In my last post I took six of what I feel are the most significant issues: that I believe require Partner Ecosystem thinking and design.

Within the Energy business, to make the enormous changes required in the transitions from fossil fuel to renewables we simply cannot “go it alone”, we need collaborations across all of the parts of energy from power generation, utilization, transmission and distribution, storage and consumption.

I firmly believe it is the ability to collaborate, share and innovate together can rapidly accelerate the transformation we need.

When I re-read this earlier post I increasingly recognized these challenges are broader and need expanding upon.

In some ways these are universal challenges that all involved will need to address and it is this ability to collaborate and co-create that will make that defining difference.

We are lacking today to truly embrace Partner Ecosystems in Energy,

We are so often determined to hang on to one small piece of the transformation puzzle as “our” intellectual property, our own pathway to growth, and not recognizing the power to open up will provide for even greater opportunity and sustaining growth and opportunity.

So I tackled with the aid of a friendly Gen AI to challenge my initial list, provide an alternative and together when we combined this with a higher level of thinking generated a more comprehensive list of challenges we all need to forge partner ecosystem solutions too.

Universal challenges we all need to tackle

These are truly universal challenges and applicable to nearly all that needs to be considered as we undertake the energy transition. They provide a framework to gauge progress.

Do you agree? Are we missing something here?

# Expanded Partner Ecosystem Challenges in the Energy Sector

1. Technological Challenges

   – Interoperability and Standardization: Ensuring different technologies and systems can work together seamlessly across partners.

   – Technological Integration: Merging legacy systems with new technologies and platforms.

   – Scalability and Agility: Developing systems that can grow and adapt quickly to changing needs and market conditions.

   – Cybersecurity: Protecting the ecosystem from cyber threats and ensuring robust security measures across all partners.

2. Data Management Challenges

   – Data Sharing and Security: Establishing protocols for safe and efficient data sharing among partners.

   – Data Privacy: Ensuring compliance with data protection regulations and respecting customer privacy.

   – Data Governance: Creating and enforcing policies for data management across the ecosystem.

   – Data Quality and Consistency: Maintaining high-quality, consistent data across different partners and systems.

3. Regulatory and Compliance Challenges

   – Keeping Up with Changing Regulations: Staying informed and adapting to evolving energy sector regulations.

   – Ensuring Compliance Across the Ecosystem: Maintaining regulatory compliance across all partners and operations.

   – Navigating Different Regulatory Environments: Managing compliance in different geographical regions or market segments.

   – Influencing Policy: Engaging with policymakers to shape favorable regulations for the ecosystem.

4. Partnership Dynamics

   – Trust and Collaboration: Building and maintaining trust among partners with potentially competing interests.

   – Balancing Competition and Cooperation: Managing “coopetition” within the ecosystem.

   – Aligning Divergent Business Models: Finding common ground among partners with different business approaches and goals.

   – Governance and Decision-making: Establishing fair and effective governance structures for the ecosystem.

5. Market and Industry Challenges

   – Adapting to Rapid Industry Changes: Keeping pace with technological advancements and shifting market dynamics.

   – Managing Market Volatility: Developing strategies to handle fluctuations in energy prices and demand.

   – Addressing Sustainability Demands: Meeting increasing expectations for sustainable and clean energy solutions.

   – Navigating Geopolitical Influences: Managing the impact of global political events on the energy market.

6. Operational Challenges

   – Resource Allocation and Management: Efficiently distributing resources across the ecosystem.

   – Quality Control Across the Ecosystem: Maintaining consistent quality standards among all partners.

   – Supply Chain Coordination: Managing complex supply chains involving multiple partners.

   – Risk Management: Identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks across the entire ecosystem.

7. Customer-Centric Challenges

   – Enhancing Customer Experience: Providing seamless, high-quality service across all touch points.

   – Meeting Evolving Customer Expectations: Adapting to changing customer needs and preferences.

   – Maintaining Consistent Service Quality: Ensuring uniform service standards across different partners.

   – Personalization at Scale: Delivering customized solutions while operating in a large ecosystem.

8. Innovation and R&D Challenges

   – Fostering Joint Innovation: Encouraging collaborative research and development among partners.

   – Managing Intellectual Property: Establishing clear protocols for IP ownership and sharing within the ecosystem.

   – Balancing Short-term Needs with Long-term Innovation: Investing in future technologies while meeting current market demands.

   – Open Innovation: Leveraging external ideas and technologies effectively within the ecosystem.

9. Financial Challenges

   – Revenue Sharing Models: Developing fair and transparent models for distributing revenue among partners.

   – Investment in Shared Infrastructure: Coordinating and funding joint infrastructure projects.

   – Managing Financial Risks: Mitigating financial exposure across the ecosystem.

   – Funding Innovation: Securing and allocating resources for R&D and new initiatives.

10. Human Capital and Cultural Challenges

    – Skill Gap and Workforce Development: Addressing the shortage of skilled workers in the energy sector.

    – Cultural Alignment Among Partners: Fostering a shared vision and values across diverse organizations.

    – Knowledge Sharing and Transfer: Facilitating the exchange of expertise and best practices within the ecosystem.

    – Change Management: Helping employees adapt to new ways of working in a partner ecosystem model.

This expanded categorization provides a more comprehensive view of the challenges faced by partner ecosystems in the energy sector. Each category now includes several sub-challenges, offering a deeper understanding of the complexities involved.

The two Big Hairy Audacious Gotchas ( BHAG’s) not on this list but drive the above

The two really big areas that this does not tackle is:

Firstly to fully account for consumer expectations, perceptions and acceptance. This can “make or break” the transition in resisting to make change or failing to recognize the incentives to make the changes.

Secondly, the warming of the planet and what this means to the need to make substantial and immediate changes to slow down the impact and effect. The more we need to respond in crisis the less orderly any change becomes and that “forces” decisions to be imposed that might not be optimum for the sustainability but just reacting to the short-term need.

Irrespective Partnering and Collaborating is essential for the Energy Transition

We have so many complexities within the Energy transition, we do make it doubly harder to “go it alone”, it is so sub optimal. We MUST think in Partnerships, in Ecosystem collaborations and co-creation at a level that is magnitudes higher than we are attempting today.

We do need to embrace Partner Ecosystems in thinking and design, its imperative.

Contact me, I can help in putting the thinking into the design of Partner Ecosystems for your Energy Challenges.

The post What are the universal challenges faced by the Energy sector – applying Partner Ecosystems thinking. first appeared on Innovating the Energy Transition.

The World Economic Forum Advanced Energy Solutions Group is the catalyst for bringing together outstanding change makers, entrepreneurs, financiers and innovators from across the world and recently had one of its meetings to stimulate and encourage this initiative further. Why?

There are enormous opportunities in the clean energy transition but also so many current barriers and pitfalls.

Taking the WEF’s objectives with this group I quote from their website:

“The World Economic Forum’s Advanced Energy Solutions community aims to accelerate, from decades to years, the deployment at industrial scale of advanced solutions such as clean fuels and hydrogen, advanced nuclear, storage and carbon removal. It engages leaders in frontier segments of the energy system that drive the energy transition”.

The community helps build confidence in advanced energy solutions, provides a platform to engage leading innovators with large energy producers, energy consumers and investors, and addresses regulation and policy.

The WEF offers a wide range of communities to build a better future enabled by sustainable, inclusive, and resilient industry ecosystems.

WEF lays out a vision for this Advanced Energy Solution Group

This document proposes a vision for the advanced energy solutions industry and the key factors that will ensure success in achieving the required levels of deployment in the coming years. It aims to enhance understanding and support collaboration within industry and across stakeholder groups, inform decision-making and foster best practice-sharing.

The vision was shaped by the World Economic Forum, supported by L.E.K. Consulting, through meetings of the Advanced Energy Solutions CEO community, interviews with senior executives and in-depth research and analysis.

This group focuses on the central role of energy storage, carbon management, small modular reactors, clean hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuels in the global endeavour to reduce carbon emissions and achieve a net-zero future. These may be deemed as advanced but for me, they are critical.

The challenge is well laid out.

