmedia.com

© 2021 | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

energydigital.com

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CONTENTS

Our Regular Upfront Section: 8

Big Picture

10 The Brief 12 Timeline: UN Framework Convention on Climate Change 14 Trailblazer:

Jackie Barry Hamilton 16 Five Mins With:

Georgina Ainscow

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Industry X.0

Energy’s key role at UN COP26

22

46

Harness cloud and IoT to better serve custome

Drives AI into new computing era for the energy industry

Water NSW

SambaNova

76

Analytics

Data-driven demand sparks funding frenzy

56

Smart Batteries

Hydrogen fuel cell trucks turn a corner

84

Technology

Momentum builds in low-carbon technologies

64

92

The lean machine

Offshore wind countrIes

Tricon International, Ltd

Top 10

BIG PICTURE

Hinkley Point C

UK

Five years after getting the go-ahead, the number of people across Britain working on the Hinkley Point C power station has reached 22,000. The growing number includes 6,300 on site, compared with 1,500 at the height of the pandemic last year.

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energydigital.com

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THE BRIEF “We can't solve climate change without first addressing our addiction to fossil fuels”

BY THE NUMBERS The big figures at COP26

David Flood

UK Country Manager, Statkraft  READ MORE

"Realistically, hydrogen infrastructure is coming and we expect it to have deployed sufficiently to provide adequate if not ubiquitous coverage” Tom Mason

CEO, Bramble Energy  READ MORE

“Industrial decarbonisation is realised through bitby-bit application of diverse technologies that are unique to specific industries and their core processes” Runeel Daliah Senior Analyst Lux Research 

READ MORE

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Goal: to secure global net zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach

Goal: to deliver on net zero and protect communities we need at least this amount spent on climate finance per year

1.5°C

$100bn

Themes: Clean energy; Adaption and Resilience; Energy transition in transport; Nature-based solutions; finance.

1,2,3 Scope: relates to the way businesses have to define their GHG emissions. 1 means direct from sources owned; 2 means indirect from energy that’s purchased; and 3 refers to all other emissions associated with a company’s activities..

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Find out more about COP26 

READ MORE

Decarbonisation pledges ‘fall far short’ warns EPC report

Current national decarbonisation pledges fall far short of those needed to prevent global warming from exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, according to a new report.

Oil and gas prices surge to new highs The rise in energy prices shows no signs of abating with oil jumping to three-year highs, raising inflationary pressures and sending Eurozone bond prices upwards.

 OCTOPUS ENERGY

Adani Green Energy seals $3.5 billion deal with SB Energy Holdings Adani Green Energy has successfully completed the $3.5 billion acquisition of SB Energy Holdings.

With this deal, SB Energy India is now a 100% subsidiary of AGEL. Earlier, it was a 80:20 joint venture between Japan-based SoftBank Group Corp and Bharti Group.

Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani announced that the Group would invest over $20 billion across the next 10 years in renewable energy generation.

“This transaction takes us closer to becoming the global leader in renewables,” said Vneet S. Jaain, MD & CEO, AGEL. “The addition of these highquality large utility-scale assets from SB Energy India demonstrates Adani Green Energy’s intent to accelerate India’s efforts to transition towards a carbon neutral future. Our renewable energy foundations will enable an entire ecosystem of new industries that can be expected to catalyse job creation in multiple sectors.”

SB Energy India has 5GW renewable assets across four states in India through its SPVs.

Octopus Energy has been appointed by Ofgem to take over the customers of Avro Energy, which is under administration. Its Kraken technology platform will make the change “smooth and straightforward” it said in a statement.

 LHYFE Lhyfe has inaugurated its first production site in Bouin (Vendée), believed to be the first to produce renewable green hydrogen using wind power on an industrial scale.

The company has confirmed around 60 projects throughout Europe.

 PETROFAC Petrofac is ‘drawing a line’ over bribery charges, after being fined £77 million at Southwark Crown Court.

 AVRO ENERGY AND GREEN SUPPLIER Avro Energy and Green Supplier have collapsed as the UK's unfolding energy crisis intensifies.

Avro Energy supplies gas and electricity to around 580,000 domestic customers and Green Supplier Limited supplies gas and electricity to around 255,000 domestic customers.

W I N N E R S NOV21

L O S E R S energydigital.com

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TIMELINE UNITED NATIONS Framework Convention on Climate Change

2017

2017

2018

COP23 - A Launch-Pad for Higher Ambition

One Planet Summit Results in Finance Commitments

IPCC Confirms Importance of 1.5C Goal

At the UN climate conference COP23 in Bonn, nations agree the next steps towards higher climate action ambition before 2020. Delegates launch the 'Talanoa Dialogue' to help set the stage for the revising upwards of national climate action plans needed to put the world on track to meet pre-2020 ambition and the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement.

World leaders gather in Paris to demonstrate how billions of dollars could be shifted towards a low-carbon future.

Financial flows are crucial for countries' national climate action plans under the Paris Agreement.

A special Global Warming of 1.5C report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirms the need to maintain the strongest commitment to the Paris Agreement's aims of limiting global warming to stave off the worst impacts of climate change, which include more frequent and more severe droughts, floods and storms.

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2018

2019

Governments Adopt 'Katowice Climate Package'

UNSG's Climate Action Summit to Boost Ambition

In Poland, governments adopt a robust set of guidelines for implementing the landmark 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement. The agreed 'Katowice Climate Package' operationalizes the climate change regime contained in the Paris Agreement, promotes international cooperation and encourages greater ambition.

To boost ambition and to accelerate actions to implement the Paris Agreement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will host a summit in New York. The Summit comes exactly one year before countries are set to enhance their national climate pledges under the Paris Agreement.

" The agreed 'Katowice Climate Package' operationalizes the climate change regime" energydigital.com

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TRAILBLAZER

INDUSTRY VETERAN BOOSTS SENSE’S INTELLIGENT HOME PUSH Name: Jackie Barry Hamilton Job Title: CFO Company: Sense

S

ense has announced that Jackie Barry Hamilton has joined the company as CFO. Sense's mission is to reduce global carbon emissions by making homes smarter and more efficient. Hamilton has managed financial and business operations in venture-backed private companies and within public companies and divisions of public companies through multiple phases of the business cycle: early stage, growth, mature, acquisitions and divestitures.

Over the past 20 years, she held the role of CFO at multiple companies, both private and public, ranging from small startups and emerging growth SaaS companies with under $10M in annual revenues to more established companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenues and thousands of employees and legal entities operating across the globe.

Sense CEO Mike Phillips said: "As Sense expands its footprint, we're starting the next stage of our company's growth and on a path to making homes more intelligent and a key part of the energy transition. At this pivotal moment, we're excited to bring on a CFO with tremendous experience

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20 YEARS AS CFO, MANAGING COMPANIES RANGING FROM $10 MILLION IN ANNUAL REVENUES TO MORE THAN $1 BILLION taking companies through every phase of their growth."

Hamilton said the founders and management team at Sense “have done this before—more than once” and they succeeded in advancing the voice recognition technology that is now ubiquitous in our daily lives.

“Just as the telecom industry was transformed by the adoption of smartphones, it's clear that with the need for decarbonisation, energy systems are going to go through a similar transition. I'm thrilled to join this team to help the company achieve its ambitions,” she said.

Before joining Sense, Jackie was CFO at Zoom Telephonics, a publicly-traded manufacturer and distributor of home and office networking equipment operating under the Motorola (merged with Minim, Inc.).

She was previously the CFO at Netcracker Technology Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation, which provides marketleading, next-gen BSS, OSS, cloud, 5G, IoT, SDN/NFV and other mission-critical solutions to Tier 1 telecom and cable service providers around the globe, where she focused on revenue growth, company profitability, cash management, and global compliance matters. Prior to Netcracker, she was CFO at Intronis, a private, venture-backed emerging growth company (now part of Barracuda Networks) that provides cloud-based data protection and recovery services for SMB customers through a SaaS commercial platform. As CFO of the global technology division at Monster Worldwide, Hamilton oversaw the expansion of offshore development teams in Europe and Asia and led the company through a global, company-wide Order-toCash review of its workflows and business processes, implementing new business processes and business systems to ensure compliance and support growth.

“ Just as the telecom industry was transformed by the adoption of smartphones, it's clear that with the need for decarbonisation, energy systems are going to go through a similar transition.”

JACKIE BARRY HAMILTON CFO, SENSE

She started her career at Corporate Software, the first global reseller of software to F100 and F500 companies, where she rose through the ranks in Finance to become CFO of the company. During her 13-year tenure with Corporate Software, which was acquired by Level (3) Communications and is now part of Insight, the company grew from $100 million in annual revenues to over $1.5 billion, and expanded operations from three to 14 countries. Hamilton holds an MS in Finance from Boston College and a BA from Simmons University in Finance and International Business. energydigital.com

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FIVE MINUTES WITH...

Georgina Ainscow SENIOR ASSOCIATE AT

With offices in London, Cambridge, Munich and The Hague, Reddie & Grose’s attorneys handle the full range of IP rights including patents, trademarks, registered designs and plant varieties. In this article, Senior Associate Georgina Ainscow outlines how the firm is dealing with the growth in net-zero technologies and explores the relationship between patents, legal and regulatory frameworks, and new technologies ahead of UN COP 26.

Give us an overview of the work Reddie & Grose handles?

Our dedicated Energy and Natural Resources group includes world-class advanced engineering, electronics, software, materials and life sciences departments. Every member of the group is an expert in a scientific or engineering discipline and has a thorough understanding of their clients’ inventions.

What are the key focuses in the energy sector?

