The Hypercube Energy Podcast

In this episode of the Hypercube podcast, Adam Sroka speaks with Markus Dirnbacher, Senior Operations Manager at Innova Renewables, about the critical role data and technology play in driving renewable energy projects forward.

Markus shares how his early experiences with changing winters in Austria sparked his passion for the environment and led to his career in renewables. The discussion highlights the challenges and opportunities in building and managing over 60 renewable energy sites, including gigawatt-scale solar and BESS projects. The conversation dives into the growing importance of AI and data warehouses in the energy sector. Markus explains how Innova is leveraging AI for practical use cases, such as automating data validation and streamlining admin-heavy tasks, while emphasising the need for a thoughtful, step-by-step approach to implementation.

Listeners will gain insights into grid connection challenges, long-term asset management, and the value of fostering university partnerships to attract top talent. With a mix of technical expertise and personal reflections, this episode offers actionable strategies for industry professionals and anyone passionate about the future of renewable energy.

Adam and Markus explore:

• A passion for renewables: How Markus’ Austrian roots and a love for the outdoors inspired his career in renewable energy.
• Innova’s impact: Managing over 60 renewable energy projects, including gigawatt-scale solar and battery storage, with a vertically integrated approach.
• AI in action: Using data lakes and AI to automate admin tasks, validate data, and enhance operational efficiency.
• Overcoming grid challenges: Navigating grid connection delays and regulatory hurdles, and how reforms could accelerate renewable deployment.
• Shaping the future: Attracting top talent through university partnerships and leveraging innovative technologies to scale renewable energy solutions.

Useful Links

Markus' LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markusdirnbacher/

Innova's website: https://innova.co.uk/

Markus' blog: https://www.electrifying.world/

Join Hypercube's Beyond Energy Community: https://wearehypercube.com/join-the-community/

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wearehypercube/featured

In this episode, Adam is joined by Peter Kavanagh, CEO and Founder of Harmony Energy, to explore the transformative journey of one of the UK’s leading renewable energy developers. Together, they reflect on pivotal milestones, from Harmony Energy’s origins as a wind developer to becoming a key player in global energy storage, including deploying Europe’s first Tesla Megapack.

The conversation delves into the challenges and opportunities of scaling battery energy storage solutions, addressing grid stability, market volatility, and the importance of long-term financial sustainability. Peter shares insights into Harmony Energy’s innovative AI platform, “Harmonise,” and how data and automation are optimising asset performance while supporting preventative maintenance.

With engaging discussions on global expansion, grid reform, and the evolving energy market, this episode is packed with actionable insights for industry professionals. It’s a must-listen for anyone passionate about sustainability, renewable energy, and the future of the energy transition.

Adam and Peter discuss:

• From wind to storage: Harmony Energy’s journey from developing wind farms to becoming a leader in global battery storage solutions.
• Scaling without subsidies: How Harmony Energy achieved growth without relying on taxpayer-funded subsidies, reducing consumer costs and carbon emissions.
• Energy market transformation: Insights into the rapid evolution of the energy market and the role of batteries in managing volatility and ensuring grid stability.
• Data & AI driving efficiency: Leveraging platforms like "Harmonise" to optimise asset performance and enhance preventative maintenance.
• Global expansion: The complexities of scaling energy solutions across markets in Europe, New Zealand, and beyond.

Useful Links

Harmony Energy's website: Harmony Energy | Renewable Energy Storage Projects

Harmony Energy's LinkedIn: Harmony Energy | LinkedIn

Peter's LinkedIn: Peter Kavanagh | LinkedIn

Hypercube's YouTube channel: Hypercube - YouTube

In this bonus episode, Adam is joined by Cynthia Grainger (Commercial Manager, Hypercube) and Connor Galbraith (Senior Data Engineer, Hypercube) to explore the intricate dynamics of energy complexity and predicted market trends in 2025. Together, they reflect on the pivotal milestones of 2024, including the closure of the UK’s last coal station and the rapid expansion of renewable energy, which now accounts for over 50% of the energy mix.

The conversation dives into the evolving role of batteries in supporting grid stability, addressing market volatility, and unlocking new revenue streams. Cynthia and Connor share expert insights on how data, AI, and automation are transforming energy operations, from optimising battery performance to navigating the challenges of settlement and regulation.

