In this tenth episode, we discuss the future of heat networks as one of the main technical challenges in our ambition toward a fossil-free world. What exactly are heat networks? How sustainable are they? And which sources of heat should be applied?

A district heating network is as sustainable as the resources that feed it. Therefore, we need to move away from traditional district heating systems that are often dependent on one fossil fuel-based heat source to more sustainable ways of supplying heat. This transition comes with innovations and challenges. Innovations include the application of huge e-boilers, diversification in heat sources, and moving towards more flexibility in the supply of sources to our networks. What are the biggest challenges to overcome in these innovations? How dependent is district heating on the gas market? And how affordable is district heating for the consumer?

 Bart Dehue (Manager of Green Heat Source team at Vattenfall), Britt Verhesen (Project Leader of Energy Transition at the City of Antwerp), and Henk Jan Top (Managing Director Utilities at Accenture), discuss the future of heat networks and how sustainable district heating networks are. They discuss the challenges and possibilities of moving to sustainable heat sources.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The decreasing stability of the grid by feeding in more renewable energy poses a future treat to the grid’s stability. What measures can we take to ensure a future proof grid?

A major technical challenge associated with the energy transition is the decreasing stability in the electricity grid. By feeding in more renewable sources the system’s inertia drops, resulting in the grid becoming less capable to respond to sudden changes. The inertia, usually provided by the large spinning generators in conventional power plants, will need to be monitored and in time be substituted by new technologies.

Are we sufficiently aware of this imminent problem? Where are we already facing problems? And how do we ensure the system’s reliability?

A major challenge

National Grid ESO and Reactive Technologies recognize the challenge and are jointly taking the first steps by setting up a pioneering real-time inertia monitoring mechanism on the UK’s grid. The next step is investing in and exploiting novel inertia providing services like spinning fly wheels, capacitors and batteries in order to maximize the contribution of renewables.

In this episode of our Transition Talk series:
- Gregorio Ogliaro, Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Global Lead at Accenture
- Fintan Slye, Director of the ESO
- Marc Borrett Co-Founder and CEO of Reactive Technologies

They discuss the challenges and developments regarding the grid system’s inertia.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the past decade companies have been trying to offer a broad range of energy-related offerings to their customers touching upon people’s houses, cars and lifestyle. So far, there are no real success stories, but will this change now that electric vehicles and hence eMobility services are here to stay?

The energy transition coupled with the advancement of technology offers companies a sea of opportunities to engage deeper with their customers when it comes to energy-related services. Many positive business cases have been developed on what to bet, but reality has proven to be more difficult. With the rise in electric vehicles and the strong government push we see companies from various sectors entering the market. From new entrants specialized in eMobility services, energy utilities that want a piece of the cake and OEMs that are now looking beyond just developing and selling electric vehicles. Hence, will the rapid development of eMobility services be the missing link to successfully launch bundled energy services?

Today we talk with Joris Laponder, CCO of Eneco eMobility, Pieter Willems, Investor and Co-Founder of PowerD, and Sila Sarac, Sr. Manager Business Strategy Utilities and eMobility about the role eMobility services will play in developing closer relationship with customers. We will be looking into questions such as: Is eMobility the missing link for bundled services to really take off? Will bundled energy offerings accelerate the energy transition? How can companies tap into the opportunity of easing their customers lives in the increasingly complex energy system?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mede mogelijk gemaakt door: Accenture

As discussed in our first podcast episode A hydrogen economy in the future how and when?, the transition toward a hydrogen economy comes with complex challenges. In this video series about hydrogen, we focus on these challenges:

Part 1: steps towards cost competitive green hydrogen

In this first video of the Transition Talk series, Joël Meggelaars, Senior Regulatory Affairs & Stakeholder Manager at Ørsted, and Sander van Ginkel, Managing Director at Accenture, discuss possibilities to make green hydrogen cost competitive. Check this video on YouTube.

Part 2: the role of industrial clusters in a hydrogen economy

In this second video of the Transition Talk series, Annemarie Manger, Director Sustainability at Tata Steel, and Femke de Jager, Managing Director at Accenture, discuss the challenges regarding the application of sustainable hydrogen in the production processes of hard-to-abate industries, like steel production. Check this video on YouTube.

Part 3: hydrogen infrastructure: how and when?

In this second video of the Transition Talk series, Annemarie Manger, Director Sustainability at Tata Steel, and Femke de Jager, Managing Director at Accenture, discuss the challenges regarding the application of sustainable hydrogen in the production processes of hard-to-abate industries, like steel production. Check this video on YouTube.

Also check our podcast

A large-scale sustainable hydrogen roll-out is required for a hydrogen economy. How can we achieve this? And when?

In this podcast Melissa Stark, Global Renewables Lead at Accenture, Noé van Hulst, Hydrogen Envoy at the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate Policy, and René Schutte, Program Manager Hydrogen at Gasunie, discuss the role that hydrogen may play in our future energy system. Especially, green and blue hydrogen are discussed, as well as the timing and scaling of a hydrogen market and possible regulatory changes to stimulate a hydrogen economy.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mede mogelijk gemaakt door: Accenture

Van elektro-techneuten tot vakmensen om zonnepanelen aan te leggen. Het tekort aan technisch personeel laat zich steeds harder voelen. Met name in het beroepsonderwijs kiezen nog steeds erg weinig jongeren voor een technische opleiding. In deze aflevering van Transition Talk gaan we dieper in op de verschillende oorzaken van dit probleem en kijken we naar de (in)directe gevolgen.

