In this new guest episode, Charley Rattan talks to Nadim Chaudhry, founder of the World Hydrogen Leaders network about various aspects of hydrogen: where it is, how it might develop and what some of the truths and myths around the topic are.

Across the various clean energy topics we track and talk about, a common theme has been emerging recently - a focus on the importance of particular geographic clusters. So we spend forty minutes chatting about why this might be: why clusters matter, what the advantages of clustering might be and how they might emerge within the clean energy landsca…

The UK has big plans for offshore wind, but the past few weeks has seen a few headwinds - unwanted ones! High leasing prices, leasing round delays and planning permission court battles - all these have raised their heads recently, to the consternation of some industry observers. We round up some of the key developments and analyse what they might m…

There is much talk at the moment about 'hard to decarbonise' areas of the economy: those which must be tackled too, in the race towards zero carbon targets. But what are they and what might be the options? In this first podcast of 2021, we cover the broad scope of topics in trying to make sense of this current discussion.…

In our final episode of 2020, we both brought along three 'picks' from this year's clean energy activity. They don't necessarily reflect the stories that made the biggest headlines or even the most exciting individual news items. Instead we arrived at an eclectic mix of items, some important in themselves but, more interestingly, all exemplify some…

Our expert guest Albert Sancho, an Operations Manager at RWE UK will share his findings on the following matters: 1. Renewable Energy trends of 2020 and his forecast for 2021 2. Efficient team management in the pandemic times 3. Digital tools that help Albert's team stay efficient and productive despite the crisis, remote work restrictions and othe…

This week the UK Prime Minister announced a bold vision for the future of UK energy; one with potentially transformative impacts on not only energy but on the country's wider economic activities too. We cast our eye over the various points and targets it contains, discussing whether they are surprising or not, what might be new and how the plan may…

In the excitement over electric vehicles, hydrogen and other 'hot' topics in decarbonisation, it can be easy to overlook the role that biofuels have played in replacing fossil fuel usage. Not without controversy of course, the political and perceptual fortunes of the sector have varied over both time and geography. In this episode we talk to Ryan L…

In this episode we have a fascinating chat with Gavin Catto, founder of Green Cat Renewables (a specialist renewable energy consultancy focused on driving down the costs of project development). From the UK to North America and from wind power to ammonia, batteries and grid congestion, we cover our usual varied ground. In particular we hear the vie…

Ammonia production consumes lots of natural gas and is a big contributor to global carbon emissions. So decarbonising that production by using clean hydrogen sources is one obvious way forward. But what about some of the other ideas that are discussed with regards to ammonia: using it as a hydrogen transport method or as a fuel in itself? In this l…

If there's a subject that's bound to either delight or dismay people - often with little in between - it's nuclear power. Still, we never shy away from any topic - and are always open to learning something new. So this week we invited along Brian Matthews, a guest with in-depth knowledge of the subject. Brian helpfully answered a whole variety of q…

This week, the UK's Prime Minister promised to 'build, build, build', referring to housing and infrastructure. There have been statements about 'coming back stronger and greener'. So it's no surprise that industry sectors from hydrogen to carbon capture to EVs and more are busily lobbying to grab a share of whatever money eventually proves to be av…

Many people are talking about the hydrogen economy at the moment - indeed UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson specifically referred to it as he outlined the UK’s recovery proposals this week. Very few a have actually delivered hydrogen projects though, and even fewer have created a ‘hydrogen economy’. In this chinwag podcast we are joined by Jon Clipsh…

This podcast episode is for the sales leaders who are looking for both motivation and new sales tools that will help them thrive even more!

The titular phrase was coined recently by a German government minister and was one that intrigued us. What might it mean? What might it imply as a goal and how might one reach it? Where might comparisons with the original space port make sense and where might the analogy break down?

