Initiate! - Main Stage

Collaborative, co-creative solutions are the key. How to align stakeholders objectives and requirements in a decentralised system. And what will be trend impacts and benefits?

Almost by definition, regulated energy market players are unable to innovate. The returns on infrastructure investment, their role in the market and how and what they communicate and sell to consumers are all highly scrutinised by government regulators. For decades, electricity systems have remained largely unchanged and systematic incentives encouraged utilities to resist startups and new market designs. Today these systems are being challenged politically, technically and financially, driven in no small party by the threat of climate change and an urgent agenda to provide energy access for all. At the same time, a combination of technology trends in energy (such as new battery capability) and computing (such as blockchain) show the promise of moving toward a much more decentralised, decarbonised energy system. 

During this workshop we will focus on challenges such as the opportunities and business models arising from co-created decentralised eco-systems and how the future trends (e.g. IoT, batteries) will have an impact on these partnerships and business models. How will the grid manage the complexities of distributed power (e..g grid congestion, visibility of load)

The wrap up will be a brief reflection on the discussions that took place during the workshops and will follow into a panel discussion where policy makers and other established stakeholders in the field of decentralised power will elaborate on what is currently being developed and has been proven to work or should work differently.