Javier Cavada – CEO and President of Highview Power

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What’s it all about?

On route to Boston, via London, I took the opportunity to meet Javier Cavada at the Highview Power offices in central London. We thought we might be able to break some big news, but alas that will have to wait for a future episode, but nonetheless we had a great conversation around long duration energy storage, and the prospects of a 100% renewable energy grid.

About our guest

Dr. Javier Cavada joined Highview Power as CEO and President in September 2018 with the mission to drive the ambitious global expansion strategy for the company’s proprietary cryogenic energy storage technology. Cavada previously spent 17 years in leadership positions at Wärtsilä Corporation, one of the world’s top technology companies in the energy market. As president of Wärtsilä’s energy division and member of the corporation’s executive board, Cavada led the company’s drive toward 100% renewables, spearheading a deep transformation that enabled the company to become a leading system integrator.

Under Cavada’s leadership, Wärtsilä’s global market share in gas and liquid fuel power plants grew from nine percent to 21 percent. His long career at Wärtsilä also included extensive international experience, including executive roles in China, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Finland. In combination with these executive roles, Cavada chaired the board of Greensmith Energy Management Inc. He has also held leadership roles within the German multinational firm Robert Bosch in the fields of automotive technology and manufacturing. Cavada holds a PhD in industrial engineering and among other awards has been recognized as a Distinguished Alumni by the University of Cantabria in Spain.

Highview Power is a designer and developer of a proprietary cryogenic energy storage technology that delivers reliable and cost-effective long-duration energy storage to enable a 100% renewable energy future. Its proprietary technology uses liquid air as the storage medium and can deliver anywhere from 20 MW/80 MWh to more than 200 MW/1.2 GWh of energy has a lifespan of 30 to 40 years. Developed using proven components from mature industries, it delivers pumped-hydro capabilities without geographical constraints and can be configured to convert waste heat and cold to power.

Javier Cavada on Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/javiercavadacamino/

Javier Cavada on Twitter https://twitter.com/CaminoCavada

Highview Power on Twitter    https://twitter.com/HighviewPower

Highview Power website  https://www.highviewpower.com/

News stories discussed this week

Highview Power and TSK Enter Joint Venture to Develop Cryogenic Energy Storage Projects

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Toddington Harper – CEO GRIDSERVE

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What’s it all about?

Toddington’s story is one of the most interesting and uplifting I’ve come across. I knew of Toddington from before GRIDSERVE, whilst leading Belectric in the UK, and his passion for solar energy developments. We record this podcast just as news breaks of the first subsidy free large scale solar PV developments in the UK, which will also in time co-locate with battery energy storage, and most exciting of all, their Electric Forecourts plan for EV charging destinations. Sit back and enjoy.

About our guest

Toddington Harper, CEO of GRIDSERVE, is an experienced clean-energy entrepreneur, executive and investor with more than 16 years of CEO experience across five sustainable energy companies. Toddington has developed and built over 350MW of solar and battery projects in the UK generating in excess of £200M of revenues over a 4-year period. He was previously the co-founder and CEO of BELECTRIC UK before selling the business to RWE Innogy in December 2016.

GRIDSERVE is a tech-enabled international sustainable energy business which develops, builds, owns and operates solar energy and battery storage solutions for critical power infrastructure.  GRIDSERVE’s team have been responsible for the development, construction and operation of more than a gigawatt of solar energy and energy storage solutions, including connecting over 100 utility-scale sustainable energy projects to the UK grid.

