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 podcast@thesmartere.com

Keep calm and deploy solar (and batteries) – with James Allston and Marko Topič

The smarter E Podcast

Keep calm and deploy solar (and batteries) – with James Allston and Marko Topič