Blogs

Five countries leading the installation and use of renewables

More and more countries are becoming vocal on their plans to decarbonise their energy sector. More than two-thirds of governments worldwide are considering, if not committing, to reduce their carbon footprint by increasing their generation and/or use of renewable energy, among other decarbonisation initiatives. Based on the “Renewable capacity highlights” released by International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) (2021) in March 2021, total global renewable energy capacity was 10.3 percent higher than the previous year. Let us explore how the top five countries performed in 2020.

Increasing use of renewable sources of energy is seen as one of the major solutions to decarbonise the society. Individually, how are these renewables faring in the last 10 years? Read about it in this blog, where we discuss the five major renewable energy sources that are driving Energy Transition in the last decade.

Working at height and other hard to reach areas is common to a lot of industries. In the past, scaffolds were the only option for workers who had to execute tasks at height or other areas with very limited access. However, these steel installations can be considered a thing of the past. There are gamechanger technologies, such as  LOBO System, that combine the flexibility and strength of traditional scaffolding with the simplicity and mobility of tower systems. In this blog, written by Robert Bokros [Director, LOBO Systems Ltd.] five compelling reasons to move away from traditional scaffolding are discussed.

To explore the full potential of solar in driving global Energy Transition, along with the challenges that must be addressed to realise this, we invited Nancy Haegel from the United States National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to answer a few questions touching on the potential of solar photovoltaics (PV) in supporting the Energy Transition.

Nancy is Center Director of the Materials Science Center in the Materials, Chemical, and Computational Science Directorate at NREL. Prior to joining NREL in 2014, she was a Distinguished Professor of Physics at the Naval Postgraduate School. Previously, she held faculty positions at Fairfield University and UCLA.

Hydrogen is gaining momentum these days given its huge potential as a clean energy solution. As such, we are highlighting hydrogen production, storage and power generation technologies on the platform for this month’s Technologies in the Spotlight. In this list, you will find novel and proven technologies with technology readiness levels ranging from 7 to 9. 

Enjoy browsing!

Oil and gas companies are faced with the ongoing challenge to become more efficient and reduce costs amid volatile global prices. Energy Transition and the call for more renewable energy sources are also affecting the industry’s medium- to long-term prospects.

To discuss how the oil and gas industry can manoeuvre through these challenges, we invited NOV Chief Technology Officer and Chief Marketing Officer David Reid. Here, he answered questions on how oil and gas companies can adjust their core business strategy to make themselves more resilient. He also discussed some key technological opportunities for the oil and gas industry in light of the global Energy Transition journey.

Creating and maintaining a safe work environment is an utmost priority for every industrial organisation. And in securing compliance to health and safety standards in facilities management, deploying the right technologies plays a key role.

So for this month’s Technologies in the Spotlight, we are featuring 11 amazing technologies that can improve, if not transform, health and safety standards in your company’s facilities. 

Digital twin technology is gaining widespread popularity given its ability to get real-time insights on physical assets and provide data to forecast future performance.

With the value that digital twin technologies can bring to companies, we are featuring them on this month’s Technologies in the Spotlight.

The journey towards Energy Transition differs across countries, and it is highly anchored on the social, economic and ecological priorities of their respective governments and constituents. To further explain the developing countries’ journey to Energy Transition, we invited Atty. Monalisa Dimalanta, a renewable energy expert  and former chairperson of Philippine government advisory body National Renewable Energy Board (NREB). 

Read her insights below on the Energy Transition journey of developing countries, with the case of the Philippines as a major reference.

How a tech page on the platform helped a tech supplier get its foot in an energy operator’s door

This is a case study of one of the suppliers on TechnologyCatalogue.com, Advanced 3D Laser Solutions or A3D.

A3D Director Colin Pittman said he received many interests for their technology from all over the globe, including a direct inquiry from a huge operator in Houston, Texas.

Drone technology has been widely used for inspections of difficult to reach areas such as confined spaces and workplaces at height. Since this type of inspection poses risks to the workforce when done the traditional way (i.e. use of scaffolding), unmanned aerial vehicles or more commonly known as drones have become a popular safer, cost effective and more efficient alternative.

As such, for this month’s Technologies in the Spotlight, we are featuring some of the drones we have on the platform.

Health, safety and environment (HSE) is a major theme that is central to major industries, especially in the energy sector.

As such, we invited Safety Delta Nederland (SDN) Director Arjan van Dijk to discuss HSE challenges and opportunities in the petrochemicals industry, an industry that is largely interlinked with the energy sector. Read his answers to key HSE questions in this blog.

