By Rodger Smith, Senior Vice-President and General Manager | Oracle Utilities

As world leaders and heads of industry came together at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in late October [2021], the conversation was a difficult one. The organisation’s Climate Change office had just reported that despite formal commitments made by the 192 countries under the Paris Climate Accords, emissions in 2030 could be 16% higher than in 2010.

It was a clear signal that the industrialised nations topping the CO2 emissions list – including China, the US, India, and Russia – need to take a harder look at their utility, manufacturing, automotive, agriculture, and other high polluting industries to forge a cleaner path forward. It will take all of us focusing on collective emission reductions to make the impact we need.

Many global utilities are leading the way in setting bold plans to eliminate carbon from their energy production in the next 25-30 years. But the road to get there is not an easy, cheap, or fast one. To truly transition to a net-zero energy grid, it will take utilities potentially decades and millions, even trillions, of dollars. The past year of record flooding, wildfires, and droughts remind us that time is not on our side.

We all need to start thinking about CO2 as the new kilowatt-hour – and as National Grid US president Badar Khan recently noted, “The cheapest kilowatt- hour is the one that you don’t consume, and the lowest emitting kilowatt-hour is the one that you don’t emit.” 

As the industry works towards a no-carbon footprint, we need to continue to achieve measurable wins today. This will take everyone – including the regulators – rethinking a lot of long-held beliefs. For starters, restrictions on cloud computing. While the benefits of cloud are extensive, a recent report from the International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts that the “continued adoption of cloud computing could prevent the emission of more than 1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) from 2021 to 2024”. These savings will come in the form of greater efficiency from aggregating compute resources from separate enterprise data centres to larger cloud data centres that can better manage power capacity and use, optimise cooling, leverage more power-efficient servers, and increase server utilisation rates.

Not only can a move to the cloud help reduce utility costs and carbon emissions, but also support continuous innovation and provide additional safeguards and monitoring to help thwart the ever-growing threat to cybersecurity in an increasingly distributed grid.

By adopting new technologies and energy efficiency to reduce energy consumption, residential utility customers can account for 534 metric tons of avoided carbon dioxide by 2040…

Cloud computing and other advances in technology, including IoT and intelligent DERM and SCADA systems, are giving us access to more data than ever before. But we need to analyse it and put data to work much faster. For example, GRDF, which serves 90% of France’s gas market, is embarking on one of the largest smart meter rollouts in the world, expected to reach 11 million households by 2023. GRDF’s goal is to modernise its natural gas transmission network to make it an effective tool for the energy transition. The result will be a fully digitised and connected network that can deliver benefits to customers and the environment by integrating renewable gas, enhancing safety, providing data to better manage gas supply, and linking with other networks to enhance flexibility and storage capacity. Already, this data is enabling the utility to reimagine how it serves customers, while accelerating decarbonisation and increasing the flexibility and reliability of its network.

For utilities to meet these goals, especially in the short term, we need to foster better relationships with customers and bring them along on this decarbonisation journey. A new report by The Brattle Group found that by 2040, actions by utility customers can reduce nearly twice as many greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than would result from current policies to promote investments in clean energy supply alone. By adopting new technologies and energy efficiency to reduce energy consumption, residential utility customers can account for 534 metric tons of avoided carbon dioxide by 2040, the equivalent of retiring more than half (135) of the US’s coal plants.

The Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan (MOE) put these programmes to the test in recent years, working with five utilities to engage 300, 000 households in behavioural “nudges” to reduce energy consumption. The result: the reduction of 47, 000 tons of C02 emissions over four years. In many cases, customers are willing to do their part, but utilities need to help guide the way, especially for those already struggling with an energy burden that has only grown during the pandemic.

Using AI and behavioural science, utilities can better identify and engage limited-income customers with energy and bill saving tips…

With investments in clean infrastructure putting more strain on household energy bills, decarbonisation could make the affordability gap worse. Using AI and behavioural science, utilities can better identify and engage limited-income customers with energy and bill saving tips, as well as enrollment in assistance programmes, to ensure solving one problem does not disproportionality worsen another.

Lastly, we all need to reconsider old models and allies in this fight. Like utilities, the automotive industry has long been under fire for carbon emissions, but today, Ford Motors, one of the world’s oldest auto manufacturers, is advertising an electric truck that can power your home in the case of an outage. Telsa has moved beyond electric vehicles to manufacturing everything from solar roof tiles to the Powerwall.

Reading this year’s Global Power & Energy Elites 2022 entries, I am inspired by the progress in the global utility industry and by seeing the art of the possible come to life. But we have only scratched the surface of where we need to go. Policy, carbon taxes, and regulations alone will not get us there. Building new coal plants – which is still happening today in certain regions – certainly won’t get us there. Being creative with the technologies available to us today and continuing to innovate new ones to tackle the problems of tomorrow, will be central in how we crack the code to influence customer behaviour at scale, improve energy reliability and access, and decarbonise in a way that is equitable for all.

Access the full 2022 digital magazine

DNA contains the instructions needed for an organism to develop, survive and reproduce. Like individual threads woven into an intricate fabric, so too does the global network of energy leaders, innovators and implementers hold the keys to creating a better, cleaner, more efficient world. However, unlike nature’s gradual change over generations, the world cannot afford a slow transition from the energy industry. And every vertical has a role to play.

The past two years has validated that the only constant is change. The pandemic has slowed some sectors down and given momentum to others, but the requirement for an urgent energy transition has not diminished. A key driver in this is Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is enabling utilities to make smarter decisions that are aligned with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). This is echoed in the interview with Manoj Sinha, CEO of Husk Power Systems, who notes that we are already seeing many positive changes backed by AI, including decentralised energy resources. With rapid global adoption of machine learning and AI practices, we will be well on our way to achieving net zero by 2050.

LEADERS TAKE ACTION

As parts of the sector take steps to adopt clean power and sustainable business strategies, there are leaders placing their heads above the parapet to put words into practice. The declarations delivered at COP26 are not enough – we need action. Over the years we have featured some of the ambitious leaders that will get us there.

Setting the scene for 2022, our Lead Partner, Oracle Utilities’ Senior Vice President and general manager, Rodger Smith, noted that despite formal commitments made by the 192 countries under the Paris Climate Accords, emissions in 2030 could be 16% higher than in 2010. While he is supportive of the decarbonisation movement, he is realistic that this transition cannot be done in isolation. “With investments in clean infrastructure putting more strain on household energy bills, decarbonisation could make the affordability gap worse. Using AI and behavioural science, utilities can better identify and engage limited-income customers with energy and bill saving tips, as well as enrolment in assistance programmes, to ensure solving one problem does not disproportionality worsen another.” He adds that for utilities to forge ahead on this journey, they will need to nurture customer relationships and ensure they are the decarbonisation journey.

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney

Embracing the strategies to connecting and integrating Low Carbon Technologies, the implementation of a smart electric vehicle charging solution by Netherlands-based provider GreenFlux is placing the spotlight on what is potentially the greenest parking garage in the world. The initiative, the Dutch demonstration of the EU CONNECT project, focusses on new, integrated power conversion technologies for connecting buildings to the grid. The investments are based on data-driven decisions. Ensuring these decisions are accurate is the result of credible partners and tech to support this. Read about other innovative projects in our project section on this website.

Over the past seven years, the Global Elites brand has evolved alongside the movers and shakers of the power and energy sector. Having the right partners onboard at the right time is key to the success of your projects, and we feel the time is right to deepen the partnerships with our sister publications Power Engineering International, Smart Energy International and The Guide by Enlit. In 2022, these products will come together in a single annual journal, focusing on thought-leadership, that aims to be a yearly barometer of energy industry.

Ingrained in our team’s DNA is our dedication to telling the stories of the leaders driving a just energy transition. I am excited for you to join this journey as we work together to create a secure and sustainable planet for generations to come.

With every good wish from me to you for 2022.

Ashley Theron-Ord
Editor & Project Lead | The Global Power & Energy Elites

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Europe has made the energy transition a centrepiece of its recovery agenda. The greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction objective was recently raised to 55% by 2030, implying a considerable acceleration of the efforts to date. For renewable energy, a new 40% target has been proposed for 2030, up from a 20% share in 2020. This implies a doubling of the renewables growth rate compared to the last decade.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

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The energy transition requires massive growth in renewable power generation, a shift to electromobility, more production of green hydrogen and an acceleration of building renovation. And it’s not only Europe that wants to move in this direction but the entire world. As this year’s World Energy Transitions Outlook made clear: The transition needs are daunting but urgent.

In recent months, attention has focused on the material implications of such a transition. Rising prices of critical materials such as copper, lithium, neodymium and nickel have raised concerns. Car manufacturers, such as Volkswagen, see materials access as a potential business risk and focus on securing long-term supply contracts.

Policy makers have also woken up to the challenge. Following the 2020 communication from the European Commission on Critical Raw Materials (CRM), an industrial alliance dedicated to securing a sustainable supply of raw materials in Europe was launched. This European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA) brings together relevant stakeholders along strategic value chains and industrial ecosystems. It will initially focus on the most pressing needs, namely to increase EU resilience in the rare earth elements and permanent magnet value chains. Also, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission has a well-established programme to track critical raw materials.

Supply risks

The COVID-19 crisis has shown that global supply chains can be disrupted by sudden, unforeseen events. The supply of solar PV panels and wind turbine gearboxes was somewhat affected. Yet these bottlenecks were quickly resolved while the supply of computer chips remains a bottleneck across many sectors. There is a fear that traditional geopolitical risks related to oil and gas supply may in the future shift to critical materials supply.

Materials prices provide an indication of the supply and demand balance. Recent price increases have raised considerable interest from investors and even the energy transition naysayers have jumped on the bandwagon. The term “greenflation” has been introduced for rising prices for metals and minerals such as copper, aluminium and lithium that are essential to solar and wind power, electric cars and other renewable technologies:

• In the case of lithium, prices peaked at $27/kg at the end of 2017, followed by a rapid decline and a price trough of $6/kg in the summer of 2020, followed by a recovery to $14/kg in July 2021.
• Neodymium has hovered around $60/kg for a long time and climbed to $120/kg this year.
• Nickel sold for $10/kg in 2017 and has risen continuously to nearly $20/kg this year.
• Cobalt sold for $30/kg in 2017, reached more than $90/kg in 2018, and dropped back to $30/kg in 2019. It has since recovered to more than $50/kg this year.
• Copper has for a long time hovered at $6-7/kg, only to rise to $10/kg in the course of the last year.

It is remarkable that prices have risen markedly for all these metals in recent months, in some cases to levels that we have not been seen before. There is clearly a link with rapidly growing demand related to energy transition. What is unclear, however, are the price dynamics moving forward since prices tend to fluctuate and increases can be followed by sharp declines. Prices may continue to rise and eventually limit demand growth, or supply may rise in response to higher prices.

Longer term, reserve and resource data provide insights regarding availability, and a comparison of potential demand and availability provides insights regarding scarcity. Such comparisons are dynamic as resources and reserves may increase as exploration and mining technologies advance. For example, subsea metal nodules contain cobalt and nickel. If their mining takes off, supply may be substantially increased in the long run.

The key challenge is not resource endowment but rather the ability to ramp up supply substantially in the coming years while diversifying suppliers.

Europe needs rare earth metals

The name rare earth refers to a group Rare Earth Elements (REEs), also called rare earth metals and rare earth oxides. This group of seventeen chemical elements is moderately abundant in the earth’s crust, with unique properties. Rare earths, notably neodymium and dysprosium, are widely used for permanent magnets in electric generators (e.g. in wind turbines) and in electric motors (for electric vehicles). 1MW of wind turbine capacity (notably offshore turbines) may require around 500kg of permanent magnets; a typical electric vehicle requires around 1-2kg of magnets. Globally, these applications could require around 150kt (kilotons) of annual permanent magnet production by 2030.

Neodymium-Iron-Boron magnets, because of their high-energy products, lend themselves to compact designs that result in innovative applications and lower manufacturing costs. In commercial sintered NdFeB magnets, neodymium is usually partially substituted by other rare earth elements including praseodymium (Pr), dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb). Because Nd and Pr elements usually coexist in ore and these two elements have similar physical and chemical properties, it is more economical to produce PrNd alloy instead of pure Nd metal from ore and to use PrNd alloy as the raw material of the magnet.

In general, the total rare earth element content is around 30 weight % in the magnet, and its material cost accounts for around 70% or more of the total magnet cost. An even more important issue than availability of neodymium is the availability of dysprosium. For neodymium magnets to perform at elevated temperatures, they require dysprosium at up to 12 weight %. In terms of relative abundance in the crust of the earth, dysprosium is less than 1% of all rare earths.

Rare earth metal production was on the rise again in 2020, jumping to 240kt worldwide. The principal economic sources of rare earths are minerals and clays. These resources contain different types of rare earth metals which are often coproduced. Neodymium is typically 10–18% of the rare earth content of commercial deposits of the light rare-earth-element minerals bastnäsite and monazite. Although the main mining areas are in China, others are also found in the United States, Brazil, India, Sri Lanka, and Australia. Global reserves of neodymium are estimated at about eight million tonnes, making it the second most abundant rare earth after cerium.

According to the US Geological Survey, Greenland holds the largest reserves of undeveloped rare-earth deposits, particularly neodymium. This offers the prospect of supply growth. However, developing mines and processing capacity outside of China has so far been hampered by economics, environmental concerns and the occurrence of radioactive uranium and thorium by-products in many deposits.

Apart from ramping up supply, efforts are ongoing to develop new high-performance magnet formulas and structures that avoid or minimise neodymium and dysprosium usage. Also, on the demand side, alternatives are actively being pursued in order to minimise materials dependency for electric vehicles and wind turbines but performance usually suffers. Recycling can help to limit demand growth but its role will be limited as usage grows.

What will the future hold?

While there is no single definition of critical materials, the energy transition requires the expansion of copper, lithium, nickel and various rare earth materials supplies. In certain cases, such as rare earth metals, no viable alternatives with similar performance are available today and demand is projected to increase significantly. That means new supplies must be found and developed. Europe is participating in the global dash for critical materials and will be impacted by the geopolitical implications.

Looking beyond rare earth metals, the region will have to increase the imports of such critical materials but can also try to expand its own production. The Kupferschiefer deposit in central Europe is renowned for hosting one of the most important copper deposits in the world, which has been mined for centuries. Most mines have closed but higher prices may warrant a reappraisal. Lithium reserves are being developed in Saxony and in the Upper Rhine valley. Nickel is mined in Finland but also in New Caledonia. New mining operations, however, often face local opposition and may take many years to come to fruition. International partnerships are therefore critical.

About the author

Dolf Gielen has been the Director of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Innovation and Technology Centre in Bonn since 2011. He holds a PhD from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

For more information visit www.irena.org

Resources

Summary report from the IRENA and United States Department of State joint virtual workshop on Minerals Criticality & the Energy Transition held June 2020; Read more.

IRENA (2021), World Energy Transitions Outlook: 1.5°C Pathway, International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi; Read more.

IRENA (2019), A new world: The geopolitics of the energy transformation, International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi; Read more.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

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Some of the stars of the green recovery will be speaking at Enlit Europe.
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Image credit Vanada Shiva: By derivative work: Ekabhishek (talk)Vandana_Shiva_in_2007.jpg: Ajay Tallam – Vandana_Shiva_in_2007.jpg, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5713172

How is Fit for 55 impacting Elia?

Fit for 55 is ambitious.

This policy is designed to ensure that we tackle global climate change in the right way and demonstrates Europe’s ambition in this space. The challenge is about translating those policies in a way that helps you achieve your ambition.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

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We must quadruple the speed of integrating renewables in order to speed up electrification. This is a big challenge and it won’t happen without a number of strong measures.

First of all, we are still in an environment where infrastructure is lagging and not leading and that needs a policy change if Fit for 55 is to ensure an efficient transition. You need to progress to leading infrastructure to de-risk your system and make sure that – for example – wind farms have the stable environment to do what they have to do.

Secondly, a number of countries have more renewable potential than existing access to those renewables. So renewable development must be smart.

By smart, I mean countries must view developing renewables in the bigger picture of Europe, like feeding into other countries if the right incentive mechanisms are in place. The European environment must be managed well to reduce risk and ensure the lowest cost of capital to facilitate deals. But, you first need to find the incentives to have leading infrastructure in the TSO space.

Ultimately, Europe knows what it has to do. Elia plays an important role in defining how it gets done. We’re not policymakers, but we can support the policy with certain options. Developing future-oriented landscapes is our focus; for example, interconnecting Belgium and Germany with hybrid interconnectors to facilitate renewables integration.

We are the only operator providing hybrid interconnectors today and we have many interconnector projects in the pipeline. If you want to succeed with the transition, you need to build them all.

How is Elia preparing for the future energy landscape?

Developing infrastructure needs to be a priority; however, that infrastructure still needs to be digitised and made smart – a core focus area. DC and AC technology must be combined in a smart way. However, there are integration and grid stability challenges to be overcome. This might look simple to policymakers but technically it can be quite complex. Soon, in Germany, we will have a number of parallel DC infrastructures within the AC infrastructure, creating a challenge to ensure grid stability. The fact is that a successful transition will need an enormous investment in grid stability.

If you fast forward, Germany wants to be fully carbon free by 2045, but at the moment there are almost no stable base loads, with no rotating machines in the system. So inertia has to be created in a synthetic way. This is easier said than done, and must be carefully considered.