The net-zero emissions path in 2030 will need carbon capture and storage (CCS) to scale to 20 times the current capacity, energy storage to 35 times, clean hydrogen production 70 times and sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) 190 times. Additionally, mass deployment of new advanced nuclear reactors will be needed.

Such unprecedented capacity growth will need investment, which must grow to more than $500
billion per year by 2030. However, while progress is being made, it is significantly lagging. Publicly announced plans currently cover only a fraction of the estimated investment needs. The deployment of these advanced energy solutions needs increased speed and scale.

To quote from this vision document

This is not so much a technology readiness challenge, although that is demanding enough as technology development needs to continue to drive down cost curves and bring new innovations to market.

The WEF see the primary challenge in deploying advanced energy solutions over the next decade does not lie in their technological feasibility. Rather, it lies in confidence in these solutions. Many stakeholders recognize the need for these solutions and the opportunities they offer but are not confident enough to move at the speed and scale required.

The challenge can be broken down into technological confidence, demand confidence, business case confidence and public confidence. In essence, large energy companies, energy users, financial institutions, policy-makers and the general public need to be confident that technologies are proven, safe and able to deliver the most affordable path to net-zero emissions by 2030.

If confidence is the real key, it is the conflicting messages that create this uncertain environment.

The vision points to the critical enablers of collaboration, policy and community. It is all about informing and unlocking multiple challenges to scale. Essential to driving scale, are creating the demand signals, unlocking investment, spreading the risk and informing policy-making.

The ability to speed and scale are essential. Do we have a stable environment for growth and innovation, I think not. Are regulations keeping up with the speed of technical advancement or deployment, I think not. Are the solutions capable for specific needs and local challenges, I think not. Do we have a level playing field for innovation, experimentation and adoption, I think not. Do we have a recognized plan for phasing out assets that still have “useful life” but are hindering the move to clean energy, I think not.

Yes, enabling and informing are both key to the energy transition yet we stay “trapped” or hostage to what we know and have in place. To significantly create change does need a very different approach to energy transition thinking and that has not emerged, it is highly fractured.

The higher Ecosystem need

If the WEF are one of the bodies to enact the change we need to think of a higher order as the ones we have all got so caught up in “the weeds” and entanglement catering to multiple pressure groups, they are not enabling and fostering enough this higher-order we need. I shudder when you consider the CoP events each year. Moving the world back to the Charter agreed in Paris, known as the Paris Agreement would peel away much of the entanglements we have weaved into the Energy transition.

We need a fresh Natural Ecosystem approach.

In a biological ecosystem, ( I quote) “organisms function independently in that their behaviour is designed to promote their own survival. At the same time, they are deeply interdependent – their individual survival depends on their mutual interactions and exchanges essential to driving scale, creating the demand signals, unlocking investment, spreading the risk and informing policy-making.” We need a new energy ecosystem approach”

An ecosystem therefore requires both grand diversity and collaboration. What we need is a significant reordering of this for lifting up the Energy Transition into that higher order that is needed to achieve any successful Energy Transformation that enables us in our diversity to have a Climate that we can thrive and not just survive.

***I recommend reading this paper where the quote comes from “What Corporates Can Do to Help an Innovation Ecosystem Thrive – and Why They Should Do It” by Diana Joseph, Susan Windham-bannister and Mikel Mangold.

***To learn more about the ‘How’ of Clean Tech Innovation, listen In to this Edition of ‘Radio Davos‘ Podcast

The post Advanced Energy Solutions first appeared on Innovating the Energy Transition.

How do you encourage engagement? How do you create the conditions that enable collaboration and cooperation to occur? How can we combine all the forces that make up the Energy Transition?

In the past week or so, I have gained a growing belief we are building the momentum to bring the different sources within the Energy Transition together. The conditions are being created.

Let me briefly provide a few stand-out ones that give encouragement

Firstly in Brussels a Clean Tech Investment meeting took place, nicely summarized by Ann Mettler, the Vice President at Breakthrough Energy. Ann posted “Clean Tech Investment: Top of Mind in Brussels

What a whirlwind: In less than 24 hours, I had two opportunities to talk investment, at a ‘Clean Transition Dialogue’ hosted by EVP Maroš Šefčovič, in the presence of EC President Ursula von der Leyen and a ‘High-Level Investor Dinner’ with Commissioner Iliana Ivanova.

Briefly she noted the significant talking points:
More project finance
Mobilize institutional investors
Double down on public guarantees
Innovation Fund +++
EU Climate Bank Needs Laser Focus on Clean Tech
Better planning, guaranteed contracts
DG Competition reality check

That set of bullet points gives only the top layer of an incredible amount of work going on in support of clean energy tech to give it momentum and shows just one of Ann’s incredible personal energy and commitment to getting the Clean Energy underway (Link to post)

Secondly, the host of that session Maroš Šefčovič the 1st European Commission Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal stated:

“Securing Europe’s industrial competitiveness is an important overarching priority. Today, President Ursula von der Leyen and I sat down with more than 20 representatives of key clean tech sectors, as part of a series of clean transition dialogues, to boost the industrial dimension of the #EUGreenDeal.” (Link to post)

My third observation point is The Energy Resilience Leadership Group – A Strong Call for Action

In Munich, recently, this group celebrated the first birthday of the Energy Resilience Leadership Group. Launched a year ago with Bill Gates and Ann Mettler of Breakthrough Energy, it has become a true coalition of the willing.

“This multistakeholder initiative aims to strengthen Europe’s energy resilience by rapidly bringing climate technologies to scale.”

Then, my fourth point of encouragement was from Christian Bruch, President and Chief Executive Officer @Siemen

Christian left the Munich Security Conference and headed straight for Siemens Energy Abu Dhabi offices, where they inaugurated their Global Innovation Center, located within Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi. Bridging continents and cultures. This is Siemens Energy’s fourth hub for global collaboration, joining their other Innovation Centers in Berlin, Orlando, and Shenzhen.

“The vision for this Innovation Center is to be a hub for knowledge transfer, co-creation, and robust collaborations that will speed up our journey toward a net-zero future. Zero is the number worth highlighting here. Because by 2050, the United Arab Emirates aims to achieve net-zero emissions, making the Emirates the first Middle East and North African nation to do so.”

My fifth encouragement point was during the launch of the Innovation Center event, Dietmar Siersdorfer– the Middle East Managing Director at Siemens Energy, added a further important aspect of collaborations, engagement and celebration.

“Partnership is a powerful force, and this week, we had the honour of hosting 150 senior leaders from various industries in the UAE at a gala dinner to celebrate our collaborative efforts. Engaging with so many customers and partners who have been instrumental in advancing the region’s energy transition over the years was gratifying.”

Each of these is a dynamic layer of the Energy Movement that is gathering momentum and underway.

I feel the momentum and equally am getting ready for its impact. My Quest for Energy Work.

In my world of focusing on the energy transition, I have recently been arguing for the need to think more about organizing all these different ecosystems.

I have provided different pieces on thinking about the impact of Ecosystems on the Energy Transition.

For instance, “Considering the Design of the Energy System” emphasises the benefits of sharing IP, knowledge, research, market insights, and general improvement potentials when considering Ecosystems within the Energy Transitions, where collaborations are growing in importance and need. I outline ten areas of consideration.

Then, “Recognizing success stories of Ecosystem thinking in the Energy Transition” These success stories demonstrate ecosystem thinking is pivotal in driving the energy transition and creating positive impacts across industries. Collaborations between stakeholders with diverse expertise are crucial for addressing complex energy challenges and achieving sustainable outcomes.

Then “We need fresh perspectives in our thinking towards the Energy Transition“. I have been on a revamping mission, so on this knowledge site, besides “latest posts”, I raise relevant issues and offer solutions to help traverse differences and individual company needs by suggesting a more open ecosystem thinking and design in different structured ways to assist in the energy transformation we urgently need.

My mission within the Energy Transition

“My mission is to leverage the concept of Ecosystem thinking and design to unleash its potential and accelerate innovative, sustainable and progressive solutions in changing our Energy approaches to ones that lead to greater collaboration and co-creation to solve a global challenge and break down the complexities within this.”

