Energy Focus March 2023

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR ENERGY LEADERS

March 2023

www.energy-focus.net

Affordable, Long-Term Electricity Storage Key to Clean Energy System Exclusive interview with Elestor CEO, Guido Dalessi

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

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EDITOR Joe Forshaw  joe@energy-focus.net PROJECT MANAGER Tommy Atkinson  tommy@energy-focus.net PROJECT MANAGER Rob Fenton  rob@energy-focus.net PROJECT MANAGER David Hill  david@energy-focus.net PROJECT MANAGER Chris Bolderstone  chris@energy-focus.net PROJECT MANAGER Terry Hanley  terry@energy-focus.net PROJECT MANAGER Ekwa Bikaka  ekwa@energy-focus.net FINANCE MANAGER Isabel Murphy  isabel@energy-focus.net LEAD DESIGNER Aaron Protheroe  aaron@energy-focus.net

CONTRIBUTOR Manelesi Dumasi CONTRIBUTOR Karl Pietersen CONTRIBUTOR David Napier CONTRIBUTOR Timothy Reeder CONTRIBUTOR Benjamin Southwold CONTRIBUTOR William Denstone

EDITOR’S LETTER The ongoing transition in Europe is continuing unabated and, finally, is showing some real signs of positivity. In terms of new market sectors and new skills, the emerging battery storage space looks set to achieve its potential as the crucial link between renewable generation and green energy rollout.

UK Power Networks is busy preparing its large system across the southeast of England for an electrification the likes of which have never been seen before as it facilitates the uptake of EVs. In this part of the country, the appetite for decarbonising transport is fierce.

SMS - the installer, maintainer and owner smart meters - has a battery storage division that is quickly growing and adding more capacity to its impressive portfolio. MD John Flaherty is buoyant about the company’s opportunities as it completed exciting new projects.

Norco Group is growing across the Middle East and bringing battery engineering solutions that have been honed over a three-decade history - MD Ryan Sharp explains more about a deep history in the sector and his excitement going forward.

The battery value chain is a challenging one and there remains a skills shortage - an issue that will hamper the EV rollout. But Avant Future Mobility is ensuring the right people end up in the right places as the talent partner of the industry. MD Richard Surridge explains more about the importance of connecting people through strong networks.

And Dutch powerhouse Elestor is taking battery storage to a whole new level with its amazing hydrogen-bromine battery which will store energy with extraordinary efficiency. CEO Guido Dalessi explains more about the award-winning innovation.

Published by Chris Bolderstone – General Manager E. chris@cmb-multimedia.co.uk Fuel Studios, Kiln House, Pottergate, Norwich NR2 1DX +44 (0) 1603 855 161 www.cmb-media.co.uk CMB Media Group does not accept responsibility for omissions or errors. The points of view expressed in articles by attributing writers and/or in advertisements included in this magazine do not necessarily represent those of the publisher. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this magazine, no legal responsibility will be accepted by the publishers for loss arising from use of information published. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrievable system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher. © CMB Media Group Ltd 2022

Clearly, now is the time to explore the missing links in the energy mix of tomorrow to discover opportunities for first mover advantage while achieving net zero at the same time. Tell us what your company is doing to further the energy transition, we’re online at LinkedIn.

Joe Forshaw EDITOR

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CONTENTS 6 ELESTOR Affordable, Long-Term Electricity Storage Key to Clean Energy System GRID SCALE ENERGY STORAGE 12 SMS Powerful BESS Owner and Operator Fuels UK Growth ENERGY STORAGE 22 CENTRICA Unlocking Economic Opportunity Stored in Energy Transition POWER 32 ECLIPSE An Agile Independent Network Alternative GROUP 38 NORCO Independent Electrical Energy Experts FAIRY 46 CHARGE Nobody Left Behind in Move to EV FUTURE MOBILITY 54 AVANT Experience the Power of Connecting People UTILITIES 60 WAVE Keeping Business Flowing, Sustainably 4 / www.energy-focus.net

HELICOPTERS 68 LEONARDO Inventive Leonardo Develops New Capability MARINE SA 78 MACKAY Dynamic Mackay Positions for a Steady Course of Growth ARCHITECTS INTERNATIONAL 86 DSA DSA Is Dedicated to Doing More With Less 2023 92 CERAWEEK Security, Affordability, Transition – Energy Trilemma in the Spotlight POWER NETWORKS 104 UK Network Fit for a Net Zero Future 112 QATARENERGY Assets, Know-How and Experience to Drive the Transition

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ELESTOR Affordable, Long-Term Electricity Storage

Key to Clean Energy System PRODUCTION: Rob Fenton

Dutch electricity storage company Elestor achieved a double victory at the latest Offshore Wind Innovators Awards. Its revolutionary long-duration flow battery technology, which facilitates safe large-scale electricity storage at a fraction of the cost of traditional batteries, secured the winning votes from both the awards audience and the official jury of leading industry professionals.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: ELECTRICITY STORAGE

the technologies to harvest their energy.

All we need to complete the puzzle is low-cost electricity storage,” says Dalessi.

Guido Dalessi, CEO

//

Wowed by Elestor’s vision and ambition, as well as by its unique ability to help deliver a much-needed energy transition away from polluting fossils fuel power plants, the two juries at the Offshore Wind Innovators Awards 2022 were in full agreement. Elestor has developed a praiseworthy electricity storage solution that will help deliver a new, clean energy system.

“Elestor convinces with feasibility and entrepreneurship,” the jury stated, describing Elestor as ‘the most credible entry’.

“The organisation is already robust, and Elestor is well advanced in the development of the flow battery with bromine and hydrogen and the practical applicability has been proven.

“This is an innovative application of the flow battery, which can help accelerate offshore wind extraction.”

The juries agreed that what Elestor has created is nothing less than the enabling technology for a

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100% clean energy system, explains CEO Guido Dalessi. “There was little doubt in their minds when they awarded us both the awards.”

This new energy system will be powered by renewables and supported by storage that balances supply with demand. It is closer to becoming reality than one might think. “The sun and the wind are powerful enough, and so are

AVAILABLE POWER To reach climate targets and to reduce pollution more broadly, fossil-fuel power plants will progressively be shut down in the years and decades ahead. As a consequence, society’s dependency on intermittent energy sources, such as solar and wind power, will dramatically increase - unless we can find a robust and affordable way to deliver electricity to users even when it is dark and the weather is calm.

“Long-duration electricity storage offers the solution everyone is looking for, as it guarantees continuous availability of electricity, irrespective of when the electrical energy is generated,” says Dalessi.

Elestor’s breakthrough flow battery stores electricity safely and affordably.

Unlike conventional batteries, it can do this for days rather than just hours. And, crucially, it does so at highly competitive levelized costs.

“Cutting the cost of electricity storage is our mission,” says Dalessi.

“Only the storage technology that offers operational costs low enough to create an attractive return on investment has sufficient leverage to facilitate and drive the energy transition.”

Continues on page 10

The Hydrogen Bromine Flow Battery • Ultra low storage costs (LCoS) • Power [MW] and Energy [MWh] not coupled • Electrolyser & Fuel Cell with 1 single membrane • Abundant available H2 & Br2 • 100% reversible (dis)charge chemical reaction • Extremely long lifetime : designed for 25 years • 100% Depth of Discharge w/o affecting lifetime • No self discharge

Unique property: Integration of electricity storage and hydrogen infrastructures FIND OUT MORE E-mail: info@elestor.nl Phone: +31 88 353 78 67 www.elestor.nl

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// LONG-DURATION ELECTRICITY STORAGE OFFERS THE SOLUTION EVERYONE IS LOOKING FOR, AS IT GUARANTEES CONTINUOUS AVAILABILITY OF ELECTRICITY, IRRESPECTIVE OF WHEN THE ELECTRICAL ENERGY IS GENERATED // Continued from page 8 PROFITABLE POWER Both the wind and the solar power sectors are crying out for affordable electricity storage solutions. To meet this challenge, Elestor has developed a triple cost reduction strategy that delivers unrivalled levelized costs.

“This changes storage from a pure cost factor into viable business cases that have the potential to deliver significant profits to operators,” observes Dalessi.

One clear business case is based around battery-charging when there is a surplus of wind or solar energy. During such energy generation peaks, electricity prices are low. Indeed, sometimes the electricity is free, sometimes the solar and wind companies pay to get rid of it, so the price is negative.

The electricity that is stored during these peaks can then be returned to the power grid when demand exceeds generation capacity and prices are high.

Instances when generation capacity exceeds demand will become more frequent as the offshore energy sector approaches its goal of generating 21 GW of offshore wind energy from the North Sea by 2030, and as the solar panel boom continues unabated.

AFFORDABLE POWER Elestor’s secret sauce is made up of low-cost and abundant active materials, namely hydrogen and bromine, a compact cell that is easily manufactured, and a patented, simplified system design.

“We have chosen hydrogen and bromine in part because it enabled us to build a storage system with the lowest possible storage costs per kWh,” explains Dalessi.

Both are plentiful elements readily available around the world, and their deployment results in significant savings over the likes of lithium, cobalt, or vanadium. Through a bromine and hydrogen chemical reaction within a membrane stack, flow batteries can produce mass output with little or no degradation.

“We also chose these materials because their abundance and low cost make it possible and affordable to scale incredibly quickly, which will be essential as we begin to speed up the energy transition.” According to the Offshore Wind Innovators Awards jury: “that scalability is a big plus.”

The increasing focus on hydrogen as a clean energy carrier has been well publicised and is widely supported by both governments

and the corporate sector, but the role bromine will play in the energy transition is only now becoming clear.

“Our expertise in bromine handling is already being used by developers of bromine-based energy storage systems around the globe,” according to Dr. Alfred Grissinger, Sales & Market Development Manager of ICL Industrial Products, the world’s largest producer of elemental bromine. The pair now form a formidable partnership to work in close cooperation to advance innovation in the energy storage market.

That demand is set to rise sharply in years to come, not least because both policy makers and companies, wherever they are in the world, appreciate the fact that bromine is extracted from sea water. In other words, bromine is available everywhere, which in turn means no country will depend on another, whether economically or politically, to secure supplies.

The pill is further sweetened by the volume of global bromine reserves, estimated to be about 100 trillion tons, and by the fact that bromine extraction is both eco-friendly with zero ground water pollution, and humanfriendly as there are no harsh labour conditions involved in its extraction.

SOCIETAL IMPACT Innovation is at the core and in the blood of Elestor, dating right back to its provision of the first hydrogen bromine cell in June 2014, observes Wiebrand Kout, Founder and CTO. By way of an example, consider how Elestor developed a system where the heat generated during the flow battery’s charge and discharge

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ELESTOR

processes can be captured and used for other purposes. “By recovering this energy, the overall efficiency of Elestor’s flow battery is significantly increased,” Kout explains.

Equally important is the grand vision. “When we think about batteries, we think big, in every sense of the word,” he declares. “Not only have we designed our batteries to be as big as or even larger than houses, indeed, greater than warehouses, in order to deal with vast loads of electricity. We have also designed them to have a tremendous impact.”

Elestor firmly believes that its technology has enormous potential and that it will revolutionise the entire energy system.

“Elestor’s large-scale, low-cost, robust and scalable electricity storage technology will make it both affordable and technically possible to quickly decarbonise our economy,” Dalessi says.

“In turn, then, as the energy system is at the core of pretty much everything we do in modern society, this transition will affect all industries and everyone’s lives.

“The energy transition will see Elestor and other climate technology companies create new jobs, deliver economic growth and generate financial returns for investors.”

As an example of this, Elestor aims to create dozens of new jobs by the end of 2024 as it trebles its current staff count to more than 100 people.

“Moreover,” adds Elestor’s Chief Operational Officer Hylke van Bennekom, “these are exactly the kind of jobs that many people want.

“We have the wind in our sails

Wiebrand Kout, Founder and CTO, receiving the Offshore Wind Innovators Award

because we make a climate-friendly product and because we as a team can play an important role in the energy transition,” he says.

“It comes as no surprise, therefore, that we are approached by a lot of people who currently work in the fossil fuel sector and who are now looking for a job with more meaning. We believe that our batteries will completely replace fossil power stations. That vision is appealing to many of them.”

But beyond the creation of the green jobs society wants, the broader impact will be greater still, Dalessi predicts. “With a new, clean energy

// THE SUN AND THE WIND ARE POWERFUL ENOUGH, AND SO ARE THE TECHNOLOGIES TO HARVEST THEIR ENERGY. ALL WE NEED TO COMPLETE THE PUZZLE IS LOW-COST ELECTRICITY STORAGE //

system, we can tackle the impending climate crisis, deliver clean air in our cities, and reduce our dependency on Russian oil and gas,” he says.

“The energy transition is therefore about much more than a hugely important environmental journey. We are also creating an energy system that is robust and resilient, that in addition to reducing the impact of harmful events in nature also insulates us from harmful geopolitical forces.

“We are taking part in the development of a new, clean energy system that will be democratic, inclusive and people-focused. It will curb volatile market forces and bring stability to both companies and households.

In the end, this will make it possible for us all to pull together and create a better world for everyone.”

WWW.ELESTOR.NL

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SMS GRID SCALE ENERGY STORAGE

Powerful BESS Owner

and Operator Fuels UK Growth PRODUCTION: Tommy Atkinson

By developing and managing battery energy storage systems, SMS is assisting the UK’s sustainable drive to Net Zero, embracing and enabling renewable energy but, crucially, helping to balance the grid during periods of intermittent supply. MD at SMS Grid Scale Energy Storage, John Flaherty talks to Energy Focus about recent successes for this important and growing company.

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John Flaherty, Managing Director

INDUSTRY FOCUS: ELECTRICITY STORAGE

//

Critically essential but unfortunately underappreciated, battery storage is the vital missing link between usable energy in homes and businesses and modern renewable generating capacity. Discussed less than the major windfarms that now stand around the world, or the shining solar panels that sit across rooftops and open land, batteries provide the flexibility that a renewable energy system of the future will depend on.

When the sun isn’t shining and the wind doesn’t blow, batteries will be the source of energy, endlessly collecting during peak generating hours and then discharging in hours of peak demand. Bidirectional and grid scale, storage of this kind is much less developed than the infrastructure that feeds it, and this is a problem.

In the UK – a world leader in the

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space – progress is being made and innovation is rife. But battery storage is still a developing market and building this industry is part of a wider mix of solutions for a vast problem. Without battery storage, there would be a need

for a complete, societal change in lifestyle to decarbonise while increasing electricity consumption – not feasible.

At the centre of a problem-solving community is Smart Metering Systems (SMS). As a group, SMS is headquartered

SMS GRID SCALE ENERGY STORAGE

// WE HAVE TO BRIDGE THE GAP AND MANAGE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FORECAST DEMAND AND AVAILABLE GENERATION // in Glasgow and was established in 1995. The company has a large and strong historical business in the energy industry as an installer and owner of smart meters that display household or business property energy usage in real time, in monetary values. This data provides opportunities to make savings and reductions but more imnportantly enable a much smarter grid. But today, SMS is much more than this and is

positioning itself as a key provider and enabler of decarbonisation across the economy, from battery storage to EV charging, to multi utility integration.

John Flaherty, MD at SMS Grid Scale Energy Storage, tells Energy Focus about the nature of his division – home to a team of engineers with a quarter century experience in design, supply, installation, operation, maintenance, and optimisation of battery energy

storage systems (BESS) - and why it is quickly growing in significance.

“There is a gap between renewable generation and demand,” he says of a changing sector, where thermal power plants are being replaced by greener alternatives. “We have been able to forecast demand easily - there is a spike in the morning as people get up and get ready for work, there is then steady usage throughout the day followed by a significant jump in the evening as people get home from work but industry continues working. That has been the case for a long time and gas, coal, and nuclear can be informed about turning up

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: ELECTRICITY STORAGE

// WITH THE ENERGISATION OF OUR FIRST STORAGE SITE, AND THREE MORE PROJECTS DUE TO COME ONLINE IN RELATIVELY QUICK SUCCESSION, OUR AMBITIONS FOR LEADING THE GROWTH OF THIS FASTEMERGING SECTOR COULDN’T BE MUCH CLEARER //

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to manage that well in advance.”

Introducing modern renewable sources to the system brings positives around carbon emission reductions but also creates challenges including unpredictability and intermittency.

Here, innovative battery systems are the only viable solution.

“You lose the ability to match generation and demand perfectly,” admits Flaherty. “We have to bridge the gap and manage the difference between forecast demand and available generation so that the National Grid can deliver what is required. Part of that is ensuring that there is back up if a power station was to break down or there was some sort of failure. Batteries play a critical role in those really testing periods – typically the peaks. But the testing periods will be when generation is out of sync with demand and that will

be during the day as we switch from thermal to renewable generation.”

‘Grid scale’ means SMS is focussed on stabilising and balancing the grid, while also providing a layer of protection but, crucially, doing so at regional and national scale.

Right now, the company has a firm pipeline of 860MW of BESS projects and aims to deliver 1500MW by 2030, 10% market share in the UK, and a commitment to sustainability encapsulated in the SMS group target of Net Zero operations by 2030.

It is the provision of flexibility in the grid which makes the SMS offering so appealing. “We are very much behind the need for flexibility in the system so that everything else can happen. We are not a wind and solar Continues on page 18

INDUSTRY FOCUS: ELECTRICITY STORAGE

Continued from page 16 constructor and owner, but flexibility is in our wheelhouse,” says Flaherty.

“We can adapt as the market changes, depending on the needs that happen to be around at that time. We are doing it now at large grid scale but we also acquired an aggregator so that we can do it at smaller scale. It’s present across the business and flexibility is at the core.”

POSITIVE PROGRESS In February 2021, SMS announced the start of construction of a 50MW BESS in Burwell, Cambridgeshire. The system is made up of lithium-ion batteries which store power from renewable sources including wind and solar. Energised by SMS in January 2022, the site in Burwell became one of the largest BESS projects in the country, with the ability to serve thousands of homes with power.

In the same year, construction began at a similar project in Barnsley,

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South Yorkshire. This 40MW project was delivered in January 2023, providing grid flexibility and balancing at an important time of year with cold weather and gas shortages. At the same time, SMS also announced the completion and operation of a third site – a 50MW project close to Ipswich, Suffolk. The projects in South Yorkshire and Suffolk are home to lithium-ion batteries capable of storing enough electricity to power 40,000 UK homes.

“With the energisation of our first three storage sites, and three more projects already under construction, our ambitions for leading the growth of this fast-emerging sector couldn’t be much clearer,” Flaherty said. “Our batteries will play a significant role in improving the integration of renewables and help bolster system resilience as we come to rely on clean energy generation. Such benefits are central to reaching net zero emissions, and our aim as a business is to deploy the

low-carbon assets required at scale to achieve that goal as soon as possible.

“Alongside decarbonisation, energy security is one of the key challenges facing the UK’s transition to a net zero economy, and battery storage is a linchpin technology on both of these critical fronts. Storing energy so it can be used later to meet demand, when and where it is most needed, is not just essential for increasing domestic generation of cheaper renewable energy, but also for enhancing the reliability and resilience of our grid as we move to a lowcarbon system,” Flaherty highlighted.

“By investing in and developing grid-scale storage capacity, as SMS is doing, Britain can finally wean itself off fossil fuel imports and achieve true energy independence. Through our pipeline of energy storage projects, to be delivered over the Continues on page 20

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Continued from page 18 coming years, we’re proud to be helping make energy in the UK more sustainable, secure, and affordable today, and for generations to come.”

SMS CEO, Tim Mortlock, agreed saying: “The case for battery storage and the wider benefits they deliver to the grid is undoubted. When operational, our batteries will play an important role in improving the adoption of cleaner, lower-cost renewables and help bolster system resilience as we come to rely on more intermittent forms of generation. An increased capacity of batteries on the grid will, in many ways, also contribute to a more affordable energy system for consumers. These benefits are central pillars of the Government’s Net-Zero 2050 target, and our business strategy is to deliver the network of low-carbon assets needed to reach that goal as soon as possible.”

FUTURE PROOFING The National Grid’s Future Energy Scenarios (FES) report 2022 found that total UK energy storage requirement by

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2030 (excluding vehicle to grid (V2G)) increased by 7.2GW (from 2021) to 18.7GW, of which 14.1GW is expected to come from batteries. Total UK energy storage requirement by 2050 (excluding V2G) increased by 5.1GW (from 2021) to 38GW, of which 26.2GW is expected to come from batteries.

While this is good news for market leaders like SMS, it also highlights a significant amount of work to do as electrification and pressure to decarbonise increases. Alongside work in the EV charging space and development of a Demand Flexibility Service, BESS projects feed into a larger sustainability promise across the SMS group, highlighted in the company’s purpose – serving our customers, protecting the environment, and also in the SMS vision - to be at the heart of the low-carbon, smart energy revolution.

“Storage is fundamental to the company’s goals,” states Flaherty, an industry veteran, with experience across a range of energy and financial organisations. “We have the history and scale, and we entered storage because it ticked a lot of boxes. It was a natural

way for us to continue growing and a way to utilise skills in the business that were otherwise externally focussed.