Like another topic we've discussed before, hydrogen, CCS is not new to the world. But, like hydrogen, it has had false dawns in the past, is back in the minds of industry now - and is on the hunt for policy support in order to progress. So it was another ideal topic for us to delve into, in our travel around the potential options available to a new…

It's sad, but also topical and unavoidable. So in this episode we decided to chat through what some of the implications of the virus might be for the clean energy sector. We were more interested in some of the immediate-term issues, both positive and negative, though as usual the discussion does jump around to include some of our thoughts on what m…

We've mentioned 'clusters' and 'hubs' in passing before, in our podcasts covering both hydrogen and offshore wind. They are receiving more and more attention in the clean energy world, so it was high time that we delved into them in a bit more detail. What are the advantages of clustering and, of equal importance, what might be some of the downside…

Fluix Podcast #3 with Marcel Teodor Ban - Enterprise Technologies & Innovation Consultant

Podcast with Colin Manasse - Renewable Energy Professional

Starting off by discussing how a move from fixed to floating foundations might impact the offshore wind supply chain here in the UK, we widen the scope to innovation and supply chain more generally. Along the way, we touch on our usual wide range of relevant issues: from industrial strategy and big company purchasing power, to SME innovation challe…

This is a first episode of Fluix podcast with Andrew Borysov. Our guest is Charley Rattan - offshore wind business advisor https://www.linkedin.com/in/charley-rattan/

Amer Gaffar is Director of the Manchester Fuel Cell Innovation Centre at Manchester Metropolitan University, here in the UK. Not surprisingly therefore, he's a keen advocate of the role hydrogen could potentially play in out future energy system! He's also active in the various projects, collaborations and other activities that are looking to place…

We've mentioned energy storage a lot in passing, in our previous podcasts. So it seemed like high time to have a chat specifically about this increasingly important subject. What is it being used for? Is it all about batteries or are there other technologies we should keep an eye on? What are some of the issues and market-specific variables that ma…

This week the UK government announced a consultation into changes to its core mechanism for encouraging utility-scale renewable power deployment. That mechanism is the 'contracts for difference' (CfD) system, with these contracts awarded through competitive auctions. The headline-grabbing proposal is that, having been excluded for several years, on…

We are joined once again by Lincoln Bleveans from Burbank Power & Water, for another view from 'across the pond' (and a lot of land) in California. In particular we explore how this US utility is approaching the challenge of integrating more renewables into their power system. What are the biggest challenges and what are the range of different solu…

This week - the one in which BP announced its intention to be 'net zero' by 2050 - we decided to chat about the oil and gas industry. It's an industry which is often painted as the flat-out enemy of decarbonisation, and one that needs to simply go away rather than adapt. But its also one that employs an awful lot of people, pays out big amounts of …

One of the many sustainability issues gaining more coverage these days is the idea of a 'circular economy'. With critics warning that the clean energy sector risks piling up mountains of end-of life turbine blades, solar panels and EV batteries, we discuss what the circular economy might mean. Why it should matter to companies - particularly in cle…

For this exciting new 'international' episode, we were delighted to have a guest expert join us: Lincoln Bleveans, Assistant General Manager for Power Supply at Burbank Water & Power in the Los Angeles area of California. As always on New Energy Chinwag, we covered a lot of ground and a lot of different topics! Given our guest, it's no surprise tha…

The clean energy transition is usually couched in terms of technologies, energy mixes, carbon impacts and other such numbers. However if we change where we source our energy, we inevitably change the trade flows and politics and geopolitics of energy too. So, to start 2020, we decided to have a chinwag on some of the issues involved and likely to a…

For our last podcast of 2019, we decided to pick and explain our six highlights - three each - from our perspective here in the UK energy market. From plunging battery costs to policy certainty and subsidy-free wind to industrial strategy, we hope they strike a chord with you too. Naturally, there are plenty of other items we could have picked and …

In March of last year we chatted for the first time about hydrogen. Since then it's been a year of strategies, roadmaps and reports - there seems to be a new one every week. The industry is awash with 'momentum'. But is this all talk, or has there been action on hydrogen since we last discussed it? Are we starting to see signs that hydrogen is set …

In this episode we discuss those other two "offshore" energy sources: wave and tidal energy. A few years ago there seemed to be much excitement about their prospects, but despite various technical trials and innovations, few actual projects have materialised. Why is that and how might things change? It's fair to say that we arrive at a fairly downb…

Fracking has, at least for the moment, ground to a halt here in the UK. For a variety of reasons from earthquakes to election politics, the government has decided to withdraw its support from the nascent industry. Remember though, that natural gas accounts for over 40% of UK electricity generation and the vast majority of its heat supply. So in thi…