The group has a wealth of technical knowledge and practical client experience in the fast-developing energy sector, covering a range of renewable energy technologies, including wind, solar and hydro, as well as enabling technologies which support the integration of renewable electricity, including battery storage, grid infrastructure technologies, hydrogen and fuel cells. They also have attorneys who specialise in the biofuels and CCUS sectors, as well as nuclear technology and traditional oil and gas.

With digitalisation a key theme across many industries, important areas of growth, both for the company and sector, are AI, IoT, blockchain and cybersecurity.

These cutting-edge technologies will be critical to rolling out a low-carbon, renewables-based energy system in the

coming decades, and are areas where our attorneys have particular experience.

Turning to COP26, do we foresee legal penalties for companies and countries which don’t embrace netzero technologies fast enough?

The message ahead of COP26 is one of collaboration – governments, businesses and society working together to address challenges posed by climate change. The emphasis is on encouraging progress rather than penalising failure. An objective at COP26 is to finalise the rules implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement.

This framework does not impose penalties, but does call for transparency and accountability from countries, cultivating

a collective urgency to meet targets. For companies, a commitment to carbon neutrality is now a matter of public image, and embracing net-zero technologies often results in reduced costs. Rather than imposing penalties, what we need now is government intervention to de-risk investment in net-zero innovation, so that more net-zero technologies are available on the market.

Do legal frameworks still need to be improved when it comes to regulating new technologies?

Speaking as a patent attorney, I don’t expect fundamental changes to the underlying principles of UK patent law, at least within the 30-year timeframe energydigital.com

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FIVE MINUTES WITH...

addressed by the Paris agreement. The UK Patents Act dates from 1977 and was drafted to future proof against technological changes. The law does not define “invention”, which allows the term to evolve to accommodate new technology.

In the energy space, important innovation lies in the field of digitalisation and AI. The law nominally excludes protection for “computer programs”, but the Courts follow an established interpretation which allows patents for software inventions which make a genuinely technical contribution.

Outside of patent law, regulatory frameworks will inevitably require change as new technologies evolve. With smart appliances set to play a critical role in matching supply and demand in a renewables-based energy system, issues of interoperability, data privacy and cyber security come to the fore.

Legislative changes governing hydrogen will be needed if this low-carbon fuel is to play a role in the energy transition – blending green hydrogen into the gas network would reduce emissions and motivate scaled-up production of hydrogen for use in other areas, but the use of hydrogen in the gas network is limited by legislation to a concentration of 0.1%, with new research suggesting that up to 20% is safe and viable.

What is next for technology and renewable energy?

Patents are filed early in the development of new technologies, and patent filing statistics can provide useful insight into tomorrow’s technology landscape.

Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar have a significant role to play in 18

November 2021

the future energy system. As these sectors mature, innovation increasingly focusses on improved efficiency and sustainability.

There are also developments offshore, where innovative floating wind applications carry the potential to open up larger areas of the ocean for siting wind farms.

But wind and solar cannot be scaled up indefinitely without new ways of storing energy. Unlike fossil fuels, they suffer from variability with output dependent on seasons and weather. Patent filings show innovation in advanced batteries and hydrogen electrolysers to meet the demand for improved large-scale energy storage. There is also renewed interest in nuclear technology, with patents to small

modular reactors focussed on safety, flexibility and reduced waste.

What other ‘next generation’ technologies can we look forward to?

Nuclear fusion and space-based solar are also worth mentioning. Previously the stuff of science fiction, these solutions might not be ready for 2050, but do now represent a viable reality for subsequent decades.

While even the most challenging scenarios struggle to envisage a successful phasing out of fossil fuels by 2050, this itself has led to innovation in carbon capture and storage – which offsets emissions in hardto-abate sectors, buying time to put in place truly zero-carbon solutions.

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Creating Digital Communities

WATER NSW

Harness Cloud and IoT to Better Serve Customers WRITTEN BY: GEORGIA WILSON PRODUCED BY: KRISTOFER PALMER

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November 2021

energydigital.com

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WATER NSW

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November 2021

WATER NSW

CIO Ian Robinson, and Executive Manager System Operations Adrian Langdon, at WaterNSW, discuss the company’s business transformation agenda and customer-centric approach

F

ounded in 2015, WaterNSW is a stateowned corporation, established under the WaterNSW Act 2014. Operating the state rivers and water supply systems, WaterNSW supplies two-thirds of the water used in NSW to regional towns, irrigators, the environment, Sydney Water Corporation and local water utilities.

Working for the company since its founding, Adrian Langdon, Executive Manager System Operations reflects on his time at the company and how it has evolved: “We still supply water, this is something that hasn’t changed, but the level of customer engagement and the amount of information that we are providing to customers now, compared to before, has grown. We have also shifted from traditional paper interactions with customers to digital interactions, and it is this journey in particular that we are focusing on now, taking previously office-based work online. In the last eight months, a lot of our meetings and similar operations with people around the state are being conducted through the digital environment (Microsoft Teams, Zoom). This is an area where we are seeing some big changes since I joined the company.”

Combined, Langdon and Ian Robinson, CIO have more than 30 years of experience in water and utility services. In particular, Robinson has worked in the IT space in the utility sector, joining WaterNSW in 2018 to drive the company’s business transformation agenda. energydigital.com

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WATER NSW

“ Water, being a limited resource, requires us to work with our customers to ensure that we manage it in the most efficient way possible, and we have to do that in a partnership” ADRIAN LANGDON

EXECUTIVE MANAGER SYSTEM OPERATIONS, WATER NSW

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“We've established a transformation agenda based on a vision of the future that describes what the workforce of the future will be doing that is different to today,” says Robinson.

“To enable that, we've built a roadmap of initiatives to get us to that point, which involves transitioning customers from paper-based transactions to digital channels, enabling our system operations team to have data at their fingertips rather than having to extract data from a myriad of different systems; and enabling our field staff to replace mundane manual tasks with automated data collection solutions using IoT and on-site mobile solutions.

These things combined will change the way we work; it will allow our people to work on

WATER NSW

ADRIAN LANGDON TITLE: EXECUTIVE MANAGER SYSTEM OPERATIONS COMPANY: WATER NSW

Harnessing Cloud and IoT at WaterNSW As part of the business transformation agenda at WaterNSW, the company

EXECUTIVE BIO

higher-value activities and enable them to focus on the needs of our customers.

“The transformation will allow us to focus on higher-value activities, such as predicting the water needs for our customers, enabling customers to see those predictions and allowing customers to make better decisions for the future based on the availability and quality of water we can supply. And those processes will enable WaterNSW to work with our ecosystem in a way that establishes us as a source of information for better decisions by other parties in the water market.”

Adrian is a strategicallyfocused management professional with over 25 years’ experience in the fields of water and waste water management, strategic planning for water supply systems, integrated water cycle management, water supply health regulation, water recycling river operations and water and wastewater treatment.

Prior to joining WaterNSW (upon its formation), Adrian managed the water operations of State Water and urban water strategic planning and policy for the NSW Department of Water and Energy. Adrian holds a degree in Applied Science from Deakin University and a Master of Environmental Management from Western Sydney University.

WATER NSW

WaterNSW Harness Cloud and IoT to Title of the video Better Serve Customers

is developing an IoT gateway built on a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) cloud solution. “Field equipment such as measurement sensors are connected to a telecommunications network to provide data in real-time back to the data lake where it is provided for a myriad of consumers through a data catalogue. All of that happens in one platform and the IoT gateway effectively provides the interface to the public carrier network or the satellite system that provides a communications network from the field to the gateway to connect that data for downstream processing.”

“The consolidation of data through consolidated gateways to a single source of truth data lake stops the need for people to intervene in the process and therefore interrupt the integrity of the data. Data governance then becomes oversight of data flows and associated processes to continually adapt the processes to changing requirements or error types.

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WATER NSW

“ We've established a transformation agenda based on a vision of the future that describes what the workforce of the future will be doing that is different to today”

IAN ROBINSON TITLE: CIO COMPANY: WATER NSW Ian is a seasoned CIO and executive leader with 25 years’ progressively responsible experience in leadership, strategy, large program delivery and operational management.

Ian joined WaterNSW in March 2018. His passion for complex solution development and new product concepts, where engineering and commercial acumen can be combined, is helping our organisation rapidly transform into a high performing organisation supported by integrated systems, infrastructure and processes. Ian holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering from the University of Sydney.

IAN ROBINSON

EXECUTIVE BIO

CIO, WATER NSW

energydigital.com

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WATER NSW

WATERNSW AND ADASA SYSTEMS WaterNSW partnerships are critically important, including our partnership with ADASA Systems. “It's been a really strong partnership,” says Robinson. “ADASA Systems did some work, which was groundbreaking in our dam safety area. With our engineering team, we initiated a project where we took real-time data from field measurements, collected by people using a mobile device or by telemetry or SCADA systems and loaded it into the data lake. That data is analysed to provide alarms triggered by measurement thresholds within the analytics engine. Dam engineers are then able to quickly filter the huge amounts of data coming back from dam surveillance points and identify risks at dams that need to be further investigated.

ADASA is continuing to expand the capability of the analytics with AI driven thresholds on risk thresholds that refine the alarms and reduce the noise from the data. Increasingly,

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dam engineers are able to spend more time investigating real anomalies rather than trying to find anomalies in a mountain of data.

One of the great aspects of ADASA Systems is it brings great water knowledge.

They're a Spanish company with expertise in the Spanish water market which has similarities with the Australian climate, and they bring a rare combination of deep water knowledge combined with excellence in information technology development. This allows them to transform our use of data and to do this by showing us through MVPs and real software showcases” Adding to Robinson’s comments, Langdon says, “They have been great. I think they have challenged us, which has been really positive in terms of how we've actually approached information management. Our WaterInsights product has allowed us to create information in a way that people can understand.”