We had a lot of high- and mediumvoltage engineers that were wholly focussed on transactional jobs who are now helping us build a fleet of assets to own and operate in storage.”

The company’s vision is to deliver the future of smart energy and its work to date shows that this is a realistic vision and not an unachievable fantasy created to satisfy a report.

“We have a visibly growing and highly successful grid scale storage part of the company. We are growing and building EV charging infrastructure.

And we have a variety of commercial and domestic propositions that are in early stages but if they were mainstream, people struggling with domestic energy bills right now would be significantly better off if national and local policy had been more encouraging prior to the energy crisis.

“There is an environmental angle, there is a social responsibility angle, the decarbonisation of businesses and transportation, and reducing bills – our

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work fits into it all,” confirms Flaherty.

This has been recognised by industry peers with SMS claiming notable accolades in recent times. In December 2022, the company was lauded with the ‘Net Zero Leaders’ prize at The Energy Live News Consultancy Awards (TELCA) 2022. This prize is awarded to energy businesses which make an outstanding contribution to the UK’s national net zero carbon emissions objectives, as well as the low-carbon goals of clients.

In November 2022, Tech Nation – a climate technology scale up organisation previously backed by the UK government – labelled SMS as one of nine climate tech unicorns (a start up with a valuation of over $1 billion).

Alongside others in the sector, Tech

Nation described SMS as a driver of the smarter, greener, and more affordable energy system of the future, powered by innovation. The company also received recognition from the London Stock Exchange, through its Green Economy Mark, for its contribution to climate change mitigation.

“We are a cradle to grave business.

We self-develop sites, we trade them ourselves, and we own them forever.

We are looking for scale and will be a major player in this space for the long term in line with our overall business model,” says Flaherty of the company’s all-encompassing, long-term approach.

With a lot of energy and enthusiasm going into ideas around renewable energy generation and much planning going into carbon

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emission reduction technology and systems, the all-important network that backs everything up remains tied to storage capability, and this is why the problem-solving work of SMS – although sometimes underappreciated – is more vital than ever before.

“SMS is committed to being a leader in this space. The ability to design, deliver, operate, and optimise is within the business already and for that reason we are set to succeed,” concludes Flaherty.

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CENTRICA ENERGY STORAGE

Unlocking Economic Opportunity

Stored in Energy Transition PRODUCTION: Tommy Atkinson

Project rollout is required if the energy transition is to accelerate and tackle the problems around significant carbon emissions in the UK’s industrial heartlands. Centrica Energy Storage is reopening the Rough gas storage facility and experimenting with new technologies, bringing innovation and development to Yorkshire and the Humber with the hope that energy transition investment will follow for the benefit of the whole country.

Managing Director, Martin Scargill talks to Energy Focus about speedy progress.

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Martin Scargill, Managing Director

INDUSTRY FOCUS: INFRASTRUCTURE

//

In October 22, Centrica announced that it would reopen the Rough gas storage facility following a period of engineering work and upgrades to existing infrastructure. Closed for storage in 2017 and converted for gas production, Rough was said to be uneconomical, requiring significant investment to extend its useful life. But following significant investment, and the emergence of an energy crisis and pricing disaster, Rough returns as the largest UK gas storage facility, bolstering the UK’s capacity by over 50%.

Currently, the facility is operating at 20% of its capacity, storing around 30 billion bcf of gas for use by UK homes and businesses. 19 miles off the coast of East Yorkshire, in the UK North Sea, Rough’s current mission is to provide stabilisation and security as energy markets reel from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Importantly, Centrica is looking at the long-term. It’s subsidiary Centrica Energy Storage has bold plans for Rough to become a hydrogen

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storage site and clean energy hub – the largest long-duration energy storage facility in Europe – as it works towards a net zero goal.

Martin Scargill, Managing Director at CSL, tells Energy Focus more about the challenges and opportunities that are quickly materialising – especially in the UK’s north east – as projects including the reopening of Rough are ramping up to solve the energy crisis and deliver on net zero.

“Centrica’s People and Planet Plan looks to achieve a net zero operation by 2045 and help our customers to get to net zero by 2050,” he says. “We are looking at hydrogen predominantly, in the Humber initially, and then broadening out what we’ve been doing in the energy transition space to other hubs in the UK, potentially exporting what we do further afield.

“We will be net zero by 2045 at the latest and we are supporting, promoting and delivering energy transition projects right now. We are the biggest energy retailer in the UK and we want to help everyone get to net zero as quickly as possible while aligning with our

customers and our purpose of helping everyone to live simply, sustainably, and affordably – that is what we’re all about.”

REVITALISED ROUGH In the short-term, reopening Rough will allow the UK to increase its gas storage levels dramatically. Previously, the country was storing around six days of gas compared to 103 days in France and 123 in the Netherlands.

Storing cheap gas for use during peak demand (especially in the winter) is an essential part of tackling the energy crisis. Now, Rough holds enough gas for around 100 days of heating for one million average UK homes.

Long-duration energy storage (LDES) has been highlighted by a number of sources as key in the longer-term transition, and Rough will play a role in this space. The desire to decarbonise the energy system has been put in place with a 2035 goal, and the National Grid Future Energy System Scenarios report suggests that a range of hydrogen storage solutions could offer between 12 and 56TWhs by 2050 – Rough could

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provide at least 10TWhs of this.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy report on the benefits of LDES from July 2022 concluded: “Longer duration storage solutions reduce net zero system costs by between £13bn and £24bn”, and “the largest savings arise when flexibility is delivered through a combination of hydrogen storage and hydrogen CCGTs”.

Eventually, when the market is stable and the industry is comfortable, progressing Rough towards hydrogen storage will begin. The process and technology, while complicated, is

To find out more visit exolum.com

proven. There are different methods including injecting hydrogen into salt caverns, pushing into porous rock in depleted oil and gas fields, mixing with a liquid carrier such as ammonia and storing deep in a lined rock cavern, or injecting directly into a lined rock cavern in the form of gaseous or liquid hydrogen. Innovative engineering is required, and Centrica can deliver. The crucial element is developing a market, creating a financially viable system, and connecting important players.

Scargill is buoyant about the opportunities and the potential for

// WE HAVE HUGE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES IN THE UK IN TERMS OF OUR OFFSHORE OPERATION AND OUR GEOGRAPHY, WITH ABILITY TO STORE HYDROGEN AND ROLLOUT CCUS //

hydrogen rollout in the UK, and he is keen to see this start onshore, close to Rough, in Yorkshire and the Humber region – the UK’s largest cluster by industrial emissions.

“The potential is massive,” he highlights. “We have taken energy security for granted in the UK for too long. Things have worked in a time while there has been relative geopolitical stability. We have been able to freely import and export, and everyone was friendly. The UK has benefited from that in running a JustIn-Time energy system. Bills have been cheaper because less infrastructure has gone on to the consumer bill. In times where things are less friendly and the supply of gas is less available, and you have to pay a premium as you are competing, that’s when things like Rough storage become so important.

It has been a jewel in the crown of the

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: INFRASTRUCTURE

UK’s energy industry, balancing the grid for 30 years. Shutting it down was a decision that was not taken lightly, and we need to learn the lessons from this crisis and start thinking 50 years ahead, not 50 weeks ahead.”

In the past two years, policy makers have been forced into thinking about more of a Just-In-Case system, not only because of the RussiaUkraine situation, but also because of the importing nature of the UK’s structure, contending in an open market with other nations and dealing with the increased variability of a supply and demand as we move to

a more renewables-based system.

For Scargill, returning the UK to energy exporter status would have major macroeconomic benefits and that is why reopening Rough, and planning for a hydrogen future are essential.

“We have huge competitive advantages in the UK in terms of our offshore industry and our geography, with ability to store green electricity as hydrogen and rollout carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS). Other countries don’t have this,” he states.

“We should be thinking seriously about becoming an energy exporter and using assets like Rough which nature

has given us in the UK. When the sun is shining and the wind is blowing hard on a holiday weekend in August, instead of wasting that precious renewable energy, we can store it as hydrogen when it is being produced at its absolute cheapest, we should be putting it away somewhere and exporting it around the world. We have the vision, we need to turn ambition into reality and get on with these projects with a view to become energy-independent and energy-exporting, changing the fuel type from natural gas to hydrogen.”

Continues on page 28

A DEDICATION TO SAFETY AND QUALITY AT ALL STAGES FROM CONCEPT TO COMPLETION We provide specialist project management, design, fabrication, installation, and decommissioning services to a range of blue-chip clients in the oil, gas, power generation, nuclear, renewables, and petrochemical industries.

We are based in Hull at a purpose-built, three-acre site ideally located on the UK East Coast. Our state-of-the-art workshops give us the capability to carry out a full range of pipework fabrication and erection, and mechanical services with procedures in place covering all grades of carbon steel, stainless steel, duplex, super duplex, nickel and copper nickel alloys. Our investment in modern facilities also gives us the capacity to offer a full range of project management, design, procurement, and support services, allowing us to offer the complete industry-ready solution.

Our 60,000 square foot fabrication facility and office space are close to the UK rail and road network, and our proximity to the deep-water berths at the port of Hull gives us superb access to the North Sea. Humberside International Airport and heliport are only 30 minutes from our site.

OUR FACILITIES • 4 no. fabrication workshops (general and controlled exotics)

• 3 acres hard standing and module yard • 5,000 square foot modern offices

• 40,000 square foot total workshop space

• Separate client inspection offices

• 2 x 10 tonne overhead crane

• Adjacent rail loading facilities

• 2 x 5 tonne overhead crane

• Segregated hydro testing facility

• 3 no. full height lifting doors

• Independent cutting and prep unit

We offer a complete solution, with a hands-on approach from concept to completion to ensure that the service we deliver is tailored to each of our client’s needs. Our highly experienced team provides a professional service at each stage of the project, from the procurement and manufacturing stages to the final handover.

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• Pipework Fabrication & Installation, Structural Steel, Pipe Support Fabrication & Installation • Project Management, Supervision, HSE, QA/QC • On-Site Construction/Demolition • Site Maintenance & Commissioning Support • Joint Integrity Management • In House CSWIP Welding Inspectors

50 years+

Based in the

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• Supply of Labour: Welders, Pipefitters, Platers, Riggers, AP, Instrument & Mechanical Fitters • Material and Equipment Procurement • Pressure Testing • Management of Subcontractors i.e. E&I, Civils, Insulation

INDUSTRY FOCUS: INFRASTRUCTURE

Continued from page 26 In the recent Skidmore review, Scargill was delighted that the importance of re-opening Rough got a mention on page 68, and that the longer term conversion to hydrogen was also called out on page 107, specifically highlighting as a key recommendation: “Deliver transport and storage business models as soon as feasibly possible and take a pragmatic approach to support key ‘no regrets’ transport and storage projects.

Scargill says Rough is one such project and the UK cannot take the risk of getting left behind given the recent Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the US, and the EU’s fit for 55 programme.

“Investment in hydrogen will go to the country most committed to it,” he says.

HYDROGEN FUTURE? In 2021, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) published a paper confirming results of modern research highlighting hydrogen as a replacement for fossil fuels (in some cases) as the

28 / www.energy-focus.net

EU looks to achieve the goals set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Today, most hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels and generation levels would need to shift significantly. With most major economies researching hydrogen production capability in some form, the potential to use the element for decarbonising becomes clearer. In the UK, Centrica is taking an optimistic stance.

“Hydrogen is a nascent market – there is no demand,” says Scargill.

“How do you get businesses to invest switching their fuel to hydrogen?

Currently, there is only hydrogen production in refineries and there is limited ambition to deploy hydrogen as people worry about how much it costs. It has to become cost competitive with other fuels.”

In November 22, Centrica penned an agreement with Equinor to explore large scale, low-carbon hydrogen production at the Easington Gas Terminal – the connection site for Rough and right in the middle of the UK biggest industrial cluster. The area has the ability to receive up to one third of

the country’s total gas supply with much coming from Norway and Equinor. The site is also close to a number of the world’s largest offshore wind farms which have the potential to generate large amounts of green hydrogen.

Eventually, the vision is to produce up over 1GW of low-carbon hydrogen at Easington, a mix of blue and green.

“There are a number of challenges, but we look at it as an opportunity,” smiles Scargill. “We want to move fast and there is a lot of positive talk about the energy transition but not a lot of projects getting off the ground yet.

One of the challenges is how to break the dependency on fossil fuels because they are very efficient. Anything you compare fossil fuels to – hydrogen or anything else – there is a cost. The cost of burning and discharging carbon into the atmosphere is not fully priced into the supply of energy. That is the biggest challenge as you have to get people to want to commit to spending money on moving to a net zero future – particularly during an energy crisis, this is really tough. Some people have retrenched and moved back into fossil fuels as they think about energy security and sovereignty at this point in time.

The biggest challenge we see are the barriers to wide scale uptake and desire to move to cleaner energy,” he says, adding that this responsibility must be shared with the wider industry as well as government as a driver of change.

Most scientists and researchers have suggested that the future of hydrogen as an energy source is limitless. “It is only limited by political ambition,” states Scargill.

Within Centrica, and across the UK energy space, there is deep knowledge and experience – itself a proven exportable product. And despite negative sentiment around the oil and gas industry because of its association with carbon intensive nature, the skills in the industry are where solutions will come from, says Scargill – a Centrica and energy industry veteran of more than three decades.

CENTRICA ENERGY STORAGE

“There are transferable skills, there are companies doing great things, and we have the supply chain to deliver a world leading hydrogen economy of the size that is only limited by ambition,” he beams. “We need to be leading in hydrogen as a country, and we need to become cost competitive through scale. Decarbonising the country’s industrial heartlands starting with a cluster strategy works, but that shouldn’t be the limit of hydrogen’s reach. We have had many high-profile politicians visit our assets – opposition leader, Sir Kier Starmer just a year ago – and our message there was think big on hydrogen. Look at oil and gas – go anywhere around the world and you will find Aberdeen or Newcastle grown skills on every single project. We want to ensure we become an exporter of skills, knowledge, technology, and everything

that goes along with it when it comes to hydrogen. The opportunity is huge.”

DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP Centrica Energy Storage (CES) is responsible for the Rough offshore storage facility comprising of five offshore platforms. The Easington Terminal is also part of the CES portfolio, receiving gas from Rough, York and Tolmount fields in the UK North Sea. Other net zero focus areas include zero carbon electricity generation through a stake in the UK’s existing nuclear fleet; 15GW of low carbon generation under management; de-carbonising commercial and industrial clusters (Centrica’s Business Solutions team) with solar, battery and small-scale hydrogen generation for combined heat and power units (CHPs); conversion of residential homes to hydrogen through

our participation in hydrogen village trials. Centrica’s family of businesses are working across all value chains to decarbonise its customers.

Always guided by its vision and purpose of helping customers to achieve a net zero future, the group and company will continue to explore exciting opportunities that have the potential to bring change.

“We are looking at taking more positions in low carbon hydrogen and zero carbon electricity generation.

We are not wind asset owners but we have a huge trading operation with over 15 GW of low carbon electricity under management and growing. We are a big player and everything we do is designed to help our customers get to a net zero future,” details Scargill.

“We have a lot of projects in the pipeline,” he continues. “Everywhere

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: INFRASTRUCTURE

you look there are opportunities in the energy transition, right from big infrastructure stuff to support the Humber and other industrial clusters in decarbonising, things like gigawatt hydrogen production, hydrogen storage and export to Europe, right through to transportation, trading, commercial and domestic usage. We have a huge array of projects and if we can make a success of them then we could have the ambition

// IN THE UK, THE INTENT IS GOOD AND WORLD LEADING IN TERMS OF THE TARGETS. HOWEVER, THE PROJECTS ARE NOT GETTING OFF THE GROUND AND INVESTORS ARE NOT SEEING BANKABLE OPPORTUNITY //

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to move them overseas as well.”

Already strong in Ireland, and with solid partnerships in Europe, Centrica forms part of a wider industry that is pushing boundaries.

“We are very integrated as a family of businesses and we see Centrica as a number of different business units that work individually, but when you bring them together you have real power to make a difference,” highlights Scargill. “We don’t advocate just hydrogen or just electrification – we think there will be a requirement for a blend. We think we need to electrify as much as possible but in hydrogen we will have to fill the gap that is left in the hard to abate sectors such as energy intensive industry, joining the dots between electrification, weather patterns, storage, transportation, smoothing out intermittency with renewables, and more.”

But even with the power of big business in play, there are always hurdles to overcome. For CES and its net zero vision, the challenges are macro and require investment, vision, and action. In a UK economy battling through recession and coming out of an unprecedented

period after the pandemic, against a backdrop of war involving a major energy nation, generating the required will is the difficulty.

“In the UK, the intent is good and world leading in terms of the targets. However, the projects are not getting off the ground and investors are not seeing bankable opportunity.

There is a real risk of being left behind as others around the world race to de-carbonise,” says Scargill.

“Do we have the supply chain strength, do we have the skills, do we have everything else we need to deliver projects?” he questions. “The spend on energy infrastructure projects in the UK sits at around £10 billion on average, and it needs to ramp up to £50 billion a year and stay there for 20 years so that we can achieve net zero by 2050. How do you ramp up an economy to deliver that when you have just gone through a pandemic and are in recession and an energy crisis – it is a big challenge.”

More can be done in the acceleration of an energy transition, according to a recent report on the Humber region specifically. The net zero review from former Energy Minister, Chris Skidmore found that businesses and industry are open to change and ready to embrace new technology and processes, with steps available right now. Onshore wind and solar installations, using infrastructure alongside financial incentives and tax benefits, as well as a plethora of other support schemes must be adopted quickly so that the area can become an exemplar in the energy transition.

“We are starting to invest. We think it’s just a matter of time,” says Scargill.

“To meet our customer’s needs, we need clean energy; reliable, affordable, and secure energy sources.

In getting there, there is benefit for the economy - jobs, growth, skills etc. The socio-economic benefits for delivering the energy transition does need to be highlighted, particularly when looking at the industrial heartlands of the north east and north west, and

CENTRICA ENERGY STORAGE

other areas that have suffered from under investment in infrastructure.

“We are working with the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and many partners to understand what impact decarbonising the entire Humber region would have,” he adds.

“We think that with our projects alone we could generate 2,000 jobs during construction and then hundreds of highly skilled jobs and well paid in the decades to come, just for our projects.

If you scale that across the Humber – as the UKs biggest energy estuary and biggest single polluting industrial hub in the UK – there is a major opportunity for future greening and future investment.”

Currently, the UK is pursuing a strategy to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels while promoting a sustainable economy with new green investment and jobs.

FUTURE POWER Specifically in the east and north east of the UK, CES is busy with multiple projects – including reopening Rough and researching hydrogen production at Easington – and the company is continuing to invest to support its local community. From here, as the transition gathers pace, there will be a base of expertise that can power decisions in regions searching for decarbonisation around the world.

“We have a very deep knowledge base in our operational, technical and engineering teams. We also have strong reach into a supply chain for skills and certain activities. At CES, we run a model that works in partnership with our supply chain partners, and we invest in skills around STEM to ensure the strength in our team. Our operations support thousands more jobs and billions of dollars of investment,” says Scargill.

The Managing Director believes that if you build it, they will come, and he is certain that investment in the Humber region

will have a circular benefit.

“Whether that is CCUS, hydrogen generation, or similar, businesses move to areas where critical infrastructure is deployed and there is a reliable supply of clean energy. There is massive societal benefit during the transitional phase as new companies are grown, and existing industries are bolstered and kept in the UK rather than being moved offshore (green steel is a good example),” he adds.

Clearly, those active in the industry are sure. Those operating in the region are certain. And those demanding a cleaner and greener future continue to offer their support. Now is the time for the transition to be utilised for economic gain and not only environmental responsibility. Whether hydrogen rollout, ongoing electrification, balancing an unstable supply environment, or ensuring security and

affordability of supply, Centrica and CES are contributing in a big way.

“We are looking at what we’re doing here in the Humber as an energy transition hub and seeing if we can replicate that in other places, like Ireland. We have a number of cross-business-unit collaboration opportunities on hydrogen, electrification, and on other energy fronts,” underlines Scargill.

“We are now in 2023 and we are supposed to have 10GW of low carbon hydrogen production on the system by 2030 – just seven years to deliver,” he concludes, highlighting the need for progress in the short term while Centrica and the rest of the industry builds sustainability in the longer term.

WWW.CENTRICA.COM

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ECLIPSE POWER

An Agile Independent Network Alternative PRODUCTION: David Hill

A fully licensed Independent Distribution Network Operator (IDNO), Eclipse Power sets out to offer to clients an effective alternative to using the local Distribution Network Operator (DNO) and a more flexible and innovative approach to their projects. “Relentlessly innovative and naturally curious,” is how MD Spencer Thompson describes this lean, agile and fiercely independent company, as it plots an aggressive growth trajectory alongside a crucial role to play in the race to net zero.