GRIDSERVE is interested in exploring new project opportunities, funding partners, and making new connections, for both hybrid solar farms and Electric Forecourts®

Toddington Harper on Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddington/

Toddington Harper on Twitter https://twitter.com/toddington_h

GRIDSERVE on Twitter    https://twitter.com/GRIDSERVE_HQ

GRIDSERVE website  https://www.gridserve.com/

News stories discussed this week

GRIDSERVE to deploy 60 MW of bifacial-plus-tracking projects in the UK https://www.pv-magazine.com/2019/03/01/gridserve-to-deploy-60-mw-of-bifacial-plus-tracking-projects-in-the-uk/

GRIDSERVE launch ELECTRIC FORECOURTS https://www.gridserve.com/post/copy-of-design-a-stunning-blog

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

Think and grow rich – Napoleon Hill – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Think-Grow-Rich-Original-Restored/dp/0990797600/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1551797546&sr=8-1&keywords=grow+and+think+rich

Elon Musk: How the Billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is Shaping our Future https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elon-Musk-Billionaire-SpaceX-Shaping/dp/0753555646/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1551797670&sr=8-1&keywords=elon+musk+autobiography

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I’m very keen to hear feedback on the podcast and my guests, and to hear your suggestions for future guests or topics. Contact via the website, or Twitter. If you do enjoy the podcast, please write a review on iTunes, or your usual podcast platform, and tell your cleantech friends about us. That would be much appreciated.

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Jan Michael Hess – EcoSummit Founder

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What’s it all about?

If you are in the European cleantech start-up ecosystem, it would be very hard not to know of Jan Michael Hess. Jan is the life and soul of any party, and in particular those he hosts after each day at the Ecosummit. This year Ecosummit celebrates its’ tenth anniversary. The list of cleantech start-ups that have pitched at the event over the years is a veritable who’s who of successful companies, along with some of the most focused VC’s and CVC’s, not to mention some super sector service providers, like Hyperion 🙂

About our guest

Jan is Founder of Ecosummit and Ecosummit Ventures. Ecosummit is Europe’s leading conference for smart green startups, investors and corporates. Our vision is to automate sustainability in energy, mobility and cities. Our events are startup markets enabling business development, co-investing, open innovation, corporate venturing and M&A. Since 2010, Jan organised 19 conferences in 5 countries. Ecosummit TV on YouTube provides over 1.000 videos (450.000 views).

Ecosummit Ventures will be a new smart green VC in Berlin that invests in promising European software and hardware startups with B2C and B2B business models in energy, mobility and cities. Ecosummit Ventures leverages the deal flow, investor network and track record of 19 Ecosummit conferences in 5 countries since 2010. The initiator of Ecosummit Ventures is Jan Michael Hess, the founder of Ecosummit. We’re looking for 2 GPs with VC track record and green heart beat to join as co-founders as soon as possible.

Prior to founding Mobile Economy in 2000, Jan worked for Pixelpark, Icon Medialab and Ciao as Strategy Consultant, Senior Project Manager and Head of Marketing and Sales. Holding a business degree from the University of Mannheim, he lives in Berlin with his wife Simone and their son Mateo and is a big fan of Yoga, Japan and Jazz.

Jan Michael Hess on Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/janmichaelhess/

EcoSummit on Twitter  https://twitter.com/ecosummit

EcoSummit    https://ecosummit.net/

EcoSummit on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/ecosummitTV

News stories discussed this week

Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist https://www.amazon.co.uk/Venture-Deals-Smarter-Lawyer-Capitalist/dp/1118443616

EcoSummit Ventures  https://ecosummit.net/ventures

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I’m very keen to hear feedback on the podcast and my guests, and to hear your suggestions for future guests or topics. Contact via the website, or Twitter. If you do enjoy the podcast, please write a review on iTunes, or your usual podcast platform, and tell your cleantech friends about us. That would be much appreciated.

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CEO – DSR Devrim Celal

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About our guest

This week David talks to Devrim Celal, CEO of Upside Energy.

Devrim is a highly successful, award winning entrepreneur with a career spanning leadership role in technology, finance and energy.

Educated in Paris, London and Yale, where he was a Fulbright scholar, Devrim has since held senior roles at A T Kearney where he led strategy development, Sapient where he established the European operations and as a partner at Lansdowne Corporate Finance. He is now CEO of UK energy tech company Upside Energy, leading the organisation from its initial days as a start up to its dynamic growth in this fast-growing sector. He is an avid athlete having been a regular competitor in endurance running events. He runs to promote awareness of and raise funds for MS related charities.