WATER NSW

“ The WaterInsights product was born from the desire of our customers to see all information, pertinent to them, in one location” ADRIAN LANGDON

EXECUTIVE MANAGER SYSTEM OPERATIONS, WATER NSW

“Adrian often talks about the need to make sure that all of our stakeholders have a standardised definition of what that data is so that their interpretation of the data is the same as ours. Often in the past, data has been misinterpreted because of the lack of an agreed business glossary, which means people can understand it to mean something different to how we intend it to be. The data lake enables us to put very clear tags on that data and make sure that the definition is included in a business glossary and allows people access to that in a standardised way.” energydigital.com

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DATA ANALYTICS

CLOUD COMPUTING

REMOTE SENSING

INTERNET OF THINGS

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WATER NSW

Implementing new technologies and processes do not come without challenges; for WaterNSW the primary challenge was legacy environments. “We have lots of different disparate data sources and trying to bring all those together using lots of legacy and proprietary data protocols is a significant challenge. We needed to accommodate each of those legacy proprietary technologies so that we could translate them into a standardised form. The next challenge was then to capture the business rules that have been traditionally in people's heads or those various disparate systems and codify in automated data processes. That's required us to reimagine our data flow and the rules and constraints we put around that data to make sure data is handled in a consistent way. In doing that, we've delivered a comprehensive capability across all of our data that enables consumers to trust the data and to readily fix errors that stay fixed when they are identified.”

“ The 360-degree view allows the customer service operator and the customer themselves to see all of those interactions in one place in a context for their personal customer profile” IAN ROBINSON

CIO, WATER NSW

Better Serving Customers With water being one of the most critical elements, whether it be from an agricultural point of view or from a town’s water supply, Langdon explains the relationship WaterNSW has with its customers, “it is a very important relationship because, really, water transfers in a continual motion, therefore that relationship has to be very strong and we need to be able to work very closely together with customers to optimise the use of water and to synchronise the release of water to match demand. Water, being a limited resource, requires us to work with our customers to ensure that we manage it in the most efficient way possible, and we have to do that in a partnership.”

By developing the IoT gateway, WaterNSW can allow its customers to find information at their fingertips. “This is actually giving us the energydigital.com

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WATER NSW

opportunity to get accurate timely change. He pointed to data through to the customer, WaterInsights as a prime example who is making significant financial of listening to your customers business decisions in some cases, and then delivering a product to especially in the agricultural field; not only meet but exceed, their Year Founded having information in a timely expectations: manner is essential for them to “Our first step towards Industry make good business decisions. establishing this has been the Our consolidated data lake fed introduction of WaterInsights. by emerging IoT sensors is giving The WaterInsights product was Number of Employees us good quality data which our born from the desire of our customers are able to move customers to see all information, forward with and I think that’s the partnership pertinent to them, in one location. that we are trying to continuously form with WaterInsights has delivered this in a userour customers in order to meet their needs. centric format that puts the information All of this data is visualised in an industrythat our customers told us was important leading online platform called “WaterInsights”. at their fingertips. Excitingly, our next Langdon reiterated the importance release, which is due mid-2022 will see of putting customers at the heart of all us being able to push out key operational decision-making, including technological information, such as supplementary flows

2015

Utilities

500-1,000

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November 2021

WATER NSW

and outages, to our customers without them having to search for it.

While giving our customers a tool to enable better water management decisions, we have also created the ultimate transparent web tool that provides meaningful and up to date information to support our customers, stakeholders, and communities in better understanding water management in NSW.” The product, built using agile methodologies by ADASA, reflects the way customers want to see our data. We know this through customer testing we have done, and great care was taken in listening to customer feedback and building that into a user interface that presents data in an easy-to-understand way. In working with our government policymakers, the portal also provides water access rules in

plain English for customers to understand the terminology and the reason water allocations are set and how access to the water is managed.

“But our customers don’t just require information. They also need us to act on their behalf. If they have a need for water and they want to gain a licence to access that water or order water to enable us to deliver that water to them, we've built digital channels to enable them to interact with us through a customer portal and be able to look at their account and understand how much water has been used against their total allocation for the year and as changes occur. For example, Adrian has supplementary notifications that he can advise and communicate to customers, allowing them to act on that information, bid for the water, trade water, and maximise the value of their allocation.” energydigital.com

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WATER NSW

WaterNSW’s 360 Degree Customer View When asked about WaterNSW’s 360-degree view of its customers, Robinson describes it as a customer-centric view. “A customer can have a whole set of licences, each of these licences can have multiple customers associated with it, then the customer will have orders,

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November 2021

accounts, bills and transactions that occur. The 360-degree view allows the customer service operator and the customer themselves to see all of those interactions in one place in a context for their personal customer profile. Having implemented a CRM for the first time, service operators can then, in context, understand

WATER NSW

what the customer's position is, where they are sitting with their transactions, what problems they've had in the past, and what payment schedules they've had. This allows us to have a really rich experience in interacting with the customer that allows us to prove to the customer that we know and understand them.

“Our CRM solution is not only a record of customer interactions and case management for enquiries, it is also a business process automation solution using Pega software. From a CRM perspective, it provides a web-based customer portal that captures customers’ views from social media, voice contact, chatbots or email contact. All of those different channels all funnel into one single view for the internal customer service officer. It also enables customers to take into their own hands, the process of applying for and transacting with WaterNSW, so a lot of care has been taken in the CX/UX experience for a customer trying to initiate a transaction, such that, we put it into the way a customer thinks.

Having entered the data, the information is processed through business rules to give the customer an automated, if possible, outcome. Ultimately, it’s about enabling WaterNSW to work in the way the customer needs, while also allowing for a reduction in the mundane task of entering data and, most importantly, allows us to focus on improving customer service.

Pega, at its roots, is a business process management engine that allows us to automate steps where business rules are met which results in the need for human intervention only when rules require it or where complex interactions are required.

This is what lifts the focus of our staff from low to high value work. We can move from administration to advisory, from long cycle times pushing paper to quick cycle times with customers that really understand the nature of their assessment and the reason for the outcome of the assessment.”

energydigital.com

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UN COP26 CONFERENCE

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November 2021

ENERGY’S KEY ROLE AT UN COP26 As world attention focuses on Glasgow for the United Nations COP26 Conference this month, the energy industry must seize opportunity amid the scrutiny WRITTEN BY: DOMINIC ELLIS

H

as there ever been a more highprofile conference than UN COP26? Conferences usually gather the great and the good to discuss pressing industry issues and trends – but rarely does the agenda involve the future survival of the planet.

Writing that sentence might have sounded alarmist a few years ago, but now, at a time of regular wildfires, increasing floods and unpredictable weather patterns, most accept climate change is a tangible reality – and the window for tackling it is rapidly closing.

The IPCC’s recent Sixth Assessment Report served as a COP ‘curtain raiser’ by stating the pressing nature of the climate

crisis and the need to intensify efforts, echoing the IEA, which says pledges by governments to date – even if fully achieved – fall well short of what is required to bring global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050.

Time and again, the resounding message is we need to work faster.

Clearly much rides on the high-profile Glasgow global get-together between October 31-November 12 and the actions and resolutions which are taken – or otherwise – will impact the collective success of reducing carbon emissions and reaching net zero targets.

The complexity of the challenge is untangling the web of climate issues, demographics and economics in an uneven world.

It’s hard to believe, in the 21st century, that 700 million people still lack access to modern energy sources. Getting them onto the grid should be a moral and commercial imperative but underlines the challenges, in an anti-carbon era, of scaling renewables – much of which are either in their infancy or yet to be fully commissioned.

Consider also that in the last 20 years, the world population has increased by 1.6 billion people, and it is projected to rise by 1.4 billion over the next 20. We’re going to need an awful lot of solar and wind to sustain the world’s renewable energy needs.

“ We can either continue with business as usual or embrace change that leads to a more sustainable and equitable future” DAMILOLA OGUNBIYI

energydigital.com

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UN COP 26 CONFERENCE

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UN COP26 CONFERENCE

“ We can't solve climate change without first addressing our addiction to fossil fuels” DAVID FLOOD

Which brings us to the ‘elephant’ in the Glasgow conference room – fossil fuels.

Although it has been losing market share since the 1970s, oil still accounts for a third of global primary energy consumption and a staggering 81% of primary energy demand, powered by rapidly growing emerging economies, and it isn’t disappearing anytime soon.

China alone, the largest source of oil consumption growth, is forecast to grow by 8 Mb/d to 17.5 Mb/d by 2030.

The conundrum is how to reconcile oil demand with scientists’ warnings, who say

60% of oil and gas reserves and 90% of coal must remain in the ground to keep global warming below 1.5°C. Then there’s the matter of decarbonisation financing; the Cities Climate Investment Commission puts the central estimate at £200 billion for London and the UK’s core cities alone. Carbon taxes are likely to be a hot topic in Scotland, but that might just be the start.

“Oil (and biofuels) will likely remain dominant in the transport sector to 2030, with cost and the long economic lives of oil-consuming equipment limiting prospects for other fuels to win substantial market share over the next 20 years,” notes an Oil Market to 2030 – Implications for Investment and Policy bp report. energydigital.com

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UN COP26 CONFERENCE

“Policy choices made by governments matter. For supply, policy will govern the ability of investment whether by NOCs or private companies to access prospective resources, as well as the incentives to develop alternatives such as biofuels. For demand, policies appear likely to slow consumption growth whether motivated by concerns for climate, security, or budgets.”

In July, The World Benchmarking Alliance warned that at current rates, oil and gas companies will prevent the world hitting the 1.5°C warming goal.

