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Transmission is the podcast for energy professionals navigating the global shift to a low-carbon power system. Hosted by Ed Porter, Transmission goes deep on battery storage markets, power market dynamics, and the commercial forces shaping the energy transition - with the people at the centre of it.
Every week, we sit down with the CEOs, heads of trading desks, government advisors, policy architects, and leading practitioners driving change across the industry.
These are practitioner conversations - focused on how markets actually work, where the real opportunities and risks lie, and what the data is telling us.
We cover clean energy investing, capacity markets, balancing mechanism participation, and the evolving regulatory environment that shapes returns across geographies. Our coverage spans Great Britain, Germany, Spain, and the broader European energy transition, with regular episodes dedicated to the specific dynamics of each market.
Transmission tracks the inflection points that matter: when markets shift, where capital is flowing, and what experienced operators are doing next.
We also cover power markets more broadly - interconnectors, flexibility markets, grid infrastructure, and the trading strategies that sophisticated players use to extract value in increasingly complex systems.
Who listens: Transmission is built for people who work in energy - analysts, investors, developers, traders, asset managers, and policy professionals at every stage of their careers.
If you're entering the industry or building your understanding of how battery storage and power markets actually work, Transmission is one of the fastest ways to get up to speed - directly from the people shaping them.
About Modo Energy: Transmission is produced by Modo Energy, a B2B SaaS platform that helps renewable energy companies, funds, utilities, and banks manage and value their energy assets. Specializing in batteries and provides data, analytics, and forecasting to help customers understand the financial performance of their energy assets.
The Modo Energy Terminal is the one-stop shop for teams trying to understand the commercial case for grid-scale battery energy storage - bringing together trusted indices, customizable benchmarks, independent revenue forecasts, in-depth written analysis, and much more.
Guided by the principles of transparency and usability, Modo Energy’s Terminal provides owners, operators, developers and financiers with a complete view of the landscape for storage - past, present, and future - so that users can make informed, bankable decisions about their assets.
Hundreds of organizations rely on Modo’s tools and insights to navigate market trends, optimize investment strategies, and stay ahead of industry shifts. As the storage space continues to evolve, Modo is leading the way - helping businesses unlock the full value of their assets and make smarter decisions in a net-zero future.
Follow Transmission to get new episodes every Tuesday.
If you find the show valuable, leaving a rating takes 30 seconds and makes a real difference in helping other energy professionals find us.
Every week, we sit down with the CEOs, heads of trading desks, government advisors, policy architects, and leading practitioners driving change across the industry.
These are practitioner conversations - focused on how markets actually work, where the real opportunities and risks lie, and what the data is telling us.
We cover clean energy investing, capacity markets, balancing mechanism participation, and the evolving regulatory environment that shapes returns across geographies. Our coverage spans Great Britain, Germany, Spain, and the broader European energy transition, with regular episodes dedicated to the specific dynamics of each market.
Transmission tracks the inflection points that matter: when markets shift, where capital is flowing, and what experienced operators are doing next.
We also cover power markets more broadly - interconnectors, flexibility markets, grid infrastructure, and the trading strategies that sophisticated players use to extract value in increasingly complex systems.
Who listens: Transmission is built for people who work in energy - analysts, investors, developers, traders, asset managers, and policy professionals at every stage of their careers.
If you're entering the industry or building your understanding of how battery storage and power markets actually work, Transmission is one of the fastest ways to get up to speed - directly from the people shaping them.
About Modo Energy: Transmission is produced by Modo Energy, a B2B SaaS platform that helps renewable energy companies, funds, utilities, and banks manage and value their energy assets. Specializing in batteries and provides data, analytics, and forecasting to help customers understand the financial performance of their energy assets.
The Modo Energy Terminal is the one-stop shop for teams trying to understand the commercial case for grid-scale battery energy storage - bringing together trusted indices, customizable benchmarks, independent revenue forecasts, in-depth written analysis, and much more.
Guided by the principles of transparency and usability, Modo Energy’s Terminal provides owners, operators, developers and financiers with a complete view of the landscape for storage - past, present, and future - so that users can make informed, bankable decisions about their assets.