So, I focus on seeking out and building change at the front end of the energy system.

It is at this front end of energy change that the importance of Innovation, ingenuity and creativity emerges in this Ecosystem of thinking and design.

Let me try to articulate the importance of these elements within the context of Energy Ecosystem thinking and design. My job is to bring them out and give them the power of engagement:

1. Innovation as the Catalyst for Energy Transformation:
   • Position innovation as the driving force behind the energy transformation, emphasizing that technological breakthroughs, business models, and processes are pivotal for achieving sustainable energy goals.
   • Build out examples of innovative solutions within the energy sector, from advancements in renewable energy technologies to novel energy storage and distribution approaches.
2. Ecosystems as Innovation Hubs:
   • Highlight the role of business ecosystems as natural incubators for innovation. Ecosystems bring together diverse talents, expertise, and resources, fostering an environment where creative ideas can flourish and be translated into practical solutions for the energy industry.
3. Creativity in Problem-Solving:
   • Stress the need for creative problem-solving in overcoming the complex challenges of the energy transition. Encourage thinking beyond traditional boundaries and embracing unconventional ideas to address issues such as intermittency in renewable sources or optimizing energy storage systems.
4. Cross-Industry Collaboration:
   • Emphasize the value of cross-industry collaboration within the energy ecosystem. Encourage partnerships with technology companies, startups, and organizations from other sectors to bring fresh perspectives and diverse skill sets, sparking innovative approaches to energy challenges.
5. Ingenuity in Sustainable Business Models:
   • Showcase innovative and sustainable business models that are emerging within the energy industry. This could include successful collaborations, new renewable project financing models, or creative energy efficiency approaches that go beyond conventional practices.
6. Ecosystems as Catalysts for Creativity:
   • Articulate how business ecosystems provide the fertile ground for creativity to thrive. By breaking down silos and encouraging open collaboration, ecosystems create a dynamic environment where ideas can be shared, refined, and implemented at a pace not achievable in isolated settings.
7. Agile and Adaptive Ecosystems:
   • Stress the importance of agility and adaptability within business ecosystems. The energy landscape is evolving rapidly, and ecosystems that can embrace change and quickly pivot in response to new challenges will be better positioned to drive innovation and stay ahead of the curve.
8. Empowering the Next Generation of Innovators:
   • Highlight initiatives that nurture and empower the next generation of innovators within the energy sector. This could involve educational programs, partnerships with research institutions, and mentorship opportunities to ensure a continuous influx of fresh ideas and perspectives.

We need to recognize we need to go way beyond the talking stage and underscore the momentum I feel is underway in the Energy Transition. “We” must become highly organized around innovation, ingenuity, and creativity through the context and powerful enabler of Business Ecosystem thinking and design.

My aim here is to connect all of the momentum or “dots” in emphasizing the importance of getting organized to encourage and inspire all stakeholders to actively engage in co-creating a sustainable energy future and talk to me about how to go about it effectively.

The post Engagement within the Energy Movement first appeared on Innovating the Energy Transition.

By fostering greater collaboration and co-creation within the Energy Industry, it is becoming crucial to consider Ecosystems in design and thinking. Ecosystems designed well are robust for navigating the complex landscape of any Energy transition.

The Energy transition we are all facing has such high levels of complexity and challenge. We are undertaking a radical redesign of our energy systems where renewables based on clean energy, decarbonization or low carbon, new distributed business models and rapidly growing demands for electricity are all compressed into a thirty-year agenda to achieve net zero. Collaboration, cooperation and coordination will be paramount, and this is where Ecosystems and Platform technology will become essential to manage these “multiple” transformations needed.

Here in this post is a structured argument for promoting Business Ecosystem thinking and design for those involved in the Energy System, emphasizing the benefits of sharing IP, knowledge, research, market insights, and general improvement potentials when it comes to considering Ecosystems within the Energy Transitions, where collaborations are growing in importance and need. I outline ten areas of consideration.

There is a significant amount to think through when it comes to setting up and managing within a collaborative Ecosystem, especially in such an industry as the Energy or specific parts of it, be these geographical or sub-sectors (Grids, Hydrogen, Hard-to-Abate, Wind, Solar, Storage, Europe, China etc., etc).

There has been a reasonably protective environment in the Energy sector with limited choices due to the significant investment in assets and infrastructure, long-term financial commitments, managing these over extended times for risk and continuous investment, primarily operating in highly regulated market conditions over many years. The impact of suddenly opening up and understanding the risks and effects this might have on these investments is causing a natural pause in making a radical change, but can we afford this?

The energy transition brings huge uncertainty to all involved in it in areas of technological change, radically different competition and regulatory needs, the management of the different assets being installed, digitalization and community or customer engagement. It is not one way anymore or our way; this transition is very different.

The idea of collaborating across multiple needs will have to determine where and what value this brings to all the parties involved. This is the critical starting point of Ecosystem design. One prime example where collaborations can start to learn together to extend into an Ecosystem in design is the focus on converging technologies and adopting common standards and commonality.

I have recently provided extensive coverage of how Ecosystems often need to be interconnected to achieve a more outstanding design for sustaining and collective prosperity. In the seven-part series on my ecosystem4innovating.com, you can start by reading the summary of this hierarchy of business ecosystem needs. Equally in supporting this series I provided fifteen (I know!) posts on different aspects of Ecosystems to consider on my paul4innovating.com site, one example is breaking down resistence.

The need when considering any Energy Ecosystem thinking and design

1. Holistic Perspective and Transition Planning:
   • Energy transitions involve multifaceted challenges, from technological advancements to policy changes. A business ecosystem approach allows for a holistic understanding of the interconnected elements and their dependencies.
   • Collaborative efforts enable a comprehensive view of the entire value chain, identifying synergies and gaps that individual entities might overlook.
   • The Energy Transition involves diverse components such as renewable energy sources, grid modernization, energy storage, and sustainable technologies. A business ecosystem approach provides for a comprehensive and growing shared understanding of these elements and facilitates integrated planning and exchanges for a seamless transition.

2. Accelerated Innovation in Ecosystems for Sustainable Technologies:
   • Energy industry transitions require rapid innovation to meet sustainability goals and address climate change. Collaborative ecosystems provide a platform for pooling resources, expertise, and technologies.
   • By sharing knowledge and research, participants can collectively accelerate the development and adoption of innovative solutions, reducing duplication of efforts and optimizing resources.
   • Collaboration within the ecosystem can specifically target innovation in renewable energy technologies, energy storage solutions, and smart grid systems. Joint research and development efforts can accelerate the deployment of sustainable technologies crucial for the Energy Transition.

3. Mitigating Risk in Transition Investments:
   • The energy industry is inherently risky, with technological uncertainties, market dynamics, and regulatory changes.
   • By distributing risks across multiple stakeholders, the impact of uncertainties can be minimized, making it more feasible for organizations to invest in transformative projects.
   • Collaborative ecosystems provide a mechanism for risk-sharing, ensuring that the economic burden of uncertainties is distributed among multiple stakeholders, making it more feasible for organizations to invest in transformative projects.

4. Cost Efficiency:
   • Ecosystems promote resource efficiency by avoiding redundant investments in research and development. Shared knowledge and insights can lead to product development and commercialization cost reductions.
   • Coordinated efforts in infrastructure development, such as shared grids or storage facilities, can also lead to cost savings for the entire ecosystem.
   • Sharing insights and data across the Ecosystem provides a diverse range of knowledge and learning to improve efficiencies and seek higher productivity gains.
   • By providing growing insights and expertise encourages fresh investment and capital in understanding the data, benefits and impacts of assessing commercial returns.

5. Collective Influence on Global Energy Policies:
   • The Energy Transition is a global imperative, and collaborative ecosystems provide a unified voice for the industry in engaging with international policymakers. By working together, organizations can contribute to developing global energy policies that support sustainable practices and facilitate the transition on a broader scale.
   • Well-established Ecosystems with a solid leading voice can shape and influence others; recognizing the emerging (best) practices and broader adoption of these approaches will provide growing insights and leading ways to operate in the future.

