On this episode of Energy Voice Out Loud in partnership with ABB, reporter Mathew Perry speaks with Matt Wise, the head of strategy and business development at ABB’s Electrification Service division.  

Together they explore how behind-the-meter energy storage is transforming industrial electricity consumers into active market players across the UK and Europe.  

As energy markets grow more volatile, businesses are looking for smarter, more flexible ways to manage supply, reduce costs, and even generate revenue - without the need for a large upfront capital investment. 

Being able to visualise what is out at sea from the beach is a game changer for the offshore industry. But what if you started working for an energy company and ended up working for a tech start up without having to leave the business you started working for? Sarah Shearer, head of Aberdeen and people operations manager at Aize, shares her story of working at the forefront of digital twin technology and where the energy industry can go from here.

This week, there has been a whole lot of doom and gloom in the UK energy market. Harbour Energy announced 250 job cuts in Aberdeen, Ørsted discontinued its Hornsea 4 offshore wind project, and Drax opted not to bid for its Cruachan II in the Cap and Floor mechanism.

Up first, news reporter Mat Perry discusses the UK's largest oil and gas operator slashing 25% of its UK onshore headcount as it downgrades spending in the country. Aberdeen Features Lead Ryan Duff gives his two cents on the state of job losses in the north-east of Scotland and the wider North Sea, brace yourself for explicit language. 

Next up, Mat and renewables reporter Michael Behr discuss why Ørsted has pulled the hand brake on a major offshore wind project. Pumped storage hydro was also mentioned, as Cruachan II gives the cap and floor scheme a swerve after battery firms argued that the mechanism was biased towards such projects. 

And finally, Michael chats with Guy Newey, chief executive officer at the Energy Systems Catapult about the ever-divisive zonal pricing debate and how it could help drive innovation in the energy sector.

This week Scotland's only oil refinery ceased production, prompting outrage from unions that forecast the "wrath" of voters in next year's Holyrood election, European supermajors BP and Equinor unveiled their Q1 results and Octopus Energy's CEO defended his zonal pricing views. 

Up first, Aberdeen features lead Ryan Duff discusses the closure of Grangemouth's oil refinery and its political ramifications, while news reporter Mathew Perry asks about the implications for the Acorn CCS project which is yet to see certainty. With the Scotland carbon capture project caught in limbo questions are asked of the future of Scottish industry. 

Renewables reporter Michael Behr has been the man on the markets this week as he kept an eye on Equinor and BP's books. The Energy Voice Out Loud presenting trio play a game of Good News, Bad News and they debate whether the first quarter reports were positive or as one analyst said, "disappointing".

Finally, Energy Voice has been at the Innovation zero conference in the capital as London correspondent Jessica Davies chats with Octopus Energy CEO Greg Jackson as he defended his views on zonal pricing. He has been a supporter of the structure that will see Scotland's energy prices plummet, however, others have said that the move would impact the economic viability of wind projects in the country. 

This week, Energy Voice’s intrepid reporters Mat and Mike explored the recent announcement that the government is set to approve Eni’s HyNet carbon capture and storage project. The deal comes with financial support for the Track 1 project, and adds momentum to the UK’s CCS journey.

We also catch up with news editor Erikka, who was at the North Sea Decarbonisation conference this week, finding out all about how the UK needs to reshape its industries, create new partnerships and generate sustainable jobs to secure a greener future. 

And back in the studio, Mike and Mat chat about the £300m coming from GB Energy to invest in the UK’s offshore wind supply chains. But is this a strong enough signal for the sector, which has seen mixed signals coming from the government?

This week Wood provided updates on Sidara's proposed £250 million takeover, NESO declared war on zombies in the grid queue, and Equinor and Orsted warned of the impacts of wake loss.

Aberdeen-headquartered Wood received a non-binding takeover bid from Dubai-based rival Sidara worth £250m, a significant drop-off compared to last year's £1.5 billion bid. Our reporters discuss this, Wood's shares being suspended and them impacts of yet another Scottish company being bought over by international competitors. 

Next up, the UK's National Energy System Operator (NESO) unveiled plans to get rid of 'zombies' from the grid queue in a collaboration with regulator Ofgem. This could see up to 360GW of projects on the current queue have their contracts downgraded because they are not ready. What does this mean and is it a result of too much dithering from the UK?

Finally, European energy giants Equinor and Orsted have said offshore wind revenues could take a £363m hit due to other projects getting in the way of their turbines. Although those in the Tour de France peloton don't mind the frontrunner taking the brunt of the wind resistance, turbine operators do. Does industry need to share its survey results so all can benefit from the North Sea breeze? 

This week we got further updates on the Neo Energy and Repsol tie-up, Kistos' full year results for 2024 and the results of HAR2. Energy Voice's Ryan Duff, Erikka Askeland and Mat Perry discuss.

First up, what's happening at Flotta? Erikka chats about the gas terminal's hydrogen plans and what attracted Neo Energy's private equity backers to the Spanish firm's UK division. Ryan argues that tax incentives from Repsol's extensive decommissioning liabilities may be the answer. 

Next up, Ryan discusses Kistos and its plans to expand the Greater Laggan Area off the west coast of Shetland. The firm has brought attention to the Glendronach field now that operatorship of the area is changing hands. When talking about gas, there has to be a Trump, the trio discusses how US policy is impacting global oil and gas firms. 

Finally, Mat chats about hydrogen and the results of HAR2. Was it perfect? No, but maybe it doesn't need to be. He discusses some of the talking points from a recent conference in Birmingham, which touched on getting hydrogen "good" but it doesn't need to be "perfect" in order to unlock investment. Price is still a sticking point for this fuel source but the government is aiming to tackle this too.