Working in the cloud, in real-time, the Upside Platform can respond rapidly to market signals and deploy new solutions as the energy system evolves. This means we can give our customers immediate visibility of their energy usage and device performance, identifying opportunities as they emerge. The Upside Platform can connect to a wide range of devices, including battery storage systems, electric vehicles, UPS and heating and cooling systems. Providing real-time data and advanced forecasting, it enables our customers to fully optimise their return on investment and market positioning, by dispatching demand-side flexibility in real-time.

Devrim Celal on Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/dcelal/

Upside Energy on Twitter https://twitter.com/upsideenergy

Upside Energy   https://upsideenergy.co.uk/

News stories discussed this week

Delta EE report on aggregators https://www.delta-ee.com/delta-ee-blog/demand-side-response-aggregators-the-race-to-profitability.html

BOOK RECOMMENDATION

From good to great- Jim Collins – https://www.delta-ee.com/delta-ee-blog/demand-side-response-aggregators-the-race-to-profitability.html

Follow us online, write a review (please) or subscribe

I’m very keen to hear feedback on the podcast and my guests, and to hear your suggestions for future guests or topics. Contact via the website, or Twitter. If you do enjoy the podcast, please write a review on iTunes, or your usual podcast platform, and tell your cleantech friends about us. That would be much appreciated.

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Market Director – ESS Marek Kubik

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What’s it all about?

A Forbes 30 under 30 alumni, Ted talker and poster boy for energy storage. I’m sure Marek won’t appreciate all of those monikers, but they all fit! Energy storage is often referred to as the missing link, the silver bullet, or a ‘Swiss army knife’ technology. In some regards, especially this last one, they are true. Marek and I have a dig into some of the latest energy storage solutions, including how solar and storage is now more economically viable than traditional gas-peaker plants.

About our guest

This week David talks to Marek Kubik, Market Director at Fluence Energy.

Marek leads Fluence’s UK and Ireland client solutions team and is responsible for overseeing Energy Storage sales and project proposals across UK&I, the Middle East and Africa.  He has 9 years engineering and sustainability experience, including an instrumental role in the UK’s first commercial battery storage array in 2015 and more recently a record breaking UK 120MW energy storage portfolio transaction; the largest in the world to date. A tech futurist and TEDx speaker, Marek was also named a 2017 honouree of the Forbes 30 Under 30; a list that recognises important young entrepreneurs and industry leaders.

Fluence is the result of two industry powerhouses and pioneers in energy storage joining together to form a new company dedicated to innovating modern electric infrastructure. In January 2018, Siemens and AES launched Fluence, uniting the scale, experience, breadth, and financial backing of the two most experienced icons in energy storage.  Their mission is to create a sustainable future by transforming the way we power our world.

As a leading energy storage company, 100% dedicated to the sector, they bring the proven technology solutions and services that overcome the commercial and regulatory barriers that stand in the way of modernizing our energy networks.

The Fluence team encompasses more than 10 years of experience deploying and operating energy storage across 17 countries and 6 continents.  They drive change by opening new markets to storage around the world, with the largest deployed fleet of energy storage projects of any company.

Marek Kubik on Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/mlkubik/

Marek Kubik on Twitter https://twitter.com/mlkubik

Marek Kubik on Tedx Talks  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffG7qW2l024 

Fluence Energy   http://fluenceenergy.com/

News stories discussed this week

 

 

 

Book Recommendation

Thinking, fast and slow – Daniel Kahneman  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0141033576 

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I’m very keen to hear feedback on the podcast and my guests, and to hear your suggestions for future guests or topics. Contact via the website, or Twitter. If you do enjoy the podcast, please write a review on iTunes, or your usual podcast platform, and tell your cleantech friends about us. That would be much appreciated.

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CEO & Founder Jeff Bishop

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What’s it all about?