32 / www.energy-focus.net

INDUSTRY FOCUS: ELECTRICITY

//

As an IDNO, everyone from developers and end users to Independent Connection Providers (ICPs) stand to reap the several significant benefits associated with Eclipse Power’s alternative solution to electricity grid connection when compared with the standard DNO option. Overseen by the UK’s energy regulator OFGEM with the same standards and obligations with which they must comply, IDNO networks tend to come about as extensions to the existing networks to provide for a variety of developments across sectors including residential, commercial, industrial, storage and generation.

“Being a licensed IDNO allows Eclipse Power to build, own and operate licensed electricity networks throughout the UK,” outlines the Buckinghamshirebased operator. “This is in direct competition with the DNO, but allows us to offer our clients significant benefits, resulting in a more flexible and innovative approach to their project.”

DNOs are those organisations licensed by OFGEM to distribute

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electricity across 14 specific geographical areas, delivering electricity via their network of underground cables and power lines from the National Grid to homes and commercial properties. In the interest of increasing competition within the electricity distribution market and keeping bills low for the consumer, an IDNO once approved can then design, own, operate and maintain electricity distribution networks across the UK, with no location limitations whatsoever.

AGILE ALTERNATIVE In this world of energy price volatility, in which oil costs are at their highest level in three years and natural gas prices have spiked sharply, a stimulated market, paired with grid access congestion and planning uncertainty, it is crucial that all parts of the industry come together and collaborate to enable grid connections, says Spencer Thompson, Managing Director at Eclipse Power Networks.

“We are a post-startup company

ECLIPSE POWER

// BEING A LICENSED IDNO ALLOWS US TO OFFER OUR CLIENTS SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS, RESULTING IN A MORE FLEXIBLE AND INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO THEIR PROJECT // on a rapid growth plan,” Thompson summates, with a staff complement having nearly doubled in size in the last year and plans in place to double this again to stand at 60 within the next 18 months. Revenue is also on course to rocket, he adds - the current aim which we are on course to exceed is to adopt +40 EHV substations amounting to +4GW of network capacity across over 1000 separate networks within five years.

“The concept of an IDNO was introduced to the industry to create

more competition against the big, established network companies, which bordered on monopolistic in some areas,” Thompson explains. “IDNOs are small, lean, agile companies, and our revenue streams are much less than these bigger players, but the result is that we represent a far more alluring alternative to connecting to the grid for developers and customers.”

The energy transition and race to net zero is rapidly becoming the most pertinent and pressing preoccupation for businesses, cities, regions, and

investors alike, Thompson points out. It is severely hampered both within the UK and across Europe by the litany of issues surrounding grid access congestion.

“Connecting to the grid can be complicated, particularly at the higher voltages. We can see the market has the funding, the technology mix is rapidly progressing and planning will always be a challenge,” underlines Thompson.

“This all means that there has never been a better time to address longstanding industry challenges around queue management. The movement away from using fossil fuels in the energy transition has sparked the acceleration of activity like the renewables market, with solar and wind huge areas of potential around the world.

“We are, essentially, the ‘last mile’ in the connection process, and the costs

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: ELECTRICITY

// LOOKING FOR NEW WAYS TO DEAL WITH CHALLENGES IS PART OF OUR DNA AT ECLIPSE, POSITIVELY INFLUENCING AND COLLABORATING WITH THE INDUSTRY TO EASE GRID ACCESS CONGESTION // and timescales of that key element can vary very significantly. Our modus operandi is to facilitate that connection in a quicker, cheaper, and more agile way,” Thompson resolves. “Looking for new ways to deal with challenges is part of our DNA at Eclipse; as such, we will continue to positively influence and collaborate with the industry to ease grid access congestion.”

Eclipse Power plays a role within the industry in facilitating the significant structural changes relating to the transition, especially as part of

36 / www.energy-focus.net

British sustainable energy specialists Octopus Group. “We are heavily involved in helping to facilitate the shift in heating for homes, moving from gas boilers across to air source technology,” Thompson outlines.

“Octopus Energy has created some new, innovative schemes to expedite that movement away from gas by making air source heating more affordable and accelerating the use of Hydrogen.

“A lot of our biggest customers are major global infrastructure companies that are funding enormous renewable

schemes, and we are able to connect those customers in a simpler, more agile way, and as such we ourselves are helping to accelerate the transition.”

REDUCING VOLATILITY The footloose, shackle-free nature of Eclipse Power’s offering is one of its key USPs, and Thompson is now keen to see the company take this spirit and run with it, into new geographical realm and territories. “We have a national footprint,” he delineates, “and we now want to expand on that and increase our current density. We cover four key sectors: residential, industrial and commercial, through to EV hubs and finally extra-high voltage (EHV) customers such as Data Centres and grid scale renewables such as battery storage, hydrogen & PV solar sites.

This could equate to a 100-megawatt battery storage installation, for example, or 250 megawatts of solar

ECLIPSE POWER

or wind - right through to one of the new hydrolyser plants that are just starting to come online. Eclipse Power are helping Data Centre clients secure capacity and innovatively connect to the Grid in a rapidly growing UK market which is facing some significant grid capacity challenges.

“Our specialism, though, is at an EHV level, because it bridges exactly between distribution and transmission where there exists a certain pinch point at present.” What will enable Eclipse Power to capitalise on all of these openings is clear to Thompson: hard-fought knowledge, practical experience and unwavering support.

“We are extremely heavy on industry expertise; we have a cadre of highly qualified engineers and commercial agents who can help to navigate what can be the extremely choppy waters of the grid connection process. This specific know-how is arguably what sets us apart as marketleading, and in particular the crossover into transmission that we, traditionally a distribution company, have forged.

This latter is another extremely buoyant market where again customers are facing difficulties in getting connected, and where we are perfectly placed to unblock and resolve such issues.

“Our expert knowledge and practical industry experience enable us to ensure customers are supported all the way along from that first interaction to the physical connection and energisation to the grid. That must be core to our purpose and we ensure that it is impossible to be in better hands than ours.”

A thorough rebrand and fresh marketing strategy are on the cusp of being launched, Thompson reveals, as part of which both services and products stand to be expanded drastically. “As part of this,” Thompson goes on, “we are the first company to apply for a fully compliant, independent transmission license, to provide alternative ways to connect with the grid and complement the

likes of National Grid, Scottish Power and SSE.” Again, like everything else that has come before it and will surely follow, this is a mechanism to make the grid connection easier, and more viable, for Eclipse Power’s customers.

“This is a first in the country, and if it happens - to be confirmed in the middle of this year - we have a raft of other customers who want to come along with us. Project viabilities are yo-yoing every day, with energy price volatility and the skyrocketing commodity prices of batteries in solar, for example, combining to lend much uncertainty; these things are also grid CapEx sensitive.

“In creating this transmission license, we take away some of this difficulty and give projects more certainty around cost and schedule, to ultimately make them more viable.

This is a huge step, and will make us market-leading in this respect as

well; while I am sure that others will be following, we have stolen the march for the moment.” Thompson is a year into his ambitious vision for aggressive growth, and is backed by a plan fully approved by Octopus.

“We want to be more inventive and more innovative in how we build the business,” he concludes. “We are a small business on an aggressive growth path, with a host of products and service offerings that differentiate us from the market and make us stand out within the industry. We are a diminutive player today, but our influence is growing rapidly and the issuing of our transmission license will really put us on the map and help accelerate the energy transition and connecting to the grid.”

WWW.ECLIPSEPOWER.CO.UK

www.energy-focus.net / 37

NORCO GROUP

Independent Electrical Energy Experts PRODUCTION: David Hill

Unrivalled experience and expertise in the delivery of innovative solutions makes Norco the independent specialist in stored electrical energy systems. An explosion of growth in recent years sees Norco now approaching a 22-country footprint, remaining fully focussed on its North Sea roots as transition-dependent elements such as PV solar and hydrogen extend an already glittering array of services and operations.

38 / www.energy-focus.net

INDUSTRY FOCUS: ENGINEERING

//

An independently owned and managed group of companies with over 30 years industry experience operating internationally, throughout the United Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East, Norco is headquartered in Aberdeen. Founded in 1982, today Norco is known as the independent specialist supporting the demand for battery-backed systems across a wide range of applications.

“There are two main sides to the business now,” outlines MD Ryan Sharp, “the first being servicing operations of offshore assets for oil companies, meaning batteries, UPS systems and industrial chargers, and we perform this work for all major operators. That side is classed as our stand-by power arm, through which we also support NHS hospitals and telecommunications for a major mobile network provider. The other side, and originally the provider of

40 / www.energy-focus.net

our core business, is the traction aspect and encompasses industrial batteries, chargers, and associated equipment.

“Obviously, there is now less of a market for the original core business of what has come to be known as Norco, supplying batteries for the thousands of electric milk floats operating across the country, but it has been superseded by electric battery forklift trucks which now represents close to 50% of our business. We look after some of the main supermarket chains and their distribution centres, some of which have 500 trucks whose batteries last eight hours, and they are working 24-hour shifts; 1,500 batteries are required, and our staff are responsible for changing and maintaining them.”

INDEPENDENT, YET POWERFUL “We have engineers from Southampton all the way up to Aberdeen,” Sharp

// WE ARE SMALL ENOUGH A BUSINESS TO AFFORD CLIENTS DIRECT ACCESS TO SENIOR MANAGEMENT, YET BIG ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO EXECUTE OPERATIONS ACROSS NEARLY 30 COUNTRIES // says, with Norco’s size and expertise allowing it to offer personnel across the UK and abroad; this footprint is now bolstered by a presence in 22

NORCO GROUP

countries, at last count, on the stand-by side of the business, including Africa, the Middle East and Kazakhstan. “I think rather than look to expand our physical footprint,” Sharp explains, “we will instead focus on the amount and breadth of work that we are able to

// ON THE STAND-BY SIDE WE ARE ONE OF THE FEW COMPANIES THAT CAN WORK ON JUST ABOUT EVERY MANUFACTURER’S EQUIPMENT //

carry out in the areas that we now cover.

“On the stand-by side,” Sharp continues of what makes Norco so unique, “we combine our experience and expertise in working on equipment produced by all of the main Industrial UPS manufacturers, with our strong repairs capability which allows us to support and ensure reliable operation of UPS systems which in many cases will no longer be supported by the OEM. It’s a major advantage for us over our competitors as most offshore assets will have multiple manufacturer equipment of varying ages which any one OEM would struggle to adequately maintain plus they will always have a vested interest in selling new equipment.”

Commercial Manager, Finbar Kelly furthers: “Although we do have

partnership agreements with large original equipment manufacturers, we are still family-run and independent from any particular OEM, with no allegiance or hold to any single one.

We are small enough a business to still care and afford clients direct access to the senior management team, yet big enough to be able to execute operations across nearly 30 countries.”

The family-run aspect is of critical importance to the overall ethos of Norco; while Sharp is keen to shy away from the spotlight and prefers to let the innovation and expertise of the company speak for itself, his recent stepping into the role of MD, a position vacated by his father, was clearly significant.

“My father started the company

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: ENGINEERING

// INDEPENDENCE, FLEXIBILITY, TECHNOLOGY AND SCALABILITY ARE THE KEYS THAT DISTINGUISH OUR SERVICE OFFERING AS UNIQUE AND, WE BELIEVE UNMATCHED, BY ANY OTHER UK BUSINESS // as a division of the old Norco Group in 1982, and ran it all the way up until the management buyout in 1991, then continuing until about five years ago when I took over, having been involved in the business since I was 16,” he reveals. “We are a young management team, all of us ambitious to see the company succeed and grow over the next five to 10 years and see exactly how far it can go.”

An in-house Research and Development team, fully staffed with six employees, now gives Norco not its

own line of industrial power backup products but also enables the company to execute bespoke projects, vital to clients in the North Sea where some of their assets are ageing and sourcing replacement apparatus increasingly difficult. “We can come in and reverseengineer a lot of the older, obsolete equipment in order to keep these rigs operational,” Sharp declares.

“Independence, flexibility, technology and scalability are the keys that distinguish our service offering as unique and, we believe

unmatched, by any other UK business,” he condenses, and it is this heady combination that has kept Norco growing at such a rate even through the prevailing challenges of recent years.

“While there was something of a down period for a few months within the stand-by business during which we simply couldn’t get people offshore, we were extraordinarily lucky that our customers in the supermarket distribution centres kept us extremely busy. We certainly didn’t benefit from the pandemic, but in both of the toughest years we were still able to grow turnover, which speaks volumes to the business and its resilience and adaptability.”

TRANSITION FOCUSED Norco’s primary business activities surround both batteries and Continues on page 44

ORC RAPID RECHARGE LEAD-ACID TRACTION BATTERIES Espex Batteries’ parent company, Exide India, has announced the launch of a new lead-acid traction battery range in the UK, designed specifically to offer rapid recharge and ‘opportunity charging’. These ORC batteries rival lithium-ion batteries in multi-shift operation while being significantly more economical.

Chief executive of Espex Batteries, Amit Ghosal, explains: “Lead-acid batteries are popular choices in the UK logistics scene – and beyond – for many practical reasons. Adding in fast-recharging makes them an even stronger prospect in the face of competition from lithium-ion rivals, and this move will really seal our positions as the go-to supplier of forklift traction batteries.”

An additional benefit of the new range is that, unlike with lithium-ion batteries, existing electrical mains wiring and battery chargers can be used, rather than needing to be replaced at great expense, says the firm. Opportunity charging refers to the new battery system being able to receive partial ‘top-up’ charges several times during a work cycle, if required.

The company says: “This development represents the innovation and sustainability culture at Exide and Espex, with Mr Ghosal receiving the coveted award for ‘Sustainability’ from the Institute of Directors on behalf of Exide Industries Ltd-India at their London Global Convention in 2022.”

Espex prides itself for being a preferred supplier of all types of lead-acid batteries to the NORCO group. Exide-India’s entire range of reserve and motive power batteries is available from Espex, view them at www.exideindustries.com Tel: 02920 705453 Web: espexbatteries.co.uk

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: ENGINEERING

Continued from page 42 uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, which are both centred around efficiency and extending product life as far as possible. “Where we come into our own,” Sharp says, “is in our maintenance of these products and ability to extend the life of our customers’ batteries and offer better warranties. This then extends their lifespan and prevents people from having to replace batteries, which are of course an absolutely vital element in any transition to green energy, so

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this is great for the environment.”

More recently, Norco has been delving into the world of photovoltaic (PV) solar power panel systems, opening up a new department to explore their application both domestically and commercially. “It is a natural fit for us into our company, with most of the hardware other than the PV panels themselves being things like inverters that we use on a daily basis anyway, and having completed one system this is definitely a department that we see growing in years to come.”

Hydrogen is an essential element

of the global transition, and garnering more and more attention. “I believe that we are the only company in the UK with six years of experience performing operations and maintenance on a hydrogen site,” Sharp relays. “We are now expanding into hydrogen gensets - not necessarily something that we actively set out to become involved with, but which dovetailed perfectly with our existing hydrogen and backup power supply pursuits.

People frequently approach us for this and we now have an agreement with a company in France to offer its products.”

NORCO GROUP

// WE ARE A YOUNG MANAGEMENT TEAM AND AMBITIOUS TO SEE OVER THE NEXT FIVE TO TEN YEARS EXACTLY HOW FAR NORCO CAN GO // UPS, hydrogen offerings and PV solar expertise - just some of the most exciting developments of the Norco business as it too builds towards the transition. “Oil and gas is going to be around for a while,” Kelly admits, “and it is very important for the transition that this is the case. An easy and effective

transition that we have made recently is from our traditional task of sending workers offshore to oil rigs, to ensure that the power stays on - now we are doing the same to make sure that wind farms do not power down.”

As well as exploring new offerings and physically opening up new departments and segments, over the last five years arguably the key development at Norco has been setting its sights much further afield.

“Five years ago, we were doing no business at all beyond the UK,” Sharp states. “Now, probably 20% of our turnover comes from outside, a lot of the time though links with our existing UK partners, and we see that as a really profitable opportunity when it comes to growing the business.

“Our core business remains very

much the UK market, though, and our central focus will forever be in the North Sea. As decommissioning ramps up there is definitely a place for Norco to be heavily involved, and our expertise and experience in this genre of electrical systems can be of immense help to the decommissioning companies in otherwise timeconsuming and enormously costly work. That said, this expansion overseas has come about purely through our willingness to take risks and to go to countries that previous management had eschewed, and is both pleasing and rife with potential.”

WWW.NORCOENERGY.COM

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CHARGE FAIRY

Nobody Left Behind in Move to EV PRODUCTION: David Hill

Charging of EVs needs to be fast, easy, and efficient for the ambitious rollout to continue and for Net Zero to become a reality. But charging is still as sticking point for many who want EVs but don’t have the space. London-based Charge Fairy is solving the problem with an innovative business model that keeps the city’s EVs moving, simply and effectively. Founder Ed Lea talks to Energy Focus about the beauty and magic of this young and exciting business.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: EV

//

As the energy transition gathers pace, decarbonising the transport system in the UK remains high on the agenda for most. Replacing a major percentage of road-going vehicles with electric vehicles (EVs) is a vital step, but there remain fundamental challenges. How and where to charge, how to fund, and how to achieve success quickly are questions for larger industry groups and not single organisations.

But the majority agree that EVs are the future and rollout must continue at pace. While already very achievable in some cases, owning and running an EV does require planning.

How does a travelling tradesman, who lives in the centre of London, with no outside space, and no commercial property, charge effectively? There are not yet enough public charging stations for all to make the switch.

Ed Lea, CEO and Founder (left)

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Thankfully, some magic from SaaS industry veteran Ed Lea is helping those who want to make the jump but are faced with unique challenges. In 2019, Lea established Charge Fairy – a technology-based support business for the EV industry. A former CTO across various big businesses, Lea’s international journey helped formulate the mechanics behind the business.

Focussing on the London market, Charge Fairy uses a fleet of specialised vehicles to travel around the UK capital providing fast charging for those with EVs who don’t have the space to power up, such as a driveway or depot. Initially, the company worked on a B2C model, partnering with owners and charging their cars outside homes on the street.

Success here helped Charge Fairy to grow and take on business clients, building a reputation as a problem solver and a supporter of green mobility.

Now, Lea and Charge Fairy are busy planning the next stages on the growth journey, with more services, different geographies, and the longer-term Net Zero goal at the front of mind.

THE NEXT LEVEL “Our immediate focus is fundraising as we have built the business on a shoestring budget. We have proven everything works and we are at the point of raising capital to take it to the next level,” Lea tells Energy Focus.

“In the UK, I don’t think anyone is actively doing this. In America, there is a company that follows a slightly different model. There are some companies in Italy, with a slightly different approach.

We believe we have found the best way and we are confident in our style.”

Using experience in software, Lea created an app which integrates directly with automotive manufacturer apps, controlling many things including security, functions, service information, and charge level. Not wanting a simple ‘order on demand’ model, Charge Fairy can track vehicle position and available power, and turn up to recharge without any input from the driver. It’s all part of a strategy that adds to the modern environment

// WITH THAT DATA FROM THE CAR APPS, WE CAN PREDICT WHEN AND WHERE A CAR WILL ACTUALLY NEED TO BE CHARGED. THE SAME ACCESS THROUGH APIS ALLOWS US TO UNLOCK THE CHARGE PORTS WITHOUT THE DRIVER BEING THERE //

CHARGE FAIRY

of bringing services to customers.

“Uber picks them up to take them out, Deliveroo brings their pizza, Ocado delivers their groceries, so I started thinking about how this could work for EV charging,” remembers Lea. “Talking to people in and around North London who didn’t have an EV but knew their next car should be an EV, we learned they were not put off by range or price, just the inconvenience of keeping it charged,” he says of the company’s genesis.

From here, innovation and originality was required. Designs of new systems and development of significant IP helped to grow the first pillar of the business – the physical hardware.

“We needed battery packs, fast chargers, long charge cables, and small electric vehicles so that we could move around small London streets

and park without blocking roads. It was about flexibility, and we found that nothing existed on the market – you couldn’t get online and buy something like this from anywhere in the world. We knew we had to build, and so we have been building our own chargers for three years,” Lea explains.

Today, Charge Fairy builds 150kw combined charging system (CCS) chargers - as fast as any motorway service station rapid charger – which are mounted in panel vans or small chassis utility trucks. “Obviously it’s complex and requires IP from suppliers in the UK and Europe, and batteries from various locations,” details Lea. MAGICAL SYSTEM After proving the system, the next step was the software to enable delivery.

“We realised that if we made it like

Uber, everyone would be online on a Sunday at the same time, asking for charge for the week, creating a supply and demand problem, and we would be quiet for the rest of the time.”

This is where app integration came into its own. “With that data from the car apps, we can predict when and where a car will actually need to be charged. The same access through APIs allows us to unlock the charge ports without the driver being there.

We created a subscription service where customers give us access to their car and when the car needs charging, we go and do it. They don’t need to worry about booking or any of the logistics around it – it’s kind of a magical charging system, hence the name Charge Fairy,” Lea smiles.

Continues on page 52

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CHARGE FAIRY PURCHASES THREE GOUPIL VEHICLES FROM BRADSHAW EV Charge Fairy, which was launched to remove the hassle of finding readily available charge points within urban areas and beyond, has recently purchased three Goupil G4’s from the UK’s leading supplier of electric utility vehicles, Bradshaw, to further its offering within its designated service areas.