Also on the horizon is the development of energy hubs in the Baltic Sea and the Belgian North Sea to help integrate energy from wind farms. The hubs won’t only include hybrid interconnectors but also tripods, allowing you to connect three countries with each other via the island. This provides options to manage flows and avoid congestion.

In terms of the development of the tripod, we still have a number of technology challenges to overcome, such as developing the right DC circuit breakers.

We plan to have functioning tripod energy islands built by 2026. This will allow us to integrate the wind farms in the neighbourhood, followed by a second UK interconnector, the Danish cable and possibly other cables coming onto that island. It will then be operated as a dispatch hub.

We want to be an early investor in those technologies because they are critical. If you want to have a successful energy transition, you need to understand priority technologies early on.

How do you manage innovation at such speed?

For most, there’s an intellectual excitement coupled with a kind of fear that we need to manage all this disruption at pace.

We need to install these innovative systems at scale so the whole cycle of technological innovation is reduced. It’s exciting but we need a new mindset to achieve this.

We have to invest ourselves in understanding today how technology will scale up after 2030, and prepare for future innovation landscapes.

This really is a landscape in flux. What trends are you noticing?

Electrical mobility, more efficient buildings and houses and electrified heating will happen fast if policymakers can push through on Fit for 55. So a lot of flexibility will come on board, although fragmented.

It can be a challenge to monetise, but it will come down to decreasing OpEx and CO2 outcomes after the initial high CapEx. Using energy efficiency measures and digitalisation to make the most of the solar panels and batteries you have invested in, for example.

Also, it’s about understanding how best to balance the grid in a customer-centric way.

At Elia, we believe the consumer should decide for themselves, and by using price signals and incentives, we can influence consumer behaviour in a way that optimises the grid. We need to balance the complexity of the grid with the comfort needs of consumers.

Another trend is that there are now increasing digital layers of information exchange allowing more granular understanding of the consumer’s energy needs. We can’t pretend to know all the comfort needs of the consumer. However, we know everything about the system and we are planning for greater integration of more electrified sectors, making sure to maximise the use of that flexibility in a completely new environment.

Tonnes of data exchange is going to happen as customer needs evolve and we need to have a system that is capable of all possibilities that come with electrification, while reducing system costs. People aren’t interested in how many electrons they need. They ask: Is my house at the right temperature and can I drive my car there?

It’s about ensuring those services, maximising renewables uptake and reducing the system costs. That’s the challenge that we have to manage.

With digitalisation comes an influx of data coupled with GDPR regulation. How is Elia dealing with this?

The short answer is that at the moment we don’t interact with a huge number of clients like a telecom operator would, in terms of data transfer.

With about 2 500 employees we have had to ensure compliance. But our challenges have been manageable compared to the complexities in other sectors, which has allowed us to learn from them.

Currently, we have a handful of clients, which is relatively easy to manage. We have bilateral contracts and a relatively well defined flow of data between them and us.

But now we are moving into a world where we interact, directly or indirectly, with millions of clients. Therefore, complexity will increase in the future.

We cannot keep the lights on if we don’t know what’s happening on the outside of our system. To ensure the conveniences happen behind the meter, we need to know everything that is happening on that meter.

We need to have the data to ensure a stable grid, but this comes with an agreement with regulators that we cannot do anything else with that data, other than ensuring system equilibrium is maintained.

What is your vision for Elia and the future?

We fully embrace the energy transition and the consequences of that. Traditionally, some sectors want to continue doing what they have always done. We don’t defend a formal role. Instead, we say we need to prepare for the future, embrace the change and facilitate the energy transition.

That means that if our role has to evolve, so be it. Some look at some pilot projects or the growing trend of energy communities and say: Isn’t that bad for your business?

Why would I care? The energy transition is what we care about. That keeps us relevant as we find our new role. This is what makes us quite different.

About Chris Peeters

Chris Peeters became CEO of Elia Group in 2015. Through its subsidiaries Elia (in Belgium) and 50Hertz (in Germany), the Group operates 19,276km of high-voltage connections and supplies 30 million end users with electricity. It also provides consultancy services via its third subsidiary, Elia Grid International. Peeters holds an MSc in Civil Engineering from the University of Leuven in Belgium. He has a wife and four children with whom he would like to discover the world.

We can’t wait to see you in Milan

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The climate issue is on everyone’s lips. Following a flurry of natural disasters over the last several months from wildfires to floods to earthquakes and extreme temperatures, climate change has never been so clear to see; with stories channelled through TV, articles and radio into courthouses, schools and homes around the world.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

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But whilst the climate issue has often been reduced to the energy sector, the COVID-19 pandemic, recent natural events and a broadening awareness and understanding of the issue has demonstrated that climate preservation is also intrinsically linked to the preservation of nature.

This is where the topic of natural capital comes in.

Natural capital is Earth’s collective stock of natural resources that benefit living beings on our planet. The term was first used in the 1970s and the idea of viewing natural capital as a valuable economic asset is gaining popularity.

The UN is playing an instrumental part in creating this sea change, urging governments to look past GDP and creating a framework to help them to do so. The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting aims to help people and businesses value natural resources in a more meaningful and accurate manner.

Whilst ultimately all wealth depends on the preservation of natural capital, Earth’s per capita stock has fallen in value by 40% over the past 25 years. Additionally, the Green Recovery Observatory, which has assessed the “greenness” of COVID-19 recovery spending in 89 countries, found that less than 3% of recovery spending will be devoted to natural capital. In fact, almost 13% of recovery spending was assessed as negatively impacting natural capital. This includes expanding road transport and defined services.

So what can be done to turn the tide on natural capital and ensure that private finance steps up to the plate to channel funds to this underrepresented investment theme and ultimately support a green recovery and sustainable future?

Investing in natural capital for a green recovery

The finance and investment community has the power to affect overall global emissions and the economic decisions made in the era of COVID-19 recovery must be aligned with climate goals in order to secure a sustainable energy future.

The European Green Deal calls for a shift in investment flows which it describes as essential to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and a green recovery. There remains a huge investment gap and finance requires a fundamental overhaul to begin closing this. As one example, financial portfolios need to align with a well below 2 degrees Celsius emissions pathway to incentivise green growth, sustainable development, and systems transformation.

To help shape a narrative that acknowledges and affirms the importance of natural capital in enabling a green recovery and sustainable future, leading financial actors need to better understand the risks and opportunities from considering natural capital and incorporate this into their portfolios, and frankly into every financial decision they make from lending, investment and insurance decision-making.

Investing in natural capital actually implies substantial economic, social, and environmental benefits. In addition to supporting national post-pandemic recovery plans and the prevention of future pandemics, it will support those vulnerable countries most affected by COVID-19 which will likely exploit natural capital to overcome debts induced by the pandemic.

From an economic perspective, investing in natural capital leads to the creation of jobs. A $1 million annual outlay in forest management can generate 500-1 000 jobs in many developing countries and according to UNEP, nature-based solutions create jobs more than 10 times faster than fossil fuel investment. In addition, it will preserve jobs indirectly as investing in natural capital will lead to the presentation of nature-dependant industries including tourism, water, agriculture.

The environmental benefits are clear. Investments in natural capital will reduce climate risks and help stem biodiversity loss. Pertinently, it can also increase community resilience to natural disasters including fire, floods and storms.

The health of the world’s population is also positively impacted through investments into natural capital. By enhancing local cooling effects, improving air quality, ensuring access to clean water, bolstering food security, reducing exposure to toxic pollution, and increasing access to green spaces, natural capital projects can improve physical and mental health and reduce mortality related to environmental toxicity.

With rising ESG headwinds, investing in natural capital is also a way for investors to fulfil increasingly stringent sustainable mandates and pressure from LPs and other actors. So in addition to the environmental, health, economic and social benefits, investing in natural capital not only supports a green recovery post pandemic but also has the potential to boost the resilience of investment portfolios, reducing risk and enhancing reputation.

The current investment appetite

It would seem as though investing in natural capital is a no-brainer and several financial institutions have already taken action.

The Nature Conservancy and Environmental Finance conducted a survey among a global group of asset owners, asset managers and financial intermediaries, including banks, investment advisors, consultancies and NGOs). In their report, Investing in Nature: Private Finance for Nature-based Resilience, they found that the close link between climate change and the decline in natural resources is increasingly well understood by the investment community and that an increasing number of investors are factoring environmental concerns – including natural capital – into their decisions.

Yet much work is still to be done on education and encouraging the finance and investment community to spend more time on natural capital. The Capitals Coalition is made up of 380 global initiatives and businesses and works with global businesses, financial institutions and governments to push them to account for natural capital in their decision-making by 2030.

Similarly, the Natural Capital Investment Alliance, which has been established by the Prince of Wales with founding partners HSBC Pollination Climate Asset Management, Lombard Odier and Mirova, aims to mobilise €8 billion ($9.28 billion) towards natural capital themes across asset classes by 2022. They want to scale up this investment theme by engaging and working with the investment management industry.

The World Bank and global investors have also established a collaborative engagement, called Nature Action 100+. It is similar to the Climate Action 100+, but seeks to drive change at the top 100 companies having the biggest negative impact on nature.

These efforts are a great building block but to further enhance and strengthen the natural capital investment theme, education, clear frameworks and collaborative action will be key.

What’s next

Investing in natural capital can and should be a key pillar of the green recovery and further, a sustainable future. As the Dasgupta Review, a recently published report commissioned by the UK Treasury argued, “Although our economies are bound by the important asset of nature, we continue to underinvest in it”.

We are at a critical moment in the climate crisis and choices made by the finance and investment community today will have long-lasting economic and ecological ramifications. Investing in natural capital as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic would help to tackle many current health, economic, social and environmental issues while also helping countries achieve long term climate goals.

The World Economic Forum found that $44 trillion of economic value generation (over half of the world’s GDP) is moderately or highly dependent on our natural capital and yet it remains an underrepresented topic and investment theme.

The continued lack of attention given to natural capital which is resulting in increased biodiversity loss and depletion of renewable stocks, if continued, could lead to increased insurance risks, higher costs of capital and a loss of investment opportunities.

Unless the finance and investment community acts now, the very real risk for businesses, investors and profits will only increase.

About the author

Sarah Casey is the Managing Director at the Climate Council, an executive network focused on connecting investors and renewable executives worldwide.

As you read this the latest annual Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) event, COP26, will be under way in Glasgow, Scotland or will already have taken place.

In the early days – the first assessment from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was published as far back as 1990 and COP1 was in 1995 – the subject was mainly the preserve of academics and researchers in the field and governments. Over time, both the successive publications and events have become progressively larger, more diverse and more widely publicised.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

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Notable milestones have been the COP3 Kyoto Protocol of 1997 and more recently the Paris Agreement of COP21 in 2015, which represents the most recent widely agreed statement on climate and emissions targets. Under the Paris Agreement, the increase in global average temperature is intended to be well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and preferably limited to 1.5°C, while peaking of greenhouse gas emissions is met as soon as possible towards net zero in the second half of this century.

Since then the mantra of ‘Net zero by 2050’ has emerged, which has been taken up by bodies such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) and organisations and companies that have put out plans to meet this target.

So far (as of mid-September), however, only one government has officially mandated the target – the UK, and host to COP26. As part of that commitment the UK also has put in place aggressive targets for 2030 including a 68% reduction in greenhouse gas levels compared to 1990 and actions including a ban on sales of new cars and vans from that year.

As the host to COP26, unsurprisingly a goal of the event from the UK perspective is to secure similarly ambitious 2030 targets from other countries. Other goals are the by now standard commitments to raising financing – at least $100 billion per year agreed by developed countries – and to working together to protect communities and habitats impacted by climate change and to deliver on the Paris Agreement.

Specific delivery directions highlighted for 2030 include accelerating the phase-out of coal, speeding up the switch to electric vehicles and encouraging investment in renewables as well as curtailing deforestation.

How many countries will commit to a net zero by 2050 goal remains to be seen and many eyes will be on the UK in the months and years ahead. While the politicians driving the agenda are understandably gung-ho and there is wide support, there also is growing public concern with the realisation of the costs involved and the impacts on incomes and lifestyles that aren’t always made clear.

So far, much of the delivery of the climate agenda has been at a high level. But as targets become more stringent and decarbonisation deepens across the economy, the consumer impacts will become increasingly apparent. Their support is essential for a successful transition.

The Physical Science basis

The almost 4,000 page Physical Science Basis report is without doubt the most comprehensive so far, involving the input of over 200 authors and based on 14,000 publications.

The authors claim both much better understanding of climate change now than when the IPCC started and continual improvements in climate modelling, measured by comparing simulations against historical observations. (Note the notoriously unreliable weather forecasting is a subset of these, with weather pertaining to short term conditions and climate the longer term over time.)

What then are some of the highlights?

1.5°C in jeopardy

The global average surface temperature increase above the pre-1900 level is projected to reach 1.5°C by 2040 in all the scenarios considered – ranging from the most optimistic emissions declining below net zero to a fossil fuel rich, high emission world.

In the best case there could be a subsequent overshoot followed by a slight decline to 1.4°C by 2100, while the other scenarios have the temperature approaching or exceeding 2°C by then.

Humans are to blame

The main human drivers of climate change are increases in the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases and of aerosols from burning fossil fuels, land use and other sources. The current rates of increase of the concentration of these, in particular CO2, methane and nitrous oxide, are “unprecedented over at least the last 800,000 years”.

Evidence from tree rings and other records shows the rate of global surface temperature increase over the past fifty years has exceeded that of any 50-year period over the past 2,000 years.

The climate is to blame

Based on the science of ‘event attribution’, human-caused global warming has resulted in changes in a wide variety of recent extreme weather events including heatwaves, heavy rainfall, drought, tropical cyclones and associated wildfires and coastal flooding.

With a warmer temperature, the atmosphere can hold more water and there is more and faster evaporation, and resultant heavier precipitation.

Regional differences

As the planet warms, climate change does not unfold uniformly across the globe, but some patterns of regional change show “clear, direct and consistent relationships to increases in global surface temperature”.

The Arctic warms more than other regions, land areas warm more than the ocean surface and the northern hemisphere more than the southern hemisphere. Precipitation increases over the high latitudes, tropics and large parts of the monsoon regions, but decreases over the subtropics.

Warnings from the past

In the past, the Earth has experienced prolonged periods of elevated greenhouse gas concentrations that caused global temperatures and sea levels to rise.

In an example roughly 125,000 years ago, slight variations in the Earth’s orbit triggered an increase of about 1-2°C of global warming and 2–8m of sea level rise relative to the 1900 level, even though atmospheric CO2 concentrations were similar to 1900 values.

Climate sinks are weakening

About half of the CO2 that human activities have emitted to the atmosphere has been taken up by natural sinks such as forests, soils and oceans. However, there are signs that these processes are being impacted by the increasing CO2 in the atmosphere and climate change in a way that will weaken their take-up capacity in the future.

Methane to the fore

Methane (CH4), which is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2 but more short lived, has become of greater concern, having increased at a growing rate over the past decade – about 3.5% higher in 2019 than in 2011. This growth is attributed primarily to fossil fuels and agriculture dominated by livestock as well as landfills.

Proposals to remove CH4 from the atmosphere, both directly and microbially, are emerging, although the topic is still in its infancy.

Looking ahead

Over the next twenty years emissions of greenhouse gases are expected to continue, further increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and leading to continued trends including shrinking of the ice sheets in the Arctic and Antarctic and thermal expansion of the oceans.

However, there are uncertainties due to natural events such as volcanic eruptions, which can impact on scales from the local
to global.

Some reversibility is possible

Deliberate removal of CO2 from the atmosphere could reverse some aspects of climate change – but only if there is a net reduction, i.e. the removals are larger than emissions.

Some trends, such as the increase in global surface temperature, would start to reverse within a few years. Others such as permafrost thawing would take decades to reverse, while others still such as acidification of the deep ocean would take centuries and sea level rise centuries to millennia.

Tipping points

Last but not least, ‘tipping points’ or thresholds in the climate system that could lead to a disproportionate response such as strongly increased Antarctic ice sheet melting, permafrost thawing or forest dieback, cannot be ruled out.

Insights from the industry

Cletus Bertin, Executive Director, CARILEC: “We note that countries are being asked to come forward with ambitious 2030 emissions reductions targets. While we are mindful that the setting of aspirational and ambitious goals can be inspirational, we would also like to see the setting of realistic, i.e. evidenced-based, and feasible targets for the reduction of final energy consumption and the percentage share of renewable energy.

“Developing countries, in particular, should be encouraged to urgently establish and operationalise the required policy, legislative and regulatory frameworks, and mechanisms in this regard.”

Reji Kumar Pillai, President India Smart Grid Forum and Chairman, Global Smart Energy Federation: “All countries are talking about increasing the targets of renewable energy, but very few have set a target for retiring coal power plants. COP26 should mandate all countries to set a firm roadmap for retiring coal plants.

“The biggest problem facing humanity is the constantly increasing atmospheric temperature. In India summer temperatures are already above 48oC and may exceed 50oC before the end of this decade, making living, working and commuting impossible. Less than 10% of the households own room air conditioners and similarly in most developing countries.”

Julia Hamm, President and CEO, Smart Electric Power Alliance: “Now is the time for aggressive action to combat climate change. As SEPA identified through our Utility Transformation Challenge surveys, electric utilities are making progress towards carbon reduction, but much work remains. Bold commitments from COP26 are a key catalyst for an accelerated energy transition.

We can’t wait to see you in Milan

Enlit Europe will bring the energy community together during the live event in Milan (30 November – 2 December 2021). Register here

In July 2021, the European Commission published its Green Deal “Fit for 55” package. These encompassing legislative initiatives are intended to enable the EU to meet its climate targets of at least 55% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and net zero by 2050 to effectively limit global warming to 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels.