David Flood, Statkraft’s UK country manager, urges governments to prioritise renewables over unproven or timeconsuming projects, such as nuclear.

“We can't solve climate change without first addressing our addiction to fossil fuels,” he said.

“The good news is that we have everything we need to make a real step change right now, all it takes is relentless focus on renewable energy. If the world is serious about leaving 90% of fossil fuels in the ground, we can’t afford to get distracted by unproven technology or costly moonshots. Nor can we maintain the status-quo.

“The UK needs to lead the world in making a firm commitment at COP26 to wean itself off oil, coal and gas, and replace them with a diverse range of affordable and accessible renewable energy sources.”

Domestic heating is another major emissions issue, as European nations get ready to power up for another winter.

Insulate Britain protesters have been raising the heat, blocking the M25 and other roads.

Paris Promised, Glasgow Must Deliver - COP26 President-Designate Speech

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November 2021

UN COP26 CONFERENCE

All of the UK gas boilers more than double the carbon emissions of all of the gas-fired power stations in the country, while also producing over eight-and-a-half times more harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx) gases, according to recent research from climate charity Possible and social enterprise Scene.

Electricity generates 25% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, and is key to decarbonising other sectors of the economy, including buildings, transport, and industry.

ADIPEC 2021, returning ‘face to face’ between November 15-18 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, will be among the first major industry exhibitions following COP26.

“I believe we will see a heightened focus at ADIPEC on the question of energy transition, smart manufacturing, sector coupling, hydrogen, and technologies such as carbon capture & storage,” said Christopher Hudson,

Construction under scrutiny Construction, responsible for around 39% of emissions, finds itself increasingly under scrutiny.

As part of New York Climate Week, the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has announced that it will become an accelerator of the UN backed Race to Zero campaign – which campaigns for accelerating the halving of global emissions by 2030 and pledging to reach net zero by 2050.

The GCCA, which represents 80% of the international concrete and cement industry outside China and some of the leading Chinese manufacturers, has become the first association that represents a global essential industry to join the campaign as an accelerator.

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' Build Better Now is an immersive VR exhibition showcasing inspiring global ideas for a more sustainable built environment. Pictured is Powerhouse Brattørkaia, an 18,200sqm office building developed by property company Entra, Skanska, environmental organization ZERO, Snøhetta architecture and design office, and consulting company Asplan Viak.'

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November 2021

UN COP26 CONFERENCE

President of dmg events. “These are just a handful of the priority areas for the energy sector to address today’s climate issues and move us closer to net zero ambitions.”

ADIPEC Leadership Roundtables will enable energy executives, ministers, thought leaders and think thanks to debate the challenges and opportunities facing the industry.

Corporates unite in Energy Compact Leading energy buyers, suppliers, solutions providers and governments recently launched the 24/7 Carbon-free Energy Compact in partnership with Sustainable Energy for All and the UN Energy.

The Compact represents a new global effort to accelerate the transition to a carbon-free electricity sector to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. SEforALL and Google made the announcement today during the United Nations High level Dialogue on Energy in New York. In addition to Google, founding signatories of the Compact include The AES Corporation, Orsted, EDP, the city of Des Moines, Iowa, the government of Iceland, among others.

"The world is at a crossroads,” said SEforALL CEO & Special Representative to the UN Secretary-General Damilola Ogunbiyi. “We can either continue with business as usual or embrace change that leads to a more sustainable and equitable future. This starts with making the important link between energy and climate.”

The Energy Compacts that have been put forward as part of the UN High-Level Dialogue on Energy have resulted in ambitious commitments and actions that will help address energy poverty while working towards decarbonisation. energydigital.com

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SAMBANOVA SYSTEMS

DRIVES AI INTO NEW COMPUTING ERA FOR THE ENERGY INDUSTRY

WRITTEN BY: DOMINIC ELLIS PRODUCED BY: MARK CAWSTON energydigital.com

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SAMBANOVA SYSTEMS

Marshall Choy, VP Product, and Director Vijay Tatkar outline SambaNova’s sharp growth, Dataflowas-a-service offering and broad range of industry AI opportunities

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November 2021

I

t’s been quite a journey for SambaNova Systems since it was founded by a group of industry luminaries and tech experts in Palo Alto, California, in November 2017.

From humble beginnings at Stanford University, the company has grown to employ over 400 staff worldwide, which should increase by another 100 by the end of this year.

SambaNova secured $678 million in Series D funding, led by Softbank Group’s Vision Fund 2, in April, and has already picked up several prestigious awards, including recognition as a Gartner “Cool Vendor”, “Best AI Product for Next Generation Infrastructure” from CogX, and the VentureBeat “AI Innovation for Edge AI” award, among others.

Marshall Choy and Vijay Tatkar – respectively Vice President of Product and Director, Product and Partner Engagements– talk through the company’s meteoric rise and broad potential of industry opportunities.

Choy explains how two of its co-founders, Professor Kunle Olukotun and Chris Ré, were serving at EE and CS departments, working on AI and ML algorithms and techniques, domain-specific languages, compilers and run-time technologies.

“They were specifically preparing for this transition of computing we’re going through right now – some refer to it as ‘Software 2.0’, and transition from the old world of transactional processing to AI computing, from ERP to deterministic written software,” said Choy, who worked previously at Sun Microsystems and Oracle, together with Tatkar.

“It became clear there was a need for a different type of infrastructure

SAMBANOVA SYSTEMS

“Our goals are to extend our leadership position with AI and ML, and to continue putting a great deal of investment and resource toward growing our presence globally, beyond North America” MARSHALL CHOY

VICE PRESIDENT OF PRODUCT, SAMBANOVA SYSTEMS

energydigital.com

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“We are at the cusp of the biggest computing transition that we’ve seen in decades”

that provided “Our goals are to greater flexibility extend our leadership and performance, position with AI and and so SambaNova ML, and to continue purpose-built a full putting a great deal stack of hardware of investment and and software, to run resource toward AI and ML workloads growing our presence more effectively than globally, beyond North conventional solutions.”

America.” Choy said.

It took a couple of “As well as expanding MARSHALL CHOY years to develop and our customer base, VICE PRESIDENT OF PRODUCT, prioritize the advanced and efforts around SAMBANOVA SYSTEMS research and implement market awareness, it into an industrialized, enterprise-ready we continue to invest heavily in growing solution. Today, it has been in market our R&D capabilities to deliver worldfor around a year, with product shipping class products.” to revenue customers across multiple Tatkar believes the AI domain is now industries and continents. SambaNova bigger than the internet in terms of recently accelerated its go-to-market revenue and cultural aspects. “I dabbled in and category creation strategy with the AI before, in the 80s and I’m super excited appointment of its first Chief Marketing to get back – it now has an unstoppable Officer, Amy D. Love. momentum,” he said.

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November 2021

SAMBANOVA SYSTEMS

MARSHALL CHOY TITLE: VP OF PRODUCT INDUSTRY: TECHNOLOGY; AI LOCATION: SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

EXECUTIVE BIO

“I came in with a developers’ tools background and have seen architectural inflection points – how the industry changed from CISC to RISC and from single core to multi-core, and now I believe we are at a new point, from general purpose architectures to DSAs, and compilers lead the way in terms of architecture and how the applications are going to be seen. I believe in ‘own the developer, own the market’; this breakthrough is also because of developers researching and developing incredible models” In the often-complex world of AI, SambaNova’s model is built on simplicity. “The world around us is innovating like crazy, and our job is to ensure that there is easy adoption, and to enable acceleration while breaking existing barriers,” added Tatkar.

SambaNova’s flagship Dataflowas-a-Service offering, an extensible AI services platform, enables organizations to jump-start AI initiatives overnight by augmenting existing capabilities and staffing, revolutionizing accessibility and empowering organizations in every industry to unleash AI’s vast potential with a simple subscription.

The platform is powered by DataScale, an integrated software and hardware platform delivering unrivaled performance, accuracy, scale, and ease of use built on SambaNova’s Reconfigurable Dataflow Architecture (RDA).

Choy said the market is fairly well bifurcated between leading edge innovators, fast followers, and even laggards – one of the real differences are levels of resource.

Leading innovators in the Fortune 20 companies, who have a great deal of financial backing and tend to be design

Marshall Choy is the Vice President of Product and has overseen the go-to-market of dozens of industry-leading enterprise hardware and software products.

Previously he was Vice President of Systems Product Management and Solutions Development at Oracle.

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SAMBANOVA SYSTEMS

VIJAY TATKAR TITLE: DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT INDUSTRY: TECHNOLOGY; AI

EXECUTIVE BIO

LOCATION: CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Vijay Tatkar is the Director of Product and Partner Engagements and has more than 30 years’ industry experience, producing leading edge products like Systems Management and Security Monitoring Cloud. Tatkar’s background also includes Developer Cloud Services, Performance and Code Security Analyzers, Compilers with World Record performance and ISV engineering services.

shops in and of themselves; then everybody else is really looking more towards more complete solutions.

“As a result, we’ve come out with a set of different products and services,” added Choy.

“For the Fortune 20s, we have DataScale, which is a complete platform for innovation.

The interface point for that system, at a developer level around writing python code, and integrating into open source ML frameworks, enables people to experiment with their own models. That’s a great starting point, because it allows them to focus on their own domains of expertise, rather than spending resources on optimizing for a hardware platform “But there’s a broader set of folks who don’t have 3,000 data scientists – they have three, and may grow to six. So for them, we raise the level of abstraction of the stack to the highest levels at the application layer, so that their interface and our technology stack is merely making API

SAMBANOVA SYSTEMS

NOTHING BEATS A PARTNER’S VALIDATION Tatkar said as a start-up, it’s all about partnerships, and at the beginning the line between partners and customers is very blurred. It started with companies providing technology to build their own platform, including key established Storage partners as well as new, nimble entrants.

calls from their application, and abstracting all the complexities of model development – everything else becomes seamless and invisible to the user, and they simply interact with SambaNova as an ML services provider.”