Established in 2020, Charge Fairy provides direct charging services for both EV consumers and fleets in order to eradicate the stress of locating charge points in busy urban zones where competition for access to public charging points is high amongst city dwellers without at-home charging facilities.

By signing up to the subscription-based service, Charge Fairy customers can benefit from the no frills, no fuss charging option that removes the need for them to fit vehicle charging into their daily routine – ultimately allowing them to get on with their day.

Through connecting their vehicle manufacturer’s account with the official Charge Fairy app, the business is able to track the vehicle’s location, usage and charge statistics in real time – checking their odometer, charge and location once per day in order to build up a profile that predicts when they will need their next charge.

Once a charge is required, a Charge Fairy mechanic will be sent out to the vehicle’s location and while idle, they will be able to gain access to its charge port and connect it to their purpose-built, battery-powered mobile charger with 15m cables – enabling the vehicle to be charged within just 20 minutes without the need of the driver’s presence.

With further support for EV charging infrastructure desperately needed in to facilitate the ‘electric wave’ in the UK, this one-of-a-kind solution enables for a charging option to be brought directly to the customer’s vehicle, whenever the need arises, regardless of the time of day or night.

Ed commented: “Charge Fairy provides a more diverse charging eco-system to ensure electric vehicles become a realistic option for those currently residing in urban areas, or operators who are actively looking to electrify their fleets.

“This is essentially where the concept of Charge Fairy initially originated from. I’d had numerous conversations with friends and neighbours regarding the lack of EV charging infrastructure within urban areas – to the point where it deterred them from purchasing an electric vehicle – and from those conversations it was clear that a solution was needed in order to make owning an electric vehicle while living in a city centre less painstaking. Therefore, I thought, why create a solution whereby a charging option could be bought directly to the consumer – and so Charge Fairy was born.

“With the Goupil G4s we not only found a vehicle that was able to navigate through the challenges of urban infrastructure but one with a low footprint and a payload that could handle a larger lithium-ion battery without the battery life being compromised. “

After undertaking extensive research into identifying alternative vehicles that would meet their requirements, Charge Fairy Founder Ed Lea came across Bradshaw EV’s G4 Goupil vehicles, a range of fully electric utility vehicles which are ideally suited for transporting equipment in and around urban areas.

Ed continued: “The Goupil G4 just ticked all our boxes and ultimately allow us to service city dwellers within urban areas more seamlessly as well as give us the option to use a larger lithium-ion battery thanks to the generous payload – enabling us to carry out more charges in any given cycle.

After being impressed with its on-road performance, size and payload, Ed Lea believed the decision to add the G4’s to his existing fleet was a “no brainer”, feeling the vehicles would help drive Charge Fairy forward and complement its overall offering.

“Charge Fairy has ambitious plans over the next few years as we look to take our service nationwide and the Goupil vehicles will undoubtedly underpin our operation, especially in urban-centric areas. We would like to thank Bradshaw with their ongoing cooperation, consultation and support with supplying their best-inclass vehicles to us.”

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: EV

Continued from page 49 This popular model, which provides true convenience for users, quickly boomed and pink Charge Fairy units can now be seen whizzing around London keeping people moving. Even through the tough years of pandemic lockdown, the nature of the business meant it could continue to operate in a socially distanced way. As restrictions eased, the company began gaining B2B clients, and this is where the last 18 months have been focussed. With more large fleet-owning companies looking for opportunities to do more on their sustainability journeys, a partnership with Charge Fairy makes a lot of sense.

“We are expanding as fast as possible,” states Lea. “We are seeing more fleets trasitioining to EV and the low hanging fruit – those which can return to a depot or back to a home

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with a drive to charge – was easy for big businesses. It’s the last 20% which came with the opportunity for us.”

He uses the example of a recent client win for an energy company which changed its entire fleet to EVs. “Their engineers would go out and manage heat pumps or smart meters in electric vans. But at the end of the day, if an engineer lived on a street with no parking, how can you charge that van?” A common problem in London and other cities, with a third of UK homeowners having no access to a driveway or garage.

“The engineer was heading to charging stations and sitting for an hour and half at the end of the shift, and getting paid overtime to do so. Charge Fairy came in with a trial and provided a better experience for everybody.

The company didn’t pay extra on overtime, we handled the charging

// AT THE END OF THE DAY, IF AN ENGINEER LIVED ON A STREET WITH NO PARKING, HOW CAN YOU CHARGE THAT VAN? // on site, and the engineer could go home on time at the end of the day.”

In another example of rational strategy rollout, Charge Fairy has partnered with short-term rental companies, where small cars are hired on an hourly basis and left anywhere in London for the next user.

“Previously, they would send people in on scooters and move cars around. But if a customer left the car on 1% charge, then they

CHARGE FAIRY

// ALL OF THE SOFTWARE WE HAVE BUILT TO OPERATE THE BUSINESS IS PACKAGED AS A SAAS PLATFORM AND WE HAVE LICENSED THAT TO OUR FIRST CUSTOMER IN SINGAPORE // would have to send a diesel flatbed to collect the car and take it back to the depot for an overnight charge.

We can go and provide 80% charge in 30 mins and get the car back in the hands of customers fast.”

Because of such success, and a growing reputation for excellence, Charge Fairy has gone from start up to cash generating quickly, but remains lean and agile. It is the flexibility

that is appealing for B2B clients as the number of EVs in London is set to skyrocket in the coming years.

“We are looking at a few cities after London, and we are excited about that, but it is contingent on us raising the funding,” says Lea. GROWTH CHARGED As the company scales, the environmental benefits are obvious – more EVs will be able to operate more effectively, with ease and reliability.

From a decarbonising perspective, this could assist those considering EVs to make the switch, and this will further bolster the UKs Net Zero ambition. In terms of company expansion, Lea’s background in software has helped Charge Fairy to create a software as a service (SaaS) package which will help partners to build similar success in new areas.

“All of the software we have built to operate the business is packaged as a SaaS platform and we have licensed that to our first customer in Singapore who will become like the

Charge Fairy of Singapore, operating on our platform. We have a few more deals in the pipeline that we are busy with right now,” says Lea. “As we grow, phase one is with the software. Phase two will be software and hardware – whether that is licensing or franchising, we are still looking at that across a few opportunities.”

When this next stage growth begins, the beauty of simplicity offered

by Charge Fairy will allow EV owners to get up and go, taking the stress out of travel. “Together we can speed up the green revolution and lead the charge for electric cars,” the company states, and with every opportunity to power the transition being explored and embraced, this is a company that will undoubtedly succeed because its core proposition is, like all the biggest and best, simple - solving real problems for customers.

WWW.CHARGEFAIRY.COM

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AVANT FUTURE MOBILITY

Experience the Power

of Connecting People PRODUCTION: David Hill

To continue the drive towards Net Zero, decarbonising the transport industry is a must. Electrifying the roads is critical, but people are the key in unlocking opportunities. A skills shortage across the EV battery value chain requires input from specialist talent partners. AVANT is an industry leader and Richard Surridge tells Energy Focus that the company is expanding to meet the needs of a booming industry.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: E-MOBILITY

Richard Surridge, Founder, Leader & MD

//

Across Europe, there are more than 30 gigafactories busy with development and commercialisation of cell design and assembly technology to meet the inevitable incoming surge of demand for batteries that will drive electric cars and the future of mobility.

Producing batteries at scale is not easy. The technical knowledge and the significant funding are the first hurdles. Availability of raw materials, global supply chains, logistical channels, and a skills shortage make up a second set of challenges. But there is no doubt, decarbonising transportation is happening and the evolution away from fossil fuel-powered combustion engines is underway.

Gigafactories – popularised by the Tesla site in Nevada – are the power behind these new engines.

But the energy that runs through them remains human. And in order for the decarbonisation journey to continue, the right people must be introduced to the industry.

Currently, most gigafactories in Europe are facing delays as demand far

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outstrips supply and manufacturers compete for raw materials. The market is so buoyant that new players are entering, and traditional OEMs are evaluating how best to secure supply of batteries, going so far, in the case of Tesla and GM, to invest in upstream mining operations, as part of a strategic decision to become as vertically integrated as possible.

But the key concern is the flow of people. There is a battery engineering and assembly skills shortage. There is a significant amount of knowledge within a very small community, largely within Asia, specifically China and South Korea. There is a need for positive connections to open up opportunities.

Without people, the industry will not be able to advance, and net zero transportation will remain a pipedream.

FUTURE OF MOBILITY UK-based AVANT is enabling the future of mobility in order to help decarbonise transportation as the talent partner of the EV battery industry, using a multidecade network to power recruitment decisions as well as introduce the sector

to industry partners and investors.

Managing Director at AVANT, Richard Surridge, tells Energy Focus that there is already a dire need for expertise in order for the net zero rollout to thrive.

“We want to drill down in battery engineering,” he states. “Over the next decade, there is going to be huge demand and a scarcity of supply.

Securing people and partners is going to be more vital than ever. This is not work you can do on your own and the industry is nascent. We’re recruiting battery engineers for a dozen European gigafactories today, but there is more work to be done, such as introducing partners and investors, as well as helping the wider supply chain.”

There are specialist facilities across the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Finland, and more, and the knowledge and experience requirement growing in these booming powerhouses is an opportunity.

“We will be expanding our team in the UK and our team in Poland. At the same time, the US is going through the same thing, building gigafactories to produce batteries for the 14 million cars that are sold in the US – we will be expanding our US team in Orlando to deliver into that. We want to match our growth to that of the gigafactories and by any measure, demand outstrips supply – whether that is raw materials from the ground or people walking in the door. The growth to replace

// OVER THE NEXT DECADE, THERE IS GOING TO BE HUGE DEMAND AND A SCARCITY OF SUPPLY. SECURING PEOPLE AND PARTNERS IS GOING TO BE MORE VITAL THAN EVER //

AVANT FUTURE MOBILITY

every engine with batteries is massive.

Our purpose is to help enable that, through connecting the industry with the resources needed to achieve it.”

BOOMING BUSINESS According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the market for electric cars broke records in 2020, with global stock reaching 10 million – a 43% increase on 2019. In Europe, while the entire car market contracted as a result of the pandemic, new registrations for electric cars hit 10% of the total, doubling on the previous year. With government schemes supporting rollout, and automakers offering a whole host of different models, there is much to entice consumers.

But the supply chain struggles to keep up. Prices for lithium doubled between 2016 and 2018. Demand for

lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide was up 20% in 2019. According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, its lithium price index had risen by 182.6% year-on-year as of mid-December 2022. This is concerning as it paints a picture of a world where decarbonising is becoming more expensive. Battery engineers are working on developing battery chemistries to reduce or entirely remove the need for Cobalt, which relieves the burden on the supply chain, but also reduces the need for the metal to be mined in the first place, often in less than palatable working conditions.

The World Economic Forum suggests that by 2030, 50% of total automotive sales could come from electric vehicles.

Gigafactories must put human resources in place now to ensure they can survive in what is set to be a flourishing and enduring but competitive market.

“There is an assumption that over the next two decades, every car will miraculously turn from internal combustion to electric.

That will happen, but it will be slow,” says Surridge. “Behind the scenes, a lot of people are needed. A lot of partnerships are needed, and a lot of money is needed. Drivers won’t see the years of effort required to undertake this transition – they will just see electric vehicles permeate their lives. AVANT’s contribution is to ensure we use our market intelligence, knowledge and networks to connect the battery sector with the right engineering talent, partners and investors, in order to help develop and industrialise the technology required to decarbonise transport.”

AVANT will drive future mobility through its networks which, according

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: E-MOBILITY

to Surridge, are bigger and stronger than what can be found anywhere else. More than 20 years in the industry have helped the entrepreneur to build partnerships across the globe, creating a reputation for excellence and a building a deep understanding of client operations and needs.

“I have been in automotive and future mobility recruitment for 22 years,” he says. “I have developed networks in automotive and been a part of the transition towards electric cars and autonomous vehicles, and subsequently the development of batteries for the industry. We are constantly talking to and engaging with people, whether they come to us or we reach out to them, so that when a client comes to us and is looking for engineers, we can support them.

“It could be a solid-state gigafactory in Spain that has received government funding who needs engineers to help develop battery technology. We dive into our networks and provide those engineers.”

Whether it’s e-Powertrain or battery technology, AVANT has

networks that can support. The company, officially established in 2018, is home to 16 people and part of the larger nGAGE business (an international group of specialist recruitment agencies). Through this network, AVANT asks questions, understands needs, and develops an information eco-system around the industry to provide unrivalled service.

“The clever bit sits with our clients – they are doing fantastic engineering,” admits Surridge. “We are networking a population of people to understand who is available, what skills do they have, what they want, where they want to be, and how much it will cost. We then connect them with our clients. Our purpose is to leverage the networks we have built to connect our clients with the talent they need to deliver the future of mobility.”

AVANT + Recruitment is time consuming, fraught with challenges, and potentially a risk to business if handled incorrectly. But when a best-in-class partner is engaged, and the process is given the thorough

attention it deserves, businesses can gain more than just talent. Surridge recognised this, establishing AVANT +, a division home to market intelligence developed as a by-product of recruitment.

“We take that knowledge and use that to connect our clients in a kind of B2B introduction,” explains Surridge. “If we have gigafactory clients and a number of R&D clients doing relevant work, we will connect the two to help the gigafactories improve technologies and differentiate themselves in the market.

“That is why we offer AVANT +, to differentiate ourselves in what is a crowded market. We separate ourselves through knowledge and experience.”

A vital element of this service is putting clients in touch with investors.

In the EV rollout and the battery space, seed capital is often required to turn ideas around future mobility into reality.

There are many venture capitalists viewing decarbonisation of transport as an opportunity, but pairing them with the right ideas is a challenge and again comes down to a robust network.

“Out AVANT + network includes corporate investors and venture capitalists that have a broad decarbonisation thesis and our clients are invariably looking to raise capital so we can connect those companies to those investors,” says Surridge, always with one eye on the longer-term Net Zero goal.

BUILDING CONNECTIONS By just providing its very core function, there is no doubt that AVANT will grow in line with the industry. The battery industry and the wider sector around EV engineering requires skills, and AVANT is strongly positioned to provide connections.

“At a very high level, we are a networking business that is connecting the future mobility sector with talent partners and investors, with a specific focus on batteries and ePowertrain. We do that all over

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AVANT FUTURE MOBILITY

the world, with teams in the UK, Europe, and the USA,” says Surridge of the current scale within AVANT. He highlights the opportunities across the space that will lead to further growth of the business, provided AVANT can continue to deliver quality.

“There are some generic recruiters that operate in our space – there are lots of recruiters and the market is

// OUR PURPOSE IS TO LEVERAGE THE NETWORKS WE HAVE BUILT TO CONNECT OUR CLIENTS WITH THE TALENT THEY NEED TO DELIVER THE FUTURE OF MOBILITY //

very saturated. There are some UK companies that do what we do and I would have previously listed a number of agencies as our main competition.

But today, it is unquestionably internal talent teams. The UK is more mature in terms of the recruitment space than Europe and the US, and there is a lot of experience in the UK industry. That does lead to some competition but we are very specialised and experienced, and that is what separates us.”

According to McKinsey & Company, the battery value chain is expected to increase by 10 times by the end of the decade, reaching annual revenues as high as $410 billion. This speed of growth results in shortages of labour, and this is where AVANT’s company pillars are increasingly appealing.

“The three pillars in our logo represent exactly what we do connecting the sector with talent, partners and investors. We connect it all together to play our part in

decarbonising transport,” Surridge details. “We are globally present and we work across the industry. We start with the process of engineering, turning raw materials into something useable in battery and we then go downstream through second life and recycling, and we also have the ePowertrain side of it. “ These skills are in demand and the growing gigafactory market across Europe, and around the world, requires a knowledgeable approach that is only delivered by a small group of experienced industry professionals. Surridge invites leaders in the industry to experience AVANT’s power of connecting people.

“There is a scarcity of talent and we are specialists in finding it,” he concludes.

AVANTFUTUREMOBILITY.COM

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WAVE UTILITIES

Keeping Business Flowing, Sustainably PRODUCTION: Tommy Atkinson

Wave Utilities is a national water retailer, managing the precious resource for 300,000 UK businesses. As a looming supply-demand crisis goes largely unnoticed for many companies, Wave is innovating and becoming closer than ever before with clients to ensure efficiency is at the heart of every decision. Tony March, Director of Public Sector and Industrial Customers, and Oli Shelley, Head of Operations talk to Energy Focus about keeping the taps flowing.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: WATER

Oli Shelley, Head of Operations

//

With the energy price crisis and inflationary pressure giving financial managers a headache across the UK business space, arguably the most important utility is often forgotten. Water is the lifeblood of businesses, and for the big drinkers – those in energy generation, oil and gas, petrochemical, food manufacturing, and other industrial spaces – water is directly linked to income.

To ensure that water is used efficiently and billed in a fair and transparent manner, collaboration with a knowledgeable, experienced, and forward-thinking partner is essential. Established in 2017 as a joint venture between Anglian Venture Holdings Limited and Northumbrian Water Group Limited, Wave aims to bring a simplified and highly efficient management service around water.

Today, the company’s client base is around 300,000 businesses, from major international organisations to SMEs with smaller operations.

“We have been involved in the

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retail water market for some time and our roots go back to 2008, from a retail point of view, to when the Scottish market opened. That was where we started to understand what the retail market was about and what customers were looking for from a retail water market,” says Tony March, Director of Public Sector and Industrial Customers.

“Our core services are reading water meters, raising bills, actively engaging with customers, and driving efficiency,” he adds. “Key to us is how we deliver those services. Quality service delivery is non-negotiable, and we are very active with our account managers around how we engage, how we deliver technical services, and how we bring value added services. Our position in the market is to add value – we want to save our customers money. This can also help customers to hit their environmental goals as well as being cost-effective.”

Head of Operations, Oli Shelley gives insight into the scale of operations inside the Wave portfolio.

“Wave customers use around

15 million m3 each month. The total business community uses somewhere around 110 million m3,” he details.

“Interestingly, there is such a skewed profile of usage for businesses across the country. The top 1% of business users are responsible for 50% of all non-household demand. Then, another 50% of the meters in the market use less than the domestic consumer does at home because they’re small businesses. The big challenge for any supplier is how to cater for that broad spectrum of users. If big industrial process users either decrease or increase their consumption by 10%, that has a material difference on the water resource availability and everything around that. Then you’ve got the really small end of the scale where water is essential but doesn’t affect day-to-day operations – it’s a challenging mix.”

March and Shelley agree that one of the key pillars of success at Wave has been treating each customer individually and understanding their position. The company knows that water means something different for everyone and there is little logic in a blanket approach to service and billing. Actively searching for a diverse portfolio, steering away from simply serving single market segments, encourages problem solving and originality.

“We have dedicated teams and we realise that all customers are different, and all segments are different. Our account managers are dedicated to looking after our individual customers and our business ethos is committed to change and improvement. We actively engage with the market through partnership, consultation, and thought leadership. We are forward thinking about water efficiency and innovation and promoting why this is important. We are always looking to change for the better,” says March.

SUPPLY/DEMAND In 2021, the UK government - through Environment Agency Chief, Sir James Bevan – released a report stating that

WAVE UTILITIES

a lack of water presents an existential threat. Largely driven by climate change, longer and hotter summers combined with less predictable rainfall, will see the country edge close to the ‘jaws of death’ – a point on planning charts in water company offices where demand outstrips supply.

“It’s very overlooked and very significant,” admits Shelley. “We have a supply-demand crisis looming in this country, that is certain,” he says, highlighting the hot summer of 2020 as a demonstrator of how influential a changing climate can be.

“Look at household demand and what happens with it - you can definitely see when it starts to get above 25 or 26 degrees centigrade, water consumption starts going through the roof. We already over abstract from the environment as it is. So, not only are we getting an increased demand, but we also need to try and find a way to ease off the supplies.”

Businesses are not guaranteed to receive supply from water companies and retailers, and if the day comes when a choice must be made, households will be first in mind. For this reason, the business community must make changes to ensure sustainability.

Water efficiency is the Wave promise and whether it’s ensuring correct meter readings, searching for leaks, or advising on reductions, the company is pushing hard to help.

“It’s very rare that we come across a business that has a meaningful water strategy or a meaningful plan or has even really thought of what will happen in 2040 when if we carry on as we’re going, we won’t have enough water to go around and businesses are bottom of the queue for that supply point from a wholesale perspective,” says Shelley.

“That’s why we have things like our Not a Drop to Waste campaign with customers. We’re trying to simplify that message.”

At the large West Burton Power Station – owned by EDF – in Lincolnshire, Wave was called to

investigate a recent sharp increase in daily water usage. Little had changed operationally, and staff numbers remained constant. Wave utilised its Leakage Find and Fix service, sending engineers and equipment to check for waste. The sprawling site is home to significant infrastructure and was a challenging arena for finding leaks.