6. Optimizing Investment in Transition Infrastructure:
   • Shared resources and insights within the ecosystem can help optimize investments in critical infrastructure for the Energy Transition, such as developing shared renewable energy facilities, storage infrastructure, and intelligent grid systems. This collaboration reduces costs and accelerates the deployment of necessary infrastructure.
   • The need is to shape standards for emerging technologies and infrastructure approaches not just on a national but international level for a global scale in emerging proven solutions that meet the multiple agendas of cost, reliability, security, scaling up potential and low carbon.

7. Regulatory Influence, Shared Insights for Regulatory Alignment:
   • Collaborative ecosystems have a stronger collective voice when engaging with policymakers and regulators. This can influence the creation of supportive policies and regulations that foster innovation and sustainable practices.
   • Unified efforts are more likely to shape a favourable regulatory environment for the energy transition, overcoming barriers that individual organizations might face.
   • The regulatory landscape plays a pivotal role in shaping the Energy Transition. Collaborative ecosystems enable industry players to share insights, lobby collectively for supportive policies, and navigate regulatory challenges more effectively, fostering an environment conducive to sustainable energy practices and building stronger Business & Government partnerships.

8. Market Expansion:
   • Ecosystems provide a platform for companies to access new markets and diversify their offerings. Organizations can tap into each other’s customer bases and distribution channels by collaborating.
   • This can lead to increased market penetration for sustainable energy solutions, as well as creating new business models that cater to emerging needs.
   • A focused business ecosystem approach can be leveraged to expand markets specifically for sustainable energy solutions that can leapfrog past stages of necessary investments.
   • Collaboration allows for joint marketing efforts, shared customer bases, and the creation of new business models that cater specifically to the evolving needs of the Energy Transition and the diverse customer and technology needs (on-demand, EV charging, evolving solutions, two-way flows).

9. Stakeholder and Community Trust and Reputation:
   • Open collaboration fosters transparency and builds trust among stakeholders, including customers, investors, and the public. This can enhance the reputation of the entire ecosystem and its diverse participants.
   • A positive reputation is increasingly crucial in attracting investments, partnerships, and customers, especially in industries undergoing significant transitions.
   • Social licence is vital for community engagement and civil voice to have higher inclusion levels in policy framing, implementation, mutual obligation, and association.

10. Building a Long-Term Resilient Energy Ecosystem:
    • The Energy Transition introduces new challenges, including intermittency in renewable energy sources, building resilience and response differently and, for example, the need for advanced energy storage solutions.
    • A collaborative ecosystem builds resilience by fostering joint efforts against external shocks and unforeseen challenges by creating a support network. Entities within the ecosystem can adapt more effectively to emerging challenges, ensuring the sustainability of the energy transition over the long term.

By emphasizing the specific challenges and opportunities inherent in the Energy Transition, any Ecosystem initiative becomes more tailored and compelling by the time invested by the stakeholders, the commitment to being open and ready to exchange knowledge. We need to think about the business case the barriers and issues to overcome, and the broader points of any blueprint of how this evolves, influences and shapes

As one of its objectives, it must showcase how a collaborative ecosystem approach is beneficial and essential for overcoming the unique hurdles posed by the transition to a sustainable energy future and how it “learns”, that collective learning, so as to enable it to work.

In summary, a business ecosystem approach is about sharing resources and creating a collective intelligence that propels the entire Energy industry or sub-sector forward. The energy transition is a shared challenge, and by adopting a collaborative mindset, organizations can amplify their impact, increase resilience, and drive meaningful change.

The post Considering the design of the Energy Ecosystem first appeared on Innovating the Energy Transition.

That CoP28 was an event that catches many of the basic emotions we are going through for managing the Energy transition to rapidly move towards a safer, sustainable climate and balance with nature.

I was reflecting on the different parts and sought a way to describe these “emotions” as my reflection of the CoP28 event and all it means to me.

The Energy Transition: Navigating a Turbulent Sea

The energy transition is a complex and challenging journey, akin to navigating a turbulent sea. It’s a voyage fraught with both exhilarating opportunities and daunting obstacles, requiring us to steer clear of whirlpools of uncertainty and sail towards the horizon of sustainability.

The Whirlpool of Mixed Advice

As we continue to sail on this transformative journey, we’re bombarded with conflicting winds of information and often disinformation. Some advise a course towards renewable energy, while others suggest a reliance on traditional sources. This cacophony of guidance can leave us dizzy and unsure of our direction. We need consistent, well-thought-through advice with renewables as the core enabler to making the energy transition change.

The Storm of Closed-Up Industry

The energy industry, our vessel on this voyage, is often a closed-off ship, resistant to change and collaboration. This siloed approach hinders our progress, preventing us from pooling knowledge and forging stronger partnerships. This narrow, short-sighted approach of many is highly dangerous. We must embrace ecosystem thinking and design for different engagements that provide a more open-thinking and collaborative approach.

The Riptide of Evolving Standards

The rapid pace of innovation in the energy sector is like a series of riptides, constantly pushing us off course. Investments are far too often chasing the latest concept and often losing the needed vigour and assessment of validating the real, lasting value. We must navigate these currents by establishing global standards for renewable energy technologies and grid infrastructure, ensuring seamless integration and compatibility. We need to anchor our understanding and not let the chase for investment deflect us from determining clear business cases to gain lasting returns.

The Tempest of Information Overload

The energy transition is a data-rich ocean, but the volume of information can be overwhelming, drowning us in a sea of complexity. We must develop tools and strategies to filter and synthesize this knowledge, enabling us to make informed decisions amidst the chaos. We have got to filter this “overload” of insights, many provided by vested interests and give greater clarity and, most importantly, a clear context to the reader or future investor so they can “cut through” and find their own North Star to pursue.

The Typhoon of Vested Interests

The energy industry is often influenced by powerful interests favouring the status quo, hindering our ability to embrace revolutionary technologies. We must break free from these constraints and champion innovation that fuels the transition. A tide is constantly turning towards renewable investments, but this reluctance to change will constantly return and erode the resistance offered. We need to ride these tides and change the underlying currents.

The Undertow of Standard Offerings

The energy sector often provides one-size-fits-all solutions, failing to address the diverse needs of our stakeholders. We need to embrace flexibility and customization, tailoring solutions to the specific requirements of different communities. The Energy transition is a multiple endeavour that needs solutions that “fit” the circumstances of each party. To enable this, we need to recognize the history, the context, the ability to change and the resources to enable this. Recognizing differences gives diversity in solutions that deliver a certain uniqueness and often breakthroughs that we can learn from to shape the solutions that fit our circumstances.

The Fog of Engineering-Centric Mindset

The energy industry often operates from an engineer’s perspective, overlooking our decisions’ broader social and economic implications. We must broaden our horizons, considering our actions’ environmental, societal, and ethical ramifications. Scientists, market makers, development specialists, environmentalists, and those highly socially aware need to bring different perspectives to solutions that stimulate and stretch our “collective” thinking.

The Calm of Knowledge Sharing

The absence of centralized resources for knowledge sharing hinders our progress. We must create a common platform where insights and experiences are readily accessible, fostering collective learning and innovation. The need for building a shared global knowledge exchange that collates and consolidates choices and options will only accelerate the “diffusion of knowledge”. We must work towards this Energy knowledge repository consistently and with real purpose.

The Safe Harbor of Government Partnership

Governments do need to step up and act as lighthouses guiding our journey, ready to play a crucial role in shaping the energy transition but not biased or influenced by the strengths of lobbyists determined to “bend and influence” for narrow purposes. Governments and global institutions must strive harder to provide policy frameworks, funding support, and regulatory clarity, ensuring a smooth and equitable transition. We need to see the current CoP process differently from where it seems to be heading, caught in intense lobbying, not scientific fact-based thinking, where deliberations are taken far more objectively, not grabbed or pushed by the power of a few.

