My Energy 2050 Podcast

(Ep.67) The Influence of the Long 1970s Energy Crisis — Rüdiger Graf

This week we speak with Rüdiger Graf, who is  directing the research department on "Knowledge -Economy - Politics" at the Leibniz-Center for Contemporary History.
 
What is the influence of the 1970s on our current energy system? The importance of energy sits within our daily lives. As Rudiger states, any supply shortages or price increases are immediately noticed making energy a key political issue. The failure to secure supplies demonstrates weak leadership. Inversely, effective energy crisis management can display strong leadership skills. I think this can be one of our broad take-aways from looking at lessons learned from the 1970s energy crisis.
 
Rudiger introducing the term, 'a long 1970s', which is a term used by historians for other decades as well. For us it is important because the 1970s energy crisis stretched into the early 1980s with Reagan and Thatcher working to resolve the high price of oil. We are able to learn more about the role of nuclear power and the perspective on peak oil. There's an ironic trust in nuclear technology but not a trust in developing technologies to extract more oil.
 
Sometimes I think each new episode of this podcast is the best. But what I think what I mean is that each episodes uncovers a new aspect of the energy system I didn't know about. And this episode certainly delivers in this aspect. There's so much history in both Europe and within the global oil market that we don't consider today. Rudiger is able to explain in a clear manner the historical developments and how and why they happened at the time.
 
Taking a historical approach and delving into why political or business decisions were made at the time can inform and enhance or present day analysis.
 
This episode delivers in both scope and depth. Rudiger holds great knowledge and understanding how politicians interacted around the energy sector. He describes the role and perspective of Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon along with Wiley Brandt enabling us to better grasp the power politics in both domestic and international terms.
 
Understanding how and why international organizations like OPEC and the International Energy Agency were created also provides context to some of the global fights over oil production and analysis.
 
A final note, this interview was done for my current role as an Open Society University Network, Senior Fellow at Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs. The funding was generously provided to produce the podcasts until the end of 2022.
 
The intent of the My Energy 2050 podcast is to spread the knowledge about how the energy system can assist our transition towards a greener future. The content of each episode is great for teaching, research and identifying how you can assist this energy transition.

(Ep. 66) Economic Incentives for the Energy Transition — Benjamin Görlach

This week we speak with Benjamin Görlach, Head of Economics and Policy Assessment, Ecologic Institute.
 
If you like wide-ranging interviews about the policy challenges of navigating the current energy crisis in Europe. This episode is for you. Benjamin and I cover everything from the EU's emission trading system, the dominance of electricity for transport and the 4i Traction project - standing for innovation, investment, infrastructure and sector integration. These are buzzwords, but we get into an in-depth discussion on investments and infrastructure.
 
Some of the key issues we address are the price of ETS and whether politicians should be playing with it to reduce energy costs. How electrification of cars has won the day and why shifting away from fossil fuels is simply more profitable. Renewables have simply won.
 
The takeaway, since Benjamin is an environmental economist, is there's no going back for both the institutional structures that incentivize investments into renewables and the technology we have today is getting us to a zero-carbon energy system by 2050.
 
A final note, this interview was done for my current role as an Open Society University Network, Senior Fellow at Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs. The funding was generously provided to produce the podcasts until the end of 2022.

(Ep. 65) Navigating the Energy Price Crisis — Cillian O’Donoghue

This week we speak with Cillian O'Donoghue, the Policy Director at Eurelectric.
 
Eurelectric is the federation of the European electricity industry, representing more than 3500 utilities active in power generation, distribution and supply. They have a real voice in the energy transition. And we are really honored to have on Cillian.
 
The reason for this interview was I wanted to know how the electricity sector - as a whole - was navigating the current energy crisis of high prices and shifting geopolitical realities. This includes the perceived impact of the Fit-for-55 policies and the new RePowerEU plan in light of the Ukraine-Russian war.
 
For this perspective I turned to Cillian, a former student of mine from Central European University, and a former representative of Eurometaux, also an association of large energy consumers. You can hear his previous interview on episode 48.
 