But the Wave team quickly found two underground pipes leaking 20m3 of water each day. Repairs were carried out and EDF saved more than £5100.

The collaboration helped Wave subsequently discover a further leak, reducing waste and saving resources during a hot, dry summer.

In a similar situation in the SME space, a software development company received a larger than expected bill. Water consumption had increased year-on-year so Wave initiated a Leak and Flow test, discovering a leak in underground supply. Wave contractors then quickly went about pinpointing the leak, repairing, and recovering, leaving minimal downtime

or disruption for the client. Water usage went down from 13.5 m3 to 2.9 m3, and the company saved more than £3000.

However, it’s not always underground leaks that cause the biggest problems. “We’re also talking about leaking toilets, overflowing storage tanks, urinals that don’t have any kind of control on them at all. If you have a urinal that is running 24-hours a day, filling for five minutes and then flushing, you might as well have a leak,” says Shelley, highlighting a project across a police force base where high bills had been reported and the root cause of the problem was a poorly maintained, battery powered urinal flushing system which had been loading and discharging unnecessarily for weeks.

“The outrageous thing we know is that around 26% of the non-household demand is actually continuous, which indicates leakage,” he adds.

Both agree, this is an opportunity.

Defra has introduced a 9% water consumption reduction target by

Tony March, Director of Public Sector & Industrial Customers

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: WATER

2037 in the non-household market.

While this could be viewed as a major challenge, Wave is already looking at it as highly achievable by taking leakage and waste seriously. Shelley is sure that “people don’t engage enough with their water infrastructure because much of it sits beneath the ground.

“I guarantee if it was above ground that people would take notice. A lot of those buildings are quite old and gone past their design life. No one’s ever replaced that pipework. No one’s looking at it.”

INNOVATING When Wave was formed, the company was keen to do more than a standard utility provider, making life easier, quicker, and more efficient for clients.

This has been put into practice and while legislatively, the company is only required to read the meter and issue the bill, there is so much more bubbling under the surface. Wave is home to innovation and ideas that few others in the industry could boast.

“We look out, we assess some of the new technologies that become available, and we look at new opportunities out there,” says March, “but our customers are really engaged with that as well. We do see some good engagement with them which provides us with a lot of assurance as we go

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through the process. It demonstrates the strength of relationships and trust that we have with our customers.”

When bringing new ideas through the system, the test for any partnerships is whether or not they solve Wave customer problems. While often there is a risk in developing new concepts, if the customer can benefit then Wave is keen to invest as it separates itself in the market as a partner and not simply a utility provider.

“We are passionate about adding value and doing the right thing for the environment,” comments Shelley.

“From a service point of view, it’s about providing a good quality core service, providing the information, providing the data that the customers need to be able to assess their water bill, but also be clear on the water that’s actually being used across their sites,” says March.

Advancing technology and bringing innovation to the sector is, for Shelley, about taking the industry forward because it’s the right thing to do, not because it benefits the balance sheet.

“We go and find out what are our customers pain points and problems are and have open discussions with them asking what are we not doing for them that we could.

“We put a huge amount of effort

into working with a lot of smaller suppliers, trying to bring innovative stuff to the marketplace. That means taking the risk and giving those companies access to our customers and putting our neck on the line at very early-stage trials. We’re very willing to put the time into pushing things forward. It’s not just about where we see value for our customers, but I think our wider sense of responsibility to the marketplace around water efficiency and making things better.”

In October 2022, Wave furthered an exciting partnership with OccuTrace – a specialist data collection provider – to understand more about the NHH meter market. Current evidence suggests that 11% of the meters in this space show zero consumption but Wave expects this means that many are broken and could be replaced to help companies understand their consumption and billing correctly. Without this data, there could be a misunderstanding around leakage or usage. This partnership follows from a previous project where the pair addressed a large number of meters which had not been read for more than 12 months.

“The key thing is looking at it from not just an innovation angle but certainly a water efficiency point of view. When you have over 300,000 businesses that you work with, it’s about focus. We hold a lot of data against these customers in terms of their water consumption, patterns, and habits and they can be physical meter reads as well as electronic meter reads,” says March, adding that data and innovating ways of generating it will drive advancements for the industry.

David McKenzie, MD at OccuTrace agrees: “It feels great to be a part of the project that is going to move the market forward and will help develop the knowledge base for improvements in the industry.”

The faster Wave can generate accurate data, the quicker problems can be identified, and the sooner sustainable solutions can be

WAVE UTILITIES

put in place, working alongside customers to reduce loss, save money, and overcome challenges.

This is the same on both sides of the market for Wave. Occupying the space between water company and business consumer, as a retailer, the company must perform a balancing act to ensure both supplier and bill payer exist in harmony. Recent changes to the market have helped here, and Wave’s success and scale in recent times ensures a rock-solid team of 320 people across two national offices is able to handle both ends of the spectrum.

“There’s so many suppliers and they all operate regionally quite differently because they have slightly different challenges and different rules,” says Shelley on the importance of innovating across the board. “We have to have a running dialogue about lots of different things and trying to be that customer advocate in the middle.”

This is particularly true where there is growth on the cards for the customer but limited supplies in the reservoirs. “Our role is often

to be impartial, but also to try and be more creative,” says March.

“One of the things that we’ve become adept at is translating,” Shelley smiles. “Because the suppliers have got their way of talking you’ve got a customer who just wants to run their business. The retailer in the middle has to sit with a foot in both those worlds and I think because we’ve grown up from that environment we’re really, really good at it.”

In the coming months, this attribute is going to be more important than ever as the market is shaken by changes to pricing.

PRICE CAP Industry regulator, Ofwat, recently announced that it would change the price cap in the commercial water market to promote further competition across the industry. In April, SMEs will likely see increases of around 6.4% + inflation. Default water suppliers will be allowed to increase prices by an average of around 30% and this will mean higher bills. At the time of a

crisis around energy and cost of living costing, this news will mean that Wave will again have to reinforce relationships with customers to drive financial savings through better water efficiency and deliver service of the highest level.

“I think last year, when we had water supply issues with the hot summer, it probably came to the surface,” says March. “This isn’t about the cost of water; this is about the availability of water and acting now.

“There was a review in 2019 but it didn’t involve analysis and review of the costs,” he adds. “This has been a good time to take stock of what has happened over the last few years and look at the cost that it genuinely takes to run a retail business. For Wave, that’s a pretty positive point because, relatively speaking, we are an efficient business and we always thought we were.”

He believes that with everything Wave brings to clients, and the market, this change could result in potential growth as companies re-evaluate their position and search for added value.

Volunteering day at Washington Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: WATER

“That’s why we’ve been very active in the market to promote our offerings beyond our core, and also to successfully provide the services and deliver on what we talk about,” he adds. This is vital as many are unsure about how to switch or even aware that they can switch.

As one of the top three retailers in the market, home to more than 14 years’ experience, and award-winning, Wave is confident that choice in the market is not only about price.

“It’s about value of the service from the customer’s point of view and the water efficiency side of things is quite key to this as well,” details Shelley, explaining that water savings and efficiency remain the best way to reduce cost and Wave is a thought leader here. “The cheapest cubic meter of water is the one you don’t use.”

He highlights work with clients in recent years around efficiency and reducing consumption, taking usage out of their model, as those who are less concerned about changes to the price cap as they have

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already made significant savings.

Recently, on site at a multinational utilities company, Wave was made aware of an inaccessible leak which made repair tricky and caused significant inefficiency. The company’s Water Efficiency Services team visited and installed a new overground pipe, allowing for easier leak detection and repair, while remedying the challenging leak below ground. This solution has the potential to save the client £1.5 million in water consumption annually compared to leaving the difficult leak unattended. Addressing consumption and making savings is the first step towards cost reductions.

“We pride ourselves in being a bit different in that conversation,” says Shelley, highlighting that SMEs calling in with bill queries is by far the largest job for Wave account managers.

“We actively try and avoid sticking everyone in the same pot. A lot of retailers are very quick to state that bills must be paid, whatever the case.

We are trying to take them through a journey, understanding their

consumption, resolving problems, rather than becoming another hurdle.”

FUTURE FLOW By most metrics, Wave is performing well as it moves into the second half of its first official decade. Customer numbers are growing, particularly in March’s area in the public sector, and revenue is strong. Innovation and problem solving are built into the company culture, and Shelley is happy with what has been achieved as the company looks forward with ambition.

“I’d say we’re buoyant. What we have noticed is that this year, across the board, has been a lot better than previous years despite all of the challenges.”

He says that, from a water efficiency perspective, Wave has been more engaged with clients than ever, with the number of litres saved as high as ever, and the number of organisations actively discussing solutions higher than before. “That has really blown me away because traditionally we’ve done a lot of work in that space.

WAVE UTILITIES

“What we’ve seen is lots of customers who have never spoken to us about water efficiencies before, who have never queried about leaks or getting on top of that, actually engaging with us in that conversation, and then taking positive action - and that’s even with all the other pressures going on.”

Perhaps external factors have focussed the mind within organisations, and alongside the pressure from the public for big companies to do more, there is a fresh driving force behind investment into sustainability.

“Many businesses are discovering that they can’t exist in their own little bubble anymore. Everything else around them influences their well-being and whether their business succeeds or not, whether they like it or not,” suggests Shelley.

“That is why we don’t just talk about water efficiency – it’s the same

thing with energy efficiency. If we don’t find a way to be more sustainable as a society, it won’t matter how profitable we are, and it won’t matter how successful people’s businesses are,” he adds of the wider consequences of inaction, but positively stating that compared to when he started in the industry, there is now much more happening that would have previously been thought of as impossible.

The important message here is that now is the perfect time to act. There is much that Wave can do, and much that is being done within the industry for companies that are searching for better.

“The worst thing you can do is assume that the water that you use and have been using for the last five or six years is actually the right amount.

That always needs to be reviewed,” reinforces March. “And it’s something that we discuss with customers an

// THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO IS ASSUME THAT THE WATER THAT YOU USE AND HAVE BEEN USING FOR THE LAST FIVE OR SIX YEARS IS ACTUALLY THE RIGHT AMOUNT //

awful lot. We need to understand what should be used rather than what they are using. If you just assume that what you have been using is an efficient level then you’re going to miss opportunities where savings can be made. If you don’t use that water, then that’s the biggest saving you’re ever going to make, as well as contributing to your future environmental goals.”

Ultimately, Wave exists to support its customers, helping them to use less and save more, and against a challenging backdrop, even half of the success it has achieved would be mightily impressive. Going forward, the company’s sustainability focus will not change, and water will not be forgotten.

“Our ability to influence our customers – where we have 300,000 collectively using large quantities of water – is where our ability to do good is. So, if we can encourage them to just use a little bit less, that makes a big difference,” Shelley concludes.

Content sponsored by Wave Utilities

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LEONARDO HELICOPTERS

Inventive Leonardo Develops New Capability PRODUCTION: Rob Fenton

New technology, delivered through new digital solutions, by a growing team of global experts allows Leonardo to advance its industry while providing world-class products and services.

SVP Commercial Market Development, Paul de Jonge tells Energy Focus more about the ascent and stability of this pioneering international innovator.

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Paul de Jonge, SVP Commercial Market Development

INDUSTRY FOCUS: AVIATION

//

The blades are turning at Leonardo. In the past two years, while others have issued maydays, Leonardo has continued on a high-flying journey, proving its strength and stability, making the most of Covid-turbulence to speed ahead as it aims for global leading status in the aviation and aerospace industries.

Famed for the manufacture of safe and reliable aircraft, Leonardo Helicopters (Leonardo) has a long history with a cutting-edge product portfolio.

At the heart of this is the AW139, a multiengine passenger chopper, which

has now notched up more than three million flying hours. The company has sold more than 1200 worldwide and commands 40% of the market.

But this is just one part of the wider global business which has a goal of accelerating the technology evolution, investing heavily in innovation and development. Active across multiple sectors, Leonardo invents - pushing boundaries and quickly gliding into new spaces with lofty digital ideas.

“What sets us apart is innovation,” SVP Commercial Market Development, Paul de Jonge tells Energy Focus.

// WE PUT MONEY INTO MAKING AIRCRAFT BETTER THAN WHAT WE HAVE TODAY WHILE DEVELOPING FUTURE SOLUTIONS // 70 / www.energy-focus.net

“We put money into making aircraft better than what we have today while developing future solutions.

We have invested well in the 139, 169 and 189, which is now the Leonardo family of aircraft. We started 20 years ago and there is no such standard available elsewhere.

“We try to sell a solution – a capability,” he smiles. “That comprises of a helicopter, of course, but also the support services around that including training and logistical networks that make the aircraft effective for our customers.”

DIGITISATION The economic challenges of recent years have altered business strategies for even the most powerful international companies, and Leonardo

LEONARDO HELICOPTERS

has been no exception. Utilising the deep knowledge of its people and the powerful performance of its product range, the organisation has become a local partner for clients, but remaining globally present with both military and civilian offerings.

Recently, the company opened new centres in Italy, the UK, South Africa, and Brazil. Further growth is on the horizon as the company broadens its already solid digital strategy.

“How can we digitise the process around building a helicopter, through to how we can deliver helicopters digitally, and then how we can serve our customers more effectively by transmitting data,” questions de Jonge. “That includes inflight data to the ground, and also how that data is elaborated on the ground within

our customer’s own systems. There is a need for data and information to be immediate and we need to know the status of the aircraft at any time.

That translates through to how we train people. In the past, we have

asked people to come to our centres, but we can digitise that and deliver courses at home before they come to the site to receive hands-on training.”

With pilots and operators relying on recurring technical and practical

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: AVIATION

training from manufacturers more than any other form of skills development, the ability for Leonardo to reach people has become critical. With the world closed during the pandemic, digitisation of this process was quickly adopted and, as a technology innovator, Leonardo thrived.

“We are looking to digitise to make it more effective and more accessible. If we can increase accessibility then we can increase safety around how operators fly and use the aircraft,” de Jonge states, confirming a digital-first approach for both civilian and military segments.

“This is a fundamental part of how we want to position ourselves as a global manufacturer.

Whatever we do in terms of digital solutions, we offer for all parts of the business,” he adds. “Of course, military contracts have certain security

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frameworks through which we have to operate. In general, military work has been important and will become more important for us. This is partly because we have products that are competitive in their environments – military customers are often looking for dual use machines, that are civil-based but military adapted.”

With passenger services diving during periods of lockdown over 2020 and 2021, Leonardo filled extra capacity with additional work from military and defence clients.

Governments from around the world have been engaged with the famous Italian business, often for decades.

“We became even stronger following the Covid period and we did not expect that,” admits de Jonge.

“We have had two very good years and that is due partly to the products we have and the way we managed

our customer base. We mitigated the retraction in the civil market by increasing our work in the military space with our customers including European and American governments.

Passenger services have picked up again, and point-to-point travel services are coming back and growing again.

“We came out of Covid much more efficient as people learned quickly to work in a digital way. Two or three years ago, video conferencing was absolutely not the way we would communicate but it has become the norm and we are much more efficient – in my department alone, we have reduced travel by 40%,” he adds.

DEVELOPMENT Globally, the helicopter market was valued at US$45.2 billion in 2021 and is Continues on page 74

LEONARDO HELICOPTERS

Our unrelenting passion fuels change Having evaluated Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) for over a decade, GE Aerospace’s cutting-edge technology research and development has already enabled the first passenger, freighter, and military demonstration flights using 100% SAF in at least one engine. geaerospace.com

INDUSTRY FOCUS: AVIATION

Continued from page 72 expected to grow to US$74.5 billion by the end of the decade – CAGR of 6.24%.

This growth provides opportunities for established players in the market, and demonstrates the enthusiasm from government, corporate, and private customers to embrace alternate forms of travel. Innovation around cleaner, greener, smaller, and more efficient systems is also high on the agenda for many, and point-to-point travel has become popular for those that are lucky enough to afford it as they looked for options to travel without crowds during the pandemic.

But in the energy market, helicopter transport has always been the required method. Moving teams to and from oil and gas platforms, or wind farms, and being able to safely unload and return to shore quickly is essential. In the UK North Sea, increased

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activity on rigs, in an effort to localise oil and gas production and end reliability on Russia, has seen chopper flights increase by 5% y-o-y since Jan 2020. For Leonardo, opportunities are plentiful but de Jonge highlights two key focus areas under development right now.

“In the past, we have stayed away from the single engine market.

We believe there remains major opportunity in the market where we are already a leader, not necessarily in deliveries, but in value. However, we have made a decision to enter the single engine market with the acquisition of Kopter and the AW09.”

In 2021, Leonardo acquired the Kopter Group, a Swiss manufacturer, rebranding its single-engine SH09 as the AW09. The goal here is to bring a new standard of excellence to the single-engine market while delivering further choice for clients.

“This will result in direct

competition with the 125 and the 130 where there has not been any new design in the past 30 years. We want to put something into the market that is, from a design perspective, newer, safer and more effective,” de Jonge says.

If the Leonardo success of the twinengine market can be realised in the single-engine market, where values are smaller but volumes are larger, the sky is the limit for this ambitious organisation.

// WE WANT TO PUT SOMETHING INTO THE MARKET THAT IS, FROM A DESIGN PERSPECTIVE, NEWER, SAFER AND MORE EFFECTIVE //

LEONARDO HELICOPTERS

“If we have success and the aircraft does what we expect it to then we believe we can become number one in terms of value and number one in terms of delivery in the world,” smiles de Jonge.

Tiltrotor technology is also under development at Leonardo, with the company’s first flight from a production aircraft achieved in October 2022.

Designed to redefine a range of commercial and public services, the AW609 was tested for the first time in Philadelphia. Now, the AW609 has more than 2000 flight hours in the US and Italy, and is expected to be rolled out for a range of clients thanks to its speed at providing point-topoint transport. From business travel to transfer to remote locations, the AW609 can transport nine passengers over a long range. Agreements have been signed with clients, and the AW609 flight simulator in Philadelphia is in full use as Leonardo supports

customers with training and support packages. Initial expectations are for the AW609 to be used for government and military jobs, including SAR, special ops and border patrol, but use in the energy sector is not ruled out thanks to the aircraft’s ability to take off and land in confined spaces, and its capacity to operate far offshore.

“You have to be smart in how you design and build technology, and how you deploy aircraft like this as it is not the same as the traditional,” says de Jonge, adding that the company is convinced, more than ever, that this aircraft will revolutionise point-to-point connections and other air operations, providing a major contribution as the use of air space evolves further.

In the military space, Leonardo has strong heritage and continues to innovate with investment into unmanned assets. After initial publicity in 2017, the AWHero, a Leonardo platform, has come a long way and

was, in 2021, awarded the world’s first military certification for a rotary uncrewed aerial system (RUAS) by Italy’s DAAA (Direzione degli Armamenti Aeronautici e per l’Aeronavigabilità), Directorate for Air Armaments and Airworthiness. In the 200kg class, AWHero is feature-packed with platforms, sensors, mission systems, control stations, and offers customers a certified low risk, highly effective, fully integrated capability. Duties can include disaster relief, environmental monitoring, firefighting, and pipeline or powerline monitoring, and the system is operated from a Ground Control Station (GCS), complying with NATO STANAG-4586 standards.

“The 609, the AWHero, and the Kopter are the three products we are developing for the future. Within those products, we have a number of themes that are important for the industry around sustainability, hybridisation, electrification, and other synthetic

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: AVIATION

// WE LISTEN TO THE MARKET AND WE TRANSFORM INTERNALLY TO ENSURE WE DELIVER ON WHAT THE MARKET WANTS AND WHAT THE FUTURE TRENDS WILL BE // fuels. We want to grow here and we are pushing for innovation so that we can contribute to the overall umbrella around safety,” confirms de Jonge.

PEOPLE Despite its ever-growing product range, the engine of the entire Leonardo business is its people. This driving force of 12,000 people around the world is the fuel of innovation and the accelerator of change. Without the industry’s best people, a core pillar of the Leonardo growth strategy ‘mastering the new’, would be simply unachievable, and de Jonge explains that the

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company expends significant energy obtaining and securing great talent.

“Everything comes together when you have the right people,” he beams.

“That is our big challenge - how we can hire the right people and keep the right people on board so that the company can grow in the years to come.”

Hiring for existing vacancies is tough – the level of knowledge and expertise required to satisfy demanding clients is high. But predicting future trends in the market, and being proactive in a strategy to drive those trends is a very challenging recruitment environment.

“It is absolutely not easy, and tracking people to grow and develop while keeping them on board is vital.

We have to remain attractive when compared with other international aviation companies in Italy and around the world. We want to be international in our business and this is the case at the Kopter facility in Switzerland where we have more than 30 nationalities working on a development programme that will become a product.

“Our success comes from a combination of innovation, how we become more sustainable, and how we develop quality people – I cannot say enough about the importance of this. These three elements are fundamental around how we move forward in the future,” states de Jonge.

SERVICE CEILING? Currently, Leonardo’s helicopters are used in more than 150 countries and

LEONARDO HELICOPTERS

assist in almost all types of aviation mission. The range is respected, and complementary solutions are much sought after, but there is so much more for the company to do and de Jonge is excited about the journey.