Jeff is Co-founder of an energy storage developer, and long time renewable energy guy. Whilst supporting Jeff build his US team I took the opportunity whilst meeting in New York to discuss the US energy storage market, future opportunities and challenges for this company and the sector, and battery powered heated Ski boots!

About our guest

This week David talks to Jeff Bishop, CEO of US based energy storage developer and start up Key Capture Energy.

As CEO of Key Capture Energy, Jeff is responsible for overseeing mergers and acquisitions, capital allocation, financing, as well as ensuring all regulatory requirements are met.  Jeff has spent his career working on utility-scale renewable energy projects and has a proven track record in the energy sector at the intersection of finance, commercial, political and regulatory.

Prior to founding Key Capture Energy, Jeff worked at Brookfield Renewables and EDP Renewables, where among other areas, he oversaw market development that led to contracts for nearly a billion dollars of new wind projects. Previously, Jeff was at Horizon Wind Energy where he was responsible for the financial models for $2 billion of operating wind farms and worked on the sale of the company from Goldman Sachs to EDP Renewables.

Jeff has led or been a board member of renewable advocacy groups such as Renewable Energy Northeast, the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, and the Maine Renewable Energy Association. Jeff has an MBA from the University of Chicago, a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Rice University and is currently working on his MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Utah.

Jeff Bishop on Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-bishop/

Key Capture Energy   https://www.keycaptureenergy.com/

Follow us online, write a review (please) or subscribe

I’m very keen to hear feedback on the podcast and my guests, and to hear your suggestions for future guests or topics. Contact via the website, or Twitter. If you do enjoy the podcast, please write a review on iTunes, or your usual podcast platform, and tell your cleantech friends about us. That would be much appreciated.

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Industry/Policy insider Emma Pinchbeck

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About our guest

Emma Pinchbeck is an Executive Director of RenewableUK. In that role she sets the overall strategy for the organisation’s communications and policy teams. She is a passionate advocate for renewables in government and business, and regularly appears as an expert on the energy sector in the media.

Before joining RenewableUK, Emma headed up Climate Change & Energy at the NGO WWF-UK, where she worked on issues like the international UN Paris Agreement on climate change, and a successful campaign to secure a phase out coal-fired power generation in the UK.

Before WWF-UK, Emma worked in private consulting as an energy policy expert and in finance. She has an MA from the University of Oxford. Outside of the office, she is a mentor to young women in the energy sector, and is a keen competitive rower.

Emma Pinchbeck on Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmalucypinchbeck/

Renewable UK  https://www.renewableuk.com/

News stories discussed this week

British Wind Power Sets New Generation Record https://cleantechnica.com/2018/12/04/british-wind-power-sets-new-generation-record/

Uber, Centrica join ‘world’s biggest’ electric vehicle impact trial https://insights.hyperionsearch.co.uk/post/102f6q5/uber-centrica-join-worlds-biggest-electric-vehicle-impact-trial

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CEO & Founder Matt Allen

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This week I’m joined by CEO of Pivot Power, Matt Allen. If you are in the cleatech sector you would have been hard pushed not to have seen the exciting news and developments at Pivot Power in the last few months. Pivot Power are developing, funding and operating large scale battery storage projects connected directly to the transmission system, providing, among other services, EV Charging infrastructure.

About our guest

Matt Allen on Linked In. www.linkedin.com/in/matt-allen-318b426/
Pivot Power on Twitter twitter.com/_PivotPower

News stories discussed this week

Capacity Market Suspension and implications www.current-news.co.uk/news/governme…ng-ecj-ruling
BEIS – Energy Trilema over!! (Tory government against solar and onshore wind?) www.current-news.co.uk/news/energy-s…ples-unveiled
California, PG&E replacing 3 gas plants with Storage. Cheaper to build storage than run the plants!! www.utilitydive.com/news/storage-wi…or-worl/541870/
Pivot Power Video www.pivot-power.co.uk/#open-video

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