With engaging discussions on capacity markets, regulatory reforms, and the untapped potential of historical data analysis, this episode highlights the opportunities and challenges of driving the energy transition. Packed with actionable insights for industry professionals, it’s a must-listen for anyone navigating the complex interplay of technology, data, and energy innovation.

Adam, Cynthia & Connor cover:

• From coal to renewables: The UK’s last coal station closed as renewables hit 50% of the energy mix.
• Battery storage growth: Batteries now key to grid stability and market opportunities.
• Energy market complexity: Regulatory shifts and grid reforms are reshaping the industry.
• Data & AI in action: Automation and analytics are unlocking new energy efficiencies at pace.

Useful Links

• Hypercube website: https://wearehypercube.com/
• Adam's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aesroka/
• Cynthia's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthia-grainger-b2519b18/
• Connor's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connorgalbraith/
• Join Hypercube's Beyond Energy Community: https://wearehypercube.com/join-the-community/

In this episode, Adam is joined by James Taplin (Innovate UK) and Rachel Duggan (Urban Foresight) to unpack the transformative potential of the Net Zero Living Programme and its impact on local authorities. Together, they explore how tailored Net Zero solutions - designed to meet specific local needs - can deliver greater energy savings, cost efficiencies, and social benefits compared to one-size-fits-all approaches.

The conversation highlights the challenges and opportunities of fostering cross-sector collaboration, enhancing stakeholder engagement, and equipping local authorities with the skills and tools they need to become effective clients for place-based innovation. James and Rachel share compelling examples of local Net Zero strategies, including large-scale retrofits, rural energy hubs, and data ecosystems, which are driving sustainable progress.

Adam, Rachel & James discuss:

• How the Net Zero Living Programme helps local authorities implement tailored Net Zero strategies
• The role of collaboration across private and public sectors in driving local Net Zero projects
• Tackling challenges like data access and stakeholder engagement for better outcomes
• Examples of projects like rural energy hubs and data ecosystems in action.

Useful Links

Innovate UK's Net Zero Living Programme: https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/programme/net-zero-living

Innovate UK's Net Zero Living Programme LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/netzeroliving/

Urban Foresight website: https://urbanforesight.org/

Connect with Rachel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-duggan10/

Connect with James on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamestaplin/

In this episode, Adam is joined by Global Director of Markets at Kraken, Charlotte Johnson. They delve into Kraken’s rapid growth from a software-first platform to a global leader in energy tech, licensing its solutions to utilities globally. Charlotte sheds light on the unique challenges of scaling intermittent renewables, improving grid infrastructure, and managing the complexities of residential and grid-scale assets. Together, they explore the evolving role of demand-side flexibility in accelerating the energy transition.

Charlotte shares insights into Kraken’s push for industry-wide data standardisation and its use of AI to transform customer interactions, optimise fleets and streamline onboarding processes.

The discussion expands on Kraken’s mission to use technology to make the energy transition faster and cheaper, with a focus on integrating consumer devices like EVs, heat pumps and home batteries into managed programs. Charlotte reveals how Kraken’s innovative culture, supported by initiatives like “family dinner” sessions and embedded data science teams, enables the company to adapt quickly to the evolving energy technology landscape. For the tech enthusiasts, the episode dives into Kraken’s use of tools like its “Snap” model for asset optimisation and its approach to mixed-integer linear programming.

Adam and Charlotte explore:

• The role of demand-side flexibility
• Kraken’s mission, growth and new innovations
• Complexities of managing grid-scale and residential assets, and the push for industrywide standardisation
• Kraken’s approach to embedding AI across its operations and the broader challenges and opportunities in energy tech.

Chapter markers

[00:17] Meet Charlotte Johnson from Kraken

[00:30] Understanding the role of Global Director of Markets

[00:45] Monetising distributed energy resources

[02:12] Career path and skills for the energy sector

[04:29] Kraken and Octopus energy relationship

[08:31] Data challenges in energy flexibility

[17:19] The role of demand side in energy transition

[25:38] Tech culture and AI at Kraken

[32:27] Closing remarks and future prospects

Useful Links

Charlotte on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-johnson-358790b3/

Kraken's website: https://kraken.tech/

In this episode, Adam is joined by Elizabeth Hollinger, a freelance data and technology consultant based in Scotland. The pair discuss how Elizabeth's role as Director of Insight, Data, and Applications Development at Aggreko led to her subsequent career in consulting. 