He said it has to satisfy the needs of different types of customers so they can deploy it at enterprise scale.

“The market is very mature on the enterprise side, but it’s still developing on the AI side, and that’s the exciting

VIJAY TATKAR

DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT, SAMBANOVA SYSTEMS

DID YOU KNOW...

“ The world around us is innovating like crazy, and our job is to ensure there is easy adoption, and to enable acceleration while breaking existing barriers”

“We have partners who are technology and storage providers, and we are also working with partners who can take it to the next level, such as value added resellers (VAR), and system integrators (SI),” he said.

“With some of our early customers, like the Department of Energy (DoE), their delight at using our platform is extremely infectious, so when they talk about what gains they’re getting, that has a much larger effect on bringing others into the ecosystem – there’s nothing like a validation from a partner.”

energydigital.com

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“ The energy industry is facing extreme pressure to modernise and become more operationally efficient – and that’s going to require transformational technologies, not incremental ones” MARSHALL CHOY

VICE PRESIDENT OF PRODUCT, SAMBANOVA SYSTEMS

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November 2021

SAMBANOVA SYSTEMS

AWARDS FOR INNOVATION AND THE WORKPLACE

DID YOU KNOW...

What has been most heartening has been the steady stream of awards from a number of respected third party sources. Gartner named SambaNova in its Cool Vendors in AI Semiconductors report and has included the company in 7 “Hype Cycle” reports that track technology maturity and impact. SambaNova was also awarded Best AI Product in NextGeneration Infrastructure by CogX, included in CRN’s 10 Hottest AI Chip Makers in 2021, adjudged one of CRN’s 20 Coolest Tech Startups Of 2020, and the cherry on top was that it became Great Place to Work certified in 2021.

“It’s a great reflection from the industry,” said Choy. “It’s particularly satisfying to get the ones around innovation, such as ‘Great Place to Work’, which certifies businesses on an annual basis. Similarly while semi-conductors are part of our overall solution, we don’t actually sell them, and that recognition is hard earned and well received.”

part, growing that ecosystem to all our customers,” said Choy, who added it will be focusing on a number of industry verticals, from manufacturing and life sciences to energy, oil and gas, financial services, and the public sector.

“The energy industry is facing extreme pressure to modernise and become more operationally efficient – and that’s going to require transformational technologies, not incremental, so AI absolutely brings that potential into the lens for the energy sector.

“We have a lot of work in oil & gas and renewables sectors,” Choy said. “There are a number of great opportunities across the sector. If you look at the energy sector, there is a forward-thinking mindset, and some of the facilities are among the most advanced IoT facilities in the world, so there is a strong fit with AI.” “We have noticed a lot of operators wanting something that’s more specific to the assets they own,” Choy continues.

“They have this conundrum of wanting to be efficient but often ‘doing it themselves’ – there is an appetite for more operatorspecific solutions. However, we’re in the early days of AI, and adoption depends on the digital maturity of organizations.”

Choy sees that the longer term view is that this technology transition in AI computing will be just as big, if not bigger, than the internet transition was a couple of decades ago. AI will be the main change agent for business and technology. He believes this is just the beginning, the likes of which we haven’t seen before, and the impact will be profound. “We are at the cusp of the biggest computing transition that we’ve seen in decades,” he says.

energydigital.com

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SMART BATTERIES

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November 2021

HYDROGEN FUEL CELL TRUCKS TURN A CORNER Technological developments involving hydrogen fuel cell trucks are gathering speed – but can they be rolled out at scale?

WRITTEN BY: DOMINIC ELLIS

H

eavy duty vehicles are coming under increased scrutiny as they have a higher impact on emissions and air pollution in cities than any other vehicle.

Countries' commitments to climate change and reducing carbon emissions – in the global spotlight with the hosting of UN COP26 – have driven the automotive industry to focus on alternative powertrain solutions, such as fuel cell electric powertrains and batteryelectric, to achieve zero-emission targets.

But it remains to be seen if they can be rolled out at scale – amid ever-shortening windows to meet net zero targets.

There are four true zero-emissions technologies to power vehicles: battery electric vehicles (BEVs), hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), hydrogen internal combustion engines (H2-ICEs), and biofuel or synfuel internal combustion engines (if a sustainable source of carbon is used).

Hybrid and gas engines represent bridging technologies to reduce emissions in the medium term but cannot achieve zero emissions on their own.

Frost & Sullivan's recent analysis, Global Fuel Cell Trucks Growth Opportunities, forecasts the global fuel cell trucks market energydigital.com

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We see an imminent power outage on Michigan Avenue.

C3.ai transforms Utilities. © 2020 C3.ai, Inc. All Rights Reserved. is a mark of C3.ai, Inc.

SMART BATTERIES

T:297 mm

“ Hydrogen is a cleaner and more environmentally friendly form of energy, which will most suitably serve long distancetravelling needs and segments that demand high uptime and availability” JAGADESH CHANDRAN

MOBILITY RESEARCH ANALYST, FROST & SULLIVAN

will register 142,858 unit sales by 2030, with China accounting for nearly twothirds of sales.

Regional governments and energy departments are encouraging fuel cell truck adoption through incentives, tax credits, funding and availing of demonstration projects.

"Hydrogen is emerging as a promising substitute to fossil fuels. It is a cleaner and more environmentally friendly form of energy, which will most suitably serve long

distance-travelling needs and segments that demand high uptime and availability," said Jagadesh Chandran, Mobility Research Analyst at Frost & Sullivan.

"To overcome the challenges pertaining to technology, supply chain, infrastructure, and economic costs and in order to create a comprehensive hydrogen economy, the industry needs to hasten development to achieve economies of scale."

Among the four zero-emissions technologies, hydrogen combustion is still in its infancy, despite a (patchy) history going back to the 1806 de Rivaz engine, which ran on a hydrogen–oxygen mixture.

“Despite impressive developments, batteries and fuel-cell technology are not yet ready to meet the very highpower requirements needed for energydigital.com

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SMART BATTERIES

“ Hydrogen fuel cells offer an alternative to the heavy batteries and long recharge times that other electric vehicle technologies suffer from” DR. MIKE BASSETT

HEAD OF RESEARCH & ADVANCED ENGINEERING, MAHLE POWERTRAIN

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November 2021

the harsh conditions to which many heavy-duty vehicles (especially in the offhighway segment) are exposed,” notes McKinsey research.

“Mining trucks, for instance, require several megawatts worth of power, run around the clock, and are exposed to extreme vibrations and heat development, as well as dirt in the air. Internal combustion engines have met these requirements for decades, and a switch from diesel to hydrogen could be a straightforward way to decarbonise these engines, with relatively minor requirements for further technical innovation.”

SMART BATTERIES

Nikola Corporation recently announced agreements with the Bosch Group of companies for Nikola Class 7 and 8 fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEV) which will enable Nikola to build the Bosch fuel-cell power modules at its Coolidge, Arizona facility.

The vehicles are planned to use common fuel-cell power modules in 200kW and 300kW configurations. The fuel-cell power modules and components are being designed and validated for the demands of commercial vehicle power. The Nikola Tre FCEV will also be launched in the EU, utilising the same fuel-cell power modules supporting vehicle manufacturing planned at Nikola's joint venture with IVECO in Ulm, Germany.

MAHLE Powertrain and Bramble Energy (see September issue) have jointly agreed to continue their collaboration to develop Bramble’s PCBFC hydrogen fuel cell technology. The phase 1 demonstrator vehicle was launched at the Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle show.

Ultium Cells sides with Honeywell’s QCS Several companies are putting their foot on the sustainable pedal.

Ballard and QUANTRON have teamed up to focus on the integration of Ballard’s FCmove family of heavy-duty fuel cell power modules into QUANTRON’s electric drivetrain and vehicles. Fuel cell electric truck platforms currently in development include a 7.5t delivery truck, a 44t heavy duty truck and a municipal waste collection truck.

Initial deployment of fuel cell electric trucks is scheduled for the second half of 2022.

Honeywell has announced that Ultium Cells, a joint venture between LG Energy Solution and General Motors, will use Honeywell's Quality Control System (QCS) to ensure the quality and integrity of the lithium-ion batteries produced at its new manufacturing plant in Lordstown, Ohio.

Due to be completed in 2022, the 2.8 million square-foot factory will produce lithium-ion battery cells for GM electric vehicles ranging from Cadillac sedans to Hummers and will be one of the largest electric vehicle battery plants in the United States. energydigital.com

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SMART BATTERIES

“Hydrogen fuel cells offer an alternative to the heavy batteries and long recharge times that other electric vehicle technologies suffer from, and that makes them particularly relevant to the commercial vehicle sector as it looks to meet net zero CO2 emissions targets,” said Dr. Mike Bassett, MAHLE Powertrain’s Head of research & advanced engineering.

“Our work with Bramble Energy has demonstrated that their innovative PCBFC technology represents a cost-effective route to the adoption of fuel cell propulsion for commercial vehicles.”

Tom Mason, CEO of Bramble Energy, said fuel cell technology as a range extender to a battery powertrain is the perfect use case for the technology especially when looking at long haulage.

