Transition Talk Accenture

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

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

 Bart Dehue (Manager of Green Heat Source team at Vattenfall), Britt Verhesen (Project Leader of Energy Transition at the City of Antwerp), and Henk Jan Top (Managing Director Utilities at Accenture), discuss the future of heat networks and how sustainable district heating networks are. They discuss the challenges and possibilities of moving to sustainable heat sources.
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The decreasing stability of the grid by feeding in more renewable energy poses a future treat to the grid’s stability. What measures can we take to ensure a future proof grid?

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

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

A major challenge

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

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

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

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

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

Hoe het tekort aan technisch personeel de energietransitie in de weg zit

The crucial role of legislation in the energy transition