Elizabeth worked at Aggreko for almost five years and spearheaded new data analysis procedures to help drive value and enhance decision-making across the business. This involved working with various teams to understand what the company needed to grow, and we hear how she managed that cross-team involvement with initiatives including an Insight Steerco. We also learn how Elizabeth worked to build a self-service cloud-first platform for the business's data to be stored for analysis and reporting and how she sold that technology to stakeholders.

Today, Elizabeth is a freelance data and technology consultant, taking all the insight and skills she's learned over her career and using them to help businesses best utilise their data to drive insights and make better decisions. She tells us about how she found that transition into freelancing and how important her connections in her network were for staying up to date with the industry trends after returning from maternity leave.

Together, Adam and Elizabeth discuss: 

• The use of company data to solve complex international growth challenges
• Leading efficient cross-team collaboration
• Strategies for streamlining organisational processes into a modern central hub
• The move to freelance consultancy and the importance of a strong network.

The Hypercube podcast sits down with leaders in the energy and utilities sectors to explore how data analytics can help businesses make smarter decisions and accelerate business growth.

Chapter Markers

[00:35] Introduction to Elizabeth, her consultancy work, and her time at Aggreko

[04:25] Using data to solve Aggreko's complex challenges

[09:02] The logistics of effective team collaboration  

[12:20] The value of strong consulting skills

[18:07] Streamlining company data to one central hub

[24:30] Elizabeth's journey into freelance consultancy

[27:00] The importance of networking as a data technology professional

[30:16] Elizabeth on the future of AI

Useful Links

Elizabeth on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-hollinger-31055234/  

Aggreko's website: https://www.aggreko.com  

In this episode, Adam is joined by Jessica Iriarte, General Manager, Completions at Corva, to talk about her role in helping Corva to drive innovation in data analytics for oil and gas.

Corva is a platform providing analytics and data-driven insights that lead to informed real-time decisions for the oil and gas industry. They refer to themselves as “the app store for the energy sector," thanks to their wide variety of visualisation tools that can showcase site data straight from the source and share it with stakeholders. 

Jessica and Adam talk about how Corva is leading the charge for innovation in the sector: facing the challenges of gathering real-time data from often dangerous and remote locations and keeping those methods up to date with the constantly changing drilling technologies and trends.

The conversation then turns to Corva’s robust end-user testing for their user interface and the confluence of subject-matter experts working with machine learning models to provide the most valuable assets.  

We also learn about Jessica’s approach to leadership in the high-pressure world of oil and gas. While communication and empowerment are important, Jessica tells us how she values curiosity in her team: you can’t work in innovation if you aren’t naturally curious!

Together, Adam and Jessica discuss: 

• The unique innovations and challenges in oil and gas data science
• Corva’s prioritisation of end-user testing 
• Machine Learning in data visualisation 
• Leadership qualities for high-pressure environments

The Hypercube podcast sits down with leaders in the energy and utilities sectors to explore how data analytics can help businesses make smarter decisions and accelerate business growth.

Chapter Markers

[00:35] Introduction to Jessica and Corva

[04:00] Why drilling is the most advanced energy operations sector

[06:55] The challenges of gathering data from such difficult situations

[09:55] Perfecting the user interface

[13:58] The common misuses of machine learning

[16:53] The day-to-day life of a Completions Manager

[19:00] Driving innovation while avoiding risk

[22:03] Jessica’s leadership essentials for a high-pressure sector

In this episode, Adam is joined by Steven Meersman, Founder Director at Zenobē Energy, to talk about the growth of the business, the unique problems to be solved in the energy sector, and how best to train people to solve them. 

Adam and Steven begin by talking about how Zenobē has grown as a business in the past eight years. Steven goes on to share his advice on building a team full of T-shaped employees: individuals with specific specialisms who have an understanding of the roles around them. Steven and Adam also discuss the importance of making what’s ecologically sustainable, financially sustainable. Finally, the pair explore their use of data analysis technologies; as we go on to learn, whilst up-to-date technology is necessary, it is nothing without the right people behind it.

Together, Adam and Steven discuss: 

• The growth of Zenobē
• How to develop a team that can overcome the unique challenges faced by the energy sector
• The confluence of creativity and technology in data analytics 
• Why now is the perfect time to get into the energy sector

The Hypercube podcast sits down with leaders in the energy and utilities sectors to explore how data analytics can help businesses make smarter decisions and accelerate business growth.