In this episode, you'll hear about how the sector as whole sees the need for energy efficiency and reducing our electricity consumption now. While the membership of Eurelectric produces and sells electricity, the current state of the system requires everyone to reduce consumption. We discuss the longer-term prospects of the industry and how greater electrification of the economy relies on wind and solar for a majority of power production by 2045. But we also address the role of nuclear power in the future.
 
Overall, this is a great follow up to episode 63, with Florian Kern and our discussion about hydrogen. In that episode, Florian outlines why electrification of the economy is so essential for the future. For me, how Europe will be producing power - without Russia - is one of the most influential considerations I have when doing research now. This episode delivers both foresight into the European energy landscape and has a substantial discussion on the opportunities within the power market. We can already see this in the awarding of nuclear power contracts by the Polish government to US and South Korean manufacturers. There is an immediate geopolitical pivot within the European energy sector and it will be a rapid transformation. 
 
A final note, this interview was done for my current role as an Open Society University Network, Senior Fellow at Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs. The funding was generously provided to produce the podcasts until the end of 2022. So we have some amazing interviews coming up.
 
The intent of the My Energy 2050 podcast is to spread the knowledge about how the energy system can assist our transition towards a greener future. The content of each episode is great for teaching, research and identifying how you can assist this energy transition.

(Ep. 64) Breaks in the Wall: History of East-West Energy Relations — Frank Bösch

This week we speak with Professor Frank Bosch. He is the director of the Center for Contemporary History in Potsdam and Professor of German and European 20th Century History at the University of Potsdam. We have an in-depth discussion about the history of energy relations in the 1970s. This is a formative period for the energy system we see today.
 
In this episode we discuss how Germany began to see relations with the Soviet Union. Or rather, utilizing business as a means to build a bridge where agreement in politics was largely not possible. This rapprochement enabled West Germany to receive Soviet gas while also involving West German steel mills producing pipes that would ship the gas from deep in the Soviet Union to the West.  Frank describes the policy of Ostpolitik as a means of rapprochement with Germany and the Soviet Union, but he also describes the West Politik that Moscow had towards the West.
 
One of the great joys doing this podcast is listening to the interview as I edit it. I can say in this episode, there's so much historical information you haven't heard or read in other places. It makes this episode very special in both understanding the history of energy relations with the Soviet Union, but also understanding how the energy crisis of the 1970s is shaping our current energy system.
 
It is important to keep in mind, that the shifting energy landscape in the 1970s was just as perilous as it is now. With the energy crisis in 1973 and 1979, what emerges are relations that were already being built up before the crisis hit. Frank provides us with a historical review and explains why and how energy and the trade of goods served to bridge the East-West divide.
With conflict in the Middle East pushing oil prices up, the Soviet Union emerges as a stable - and reliable - supplier for Western Europe. For Eastern Europe, such as countries like Ukraine, they are forced to sacrifice their gas supplies for Western Europe.
 
This episodes enables us to trace back some of the present day relations and structures to justifications in the 1970s as to why energy trade should be expanded between the Soviets and Germans. We also provide context to the COMECON countries and how industries were divided by country and how the Soviet Union was able to succeed economically because of specializations between the different countries.
 
And just to flag one very important section. Make sure you listen closely as we discuss the rising role and realization of 'global interdependencies' in the 1970s. Just as we throw around the word, 'globalization' today, the 1970s emerged as a formative period that shaped the global interdependencies of the present day energy markets.
A final note, this interview was done for my current role as an Open Society University Network, Senior Fellow at Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs. The funding was generously provided to produce the podcasts until the end of 2022. So we have some amazing interviews coming up.
 