Embracing the Energy Transition: A Collective Effort

The energy transition is not a solo endeavour; it demands a collective effort akin to a flotilla of ships working together. We need to foster collaboration among industry players, academia, governments, and civil society, harnessing the strengths of each sector to navigate this transformative journey. Collaborations need to be placed on greater communicating platforms that are not just scientific or politically lead but broken down even further into the communities of similar need that become their “CoP” event determining outcomes NOT going in positions.

The Energy Transition: A Beacon of Hope or a Point of Despair?

Despite the challenges, the energy transition does need to be a beacon of hope, illuminating a path towards a cleaner, more sustainable future; we need to believe in that.

We can navigate this turbulent sea by harnessing our collective wisdom, innovation, and determination, reaching a destination where energy security and environmental stewardship are harmoniously intertwined. Is it to little too late?

It is hard to separate reality from aspirations, but we do have to try even harder than ever; the present CoP process needs changing and updating as the “public spectacle.”

For me, as a distant observer, the CoP28 event in Dubai diminishes our trust and beliefs and leaves a collectively exhausted group of people who attended and fought for their positions, finding each year harder and harder. It should not be; we do need this beacon of hope to burn brighter in the future and bring humanity into a real balance with nature and the environment.

As I reflect, I return to one opening speech at CoP28: We need to be balanced with Nature.

As King Charles stated “I have tried to say on many occasions, unless we rapidly repair and restore Nature’s unique economy, based on harmony and balance, which is our ultimate sustainer, our own economy and survivability will be imperilled.” He went on to say “We are carrying out a vast, frightening experiment of changing every ecological condition, all at once, at a pace that far outstrips Nature’s ability to cope. As we work towards a zero-carbon future, we must work equally towards being Nature-positive.”

King Charles most important point for me was “We need to remember that the indigenous world view teaches us that we are all connected. Not only as human beings, but with all living things and all that sustains life. As part of this grand and sacred system, harmony with Nature must be maintained. The Earth does not belong to us, we belong to the Earth”

The Energy Transition needs us to see sustainability in the “grander” sense, and that is our distant horizon we need to keep focused upon; we must put aside our established positions and seek out new ones that have the “greater good” for the future generations of all creatures as central, not just the fear of losing what we have gained, as it will not simply matter, if our earth breaks down, choking in unforgiving polluting air, unable to sustain life and moving from one disaster to another. We are at a real tipping point, and CoP is simply a yearly Cop-out and that cannot be sustained much longer.

*to gain ideas on themes, I used Bard to help with this

The post Dealing with the raw emotions of the Cop28 event first appeared on Innovating the Energy Transition.

We are about to have the CoP28 event in the UAE from 30 November 2023 to 12 December 2023, which is crucial for the energy transition. I feel this is an actual watershed event. Those representatives attending must push for substantial agreements on what needs to be done to reduce carbonization and other polluting gases, seek ways to provide clean air and a more equitable share and conserve resources, or we will forever say goodbye to achieving anything like the 1.5 C degree.

Many experts predict that our planet is presently heading for warming to 3C. If we continue this trajectory, we will enter many unknowns in how the planet reacts and responds. If we have climate extremes, the cost of human life, upheaval and damage will continue to confront us.

This is why I think the energy transition is one of the most essential areas of necessary focus, as it is one of the most complex changes from fossil-burning fuels to clean renewables powered by solar, wind and hydro.

Here, I want to provide a view summarising the Energy Ecosystem, offering some strategic steps of underlying approaches to change and where I attempt to fit into contributions supporting solutions.

Changing the Energy Ecosystem:

Changing the energy ecosystem refers to a comprehensive and strategic effort to fundamentally transform how energy is generated, distributed, utilized, and managed within a region or globally. This transformation involves a departure from traditional, often fossil-fuel-based energy systems towards more sustainable, efficient, and environmentally responsible alternatives. It encompasses various facets of the energy sector, including:

1. Energy Sources: Shifting from carbon-intensive energy sources (such as coal and oil) to cleaner and renewable sources (such as solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal).
2. Energy Efficiency: Enhancing the efficiency of energy production, transmission, and consumption to reduce waste and minimize environmental impact.
3. Infrastructure: Upgrading and modernizing energy infrastructure to accommodate new technologies, grid enhancements, and decentralized energy generation.
4. Policy and Regulation: Implementing supportive policies, regulations, and incentives to encourage sustainable energy practices and discourage harmful ones.
5. Innovation: Embracing innovation and technological advancements to create more sustainable, cost-effective, and reliable energy solutions.

Why Changing the Energy Ecosystem Is Important:

1. Environmental Sustainability: The current energy ecosystem heavily relies on fossil fuels, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Changing the ecosystem is vital to mitigate environmental damage, reduce pollution, and limit global warming.
2. Resource Conservation: Transitioning to renewable energy sources helps conserve finite fossil fuel resources and reduce dependence on geopolitically unstable regions for energy supplies.
3. Energy Security: A diversified and decentralized energy ecosystem enhances energy security, reducing vulnerability to supply disruptions and geopolitical tensions.
4. Economic Opportunities: The energy transition offers substantial economic opportunities, from the growth of clean energy industries to job creation in renewable energy and technology sectors.
5. Health Benefits: Cleaner energy sources improve air quality and reduce pollution-related health issues, benefiting public health.
6. Technological Advancements: Innovation in energy technologies can lead to breakthroughs with broader applications, driving progress in various sectors of the economy.
7. Global Responsibility: As a global issue, addressing the energy ecosystem is a matter of international responsibility. It involves nations cooperating to combat climate change and reduce their carbon footprints.

Changing the Energy Ecosystem by building an approach to change that builds innovation and ingenuity through experimentation and pilots, looking for leapfrog opportunities through rapid learning and knowledge sharing.

A strategic approach to transforming the energy ecosystem. Let’s break this down by focal points, step by step:

1. Changing the Energy Ecosystem: This signifies the overarching goal of making significant and positive changes to how energy is produced, distributed, and consumed. It often implies a shift towards cleaner, more sustainable, and more efficient energy sources and practices.
2. Building Out an Approach: This suggests developing a structured and systematic plan or strategy to transform the energy ecosystem. This approach should be well-thought-out and comprehensive and provide clear roadmaps for the essential broad inclusion solutions required.
3. Change Through Innovation and Ingenuity: To bring about meaningful change, the approach emphasizes the importance of creativity, originality, and novel solutions. This implies that following established practices may not be sufficient, and new ideas and inventions are necessary.
4. Experimentation and Pilots: This highlights the need to try out new technologies, processes, or concepts on a smaller scale before implementing them on a larger, more significant scale. Pilots and experiments allow for learning from mistakes and refining strategies.
5. Leapfrog Opportunities: This indicates the desire to skip over intermediate stages of development and adopt more advanced, efficient, or sustainable technologies or practices. Leapfrogging often involves embracing cutting-edge solutions instead of gradually evolving existing systems.
6. Rapid Learning: In this context, rapid learning means quickly acquiring knowledge and insights from experimentation and experiences. It’s about being agile and adaptable in response to new information and challenges.
7. Knowledge Sharing: To accelerate progress, the approach involves sharing the knowledge and insights gained with relevant stakeholders, such as organizations, governments, and the public. This helps spread best practices and avoid duplicative efforts.

To achieve a sustainable energy transition, there must be consistency in advocating for a systematic, innovative, and flexible approach to transforming the energy ecosystem. Its central emphasis is the importance of learning from experimentation, seeking advanced solutions, and sharing knowledge to make rapid progress towards a more sustainable and efficient energy future in highly collaborative and open ways.

In summary, we must recognize that changing the energy ecosystem is essential to address pressing environmental, economic, and societal challenges. It is not merely about upgrading energy infrastructure but fundamentally shifting our approach to renewables in energy production and consumption to create a more sustainable and resilient future for all. This understanding underscores the endeavour’s importance in the broader context of sustainability and global well-being, enabling the planet to stabilize and slowly recover.

Building out our Value Proposition:

“To focus and support wherever we can, the revolutionizing of the energy landscape, through supporting concept knowledge, insights and ideas to inform and support, to deliver cutting-edge innovation and unwavering ingenuity- both are needed in abundance. The work undertaken needs to build and deliver sustainable, efficient, and forward-thinking solutions that empower individuals, organizations, and communities to thrive in a cleaner, smarter energy future”.