To meet our climate goals we need a massive flow of investment in low-carbon energy infrastructure in order to significantly lower our generation of carbon emissions. In this context, the subject of green finance comes to the fore, because without funding suitable to capitalize on such green projects, we will not make it.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

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Rethinking investment portfolios

When it comes to investment decisions, sustainability is becoming more and more a decisive factor. The focus is no longer solely on the earnings potential and the risks. Now, certain investor groups no longer invest in portfolios that are not “ESG” (Environmental, Social and Governance) compliant. The growing demand in environmentally responsible investments as well as the guidelines and directives coming from the Green Deal “Fit for 55” package force banks and other financial investors to rethink their investment portfolios. They have to meet certain indicators, key figures and sustainability requirements within their portfolios in order to get their products listed accordingly.

A problem financial investors are facing is a massive amount of investment ready capital for a segment that is still quite manageable in terms of its investment ready projects. A few years, ago a capital borrower basically had a project and had to apply for funding and then – in the best case scenario – was able to choose for the best funding offer. Now, when it comes to green finance, the criteria are becoming so narrow that financial investors simply have to run after the projects.

We are seeing that trend today. We tend to have much more investment ready money compared to real green projects to invest in. Hence, when it comes to green finance, we observe a much stronger buyers‘ market. In contrast to the classic seller’s market of financing, where financial institutions are faced with an oversupply of projects in need of financing, project applicants and developers can now more or less choose from a range of financing partners due to the oversupply of funding opportunities. In the case of energy communities, this even went so far that in some cases they issued loan applications for projects that still had to be designed on paper.

Therefore, when it comes to green finance, financial institutions have to rethink their traditional approach. They mostly try to fit new projects in the ‘classic drawers’ of their product offering. However, it is often the case that green finance projects tick different boxes than conventional projects. From an environmental perspective it doesn’t make too much sense, at least not in Austria and often neither in Central Europe, to set up huge systems somewhere in the middle of nowhere and then transport the electricity for countless kilometres.

No, sustainability means that the power has to be produced where the consumption occurs. Renewable energy communities are by default decentralised energy systems, hence structured in a much smaller way compared to classic centralised energy systems. So we’re talking about a rapidly increasing number of small scale projects with exciting risk and return profiles, that – when being stabilized – can lead to great potential in realising economies of scale.

Scale and standardisation

These small-scale projects cannot be standardized; neither are they homogeneous capital goods. Each project needs a regionally dependent corresponding tailor-made design, not a custom production, but certainly not a mass production either. The solution is somewhat in the middle and that is where, from our point of view, banks find it so difficult to integrate such projects into their product world, because they only know custom production; for large projects and mass production and in between you just fall through as an alternative project in the banks’ product catalogue. Unfortunately, the giants move very slowly when it comes to adapting their product world to the transition of energy systems and the investment opportunities arising from it. The market however tends to pass those giants when they do not move – this brings alternative funding opportunities into play.

Recently, the Austrian federal government, a coalition of the Conservative People’s Party and the Green Alternative party, introduced the ‘Austria Green Investment Pioneer’ programme. This programme, uniting financial institutions and green entrepreneurs, gives stakeholders the opportunity to found an enabling facility doing the pioneer work the classic funding institutions need to integrate a rapidly increasing number of green projects into their classic product world.

Nobilegroup, with its newly established brand “SonnenBank.eco”, is proud to be the first of hopefully a many pioneers admitted to the ‘Austria Green Investment Pioneer’ programme. Since we can only meet our climate goals as a community, we want to remove financial hurdles slowing down the process of transition towards low-carbon energy infrastructure.

Through our financing variants, we give everyone the opportunity to make a contribution to reaching our climate goals – as a community.

About the author

Peter Gönitzer is founder and CEO of nobilegroup, a consulting company focussing on the development of renewable energy solutions.

These upgraded devices increasingly utilise ultrasonic technology that contains no moving parts to last indefinitely, limited only by the life of the battery. Since these systems cost roughly twice as much as the mechanical meters they replace, the batteries that power them should ideally last more than twice as long as standard lithium batteries.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

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Advanced meters rely on bobbin-type LiSOCl₂ batteries

Leading AMR/AMI meter manufacturers specify bobbin-type lithium thionyl chloride (LiSOCl₂) cells to power ultrasonic MTUs, providing a long-life solution that protects against disruptive system-wide battery failures. Municipalities need to anticipate such possibilities by pre-emptively replacing thousands of batteries each year just to avoid potential chaos, significantly raising their cost of ownership.

Bobbin-type LiSOCl₂ batteries are overwhelmingly preferred for low-power applications that draw current measurable in micro-amps. Bobbin-type LiSOCl₂ batteries deliver unique performance benefits, including: higher capacity and energy density; the widest possible temperature range (-80°C to 125°C); and extraordinarily low self-discharge.

All batteries experience some amount of self-discharge even when disconnected from an external load. Bobbin-type LiSOCl₂ cells feature the lowest self-discharge rate of all, largely due to their unique ability to harness the passivation effect.

Passivation occurs when a thin film of lithium chloride (LiCl) forms on the surface of the lithium anode, thus impeding the chemical reactions that cause battery self-discharge. Whenever a load is placed on the cell, this passivation layer causes high initial resistance and a temporary drop in voltage until the passivation layer begins to dissipate: a process that repeats each time the load is removed.

Cell passivation is influenced by cell capacity, length of storage, storage temperature, and discharge temperature. Partially discharging a cell then removing the load also increases the passivation effect relative to a new battery. Battery self-discharge is also affected by the quality of raw materials and the manufacturing process.

Passivation is essential to extended battery life but too much of it can overly restrict energy flow.

Better cells: better energy retention

A superior quality Bobbin-type LiSOCl₂ cell typically loses only 0.7% of its available capacity annually due to self-discharge. By contrast, an inferior quality cell can lose up to 3% of its capacity each year due to self-discharge, thus exhausting 30% of its available capacity every 10 years, which limits its operating life to 10-15 years.

The potential of more than 25-year battery life achieved with Tadiran’s batteries has been validated by various metering and utility companies all over the world.

Continuously random samples are taken after many years operating in the field and are tested, proving to have a significant amount of remaining capacity that will outperform the requirements of the devices.

Advanced AMR/AMI metering devices require high pulse energy

AI-enabled data intelligence requires bidirectional wireless communications, drawing additional amounts of energy. Standard bobbin-type LiSOCl₂ batteries are unable to deliver the high pulses needed to power bi-directional wireless communications. This challenge can be overcome with the addition of a patented hybrid layer capacitor (HLC). The standard bobbin-type LiSOCl₂ cell delivers low daily background current, while the HLC delivers periodic high pulses to power wireless communications. The patented HLC also provides a measurable end-of-life voltage plateau that can be interpreted to deliver ‘low battery’ status alerts.

By developing its highly powerful PulsesPlusTM battery system combining high energy cells with an HLC which is responsible for delivering high current pulses, Tadiran Batteries has early identified the future need of smart metering for increasingly energetic lithium batteries that can limit self-discharge while also delivering high pulses. Tadiran power source solutions provide decades of reliable energy to enhance data integrity and support a lower cost of ownership.

About the author

Marc Henn studied Mechatronics Engineering near Frankfurt/Main and holds a Master´s degree in Business Administration. After a long-time responsible position in the testing and certification industry he joined Tadiran as Manager of Application Engineering in 2016.

About the company

Tadiran Batteries is a leader in the development of lithium batteries for industrial use. Tadiran Batteries are suitable where utility meters require a single long-term standalone power source even if it has to supply high pulse currents for a GSM module.

The City of Helsinki has been working to become the most functional city in the world by digitalising all aspects of its planning, construction, and maintenance.

Located on a peninsula in the Gulf of Finland, Helsinki has centuries of architecture that require maintenance as it continues to expand in a sustainable way.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

Read the mobile-friendly digital magazine or subscribe to receive a print copy

In 2013, the city began by searching for a project and document management system and proven processes to replace its manual operating practices. So, they deployed a connected data environment as the backbone of the new operational control system for projects, creating a solid framework for document management, efficient information sharing, and work collaboration across project teams.

Then, in 2016, they continued their mission to become a model digital city by producing a 3D-representation of the city to improve Helsinki’s internal services and processes, promote smart city development, and share city models as open data to citizens and companies for research and development.

The use of reality modelling software significantly lowered the cost of making the reality mesh model of the city and the semantic city information model. The interoperable modelling applications provided the City of Helsinki with the ability to implement smart city development, advanced city analyses, and the opportunity to participate in frontline progress.

Now, with the Helsinki Digital City Synergy project, they seek to realise the practical and versatile benefits of these models while bringing more value from them by creating a citywide digital twin. To complete this ongoing project, they realised that they would need to integrate and utilise their models to support internal processes and public services, as well as continue to support strategic goals for a sustainable, smart city.

The City of Helsinki employed three organisations to work together to achieve its goals. Helsinki City Environment Division is responsible for the strategic and detailed planning, traffic and street planning, land property development, and urban space and landscape planning. They are also responsible for city survey, asset management, housing production, city and corporate services, and building control.

Helsinki 3D+ is responsible for creating the 3D models and maintaining the digital twins with the latest information. They develop open data services and support integrating new technology for better processes and services. Forum Virium Helsinki is a city-owned innovation company that works with companies, universities, other public sector organisations, and city residents to promote urban development and digitalisation.

Improving collaboration with digital workflows

Helsinki City Environment Division, Helsinki 3D+, and Forum Virium Helsinki knew that they wanted to integrate the existing models with the data from their internal processes and public services. They needed to use models to engage residents, utilise open data models for public-private co-innovation, and support both smart city and sustainable carbon neutral goals.

However, they would first need to overcome any technology and collaboration challenges. The City of Helsinki is 500 square kilometres, and the entire city would need to be modelled with all asset data implemented. They also needed to ensure that they could freely share the results with the public, as well as encourage them to join the effort. Therefore, they needed an open digital city platform for their digital twin.

Digitalising Helsinki with a digital twin

Already having used them to create their city models, the City of Helsinki once again chose to use Bentley applications to complete their Digital City Synergy project.

The Helsinki City Environment Division used MicroStation, ContextCapture, and OpenCities Map with a reality mesh and information model of the 500-square kilometres city area for their digital twin, which includes their CityGML. They also used ProjectWise to establish a connected data environment. OpenCities Planner was the visualisation and collaboration platform for all stakeholders, including the public.

Helsinki 3D+ continues to use MicroStation, ContextCapture, and OpenCities Map to create and maintain the entire city reality and information models. Additionally, laser scanning and oblique photogrammetry ensure that the models of the city consider surface and terrain details. The applications also provide consistency between the two models, vital to having reliable data. They also use LumenRT to produce their own video clips to share with all stakeholders and the public. OpenCities Planner allows city leaders and decision makers to better visualise the infrastructure, improving understanding of projects and overall organisation. With Helsinki’s open data policy, the Helsinki 3D+ team supports many use cases, including analysing solar power utilisation, conducting flood assessments, and performing noise calculations, as well as allowing third-party developers and universities to access and use data for additional projects.

Meanwhile, Forum Virium Helsinki expanded on Helsinki 3D+’s digital twin, focusing on Kalasatama — a neighbourhood in Helsinki — by using Bentley applications. They wanted to see how this expanded digital twin could help them advance a large urban development project. They analysed and collected data for green infrastructure to help the city meet its net-zero carbon goals by 2035.

The need for this type of infrastructure has also become more important than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic. Called SmartKalasatama, this platform was based on OpenCities Planner to present smart city solutions, acting as a starting point for visualising and communicating all projects throughout Helsinki before actual implementation. It also helped facilitate citizen participation, providing an easily accessible, highly visual environment where stakeholders, including current and potential Kalasatama residents, could view the project information and give input — even from mobile devices. The platform is now a model for the rest of the city to follow for future development projects and showing how digital twins can continually grow as the needs of the city grow over time.

Bringing stakeholders and citizens together with open data access

The City of Helsinki’s open, digital solution enables better decision-making by connecting the right information to the right stakeholder. The solution also allows designers to evaluate different plans and the impact of those plans on the city before construction. When seeking permits, all the information is available directly in the model to make the process easier and smoother. Smart city solutions allow for an improved quality of life for residents, such as by making sure that construction is less disruptive and greener. With open access to data from the entire city, the public can access the same information as project stakeholders, providing transparency and improving public relations.

Currently, Helsinki’s City models are being streamed into video games like Minecraft Helsinki. This situation is beneficial because it will get young people interested in city models in infrastructure, as well as promote tourism to Helsinki once it is safe to travel. The data is already being used by universities and research institutions, with its city models being the second most popular downloaded data sets.

Overall, the city of Helsinki is providing a reliable digitalised data infrastructure to support sustainable smart city initiatives, creating a better quality of life for its citizens and visitors. Moving forward, they will continue to expand their digitalisation efforts to create their citywide digital twin.

About the author

David Huie is Senior Product Marketing Manager for Modelling and Visualisation at Bentley Systems.

The increased generation voltage is certainly attractive, but insulation rating of the entire PV system must be increased, and the associated equipment must be able to operate at higher voltages.

A DC voltage sensor with insulation amplifier technology, J&D’s new technology designed for high withstand voltage and stability, and a DC current sensor certified to IEC61010-1 PD2 CAT III can realize more accurate power efficiency measurement.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

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Recently, J&D designed a voltage and current sensor that provides high-insulation technology capable of withstanding 1500V and implemented high-precision characteristics by using an ultra-precision Zero-Drift Op Amp.

1. DC 1500V high accuracy voltage sensor; IVDT-series

Hybrid design using reinforced isolation amplifier technology and Ultra Precision Zero-Drift Op Amps.

Temperature of the Solar power usually rises to 40˚ C on a summer day.

In addition, the temperature inside the Distribution board can reach 100˚C in the worst case.

Therefore, the voltage sensor must remain accurate even at these high temperatures. J&D’s voltage sensor was developed with high voltage isolation reinforced amplifier technology.

Voltage Sensors – IDVT series begins with an internal High Voltage resistor network. This network measures DC Voltage by directly contacting both the Positive High Voltage (+HT) and the Negative High Voltage signal is transmitted to the secondary side of the sensor through an insulated Reinforced transformer that isolates the Primary High Voltage from the Secondary Low Voltage.

The resulting signal is converted through an auto-zeroing techniques amplifier into either Voltage signal.

Therefore, the circuit converts a primary Voltage into a secondary Voltage that is proportional to the input.

The reinforced isolation amplifier technology and the hybrid design using Ultra Precision Zero-Drift Op Amps not only maintain high accuracy at high temperatures, but also achieve accuracy with 5V to 30V free wide range voltage. When you refer to Figure 1-1, you find that the Voltage sensor can provide high precision despite high temperature.

Features:
(1) Power consumption: 5V
(2) Input voltage: DC 1500V
(3) Output voltage: ±0.5V
(4) Accuracy: 0.5%
(5) Ambient Operating temperature: -40˚ to +105˚

2: High-insulation and High-accuracy current sensor JPS-H Series for DC 1500V power line monitoring. Temperature Reinforced Amplifier Technology.

J&D, the first in the world, has developed a product designed with high insulation so that it can be used stably in the DC 1500V line.

JPS-H is a sensor that develops input voltage from 600V to 1500V and is a product that has obtained PD2 certification and CAT III 1500V certification of IEC-61010-1.

JPS-H series begins with an internal Insulation distance design split core technology network.

This network is measured using two hall elements and a permalloy core based on advanced open loop technology and the resulting signal is then converted through an auto-zeroing techniques amplifier into either Voltage signal.

A split-core sensor that can be easily installed on a cable and designed by hybridizing Hall element twin technology and Ultra Precision Zero-Drift Op Amps is designed to maintain high precision even at high temperature.

This can solve problems of high operating temperatures because it is installed where solar power is maximized for the best energy capture performance due to the feature of the PV system.

An accuracy of 0.5% can be achieved even with a low power consumption which is 5V to 30V free wide voltage. Also, Figure 1-2 shows high accuracy of current measurement is possible even with high temperatures.

Features:
(1) Power consumption: 5V
(2) Rated current: DC 400A
(3) Output voltage: ±0.5V
(4) Accuracy: 0.5%
(5) Ambient Operating temperature: -40˚ to +105˚

3: J&D’s options: CTid technology that can be monitored by UI

Increasing demand for green energy is one of the driving forces behind the adoption of PV DC1500V power.

In addition, as the amount of energy supplied from renewable energy such as PV power increases, power lines must be measured in high-quality efficiency and critical power protection is always important for abnormal situations, from solar panels to PV inverter systems. Solar panels commonly use a PV Inverter that works with the DC-DC converter to connect the generated power to the grid.

However, a common problem of power electronics is the generation and emission of harmonic currents, which dramatically reduce the quality of the injected current. To identify this issue, it is very important to measure the power quality and efficiency by measuring the voltage and current of the DC 1500V line.

In addition, one of the main considerations for converting primary voltage and current from DC to AC using PV inverters is to ensure system reliability and safety under all environmental conditions.

The voltage and current sensors for the upgraded DC1500V power line are now available in conjunction with eGauge meters. Also, the voltage and current sensors are now available with eGauge’s CTid technology as an option.

If you use the gateway AC/DC energy meter with the CTid technology of eGauge, IDVT series of voltage sensors with built-in CTid technology, and JPS-H series of current sensors, you can operate a solar power plant with more stable power generation.

The US energy grid, and all of the critical infrastructure that supports it, is about to get a lot smarter. That does not mean a lot safer.