The global population is heading towards nine billion people and the demand for energy and electricity continues to grow. At the same time many parts of the world have experienced first-hand devastating climate change impacts, and this is driving the global capital investment world to move into the energy and technology solutions needed to decarbonise all industries.

Here we go again! I guess you have realised it by now… we aren’t running out of amazing technologies to show you! And for this month’s selection, there is no particular theme! Well, “cool technology” is a theme on its own, right?

So, here you go! Five cool technologies handpicked for the month of June!

TechnologyCatalogue.com believes in the central role of technology and innovation in accelerating the Energy Transition. And this is particularly important for energy companies as they are in the forefront of ensuring that we have the right infrastructure to embrace a new energy mix that favours sustainable sources of energy.

To give us insights on the innovation culture in huge energy companies, we invited Jaco Fok, an innovation and digitalisation expert, for an interview. Here, he discussed extensively how large companies change/improve/maintain certain aspects of company culture to welcome innovation and successfully embed it in their organisation. He also noted key opportunities for oil and gas companies that are at the intersection of Energy Transition.

Clearly, cutting CO2 emissions is becoming a top, if not a major, priority for everyone. Shareholders and society are becoming more and more outspoken about their expectations towards energy companies to reduce their CO2 footprint, pushing the latter to take action. To support companies with this, we offer a FREE two-hour technology selection and deployment masterclass. The masterclass will be organised per company and will be open to employees who are registered users of TechnologyCatalogue.com. 

Large companies all over the globe are taking conscious effort to reduce the CO2 footprint of their activities. According to a report from Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit, over a fifth of the world’s 2,000 largest public companies announced net zero commitments. But then the question comes: how to realise those targets? 

This month’s selection of technologies puts a premium on data, allowing end-users to get access to crucial information for better asset maintenance, optimization and management. 

Check them out!

Replication of technologies within a global organisation with multiple assets/facilities in different countries is not always easy. Assets in different countries are oftentimes operating independently. And without an organised technology replication program, it will be a challenge to share information or build trust on a technology used elsewhere, even with success stories.

For this insights blog, we invited Loek Vreenegoor to share his experience on replicating valuable technologies at Shell. Loek has over three decades of experience at Shell, holding technical and leadership positions in-charge of lab experimentation, innovation and R&D, replication and commercialisation of technologies, among others. Read Loek's insights in this blog.

Blue Tulip Awards selected TechnologyCatalogue.com as one of the top 50 Industry and Infrastructure innovators in the Netherlands.

This recognition shows that Blue Tulip Awards sees TechnologyCatalogue.com as one of the innovators that are helping to achieve "inclusive and sustainable industrialization together with innovation and resilient infrastructure."

We are back with five handpicked technologies for you this April. Check the list and visit their tech pages for more information.

Technological innovation has played a vital role in the growth of the global energy sector in the past years, especially the major energy players which have invested heavily on technologies to make their operations more efficient. With the rapid technological changes in the sector coupled with sustainability being a central concern for the industry, we find it helpful to thresh out some of the key issues surrounding technology and innovation in the energy sector.

As such, we invited Dr. Robert Perrons, professor of Technology Management and Strategy at the Queensland University of Technology, to answer a few questions on this matter. In this blog you can read Dr. Robert’s insightful answers to our questions on innovation in the energy sector.

Fresh capital, bigger network to fuel further platform growth. 

TechnologyCatalogue.com, fastest-growing global platform for technology solutions in the energy sector, has recently formalised the entry of a new investor, global accelerator-VC Rockstart.

The new investment provides an opportunity for the company to expand the platform exponentially by exploring new territories and introducing new features and functionalities.

InnovationQuarter has joined the Netherlands Energy Technology Platform (NETP), a digital exhibition exclusive to Dutch technologies. With InnovationQuarter on board the NETP, companies in their network have the opportunity to showcase their innovative technologies to potential clients abroad and get support for international business development activities.

March, Women’s History Month, is over. But we must be celebrating women and all their contributions and achievements whenever possible.

 At TechnologyCatalogue.com, we believe in the valuable contribution of women to innovation and technology not just in the energy sector but to all industries and fields. As such, we find it important to grow the number and proportion of women, who are actively pursuing studies and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

 For this week’s Faces of the Energy Sector insights blog, we invited Mervin Azeta --- an energy professional, a chemical engineer, a youth leader and a staunch advocate for greater numbers of females pursuing STEM studies and careers.