Energy Unplugged by Aurora

This week on Energy Unplugged, we’re joined by Nat Bullard, co-founder of Halcyon, an AI-enabled energy information platform, and one of the sector’s most influential data storytellers. He joins Hugo Batten, Aurora’s Managing Director APAC, and Oliver Kerr, Aurora’s Managing Director USA, to unpack the 2026 edition of his annual “Decarbonisation” presentation - a sweeping, data-led assessment of where the global energy transition is accelerating, stalling, and surprising us. 

Nat brings two decades’ experience analysing energy, technology, markets and finance. Formerly Chief Content Officer at BloombergNEF and now also an advisor to Ember and Arcadia, he draws on deep market insight to separate structural trends from short-term noise. From record solar and battery deployment in the US, to flat real-terms clean investment globally, to China’s extraordinary scale in electrification and manufacturing, the conversation explores a world adding more of everything - fossil fuels and renewables alike - while grappling with grid constraints and rising electricity demand. 

The discussion also examines cooling demand in developing economies, China’s emergence as a global electrostate, and the profound uncertainty surrounding AI-driven load growth and data centre interconnections in the US - where the bottleneck may be demand connection as much as generation capacity. 

You will learn: 

Why the energy transition appears contradictory - with record clean deployment alongside continued fossil growth. 

How cooling demand in emerging economies could rival or exceed AI as a driver of electricity growth. 

What China’s scale in electrification, batteries and EVs means for global supply chains and competitiveness. 

Why grids and interconnection queues may prove the decisive constraint in the next phase of the transition. 

Registration for the leading annual gathering of the European energy industry – the Aurora Spring Forum, taking place on 29th April 2026, in London is open - a one-day deep dive into the biggest strategic questions shaping Europe’s energy transition, plus top-tier networking and a live recording of Energy Unplugged.

Book now at https://auroraer.com/events/aurora-sp... and use code PODCAST20 for 20% off.

As part of a special live edition of Energy Unplugged, recorded from the podcast booth at E-World in Essen, Hanns Koenig, Managing Directore EMEA for Aurora Energy Research, sits down with Michael Lewis, CEO of Uniper, to discuss the realities of leading a major European energy company at the heart of the transition. 

Drawing on three decades in the sector - from building E.ON’s offshore wind business to steering Uniper through recovery after the gas crisis - Michael reflects on what it really takes to deliver the energy transition: cost discipline, system thinking, and a relentless focus on security of supply. 

The conversation spans Germany’s progress on renewables, the case for new hydrogen-ready gas capacity, the role of batteries and demand-side flexibility, gas market resilience post-Russia, and the growing impact of data centres and electrification on future power demand. Throughout, one theme stands out: the transition cannot be delivered in silos - it must be approached as a fully integrated system. 

What you’ll learn: 

Why flexibility is shifting from generators to customers in a renewables-led system 

How Germany is balancing coal phase-out with new hydrogen-ready gas plants 

What true gas security looks like after the Russia shock - and why diversification matters 

How AI, data centres and electrification could reshape Europe’s electricity demand curve 

Registration for the leading annual gathering of the European energy industry – the Aurora Spring Forum, taking place on 29th April 2026, in London is open - a one-day deep dive into the biggest strategic questions shaping Europe’s energy transition, plus top-tier networking and a live recording of Energy Unplugged.

Book now at https://auroraer.com/events/aurora-spring-forum-2026 and use code PODCAST20 for 20% off.

In this episode of Energy Unplugged, Simon De Clercq is joined by Pieter-Jan Mermans, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Junction Growth Investors, to explore how Europe’s energy transition is shifting from rapid build-out to a more operationally complex phase. Reflecting on the last decade of renewables, electrification and storage growth, they discuss why today’s biggest challenges are no longer technological, but lie in flexibility, market design, and making existing infrastructure work harder.

Pieter-Jan brings first-hand experience from founding and scaling REstore into a global leader in demand-side flexibility, before joining Centrica Business Solutions’ executive team following its acquisition. Drawing on this background - and his current role investing in European energy transition scale-ups - he explains why flexibility, software and optimisation have moved from the margins to the core of power markets, and how grid-enhancing technologies can unlock value faster and more cost-effectively than network expansion alone.