The nationwide deployment of 5G wireless networks is bringing sweeping change to almost every corner of the economy. Compared to existing 4G and 4G/LTE networks, 5G service is about a hundred times faster and five times more responsive – with average data latency of about 10 milliseconds. For consumers, this presents an opportunity to embed our dumb devices with the intelligent edge sensors needed to automate home energy consumption, control lights by detecting room occupancy and program our white goods to run outside of peak-load times.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

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For utilities, 5G offers much the same opportunity to eliminate resource inefficiencies by automating power generation, distribution, storage and control systems. A data-driven grid is more resilient, is better at provisioning and redundancy, is able to provide real-time fault detection and response, and is more effective at base- and peak-load management. 5G will also likely improve service to rural and other remote territories, all while generating more accurate smart metering data.

5G adoption will strain an ageing energy infrastructure

That sounds promising until we stop to consider two factors working against this utopian vision. For one, the US has not seriously invested in critical infrastructure for 30 years, which may help explain why the American Society of Civil Engineers consistently gives US infrastructure a grade of D+. As we saw last winter with the deadly Texas energy grid failure, our systems break when placed under stress, and yet we are simultaneously asking them to increase their complexity and digital interconnectedness.

The second issue is the inherent security threats embedded within the 5G wireless standard. 5G was designed by an international coalition of technology companies, with heavy input from state-owned Chinese firms. As an open-source, commercial standard, 5G suffers from a general lack of encryption and is riddled with vulnerabilities, nearly 800 of which have yet to be resolved by the governing 3GPP standards body. This raises concerns relative to the influence China may have exercised over an industry standards-making body – and the number of backdoors and man-in-the-middle vulnerabilities through which unsecured data can be siphoned off or manipulated.

Bad actors have already shown the extent to which they will go to disrupt critical US infrastructure. Look no further than the Colonial Pipeline ransomware hack in May this year, which brought the largest fuel pipeline in the US to its knees, or the Christmas 2020 domestic terrorist attack in Nashville, Tennessee, which knocked out an AT&T communications node and crippled regional internet service and first responder networks.

Then there is the sheer complexity of 5G implementation. While it is undeniably faster than its wireless predecessors, 5G creates many more routing points that must be secured. The speed and volume of 5G data means that network security monitors must be at least as fast. And this doesn’t even begin to take into account the millions of industrial IoT edge sensors that are deployed throughout the US power grid, each of which provides a potential home for malware to roost.

Shrink the threat surface by consolidating telecoms network and data centre infrastructure

One consequence of the way our nation’s telecommunications and computing networks interoperate is that they leave too much room for intentional – and even unintentional – interference. A power plant manager who chooses to email sensitive files to his home computer without first encrypting them may have no nefarious intent but is breaching security nevertheless. Likewise, data piped from an IoT sensor across 5G networks may travel hundreds of miles before it reaches the data centre, leaving a trail that hackers can easily exploit.

To date, most data security software has been applied as an afterthought – as a patch to the outside of the network. A better approach is to provide security from the inside, beginning with the data layer, to ensure trust is maintained throughout the data value chain.

This can be achieved by combining the communications network and data centre into a single, hardened piece of infrastructure. The close physical proximity of the radio tower and server has several advantages over today’s disaggregated equipment configuration. First, by consolidating the two into one hardened infrastructure we dramatically simplify the job of physically protecting it. Second, data can be encrypted at the source, both at rest and when in motion. Third, we naturally reduce latency and backhaul costs by eliminating the need to ship data across the country to and from data centres run by people whose job is not to ensure the safety, security and reliability of the US energy grid.

In the end, you have built a secure, local computer environment where you trust the power plant, the power plant trusts itself and it trusts the infrastructure equipment. The infrastructure equipment does not trust anyone else. It does not trust the internet. It does not trust the cellular service provider. This hybrid model is then governed by redundancies such that a single person is never allowed to run the network or perform unattended software updates. In addition to securing a trusted grid, the collocation of computer and internet connectivity yields intelligence that plant operators can use to reduce costs and increase operational efficiencies. In effect, this delivers all the benefits of Amazon without having to trust someone else’s data centre.

To be clear, this hardware model augments – it does not replace or compete with – AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and other wireless carriers. It is a secure, intelligent firewall that encrypts data traffic, monitors endpoints for anomalous behaviour, detects and profiles known good behaviour and creates a barrier to future attacks – in real-time, not after the fact.

At SEMPRE, we employ what we call zero-trust principles in personnel, material and procedures to ensure the integrity, reliability and survivability of critical infrastructure and data – something we call SEMPRE surety. This is what led us to develop the SEMPRE Tower. It is based on the idea that a hardened 5G telecommunications and computing infrastructure can be adapted by the energy industry to help it take advantage of the speed, low latency and intelligence that 5G offers without succumbing to its vulnerabilities.

About the author

Brigadier General (ret.) Robert Spalding is the founder and CEO of SEMPRE, a technology company committed to securing America’s critical infrastructure. Prior to his role at SEMPRE, General Spalding served in senior positions of strategy and diplomacy within the Defence and State Departments for more than 26 years.

The Operations & Maintenance of the heterogeneous telecommunications network that comes with the deployment of smart metering systems – that may include plc communications on the low voltage, BPL on medium voltage, fiber-optics, cellular network, etc., – with multiple technologies including PRIME, BPL, GPON, GSM, etc., that convey new and complex challenges.

When the number of smart meters connected to the network reaches millions of units, achieving secure and reliable communications is one of those new challenges. Even more challenging is to guarantee the real-time capabilities often demanded by smart grid applications.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

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For such situations, highly performing communications are required for the successful rollout of smart metering systems.

The need for qualified personnel with extensive and cross-sectional knowledge of the infrastructure is another of the challenges that any electrical distributor encounters when carrying out the deployment, operation, and maintenance of these new smart grids.

Have you read?
FAQs about powerline communication technology
PRIME gateways are the enablers of the LV communications evolution

Arkossa has broad, hands-on field experience with smart meter deployments and an in-depth understanding of the practicalities of deploying, optimising, maintaining, and operating powerline communications networks.

Arkossa offers a unique value for providing customized services and solutions to satisfy the needs of our customers related to powerline smart metering systems.

We roll out smart meters with the added benefit of guaranteeing reachability and readability. We also manage the powerline networks to keep the reachability and readability to the optimum level. This is achieved by operating and maintaining the network with the added-value of identifying and solving issues, including fraud, loadbalancing, powerline communications issues,etc, using our proprietary extensively trained data analysis.

An example of one of Arkossa’s recent successes is the usage of our plexus service to support E-REDES’s network in Portugal. With plexus, Arkossa is carrying out the tasks of training technicians, network analysis, optimisation and generation of work orders for the low voltage networks.

This network is currently covered with the service of all the meters of 1,500 transformer stations. This allows improving the operation and maintenance of the digital electricity network deployed by E-REDES, increasing and maintaining the performance of the metering infrastructure, guaranteeing the cybersecurity of said infrastructure and therefore expanding its life cycle – in order to guarantee the full operability of the network at all times.

E-REDES is using the plc PRIME protocol, that allows to respond to the demands of the system operator in terms of data transmission and measurement control, focused on the provision of high-quality services to consumers.

About the author

Arkossa CEO Víctor Domínguez Richards is a telecommunications engineer with nearly 30 years experience in the energy and telecoms sectors. Richards has extensive experience managing organisations, some of which he has founded.

These include founding Design of Systems on Silicon (DS2), managing Comtrends’ technical dept. and managing two companies of the Amper Group. He also holds a professor post at the Polytechnic University of Valencia where he has lectured for 18 years and is an inventor in several patents related to Broadband Powerline Communications. He has also been active in the regulatory and standardization arenas, having been a board member of ETSI, the chairman of the ETSI PLT committee and an active member of many international bodies including CENELEC, IEEE, ITU, ARIB, NIST and IEC.

About the company

Arkossa Smart Solutions is a company specialised in developing and offering the services and solutions required by the new digital electricity networks for their optimal deployment, operation and maintenance. With more than 7 years accompanying distributors in more than 7 countries, Arkossa has positioned itself as one of the world leaders in value-added services for new digital electricity networks.
More info: www.arkossa.com

Low voltage (LV) smart grid solutions have high complexity due to the variety of network topologies and applications involved. PRIME 1.4 gateways are devices that have PRIME PLC communication interfaces, ethernet and cellular interfaces, with the capabilities to redirect traffic from one to another.

These devices are the Swiss-knife tool for a PLC network. Their versatility to behave as service node, base node, working in PRIME 1.3.6 or PRIME 1.4, selecting the physical channel and phases, open the door to many different solutions and applications. One of the key applications that the gateways enable is the PLC networks with virtual data concentrators.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

Read the mobile-friendly digital magazine or subscribe to receive a print copy

The current virtualization methods are enabling multiple possibilities to deploy and run several software applications into standard devices like industrial computers.

One of these software applications could be the data concentrator. As a matter of fact, several pilots have already demonstrated that it is possible to run different instances of a data concentrator within a single server.

Although there are several other factors to be considered, this means that the number of devices deployed in the field could technically be decreased, thus reducing the investment, and the hardware where the applications currently run could be simplified. However, the server on which the virtual machine runs must have several peripherical devices, depending on which are the functional modules running on them.

Have you read?
FAQs about powerline communication technology
A stitch in time saves nine

In the case of a data concentrator, the server holding a virtualized data concentrator must be provided with a peripherical modem that enables to get the readings from the meters in the network. The PRIME 1.4 gateway will provide the virtual server with the modem functionality needed for retrieving the data. Added to that, the use of one or several gateways will also increase the number of meters that can be reached from a single device.

Another key role of the gateways is as a key component in the transition of networks from PRIME 1.3.6 to PRIME 1.4. During this transition, there might be networks where meters using either version of the protocol coexist. PRIME 1.3 Data Concentrators can manage PRIME 1.4 networks through a PRIME Gateway.

This migration can be performed for the full network, disabling the PRIME base node integrated in the data concentrator and connecting the data concentrator to the gateway, or partially, having both enabled in different channels working simultaneously.

Multiple gateways can be used in the Secondary Substation (SS) with multiple transformers to communicate through PLC in each of them. It is possible to use a single Data Concentrator for the complete SS.

The PRIME Gateway can also play an important role in coverage extension. When a gateway behaves as a service node with multi-phase injection, it can work as a repeater in strategic positions of the LV network, thus extending the coverage.

When configured as base node, small PLC Islands could be created. These islands could use its cellular interface to transmit the data upstream. These islands can be used to extend the coverage to locations in which the coverage is not guaranteed by other means. The gateway as a PLC island provider also enables further applications in a different channel than the one used for Smart Metering.

The PRIME Alliance provides open and interoperable solutions in continuous evolution and the PRIME gateways have a critical role that enables this evolution.

About the author

Galder Vizcaya is a member of the Technical Working Group of the PRIME Alliance. He has been contributing to different AMI projects for 9 years in different positions within ZIV. Currently, he is the Head of the Metering Product Line at ZIV.

About the company

ZIV is a leader in smart grid solutions with a unique mix of knowledge in protection, control, communication and metering technologies. ZIV offers a full range of products with in-house developed technology and related engineering services. ZIV is a founder member of the PRIME Alliance.

Now, with millions of meters installed in the field, it is clear that the PLC communication technology is not only appropriate for AMR applications but for many others as well. Examples include smart city applications, with smart street lighting or infrastructure management as well as electrical vehicle charging and home- and building automation applications, to mention a few. However, the questions asked when starting a new project or when entering a new application area remain the same.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

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The most frequently asked question, and probably the most general, is the one about which PLC technology is best. All narrowband technologies (PRIME, G3-PLC and Meters and More are the ones with most traction in EMEA markets) are installed in millions of units and all of them are performing as expected. There are circumstances where one is more robust than another. However, under different conditions, it turns out to be vice versa.

With the power grid being very dynamic, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to compare technologies in the field. The technology decisions are often taken based on political aspects, market references or features of technology rather than the “robustness” of the core technology.

Have you read?
PRIME gateways are the enablers of the LV communications evolution
A stitch in time saves nine

Yet there are ways to optimise the robustness on the transceiver level and this is how chip suppliers can differentiate independently of the standard. Renesas, for instance, has implemented various so-called “weighting” and “blanking” algorithms on the physical level of the CPX3 (CoolPhoenix 3 Powerline Modem-R9A06G37) that are showing improvement of up to 8dB SNR depending on the type of noise.

The principle behind weighting is to allow carriers with good SNR conditions to take precedence over carriers with poorer SNR when transferring the same data bit when there is a discrepancy between the received data. In the case of blanking, the receiver can temporarily disable decoding during repeated periods of high noise (in powerline media there are many cases of periodic noise sources).

The maximum achievable distance between two nodes is directly linked to the above discussion. For the same reason, there is no absolute value that can be defined. It can be 1 or 2km in the LV grid but even lower depending on the country, the physical location (rural or urban; industrial or residential) or even the time of the day. However, distance is only an issue in very exceptional cases, as the abovementioned PLC technologies offer repeating mechanisms that expand the overall range.

A further touchstone is the question about achievable data rates. Theoretically, in the case of PRIME, the data rates can range from 5.4kbps up to 1Mbps depending on the modulation type and the number of channels combined into a band plan.

Looking to the net data rate in a real network of 150 nodes, it will probably be more in the range of a few kbps to around 20kbps at the application level.

In essence, everything can be broken down into getting a dedicated amount of data (which depends on the application requirements) securely transmitted over a certain distance in a noisy and dynamic power grid environment. Whilst the specifications of the technologies give an indication of whether a technology is usable in a certain environment and for a particular application, it will always be the empirical assessment and differentiating solutions – like the ones from Renesas – that will give the final assurance.

About the author

Christos Aslanidis is working for Renesas Electronics Europe, managing the Connectivity Solutions Department of the Industrial Automation Business Development Division in EMEA. Aslanidis has been working in the semiconductor industry for more than 25 years.

About the company

Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) delivers trusted embedded design innovation with complete semiconductor solutions that enable billions of connected, intelligent devices to enhance the way people work and live. A global leader in microcontrollers, analog, power, and SoC products, Renesas provides comprehensive solutions for a broad range of automotive, industrial, infrastructure, and IoT applications that help shape a limitless future.

In this scenario, it is easy to understand the need to have digital and intelligent systems along the electricity supply chain that allow the exchange of information in order to optimize energy flows and enable interaction between producers, consumers, prosumers, assets and service providers.

Meters and More – solution to address this market

Meters and More, a non-profit association created in 2010, has had an innovative and visionary approach focussed on adopting, supporting and evolving the field-tested Meters and More open communication protocol for smart grid solutions.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

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The association’s purpose is not only to provide an interoperable end-to-end solution for smart metering but also to develop extensions for complementary value-added services based on its founding principles.

The technical committees are engaged in opening new prospects for moving beyond metering, working during the last at least six years to develop the first prototype of the Meters and More smart energy gateway. This is based on an extension of the existing protocol and enables communication between the smart meter and in-home devices. This interface enables the interchange of energy consumption information in real-time as well as the inclusion of new services based on the Meters and More protocol.

Within the association, the work for the definition of the communication protocol between the smart meter and the in-home device (Meter to Gateway Interface) was organized with a Working Group, which provided the definition of the general specifications, the use cases, up to the physical protocol level, and the data model.

Finally, the working group developed a prototype of the gateway based on commercial hardware, which was then tested and validated.

The next step will be to formalize the specifications with the Technical Committee of Certification and then to make them public and promote them within the international certification bodies. At present, these developments are available at source code level for Meters and More members who need to develop their own gateway.

CHAIN2 – The Italian case of Meters and More technology

The maturity of the Meters and More standard resulted in its selection by the Italian Electrotechnical Committee as the national standard communication protocol for communication between the Open Meter and the user device and which has become the CHAIN2 standard (the standards of reference are the TS CEI 13-82, TS CEI 13-83 and TS CEI 13-84).

On the energy front, CHAIN2 opens up a market in which the users become an integral part of the smart grid system, positioning them as the main actor of their energy management, both produced and consumed, and allowing them to optimize and use it according to load balancing, maximization of self-consumption and demand response requirements.

CHAIN2 is conveyed through Open Meters, the second generation meters that have been adopted by all DSOs in Italy and are being installed in homes, companies and other buildings throughout the country.

To date, more than 20 million Open Meters are installed. With the Open Meters you can realize the CHAIN2 services in different application areas to enable the collaboration of the various players in the energy market including the producers of renewables, ESCOs, utilities, energy retailers and smart appliances.

Within this framework, ARERA (the Italian Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment), after having strongly promoted the CHAIN2 standard, continued with the introduction of resolution 541/2020 aimed at the electric mobility market.

Specifically, this is a pilot test aimed at exploiting the potential offered by the electronic meters installed at customers connected at low voltage, in order to offer greater availability of power during the night and other off-peak time slots, at the same cost for the charging of electric vehicles. In the path traced by ARERA, the experimentation will also involve the second generation meters and therefore all the services admissible with CHAIN2.

Since 2020, with the formalization of the complete CHAIN2FULL 2.0 specification, several significant successful projects have been launched using the CHAIN2 technology that, as MAC, we have been able to develop with our customers and stakeholders.

Among the most interesting were applications that allow energy-intensive products, such as smart appliances or electric vehicle charging stations, the possibility of communicating directly with the Open Meter in order to implement smart charging algorithms including avoiding exceeding thresholds, the time-shifting of consumption and, last but not least, maximizing the self-consumption of renewable energy.