“It harnesses the best aspects of the powertrain element, and each compliments

Hyzon accelerates with Ark Energy order Hyzon Motors has received a definitive order for five, 154-ton trucks from Ark Energy Corporation, the Australian subsidiary of the world’s largest zinc, lead and silver producer, Korea Zinc. Hyzon will deliver the zero-emission vehicles to Ark Energy by the end of 2022. Ark Energy will lease the trucks to its sister company, Townsville Logistics, which will deploy them in triple (three-trailer) road train configurations as part of their short-haul fleet operating on a 30km loop from the Port of Townsville to the Sun Metals zinc refinery owned by the group. The fuel cell trucks, replacing their diesel equivalents, are expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 1,400 tons per year.

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November 2021

“ Realistically, hydrogen infrastructure is coming and in the second half of this decade we expect it to have deployed sufficiently to provide adequate if not ubiquitous coverage” TOM MASON

CEO, BRAMBLE ENERGY

SMART BATTERIES

each other. There is absolutely no reason why fuel cell technology cannot be deployed quickly but we will need to see a cohesive deployment of the refuelling infrastructure and it must be clean and green as already demonstrated in the small hydrogen infrastructure up and running in the UK,” he said.

Infrastructure is not just an issue facing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, he adds, since battery powertrains for large and heavy vehicles also face issues when it comes to charging.

“For these very large systems to be charged in reasonable times, chargers in the ultra-rapid

bracket of >250kW are required and these are expensive and are currently few and far between. With this in mind, there is potentially a strong case for hydrogen as a more costeffective alternative,” he said.

"Realistically, hydrogen infrastructure is coming and in the second half of this decade we expect it to have deployed sufficiently to provide adequate if not ubiquitous coverage. Getting to the point where fuel cell technology is economically viable is the challenge but the UK is well placed to meet this target in the required timeline.” energydigital.com

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November 2021

TRICON INTERNATIONAL LTD

THE LEAN MACHINE WRITTEN BY: SIMON HOWSON-GREEN PRODUCED BY: MIKE SADR

energydigital.com

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TRICON ENERGY

Craig Wood, Director of Infrastructure and Security

TRICON ENERGY

Craig Wood of Tricon Energy talks about his plans for the commodities trading platform and how the smartest IT and the most committed partnerships are the key to success

C

raig Wood believes in Pedal Power.

That efficient use of energy driving a cyclist’s legs and converting their movement into the most effective, economic momentum of the wheels.

Earlier this year Wood took time out from his role as the Director of Infrastructure and Security at Tricon Energy to endure a 740km cycle ride through the sweltering heat and endless seas of corn in the state of Iowa. Not only completing but surviving such a gruelling challenge was all about the super-efficient use of resources.

Craig Wood is keen on what he calls leaness. That’s all about running a business with no unnecessary fat on the bones – just a lean machine. Something a devoted and passionate cyclist would understand.

Tricon Energy is also a ‘well-oiled’ superefficient business. That’s largely down to Craig Wood’s approach and how he has navigated the company through the even more challenging landscape of the digital age.

Tricon Energy is a Houston TX-based leader in the global trade and distribution market. Its technology ensures its clients can trade commodities such as chemicals, plastics, fertilisers, and unprocessed dry bulk materials efficiently and in real time.

Underpinning this commodity trading is Tricon Energy’s commitment to utilising the very best IT and the most rewarding business collaborations.

“ To the board of a company, technology is magic and the CIO is a wizard” CRAIG WOOD

DIRECTOR OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND SECURITY, TRICON ENERGY energydigital.com

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TRICON ENERGY

Tricon Energy - Success through super efficient I.T. and partnerships

“ I learned how to use IT effectively and the importance in recognising the differences between vendor relationships and true partnerships” CRAIG WOOD

DIRECTOR OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND SECURITY, TRICON ENERGY

Craig Wood has a reputation for innovation in the way he manages technological change. He’s been developing leadingedge technologies to get the most effective interaction between businesses and their clients throughout his career. So, how much store does he place in this experience in his role at Tricon Energy?

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“I think it's been a very large contributor,” he says. “I come from a small managed service provider. This is where I really cut my teeth with IT services. That was where I learned how to use IT effectively and the importance of recognising the differences between vendor relationships and true partnerships.”

Really understanding the nature of risk “With Tricon being a very lean organisation, especially regarding IT services, we have spent a great deal of time identifying and building partnerships to propel us forward in our annual growth and innovation towards digital transformation and risk mitigation of cyber threats, which are evolving rapidly and constantly.

“This has led us to adopt a strong industry toolset which educates and informs employees of potential risks to both Tricon and our clients and partners so that we can respond appropriately in today's IT threat landscape.’

TRICON ENERGY

But according to Wood the key to success when detecting and combatting cyber threat is not just about using the best IT for the job.

That’s only part of a bigger picture.

Wood says mitigating risk is often down to understanding and anticipating simple human nature. ‘No solution or tool is 100% effective to the daily threat evolution, so the first line of defence needs to be employee awareness and diligent communication.

“Artificial intelligence catches a good 97% of most phishing threats but that risky three percent can shut down an enterprise and cost millions of dollars, for that reason, awareness is one of the company's greatest assets.”

CRAIG WOOD TITLE: D IRECTOR OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND SECURITY INDUSTRY: OIL & ENERGY LOCATION: UNITED STATES

1996

Year founded

$7.4bn Revenue (2019)

500+

Number of employees

EXECUTIVE BIO

The lean, mean machine Wood attributes much of Tricon Energy’s early success to what he calls its leaness.

‘Effective IT tool sets can help a company become lean and efficient companies can use those tool sets more effectively.

Leaness and using the right technology go hand in hand.’

Wood says matching tool-sets to employees is a balancing act many businesses fail to understand. It’s a movable feast which should be continually under review.

‘I think this has an absolute effect on the technologies you use,’ he says.

Craig Wood is a passionate cyclist. Many of the principles he applies to hard core cycling he equates to his role at Tricon.

He is a dedicated, results driven IT Professional with proven success more than 20 years’ experience in directing a broad range of businesses with dynamic infrastructure needs. Detailed focus around industry standards and innovation while participating in planning, design, analysis and responding to executive feedback and business objectives to help manicure custom, effective solutions aligned with business needs complemented by fiscally responsible partnerships and well-managed project execution.

Accomplished at leading team members in designing, implementing, and maintaining comprehensive and secure networks, architecture, testing, and ongoing support of complex multisite and global organisations under ITIL standards and governance.

TRICON ENERGY

Attackers start with people.

Your security should too.

Proofpoint protects your people, data and systems by stopping threats, training users and securing information everywhere it lives.

Learn More

© 2021 Proofpoint, inc. All rights reserved.

TRICON ENERGY

Why? Because, he argues, there is always a trade-off between the technology you use and the employees you engage to run them. Wood believes that CIOs often face a dilemma – almost a law of diminishing returns.

‘I believe a CIO’s efficiency it goes up until you start spending a certain amount of time on your tool-sets…then you have negative returns.

‘The more time the CIO spends working at that level with the tool-sets the less effective they are in their job and their tasks.

‘The greater the number of tool-sets you have, the more complex the environment, so you either need more employees, and more highly skilled employees.’

Wood says this is the challenge all CIOs face.

‘If you don’t get the ratio right, you face a fall in efficiency. He says the real skill is learning how to measure the tool-sets you have and know how to measure what your staff can support.

You need to ensure that you're identifying optimisation and the value in the tools that are available. Just having them isn't enough.’

Waving the I.T magic wand Wood says he is passionate about getting the relationship between the Board of a business and the CIO right too. “It’s absolutely key,” he says.

“It’s interesting,’ he says. “I recently heard someone say that, to the board of a company, technology is magic; the CIO is a wizard.”

“ Partnerships are the backbone of building a business such as Tricon Energy” CRAIG WOOD

DIRECTOR OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND SECURITY, TRICON ENERGY

“The board says: ‘We say we want this outcome’ and the board hears the wizard say: ‘I've got a magic wand, and this is what's going to fix it for you.” Most often regardless of what the CIO actually tells them.”

“But if you can't deliver actual outcomes to demonstrate and recognise where there's risk as well as identify that we have additional risk that needs to be addressed and you don't communicate that to the board then the board is going to be surprised, and if that surprise results in ransomware it's going to create a lot of issues.”

But according to Wood, that’s only half of the equation space in. The other half is all about looking beyond your internal assets. Again, he stresses that balance is everything. “What you can’t get from that ‘well-oiled’ internal employee mechanism you need to complement with partnerships.” energydigital.com

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True partnerships “Partnerships are at the backbone of building a business such as Tricon Energy,” he says.

So how much of a role does Wood have in Tricon Energy’s partnership strategy? A lot.

“I don't just influence the process, I make decisions about our technology partnerships.”

“This is critical. It is very important to chose the right partner when you're going to run a efficient organisation. Many would argue that every organisation, as far as IT goes, is ‘lean’. It’s often considered a cost centre. One company may see it as a red line at the bottom of the general ledger, another company may see it as a black line and as an aid to empowerment to the business.”

“Either way,” says Wood, “IT still has a job in the partnership process.” And, it is partnerships which Wood champions. He is not a fan of vendor relationships.

“The partnerships you make are going to determine whether or not you end up with a vendor relationship – which I do not believe in, I prefer to nurture a partnership and grow together.”

Wood is sceptical of vendor relationships.

He says they tend to miss opportunities and lack true commitment from both sides. A

TRICON ENERGY

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TRICON ENERGY

“ I believe, very much in educating my staff and helping them grow” CRAIG WOOD

DIRECTOR OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND SECURITY, TRICON ENERGY

good partnership is engaged with what is happening in your company, and is part of the journey.

“A vendor may be more concerned with margins my margins? They may not necessarily be interested in a log lasting business relationship, and determine what tool-sets to use and how to best manage them for the betterment of the business rather than the vendor margins.”