Key Pillars of the Value Proposition:

1. Innovative Solutions: We search and encourage pioneering groundbreaking technologies, strategies, and practices that redefine the energy sector to trigger new thinking or build out existing understanding, hopefully in new, novel ways. Our focal point is the pursuit of innovation that pushes creation and discovery to create solutions that transcend existing boundaries or limits. We look to support those wishing to operate at the forefront of change and push the known edges.
2. Ingenuity in Action: We look towards challenges and view obstacles as opportunities. The search for understanding combines creativity, expertise, and a passion for problem-solving to craft unique and effective knowledge solutions tailored to the evolving needs of the energy ecosystem that trigger and support the advancement of others, better equipped to find breakthroughs in their business.
3. Sustainability at the Core: Critically, the work undertaken must support sustainable energy practices that reduce environmental impact, promote responsible resource management, and protect the planet for future generations.
4. Customized Approaches: We understand that every energy challenge is unique in context and content. Our approach needs to be highly adaptable and customizable, allowing us to address our partners’ and clients’ specific needs and goals, whether they are businesses, governments, or communities. The narrative and how it is built are vitally important to each piece of work.
5. Continuous Learning: We believe that innovation thrives on knowledge. We foster a culture of constant learning, regularly integrating new insights and technologies into our insights, knowledge and solution work to ensure that our clients benefit from the latest advancements. Learning is highly reciprocal and scalable; it is all about liberating creative energy and achieving higher engagement.
6. Collaboration: We know that transformation requires a united effort. We actively collaborate with searching for the latest insights and knowledge, connecting with industry leaders, research institutions, and local communities to co-create solutions that deliver sustainable impact.
7. Judgement-based results: Innovation collaboration can be judged based on its contribution, impact, scalability, sustainability, growth potential and the creation of mutual benefit and value for all parties involved.

Our positioning is anchored in the belief that together, we can create a future where energy transformation is necessary and offers us all a remarkable opportunity for a more sustaining future.

By focusing on innovation, collaboration, and seeking clear resolutions, we pave the way for a sustainable and prosperous energy ecosystem that benefits you. We are your partners in progress to achieve your vision and market fit for contributing to a cleaner, more efficient, and sustainable energy future based on renewables by taking our “Innovating Pillars” approach and working through the “Impact Steps“.

We adopt a “Research and Deploy” approach, providing a structured framework for acquiring knowledge, generating insights, and deploying innovations effectively in your energy transition strategy. We believe the outside view or opinion is essential when embarking on a “Reforming and Disruption” within the changes undertaken within the Energy System.

We advocate for a systematic, innovative, and flexible approach to transforming the energy ecosystem.

The post Why I think the energy transition as one of the most important areas of necessary focus first appeared on Innovating the Energy Transition.

For me, the Energy Transition is a complex, multi-headed beast that always provides more challenge rather than less.

We seem to be faced with Hydra. The Hydra was Hercules’s second labour. He attempted to cut off the heads of the beast, but every time one was cut off, two more would grow back in its place. Another challenge in killing the Hydra was that its’ breath was poisonous to all who crossed its path.

The weakness of the Hydra was that only one of its heads was immortal. In the energy transition world, I worry that this one immortal head might be fossil fuel, challenging to slay.

I don’t slay beasts; I try to shape the behaviours of clients. Renewables feature front and centre. Getting engagement is hard work; adopting different thinking and application solutions is even more challenging. The level of engagement determines the ability to allow a different way to permeate and take hold. You need many tools, ideas, visuals, promoters, discussions, etc.

Finding the time for clients to get into these types of immersion is not easy; it has to be really “mixed” up. Do I have this “cocktail” right? Frankly, no, but tackling. Individuals or teams need to find their reactive points. They need to want to open up to change. I love the word “catalyst.” if it gains the type of reaction you are looking for, you are the agent that provokes or speeds action or change.

I take and leverage the use of Ecosystem thinking and design for promoting innovation within the Energy Transition?” My constant question is how do we adequately apply Ecosystem thinking and design, innovation engagement and activation to gain attention and achieve attraction and participation in the Energy Transition? How do we reduce greenhouse gases and seek out clean energy solutions? What does that mean, and what contributions can be made? That is a good starting point to kick-start new thinking.

When I delve into the application of ecosystem thinking and design, innovation engagement, and activation strategies to promote innovation within the energy transition, I try to bring the different elements and strive to integrate them effectively. To do that, you need a veritable tool kit.

Let me summarize many of the moving parts here.

Ecosystem Thinking and Design: We began by emphasizing the importance of understanding the ecosystem’s interconnected elements, stakeholders, and dynamics in the Energy issues trying to be resolved. This understanding forms the foundation for designing innovative approaches that consider the broader context, gather the research, relate to the challenges and complexities and, through levels of fostering collaboration, try to enable holistic solutions.

Innovation Engagement and Activation: I then apply ecosystem-centric innovation engagement strategies to ensure active participation and attraction within the energy transition. These are selective and constrained by the challenge, time, resources and investment.

The aim is to raise up interest and engagement by applying selectively to draw out and gain insights and fill the gaps. How far I can go always boils down to “it depends.” In how much time, what commitment and ability to spend time on reacting differently. Managing energy transitions is like coaching, mentoring and advising to change perceptions, habits and entrenched positions. You have to draw these out.

My shortened group to keep referring back to.

1. Curiosity-Driven Exploration: Initiate conversations and engage diverse stakeholders to uncover unique perspectives and insights.
2. Dynamic Stakeholder Mapping: This allows stakeholders to emerge organically through engagement, ensuring a comprehensive network of participants.
3. Co-Creation Workshops: Collaboratively ideate solutions that align with community values and diverse expertise.
4. Emergent Project Ideation: Encourage organic project ideas to emerge during co-creation sessions, allowing innovation to flow naturally.
5. Adaptive Collaboration Networks: Create flexible networks that adapt to project needs, ensuring diverse contributions.
6. Rapid Prototyping: Prototype multiple ideas quickly to test feasibility and gather real-time feedback.
7. Feedback-Driven Refinement: Integrate feedback from both participants and the wider community to iterate and refine projects.
8. Ecosystem Synergy: Identify opportunities to collaborate with existing initiatives, maximizing impact through shared efforts.
9. Adaptive Strategies: Stay agile, adjusting strategies based on real-time feedback and emerging opportunities.
10. Networked Learning: Foster continuous learning and knowledge sharing within the community for ongoing improvement.
11. Distributed Leadership: Empower community members to lead various aspects of the energy innovation ecosystem, promoting diverse contributions.
12. Reflect and Iterate: Regularly assess the approach’s effectiveness, refine strategies, and continuously enhance the ecosystem-centric innovation efforts.

Attracting Attention and Participation: A large part of my job is to push the boundaries of conventional approaches, suggesting disruptive and out-of-the-box concepts that engage participants, capture attention, and drive participation. Without a doubt, attention-grabbing approaches are hard as so many can become quickly overwhelmed by the sheer complexity and multiple challenges that the Energy Transition presents.

Achieving levels of captivation, exploring present norms and seeing how and what can replace them, fostering a collaborative environment, making it innovative and putting in place a path for sustainable progress is not a bad place to end up as Energy has got so much legacy, established opinions and acceptance of “well that’s the way we do it” it is tough to make innovation more central in a team or persons mind.

Still, I try to emphasise the importance of understanding the ecosystem’s interconnected elements, stakeholders and dynamics. This understanding forms the foundation for the understanding and designing of innovative approaches that deliberately consider the broader context, looking to foster collaborations to enable more expansive- thinking and consider different solutions to the existing norm.

The post Seeing a different Energy Future away from Fossil Fuel first appeared on Innovating the Energy Transition.

We are in numerous world crises; the erratic weather patterns are causing droughts, floods, and high extremes of heat or sudden cold; less productive land and the oceans of the world are heating up, and that has progressively a dire consequence on our food chain.