Find out more on www.chain2gate.it, www.mac-italia.com, and www.metersandmore.com.

KG Technologies, Inc. specialises in the development and manufacturing of high-powered, high-quality latching relays. Offering a line of latching relays spanning from 5A to 200A for both single-phase and poly-phase switching purposes. Designed, built, and tested to meet the industry’s highest performance standards in the energy management market.

Current transformers for power and metering

Another well-established product for the energy management market are KG’s Current Transformers (CTs) specifically designed for energy devices. They measure current, power and energy, which requires high or medium accuracy and low phase error.

The products are characterised by high linearity throughout the entire dynamic current range with very low current loss. This product line offers both a Single Core Version, that features best in class accuracy and performance, and a lower cost Dual-Core Version that supports lower accuracy and cost requirements. KG recently announced the Hall Effect Transducer for this product line, and this provides AC and DC functions.

KG Technologies, Inc., in the market

KG Technologies, Inc., in the market KG Technologies, Inc., a Hongfa Group Company, is a company designed and organised to provide flexible solutions from the design process through final product delivery. At the start of each project, we work with our customers to understand their specific product needs and develop the most cost-effective and high-performance assemblies. We design our products to improve form, fit, as well as optimise performance.

We have one of the lowest failure rates in the industry. For the customer, this translates into significant savings and minimises the number of costly field service trips.

Not only does KG serve the utility management market; they also offer HVDC Contactors, Film Capacitors, Smart Circuit Breakers for Electric Vehicles and Electric Vehicle Charging, Building Energy Management, and Renewable Energy and Energy Storage.

Headquartered in the USA, KG is a global company with a team of experienced sales representatives and engineers committed to customer service, which is vital to the quality and integrity of their products. KG Technologies’ experts, from engineers to the logistics team, work to provide flexible solutions from the design process through final product delivery.

From our world headquarters in Rohnert Park, California to our satellite offices around the globe, we focus on meeting the needs of our customers K153A Latching Relay wherever they may be located.

About the author

Julie Carlson, Marketing Communications for KG Technologies, Inc., has been with KG for almost two years. Julie’s marketing communications experience spans over the past 30 years working in the telecommunications and electrical connector industry.
For more information, visit: www.kgtechnologies.net

Especially, from 2020, COVID-19 brought huge challenges to gas companies; and IoT smart gas-based contactless meter reading, remote monitoring, electronic billing and online payment came under intensive attention from many of the companies.

While limited by the iterative development and availability of network infrastructure, choosing the most appropriate communication technology for the smart gas meter has been the first headache in operation and management decision-making.

GPRS is the most mature application with over 10 million installations since 2013. However, this technology is facing a retirement risk alongside the recent fast development of 5G and NB-IoT.

NB-IoT smart gas meters have been widely deployed in China recently, with more than 10 million applications in 3 years.

This is thanks to strong support from the government for the upgrade of the network. For countries where NB-IoT has not been widely distributed yet, however, Sigfox could be a choice if Sigfox network operators are in place.

Some may not be happy with the dependence on network operators and with robust IT and network server capabilities, the private band LoRaWAN network can be selected with the flexibility to build an own network and server system for smart meters and other applications, like smart fire protection, smart safety supervision, smart water, smart agriculture, smart municipal administration, etc.

For those who have to compromise on smart functions due to budgetary considerations, the NFC prepayment solution is available to achieve contactless services, while still reserving the possibility of upgrading to IoT smart meters in the future.

As an experienced smart gas meter manufacturer with over 20 years of engagement in the industry, Goldcard Smart Group has seen all the pain points that come with the demands of the day.

Based on its strong R&D know-how, rich industrial understanding and accumulated experience, the INFINITY series of modular smart gas meters was developed to address all the above-mentioned challenges. At the same time, the meters bring in cutting-edge but mature smart functions, thus supporting high-efficiency management and operation to realise high-value returns, high safety levels and high satisfaction, and low gas loss.

INFINITY is a series of smart gas meters designed following EU standards and based on large-scale smart meter application experiences in Asia-Pacific countries.

It supports multi-type communication technologies, GPRS, NB-IoT, LoRaWAN, Sigfox, etc., and with the communication modules replaceable onsite without changing the basic meter or upgrading the firmware during the meter lifetime.

The modular design is a good choice for countries where the IoT network infrastructure development is not yet settled, because it also improves meter adaptability to future communication technologies. The communication module can be easily upgraded on-site, without changing the meter. This guarantees ROI for meter assets and assists in global utility digital transformation.

The INFINITY series JGDxS-M smart meters support different flow rates: G1.6/2.5/4/6/10/16/25, applicable for measurement in domestic or industrial and commercial settings.

It incorporates a mechanical diaphragm gas volume-metering device with an electronic smart controller to realise accurate metering and data processing, as well as valve control with the system.

Key features of the INFINITY series include:

• Supports multi-type communication protocols, module hot-plug on-site without firmware upgrade.

• All communications are encrypted, ensuring data security, integrity and traceability.

• Powerful data computing capability. Large memory keeps storage of the latest year’s gas consumption data and 200 event logs.

• Low power consumption design – battery pack supports 10 years under normal operation.

• Built-in high accuracy temperature sensor for temperature compensation.

• Measurement resolution complying with EN1359, supporting real-time monitoring of extremely low flows and reverse flows.

• Meter and system event logs, alarms and valve control mechanisms to realise comprehensive security and business management.

• It can be integrated with the gas company MDM system, billing system, online payment system, etc. through IoT data platform, allowing digital gas applications, including prepayment, post-payment, tiered pricing, remote pricing, real-time billing, electronic billing, remote payment, etc. Following the standard version of the INFINITY IoT gas meters, we have developed the INFINITY NFC+ version for near-field communication applications. This version complies with the STS international prepaid standard, adopts the latest NFC smart chip to realise two-way communication and includes an internal valve to achieve prepayment and safe gas supply and service use. INFINITY NFC+ follows the worldwide unique STS prepayment standard, which is open and secure, reducing the gas companies’ reliance on meter providers, while greatly facilitating the third-party sales network expansion.
business management.

• It can be integrated with the gas company MDM system, billing system, online payment system, etc. through IoT data platform, allowing digital gas applications, including prepayment, post-payment, tiered pricing, remote pricing, real-time billing, electronic billing, remote payment, etc.

Following the standard version of the INFINITY IoT gas meters, we have developed the INFINITY NFC+ version for near-field communication applications.

This version complies with the STS international prepaid standard, adopts the latest NFC smart chip to realise two-way communication and includes an internal valve to achieve prepayment and safe gas supply and service use.

INFINITY NFC+ follows the worldwide unique STS prepayment standard, which is open and secure, reducing the gas companies’ reliance on meter providers, while greatly facilitating the third-party sales network expansion.

Additionally, it reserves the INFINITY IoT communication module interface, through which the NFC gas meter can be upgraded to an IoT smart meter in the future by simply plugging in a variety of IoT communication modules on demand.

This way, a cost-effective transformation of more intelligent functions such as remote monitoring, remote valve controlling and
post-payment billing services can be realised. Under the INFINITY concept, there is also the Lite series retrofit IoT module.

This can upgrade the onsite mechanical meters to communicating meters to realise remote meter reading and reduce meter reading cost and management pressure. The modular metering sampling port design and the modular communication module can
support IoT upgrading of mechanical gas meters from different manufacturers, and with different selectable communication technologies, such as LoRa/LoRaWAN, Sigfox, NB-IoT, and others to be developed on demand.

Goldcard will keep innovating, bringing infinite possibilities to a better life.

About the company

Goldcard Smart Group Co., Ltd. is one of the leading smart utility solution providers, with IoT products and services covering gas, water, smart home, etc. After over 24 years development, Goldcard has now achieved annual yield of over 11 million IoT devices.

For more information, visit http://www.china-goldcard.com/en.php

If the electricity meter uses a current transformer (CT) current sensor, the placement of a magnet could reduce the current reading and thus reduce the sensed active power. Reduced active power leads to a reduction in sensed active energy, leading to a discrepancy between what the utility charges the consumer and what they actually consumed.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

Read the mobile-friendly digital magazine or subscribe to receive a print copy

It is possible to deal with the magnetic susceptibility of CTs by shielding them; however, there are limits to the maximum protection that shielding can provide. Shielding can reduce the susceptibility of the CTs to magnetic tampering, but it cannot make the CT completely magnetically immune.

Magnetic tampering can also affect transformers in power supplies, making it difficult to power the meter from the main AC/DC and requiring meter operation on a backup battery or previously charged supercapacitor.

Using iron-powder-core transformers instead of the typical ferritecore transformers decreases the susceptibility of power-supply transformers to magnetic tampering. However, they are not completely magnetically immune.

Transformerless capacitive-drop power supplies can serve as a magnetically immune alternative to transformer-based AC/DC power supplies, but they have limited current drive, and are not feasible for meters with power-hungry communication modules.

Depending on the requirements, it may not be possible to design an electricity meter that is completely magnetically immune. Given their susceptibility to magnetic tampering, electricity meters often include magnetic sensors designed to detect external magnetic fields and take appropriate action, such as disconnecting services to the electricity meter or applying a penalty fee for tampering.

One method uses two or three out-of-plane one-dimensional (1D) Hall-effect switches to detect strong magnetic fields in three directions. Out-of-plane sensors detect the magnetic field perpendicular to the die. But in order to detect the magnetic field in three directions and ensure the detection of magnet placements at different orientations with respect to the electricity meter case, you would need two through-hole sensors and one surface-mount sensor, as shown in Figure 1, where three 1D Hall-effect sensors detect three magnet-to-case orientations.

When using Hall-effect switches for magnetic tamper detection, each Hall-effect switch must have the appropriate operating point of the sensor (BOP), which is the threshold magnetic flux density that would cause the switch to change its output, indicating magnetic tampering. The necessary BOP depends on the distance from the Hall-effect sensor to the magnet (determined by the dimensions of the electricity meter case) and the specifications of the magnets being detected. If BOP is too large (low sensitivity), the Hall-effect switch cannot detect the presence of the magnet. On the other hand, if BOP is too small (high sensitivity), nearby interference may cause false positives and erroneous penalty charges. Shielding may also be added around the Hall-effect sensors to further reduce their sensitivity to help prevent false positives.

Although electricity meters primarily run off AC mains, they will need to run off a backup power supply when there is a power outage or if the meter has been tampered with such that the main AC/DC is not functional. Selecting low-power magnetic sensing devices can help enable magnetic tamper detection while maximizing the backup power supply’s lifetime. The ability to run at low voltages enables magnetic tamper detection over a longer time period as the backup power supply voltage drops over time and use.

Instead of using three 1D Hall-effect sensors, an alternative approach to magnetic tamper detection is to use one 3D linear Hall-effect sensor, which has three mutually orthogonal Hall elements in a single package. In addition to an out-of-plane sensor, 3D Hall-effect sensors also have two in-plane sensors integrated, where the in-plane sensors detect the magnetic field parallel to their die.

Consequently, 3D linear Hall-effect sensors can detect any magnet-to-case orientation with one surface-mount integrated circuit (IC), as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 3 is a block diagram of the TMAG5273, a 3D linear Hall-effect sensor ideal for electricity meters from Texas Instruments. For this device, the Z sensor is the out-of-plane sensor and the X and Y sensors are the in-plane sensors.

This Hall-effect sensor has a precision analog signal chain, along with an integrated analogtodigital converter, to digitise the measured analog magnetic field values for each axis.

Result registers store the measured magnetic field values. A communication interface (I2C) communicates with a microcontroller so that it can retrieve the sensed magnetic field values.

Using 3D linear Hall-effect sensors offers these benefits:

• Flexibility for defining a magnetic tampering threshold. Since 3D linear Hall-effect sensors provide information about the actual sensed magnetic flux density value, it is possible to select the magnetic tampering threshold of each axis to anything within the magnetic sensing range of the 3D linear Hall-effect sensor.

This facilitates customization of the magnetic tampering threshold based on the magnets to detect and the dimensions of the meter case. This type of flexibility is not possible for Hall-effect switches with fixed BOP specifications. In addition, many 3D linear Hall-effect sensor devices can sense large magnetic flux densities, which enables designers to set a large magnetic switching point (if necessary) for preventing false positives.

• Ease of assembly. Hall-effect sensors are not as fragile as reed switches, the latter of which may break during assembly.

• Requires only one surface-mount IC. Sensing in 3D dimensions requires only one IC for 3D linear Hall-effect sensors instead of the three ICs needed for 1D Hall-effect sensors. 3D linear Hall-effect sensors can therefore enable a more compact printed circuit board (PCB) layout. In addition, having a surface mount-only implementation can reduce PCB manufacturing costs compared to a through-hole device.

• Ability to change between multiple device power modes. 3D linear Hall-effect sensors can support switching between multiple power modes, including an active mode for taking measurements, a sleep mode for minimizing current consumption and a duty-cycle mode that automatically switches between the two modes.

• GPIO pin interrupts when detecting magnetic tampering. Some 3D Hall-effect sensor such as the TMAG5273 have the ability to set an interrupt pin when the sensed magnetic flux density of any axis goes beyond its user-defined magnetic switching threshold.

Figure 4 shows an example of this functionality, where the interrupt pin is set when the absolute value of the X-channel’s magnetic field goes above a user-defined “X Ch Threshold.”

The comparison uses the absolute value of the field to detect both the South and North poles of the magnet, which is necessary because both sides of the magnet could affect the meter. Since the Hall-effect sensor’s interrupt pin can wake up the microcontroller when it is in low-power mode, and since the microcontroller doesn’t have to read the Hall-effect sensor to determine when the magnetic threshold has been surpassed, it can go to low-power mode when running off a backup power supply until woken up by the Hall-effect sensor’s interrupt pin. Used simultaneously, the general-purpose input/output (GPIO) pin interrupt feature and duty-cycle power mode can reduce system current consumption and extend the lifetime of the backup power supply.

Once the Hall-effect sensor’s GPIO pin wakes up the microcontroller, it can then retrieve the value of the sensed magnetic field reading that caused the interrupt.

• Detection of AC magnets. AC magnets don’t just affect current They can also affect shunt and Rogowski coil current sensors. A 3D linear Halleffect sensor can detect AC magnets, but such detection requires a fast enough sample rate and a small-enough sleep time to properly capture samples along a cycle of the AC magnet waveform. Since linear Hall-effect sensors provide information about actual sensed magnetic flux densities, they are more suited to detect AC magnets than low-sample-rate Hall-effect switches.

Conclusion

To reduce the impact of energy theft on utilities, electricity meters must be able to detect magnetic tampering. 3D linear Halleffect sensors such as the TMAG5273 enable a flexible, compact and low-power solution for magnetic tamper detection.

In order to further improve the measurement performance of the ultrasonic intelligent water meter, Audiowell has launched a new generation of water meter flow sensors – the US0078 from the perception layer.

Compared with similar competitive products on the market, this product has a more stable electrical performance and stronger pressure resistance. At the same time, it has the characteristics of high sensitivity, fast reaching the peak value and easier signal processing, which helps to improve the measurement accuracy of ultrasonic water meters, and provides a more competitive hardware basis for the iterative upgrade of the ultrasonic intelligent water meter.

The Audiowell water flow sensor has high performance, which is mainly reflected in:

• High sensitivity, fast reaching the peak value and easier signal processing

Audiowell US0078 only needs 8 waves to reach the peak value and complete the vibration starting. Compared with other products with 12 waves to reach the peak value, the time of echo signal is shorter and the sensitivity is higher.

From the waveform, the difference between the peaks of the echo received by Audiowell US0078 is obvious, and the difference between adjacent signal waves is greater than with similar sensors. It is easy to identify the first, second, third or more recovered signal waves.

Reducing the difficulty of signal processing at the perception level is conducive to simplifying the water meter measurement algorithm and laying the core hardware foundation for water meter R & D and manufacturing enterprises to reduce cost and increase efficiency.

• The electrical performance is highly stable at high and low temperature with zero flow drift

Under the condition of zero flow, Audiowell US0078 can receive 432mV in a low-temperature environment of 10oC. In the high-temperature environment of 60oC, the receiving amplitude is 369mV, and the amplitude change ratio is 14.64%.

The amplitude change ratio of the other two similar competing products is 19.32% and 24.66% respectively, and the amplitude change ratio is significantly lower than the similar competing products in the market, indicating that its electrical performance is highly stable at high and low temperature zero flow drift value, and higher than the industry level.

• The maximum withstand water pressure can reach 4.8MPa with strong reliability

The static hydrostatic test was conducted on the flow sensor US0078 of Audiowell water meter. The test condition was to maintain the water pressure of 4.8MPa for 15min.

Compared with various test parameters before and after the test, it was found that the product performance remained stable and met the specification requirements.

In addition, Audiowell US0078 can work continuously under the environment of 2.5MPa for a long time to meet the needs of long building water use time, high peak water pressure and high-pressure requirements.

Small size, complied with the international drinking water standards

The resonant frequency of the product is 2110±30KHz, which can meet the requirements of wide volume ratio water meter. There are other advantages which are a large working temperature range, temperature resistance up to 90oC, effective resistance to high and low-temperature environments, suitable for regions with different latitudes.

At the same time, the production materials of the products have passed the drinking water standards of various countries, such as WRAS, ACS, KTW,etc. In addition, the product must be tested one by one before leaving the factory to ensure that all performance parameters are within the specified range and have good consistency.

Therefore, the product can be used in pairs without a pairing test before assembly, which can effectively simplify the assembly process of intelligent water meters and improve the operation efficiency of water meter manufacturers.
The installation of the Audiowell US0078 diameter is 10mm, the accuracy error is ± 0.2mm, the volume is small and the processing accuracy is high, which can effectively reduce installation error.