“Yes, you're going to have to have some partnerships that are less strategic than others, because you need a ‘widget’ to work, but core partnerships must have the core relationships to be successful.”

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“With a true partnership you're addressing the situation together that you're encountering and you're both working on to be good custodians of the business.”

Wood cites Tricon’s partnership with Long View Systems as a good example of how this relationship should work.

“I have a great working relationship with a company called Long View Systems, who is our managed service provider. We work very closely together and I include them in a lot of decision making an input into what we do.”

Wood says working within a company such as Tricon Energy requires a very different approach to the old days when

TRICON ENERGY

he was a consultant. It’s about trust and equality within a partnership.

“With Tricon we've got motivation that is driven by efficiency and innovation, and we have a subset of tools that that help Tricon. Having to cut away at the tools we utilise limits my field of vision, as far as what technologies are developing, how they are used, and what their impact is.

So, my decision-making capacity is limited in that regard. This means I must rely on my partners to give me good information which is not biased towards them.”

Craig Wood describes himself as a servant leader. He says trust and

collaboration is everything.

“I believe, very much in educating my staff and helping them grow. I do a lot of work to ensure that they can progress. They are the only reason I’m successful and so I make sure I put that first. I empower my employees, so that they can educate and grow and have a clear line of succession.”

Wood says this approach is how he can take sleep at night, take vacations and even take time to cycle across an entire state in the heat of Summer.

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ANALYTICS

Investment continues to spiral in data analytics platforms as digital technologies become key to fuelling the sustainability revolution

also have a positive impact on the market’s growth in the coming years.

The advancement in IoT and its wide usage across various end-user industries stand as key factors augmenting the growth of the global smart grid data analytics market.

Smart grid data analytics are arrangements WRITTEN BY: DOMINIC ELLIS used to dissect the huge measure of data here are many debates swirling produced from the smart grid frameworks. around the energy transition but at These arrangements are sent to acquire least digital technologies’ role in it is better prescient investigation of shopper unquestionable. Oil and utility companies’ conduct and grid conditions, accordingly desire for accurate data and governmental streamlining grid productivity. pressure to implement sustainable change Utilities urgently need new ways to manage are spurring a funding frenzy in new new demand and supply-side complexities, platforms and solutions. respond effectively to external pressures The global cloud analytics market size such as extreme weather events, and is projected to reach US$72.40 billion by maintain profitability while delivering resilient, the end of 2026, according to Fortune affordable, and sustainable energy for their Business Insights. It’s not just the climate customers – and the market is responding. forcing change; the increasing use of cloud Whether it’s Energize Ventures, a leading platforms in fraud detection software will global alternative investment manager that funds digital-first solutions accelerating the sustainable “ Since we first launched Energize five energy transition, closing a second fund with total capital years ago, we have seen the energy and commitments of an eyeindustrial sectors undergo a massive digital boggling $330 million, or Kevala transformation. The transition towards a recently announcing $21 more renewable and sustainable future is million in Series A funding, the figures are increasingly entering outpacing all expectations” the commercial stratosphere.

Building on the success of JOHN TOUGH its first fund, in which Energize ENERGIZE VENTURES

T

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ANALYTICS

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Get reliable network coverage and security protection, fast.

A modern network must be able to respond easily, quickly and flexibly to the growing needs of today’s digital business. Must provide visibility & control of applications, users and devices on and off the network and Intelligently direct traffic across the WAN. Be scalable and automate the process to provide new innovative services.

Support IoT devices and utilize state-of-the-art technologies such as real-time analytics, ML and AI. And all these must be provided with maximum security and minimum cost.

This is the power that brings the integration of two cloud managed platforms, Cisco Meraki and Cisco Umbrella. This integration is binding together the best of breed in cloud-managed networking and Security.

cisco.com

cisco

CiscoSecure

CiscoSecure

ANALYTICS

“ The industry is changing at the pace of technology and asset owners and operators are looking to digital solutions that can support scalability and innovation” HAEL POLSKY CEO, INVENERGY

deployed $165 million into 14 softwarebased companies serving energy and critical infrastructure sectors, it intends to invest in digital solutions with proven potential to optimise energy, critical infrastructure and sustainable industries. "Since we first launched Energize five years ago, we have seen the energy and industrial sectors undergo a massive digital transformation,” said John Tough, managing partner of Energize Ventures,

which manages more than $700 million of committed capital from a diversified set of institutional, ESG-focused, strategic and family office investors. “The transition towards a more renewable and sustainable future is outpacing all expectations, and market participants are digitising operations to address this new, emerging scale. As we continue into the next decade, we are grateful for the opportunity to partner with entrepreneurs and invest in the next-generation technologies that will shape a more sustainable tomorrow."

Michael Polsky, CEO at Invenergy, a leading global developer and operator of sustainable energy solutions and the anchor LP in both of Energize's funds, believes we are at an inflection point in the global transition to sustainable energy.

"The industry is changing at the pace of energydigital.com

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ANALYTICS

“ We believe Kevala’s platform provides critical solutions to the many stakeholders across the global energy landscape” ZULFE ALI

MANAGING PARTNER, C5 CAPITAL

technology and asset owners and operators are looking to digital solutions that can support scalability and innovation,” he said.

Kevala’s round was led by C5 Impact Partners LP (C5 Capital’s fund focused on datadriven technologies transforming critical 80

November 2021

infrastructure) and Thin Line Capital.

Additional investors in the Series A round include senior energy sector executives Tom Werner, current Chairman and former CEO of Sunpower Corp., and Mark Ferron, former California Public Utilities Commissioner.

“Kevala has a first mover advantage in providing comprehensive big data analytics on grid infrastructure,” said Zulfe Ali, Managing Partner at C5 Capital. “We’re incredibly excited to partner with the company as it expands into new markets such as cybersecurity and national security, as well as new geographies outside of the United States. We believe Kevala’s platform provides critical solutions to the many stakeholders across the global energy landscape.”

The company claims it has developed the industry’s most comprehensive and interactive cloud-based grid analytics

ANALYTICS

toolbox – the Kevala Assessor Platform – powered by public utility data as well as proprietary data.

Leveraging AI on this sweeping dataset, the platform is well positioned to help grid operators predict and plan for extreme weather events, renewable energy adoption, and increasing demand from vehicle, building and industry electrification. “With this significant support and partnership from C5 and others, we can dramatically increase the deployment of our grid analytics tools to help secure America’s infrastructure and radically decarbonise our economy at an ever– accelerating pace,” said Aram Shumavon, Kevala Founder and CEO. “Kevala’s solutions provide real time, actionable data and clear roadmaps for utilities, developers, and regulators, delivering immediate value across

News in brief C3 AI and Google Cloud have embarked on a first-of-its-kind partnership to help organisations across multiple industries accelerate their application of AI solutions.

Under the agreement, both companies' global sales teams will co-sell C3 AI's enterprise AI applications, running on Google Cloud.

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“ With the proliferation of grid-connected solar, storage, and a range of other distributed energy resources, America’s energy infrastructure is rapidly evolving” TOM WERNER

KEVALA ADVISER AND INVESTOR

the entire market. Our company intends to utilize this substantial new growth capital to expand operations across the United States, commercialise new grid analytics products and begin launching our offerings around the globe.”

The Assessor platform allows clients to process grid data, map carbon intensity of different energy sources, identify new locations for solar farms and electric vehicle charging stations, assess vulnerabilities in critical public infrastructure, and pinpoint opportunities to sustainably improve clean energy access. “With the proliferation of gridconnected solar, storage, and a range of other distributed energy resources, America’s energy infrastructure is rapidly evolving,” added Tom Werner, Kevala adviser and investor. “As the landscape grows more complex, Kevala’s tools are increasingly critical for a range of companies across the energy sector managing resources both on-site and off-site.”

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TECHNOLOGY

M MENTUM BUILDS IN L W-CARBON TECHNOL GIES WRITTEN BY: DOMINIC ELLIS

If net zero targets are to be reached, low-carbon technologies are going to play a pivotal role

T

he industrial sector is responsible for 21% of global CO2 emissions, releasing more than 9GT of CO2 per year, driven primarily by emissions from the cement, chemicals, and steel sectors.

Decarbonising the cement, steelmaking, and chemicals industries alone will cut global industrial emissions by half, but these industries are projected to continue growing for the long term.

Therein lies the challenge for the industrial sector: How can carbon neutrality be attained while meeting the increasing demand for products?

Lux's report, Decarbonisation of Industry: The Path Toward Carbon Neutrality, introduces a framework for assessing the technologies for decarbonising industry and defines the challenge that entails by categorising its carbon reduction technologies according to their complexity and ease of adoption. Decarbonisation technologies can be split into three levels of complexity:

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TECHNOLOGY

“ Our vision is to scale our carbon removal technology to gigaton scale” KEITH PRONSKE

CEO, CLEAN ENERGY SYSTEMS

TECHNOLOGY

“ Although we talk about industrial decarbonisation as a single concept, there is no monolithic solution to the industry's problem … industrial decarbonisation is realised through bit-bybit application of diverse technologies” RUNEEL DALIAH

SENIOR ANALYST, LUX RESEARCH

• Makeshift technologies reduce emissions without altering the key stages in the industrial process. These technologies decarbonise by tackling efficiency gaps, the carbon intensity of the feedstock, or the emissions released at the end of the process – the core technologies and fundamentals of the industrial process remain unchanged.

the existing industrial process flow – these changes typically include replacing thermochemical platforms with biochemical or electrochemical platforms.

"These three levels of technologies are the building blocks of industrial decarbonisation," explains Runeel Daliah, Senior Analyst at Lux Research and lead author of the report.