“We recently opened a new facility in Brazil and that is a big facility to support the local market,” he says. “We recently opened a new maintenance facility in South Africa where we acquired a company to support all of southern Africa. We added more simulators to our main facility outside of Italy, in the USA, for the 169 and 609 which is the cornerstone for the development of aircraft. There will be more and we are busy planning for a number of developments in the coming years.”

Whether it’s technology, hardware, people, or markets, there is significant

scope for Leonardo to rise higher as it searches for fresh opportunities.

“We are strong Europe and the US, but we see the US as a strong growth market thanks to the 169 and 09 as a single-engine offering.

We see the US military market as one with major opportunity. We see Japan, Australia, the UK are markets in which we are growing across all segments – military, oil and gas, private transport, and law enforcement,” suggests de Jonge, hinting at further internationalisation of the company.

Like its namesake, this is a business at the very heart of the industry, solving problems through innovation and invention. A museum sits on the site of the Leonardo family villa close to Milan Malpensa Airport, housing historical information about the growth of the AgustaWestland business before

its merge into Leonardo in 2016.

This is more than a company hungry for profits. Leonardo Helicopters grows, builds, and flies the industry high, lifting customers and contributors with it.

“We innovate. We provide solutions for our customers,” de Jonge concludes. “We listen to the market and we transform internally to ensure we deliver on what the market wants and what the future trends will be.”

Ever-evolving, Leonardo is a trusted technology partner, and as long as it can innovate and deliver then there is no challenge too big for this global powerhouse as it accelerates the technology evolution.

WWW. UK.LEONARDO.COM

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MACKAY MARINE SA

Dynamic Mackay Positions for a Steady Course of Growth PRODUCTION: Tommy Atkinson

Leading seller and installer of communication and navigation equipment for seafaring vessels, Mackay Communications, dba Mackay Marine, has acquired South Africa’s Dynamic Marine Systems and is integrating the company to bolster its service portfolio. Combining DMS’ – now Mackay Marine South Africa’s – expertise in dynamic positioning systems, with an enhanced line of Nav/Comm equipment, provides a broader selection of products and services for efficient navigation and to augment overarching safety objectives in offshore operations.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: MARINE

//

In the global maritime industry, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) require vessels to meet certain standards to ensure safety and effectiveness. This is not only applicable in the construction of a vessel and its structure, but also essential in the rollout of technology installed on the bridge. Navigation and communication (Nav/Comm), satellite, radar, guidance, and various other controls must meet certain requirements, and for specialist ships, dynamic positioning (DP) is critical.

The offshore energy space is fraught with risk – the environment is harsh, and the hazards are common.

Far from the shore, in cold, bleak, choppy seas, vessels must take up precise positions to undertake crucial work - surveying, drilling, diving, etc.

By using specialised computer systems to control propellers and thrusters, combined with sensors and reference systems to determine the attitude and position of the vessel, the DP system controls three of the six elements of motion to ensure precise positioning

when traditional anchoring or tying up to a platform is not possible especially in challenging conditions.

But DP is not an out-of-the-box solution. Installation and maintenance of complex Nav/Comm equipment is complicated. Knowledge and experience are required – and this is not something you can gain instantly.

Typically, a Nav/Comm engineer has achieved significant time, both practically and theoretically, in the field – even more so is required for a DP specialist. Time spent on vessels, alongside senior personnel, learning and adapting, and understanding the wave of different DP requirements makes for an arduous and lengthy training process. It’s not for the feint hearted.

Mackay Marine, is a leading global Nav/Comm provider, headquartered in the USA. With 55+ locations around the world. When vessels need maritime electronics equipment sales and servicing, a trained Mackay technician has likely been dispatched by Mackay’s 24/7

Marine World Service (MWS) to meet the vessel and is prepared to assist.

However, in 2020 Mackay Communication’s President Jeff Schlacks was busy pursuing international growth and searching for opportunities to build on not only a strong footprint but create further depth in the service portfolio.

Through a thorough feedback process and extensive client consultation, Mackay had identified DP as a sticking point for customers. A glaring skills shortage and a cost challenge resulted in DP services being hard to come by.

At a manufacturer’s conference in Germany, Schlacks met Waldo Fourie, then Director of Dynamic Marine Systems (DMS), based out of Cape Town. With little presence on the African continent, Mackay was keen to expand, taking advantage of significant projects in offshore energy and the nature of African port geography at the centre of the global trade routes.

Quickly, synergies were found and Schlacks and Fourie went about establishing a relationship that would see DMS become part of the Mackay family.

CHANGE OF RECIPE? “I asked Jeff what he did. He told me he was a banker. I told him that I was not interested in selling to a banker.

He wouldn’t know the industry and he’d try to change things for maximum profit and not for what is needed to provide a long term, sustainable operation,” Fourie tells Energy Focus.

“I told him I would not lose people and if he bought the company, he would be getting a brilliant team.

He stopped me and said, ‘I do not buy the bagel shop and change the recipe, I buy a bagel shop because I like the bagels the shop makes.

“When Jeff did buy the company, there were no changes – nothing. He kept the company exactly the same; management in place, personnel the same, and all employment contracts remained South African.

That is how we still operate today.

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MACKAY MARINE SA

Nick Pope, Managing Director, Mackay Marine

Jeff primarily added more funding to expand new offices, recruit people and increase stock,” Fourie smiles, “coupled with a broader Nav/Comm portfolio and international customer base. It has been a win-win for all.”

Since establishment in 2015 and owned by two partners, DMS grew into a recognised DP service provider, but DMS remained a small business. To develop substantially, capital would be required for premises, people, and products.

“Jeff purchased a readymade recipe in a box – very low risk. He bought a technical sales and service team with knowledge of clients. The only risk was he was in another continent, and he had to trust the management team here,” explains Fourie.

Nick Pope, Managing Director of Mackay Marine Europe & South Africa says that the acquisition of DMS was a positive step forward for the global company, and new opportunities are already surfacing.

“DMS were experts in a part of the marine sector that Mackay

Waldo Fourie, Director of Dynamic Marine Systems (DMS), now Mackay Marine South Africa

wasn’t. Dynamic positioning is highly specialised and it is still taking us time to learn from our South African colleagues. The pool of people who know about DP is limited but DMS have that in abundance, and are knowledgeable about expansion opportunities on the African continent.”

GQEBERHA In November 2022, Mackay South Africa opened its fourth location, in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), with the goal of servicing more vessels, more efficiently, while being closer to customers. Previously, the company had flown technicians from Cape Town (or driven 800km during the pandemic). Fourie saw the opportunity to set up a permanent presence as a spill over from Durban and access to more African markets was appealing.

“Durban is the biggest port in SA, but Gqeberha sees around a third of the traffic. We were busy there but we had to bill clients for our time on the road,” he admits. “It made business sense to open an office there and it

took us just 26 days from discussing the idea to getting the door open.

We have targets that marine service technicians should meet every month, and we’ve exceeded that every single month so far. Gqeberha is strategically well-located for the east coast of Africa too. We’re looking at expanding there with more personnel to service a very diverse market.”

Clients are delighted with the service and stockholding. Mackay promises to ensure quality of the highest standard, delivering the same excellence to a small fishing vessel as it does for a large deep-sea tanker.

During the pandemic, this quality level of service was called on like never before since out-of-country technicians were barred from South Africa because of lockdowns. Shipping was an essential service and continued at pace. Vessels required servicing, and equipment and technology maintenance was not optional. In Mackay’s other global markets, the situation was similar, and the company was relied upon to provide on-demand and planned services across

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// WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUOUS GROWTH BUT ATTRACTING TECHNICALLY COMPETENT PEOPLE INTO THE INDUSTRY WILL BE OUR CHALLENGE // the port cities where it had a presence.

“We operate in the energy sector, and that is also an essential service.

Many clients supported of us with letters of request for our services and so we were allowed to work,” says Fourie. “We could travel, but no one else was allowed to travel into our region. External contractors could not get here as there were no flights, so people had to use us – obviously our service level is good as well.

We drove all over the country while keeping our rates the same.”

Today, Mackay has 55 locations

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globally, growing from 42 in September 2020. The pandemic and ensuing economic challenges have not dampened ambitions within this eager organisation.

“Mackay grows in an organic manner,” states Pope. “We don’t have bank loans and we’re not an investment company – we want to grow our ‘family’. Waldo has done an unparalleled job of growing the business in South Africa, and he has assembled a very experienced team.

“We are looking forward to continuous growth but attracting technically competent people into the industry will be our challenge.

Our natural pool of personnel, which were seafarers coming ashore, has pretty much dried up.

We must attract new blood.”

NEW BLOOD According to Fourie and Pope, there is no doubt about the challenge for Mackay going forward. Even with large offshore discoveries documented regularly, and with offshore wind gathering pace around the world, supporting vessels and the wider

maritime industry is facing a personnel shortage and a lack of skills.

A lengthy and costly process, bringing fresh talent into the industry – specifically around DP – is a hurdle that must be overcome by Mackay, and the wider industry.

“Going back more than 25 years, we were already aware there was too few seagoing personnel to meet the manning needs of vessels sailing around the world. The situation has not improved since then and we’re desperate for people to come into our industry,” details Pope, adding that the industry remains a tough one in which to work.

“If you turn up late to a factory with a spare part, you’ll have an angry manager as they will have lost hours of production. If you arrive late to a vessel with your spare part, the vessel has potentially moved to another port and if so, the part and technician now need a complete re-set. It’s like working with a moving target. There are multiple factors that contribute to making our industry very fluid.”

In 2021, a BIMCO/ICS Seafarer Workforce Report warned of a

MACKAY MARINE SA

// IF YOU ARRIVE LATE TO A VESSEL WITH YOUR SPARE PART, THE VESSEL HAS POTENTIALLY MOVED TO ANOTHER PORT AND IF SO, THE PART AND TECHNICIAN NOW NEED A COMPLETE RE-SET // significant shortage of officers coming into the industry by 2026 which will have an impact on the global merchant fleet. Earlier this year, a shortage of vessels was highlighted as a potential challenge for the UK’s lofty offshore wind rollout ambitions.

In Nav/Comm and DP engineering, there is already a personnel shortage.

“The average employee expects to work hard, maybe work some overtime, but they know they’ll go home each night. We’ve had people deployed into Africa, alone, on 12-day assignments… and 47 days later, they return home. In Africa, there’s a lot of

red tape and it’s hard to get the skills, so when you’re there they want to keep you to align with their schedules. We have a joke where our technicians say, ‘I’ll be gone for five days, or maybe 50’. There is no such thing as just working for eight hours. It’s demanding work and there aren’t a lot of people willing to do it,” explains Fourie.

So, why would you want to become a DP and Nav/Comm technician?

“For dedicated team players who are technically savvy and keen to learn a broad spectrum of technologies, there’s job security and high demand for your skills,” highlights Pope.

“Techs with an appetite for travel to unique locations, with a good earnings potential, can be assured there’s no monotony in this job! An immense amount of satisfaction is gained from repairing critical equipment which is depended upon by a whole crew and vessel owners for safe navigation,” he adds.

“The key to providing and retaining a robust DP and Nav/Comm Technician team is training and practical exposure that drives continual improvement of skills,” says Fourie, an industry veteran of a quarter century.

Training is expensive and time

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consuming. A DP technician will require extensive theoretical and practical training before assessment. Advances in technology, and the drive to deliver the safest operation possible, do mean regular updates in DP operations and the evaluation of systems. This is where being a member of guidance authority, such as IMCA, is very important to stay abreast of the latest developments.

For personnel who do make it through this process, there is a strict shadowing period where senior technicians/surveyors impart knowledge before a junior person is ever allowed to work alone. Because of the nature of the industry, Nav/Comm and DP systems are part of the wider focus on safety and risk management – and expertise here is non-negotiable.

A DP surveyor has the potential to take a vessel off-contract with an ‘A -Finding’. This places a significant responsibility on the company to ensure personnel are properly trained, up-to-date on the regulations, aware of changes in the regulations, and have an in-depth understanding of vessel systems and the integration thereof in a DP vessel.

“If you want to survive and be

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successful, you must train and be willing to take risks with new technical personnel. This year, we are starting with apprenticeships. We hope to keep people with us, as we treat them well, but we know not everyone will stay. As we expand into Africa, we want to recruit people from certain countries in order for them to work in those countries for Mackay. The challenge is about managing quality and ensuring a vessel will get the same level of service throughout Africa as it would in Cape Town or UAE or Rotterdam or Houston,” details Fourie.

DP CAPABILITY The low number of accredited DP practitioners in Africa is alarming.

“Waldo probably knows most of the certified DP technicians on the continent,” jokes Pope. With major opportunities off the coast of almost every ocean facing nation around east, west and southern Africa, manpower is essential. But specialised skills, as detailed as a requirement by the IMO, remain difficult to obtain. Even so, in the offshore energy market, DP knowledge is imperative.

“You will not be able to approach

// YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO APPROACH ANY RIG OR OFFSHORE PLATFORM FOR OPERATIONS UNLESS YOU ARE A DP VESSEL. ALL YOUR OFFSHORE HANDLERS AND PLATFORM SERVICE VESSELS HAVE DP // any rig or offshore platform for operations unless you are a DP vessel.

All your offshore handlers and platform service vessels have DP. It is a different sector – in the normal commercial space, you can go from one port to another and complete a service. But with DP vessels, they are contracted to a region and that is where they stay for the duration of the contract. Service firms must adapt to their schedule and work around them. If they have maintenance days, you must be there on the maintenance day. You cannot just schedule a day that suits you. It’s a high-pressure environment and you cannot take a vessel out of commission because you are slow,” reminds Fourie.

“If you are working in deep water, it is preferred to keep the vessel in place with DP. It’s all about accuracy.

The margins are generally sub-meter but can go down to sub-decimetre accuracy. When laying pipe, you typically have a pipe end-target touchdown point of 80 x 80 cm on the seabed in water depths of a few 100 meters.

When drilling in deep water (4000 feet), ultra deep water (7000 feet), or carry out construction operations at depths that make it impractical or very costly to fix a structure to the seabed, you

MACKAY MARINE SA

use dynamic positioning. You cannot have a vessel floating around doing its own thing. It’s the same with dive operations, ROV operations, offloading, and many other activities – everything links back to DP as a sector on its own.

Highlighting the importance of DP as an element within the wider technology portfolio of a vessel, Fourie’s desire is to work with Schlacks and the relevant Mackay Service teams to build out comprehensive DP offerings beyond South Africa.

“We’re keen to position Mackay as a leader in DP services globally. Just looking at the locations we have around the world, we’re not talking about a large shift for the business, but a valued add-on for many of the company’s worldwide client-base. The capacity and quality systems are there, it’s just about setting up centres of excellence, in the right places, at the right times.”

POSITIVE PEOPLE At all times, Mackay is busy searching for new technology partners and inking new service agreements that keep its client’s vessels moving seamlessly.

Mackay is an established installation and service partner of Anschütz (previously Raytheon-Anschütz), Cobham Satcom, Danelec, Furuno, Inmarsat, JRC, Jotron, KVH, Netwave (S.O.S.), Yokogawa, Zenitel, and more. In 2022, they were awarded preferred service provider for Intellian in the Asia/Middle East region and a Worldwide Sales Partner.

Going forward, it is quality products from world-leading partners, alongside deep industry knowledge that will ensure Mackay grows with quality at the bow.

“We are ISO rated and audited by a number of major class societies - they certify that we are up to standard,” confirms Pope.

“We are optimistic about Africa and other key regions,” he adds. “Mackay talks to customers. They tell us where they have challenges securing reliable services. We listen and we often act on those hints. We do have aspirations

to grow in regions around the world and we’ll diversify if we hear the needs from clients. We know our business and when we add locations we don’t just jump in. Having someone locally who knows their business area and whom we can trust is imperative.

It is why we invested in DMS.” Fourie underscores Mackay’s membership in IMCA as an important consideration for potential clients looking for a partner in Africa when vessels need maintenance, inspection, or product installation.

Mackay is an active participant in IMCA’s thought-leadership forum, and our teams examine IMCA guidance closely to ensure best practice.

“They have an amazing overview of the industry. Many of the major operators will ask about our IMCA status before engaging with us at all.

We have access to all IMCA documents, and we study those forensically.

For work in the offshore industry, engagement with IMCA is vital.”

Mackay Marine South Africa is demonstrative of the international group; searching for new opportunities alongside clients and working with the best products in the market to ensure growth. Emphatic growth

over the past few years, even against a very stormy backdrop, shows that Mackay is a business that is inspired working through the rough seas.

“We are positive people working in a healthy company. We’re all connected very closely, and encouraged to be transparent, which makes our commitment more personal,” says Pope.

Schlacks is also confident about the route forward and has his compass set on quality service delivery at every opportunity.

“Combining DMS with Mackay’s extensive global footprint, abundant inventory, commitment to training, and breadth of Nav/Comm partners, will elevate both organisations to better serve current and future customers,” he said of the acquisition.

By listening to the market and filling in gaps, when it makes strategic sense, Mackay’s growth will continue to be robust, as it solidifies its position as an industry leader.

Content sponsored by Mackay Marine SA

WWW.MACKAYCOMM.COM

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DSA ARCHITECTS INTERNATIONAL

DSA Is Dedicated to Doing More With Less PRODUCTION: Tommy Atkinson

“We are a leading architectural practice with a passion for creative, sustainable and innovative design,” opens Mike Scott, Group Managing Director of DSA Architects International, of a company which has spent more than 35 years accruing an enviable track record of award-winning projects across the globe. Sustainable, responsible developments that address the negative environmental and social impacts of projects are the order of the day in an ever-growing portfolio of peerless prestige.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: ARCHITECTURE

// WE HAVE DELIVERED PROJECTS IN OVER 30 COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD, WHILST PROVIDING THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF CREATIVITY, INNOVATION AND TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE AS STANDARD //

Mike Scott - Managing Director

//

Founded in 1985 with the establishment of Ridler Shepherd Low Architects (RSL Architects) in Johannesburg, South Africa, DSA as it stands today is a company evincing massive developments in scale, scope, and diversity. “We have delivered projects in over 30 countries around the world, whilst providing the highest levels of creativity, innovation and technical excellence as standard, and consistently pushing the boundaries of new technology and innovation,” relates Scott.

“This is always with a recognition and appreciation of the local history, culture, and a sense of place from one location to the next. Our core principle is to provide design solutions that offer a clear sense of place relating to their location and cultural traditions.” This ethos has been of central importance to the successful delivery of landmark, sustainable

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buildings, and environments across the globe from strategic locations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia.

“With a unique passion and ‘can do’ approach, we combine international expertise with local knowledge to realise signature projects, from creative inception through to completed handover.”

At the beating heart of DSA is non-negotiable adherence to responsible innovation, and the firm belief that contributing positively to a sustainable built environment is a vital part of its role in addressing the potential negative environmental and social impacts of projects. “Designs that fully consider the use of eco-friendly materials, energy conservation and waste reduction are always our goal.”

RESPONSIBLE INNOVATION According to Scott, this commitment is integral to DSA’s core business, and becomes an even more acute focus

as time goes on with a number of key developments having recently emerged. “Obviously, with many of our major projects being hospitality-driven we are mandated to generate a portion of our own energy, from our own lot through some form of renewable energy. In Portugal and Spain, for example, we are no longer allowed to heat external swimming pools without using a renewable source - the last work we undertook in Cap Vermell Grand Hotel in Mallorca, Spain saw us tasked with producing 10% of our energy consumption onsite in order to comply.

“Lately we have been increasingly using geothermal as an option on a domestic scale, in upmarket housing,” he describes as one element of DSA’s response, “in order to support air conditioning systems for heating and cooling. It is not yet sufficient to provide for the hot water as well - although we do achieve some heat recovery on the AC return pipework - instead we use photovoltaic panels to heat the water, which means that for this too we have a renewable source of energy, a combination that represents a typical approach and framework for us going forward.

“It is inarguable that geothermal Continues on page 90

The technical framework ensures a rigorous treatment of the designs, both through vast experience in the most diverse sectors of economic activities, as well as through the constant challenge of searching for new and better solutions.

Thus ensuring that projects leave with technical rigor and budgetary procedure. The continuous search for the best tools for calculation and development of engineering projects is also a constant concern, and the company is already qualified to work in BIM (Building Information Modeling), thus allowing better quality and interactivity among all stakeholders in the project, as well as reducing all possible errors.

END - Engenharia Dinamica is a engineering company that started in 2009 as a result of the vision of its partners André de Brito Palma and Davide Miguel Santos Lourenço. Since its creation in Lisbon, Portugal, END - Engenharia Dinamica has become a reference engineering office at national and international level, either through its subsidiary in Mozambique or in some external countries, such as Angola, Spain, Belgium, Cape Verde and Gambia.

SERVICES: ENGINEERING: Structural; HVAC; Electrical and Telecommunications; Plumbing; Fire Safety; Acoustics; Energy Analysis; Renewable Energies Systems.