Other products of Audiowell water meter flow sensor

About the company

Established in 1999, Audiowell Electronics (Guangdong) Co., Ltd. (NEEQ: 832491) is a high-tech enterprise with “research, design, production and sales of smart sensors, actuators and corresponding modules” as its main business. It is a leading supplier of sensor components and solutions in the segmented industry.

For more information, visit Audiowell’s website

The GB household supply market has been on a journey of customer engagement since privatisation.

Market intervention and increasing rates of competition have pushed consumers to engage in supplier switching in the last 20 years. However, while we have seen an almost doubling of the electricity switching rate (to 20% annually) over the last decade, we continue to talk about “weak consumer response”.

The first major market intervention was Ofgem’s Energy Supply Probe, which found that competition was not working in customers’ best interests, partly driven by a lack of engagement and “poor decision making by consumers”.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

Read the mobile-friendly digital magazine or subscribe to receive a print copy

The Energy Supply Probe remedies first saw the light of day in 2009 and aimed to improve the conduct of sales and marketing activities and the information provided to consumers.

They were tabled at a time when the annual switching rate was similar to today’s at about 20%, but there were concerns as to the barriers in making “effective choices” – a feature still relevant in today’s market. Just four years later, and with switching rates on the decline, further measures were introduced through the Retail Market Review. This time, amongst other measures, a maximum limit was enforced on the number of tariffs that suppliers could offer to limit customer confusion and price differentiation.

New measures

Over the following years, the conversation around engagement became more nuanced, as the baton was picked up by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). In its Energy Market Investigation 2014-2016, the CMA highlighted disengagement in the retail markets.

It attached “particular significance to the fact that [gains from switching] are available at such levels to customers for domestic gas and electricity”, and yet those savings went unexploited. The issue was carried forward by the then Business Secretary Greg Clark, introducing the Domestic Gas and Electricity Tariff Cap in 2018.

Today, measures of engagement and switching are among the indicators used by the regulator to determine whether the cap should be removed.

Following the introduction of the new measures and a concurrent step back from doorstep sales by all the then Big Six, switching rates dropped to around 13% in 2014.

This trend was then reversed and switching hit historic highs in 2019 of 22% in electricity (see Figure 1), following a steady upward trajectory with some seasonal variation.

Making the switch

So how has switching fared in the past year?

Unsurprising in the COVID-19 pandemic, the monthly switching figures trended downwards, reflecting several factors, including a step back from face-to-face sales during lockdown periods and the mixed impact of the default tariff cap.

The default tariff cap has seen electricity switching peak when the cap has been adjusted in price (April and October).

According to Ofgem’s Consumer Survey 2020, 30% of those engaged in the market were prompted to do so by receiving a price increase notification from their supplier.

But the cap has had other unintended consequences in the switching market. During the winter period of 2020/21, switching rates were lower than usual. The default tariff cap had fallen by £84 to £1,042, and the level of savings made by switching from a cap level tariff to the cheapest tariff in the market had halved to just over £200 from a peak of more than £400. Despite the fall in the cap, the average price of the cheapest direct debit tariff from each supplier across the market had been rising.

These trends illustrate the counter-intuitive nature of the cap due to the lags in its wholesale price setting. The 1 October 2020 cap was based on wholesale prices from February to July 2020, when they were at the trough of their COVID-19 slump.

Subsequently, they rebounded, taking marketled fixed tariffs with them. Political messages around the cap continue to be led by its perceived money-saving capabilities, despite capped prices remaining some way above the market and potentially disincentivising at least some of those teetering on the edge of engagement from bothering.

Prices on the rise

On 6 August 2021, Ofgem revised the price cap for October 2021, increasing the level by £139 to £1,277 and reflecting the sharp rise in wholesale gas and electricity markets due largely to the economic rebound in response to an easing of lockdown conditions.
The jump in wholesale prices and the expected rise in the price will have a clear and material impact on domestic bills. It would be expected that due to this the coming winter may lead to a resurgence of engagement by customers as they look to switch suppliers in search of lower-cost alternatives.

However, despite these expectations, the record highs in wholesale prices have resulted in the removal of many tariffs from the market, with some suppliers stopping customer onboarding completely. This seems certain to reduce the switching rates in the period up to October, a time when switches are historically high.

Customers on the move

The latest electricity switching figures from Energy UK showed under 3 million customers switched electricity suppliers in the first half of 2021, a 1% increase on the same period of 2020 and a 0.02% fall in 2019. June saw a 2.6% fall in switching compared to June 2020, with 433,868 switches made during the month (Figure 1). As a result, the annualised domestic electricity switching rate has fallen below 20% (19.6%), similar to that recorded in 2018.

As to where these customers are moving to, half of the domestic electricity switches were between large suppliers (Figure 2), and 30% were customers switching from large to small and medium suppliers (SaMS) (118,042).

Due to high wholesale prices and suppliers exiting the market, the tariffs available to customers have been significantly reduced.
However, the switching figures do not currently show this impact, with a lag in contract offer and starting the industry process.

Mix it up

Looking across the supplier groups, some suppliers have felt the impact of consumers switching away more than the others, for SaMS churn rose alongside the increase in new competitors until mid-2017 when it began to decline. Churn for this group is now around 30% but has fallen from a peak of almost 33% at the start of 2020. Large suppliers have also seen increases in the churn rate, up from 12.5% in 2015 to around 18% recently.

It is expected that there will be a higher level of customers switching away from SaMS, as they do not have a legacy customer base. Alongside this, the very nature of the customers signed to smaller suppliers – they have had to make an active switch at least once – demonstrates some market engagement that is likely to be repeated.

The variation of customer churn across the market is due to the significant number of newer suppliers growing their customer base relying on one-year fixed-rate tariffs.

As a result, their churn will be limited until the customers reach their renewal period.

However, churn is not limited to these suppliers, with churn varying between customer groups and demographics as they all have varying tendencies to engage with the market. For example: End of a fixed-term tariff, increase in price, house move, looking for a different choice of offering, recommendation from a friend or poor customer service experience.

Round and round Engagement will continue to be a big focus going forward, taking a front and center role in Ofgem’s Retail Market Strategy for the 2020s.

Here, the regulator accepts not everyone will engage and plans for it through measures like opt-in and opt-out switching, which have been trialled during the last year.

However, high customer churn creates a challenge for all suppliers, not just SaMS, looking to maintain and build a customer portfolio. Trying to mitigate churn in an environment where suppliers are being hit from all sides is undoubtedly difficult, but managing these risks will be increasingly important to maintain and grow a business, as the cost of customer acquisition can be high.

About the author

Anna Moss is Head of Consumer Markets at Cornwall Insight. Moss manages and develops the research in the supply sector, supporting the analytical team in their day-to-day activities. She works with a range of market participants across the domestic and non-domestic sectors, including energy suppliers, providing support in analysing key developments in the supply market.

What are their predictions for 2022?

Which technologies will see widespread adoption?

What new trends will disrupt the energy market and what changes are likely to continue?

Pritil Gunjan, Associate Director, Guidehouse

In 2022, decarbonisation will be on everyone’s priority list – corporates, institutions and the industrial clusters. The sentiment around meeting emission targets and climate change will continue to drive net-zero ambitions and collaborations across energy stakeholders.

Digitisation will play a critical role to ensure grid resilience and in building smarter and cleaner energy ecosystems where both distributed energy resources (DERs) and centralised generation technology will operate in harmony.

Energy efficiency measures and initiatives will be increasingly important in optimising demand and supply of clean energy applications and reducing energy intensity across customer groups.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

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Renewable energy technologies will have an accelerating run; and we will also see alternate/low carbon fuels such as hydrogen and renewable natural gas becoming an integral part of decarbonisation efforts. Electric vehicles and energy storage will become increasingly accessible as they evolve across the technology learning curves.

Virtual power plants will become a critical solution to integrate and aggregate DERs on the grid. Key technologies to watch out for: hybrid solar/wind+storage systems, fleet electrification, hydrogen generators and virtual power plants!

Virtualisation and application of more sophisticated digital enablers across the upstream energy value chain, such as analytics, robotics, digital twins, etc., will disrupt the sector. Sector coupling and integration across power-transportation industrial will need more sophisticated business models and application of best practices. Supply chain disruptions will create a need for more local sourcing strategies.

In 2022, fossil plant retirements will continue. The same goes for the legislative push to decarbonisation and ESG policies, grid modernisations and resiliency efforts; and the grid integration and solution flexibility between DERs/renewable energy generation and distribution systems will continue.

Ben Gardner, President of research firm Northeast Group

In 2022 we will see both continued progress on the future path of our energy and infrastructure systems and also some ‘back to the future’ elements as well. Continued progress will be seen in the accelerating growth of renewable generation, smart infrastructure investment to accommodate these renewables, and many positive steps towards a low carbon future.

The ‘back to future’ elements can be seen in the potential re-emergence of stimulus funds devoted to smart grid infrastructure and flexibility investments, especially in the US market.

The proposed bipartisan infrastructure bill in the US will support robust investment in the nation’s power grid with some $73 billion in funds. Part of the bill includes rebooting the Smart Grid Investment Grant programme that was first launched in the wake of the financial crisis more than a decade ago.

The current version would see $3 billion in grants plus another $3 billion in matching ratepayer funds to invest in smart grid infrastructure and other measures to enhance grid flexibility. Other smart infrastructure components of the infrastructure bill include $7.5 billion for EV charging infrastructure and some $500 million in funding for intelligent transportation systems.

These are all positives for the US as it seeks to boost investment in smart infrastructure to improve the efficiency and flexibility of its energy and transportation systems. Outside of the US, we see similar continued investment in smart infrastructure, renewables and low carbon technologies. But the pace of this investment needs to accelerate to meet ambitious low carbon goals while ensuring grid reliability.

At the same time, we will also see several headwinds throughout 2022. Unfortunately, supply chain pressures will continue to be a drag on the smart infrastructure sector. Chip and component shortages will lead to some delays and rising prices.

Elsewhere, in some of the niche segments Northeast Group covers, 2022 will see continued investment. Many will be surprised to learn that the smart street lighting market has nearly 20 million endpoints that are part of projects either currently underway or in the advanced planning stages. It is the foundational layer of the smart cities market and will continue to see strong investment in 2022 and beyond.

Roberto Castiglioni, Co-Founder & CEO, Ikigai Group

I think hydrogen and carbon capture will leap ahead in 2022. In addition, given what is happening with petrol in the UK, I won’t be surprised if EV sales enjoy a massive hike and all the infrastructure that comes with EV deployment. I also think storage will continue with its steady rollout across Europe.

More EVs will penetrate the market so infrastructure for EV charging will be increasing across Europe. I don’t think hydrogen will be at its tipping point in 2022, as there’s still a lot to be done on the upstream, storage and downstream infrastructure. Other forms of fuel are becoming more common, with biomethane and CNG being adopted for medium-sized trucks.

Biomethane is a growing trend that we’re witnessing in transport with investment across the value chain with consolidation of players. Digitisation of the industry is still in its infancy; so many digital applications are not yet being adopted so we hope to see more digital solutions being introduced across the industry.

Electrification of transport will continue to be one of the main drivers of the energy transition and it will have a massive impact on the grids around Europe. We also see an increase in decarbonisation of the industry with more sectors always looking for sustainable solutions to achieve their net-zero objectives.

Mark Copley, CEO European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET)

In 2022, I hope we will see good progress in further decarbonising our economy following a successful COP26, with the Fit for 55 package moving through the legislative process. I’m particularly keen to see proposals to extend the ETS to other sectors, such as transport, taking shape – because I see carbon pricing as central to a market based approach to decarbonisation. I worry, however, that concerns about the high energy prices will see energy further politicised, with investor confidence and market functioning negatively affected.

EFET is technologically neutral – so our focus is on creating the markets that allow efficient investments to come forward. However, personally, I would hope the demand side of the market develops further. I hope that the rises in prices during 2021 promote a wave of innovation – particularly in technologies which aggregate demand or small-scale generation and help customers shift consumption. I also hope that it is not regulatory or political decision making that causes the disruption.

We will continue to see a lot of volatility in electricity markets, with the weather being a big determinant of the price. I think we will see prices in auctions for renewable subsidies falling further. Energy prices will remain a political hot potato.

Håkan Ludvigson, CEO of customer engagement solutions firm Eliq

In 2022, the electrification of everything will continue apace and, like Tesla and IKEA in 2021, we will see more companies such as these with strong brands and deep customer relationships start offering energy to customers, causing significant disruption across the value chain.

Driven by this market shift, and rising public support for fighting climate change, 2022 will see energy providers move the focus of their innovation efforts in new products and services from early adopters to their broader customer base, to help consumers faster decarbonise their energy usage and speed up the energy transition.

Incumbent energy providers will continue to look to move away from kWh plus margin into energy-related services, in a drive to increase in non-commodity revenues and margin.

As energy providers are moving to establish themselves as broader energy solutions providers, we will see a battle for the customer play out between traditional energy providers, technology companies and retailers, determining how customers will buy technology and services for heating, microgeneration, e-mobility and flexibility – and to whom they will turn. Much of this battle will play out on customer’s phones and 2022 will continue to see an ecosystem to support developers of energy applications take shape alongside end-to-end solutions.

Jonathan Robinson, Global Director of Frost & Sullivan’s Energy & Environment Insights team

I think the COVID-19 rebound in demand will continue to influence the market, so raw material and supply chain issues are likely to persist into 2022. This will mean that whilst demand for renewables continues to be strong, the number of projects will be slightly lower than would have been previously forecast.

Decarbonisation will continue to be a big theme, with COP26 giving this a further boost. I think there will be a focus on emissions throughout the supply chain – so corporates will be looking for solutions that can reduce emissions across their production, not just the end of pipeline. Higher energy costs will further boost demand for decentralised assets, and also solutions that can maximise energy efficiency; for example, reducing the volume of fossil fuels required for industrial processes.

I also think that there will be a push on methane emissions, which have a shorter half-life in the atmosphere, meaning a reduction there can really deliver an impact on 2030 goals. I also expect the flurry of hydrogen-related announcements to continue.
In terms of the adaptation of technologies, I think heat pumps could gain some momentum in 2022 – the need to decarbonise heat is gaining more prominence and the technology continues to improve. At the same time, I think the rate of EV adoption is likely to accelerate faster than some expect and this could finally mean that vehicle to grid opportunities gain serious traction.

Next year will show that there is no way back for coal, and the number of planned projects will continue to decline, while some of those under construction will never come online.

However, the rate of closures will probably slow down, as many of the older plants have gone now, and utilities will sweat the assets where they can. Natural gas will remain under pressure because of renewables, but I would also hope there is a more mature debate about the practical role renewables can play in ensuring grid stability.

Palle Haderslev, Principal Consultant, DeviceLab ApS

What is so cool about the Payload Extractor software?

The Payload Extractor server software is a solution for system integrators who find it complex, frustrating, time-consuming, and expensive to build their own wM-Bus and OMS parser.

wM-bus and OMS are the dominant standards for meter communication, adopted by all European meter manufacturers. This allows system integrators to integrate meters from a wide range of manufactures into their AMR system. However, the standards are quite comprehensive, complicated and technical.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

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The Payload Extractor server software has an integrated secure Keystore for your device keys. It decrypts and decodes your raw telegrams from any wM-bus or OMS compliant meter and sensor. Not only do you get the counter value, the Payload Extractor software also decodes any additional information in the raw telegram. Specifically, device error flags are in demand by system integrators.

Communication to your host system via HTTP requests makes integration a simple task for your system engineer. Our fast update cycle keeps the Payload Extractor device library updated when new meters are released.

Even though the meter manufacturers offer their own cloud platform solution, including payload extraction, they only support their meters. DeviceLab specialises in payload extraction software. We don’t sell devices and gateways; we like to collaborate with all hardware manufacturers instead.

Main area of impact?

The Payload Extractor will significantly shorten the time-to-market for your multi brand meter AMR system. Decrypting and decoding is instantly available for the full range of devices after installation and integration. Redundant gateways from different manufacturers can be eliminated. You need only one common AMR infrastructure to collect data from all your devices, never mind the brand. This may lower your installation cost.

With the Payload Extractor software from DeviceLab you can use any meter agnostic gateway on the market. Just forward the raw meter telegram transparently from any meter and sensor to your server with the Payload Extractor installed. When the telegram has been run through the Payload Extractor, all data contained in the telegram has been decoded, and is stored in your main database, ready to use for your frontend apps, whether it is for energy management, billing, dashboards etc.

Words of wisdom for other start-ups?

Start-up advisors claim that founders should bet it all on their start-up in order to prove they are committed. This may work for some but at DeviceLab we prefer to “grow” our software in a stable and robust environment, and not have sleepless nights in fear of running out of funding. I suppose “keep calm – and carry on” works better for us when building trustworthy and reliable software.

Learn more at https://devicelab.dk/

Diego Piazza, CEO and Co-founder, DRB

What is cool about DRB?

DRB is a spinoff of the Politecnico di Milano. We deliver technologies for drones’ automation. We deliver integration of our patented localization device and our proprietary AI SW platform. With DRB, you always know where your drone is, and why it is there.

In particular, the localization algorithm takes care of the safety mission management, setting safe flight paths and no-fly zones. The AI SW is verticalized for the mission, and it takes care of target recognition and tracking when missions require very high automation.

Main area of impact?