Chapter Markers

[00:40] Introduction to Steven and Zenobē

[04:57] Why ecologically sustainable activities must also be financially sustainable

[06:04] How Zenobē grew their team

[13:32] Data analytics: technology combined with creativity

[18:07] The barriers for new people joining the energy industry

[22:00] The unique challenges for those working in the energy sector

[27:25] The life of being a Founder

Useful Links

Steven on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevencgmeersman/ 

Zenobē on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zenobe-energy-ltd/ 

Zenobē’s website: www.zenobe.com 

In this episode, Adam is joined by Gus Chadney and Sheng Chai from the Centre for Net Zero, a UK based not-for-profit impact-driven energy research institute that researches solutions for net zero energy production.

Gus, Sheng and Adam discuss the exciting work the CNZ does at home and around the world. Much of their research makes use of historic smart meter data that’s gathered from other energy sector businesses.

They discuss how they interpret this data and use it to fuel synthetic modelling that can be used for research into current energy usage. 

We also learn about OpenSynth, a new project the CNZ has launched with The Linux Foundation (LF Energy). The project fuels a community of researchers with smart meter data they’ve gathered, allowing other researchers to conduct their own studies. The dataset released via OpenSynth is said to contain ten million synthetic load profiles, trained on over three hundred million smart meter readings from twenty thousand Octopus Energy UK households. 

The three talk about the capitalisation of this information and the privacy concerns that smart meter users may have with research companies, accessing their energy consumption and specific demographic data.

They discuss the different ways smart meter data is gathered around the world and how this can reflect local consumption behaviours. Gus and Sheng also go on to discuss the ways researchers can educate the public on the benefits of using this data, such as publishing use cases. 

Gus, Sheng and Adam discuss: 

• The work carried out at the Centre for Net Zero
• The Centre’s relationship with the energy sector
• OpenSynth, the new community of energy researchers
• The use of Smart Meter data in research
• Privacy concerns surrounding the capitalisation of such personal data

The Hypercube podcast sits down with leaders in the energy and utilities sectors to explore how data analytics can help businesses make smarter decisions and accelerate business growth.

Chapter Markers

[0:44] Introduction to Gus, Sheng and the Centre for Net Zero

[4:39] Deciding the biggest priorities for CNZ

[06:57] Modelling synthetic smart meter data 

[12:23] The difference in data from around the world

[15:26] Generating synthetic data and smart meter data privacy concerns

[22:00] The line between appropriate and problematic data usage

[26:24] The future of smart meter research 

Useful Links

The Centre for Net Zero website: centrefornetzero.org

OpenSynth, the CNZ’s new project: https://www.centrefornetzero.org/news/opensynth-new-data-release 

Gus on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anguschadney

Sheng on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shengy90

In this episode, Adam is joined by Rosina Norton, a data specialist in clean and climate tech. 

Rosina sits down to discuss the confluence of traditional and modern ways of working across the industry, the varying access to existing data, and how to handle clients who don’t (and do!) understand AI and other emerging technologies.

Adam and Rosina also go on to talk about the rise of “tiny ML”, the smaller implementations of machine learning that tend to be locally hosted, as opposed to the infrastructure being hosted offsite or in the cloud – very beneficial for those in areas of low connectivity. 

The conversation also touches on the more ‘day-to-day’ side of being a freelance data consultant. Rosina spends a lot of time with SMEs and their data teams, assisting them in the analytics of their new systems and navigating the dangers of trust degradation in working relationships.

She talks about the art of selling a new data process to a business, and Adam shares his thoughts on managing expectations with clients. 

Together, Adam and Rosina discuss: 

• The new opportunities being created via tiny ML
• The day in the life of a freelance data and AI specialist
• Advice on client management in the energy sector 
• Rosina’s advice for other data specialists in the field

The Hypercube podcast sits down with leaders in the energy and utilities sectors to explore how data analytics can help businesses make smarter decisions and accelerate business growth.

Chapter Markers

[0:44] Introduction to Rosina and her data consultancy work

[2:41] The biggest opportunities facing the energy sector in regards to data and AI

[07:47] The rise of “tiny ML” and the opportunities available

[10:29] The day-to-day life as a data consultant

[14:49] Educating clients and the art of managing their expectations

[18:55] How to convince clients to invest in new data strategies

[24:05] Rosina’s advice for the next generation of data consultants 

Useful Links

Rosina’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosina-norton