Daarnaast zoomen we in op innovatieve oplossingen en best practices. De sector aantrekkelijker maken als werkgever, het aantrekken en opleiden van vrouwen voor technische functies en de inzet van buitenlandse technici, om maar eens wat voorbeelden te noemen. Te gast zijn Marlies Visser, zij is Chief Operating Officer van Alliander, Beatrice Boots, de directeur van Platform Talent voor Technologie, en Henk Bijl, Managing Director Accenture Resources.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mede mogelijk gemaakt door: Accenture

The new 'Energiewet' is in the making. With this new regulation the Dutch government is changing the current Gaswet and Elektriciteitswet from 1998 with the goal to create an integrated regulation which will enable the energy transition and support the sustainability goals.

However there is a lot of discussion on this new law, and what is required from legislation to facilitate the transition. What changes require new legislation? What is the role of legislation in facilitating the energy transition? And what challenges do we still have to overcome?

Sander van Ginkel, Managing Director Utilities at Accenture, Maarten Moolhuysen, Strategy Director at Essent and Dick Weiffenbach, Head of Netbeheer NL (association of Energy Grid Operators) discuss the developments in energy legislation, the new energy law and what is needed from it to excel the energy transition.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mede mogelijk gemaakt door: Accenture

In our fourth podcast episode, we discuss the importance of a clear company purpose to achieve sustainability goals and to recover from times of crisis with experts from Nyenrode University/Lab Toekomstige Generaties and Nudge. The energy transition is one of the biggest system transformations we currently face as a society. For companies, setting a clear purpose, a mission that is incorporated in their DNA and that touches employees on a personal level, is key to unlock the creativity and inspiration to be successful in this transition..

This is even more relevant in the current global context, where COVID-19 has pushed a hard-global pause button and raised the sense of urgency for companies to both survive and also drive long term business resilience. During this podcast we will investigate further to what extend Covid has set a new way of thinking about the connection between sustainability and business.

In episode 4 of our Transition Talk series, Jan van Betten, Founder at Nudge, Tineke Lambooy, professor Corporate Law and CSR at Nyenrode University and member of the Dutch Lab 'Toekomstige Generaties', and Adriana Begeer, Consultancy Senior Manager Energy and Sustainability Accenture, discuss the challenges and developments regarding purpose-led transformations.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mede mogelijk gemaakt door: Accenture

As energy systems transition to more sustainable sources and demand for electricity increases, new challenges arise in ensuring that the lights stay on. This podcast explores the concept of energy flexibility; what is it and why do we need it now more than ever?

Conventional power generation by fossil fuels provides both stability and flexibility. Supply is scheduled to match demand and gas-fired power plants can respond relatively quickly to fluctuations. Supply and demand must constantly be balanced to ensure that power failures do not occur. However, as we switch to more solar and wind power and phase out conventional power stations for good, we lose the ability to do this. Wind cannot be controlled and solar cannot be turned on at night. At the same time, our demand for energy is shifting to electricity, for instance by electric vehicles and electrification of heat. Demand for electricity grows and we can expect larger peak demands. This is (in short) the reason why flexibility is a growing challenge for energy systems.

But how do we meet this need? Some companies like GIGA Storage provide flexibility with battery storage. Meanwhile larger grid operators, such as TenneT, are looking towards better centralised demand response systems. During this podcast Lonneke Tabak, Strategy and Consulting Manager energy transition, will be joined by Ruud Nijs, Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer for GIGA Storage, and Jan-Paul Dijckmans, Associate Director of Strategy & Partnerships at TenneT. Together they discuss the flexible future of energy systems and weigh-up the innovative solutions emerging to fill this need.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mede mogelijk gemaakt door: Accenture

Heating in buildings accounts for over half of residential energy consumption via space heating and hot water production, and therefore represents a significant share in CO2 emissions. In the energy transition, district heating is able to provide sustainable heat by distributing heat from various sustainable heat sources to the consumer.

However, the implementation of district heating networks comes with many challenges. These challenges include issues around roles & responsibilities, business cases and tariffs, and customer participation and satisfaction in the district heating market. How to overcome these challenges and what are the lessons learned so far?

Johnny Hesp, Energy & Sustainability Solutions Specialist at Accenture, Arno van Gestel, Director Sales Heat at Vattenfall, and Erik Stronk, Chairman of Heat Network Foundation (Stichting Warmtenetwerk), discuss the challenges and lessons to learn for district heating networks and stakeholders. Especially, challenges relating to roles and availability of sustainable sources are discussed, as well as an outlook to the future.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mede mogelijk gemaakt door: Accenture

Hydrogen has potential as sustainable energy carrier and feedstock in the industry, transport sector and heating of the built environment. Moreover, hydrogen may play an important role in system integration as increased flexibility is required to keep the grid stable. As part of the energy transition, demand for energy is being electrified, while the share of renewable energy on the supply side is steadily increasing.

Due to these immense developments in the energy system, balancing energy supply and demand across space and time becomes even more challenging. Hydrogen can play an important role in sector coupling of the electricity and gas grids, thereby stabilizing the system as a whole.

Melissa Stark, Global Renewables Lead at Accenture, Noé van Hulst, Hydrogen Envoy at the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate Policy, and René Schutte, Program Manager Hydrogen at Gasunie, discuss the role that hydrogen may play in our future energy system. Especially, green and blue hydrogen are discussed, as well as the timing and scaling of a hydrogen market and possible regulatory changes to stimulate a hydrogen economy.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.