In the Energy Transitions podcast, Patrizio Donati, Co-Founder and Director at Terrawatt, explores the restraints hampering Italy's renewables market.

In this episode you will learn more about:

• Why Italy’s renewable market is driven by strong fundamentals but constrained by regulatory inefficiencies;
• How permitting delays and bureaucratic complexity impact project timelines and investor confidence;
• The trade-off between higher power prices, stronger returns and increased development risk;
• Why grid infrastructure remains a key bottleneck for scaling renewables;
• How the battery storage market is evolving as a core enabler of system balance;
• Why renewables deployment is now primarily a regulatory, not technical, challenge.

In this Energy Transitions Podcast episode, experts from both countries swop renewable energy success stories and reveal they also face similar significant challenges.

Sarah Merrick and Daniel Serrano both work for consultancy Ricardo – Merrick in the UK and Serrano in Spain.

In this podcast episode, you will hear:

• What needs to happen to make energy storage thrive;
• How the UK has the right mechanisms to develop fledging technologies;
• Why Spain has been so successful at deploying solar PV and network planning;
• What the “dream scenario” is for a flexible energy system;
• A reality check for national and EU energy targets;
• How to reform the electricity market while not deterring investment;
• Lessons learned from the Iberia blackout;

In this episode of the Energy Transitions podcast, Yusuf Latief speaks with Michael Villa, Executive Director at SmartEn, and Jochem van Hove, Managing Director for Energy and Resources EMEA at Microsoft, about how data platforms, AI and digital tools can help coordinate these resources in real time.

In this episode of the Energy Transitions podcast, you will learn more about:

• Why flexibility is becoming critical in a decentralised energy system;
• The role of AI and data in managing distributed energy resources;
• How EVs, buildings, industries and data centres can provide flexibility;
• The importance of real-time data and digital platforms;
• Cyber-security considerations in digitalised energy systems;
• Policy and market frameworks needed to unlock demand-side flexibility.

In this episode of the Energy Transitions podcast, Pamela Largue speaks with Sandro Baldi, Commercial Director at NUWARD SMR, EDF, about why SMRs are a viable technology in terms of meeting rising data centre demand and decarbonising industries where direct electrification is challenging.

In this episode you will learn more about:

• The importance of SMRs in the future energy landscape of Europe;
• The role of SMRs in providing energy security, reducing emissions and meeting increasing demand;
• Key barriers to deployment;
• Policy and economic enablers for SMR projects;
• Whether Europe’s supply chain is sufficiently robust to support advancement;
• When we can expect projects to reach commercial operations;
• The projects NUWARD SMR is working on and plans for the future.

In this Energy Transitions podcast, Michael Hierholzer and Armin Fürderer of Rolls-Royce Power Systems, highlight the technical, operational and human aspects of this pioneering BESS project.

In this episode you will learn more about:

• The pace of energy transition in the Baltic region, as well as current energy mix and market dynamics;
• The BRELL disconnect and the impact it had on Latvia’s grid;
• The opportunities that made Latvia’s first grid-scale BESS project possible and the challenges associated with the project;
• How the system has been performing thus far;
• How to mitigate cybersecurity risks for critical infrastructure like BESS;
• Key learnings from the project that could be employed in projects throughout the region;
• What’s next for Rolls-Royce Power systems in this region and in terms of BESS.

This episode is brought to you in partnership with Rolls-Royce Power Systems.

In this episode of the Energy Transitions podcast, Christiane Mann, Chair of the T&D Europe working group on grid digitalisation and Vice President, Head of Industry Affairs at Siemens Smart Infrastructure, helps unpack what true grid digitalisation really means.

In this episode you will learn more about:

• What grid digitalisation actually means in technical and operational terms;
• How advanced digital functionalities help operators manage renewables, decentralised energy resources and rising electrification in transport and heating;
• Why flexibility and “flexumers” are central to the future system;
• The growing importance of data governance, harmonisation and digital skills in Europe’s energy transition;
• The impact of “capex bias” and how current regulatory models can disadvantage software and digital investments;
• How grid digitalisation represents a system-wide change management challenge

In this episode of the Energy Transition podcast, two members from the EU DSO Entity, Oliver Franz of E.ON and Alco de Lange of Stedin, discuss and compare the power grid crunches that have been unravelling in the Netherlands and Germany.

In this episode of the Energy Transitions podcast, you will learn more about:

• The three key issues where the resilience of the grid needs to be strengthened: cybersecurity, physical resilience, and climate change;
• How battery storage and data centres in Germany were the “two new kids on the block”, requiring new approaches to consumption management;
• What led to the power congestion crunch in the Netherlands and how the country is re-approaching connection queues;
• The role of digitalisation and data in making effective grid investment decisions;
• A comparison of new congestion management methods between the Netherlands and Germany;
• The role of flexibility in solving grid issues? Or will we see a future with a resilient grid that can cope with all stresses?

In this episode of the Energy Transitions podcast, former CEO of Volkswagen and current Board Chair of The Mobility House, Herbert Diess, explains why people can't underestimate the role of cars in the energy transition.

In this episode you will learn more about:

• Why decentralised solutions hold so much promise when it comes to solving energy transition challenges;
• Investing in solutions that are practical and make good business sense;
• Why Herbert Diess believes it's time to go all in on e-mobility;
• How to overcome the barriers to e-mobility, including antiquated mindsets;
• The Mobility House and some of the exciting projects the team is working on;
• Why innovation and agile start ups will drive sustainable energy transformation.