(Ep. 63) The Massive Challenge of Hydrogen — Florian Kern

This week we speak with Florian Kern. He is the Head of the research field of Ecological Economics and Environmental Policy at the Institute for Ecological Economy Research in Berlin. He holds a PhD in Science and Technology Policy from the University of Sussex.
Florian and I discuss the project: Hydrogen as a Panacea? Focused on the challenges of hydrogen and what needs to be done before large-scale deployment occurs. We talk about hydrogen-ready infrastructure - and whether this is just a PR exercise on the part of the gas sector. Or, is there really a future of hydrogen being transported like gas is today.This conversation with Florian delivers a fairly objective - and lively - discussion on the requirements of what is needed to make the hydrogen economy part of the industrial base. As you'll hear, the electrification of the energy sector is essential to make hydrogen a reality for industry.I came away from this conversation with a deeper understanding of the massive energy requirements for industry. Replacing coal or gas - fossil fuels - for the industry is a huge challenge that requires giving up fossil fuels in other areas of life, in order to enable either the remaining fossil fuels to be used in industry or to enable large-scale renewable energy infrastructure to produce green hydrogen. By the end of this episode, you should understand that to build the renewable energy infrastructure to produce green hydrogen, the electrification of transport and residential heating needs to occur first. Once sufficient renewables are built to meet everyday uses, then hydrogen can be produced from renewables.For me, this episode delivers a new appreciation of the scale of renewables that need to be deployed to produce hydrogen. The promise that the new gas infrastructure being built for hydrogen appears far off because of the massive amounts needed for industry. In short, the energy transition includes hydrogen, but we need to rationally assess the demand for hydrogen, the cost, and how it can be produced to meet the requirements for industrial processes.

(Ep. 62) Europe’s Energy Crisis in a Time of War — Sam Raszewski

This week we speak with Sam Raszewski, a senior lecturer and Programme Director for the Oil and Gas Management program at the University of East London Royal Docks Business School. Sam has published widely on energy security and particularly about security in the European gas sector. He regularly appears on a range of international media outlets and this week we are fortunate enough to have him on our podcast.
 
The interview took place in early April before Russia cut off the flow of gas to Poland and Bulgaria. Nonetheless, in the intervening weeks, we can see that Sam's analysis still holds water and is even more spot-on, as the European Union and the countries in the EU, are rapidly shifting away from Russian oil and gas.
 
An important takeaway Sam arrives at is the role of nuclear power. What is clear, and is reflected throughout our discussion is the economic necessity of rebuilding a more robust energy system that is less dependent on imports into Europe.
 
The interview is valuable both in how Sam frames energy security but also in how to fix the current security of supply failures that are dominating and restricting Europe's energy market.

(Ep. 61) The return of the Carbon Storm — Michael LaBelle

This week I'm discussing another wave of the Carbon Storm. I define this more in episode 39. In this episode I update what this means in a time of war. If you are looking for hope, this may not be the episode for you. This recording was done for a recruitment event I did for the EMBA program at Central European University. It has a nice live feel to it. The presentation was a great opportunity to revisit this topic of increasing high energy prices as the world attempts to shift towards a low carbon economy. These periods of high prices will only continue to plague our future. So hold on tight.

(Ep. 60) Deescalating energy efficiency: There is no quick fix — Interview with Rod Janssen

On this episode, we speak with Rod Janssen, the man behind the Energy in Demand weekly newsletter and website. He is also the president of Energy Efficiency in Industrial Process. But more aptly, Rod is a true expert in energy efficiency. As you'll hear in this episode Rod's pool of knowledge goes back to the aftermath of the 1970s oil crisis. He shares his experience from then and the renewed focus on energy efficiency to survive another energy crisis. But as we learn from this conversation, good energy efficiency takes years to be built and can't be done just by hooking up a heat pump.
However, as we discuss Europe does have a good foundation on energy efficiency, if it and member states decide to actually get serious about energy efficiency. Rod shares his experience consulting SMEs in Turkey impliment and comply with EU regulations on energy efficiency. These may be EU directives and rules, but as Rod tells us, these are just good and practical policies.
You can also learn why Rod loves heat pumps. I'll give you a hint, his living room in Canada holds 100 people where it gets down to minus 25 degrees.
The second half of the interview we go into details about the interplay between energy efficiency and government policies. This includes how Germany became too dependent on Russian energy and companies to provide gas while also overlooking the security benefits of energy efficiency. As Rod emphasizes, energy efficiency is the 'first fuel', that is you have to look at the demand side before you expand and change the supply side of the energy system. Why build bigger power plants when investing in reducing energy demand is more cost-effective and secure?
Overall, we have a lively - and entertaining - discussion on a better design to energy security - which is investing into reducing the demand for energy.  He also appeared on a previous podcast episode. The link is here.

(Ep. 59) Building the Smart Grid: Algorithms of Entrepreneurship — Cristina Corchero

 This week we speak with Professor Cristina Corchero, who is the Serra Hunter Professor at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. She is the founder and Chief Technology Officer at Bamboo Energy.
 
