The smarter E Podcast

Recorded on-site at the SolarPower Summit in Brussels, this week’s episode captures the market developments and innovative young companies shaping Europe’s clean energy transition.

We kick things off with renowned BloombergNEF solar analyst Jenny Chase, who joins us to unpack why batteries have become the defining technology conversation across Europe’s solar sector. As PV penetration rates continue to increase and negative pricing events become more common, Jenny explains why in this next phase of development, the industry’s challenge is managing flexibility, storage, and increasingly volatile power markets.

The conversation touches on anticipated developments like changing energy-trading models, EV smart charging, and long-duration storage, while also exploring how software and intelligent asset management are becoming as important as the hardware itself. And Jenny flags battery revenue cannibalization as a trend to keep an eye out for.

The second half of the episode features interviews with the four finalists of the European Solar Startup Award, recorded directly after the competition finals at the summit:

We speak with Sweden’s Qurrent about hybrid solar and battery optimization platforms designed to unlock new revenue streams for renewable assets.

Finland’s Polar Night Energy explains how high-temperature sand batteries could provide low-cost industrial heat and long-duration storage using excess renewable electricity.

Gridio discusses the growing importance of seamless EV smart charging and integrating electric vehicles with home solar systems.

And finally, we hear from reLi Energy – the winner of the competition – on one of the battery sector’s most urgent emerging challenges: degradation management and how smarter operation of battery assets could dramatically improve long-term revenues and asset lifetimes.

From the summit location in Brussels, this episode of The smarter E podcast provides a snapshot of where the European energy transition is heading next.

Thank you to SolarPower Europe for the event invitation.

✉️ Questions or feedback? Write us at [email protected]

With the Strait of Hormuz disruption continuing to drive fossil-fuel costs higher, businesses big and small have been left looking for ways to cut energy costs.

But, in contrast to energy crises of the past, today’s clean energy technology is mature, cost competitive, and ready to fill the gap.

This week on the pod, we speak to James Allston of Orkestra Energy for a view on how European businesses are responding to sustained high electricity prices and growing volatility. Rather than reacting to headlines, he explains how structural forces – from rising network charges to falling battery costs – are accelerating the business case for solar and storage.

We unpack how local market dynamics, in leading commercial and industrial (C&)I marketplaces such as the United Kingdom and Germany, are shaping very different “value stacks” for batteries, including managing peak demand, navigating negative pricing, and optimizing behind-the-meter savings.

We also explore the next frontier for commercial energy users: EV fleets with integrated on-site solar and storage. As grid capacity tightens and electrification accelerates, this convergence will likely shape how businesses think about both energy costs and transportation.

Then, we shift from deployment to innovation with renowned solar researcher Professor Marko Topič from the University of Ljubljana, who takes us inside one of the most promising areas of solar research: perovskite solar cells.

With record-breaking efficiencies already achieved, industry focus has turned to the next challenge for the emerging solar technology: durability. We dive into the perovskite degradation mechanisms, surprising “self-healing” behaviors, and the painstaking work required to understand, and ultimately control, these processes in real-world conditions.

Professor Topič discusses indoor perovskite-powered IoT devices and even space applications, providing a glimpse into an exciting future – but one that will only be realized if researchers can bridge the gap between lab performance and long-term reliability.

✉️ Questions or feedback? Write us at [email protected]

As global energy markets face renewed volatility – from geopolitical flashpoints to supply disruptions – a key question is back in focus: how do we deliver energy security when fossil-fuel supply is no longer guaranteed?

In this episode, we explore how flexibility – powered by EVs and batteries – is emerging as a frontline solution to energy security challenges.

First, Gautham Ram (TU Delft) changes the narrative on EVs as a grid liability. Instead, he outlines how millions of electric vehicles could act as a vast, distributed storage network, effectively turning transport into a strategic energy asset.

From smart charging to V2G, we explore how intelligent coordination – and not just new infrastructure – can ease grid congestion, absorb renewable generation, and reduce reliance on imported fuels. We also unpack the use cases driving AC vs. DC charging, bidirectional technology, and battery lifetimes – and why scaling these solutions will depend on standards, interoperability, and consumer confidence.