We are still caught up in this fruitless debate of shall we / shant we switch away from fossil fuels, especially while we are (seemingly) in an energy crisis. We need to radically switch away from fossil fuel now period!!

We have worse to come. All these crises are heading us towards a world that will become increasingly difficult to live in as humans, to produce enough food or uninhabitable for many animals or species we have around us that increasingly are facing extinction. Then what about nature itself? I find it very hard that humans seem to ignore so much and just seem to want to carry on as usual. We as humans have induced climate change, we have less than twenty to thirty years to attempt to reverse it.

I would argue we need to have a revolution!

I wrote about this call for a revolution before. Revolutions are never easy, often messy, but once you embark, it is very hard to go back; it is the vision that drives the revolutionary zeal. In this case, clean air to breathe, a different economic logic, and a new way to appreciate natural resources, as we grow even more reliant on them, give us a sustainable future based on wind, sun, and water.

We need a new economic logic, one that can still offer us a market-driven or consumption-conscious one, one that can harness not harm.  An energy transition becomes a socially-driven one, compelling the existing market structures to change, harnessing, and balancing nature with all that needs to co-exist on this planet.

Immediate measures need to be far more reflecting our entering a real climate crisis

Recently, I read about immediate measures we should focus on in the energy crisis. IRENA, the intergovernmental organization mandated to facilitate renewable energy, in a recent report, “World Energy Transitions Outlook 2023“, looking at what is needed for a 1.5-degree pathway outlined EIGHT points to give structure and focus towards resolving the need to change our energy thinking.

These eight: Ambitions, Institutions, Physical Infrastructure, Jobs & Skills, Finance, the Power Sector, End-Use sectors of buildings, industry and transport, and finally, Cross-sector and Cross-Cutting policies, are suggested as needing to be tackled together, not in isolated initiatives.

Although IRENA suggested these were short-term measures, they triggered a level of thinking – we need a more radical dose of system change.

Stopping carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions is at the heart of our multiple crises. Regretfully the transitions we will need to undertake will not be orderly as we are in this crisis time. We only eventually get the world back on some form of stable footing for it to have any chance it can possibly return to one, in balance with what nature needs- clean water and air, free from carbon and pollutants, not being destroyed by human interference.

We, as humans, have brought this planet to a crisis point, and if we want to be in its future, we need to reverse all of the destructive forces coming into play as eventual consequences, plus we need future years to regenerate and replenish and bring back a balance in the planet’s ecosystem.

We need a very profound outlook on changing how we think today

What IRENA suggested as the eight parts were, for me, a need to “begin” to become more radical, more demanding, recognizing we are not in a “gentle” pathway to any energy transition but a rather grave, unpredictable one that DEMANDS a very different set of thinking on what does need to change.

Taking up as an organizing point for managing the Energy Transition, within ten to twenty years, needs the following that I imagine rapidly need to be as radical in change to adjust to the world we are only beginning to see.

I offer here some very rudimentary thinking at present

I am reacting to a suggested structure, triggering some more radical thoughts, and rough in their thinking but taking this need for undertaking a more aggressive revolutionary path..

Ambition. Our ambition needs to dramatically increase in renewable energy replacing fossil fuels. Our climate goal of keeping under 1.5 degrees by 2050 is long gone. We are on a path today of 2.5 degrees and it is time we own up to this and those consequences need to be dealt with in preparation for more droughts, famine, fires, floods, and natural disasters. Growth Nation Product as a measure of wealth needs to be abandoned. It needs to be a measure in our ability to respond, provide security and still generate “economic” affordability. My harness not harm

Institutions: Turning our present institutions into ones fit and able and fully mandated to deliver the energy transition so that we have a 2reasonable” chance to manage the real transitions we will be going through in the next ten, twenty, and thirty years. The measures in each country will be less financial-driven but resource regeneration driven, as the health and future wealth indicators.

Physical Infrastructure. Everything around us will undertake some level of physical change. To enable this change to be future positive we will need to replace existing policies and practices to manage the environment rapidly. be more responsive, optimizing solutions that provide social impact. Public acceptance and awareness need to understand the more radical approach we need in our infrastructural changes to limit natural loss, protect and prepare for the different impacts of a rapidly warming world. We need to “push through” changes that accelerate renewable solutions’ time-to-market application.

Jobs and Skills. We are at a point of vocational change, massive in upheaval and learning. Technology will take over much of what we currently do; we will need to build a reliance on artificial intelligence to allow human ingenuity to be released into being mobilized and ready to return to physical work but intelligent physical work. Human ingenuity has a real need to rise up, built on being adaptable and flexible.

Finance. One concept caught my eye in what IRENA suggested in their short-term report measures. That was “finance to crowd in private capital”. I take this to mean as we manage increasing risks from climate change we need to rethink financing so we direct our investments to where those clever ideas often lie, often they come from the “crowd”. We reduce the accepted narrow investor-centric appraisals into ones that take environmental and social risks to being central to judging returns on taking the increased risk. Risk needs to be risk responsive and how this is managed.

Power Sector. The levels of renewables we install, its primary position in use as our primary energy source needs to drive public acceptance and energy provider investment as the only investment decision in our future. We need to give priority to encouraging self-consumption or community-led commitments that build social community stock, energy security, and energy centers that are more adaptive to local needs. We finally make those adjustments to taxing fossil fuel at all its consumption or production and distribution points, regardless of pleas from vested interest. We MUST break the fossil fuel lobby and its lock. Financial institutions that invest in fossil related get heavily penalised in future financial markets, determined by Central Banks and coordinated by the World Bank. Clean energy from generation to consumption must be the sole driving point for future investment; no bridges or interim unless they have clear tax penalties. Also if they pass their helpful period for bridging towards renewables, measured on availability and deployments required, assessed by independent authorities, the tax position rises substantially to divest completely. .

End-use sectors of buildings, industry and transport. Here we need to slay the “hard to abate” dragon. Energy efficiency as a primary measure needs to be based on achieving readiness for new fuels, electrification, changing building standards, and driving behavior change on use. This acceleration of alternative financial incentives needs to be available and driven by scaling into long-term effectiveness to drive down costs. How can we encourage the industry sectors to de-risk, adapt, and adjust to rapid change not stay as rigid and fixed, reliant on a stable condition? Investment decisions need different pay-back criteria whereas renewable electrification gives more attractive returns. Transport needs alternatives to “needing our car “into community access where sharing and economic considerations dominate our travel decisions as private travel just becomes inhibitive in cost and social stigma.

Cross-sector and cross-cutting policies. I found in the original suggestions by IRENA much I could identify as changes needed are so reliant on this need to become highly collaborative. The development of collaborative bodies for managing and overseeing renewable energies (hydrogen, wind generation, solar, biomass) become significant institutions of worth and public recognition for their role in decarbonization. The application and enforcement of the circular economy need to extract and minimize the use of materials used. Energy transition technology needs to become cross-collaborative to speed up known and to be-found solutions. We need to find collaborations not just across different industry sectors but by applying real ecosystem thinking and design to bring concepts and solutions that require energy providers, climate assessments, sustainability, innovation development and governance across governments, institutions, the public and private sectors, financiers and communities of individuals. We need to rapidly accelerate our understanding of the differences in managing, sharing and learning to collaborate across sectors and to apply those cross-cutting policies that need identifying and implementing.

We need to recognize we are going to be faced with some stark choices in the future

Planning for mitigation, and having a more realistic understanding of the climate crisis unfolding needs to be told, and the decisions to put in place the changes required are essential. We must stop pussy footing around, to avoid making a decision or expressing an opinion because we are uncertain or frightened about doing so. This is the time to recognize climate impact can be devastating for our existence.

“Crisis” is often recognized in the immediate only. Sadly each day, each disaster we read about or experience is part of the building toward a real global crisis that we as humans will need to face. In the near term, five to ten years only we are facing so many tipping points that there is no turning back.

We, as humans, will not be able to influence we will only be held captive, struggling to survive on a planet that will become unrecognizable in what we have known.

Are we capable of such radical change?