In this episode we look specifically at floating wind. The term 'game-changer' is one which is vastly over-used in the clean energy sector, but are floating wind turbines worthy of that tag? Will they open up entirely new project locations compared to fixed foundations, or will they start to compete in areas where fixed solutions have thus far rule…

Yesterday, Charley attended the Round 4 Bidders Day at the Crown Estate in London. If that sentence makes little sense to you, then what it means is he was getting up-to-the-minute insight into how the process for the next tranches of UK offshore wind licensing is going to work. Where will future growth be happening, who's interested in it and how …

Regular listeners will know that 'the grid' pops up regularly in any of our conversations about the transitioning power system: it's key to renewable power project development, impacting costs, land use, permitting and a variety of other key issues. Without a grid connection, a project can't sell its production (unless it plans to be private wire o…

We return to one of our core subjects for this week's podcast: offshore wind. It's particularly timely in the week that the latest UK government auction saw bidders winning contracts at prices below those projected to be prevailing in the market at their time of deployment. In other words, these latest projects are set to be 'subsidy-free' (in fact…

Rather than build just a wind project (or just a solar project, or a battery project), doesn't it make more sense to build hybrid renewable power projects? Why not take advantage of shared infrastructure and land, and combine multiple technologies to increase the value of the energy that's produced? These are questions we discuss in this latest 'Ne…

The energy world is sometimes prone to debates where two sides of an argument take up entrenched, 'winner takes all' positions. One example of this at the moment is the discussion around electric vehicles: in particular, will the electricity to power those vehicles come out of a battery or a fuel cell (the latter fuelled by hydrogen)? It sounded li…

For this week's podcast we review some of the key themes that have come up in the course of our recent work activities, which has encompassed a range of things from teaching a Filipino coal power plant operator about solar power, to meeting an investment firm in Manchester (the UK one). In talking to a wide variety of people from varied backgrounds…

In the week that the UK put into legislation its target to be "net zero" by 2050, we had a chat about the options for renewable heat. After all, without decarbonising heat, there is no chance of coming close to that target - heat in northern climates such as the UK is usually a much bigger energy user than is electricity. So can we decarbonise elec…

In May, we visited the All-Energy show in Glasgow, UK. It's just about the biggest clean energy show here in the UK, so a good event to catch the mood of the industry and hear what they are talking about. Regular listeners will have already listened to our preview of the show. So how close were we when anticipating what would be the key themes ther…

In this, the week that a parliamentary committee recommended that the UK set a target for the country to be zero-carbon by 2050, we focus on offshore wind. Without a vast increase in our usage of the latter, such a target stands no chance of being reached. So offshore wind will be crucial to the UK's future energy mix and its economy, and represent…

Both John Massey and Charley Rattan (together, Astute New Energy) will be at the All-Energy conference and exhibition again in Glasgow, in the middle of May. In this New Energy Chinwag, we chat about the kind of topics we're going there hoping to find out more about - and the ones we think the industry will (or should) be focusing on. Let's see if …

In this episode, Charley Rattan & John Massey chat about the growth of connected energy, smart grid, energy Internet of Things (IoT) - call it what you will... What does this actually mean, what impacts might it have on the industry and on energy users, and where are we with it currently. As always, we'd welcome your views, news or feedback - so pl…

There's recently been lots of talk recently about the role of hydrogen in decarbonising energy systems. So, is the "hydrogen economy" back on the agenda? If so, how will hydrogen be produced and for which applications? Is it really low-carbon? In this latest chinwag, we briefly run through some of these questions and outline the key issues involved…

Most discussions around offshore wind focus on giant turbines, fixing foundations to the seabed and fancy cable-laying vessels. So it's easy to forget that all that offshore work is pointless without also delivering those crucial aspects of an offshore project which lie on land. In particular that means connection into the onshore grid, but also si…

The first podcast from Charley Rattan and John Massey, who together are "Astute New Energy". In this episode we have a general chat about the differing fortunes of offshore wind and nuclear power here in the UK. Both provide important sources of low carbon power from huge power generation projects. Yet one is booming and seeing its costs plummet, w…