We begin our discussion about her experience taking research and placing it within a start-up company. Christina is a great example of a reluctant but dedicated entrepreneur. Her company, Bamboo Energy is a key component of making the smart energy system work. It is a software platform that communicates with devices in the home or factories and interfaces with the grid to ensure things like the time of day pricing can be accomplished to save users money - and help balance the grid.
 
Cristina's story is special because she is originally a statistician, who found love in the energy sector (ok, that's my adlib) but what she found was the ability to use statics in the energy sector to solve problems. She's taken her research and brought it out from the academic environment and is now working to scale it up in a commercial environment. We go into detail of why and how she decided to make this change.
 
This is a double episode in one, because you get to learn about how the smart grid works - why energy communities are essential for a sustainable energy system to develop, and you'll hear an entrepreneurial story of Christina and her bold move to transfer her research to the real world.
 
If you are interested to know what it is taking to make a smart energy system work, then this episode with Cristina delivers. Because it is going to take a lot of innovation and entrepreneurs to bring new technologies into the energy sector. And as we discussed in the last episode with Gerard Reid, there are lots of technologies out there that can make a huge difference. Just some of the obstacles to deployment - including the big companies - need to get out of the way.
 
For me this episode is special because Cristina really represents the people that I like to have on the podcast. She is breaking out from her day job and seeking to do a bit more with her knowledge and experience. People like Christina are the people creating a better energy system. 
 
I want to thank our mutual friend Bartek Kwiatkowski, who was a guest on episode 45. For both episodes, we talk about virtual power plants, which serve to balance supply and demand. And in both these episodes, you'll hear firsthand the benefits of a decentralized and cooperative energy system. Overall, after speaking with Cristina I'm more optimistic that we do have the right people and technologies to go zero-carbon, but we do need to unleash the pent-up innovation that is ready to go.

(Ep. 58) The 1600 TWh Challenge: Innovating our way to zero carbon — Gerard Reid

 This week we speak with Gerard Reid, who has put out 'The 1,600 TWh Challenge: How Europe can survive without Russian Gas'. Besides outlining other routes for gas to be imported into Europe, this deeper thinking on this, is a fundamental shift for energy-intensive businesses and support for households. As you'll hear in this interview, Gerard is both practical from his financial perspective and forward-leaning on innovation and the benefits for rapid deployment of renewables. 
Gerard is a Co-founder and Partner at Alexa Capital. He is also a Fellow at the Institute of the Environment at the University of Minnesota. He is also a podcaster. Gerard is the co-host of the  “REDEFINING ENERGY” podcast. Along with his blog posts, Alexa Capital also publishes forward leaning analysis of innovation in the energy sector. I've been a fan since a 2012 report that was risky in its thinking of how the energy system will evolve with a mix of smart systems, distributed generation and a reworking of the power grid.
What stood out to me most in this interview, was how we delve into the topics he raised in the 1,600 TWh Challenge8. Alexa Capital acts as a middleman in consultancy and financial transactions in the energy space. As you'll hear, this provides a voice that emphasizes the ability for industry to roll out new technologies to meet our demand for cleaner energy. BUT the incumbents and the current highly regulatory structure of the energy system is preventing the deployment of innovative solutions to the current dysfunctional energy market. We get into why it is dysfunctional - a reflection on the current prices indicates the tip of the iceberg.
Gerard delivers a well-articulated call for a holistic change to the energy system. From his perspective, Russia's war in Ukraine demonstrates the risks of relying on fossil fuels - and this was long in the making. Politicians and businesses failed to do their job to reduce their energy risks.
Where does this leave us? Industry must become better managed (not giving subsidies to inefficient companies). As Gerard describes, the well-operated companies will survive the price hikes because they were cautious, so the current energy crisis should be used to reform our energy regulations and market to incentives and enable new energy technology to come into the market.
Listen in, and you'll hear how Jerard's 1600 TWh Challenge can be done.
And just a final note, until the end of May 2022, I'll be an Open Society University Network Senior Fellow, at Chatham House, at The Royal Institute of International Affairs. So the episodes between now and then will be part of my research on the shifting energy landscape in Europe.