BIM MANAGEMENT LEED GREEN ASSOCIATE PASSIVHAUS PROJECT MANAGEMENT ENERGY LABEL CERTIFICATION

LISBON – AZORES – MOZAMBIQUE

Tel: +351 212 977 323 geral@engenhariadinamica.com www.engenhariadinamica.com

INDUSTRY FOCUS: ARCHITECTURE

Continued from page 88

// DSA BELIEVES THAT LOW-ENERGY DESIGN SHOULD BE THE PRODUCT OF APPROPRIATE BUILDING ANALYSIS AND DESIGN SOLUTIONS, WITH THE INCORPORATION OF COMMON SENSE SUSTAINABLE PRINCIPLES //

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is an expensive solution as an investment,” Scott recognises, “but in the long-run with regards returns there are no general, additional costs. This is dependent on the location around the globe of course, as we are entirely reliant on what we are gaining naturally from the earth itself, but we are able to go down between 90-120 metres with our boreholes which then provides the requisite energy for the heat or cooling systems to function from that.”

There has been a veritable litany of similar initiatives which Scott relays, all of varying degrees of complexity in their implementation and integration.

“We have also used wind turbines in the past although these are, it goes without saying, somewhat more difficult to conceal than most things which we aim to do where possible. When it comes to PV panels, for example, we avoid

where possible sticking them onto the outside of buildings. It is a constantly evolving science, though, and already there is the option with very modern buildings to use vertical wall panels, akin to those promoted previously by Tesla, which we are anxious to explore.

“Pellet power is another area that holds promise for us, in using wood pellets to heat water, and this is in fact how we accomplished the 10% target at the Cap Vermell Grand Hotel project.” Such a staunch and all-encompassing dedication to this duty has attracted the attention of a wealth of likeminded companies.

MORE WITH LESS “We have several U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professionals among our

DSA ARCHITECTS INTERNATIONAL

team, and we use their experience and know-how to challenge ourselves to search for creative solutions focusing on optimum technical performance through the life cycle of the building,” Scott summarises. LEED provides a framework for healthy, efficient, carbon and cost-saving green buildings, a globally recognised symbol of sustainability achievement backed by an entire industry of committed organisations and individuals paving the way for market transformation.

“Good building practice is about doing more with less and DSA believes that low-energy design should be the product of appropriate building analysis and design solutions, with the incorporation of common sense sustainable principles,” says Scott, and this ethos of good sense and prudence really need not entail a full-scale operational overhaul or a complete shift in thinking.

“It is really as simple as designing only with materials that are readily available, to begin. If you start importing from all over the world this means great difficulty in achieving those key LEED requirements. It is about going back to designing sensibly, with the materials at your disposal.

“It is where LEED, and Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) - the environmental assessment method for buildings and communities come into their own to engender long-term benefits to running costs, helping the client to make key decisions and present ways in which to reduce the overall cost and footprint of the building.

“In the hospitality industry, a lot of the time we are trying to create an environment that has a certain image and style,” Scott adds, “so to then add a tower behind that vista with a wind turbine sitting atop it is likely to jar somewhat. Especially in five-star hotels clients simply do not wish to see that, nor photovoltaic panels, but they do want to know that we are doing

everything we can to save energy.

There is a real disjunction there.”

One of these landmark five-star developments for DSA has been the Hyatt Regency Erbil Residences and the launch of its 93 stylishly furnished serviced apartments. DSA Architects International was appointed in 2017 to complete and transform the previous residences, to meet all the expectations of its Hyatt branding embodied by vibrant, luxury hotels where lifestyle meets select service.

With the residences’ adjoining 204-guestroom hotel Hyatt Regency Erbil set to open in 2026, DSA’s involvement ranged from consultation on the apartments to the redesign and fitting out of the public areas and back of house to create modern, long-stay business-orientated accommodation.

“On this project we coordinated with

interior designers, taking on their proposals and seeing them through to construction that included high-quality bespoke furniture,” Scott concludes.

“The development is ideally placed to fulfil the Hyatt Regency mission of bringing people together and fostering connections, a vital role in an uncertain world. Working on this project gave us all an insight into another culture, a lively world well worth seeing which we got to know through this project.”

WWW.DSA-ARCH.COM

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CERAWEEK 2023

Security, Affordability, Transition – Energy Trilemma in the Spotlight PRODUCTION: David Hill

Breaking down barriers, powering partnership, and igniting innovation has been at the heart of the famed CERAWeek conference since its establishment. This year, one of continued tumult and upheaval, is one which few have strategized for, and no one can reliably predict.

This makes CERAWeek 2023 one of the most important gatherings of energy industry people in modern times, as the best in the space meet to discuss the way forward with affordability, security, and speed of transition foremost on the agenda.

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Book signing of ‘The Globalization Myth’ by author Shannon K. O’Neil, Council on Foreign Relations

INDUSTRY FOCUS: EVENTS

//

Daniel Yergin, S&P Global Vice Chairman and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, hosted another CERAWeek in March, highlighting the challenges and opportunities in the global energy industry. Known as a fountain of knowledge on the history of energy markets, Yergin is comfortable looking back, even through the past tumultuous year; but looking forward is a whole different proposition. Today, making predictions is harder than ever before. The level of uncertainty is sky high and - whether it’s the Russian problem or global supply chain issues or Covid-19 legacy or green transition related challenges – reliability, the holy grail of certainty for investors and stakeholders, seems like a dream.

In Houston, one of the world’s energy capitals – where there is a

shift underway, moving from oil and gas centre to energy transition home – leaders from the global energy space gathered for a week of insight, awareness, idea sharing, collaboration, and empowerment to bring about change and advance the future of energy.

CERAWeek is a product of Cambridge Energy Research Associates, a US consultancy offering up industry leading advice for governments and organsation on energy markets, geopolitics, and industry trends. First held in 1981, the event has attracted hundreds of thousands of attendees over the years, with the world’s most important speakers gracing the stage each year. Now delivered by global intelligence and insight business S&P, CERAWeek grows in popularity each year. Typically an event delivered

Always somewhere to go or see in the Agora Atrium

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from a US perspective, CERAWeek is a unquestionably global in importance, and with energy security now a top priority for most governments, knowledge about the way forward that comes from discussions at CERAWeek

// WE SAW HOW QUICKLY, WHEN FORCED TO PRIORITISE SUPPORTING THE ECONOMY OR SUPPORTING PEOPLE’S NEED FOR ENERGY, WE ABANDON CLIMATE OBJECTIVES //

CERAWEEK 2023

Audience at the Electrification of Everything plenary

will help, as much as possible, as complicated planning is at the heart of country and company strategy.

In 2023, the key themes include volatility, sparked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine; technology and innovation, as existing infrastructure is either phased out of adapted to achieve Net Zero targets; finance and capital, with trillions of dollars needed to continue a transition against a backdrop of high inflation; supply chains and commodity markets, required to achieve any sort of transition but over complicated and overpriced as they are; and the workforce, which will need to be overhauled and upskilled to team up with AI to meet significant challenges. But the central question posed to almost all of the experts across the week, in some shape or form, is about the trilemma – security, affordability, and speed of change.

Building an energy system that

is secure, sustainable, and affordable, while at the same time redesigning and redeveloping the global economy to address the climate change challenge – this is the problem facing organisations, and discussions at CERAWeek were underpinned by this key theme.

HIGH PROFILE Darren Woods, CEO at ExxonMobil, told the conference: “We saw how quickly, when forced to prioritise supporting the economy or supporting people’s need for energy, we abandon climate objectives. We saw that in Europe as it

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: EVENTS

went back to burning coal. The lesson there is to make sure that, as we move forward, we have policies that strike a balance and continue to manage all the dimensions of our energy need, providing affordable and reliable power to people around the world, at the same time finding ways to quickly reduce emissions. We can do both of those things, but policy needs to be structured to support that.”

He added that oil and gas remain vital as an energy source in the energy transition. “We recognised before

// AFFORDABLE AND RELIABLE ENERGY IS ESSENTIAL TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND THE ADVANCEMENT OF HUMAN PROGRESS //

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unveiling our strategy in 2018, that it was underinvested. It’s a depletion business. Most people forget that with every barrel that is produced, that is then not available for the future and the industry has to continue to invest. In 2018, when everyone was pulling back, we leaned in – and we were heavily criticised at the time for doing so – but we recognised at some point that supply would be needed and we wanted to make sure we would be there to provide.”

Mike Wirth, CEO at Chevron, agreed, saying: “The world uses an enormous amount of energy. It’s what makes life possible and what makes life better in developed countries and those that are still developing. Affordable and reliable energy is essential to the quality of life and the advancement of human progress. The issue of how we best move towards a lower carbon future is one that is being reframed as we get some real experience in pushing

these new technologies forward.

“The world runs on System A and we want to move to System B but it is only 2% built so you have to be very careful about turning System A off prematurely. System B needs to be scaled and proven in the conditions that are needed to provide the energy supply that the world depends on.”

Hon. John Kerry, the first United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, was clear in the message that a managed transition ensures success across the trilemma. “Demand is there globally. People are demanding that we keep our economies moving.

You can’t suddenly just shut off the economy, shut off the lights, and shut of the heat - you have to keep things going. But at the same time, you can stay focused on reducing the emissions that are the by-product of the energy that keeps your economy moving.

Continues on page 98

CERAWEEK 2023

The Hover Wind-Powered MicrogridTM

Transforming the Way People Think About Power.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: EVENTS

Women in Energy Reception

Continued from page 96 There is a shift in the marketplace, and that will continue. Companies are starting to move. They’re reducing their own emissions, and they’re looking at ways to have a clean supply chain.”

Clearly, a significant point from the

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event is that, despite the challenges driven by Russia, the commitments to emission reductions and achieving climate goals are not going to be neglected. The demand from people is clear – keep us energised, move us forward, but clean up your act – and do it all at the same time.

Herein lays the challenge, and this is where discussion in the event’s Innovation Agora become increasingly important.

FUTURE ENERGY An expected hot topic across the Hilton Americas in Houston was hydrogen and its inevitable deployment within energy systems of the future. The abundant element and its use within the energy mix as unquestioned, but safe generation, storage, and deployment at scale remain experimental. Industry leader, Linde and the company’s VP Clean energy, David Burns was on

hand to explain more about use in refinery processes. Alongside a panel of hydrogen experts, Burns highlighted the current level of expertise in the space and said that Linde is ready now. “For Linde, steel is already a very important business. We’re very familiar with it and we’re well connected with the major players. So as customers look to decarbonize, we’re in a good position to step in and support. The viability of green hydrogen is largely dependent on having a continuous and viable supply of green power.

That’s what will determine the pace of uptake,” he said.

Driving a new conversation on the renewable front, Chris Griffin – CEO at Hover Energy – presented the company’s innovative wind powered micro grid solution and integrated energy management system, which Continues on page 101

Generating Power Where it is Consumed Hover Energy is helping accelerate the energy transition through unique climate technology. The company’s Wind-Powered Microgrid™ was recently on display at CERAWeek 2023 in Houston, and the innovative package stood alone in the renewable energy space. CEO Chris Griffin highlights for Energy Focus the impact of Hover, and the major opportunities in the market.

In 2022, Hover Energy was lauded as Technology Innovation of the Year at the Wind Investment Awards thanks to its ability to offset up to 100% (and sometimes well beyond 100%) of a building’s power consumption. The Hover Wind-Powered Microgrid™ features a combination of proprietary wind power technology and solar energy generation, with a state-of-the-art electronic control system for behind-the-meter power integration.

At CERAWeek 2023, Hover was the only company to display an integrated system which can harness alternative forms of natural power, owning the technology and creating contributors from consumers.

What is the problem that Hover Energy is solving?

Energy security and independence. The built environment is a consumer of nearly one third of all power on earth but, sadly, this massive consumer has never been a contributor to its own power needs, and its reliance on the grid makes both energy security and aspirations to achieve net zero nearly impossible.

We have, for too long, been dependent on centralised power. We believe we can be a part of the transition to independence through distributed energy. What if you could utilise the assets you already have instead of planning for them from a distance? At Hover Energy, we envision a world where buildings can capture all of the energy they need from their very own rooftop – it’s not only possible, but it is being done right now. We have worked with the best of the best, over the past decade, to exponentially increase the achievable power on site. Our Wind-Powered Microgrid™ features a Renewable Energy Router control system, which has an open architecture to combine multiple sources of renewable energy.

I walked through the conference looking for different microgrid solutions and I only found two that looked at microgrids in a similar way to Hover – meaning they were integrating multiple technologies to deliver as much power on site as possible. In one instance, the solution provider was acting primarily as a developer, with no technology IP being deployed. The other microgrid solution I saw incorporated fossil fuel burning gensets as a component of their solution, whereas Hover is 100% renewable. Not a bad solution, just not ‘clean’. And during the conference, there was one other that had embarked on a path that’s focused on a singular technology.

After years of being in the market, Hover is convinced that an open-architecture, multi-source approach has the greatest future in renewable energy microgrids.

How does the Hover technology work and how scalable is the concept?

Hover can design, develop and deploy a power solution that takes full advantage of all environmental resources.

The volume of power produced by the Hover Wind Powered Microgrid™ is a game changer for the built environment. The aerodynamic design of the turbine uses the building as a sail. As wind sweeps up and over the edge, it is accelerated significantly. The unique shape of the wind turbine diverters and positioning on the building’s edge, further optimise the available wind resource. Silent night-time power means the potential for 24-hour production. Solar acts as a complement to the turbine array, generating power during daylight hours.

The energy captured by both sources is directed into a Renewable Energy Router where the energy is combined, cleaned, and converted into three-phase AC power, directly linked to the building management system (BMS).

The result is transformation of the built environment from a consumer to a contributor of energy. Whether you are a building, an island, or a city, achieving energy independence and securing resilience is finally a reality.

Hover connects people to the power they consume.

Already active on rooftops around the world, the idea is evidenced with major international clients and could benefit your business financially and environmentally.

Contact Hover today to learn more. www.hoverenergy.com | info@hoverenergy.com +1 (214) 771-9747

INCREASE THE RECOVERY OF NATURAL RESOURCES WITH SUSTAINABLE NANOBUBBLE TECHNOLOGY

Nanobubbles are a new class of science that enhances and improves the performance and productivity of some of the most critical industrial processes, unlocking the power of water to help farmers grow more food, empower businesses to manage their water needs more effectively and efficiently, restore aquatic ecosystems sustainably without chemicals, and improve the extraction of minerals and natural resources. Established in 2016 in California, Moleaer, the global leader in nanobubble technology, has continually expanded this science into a variety of industries with more than 2000 installations in over 51 countries around the world.

Nanobubbles have unique properties and behaviors, such as a high surface area, the ability to alter fluid properties and high gas transfer efficiency, that can be applied to mining and oil and gas industries to aid in mineral recovery and production.

For example, the leaching of primary sulfide ores requires the presence of oxygen. Nanobubbles can assist in creating an oxygen-rich environment to facilitate ferric oxidation and help maintain and enable heterotrophic microbial activity. This can lead to an improvement in the kinetic copper recovery rate of the heap leach, especially in leaching applications with poor permeability and naturally low oxygen levels.

In oil and gas applications, nanobubbles have been found to have a variety of impacts, from enhancing oil recovery in waterbased flooding techniques to increasing oil/water separation rates in produced water treatment applications. The type of gas used to create the bubbles can be adjusted to influence the impacts and objectives, from carbon dioxide or nitrogen to hydrocarbon-based gases. The bubbles themselves have been shown to improve the wettability of the fluids they are in as well as provide a scouring effect due to their surface charge and affinity for hydrophobic substances. Meanwhile, the addition of the gas can have a miscibility effect that increases swelling and reduces viscosity, increasing production on existing assets.

Green hydrogen production is a new frontier that will be essential to reduce emissions and decarbonize heavy industries and transportation. Splitting water molecules via electrolysis using renewable electricity produces emissions-free “green hydrogen”, however, an enormous amount of electricity is required in this process. Global green hydrogen production targets will require more renewable electricity than the total current global capacity. Research is underway to harness the power of nanobubbles to improve the efficiency of hydrogen production from electrolysis and sustainably reduce the amount of electricity required to separate hydrogen from water.

Academic research on nanobubble applications is growing rapidly, with over 2,000 research articles published in 2022 alone.

More and more commercial industries are implementing nanobubbles in their aqueous processes to deliver efficiency, improved sustainability, and increased return on investment. Moleaer has partnered with world renowned universities and global leaders, such as BASF Mining Solutions, to accelerate and deliver the benefits of nanobubbles in the world’s most critical industries. Moleaer’s largest customer industries include agriculture, aquaculture, surface water, municipal and industrial wastewater, mining, oil and gas, and continues to expand its applications into new arenas.

Learn more at www.moleaer.com or contact us at info@moleaer.com to learn how nanobubble technologies can improve your business.

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CERAWEEK 2023

Continued from page 98 has already been proven on rooftops around the world, taking the built environment from net energy consumer to contributor. With specially designed, highly efficient turbines, and a microgrid concept that is trademarked, Hover has been engaged by governments and private institutions to bring renewable energy into their asset portfolio. “To succeed, we need to move past the concept of a singular technology answer and start thinking about how we integrate technologies.

Replacing grid level fossil fuels with grid level renewables is an important step already underway in many parts of the world. we believe our future is creating clean energy, right where it is

consumed. Microgrids give people and cities the ability to create distributed energy with no transmission, thereby ensuring greater energy independence.”

In technology and innovation, California-based Moleaer was in attendance to discuss the growing phenomenon around nanobubbles.

This relatively new area has already seen major success in the oil and gas industry, and is showing promise in hydrogen. Nanobubbles assist in a number of different applications, but in separation of product in mining and reducing water recycling in oil and gas, this is an innovation that will undoubtedly add value to operations.

“By unlocking the power of water to enable industries to do more with less, Moleaer is protecting and growing

the world’s resources,” said CEO Nick Dyner, explaining the company’s role in the energy transition.

Within the Innovation Agora - an open marketplace for the exchange of ideas and insights on energy innovation, emerging technologies, and solutions – more than 300 speakers gave special attention to the different lanes in which they run as part of the transition journey. Thankfully, 125 startups were also present giving hope that brilliant minds continue to enter the energy space and most see opportunities over challenges.

TAKE AWAY After each CERAWeek, attendees leave with big ideas and hope for the year ahead, often with new partnerships

Dinner & Dialogue Geopolitics -Reshaping the World plenary

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: EVENTS

// TO SUCCEED, WE NEED TO MOVE PAST THE CONCEPT OF A SINGULAR TECHNOLOGY ANSWER AND START THINKING ABOUT HOW WE INTEGRATE TECHNOLOGIES // and blossoming relationships in place, and this year was no different. The event continues to act as an ecosystem of invention, and a chamber of development in the energy industry.

“These insights help us foster collaboration in answering this century-defining challenge. I look forward to seeing how the big ideas and innovative solutions discussed throughout the week take shape as we

forge ahead toward our global clean energy goals,” said Sandhya Ganapathy, CEO EDP Renewables North America, reflecting on her experience in Houston.

Some of the key take aways from the event surrounded the importance of collaboration, technology, and ambition. Firstly, again hinting at the damaging impact of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, many were keen to point out that the only sustainable

way to achieve energy security and protect consumers from oil price waves is to reduce reliance on fossil fuels altogether – a sentiment backed by the big O&G players, albeit at a managed pace. Secondly, the development of new technologies in the replacement of fossil fuels is essential, and hydrogen will definitely be a star in this regard.

Third, digitalisation of systems is fundamental, and making the most of AI and technology advances will be key in decarbonising electricity – this includes grid improvement, waste reduction, clear understanding of grid patterns, and the ability to shift input as needed, embracing renewables. Lastly, collaboration is critical - this cannot be understated.

HYDROGEN HOPE IN HARD-TO-ABATE SECTORS Hydrogen is used today across a wide range of industrial processes in sectors such as chemicals, refining, aerospace, electronics, metals, and glass. As the world unfolds the full potential of the lightweight gas, the scope for its application increases beyond its traditional uses to include a key role in decarbonizing transportation and hard-to-abate sectors and in enabling renewable power.

Deep decarbonization in sectors such as steel, maritime, aviation, and ammonia is easier said than done. Such sectors are known as “hard-to-abate” due to either a lack of technology to date or prohibitive costs – or both. But while these challenges cannot be solved overnight, there are strategies that can be applied today to get the decarbonization journey started.

“Linde has been in the hydrogen business for many decades,” explains David Burns, VP Linde Clean Energy, “Our expertise throughout the value chain is unrivalled and we can draw on it to help accelerate the energy transition. We’re hydrogenready now!”

Ammonia production for instance, is a heavy contributor to harmful emissions. Every year, roughly 190 million tons of ammonia are produced globally – mostly for agricultural fertilizers. Using green hydrogen to produce ammonia is therefore a promising path toward a more sustainable future.

As with other sectors, scalability of green ammonia production will prove to be a challenge in the coming years. Blue hydrogen – generated when carbon capture technologies are applied to conventional hydrogen production methods – is an important steppingstone on the path to zero emissions. This already effective solution allows for the necessary frameworks and infrastructures to be developed while green hydrogen production reaches the necessary scale.