Then, live from the Battery & Business Development Forum 2026 in Frankfurt, Ruben Valiente of Maxxen Energy shares a ground-level view of Europe’s rapidly expanding battery storage market.

His message is timely: while battery cells remain dominated by global supply chains, Europe’s strength lies in system integration, local engineering, and getting projects deployed rapidly. As markets grapple with uncertainty, new approaches like vendor-backed financing are helping to de-risk investments and accelerate deployment, which is absolutely critical in these moments when resilience is thrown into question.

With EV fleets increasingly acting as mobile energy reserves and utility-scale batteries stabilizing grids, this episode connects the dots across a rapidly evolving storage landscape and shows how, in an era of disruption, flexibility may be the ultimate hedge against energy insecurity.

With a focus on smarter inverters and the power of distributed energy systems, this episode looks at how solar is redefining energy security – and why resilience may be its most important role yet.

✉️ Questions or feedback? Write us at [email protected]

Energy security is back at the top of the global agenda and new ways to secure supply are evolving fast. In this episode of The smarter E Podcast, we explore how solar is moving beyond generation to play a critical role in stabilizing power systems and delivering energy security.

First, Wood Mackenzie analyst Timothy Shen breaks down the rapid evolution of solar inverters – and how they are well equipped to meet the challenges of today’s changing power mix. Once seen as passive components, today’s advanced inverters can actively support the grid managing voltage, frequency, and providing reactive power in real time. As the energy transition accelerates, these capabilities are becoming essential to keeping power systems reliable, especially during disruptions.

We also examine what recent grid failures reveal about the gap between older infrastructure and newer, more resilient technologies, and why the latest generation of inverters could help prevent future blackouts.

In the second half of the episode, Dr Rethabile Melamu from the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association shares insights from Africa’s rapidly accelerating solar market. With hundreds of millions still lacking access to electricity on the continent, solar and storage are an increasingly essential factors to support economic growth, energy access, and resilience. From community-led microgrids to innovative financing models, new approaches are enabling decentralized, secure power systems to scale quickly across Africa.

For more for insights into Africa’s energy grid, check out the GSC’s recently released Africa Market Outlook for Solar PV: 2026–2029: https://www.globalsolarcouncil.org/resources/africa-market-outlook-2026-2029/

With a focus on smarter inverters and the power of distributed energy systems, this episode looks at how solar is redefining energy security – and why resilience may be its most important role yet.

✉️ Questions or feedback? Write us at [email protected]

As geopolitical tensions once again send shockwaves through global energy markets, the pressure to accelerate the energy transition has rarely been greater. In this episode of The smarter E Podcast, we explore how digital technologies and electrification are reshaping the energy system—and why smarter, more connected grids are becoming essential in navigating today’s crisis.

Our first guest, Simon Evans, Global Digital Energy and Digital Twin Leader at Arup, explains what digitalization really means for electricity networks. As renewables, rooftop solar, EVs, and distributed assets multiply across the grid, traditional operating models are becoming increasingly complex. Digital technologies, including improved data sharing to digital twins and machine learning, can help system operators manage this growing complexity. But as Evans argues, the biggest hurdles are not technical. Regulatory frameworks, trust between stakeholders, and new approaches to secure data exchange will ultimately determine how quickly digitalization can scale.

We also explore how smarter networks could unlock flexibility across the system like coordinating EV charging and distributed storage and reducing renewable curtailment. In some cases, digital tools could even help direct excess renewable generation toward households facing energy affordability challenges.

In the second half of the episode, Bloomberg climate reporter Akshat Rathi joins the podcast to unpack the geopolitical context behind today’s volatile energy markets. As disruptions to oil and gas supply chains push prices higher, governments are once again confronting energy security concerns. But unlike past crises, there is now a third option: accelerating electrification and renewable energy deployment.

From digital grids to geopolitics, this episode looks at how today’s energy shocks could reshape the power system and why smarter infrastructure may be key to building a more resilient, electrified energy future.

✉️ Have comments or questions? Get in touch at [email protected]