Our solution is very general purpose since it can be applied to many drones’ applications as well as other moving objects like AGVs. As start-up, DRB is focusing on specific niches such as industrial inspections and logistics. In particular, we are able to simplify and speed up inspections for wind towers and powerlines.

For the HV powerlines, we are now testing a system for NDT inspections of insulators.

We integrate a sort of robotic arm on a custom drone that is able to carry a powerful instrument that measures the E-field of HV insulators to spot damage that is not visible with RGB or multispectral cameras. We are also involved with Leonardo S.p.A. in a project proposed by ENAC (the Italian Aeronautical Regulator) for defining requirements in terms of technology and safety for new services of urban delivery and smart cities.

Words of wisdom for other start-ups?

There are plenty of resources on the internet on how to build successful start-ups. Read, make it yours and elaborate. Also, in your company’s early-stage, your primary goal is to reduce the uncertainty level. You make it by networking: try to involve prospects in your development; use what you have first, your team knowledge, your own money; if you have lemons, make lemonade…and do it cheap. Try and fail fast.

Learn more at www.drb.aero/

Razvan Sima, General Manager, RF Meters

What is cool about RF Meters?

RF Meters helps utilities become more efficient by providing innovative solutions for smart metering. The unique feature of RF Meters is that it is a tech provider, so the smart metering solution can be applied to any digital meter from any manufacturer from any industry.

The wireless protocol developed by RF Meters is based on the IEEE 802.15.4g open standard, promoted by Wi-SUN Alliance. It provides a configurable number of readings from meters, from 1-minute readings to 15-minute readings.

Software upgrades over-the-air are also fulfilled.

It covers up to 4 square km through a MESH type network. The solution is independent of the grid status and doesn’t involve any network modernization costs.

Main area of impact?

Utilities are struggling to replace drive-by meter readings with smart metering. Also, the liberalization of the energy market brings new metering issues because any energy provider can deliver electric or gas energy. The inability to get real-time consumption data can have implications if unexpected peaks in energy demand occur.

RF Meters aims to provide a customizable solution for all types of smart metering. It can also be applied as a retrofit to existing digital meters or sub-meters for building owners.

Words of wisdom for other start-ups?

The world economy is experiencing a renaissance after the pandemic.

The opportunity represents a substantive mission for all of us to secure a more sustainable energy future. It is a very exciting time to work on energy innovations that positively impacts climate and communities.

Learn more at www.rf-meters.com

Benedikt Pilscheur, Co-founder & CEO, Soraytec Scandinavia

What is cool about Soraytec?

Soraytec disrupts the way medium voltage distribution networks are operated by providing real-time metering and waveform streaming. This allows DSOs to transition to a decentralized, fully automated, self-healing and optimized network.

Soraytec’s solution is a connected IoT system, which provides data for all relevant network parameters with revenue grade accuracy in real-time. The combination of a self-powered high-frequency sensor and a data gateway with edge computing capabilities allows for a decentralized, resilient smart grid. The transition from an analogue-based system to a digitized one that measures on the primary side of the transformers instead of the secondary side provides the solution for digitalization for the DSOs.

The Soraytec meter is a plug and play system that can be installed anywhere in the network and is perfectly suited for retrofitting existing transformers with smart features.

Main area of impact?

We provide a solution that accurately assesses the state of the network and enables operators to act in time to keep up with the changes brought on by the ongoing energy transition. The features of our meter give DSOs a novel way to optimize network capacity without the need to pull new wires or install additional assets. Furthermore, the information provided by our meters ensures identification of potential areas of failure, as well as characterize, localize and isolate the failure faster than current approaches – hence creating cost savings.

Words of wisdom for other start-ups?

Resilience, agility and transition are key topics for us as a company. Do not be afraid to ask, listen and adjust to what the market really needs. If you are into energy, this is one of the most exciting times in history!

Learn more at www.soraytec.com SEI

Initiate’s Europe programme is taking place at Enlit Europe in Milan from 30 November to 2 December.

Come and join us as we showcase start-ups and the next-gen talent, as well as discuss key topics, such as green hydrogen, the circular economy, corporate start-up partnerships and the investment climate.

Learn more!

CATHERINE VON BURG – Founder and CEO | Simpliphi Power

What are your greatest strengths?

Having and articulating a vision to make a positive impact on the world and building a company with a spirit of innovation toward that goal. I am able to manage crises and make difficult decisions quickly and decisively by maintaining a long-term view as to where we are going.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

Read the mobile-friendly digital magazine or subscribe to receive a print copy

I do not shy away from dynamic environments or the inquiry that can lead to persistent change, sometimes up-ending previous decisions as new information is ferreted out. Building effective relationships and mirroring back to team members their intrinsic value in all that they do.

I am tenacious and do not accept standard notions of what is possible as I see every roadblock as an opportunity to chart a new path and find a solution. I am detail-oriented but also see how the details connect in support of the core values and mission of the company and can translate these connections into tactics and strategy to achieve our overarching goals.

Which of your leadership skills was the most difficult to develop?

Practising patience and adjusting my communication style to match the styles of other team members. It is a daily practice of personal inquiry, informed by my awareness of how I impact others and how they perceive me. I am very direct in my communication style and tend to ask a lot of detailed questions.

While my intention is to connect and explore, I realise my method of inquiry can be misunderstood. I never want my perspective or ability to articulate it to rob others from sharing theirs. My overriding goal is to build effective relationships with people and understand where they are coming from.

What’s the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned and how has it proven invaluable?

To trust my instincts. Throughout my life I have had an ability to read people and situations based on cues and observations that go beyond what was actually said or done.

At times, I have allowed my rational mind to argue with what I know to be true on an entirely different, visceral level. In hindsight, I recognise that tough decisions I may have delayed because I dismissed my instincts about a person or situation, often led to less than optimal outcomes.

While I would like to claim that I no longer allow my rational mind to dismiss what I know to be true on an instinctive level, or that I do not feel the impulse to apply logic as a pre-emptive strike, I have come to trust this dimension as vital to my decision-making process.

Read the full interview

How BTM technologies will reshape the grid

Behind-the-meter (BTM) technologies have fundamentally shifted the landscape for energy providers and network operators all over the world. Specifically, when it comes to energy forecasting, the uptake of technologies like electric vehicles (EVs) and residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems have put electricity network operators in an unprecedented position.

They can no longer entirely rely on established demand patterns and conventional, top-down forecasting approaches. This new uncertainty drives network operators to focus on network reliability and efficiency.

European operators have another consideration: The European Green Deal, a sweeping plan to become a climate-neutral continent by 2050. Completing the changes necessary to meet this goal will make accurate energy forecasting far more challenging, while
simultaneously making it increasingly important.

UK-based Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) engaged with Innowatts, an energy SaaS platform, to deliver demand forecasts and scenario analysis for their southern distribution area. Forecasted data generated could inform future price setting and provide more insight into changing load patterns due to the increase in Low Carbon Technologies (LCTs) on the network.

SSEN’s main priority is to provide a safe and reliable supply of electricity to the communities they serve. In doing so, they are preparing for the influx of LCTs coming online and ensuring their network will be able to handle the increase in demand. The community impact of this project was the main driver, as SSEN’s clientele includes about three million homes and businesses across central southern England.

Read the full story

Kadyrinskaya hydropower plant modernisation

Located in the Tashkent region, Uzbekistan, the Kadyrinskaya Hydropower Plant (Kadyrinskaya HPP-3) forms part of the Chirchik-Bozsuv cascade of 19 hydropower plants. The total capacity of the run of river hydropower plants is 1,275.4MW. It was originally commissioned with a capacity of 13.2MW and during 85 years of operation, four of its hydroelectric units declined inefficiency and required major repair.

Following a Presidential Decree in May 2017, the modernisation project was launched in December 2017 with the following objectives: Bring the plant’s level of operations up to a modern standard; improve the reliability and safety of operations; increase electricity generation; automate more processes; and extend the life of equipment. In the third quarter of this year, HPPs have implemented the national and international standard ISO:50001 ‘Energy Efficiency’. In the future, the issue of introducing safety and health regulation standards is being considered.

During the three-year project – concluding in 2020 – a number of sequential activities were carried out, including construction and installation work; assembly and installation of technical equipment; constructing a complete set of spare parts; and landscaping of the site and nearby territory.

Read the full story

JÜRGEN MAYERHOFER – Co-Founder and Chief Executive | Enspire | Germany

What do you think makes a successful leader?

You have to be authentic. Authenticity is closely related to trust: people have the feeling that what you are telling them is what you believe in. People sense if what you say and what you do is coherent with the values you have and how you tell
your story.

Enthusiasm is also essential. People want to work with leaders that can draw the bigger picture and communicate the path towards this vision of the future, instead of focusing on hurdles and the complexity of the world – this creates trust with your colleagues. As a leader, you don’t need to be involved in all the details: surround yourself with the right people that are great in the execution. Finding the right people is the most crucial thing to take your company to the next level.

What are your and your team’s greatest blind spots and how are you improving these?

Personally, I am struggling with the topic of empathy. I am a business-minded person where my strength and passion lies in producing business plans, being involved in strategy talks and business development with clients. I have to constantly remind myself that I should not only talk business but ask personal questions too; be an active listener in order to build meaningful relationships. I wouldn’t say I am terrible at this, but it’s definitely the skill that has the most room for improvement.

As a team, I don’t think we have a real blind spot. However, I think we can improve our communication now that the team is expanding. In the last couple of months – when working remotely – it has been challenging to rearrange our communication to make it more natural instead of only focusing on tasks at hand. We are trying to improve this by arranging virtual lunches to simulate office habits and have time to chat about personal experiences, your weekend, etc. We will see how this works out, but I think this is the toughest challenge we have.

What’s the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned and how has it proven invaluable?

There are several, but one that comes to mind immediately is that if you have a gut feeling in the recruitment process, it’s most of the time right. Therefore, we always make sure we double-check our gut feelings within the team. I’ve had some situations in the past where we knew there was a better place for a person in another organisation, but we decided to give this person another three months to see if things improved.

However, I realise a good leader can make decisions fast in order not to waste the time and energy of the team. I think a big lesson for me is that you have to detect ‘wrong’ people in your organisation fast, act and give another person the opportunity that is more appropriate for your organisation and culture.

Read the full interview

We live in an age of ultra connection, ultra-monitoring, and continuous exposure to information and data – and this includes our buildings. At any moment, it is possible for us to know the real-time temperature of every room, the heathing power of each air-conditioning unit, the airflow of each air-handling unit (AHU).

On a macro level, ‘smart’ buildings and energy efficiency make a sizeable contribution to Europe’s progress towards its ‘green’ goals.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

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On an individual building level, comfort and energy efficiency are the primary objectives of buildings’ technical installations. But are we achieving this? In most cases, probably not. Too much information can kill information: We are receiving a lot of data – but over-instrumentation can make data analysis even more confusing.

Enter the “age of Hypervision”. A systemic and multi-criteria analysis tool, Hypervision aggregates all the information collected by a building management system (BMS), making it possible to establish correlations between the various incidents it detects, and giving operators additional clues to anticipate and resolve these problems.

Hypervision’s major advantage is that it gives operators a more global view of all systems – all technical installations – and allows for more in-depth analysis of performance indicators. This saves precious time, allows operators to better understand and process data, and to be proactive in avoiding malfunctions that could have serious impacts.

While Hypervision requires specialised technical skills for its initial setup, along with specific, relevant algorithms designed and implemented for a given building, it is an easy system to operate.

For the once-off setup, a Hypervision specialist-provider would need to:

• Establish a systemic analysis: Break down the overall installation into subassemblies, and into objects.
• Identify correlations: The balance of incoming and outgoing energy flows, for example.
• Identify and implement any additional data required (weather data, usage data, etc.).
• Identify data related to comfort.
• Set up energy-optimization scenarios.
• Set up decision support dashboards.
• Configure automatic dissonance alerts.

In line with Leonardo da Vinci’s maxim, “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” Hypervision’s user interface – for in-house operators – must be simple and visual, including charts and some indicators relating to information synthesis.

The user interface must allow:

• A rapid analysis of alerts that are generated automatically, and their root causes.
• Relevant help in refining optimization scenarios and associated dashboards.
• Easy identification of changes to be made to the system to make it more efficient.

Take the example of Hypervision operating in a meeting room. The objectives: Comfort and energy efficiency.

First, comfort:

A simple and standardized indicator (see ISO 7730 standard) is the ‘predicted mean vote’ (PMV). The PMV is an index that predicts the mean value of the votes of a large group of people on a seven-point thermal-sensation scale (from ‘hot’ at +3, to ‘cold’ at -3), based on the heat balance of the human body. Thermal balance is obtained when the internal heat production in the body is equal to the loss of heat to the environment.

Hypervision will periodically calculate this indicator (for example, every five minutes, or after a period defined by the operator), and provide a daily or weekly summary. The Hypervision system will perform a root-cause analysis of the periods when ‘comfort’ has not been achieved (less than -1 or greater than +1). It will take a range of elements into account: airflow, blowing temperature, ambient temperature, humidity, CO2, setpoints applied, cooling and heating power, and room preparation time.

Next, energy efficiency:

Operators can consider some simple and relevant elements drawn from Hypervision:

• Did the room remain in occupied mode when it was empty?
• Were the ventilation-, cold- and heat consumption consistent with actual use and weather conditions? (a self-learning model would refine this, over time)?

Beyond detecting overconsumption, Hypervision’s anomaly detection can also anticipate more serious failures.

A McKinsey analysis quantified these potential gains: Reduction of maintenance costs by 10 to 40%, reduction of breakdowns by half, and reduction of investments by 3 to 5% (by increasing the lifespan of the system).

Hypervision is an essential tool for managing and understanding building systems – and potentially a major lever in making progress towards Europe’s green targets.

About the author

Pascal Torres is the CEO of ENOLEO, a Monaco-based global entity focused on energy-efficiency optimisation for buildings and industrial processes. Since 2008, ENOLEO has specialised in the implementation of Hypervision hardware and software solutions.

The Enlit Europe team and I are on the cusp of welcoming you to Milan – and the fact that our welcome will be face-to-face is hugely exciting for all of us.

We have worked hard to deliver an event that incorporates the best aspects of what you have come to know and love from our show over the years, and combine those elements with innovative new ideas that will set apart Enlit from all other European energy events.

This article was originally published in The Guide to Enlit Europe featured in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

Read the full supplement, the full digital magazine or subscribe to receive a print copy

Let me highlight three reasons why I am so excited about our three days in Italy.

Connect: In many cases, this will actually be to reconnect after months of limited social contact. From scheduled meetings to the pleasure of bumping into old friends, contacts and colleagues, and also of course the magic of connecting with new people that offer fresh ideas, opportunities and inspiration, Milan will allow us to once again truly interact.

Inspire: What makes Enlit so special is that inspiration is everywhere – from the large array of exhibitors to the carefully-crafted content programme. A tour of the EU Project Zone and Initiate will introduce you to the latest innovations in both technology and ground-breaking collaborations. With the whole spectrum of the energy transition being covered in Enlit, there are nuggets of inspiration and knowledge throughout the Hub sessions and the high-level Summit.

Evolve: For visitors, exhibitors, speakers and the Enlit team, that supercharged feeling you have at the end of three fast-paced days is priceless. To leave with business being done, your phone full of new contacts, and your head swirling with actionable ideas, is to know that in 72 hours you have grown and you have the knowledge and tools to help your business to the next level of its evolution.

I can’t wait to see you. Energy is evolving and so are we: Together we can make a difference.

Join us in Milan: www.enlit-europe.com/live

We can’t wait to see you in Milan

Enlit Europe will bring the energy community together during the live event in Milan (30 November – 2 December 2021). Register here

Doing more with less energy is key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and steering our planet towards climate neutrality by 2050.

Energy Efficiency First has been recognised by the European Union as a cornerstone of the energy transition and runs through its energy legislation as a guiding principle.

This article was originally published in The Guide to Enlit Europe featured in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

Read the full supplement, the full digital magazine or subscribe to receive a print copy

Despite high ambitions, the implementation of energy efficiency policies has been slow across Europe. For many years, the EU was on track to miss its 2020 goal to improve energy efficiency by 20% due to insufficient action.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the following drop in energy consumption reversed this trend. Official data on energy efficiency for 2020 are still lacking, but it is expected that the 20% reduction target has been met.

Adjusting energy efficiency targets

With Europe slowly recovering from the pandemic and energy consumption picking up again, the question is whether the EU will be able to stay on this track and continue increasing energy efficiency. The current energy efficiency target for 2030 is at least 32.5%.

However, the European Commission asserts in the Fit for 55 Package that this target is too low to ensure the EU can reduce its GHG emissions to at least 55% below 1990 levels by 2030 as stipulated in the European Climate Law.

Therefore, the Commission suggests in its recast proposal of the Energy Efficiency Directive to push this 32.5% target for 2030 to a number between 36% and 41%.

However, based on the current National Energy and Climate Plans of the EU Member States, the EU is on track for a mere 29% energy consumption reduction. This is about 10% short of the envisioned target in the Fit for 55 Package.

The Commission recognises that huge efficiency investments need to be made in both primary and final energy consumption. Europe does not only have to become more efficient in how it consumes energy, but also in how it produces and transports energy.

Heating and cooling taking the lead

The largest area where energy efficiency gains can be made is in the heating and cooling sector. Far too many thermal power plants still work in power generation only mode. These plants convert only 40% to 60% of the fuel into electricity. The heat they generate is simply lost in the atmosphere.

A combined heat and power unit, a single unit generating both electricity and heat simultaneously, manages to convert between 80% to 90% of the fuel into useful energy. The heat is captured and used on-site or distributed via a district heating network.