These are simply opening thoughts triggered by my growing frustration and concern about what we will be facing in the next ten to twenty years. We need to be more radical in taking hold of the energy transition and making this “central” to international policy, oversight, and delivery.

What we do need is to be radical; we face nothing but a world beginning to operate more and more in crisis. Our task in our lifetime is to stop the emissions of carbon and other harmful greenhouse gases. Those just being born or yet to come need to remake the world and bring back a balance in nature where we recognize our mutual dependences within a healthy ecosystem.

The post Accelerating the Energy Transition into a Revolution. first appeared on Innovating the Energy Transition.

I was reading a (typical) consulting article from BCG entitled.”Shifting the Direct Air Capture Paradigm” giving a “classic”, somewhat optimistic view of how we can bring the costs down of Direct Air Capture.

The authors start with, “Even though it is still nascent, DAC could play a critical role in delivering on net zero.”

Sorry, convince me.

They outline that “the cost of DAC (the end-to-end cost of CO2 removal including final storage) will need to fall from $600 to $1,000 per ton of CO2 today to below $200 per ton and ideally closer to $100 per ton by 2050, and preferably earlier.”

Is this where I get my magic wand out, wave it a few times, and this scenario will happen?

The classic comment is then made “This cost reduction would dramatically accelerate demand, encouraging private developers to build more capacity and making the technology affordable for the world”-

Well, then that’s the end of the story. Come on!

I find these articles not greatly helpful in addressing the hardened reality of this.

Let me stick with the article, as it lets me shake my head a few times and plea a little more.

BCG asks: “the question is whether it is reasonable to project significant cost reductions—of 75% or more—to deliver a climate solution supported by market demand. We (BCG) have examined this question deeply using BCG’s proprietary DAC cost model and our detailed analysis of seven DAC developers.”

Well that’s ok, we can all relax; they (BCG) have a cost model of existing developers.

They go on to say. “However, it will be a challenge, particularly given the timeframe involved. Solar installation costs have declined by over 90% over the past 40 years. We must deliver a similar reduction in DAC costs to achieve scale in the gigatons but in just over half the time.”

Then the final clincher for me was “A massive step up in investments, government support, collaboration models, and broader industry engagement will be required.”

Well case closed, we have the answer- let’s go massive……….yet we get to the Energy Dilemma for all emerging technologies, be this DAC, Hydrogen, Storage, flexible and modern Grids, Heat Pumps etc., etc.

As BCG correctly put this here for DAC, replace this list in my mind for any other new Technology options trying to move from emerging, nascent, experimental into proven technologies that can scale. This is our current Energy Dilemma

BCG nicely summaries this:

Business As Usual Is Not an Option

While we believe affordable DAC is feasible, a business-as-usual approach will not get us there within the time that we have. We need to be realistic and understand the forces that are holding DAC back. Here are some of the main ones:

• The technology’s high costs mean that few customers (normally large companies) are willing to sign on to early-stage DAC projects at the scale required. At the same time, suppliers of key components aren’t investing sufficient resources in development.
• Policy support is still nascent despite recent incentives, such as the $180 tax credit for every ton of permanently stored CO₂ announced in last year’s US Inflation Reduction Act.
• Companies are carrying out development within walled gardens to protect their intellectual property rather than adopting the more collaborative approach that will be needed to drive greater learning and standardization and that will enable players to move at the rapid speed required.
• Net zero accounting standards limit companies’ ability to count CO₂ removed using permanent CDR technologies such as DAC against their scope three targets, discouraging investment.
• Capital costs are high because investors and lenders are reluctant to put money into the technology without greater certainty around future demand.

Due to these negative forces, investment in DAC is a small percentage of the amount needed to drive the technology down the cost curve.

Here is the MOST IMPORTANT message for the Energy Transition– it is not “usual.”

Until we can crack these substantive sets of investment barriers across nearly all emerging Energy technologies, we get suggestions like the one BCG offers.

When will the day come when all the Consulting Companies recognize writing these articles shows a level of prowess but gives the communities they advise the justification not to make these investments or commitments- “Let’s leave this to others. It is far too risky.”

I appreciate the reminder of the difficulties from articles like these, and thousands do similar jobs of confirming all the barriers and restrictions and providing the “list” of why not to do something. Articles or reports they “just stand tall for a momentary minute” written for existing or potential customers? Often they are simply fueling the case for INACTION.

I wish consultants would finally lead in powerful, influencing ways not play to the existing.

Consulting Companies are a powerful, influencing force, they can advise, change, shape and influence so much, but they have to decide on a collective substantial leading position far more as they have the “ears” of government, Industry, Investors, Fund providers etc.

I would like to believe we can get beyond Articles such as this”Shifting the Direct Air Capture Paradigm” that briefly confirm the difficulties and offer a limited “call to action” to wrap up the article. Does it do true justice to this issue or show true expertise?

Energy Transitions need comprehensive road maps, incredible coordination and cross-collaborations and as BCG rightly say, “Business As Usual Is Not an Option.”

Then please apply the same to the Consulting industry- tackle complex challenges with better resolve. Business as Usual should NOT be your option as the Energy Transition is so unusual, imperative and necessary and “upends” all of what we have. or previously relied upon.

The post Low-cost DAC is challenging, but no more so than any other revolutionary technology – OH PLEASE! first appeared on Innovating the Energy Transition.

I have to admit that I am sceptical of individual energy organizations’ pledges to move toward a carbon-neutral future. They argue that there is a limited amount of time to make this transition, yet it is broadly recognized that individual organizations cannot achieve this alone. Are energy organizations open enough to alternative suggestions for overcoming the resource and knowledge constraints working alone can bring? Are they exploring alternative thinking enough, such as organised collective challenges? We need to bridge the gap through collaborations at multiple firm levels.

I believe there is a weakness in the energy ecosystem that deprives it of more significant collective action and innovation to achieve a more accelerated pathway to the energy transition. My argument is that while many energy companies are working on solutions within the energy transition, they often work in isolation and struggle to get out of their “self-made” islands of knowledge.

I suggest that applying ecosystem thinking and platform solutions could bring together many organizations to work in broader, more ambitious innovation ecosystems of collaborations or even work through grand challenge-designed approaches.

When you consider that is a lot of cross-over, duplication of efforts on how the companies design, develop, and deliver new concepts as they stay within their own walls and R&D expertise,

Why can’t they throw open common challenges in finding solutions through contests, research investigations, accelerator programs, and open innovation platforms, looking for commonality and synergies?

Often the reluctance, besides the risk of giving something up, opening up to less internal work you need to explore the mechanisms for collaboration, we begin to think of ecosystem collaborations. The use of a common platform could provide helpful, knowledgeable, and higher levels of neutrality and overcome often needless arguments about who takes the lead and is the orchestrator. In Energy, the solution resolution to reduce current challenges in costs, fuel alternatives, and reducing the carbon footprint all need urgent addressing.

Besides finding the appropriate platform, however, I equally acknowledge that there are natural boundaries that any collaboration must overcome, such as competing priorities, intellectual property rights, organizational structures and cultures, regulatory and legal barriers, communication and coordination issues, and funding and resources. I wrote a series around cross-collaboration recently, here is the link to the first post.

All obstacles can be overcome and are “doable”. If you believe in the “need” to succeed at the energy transition as quickly as we can, then you have to be willing to open up your thinking to far greater collaborations. Complexities and challenges need collectively breaking down to find new solutions.

I also suggest that the opportunities lie in a number of “higher level” needs of common understanding and focus that are essential to transformation. These include Smart Grid development, Energy Storage, Grid Modernization and automation, and Electricity of transport. Cybersecurity and Data collaborations

Good cross- collaborations examples are where competition is transcended by energy solution needs that have common standards, potential and urgent need to scale, and can be offered in other geographical areas that need creative and modern solutions.

Also, we need to learn to be more effective in our collaborative approaches with multiple stakeholders, and policy regulators that having this level of greater collaboration would command serious attention and respect and lead, in many cases to industry solutions in more economical ways that over time speed up the Energy Transition.

The post How can we encourage more Collaborative Solutions in the Energy Transition? first appeared on Innovating the Energy Transition.