The smarter E Podcast

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]

Recorded live in Barcelona at the Solar Quality Summit in February, this episode of The smarter E Podcast examines a critical question for the PV industry: are today’s solar modules built for long-term durability?

As manufacturers push for higher efficiencies, larger formats, and lower costs, quality data is flashing warning signs. Drawing on insights from Kiwa PI Berlin’s latest Module Manufacturing Report, we explore a record 3.36% defect rate observed during pre-shipment inspections in 2025, and what’s driving it.

Rear-side breakage in large-format, glass-glass modules is emerging as a major concern, with thinner 2 mm strengthened glass proving more fragile under real-world stress. At the same time, thinner frames, rapid factory ramp-ups, and geopolitical supply chain shifts are adding new layers of risk.

The episode also dives into degradation challenges linked to TOPCon technology, including UV-induced degradation – and module meta-stability, which is proving challenging for accurate characterization.

In the second part of the episode, we turn to polymers – present in the encapsulants, backsheets, and adhesives that quietly influence whether modules last 30 years or fail early. New materials like POE and TPO are improving performance in some areas, but increasing complexity across the bill of materials. Meanwhile, emerging tools such as near-infrared field analysis and AI-supported inspection may help be a helpful root-cause analysis tool and enabler of predictive maintenance.

If solar is scaling at unprecedented speed, quality assurance must keep up. Covering a wide range of the important quality topics at hand, our live conversation Barcelona puts the spotlight on what it will take to ensure today’s modules truly stand the test of time.

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

Battery capacity is getting bigger, storage duration longer, and batteries more central to how power systems operate.

In this episode of The smarter E Podcast, we look at what’s driving the surge in battery capacity and why expectations for storage are shifting so quickly.

Projects that would have seemed unrealistic just a few years ago are now moving into planning and achieving financial close. Lithium-ion batteries are expanding well beyond traditional short-duration applications, as falling costs and ongoing technical progress make longer discharge durations commercially viable.

At the same time, rising renewable penetration is exposing a new challenge: extended periods when the power output from wind and solar output is low, for extended periods, and at the same time (the dreaded Dunkelflaute). These events are forcing system operators, utilities, and policymakers to rethink how much storage is needed – and for how long.

The episode also explores the structural side of the transition: how market design, revenue certainty, and permitting timelines could ultimately decide how fast large-scale storage rolls out, and which technologies win the arms race.

If the last decade was about proving that storage can, in fact, work – the next may be about proving that it can actually play a central role in helping manage power systems.

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