“Clean hydrogen is the key ingredient when it comes to green steel, sustainable aviation fuel, alternative drop-in fuels for shipping and of course, green ammonia – which itself can be used as a zero-carbon fuel or as an energy vector for clean power,” says Burns. “As a global leader, we can offer our expertise in production, distribution and storage when exploring these opportunities,” he adds.

Visit www.lindehydrogen.com for more info.

Think Hydrogen. Think Linde.

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CERAWEEK 2023

Think Hydrogen.

Think Linde.

Accelerating the energy transition.

At Linde, we know hydrogen – we’ve been producing, processing and distributing the versatile gas for over 100 years. Whether you are looking to decarbonize transportation, heavy industry or develop P2X solutions, Linde has the technologies, infrastructure and operations expertise to ensure you have a safe and optimized decarbonization journey.

Learn more at www.lindehydrogen.com

The world’s big energy organsation, private and public, must share the cost and the glory in this challenge.

“Make no mistake,” said US Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, “enormous challenges remain across global energy markets. We have not yet vanquished the volatility that characterised so much of the last 12 months. The risks to energy security, and the vulnerabilities they leave for our national and economic security those have not disappeared. And the imperative every country faces to meet the energy needs of its citizens will heighten as demand rises in the years ahead. It will take partnership between governments and private sectors to meet those challenges. A willingness to work together, even amid differing views. And here’s where we need to start: by acknowledging the clean

energy transition is happening, and that we are growing the energy pie.”

Ultimately, this is the number one message from CERAWeek – a collaborative approach can see the energy transition succeed, and do so quickly. Partnerships between companies, countries, and the private and public sectors must be furthered, and global-scale funding must be established to advance some of the amazing technology innovations on display. With the next event set for 18-22 March 2024, there is hope that progress is being made, despite significant bumps in the road.

“The energy transition - a monumental undertaking under even the most stable conditions - has been made all the more challenging by a global economy beset with volatility and disruption,” said Daniel

Yergin. “The sequential shocks of pandemic and war have brought with them a greater recognition that the energy future must be secure and affordable, as well as sustainable.

Meeting this challenge will require keen strategies, smart investment and transformative technologies.”

Hopefully, this message is heeded companies look beyond their own bottom line towards a reality where energy of the future achieves all of that and more or energy of the past.

WWW.CERAWEEK.COM

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UK POWER NETWORKS

Network Fit for a

Net Zero Future PRODUCTION: David Hill

UK Power Networks owns and maintains the electricity cables, substations and power lines that span London, the South East, and East of England to ensure the reliable, safe and secure flow of power. Listed among the UK’s top performers for customer service for the third time running and officially one of the nation’s best employers, UK Power Networks remains focused on delivering the service that customers want, at the lowest possible cost.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: ELECTRICITY NETWORKS

//

The UK’s biggest electricity distributor charged with disseminating power to some 8.4 million homes and businesses, UK Power Networks keeps supplies flowing and lights on across 29,250 km2 and supports and serves 19 million people, from Cromer in the East of England to Brighton on the south coast.

This leading infrastructure providers at the heart of building a smarter, more dynamic electricity network fit for a Net Zero carbon future, connecting ever-greater volumes of low carbon generation at an unprecedented pace while other sectors such as like transport and domestic heating are decarbonising through electrification.

“Our vision is to be an employer of choice, a respected and trusted corporate citizen and sustainably

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cost-efficient,” outlines CEO Basil Scarsella. “Our high performance is underpinned by values of integrity, respect, continuous improvement, responsibility, diversity and inclusiveness and unity.

“Our priorities are to tackle the climate crisis by connecting renewable energy, electric car chargers and low carbon heating, meet our customers evolving needs by improving our services, support our customers in vulnerable circumstances and go above and beyond for the communities we serve.”

ENABLING NET ZERO It cannot be overstated that decarbonisation is one of the greatest challenges facing our generation, and UK Power Networks is fully cognisant

// OUR VISION IS TO BE AN EMPLOYER OF CHOICE, A RESPECTED AND TRUSTED CORPORATE CITIZEN AND SUSTAINABLY COST-EFFICIENT // that its business, together with the wider energy system and society at large, will need to undergo significant changes over the next decade if Net Zero is to be achieved by 2050. “As an electricity network operator, we are at the heart of enabling Net Zero because of our crucial role both in connecting

UK POWER NETWORKS

// WE ARE AT THE HEART OF ENABLING NET ZERO BECAUSE OF OUR CRUCIAL ROLE BOTH IN CONNECTING RENEWABLE ENERGY AND FACILITATING THE UPTAKE OF NEW LOW CARBON TECHNOLOGIES //

“We have set an ambition to be the most socially and environmentally responsible network operator and we are committed to taking a leading role in limiting irreversible change to our climate. As more and more major industries are switching

from fossil fuels to electricity, we are at the heart of the change by providing the infrastructure to help these industries facilitate change.

“Our priorities are to tackle the climate crisis by connecting renewable energy, electric car chargers and low

renewable energy and facilitating the uptake of new low carbon technologies,” Scarsella enthuses of UK Power Networks’ enviable position to effectuate real change.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: ELECTRICITY NETWORKS

carbon heating, meet our customers evolving needs by improving our services, support our customers in vulnerable circumstances and go above and beyond for the communities we serve.” This duty, Scarsella furthers, translates to balancing the sometimes conflicting demands of value for money, the need to innovate, efficiency, safety, and the

overall resilience of the network.

In response to significant government policy announcements such as the Net Zero Strategy and Electric Vehicle (EV) Infrastructure Strategy over the last 12 months, UK Power Networks has leapt into action to make the process of adopting new technologies, such as EVs, as hassle- free as it can be. “Our role

is to ensure that there is sufficient network capacity to enable people to charge their EVs,” Scarsella says.

“We expect that by 2030 there will be over 3.6 million EVs needing to charge from our network. That’s why we have developed a digital self-service facility for customers seeking an upgrade to their electricity supply when they purchase an EV or

FREEDOM, AN NG BAILEY GROUP COMPANY IS A TRUSTED PARTNER AND SOLUTIONS PROVIDER TO THE POWER INDUSTRY. We design, build, connect, maintain, and modify electricity infrastructure. Our expertise and technical innovation ensure we deliver a high-quality service safely to the UK power industry and its customers.

By working in these highly regulated environments for almost three decades, our offering delivers reliable and sustainable electricity infrastructure, that creates a legacy for future generations.

As the UK moves from fossil fuel reliance to electrification, in line with the UK governments net zero energy transition, creating a safe, reliable and cost-effective method to connect to the grid is paramount.

At Freedom we have developed the innovative Point of Connection Mast (POC-MASTTM) product, which allows generation technologies to be connected to overhead lines, up to 132kV. The POC-MASTTM is a revolutionary way of making the connection process for generation or demand projects faster, safer and cost-effective. Suitable for connecting to overhead lines up to 132kV, the POC-MASTTM can connect to either tension or suspension towers using a tee-in or loop-in loop-out configuration.

The POC-MASTTM can eliminate the need to construct a new tower and the associated temporary diversion of the adjacent circuit on double circuit overhead line (OHL) towers. This reduces the scope of works for new connections, which saves time, costs and minimises health and safety risks – this can make the difference to whether a connection scheme is viable, or not.

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POC-MASTTM also has significant health, safety and environmental benefits, when compared to the traditional connection method. Working at height is reduced, as the POC-MASTTM is assembled at ground level, with screw anchor foundations eliminating the requirement for working within deep excavations and reducing concrete use by up to 30 tonnes. With a POC-MASTTM connection no heavy lifting operations are required for the construction as the mast is lifted into place by a hydraulic ram.

The POC-MASTTM is also quick to complete, taking less than 20 weeks from concept to construction. Traditional installations typically take 6-12 months.

As a business, we recognised the need for quicker more sustainable grid connections several years ago, hence the investment we have made in our POC-MASTTM product.

To date we have invested over £750,000 in the product, including full scale structural testing, as part of the DNO approval process.

The POC-MASTTM was tested in accordance with BS EN 60652:2004 - Loading tests on overhead line structures.

As part of the structural tests the POC-MASTTM deflection was measured at each load increment, confirming that under high wind the cross-leads would not either become taut imposing unnecessary load on the existing tower or sag too much infringing electrical clearances.

As part of our over-arching net zero mission, we are evolving to be at the forefront of the UK’s transition to a low-carbon economy, innovating to create the infrastructure we need for a sustainable future.

We create and maintain sustainable and reliable solutions across the Power Industry.

At Freedom we design, connect, build, maintain and renew electricity infrastructures. Our expertise and technical innovation ensures we deliver high levels of customer service and quality, safely to the UK Power Industry, and their customers.

By working in these highly regulated environments for almost three decades, our offering ensures we are a trusted partner that is reliable, sustainable and proud to be creating a legacy for future generations.

freedom-group.co.uk

INDUSTRY FOCUS: ELECTRICITY NETWORKS

// THE EMOTIONAL CONNECTION AND DEDICATION WHICH OUR EMPLOYEES FEEL TOWARDS THEIR JOB, THEIR COLLEAGUES AND OUR CUSTOMERS IS DRIVING OUR FRONTIER PERFORMANCE // any other low carbon technology.”

With this initiative having garnered praise from EV owners and charge point installers alike, the focus now shifts to several further promise-laden follow-ups, not least in UK Power Networks’ spearheading a world-first smart transformer trial set to provide unparalleled network

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insights to help maintain reliable power supplies in the south of England.

Project Stratus will see smart electricity transformers installed in streets across East Sussex in a trial alongside digital energy platform Amp X to provide live data on electricity usage and demand on a previously unattained scale. This

will help the company increase network resilience and lay the groundwork for a low-carbon future, relayed Ian Cameron, Director of Customer Service and Innovation at UK Power Networks. “In a world of electric vehicles and decarbonised heating, this enhanced visibility and control of our network will allow us to efficiently manage the existing network infrastructure which was never designed for this increased load.”

Irene Di Martino, head of Amp X agreed, saying: “Working together with UK Power Networks to deliver this trailblazing project is an exciting step forward in delivering Net Zero.

Innovation and data-driven work will be the driving force behind developing

UK POWER NETWORKS

a more dynamic network that can meet the changing needs of society.”

TOP PERFORMER In the context of its bid to be consistently the best performing Distribution Network and Distribution System Operator in the UK, UK Power Networks has bucked the trend of an overall decline in customer satisfaction in the utilities sector to achieve a prestigious third place in the Institute of Customer Service’s survey. Among the highest rated organisations on all five customer satisfaction categories assessed - experience, complaint handling, customer ethos, emotional connection and ethics, UK Power Networks was listed alongside household giants including John Lewis, M&S food & retail, Next, and Amazon.

“This fantastic result reflects the hard work of our employees, who

understand the pressures facing so many of our customers and share in our commitment to deliver the basics of great service, well,” commented Cameron. “We work hard to do the right thing by customers in these difficult times and are heartened that customers are noticing the difference. This is all the inspiration we need to keep at it.”

Not only appreciated by its customers, UK Power Networks’ recognition spread to Best Companies Live, where the latest league tables placed it second overall in the Best Big Companies to Work for List, the 10th consecutive year that it has enjoyed top billing. High levels of pride in their work, a sense of family and teamwork, job security, line manager support and an approachable CEO and directors were some of the crucial factors cited by employees.

“Our workforce is closely tied to

the communities we serve. Staff are encouraged to come up with better ways of working and challenge the status quo, as this helps deliver the best results for our customers and communities, so that we can all feel part of shaping the future success of our business,” said Andrew Pace, HR director at UK Power Networks.

“The emotional connection and dedication which our employees feel towards their job, their colleagues and our customers is driving our frontier performance.”

UKPOWERNETWORKS.CO.UK

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QATARENERGY

Assets, Know-How and Experience

to Drive the Transition PRODUCTION: Tommy Atkinson

Natural Gas and Liquified Natural Gas are essential elements of the energy transition, with an instrumental role to play in moving toward net-zero emissions. As the world’s leader in LNG production, QatarEnergy is embarking upon a new direction to meet the challenges of the new business environment with greater dynamism, resilience, and efficiency.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: ENERGY

Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, President and CEO of QatarEnergy

//

One of the obvious truths of our times is that energy is pivotal to every single being and operation on earth and beyond, and has enjoyed an immeasurable and unrivalled impact on humankind over the past century and more. It has powered homes and industrial plants, accelerated production and innovation and helped billions of people move across the globe in the quest for progress.

As the transition now begins to evolve and accelerate apace, natural gas will remain vital in providing reliable and efficient energy to support economies in different parts of the world. “As stewards of Qatar’s natural resources and the world’s largest provider of LNG,” QatarEnergy sets out, “we invest our assets, know-how, and experience to support the communities where we operate. Our strength rests in our ready access to Qatar’s unique reserves to provide energy that fuels

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social and economic prosperity.

“Being geographically positioned between the world’s largest markets, we are able to deliver to our customers – whenever or wherever they need us – using the world’s largest fleet of LNG ships. Our vision is to become one of the best energy companies in the world, with roots in Qatar and a strong international presence.”

DEVELOPMENTS AND DISCOVERIES QatarEnergy’s sustainability strategy is driven by Qatar National Vision 2030 and the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “These are essential references to frame our sustainability actions and set them in a global context,” Continues on page 116

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: ENERGY

Continued from page 114 the company adds. “Climate change is one of the most critical issues of our times and requires prompt and dedicated action at a global scale.

“As a crucial enabler of Qatar National Vision 2030, we advance, protect, and sustain human, social, economic, and environmental development to build a better tomorrow.” Over the last 25 years QatarEnergy has signed Exploration and Production Sharing Agreements

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(EPSA) and Development and Production Sharing Agreements (DPSA) with a number of major international oil and gas companies, including Elf Aquitaine/Total, Maersk Oil Qatar, GDF Suez and ExxonMobil.

“These agreements have boosted Qatar’s oil and gas reserves through new discoveries and the development of existing fields,” the company effuses, with Idd El Shargi Dome North and South and Al Shaheen and Al Khaleej Fields just some of those findings resulting from the partnerships.

Two of the other most notable oil fields, located some 90km to the east of Doha in the territorial waters of the State of Qatar, are Al Karara and A-Structures, the subjects of a new agreement for their continued development and production signed between QatarEnergy and Japan’s Qatar Petroleum Development Company (QPD). Al Karara was discovered in 1988, with the A-Structures - A-North and A-South - preceding its unearthing in 1971.

Initially considered noncommercial, QPD succeeded in proving the commercial viability of the fields in the late 1990s. The fields then started production in March 2006, and have since produced a total of 33.5 million barrels of crude oil. QPD, owned by Cosmo E&P and Sojitz, will continue to act as the operator of the oil fields under the new agreement superseding that signed in December 1997.

“We are pleased to continue our partnership with Qatar Petroleum Development Company (Japan) and to work together to continue the development and production of the Al-Karkara and A-Structures fields,” commented Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy. “We look forward to the next five years of cooperation with QPD, whose successful efforts have unlocked the capabilities of these relatively small fields and added value to our partnership.”

A light oil discovery has also just been announced in the Jonker-1X deep-water exploration well drilled in the PEL-39 Exploration License, marking the third such discovery for QatarEnergy in Namibia. “We are pleased with this encouraging discovery, which is our third in Namibia,” Al-Kaabi summed up. “I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our partners Shell and NAMCOR, and to congratulate and thank the Government of the Republic of Namibia, which has been very supportive of this exploration effort.”

QATARENERGY

LNG LANDMARKS “Natural gas is an important part of the solution in the energy transition, especially as we strive to eliminate energy-poverty,” QatarEnergy recognises, and with energy demand set to swell further over the coming decades LNG supplies will be essential to meeting it. QatarEnergy is currently implementing its North Field East Project (NFE) to raise LNG production capacity even further from the current 77 million tons per year, to 110 million tons.

“NFE represents the first phase of Qatar’s planned LNG expansion,” the company clarifies. “The second phase of Qatar’s LNG expansion project, the North Field South Project (NFS), will further increase Qatar’s production

// NATURAL GAS IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE SOLUTION IN THE ENERGY TRANSITION, ESPECIALLY AS WE STRIVE TO ELIMINATE ENERGY-POVERTY //

capacity from 110 million tons per year to 126 million tons per year.”

At the close of 2022 QatarEnergy unveiled two long-term sale and purchase agreements with ConocoPhillips affiliates for the delivery of up to two million tons per annum (MTPA) of LNG from Qatar to Germany, with deliveries expected to start in 2026. “These agreements are momentous for several reasons,” opined Minister Al-Kaabi. “They mark the first ever long-term LNG supply to Germany with a supply period that extends for at least 15 years, thus contributing to Germany’s long-term energy security.

“They also represent the culmination of efforts between two trusted partners, QatarEnergy and ConocoPhillips, over many years, to provide reliable and credible LNG supply solutions to customers across the globe, and today, to German end-consumers.

“This is a concrete demonstration of QatarEnergy’s resolve to provide reliable energy supplies to all major markets around the world, and of our commitment to the German people.

Germany is the largest gas market in Europe, and we are committed to contribute to the energy security of Germany and Europe at large.”

It closely followed the first long-term LNG offtake agreement from the NFE Expansion project, a 27-year SPA with China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) for the supply of four MTPA of LNG to the People’s Republic of China. “The signing of the long-term LNG SPA with QatarEnergy is a milestone and an important part of the integrated cooperation between the two sides on the NFE project,” concluded Dr MA Yongsheng, Sinopec Chairman. “Qatar is the world’s largest LNG supplier, and China is the world’s largest LNG importer. The two countries share inherent complementarities and a good foundation for energy cooperation.

“Sinopec has been always committed to the development of green and clean energy. Our integrated cooperation with QatarEnergy on the NFE project could not only meet the needs of the Chinese market, but also reflect Sinopec’s commitment to a low-carbon, green, safe, responsible and sustainable development path.”

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EXHIBITION CALENDAR

KEY UPCOMING EVENTS ACROSS THE INDUSTRY Important events and exhibitions taking place across the energy sector, giving brands a platform to tell their story.

APR

30 MAY

10

OCT

1

OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE 2023 APRIL 30 | TEXAS, USA The Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) is where energy professionals meet to exchange ideas and opinions to advance scientific and technical knowledge for offshore resources and environmental matters. Celebrating 50 years since 1969, OTC’s flagship conference is held annually at NRG Park (formerly Reliant Park) in Houston. OTC has expanded technically and globally with OTC Brazil and OTC Asia. OTC is sponsored by 13 industry organizations and societies, who work cooperatively to develop the technical program. OTC also has endorsing and supporting organizations.

INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY & TRANSPORT (ITT) HUB MAY 10-11 | FARNBOROUGH, UK The UK’s Most Important Transport Technology Event: ITT Hub is the annual meeting place for the commercial road transport sector, bringing together the latest innovation and technology for bus, coach, truck, van, last mile and autonomous vehicle fleets.

Join us for discussions with key players in the road transport industry to drive actionable change and future-proof strategies in the sector. The home of the latest technology, solutions, services and strategies: Our two-day exhibition, conference, and meeting programme guides our audience through a challenging ecosystem of technologies and opportunities that will transform this everevolving market and beyond. With this sector set to revolutionise as the industry transitions to net zero, the need for collaboration, learning, networking and experiencing is more potent than ever.

ADIPEC OCT 1-5 | ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES ADIPEC is the world’s largest and most inclusive gathering for the energy industry. Over 2,200 exhibiting companies, 54 NOCs, IOCs, NECs and IECs and 28 international exhibiting country pavilions will come together between 2-5 October 2023 to explore market trends, source solutions and conduct business across the industry’s full value chain. Alongside the exhibition, ADIPEC 2023 will host the Maritime & Logistics Zone, Digitalisation In Energy Zone, Smart Manufacturing Zone and the Decarbonisation Zone.

These specialised industry exhibitions will enable the global energy industry to strengthen existing business partnerships and form new models of cross-sector collaboration to unlock and maximise value across businesses and drive future growth.

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APR

GREEN HYDROGEN

18 SUMMIT 2023

LISBON | APRIL 18-19

APR

PULSE

APR

THE SOLAR SHOW

19 MADRID | APRIL 19-20 25 AFRICA

JOHANNESBURG APRIL 25-26

APR

GREEN LIVING LIVE

29 LONDON

APRIL 29 - MAY 7

APR

OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE 2023 HOUSTON | APRIL 30

MAY

INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY & TRANSPORT (ITT) HUB FARNBOROUGH, UK MAY 10-11

JUNE

ENERGY EXPORTS CONFERENCE 2023 ABERDEEN | JUNE 6-7

OCT

ADIPEC ABU DHABI | OCT 1-5

30 10

6

1

DISCOVER THE FUTURE INNOVATION OF THE TRANSPORT INDUSTRY REGISTER YOUR FREE PASS

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Future Energy Strategies Indoor & Outdoor Tech Showcase Future Logistics Conference by Logistics UK 100+ Thought Leaders Show-Floor Tech Talk Theatres

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2023 UK’S MOST IMPORTANT TRANSPORT TECHNOLOGY EVENT

10-11 May 2023

Farnborough International

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