"Although we talk about industrial decarbonisation as a single concept, there is no monolithic solution to the industry's problem; industrial decarbonisation is realised through bit-bybit application of diverse technologies that are unique to specific industries and their core processes."

• Retrofit technologies reduce emissions by altering one or more key stages in the industrial process. These technologies decarbonise by adding or swapping core process units with new, low-carbon variants that fit within the existing process flow. The fundamentals of the industrial process, however, remain unchanged.

• Transformational technologies reduce emissions by altering the fundamentals of the industrial process. These technologies decarbonise by eliminating core incumbent process units and completely transforming energydigital.com

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Decarbonisation of industry is complex – an industrial plant requires high investment, often to the tune of billions of dollars, and is built to last several decades. As companies pledge to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, they are under significant pressure to transition from the thermochemical platforms they have been reliant on for the past three centuries to transformational technologies in just three decades.

Financial penalties on fossil-based manufacturing are not enough to support the decarbonisation of industry – incentives for the import and consumption of lowcarbon products within one's borders are also necessary for a global transition to a carbon-neutral industry.

Funding and partnerships power low-carbon prospects Clean Energy Systems (CES) recently raised $15MM in a Series A funding round led by Carbon Direct Capital Management. The funding will accelerate the first commercialscale deployment of CES technology in the carbon negative power project in Mendota,

“ We are close to a breakthrough with regard to the attributes of cement products that contain high levels of GGBFS blast furnace slag” LASSE HAPPONEN

MD, PRECAST & READY-MIX, BETOLAR

California. Carbon Direct will join CES’ board of directors.

CES is collaborating with Schlumberger New Energy, Chevron Corporation, and Microsoft to develop a carbon negative power project in Mendota, California.

The plant will convert local agricultural waste biomass into a renewable synthesis gas that will be mixed with oxygen in a combustor to generate electricity. More than 99% of the carbon from the process is expected to be captured for permanent storage by injecting CO2 underground into nearby deep geological formations.

"Our vision is to scale our carbon removal technology to gigaton scale. In the State of California, our projects mitigate pileburning of agricultural waste and permanently sequester carbon dioxide," said Keith Pronske, CEO of Clean Energy Systems.

TECHNOLOGY

© Honeywell

NE WS IN BR I EF. . .

International recently started ˚ OPTEC

production of its trailer mounted solar generators at Vista, California. The OPTEC Solar Generator is a trailer-mounted mobile generator designed to meet the off-grid generation of power.

a growing consortium ˚ AquaVentus,

comprising 70 companies, aims to develop 10GW of generation capacity for green hydrogen from offshore wind turbines in the North Sea by 2035.

and Wood have announced a ˚ Honeywell

comprehensive package of technologies

to support the effort to produce carbonneutral aviation fuel. When combined, the technologies, which are based on Honeywell's UOP Ecofining process technology and Wood's hydrogen plant technology, could reduce lifecycle GHGs by 1008% using certain feedstocks. has raised $3 million in Series Seed ˚ Thiozen

funding. The round was led by Eni Next, the venture investment vehicle of Eni S.p.A, with participation from Good Growth Capital and Mount Wilson Ventures. Thiozen is developing a solution that generates hydrogen from a highvolume industrial waste stream and water. energydigital.com

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"Carbon Direct is a leading scientific advisor and financial sponsor to carbon technology companies, and we are delighted to welcome Carbon Direct as an investor.

We look forward to ongoing collaboration with the investment team and the senior scientists at Carbon Direct."

Jonathan Goldberg, founder and CEO of Carbon Direct, said waste biomass conversion with permanent CO2 storage can remove CO2 from the atmosphere affordably and with environmental benefits.

Maire Tecnimont subsidiaries MET Development, Stamicarbon and NextChem have reached an agreement with US-based Greenfield Nitrogen, to develop the first dedicated green ammonia plant in the US Midwest.

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NextChem will start a feasibility study for the 240 metric tons per day green ammonia project utilizing green energy via the intermediate production of green hydrogen, and MET Development will assist Greenfield Nitrogen in the development of the project.

The technology for the plant will be provided by Stamicarbon, which earlier this year launched its new STAMI Green Ammonia technology.

Overcoming cement challenges Concrete is the world's most widely used construction material. However, it has significant adverse climate impacts due to the high CO2 emissions arising from the production of cement, which is used as a raw material in concrete. Lower-carbon CEM III cement products – whose use

TECHNOLOGY

“ This new solution opens up a very broad range of applications for low-carbon concrete and will improve the efficiency of the entire construction process” MIKKO ISOTALO has increased quickly, especially in Central Europe – are aimed at reducing the climate impacts of concrete.

Lujabetoni and Betolar have entered a partnership to improve the consolidation rate of low-carbon concrete manufactured from CEM III cement containing GGBFS blast furnace slag. Due to the natural attributes of blast furnace slag, early strength development is slower than with traditional technologies, which presents challenges to the construction process.

"This new solution opens up a very broad range of applications for low-carbon concrete and will improve the efficiency of the entire construction process and the feasibility of low-carbon concrete at production plants as well as construction

CEO, LUJABETONI

sites. The aim of our cooperation with Betolar is to solve this challenge and make the solution globally available," says Mikko Isotalo, CEO of Lujabetoni.

Lasse Happonen, MD, Precast & readymix at Betolar, added: "We are close to a breakthrough with regard to the attributes of cement products that contain high levels of GGBFS blast furnace slag. If we can solve the challenges associated with the structure and attributes of concrete binder, it will be possible to replace the use of traditional cement in the concrete industry. This would significantly reduce the climate impacts of the construction sector.” energydigital.com

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OFFSHORE WIND COUNTRIES WRITTEN BY: DOMINIC ELLIS

RenewableUK’s Offshore Wind Project Intelligence report shows European countries are leading the wind capacity charge 92

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N

ew research by RenewableUK’s Project Intelligence team shows that the total pipeline of offshore wind projects around the world now stands at 413GW. The pipeline includes projects which are fully operational, under construction, consented or being planned.

In terms of operational capacity, the UK retains its top spot at 10.4GW but China is catching up at 9.4GW and Germany stands at 7.7GW. Globally 35.3GW are fully operational.

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10

Other countries 68.1MW

Last year was the best year in history for the global wind industry with 93GW of new capacity installed – a 53 per cent year-onyear increase – but this growth is not sufficient to ensure the world achieves net zero by 2050. The world needs to be installing wind power three times faster over the next decade in order to stay on a net zero pathway and avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Countries outside the top nine installed 68.1MW of capacity.

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09 Vietnam 99MW

While wind makes up roughly 1% of Vietnam’s electricity production, or just 597MW, it has huge potential to grow.

The opportunity ahead is to accelerate into a phase of rapid wind power growth to meet the country’s increasing electricity demand, ensure energy security, and deliver socio-economic benefits in pursuit of a renewables-led pathway.

TOP 10

Gaomei Wetland, Taichung, Taiwan

08 Taiwan 128MW

Taiwan has emerged as a leading offshore wind market in East Asia due to its ideal conditions for wind energy and the government’s commitment to developing the industry. In January 2018, the offshore wind energy target was increased to 5.5GW by 2025, and Taiwan continues to ride the wave of its offshore success by increasing their commitment yet again to add a further 10GW of offshore wind capacity off the Asian island between 2026 and 2035.

07 Sweden 192MW

Sweden is leading the decarbonisation charge and aims to have a net-zero carbon economy by 2045 – and 100% renewable electricity production by 2040. Wind power is set to be a key element in the renewables mix; towards 2024 the accumulated installed wind power is likely to reach over 17GW.

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05

Denmark

06 Belgium 1,775MW

The figures make a significant jump as we enter the ‘big 6’. Eight offshore wind farms are currently operational in the Belgian North Sea, including Northwester 2 and SeaMade, where construction was completed in 2020.

With the rising importance of offshore wind energy in the European Green Deal and the European recovery policy, wind energy is set for further momentum.

2,306MW

As of 2019, over 47 percent of the total electricity consumption in Denmark was covered by wind power. Denmark – a pioneer in developing wind power, installing wind turbines onshore since the 1970s – is now raising its profile offshore with the ambitious Energy Islands project, which will provide 5GW capacity.

Øresund Offshore, Copenhagen, Denmark

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04

Netherlands 2,601MW

The total installed capacity of offshore wind power in the Netherlands will be around 2.5GW this year and should increase to at least 4.5GW by 2023.

The share of wind energy in the total electricity consumption has jumped from 4.6% to 8.8%.

Alpha Ventus, off the coast of Germany

03

Germany 7,675MW

Although recent reports state Germany will not add any new offshore wind turbines to the existing fleet for the first time in ten years in 2021, it remains a wind power heavyweight. It is second only to China in terms of new onshore wind capacity (42%) and pipped by the UK in terms of offshore capacity (27% of world’s installed capacity).

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China 9,433MW

China's largest offshore wind farm ready to start operations

With strong focus on solar and wind, China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) continues its leadership in renewable energy adoption. After achieving a cumulative installed capacity at 91.4 GW, China also maintains its world leadership in terms of installed wind power capacity.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has set a target for renewable energy sources to account for 30 percent of China’s electricity generation by 2020, with wind contributing 200GW of energy by 2020.

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TOP 10

UK’s largest offshore wind farm opens in 2023

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Redcar, Northeast of England

Norfolk Coast, UK

Renewables provide nearly a third of UK power and half of this is generated by from wind energy.

The UK tops the rankings in terms of operational capacity and boasts a total pipeline of 63.2GW offshore wind capacity.

United Kingdom 10,398MW

The UK has already installed around 10GW of wind power capacity offshore, enough to power the equivalent of about 7 million homes.

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