Set against tighter capital markets and evolving policy priorities, the conversation argues that the next phase of the energy transition will be defined by execution and unit economics. From residential and industrial flexibility to smarter trading, automation and regulation that reward system value, Simon and Pieter-Jan make the case that aligning markets with real-world system needs will be critical to keeping Europe’s transition investable, reliable and competitive.

You will learn:

Why flexibility and optimisation - not new generation - are now the biggest levers in Europe’s energy transition.

How demand-side response, storage and software can unlock system value faster than traditional grid build-out.

What scaling an energy-tech business reveals about the real-world barriers to deploying flexibility at pace.

Why execution, unit economics and market design will determine which transition technologies succeed in tighter capital markets.

 

Registration for the leading annual gathering of the European energy industry – the Aurora Spring Forum, taking place on 29th April 2026, in London is open - a one-day deep dive into the biggest strategic questions shaping Europe’s energy transition, plus top-tier networking and a live recording of Energy Unplugged.

Book now at https://auroraer.com/events/aurora-spring-forum-2026 and use code PODCAST20 for 20% off.

This week on Energy Unplugged, we share a keynote address from Jonathan Brearley, Chief Executive of Ofgem, recorded live at Aurora’s Energy Transition Summit in London. Jonathan sets out why the UK’s energy transition now requires deep systemic reform -moving beyond a purely market-led model towards a more strategic, coordinated approach to planning, regulation and delivery. Drawing on lessons from electricity market reform and the rapid scale-up of offshore wind, he argues that choosing low-cost pathways, coordinating infrastructure, enabling flexible demand and spreading costs fairly are essential to delivering a cleaner, more secure and affordable energy system.

Jonathan reflects on the pressures driving reform, from volatile gas prices and rising energy bills to surging demand from electrification, AI and data centres. He outlines how Ofgem is responding through faster network approvals, connection reform, closer coordination with the National Energy System Operator, and a renewed focus on retail market reform. The discussion highlights the challenge of balancing affordability, security and decarbonisation while creating a regulatory framework capable of supporting large-scale investment in networks and clean energy.

You will learn:

Why systemic reform is now essential to deliver a coordinated, lower-cost energy transition beyond a purely market-led model.

How affordability, fairness and energy debt are shaping the transition, and what needs to change to protect consumers.

What a reformed regulatory framework must do to unlock investment, accelerate grid build-out and enable flexible demand.

Registration for the leading annual gathering of the European energy industry – the Aurora Spring Forum, taking place on 29th April 2026, in London is open - a one-day deep dive into the biggest strategic questions shaping Europe’s energy transition, plus top-tier networking and a live recording of Energy Unplugged.

Book now at https://auroraer.com/events/aurora-spring-forum-2026 and use code PODCAST20 for 20% off.

This week on Energy Unplugged, we’re joined by Steffen Schülzchen, Founder and CEO of Entrix, and Constantin Nicklas, Head of Sales at Entrix, for a discussion on how grid congestion is reshaping battery storage investment across Europe. They join Claudia Gunter, Senior Research Lead at Aurora, to focus on why network constraints have become a defining challenge for batteries, and how flexible connection models, smarter optimisation, and evolving market rules could help unlock capacity faster. The discussion explores how congestion, redispatch, and ramping limits affect battery revenues in practice, and what this means for system efficiency, investors, and decarbonisation outcomes.

Steffen founded Entrix in 2021 after advising European utilities on the energy transition at McKinsey & Company, and now leads the development of an intelligent trading and optimisation platform for battery assets. Constantin brings a commercial and investor perspective from over a decade in financial asset management at Deutsche Bank, where he worked closely with energy-focused investment structures. Together, they offer a grounded view on how regulatory design, grid access, and market signals are shaping the next phase of battery deployment in Europe.

You will learn:

Why grid congestion has become a binding constraint for battery deployment in Europe, especially in Germany.

How connection rules, redispatch, and ramping limits shape real-world battery revenues and risk.

What flexible grid access and smarter optimisation could unlock for storage investors and system operators.

How market design and regulation will need to evolve to scale batteries efficiently and cost-effectively.

Registration for the leading annual gathering of the European energy industry – the Aurora Spring Forum, taking place on 29th April 2026, in London is open - a one-day deep dive into the biggest strategic questions shaping Europe’s energy transition, plus top-tier networking and a live recording of Energy Unplugged.

Book now at https://auroraer.com/events/aurora-spring-forum-2026 and use code PODCAST20 for 20% off.