The potential of combining the generation of heat and power in a single unit is tremendous. Today, combined heat and power (CHP) generates 11% of electricity and 16,5% of heat in Europe. By 2030, CHP has the potential to generate up to 20% of electricity and 25% of heat in a cost-effective way. That would translate into reducing CO2 emissions by 350 million tonnes and achieving 18% of the current EU’s energy efficiency target.

A sector which deserves special attention is the building sector with its important heating and cooling component. Heating and cooling in buildings is responsible for 40% of energy consumption and 36% of emissions in Europe.

More than 70% of heating in buildings is supplied by old and inefficient boilers and Europe’s current annual renovation rate is below 1%. A leaky and fossil-fuel dependent building stock is a serious threat to the ambitious 55% GHG emissions target. Energy efficiency will be crucial to sufficiently reducing emissions from buildings.

A range of solutions will be needed to supply efficient and increasingly renewable heat to and in buildings. It will include reducing demand and using waste heat, direct electrification, solar thermal, geothermal, district heating and combined heat and power.

The choice between different decarbonisation solutions will largely depend on the seasonality of heat demand, the variability and capacity of renewable electricity supply, the constraints of electricity grids, customer preferences and costs.

CHP Fuels

Today, CHP can run on practically all renewable fuels such as biofuels and hydrogen. With the recast of the Renewable Energy Directive under the Fit for 55 Package, the development of renewable fuels will get a serious boost.

Using these fuels in a combined heat and power mode will ensure their efficient use and the fastest track towards reducing GHG emissions.

Furthermore, CHP is flexible. It can generate heat and electricity at any moment and support the power grid when electricity supply from wind and solar is low. This will ensure that more intermittent renewable electricity capacity can be added while at the same time decommissioning inefficient fossil-fuel plants.

The town of Hassfurt in Germany demonstrates how a combined heat and power unit running on hydrogen can be at the centre of the local community’s long-term decarbonisation strategy. The unit generates green electricity and heat, distributed via a district heating, for the town.

The hydrogen comes from excess wind power and can be stored over longer periods of time to ensure there are sufficient energy sources for the cold months. The combined heat and power unit ensures its efficient use.

Another example of how a local community can reduce its emissions in a cost-effective way is in Ochain, a village in Belgium. The local farmers built a biogas facility to turn their agricultural waste into a valuable energy source.

The biogas facility is connected to a CHP plant which generates electricity for the neighbourhood and provides heat to a local nursing home. This example can be easily replicated by local farming communities in Europe to generate their own green energy.

There are plenty of different examples of how combining heat and power generation can increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions.

Ambitious plans

National and local authorities have a cost-effective tool at their disposal to significantly reduce their energy consumption by 2030. At the moment, the EU is on track to reduce its energy consumption by 29% whereas the 2030 target will end up being around 10% higher under the Fit for 55 Package.

The National Energy and Climate Plans of the EU Member States will have to become way more ambitious for the EU to reduce its GHG emissions by at least 55% by 2030. A framework enabling the rapid development of CHP in Europe should be enshrined in the Fit for 55 Package.

The CHP sector is ready to assist policymakers and stakeholders in building such a framework to achieve the EU climate and energy ambitions.

About the author

Hans Korteweg is Managing Director of Cogen Europe

We can’t wait to see you in Milan

Enlit Europe will bring the energy community together during the live event in Milan (30 November – 2 December 2021). Register here

Since my election as President of Eurogas in June this year, I have been working to define the role of gas in this period of profound change.

Change must happen quickly and cost-efficiently if we are to tackle the climate emergency in this challenging economic context.

This article was originally published in The Guide to Enlit Europe featured in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

Read the full supplement, the full digital magazine or subscribe to receive a print copy

Since I came into the post, we have seen the launch of the European Commission’s Fit for 55 proposals, more than 3 000 pages of legislation designed to deliver on increased climate ambition.

The Decarbonised Gas Market Package, due by the end of the year, will bring even more opportunities to reshape our energy systems. This is a pivotal moment, and we will be working diligently through it.

Working together

Eurogas represents 64 companies and associations in 25 countries and is the leading association of the European gas industry.

Our members’ activities span the value chain from wholesale markets to distribution systems. This includes companies involved in producing, trading, and blending renewable and low carbon gases, along with innovators using digital solutions to tackle emissions. We have agreed a clear vision to 2050 and recommendations for the legislation to be negotiated in the coming years.

Eurogas holds well-established commitments to the EU’s 2030 and 2050 targets. In fact, we aim to fully decarbonise our networks soon after 2045.

To make this a reality, our members see certain areas as key: a consistent policy framework, a competitive and stable market for all gases, cost-effective decarbonisation of energy networks and strong consumer protection.

Work to achieve these objectives is well underway, including through collaboration with like-minded associations from other sectors.

Goals and targets

Along with 14 other organisations spanning gas, power generation, mobility and buildings, Eurogas has been calling for binding 2030 EUlevel targets. These would set two goals into law: lowering the greenhouse gas intensity of gas consumed by at least 20% and increasing the share of renewable gas to at least 11%.

These targets would send the right investment signals to meet climate targets. It is no coincidence that France is becoming a leader in biomethane production, as the country has set a target for renewable gas consumption of 10% of all gaseous fuels by 2030.

Targets are a key part of creating the consistent policy framework we need to make investments in the next generation of gas technology. To establish a tradeable market, that framework will need a certification system for all renewable and low carbon gases.

If this system was supported by Guarantees of Origin covering climate and sustainability information, end customers could make more informed decisions.

We also take very seriously our commitment to value chain methane emissions reductions. The association is active in the Methane Guiding Principles and the OGMP 2.0 initiative. Upcoming legislation is our chance to establish a regulatory framework to address the issue more comprehensively.

Importance of a harmonised approach

Improved accuracy and transparency in reporting is needed along with new measures to ensure emissions reductions. We urgently need a more harmonised approach to Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) and Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR).

There is a balance to be found here. We need to harmonise, but some flexibility is needed depending on local conditions like grid type.

LDAR is used by DSOs across Europe to ensure the safety of their grid for end-users. Practices differ across Europe and along the value chain. Rolling out MRV across the EU will help improve data availability and transparency across the value chain.

It will ensure that DSOs have a better understanding of their grid. Here, further harmonisation at EU-level would be welcome. The OGMP 2.0 reporting template should be used by all DSOs in the EU to ensure a robust and transparent reporting framework.

Building and transport

Another area the association has been working on is buildings and transport. In these sectors it’s clear that the extension of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) in the long term is the right move.

However, there is a risk that vulnerable consumers could be disproportionately impacted in the absence of transitionary measures. The revision of the Energy Taxation Directive provides an opportunity to tackle emissions in transport and buildings through carbon pricing, while providing sectoral and national flexibility.

When it comes to taxation, we will also need to make sure that quick wins offered by coal to gas switching are not omitted by broadbrush measures against all fossil energy carriers.

The approach we propose on buildings and transport shows how we can use policy opportunities to adapt to market realities. This logic is also relevant to developing a competitive and liquid market for all gases.

We do need a clear regulatory toolbox for investor certainty, but it should be implemented in a stepwise approach. Eurogas supports the regulation of networks and the benefits this offers, like investor certainty.

Hydrogen infrastructure

We will work to see hydrogen networks being regulated and the extension of existing rules such as unbundling being applied to them. It’s also clear that certain exemptions will be required in the short term to avoid overregulating a nascent market.

This new market incorporating all gases will of course need stability and interoperability. For that, we must start building economies of scale.

While dedicated infrastructure is the end goal, blending is a transitional step to getting there. Blending hydrogen and biomethane gases with natural gas offers immediate emissions reductions and increases demand, which helps to bring down costs.

There are currently regulatory barriers to blending in many Member States. The potential of blending could be leveraged with harmonised EU-wide acceptance levels for blends.

Considering how interconnected Europe’s energy infrastructure is, blended gas should really be able to be transported easily across borders with strong cooperation on gas quality.

Gas and the energy transition

Both Eurogas and the European Commission foresee an important role for gas in the transition. It provides storage, flexibility, and security as we work towards climate targets.

As mentioned, Eurogas is determined to fully decarbonise gas networks soon after 2045. Looking across energy networks and sectors, cost-effective decarbonisation is going to require coordinated infrastructure planning.

This could be enabled through the inclusion of all energy carriers in integrated National Network Development Plans. This would help achieve increased sector integration, while maintaining a level playing field and competition between electricity and gas.

The final piece in this puzzle is consumers. As we work on this new legislation, we are able to draw from the revision of the Electricity Directive. The relatively recent revision saw strengthened consumer rights.

The gas sector has an opportunity to work together now and achieve the same for our customers. Improvements could span points from basic contractual rights and switching suppliers to enabling the creation of energy communities.

Opportunities

Taking a step back from these broad ranging areas of work, we see recurring themes. Frameworks are important but they will need to be flexible given fast-moving changes in policy and technology readiness.

Policy instruments can be used to respond to market realities, be it in the decarbonisation of buildings and transport or the pace at which nascent markets are regulated.

Despite the challenges of the volume of legislation, we have opportunities to improve networks, cooperate across sectors, improve sector integration and serve consumers.

We can’t wait to see you in Milan

Enlit Europe will bring the energy community together during the live event in Milan (30 November – 2 December 2021). Register here

As Europe navigates the energy transition and shifts away from fossil fuels, how do we ensure we as a collective do it in a fair way, leaving no one behind?

This article was originally published in The Guide to Enlit Europe featured in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

Read the full supplement, the full digital magazine or subscribe to receive a print copy

The term ‘just transition’ raises several key questions:

How do we define and measure ‘just’?

Should the costs and benefits of moving to a low carbon economy be shared equally or proportionately across society?

Should sector-specific indicators be developed to assess corporate contributions, given that e.g. the automotive manufacturing sector has different impacts and supply chain structures from the electricity generation sector and oil & gas sector?

‘Just’ for whom?

Do we simply mean ensuring that there are policies and channels in place to support workers who will lose their livelihoods because of the decline in fossil fuel-linked industries?

Should we extend this support to communities who will be directly and indirectly affected by changes in their local economy or environment? Should large corporations that have benefitted financially and thrived in the previous fossil fuel era be eligible for public funds – or should they dive into their own cash to adapt?

On the consumer end, should mechanisms be in place to identify and support those who may be disproportionately affected by fuel poverty due to changes in final end-use energy prices or utility provision?

By when?

2030? 2040? 2050?

Can there be a parallel end-goal?

Should we be using the momentum and resources here to also address some broader inequalities through social and economic restructuring?

Local, national, regional, or global?

Given global supply chains, the interdependencies and integration of various industries and nations – it may be more effective to also consider the wider picture.

Making way for a just transition in one area, but ‘outsourcing’ issues or the worst of effects somewhere else, is arguably not fair.

For example, as demand for batteries in electric vehicles and energy storage solutions increase in Europe, so will the mining of minerals needed for these batteries.

‘Just’ supplier engagement is essential in ensuring that these minerals are sourced sustainably, and not from politically unstable areas linked to pervasive poor labour rights.

To conceptualise and be able to implement a universal policy approach that is fair in all contexts is extremely difficult, and arguably impossible. Each community, industry, and nation’s ‘transitions’ will feel and look different based on their existing dependence on fossil fuels – not only as an energy source, but as a livelihood.

The EU Commission, Parliament, and Council faced such a dilemma last year when negotiating the €17.5 billion ($20.45 billion) EU Just Transition Fund (JTF) which aims to support currently fossil fuel-dependent regions to decarbonise their economies – leaving no one behind.

The hope is that the JTF will also mobilise further private capital into green industries and retrain workers from high-carbon emitting sectors such as coal mining and power generation.

Poland, one of the most coal-reliant countries in Europe, along with Germany, Romania, and the Czech Republic, are likely to be the main beneficiaries of the funding.

The EU Commission made clear that the JTF funding cannot be used for the fossil fuel (including natural gas) and nuclear industries.

However, it conceded to introduce a separate 1% allowance for natural gas in the €200 billion ($232 billion) packaged EU Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund under strict conditions – that money used for natural gas cannot lead to emissions above 270g CO2e/KWh; and funding will be focused on coal-reliant regions only and cut off after 2025.

The decision has received mixed response. The views of associations, industries, environmentalists, and EU member states fall into two camps: for natural gas inclusion; and against it.

For natural gas inclusion

Natural gas can be used as a transition fuel, as we build our capability to decarbonise fully by 2050. It is currently economically viable and technologically-mature.

It can be used in high-efficiency cogeneration plants and offer flexibility when intermittent renewables (like solar and wind power) are not generating enough electricity.

It is particularly useful in coal-, lignite-, and peat-intensive regions in Central and Eastern Europe – as the larger leap to renewables, battery storage, hydrogen, carbon capture & storage, etc. can be too costly today.

Against natural gas inclusion

Pouring investments into the natural gas industry, albeit a less carbon-emitting fuel source compared to coal, will slow down Europe’s move to climate neutrality by 2050.

Investing in natural gas infrastructure now would produce stranded assets for these regions, putting them at a financial and technological disadvantage down the line. Instead of new-build gas grids, efforts should be focused on decarbonising the existing gas grid.

For Delta-EE, natural gas will clearly have a role to play for many years, but using gas in the way we currently do is not consistent with a 2050 net-zero future, so any role for natural gas needs to have a clear roadmap and pathway for phasing out natural gas in line with the EU’s goals.

For many in the natural gas value chain, opportunities in the energy transition can lie with transitioning to zero-carbon fuels such as hydrogen and biomethane.

About the author

Dina Darshini is Principal Analyst at research and consulting firm Delta-EE

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Hydrogen “is an important topic in terms of decarbonisation across Europe and the world” says Victor Bernabeu, senior policy advisor at Eurogas.

And he added that if we have any hope of establishing an effective hydrogen economy, we must get policy application right.

This article was originally published in The Guide to Enlit Europe featured in Smart Energy International Issue 4-2021.

Read the full supplement, the full digital magazine or subscribe to receive a print copy

According to a Eurogas projection, in order to reach net zero by 2050, hydrogen reformed natural gas coupled with green hydrogen will be vital to achieve deep GHG reduction.

However, Bernabeu believes that developing the hydrogen economy comes down to successfully navigating the policy landscape, especially the RED III and Gas Package.

He explained that the Delegated Act defining renewable energy and the discussion on Guarantees of Origin/Union Database provide important details concerning hydrogen deployment.

When referring to the long list of policy requirements, Bernabeu said: “The concept of additionality is perfect, on paper.

“The real question is: Can we make something workable; can we avoid over-burdening pioneering companies? If we are trying to define very strict criteria, could we be hampering the deployment of renewable hydrogen? The perfect compromise is something we can comply with.”

Bernabeu elaborated on the importance of certifying renewable origin and establishing climate value with sustainability credentials within the EU. He believes the Union Database will prove useful in tracking the product and transaction of each molecule.

He further highlighted that the market is not fully compatible in terms of trading practices and recommends all renewable gas and hydrogen must be considered within the same system to avoid working in silos.

“Blending will be paramount if we want to develop a hydrogen market. We know there is an amount of compatibility and we can manage that. It’s about ensuring a common climate currency and letting the ETS operator choose their own decarbonise pathway,” stated Bernabeu.

In opposition to Bernabeu, Felicia Mester, senior policy advisor at Hydrogen Europe believes a separate hydrogen system is needed.

“We know hydrogen is a gas; we know it’s a molecule, but it’s not interchangeable with natural gas. They are different gases – therefore we need a separate strategy for hydrogen and can’t keep hydrogen economy prisoner to the rules of the gas market.”

Mester promoted separate Guarantees of Origin (GoOs) to avoid false claims and greenwashing. “Hydrogen needs to be in a consistent system, but as a separate energy carrier.”

Mester continued: “We are all talking about a hydrogen economy, but how do we get there? There are three main ways; a separate approach to hydrogen, an ambitious Fit for 55 package, and progressive hydrogen and gas decarbonisation packages.”

She also emphasised the importance of an ambitious Fit for 55 framework to promote a fertile environment for the scaling of many hydrogen-related projects.

Mark Dixon, director of Cerulean Winds, focused on the North Sea Transition Deal with its set decarbonisation targets. The oil and gas activities in the area use fossil fuel powered generation, the greatest contributor to emissions.

“With electrification, you can remove up to 75% of all emissions across the sector,” said Dixon.

“We have proposed to the Scottish and UK governments a basin-wide approach, consisting of three 1GW floating wind farms. When the wind blows a lot, overage occurs and green hydrogen can be produced.”

Dixon explained that there is no wastage in this system. It allows for efficiency in the conversion from electricity to green hydrogen and back to electricity. It’s an off-grid, entirely private system, a near term solution to allow, in this case, the oil and gas sector to decarbonise.

Dixon suggested that systems like this are needed now to allow industries to take control of their carbon footprint, to see results in the immediate future.

Simone Corbò, hydrogen platform manager at Baker Hughes, delved into the more technical side, highlighting the role of turbo machinery in the development of a hydrogen economy. In terms of the value chain, hydrogen has the potential to replace fossil fuels and act as a support to natural gas.

However, transportation and storage are costly and developing innovation over the next generation of turbines and compressors is vitally important to advance the sector and to enhance its benefits to global decarbonisation.

Listen to the webcast recording on demand: www.powerengineeringint.com/webcasts

Eurogas, Hydrogen Europe and Baker Hughes will all have speakers at Enlit Europe in Milan from Nov 30-Dec 2.

Register now: www.enlit-europe.com/register