Hundreds of organizations rely on Modo’s tools and insights to navigate market trends, optimize investment strategies, and stay ahead of industry shifts. As the storage space continues to evolve, Modo is leading the way - helping businesses unlock the full value of their assets and make smarter decisions in a net-zero future.
Follow Transmission to get new episodes every Tuesday.
If you find the show valuable, leaving a rating takes 30 seconds and makes a real difference in helping other energy professionals find us.
408 Episodes
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As the electrification of heat increases and technologies like heat pump adoption grows, it's tempting to assume the gas network can simply be wound down street by street, in line with falling demand. But it’s not as simple as this: network topology, not customer count, decides when decommissioning is actually viable, and the UK gas network is nowhere close to that point today.Sam Wilson, Director of Energy System Operations at Cadent, joins the podcast to explain the engineering reality behind that constraint — and how things like pressure control, storage, and gas injection all factor into it.They cover:Why network topology, not customer count, decides when decommissioning is actually viableHow gas goes from completely odourless at transmission pressure to detectable on your street.What it takes to step pressure down from around 90 bar in the transmission system, through off-takes and above ground installations, to roughly 30 millibars at a domestic appliance.How line packing turns the pipe network itself into short-duration storage, with operators raising or lowering in-pipe pressure to absorb daily demand swings.What's actually limiting how much biomethane and hydrogen can go into the network today, and why hydrogen can be blended in without any changes needed to downstream appliances.Want to know how heat electrification could reshape power demand in GB? Ask Ko - Modo Energy’s AI energy analyst - sign up for free hereTranscript available hereYou can watch or listen to new episodes every Tuesday. Transmission is a Modo Energy production. Your host is Ed Porter - Director EMEA & APAC at Modo Energy.Chapters:0:00 Introduction1:09 What people get wrong about the gas network.3:03 From gas field to home boiler: the full journey4:33 UK's four gas distribution networks explained5:15 Transmission pressure: 90 bar and above6:25 Line packing - storing gas inside the pipes7:55 Industrial vs domestic gas pressure needs12:34 Replacing 100-year-old cast iron gas pipes13:56 Biomethane in the gas network17:15 Hydrogen blending: how much the network can take21:22 Getting hydrogen to industrial gas users23:18 Electrification vs the gas network's engineering reality24:26 What happens when homes remove their gas connection25:46 Why decommissioning the gas network isn't linear31:57 Sam Wilson's contrarian take on the energy transitionMusic licensed via Artlist.🔔 Subscribe for more energy market analysis: / @modoenergy 🔗 Follow Modo Energy:→ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/modo-energy→ Twitter/X: x.com/modoenergy
As the electrification of heat increases and technologies like heat pump adoption grows, it's tempting to assume the gas network can simply be wound down street by street, in line with falling demand. But it’s not as simple as this: network topology, not customer count, decides when decommissioning is actually viable, and the UK gas network is nowhere close to that point today.Sam Wilson, Director of Energy System Operations at Cadent, joins the podcast to explain the engineering reality behind that constraint — and how things like pressure control, storage, and gas injection all factor into it.They cover:Why network topology, not customer count, decides when decommissioning is actually viableHow gas goes from completely odourless at transmission pressure to detectable on your street.What it takes to step pressure down from around 90 bar in the transmission system, through off-takes and above ground installations, to roughly 30 millibars at a domestic appliance.How line packing turns the pipe network itself into short-duration storage, with operators raising or lowering in-pipe pressure to absorb daily demand swings.What's actually limiting how much biomethane and hydrogen can go into the network today, and why hydrogen can be blended in without any changes needed to downstream appliances.Want to know how heat electrification could reshape power demand in GB? Ask Ko - Modo Energy’s AI energy analyst - sign up for free hereTranscript available hereYou can watch or listen to new episodes every Tuesday. Transmission is a Modo Energy production. Your host is Ed Porter - Director EMEA & APAC at Modo Energy.Chapters:0:00 Introduction1:09 What people get wrong about the gas network.3:03 From gas field to home boiler: the full journey4:33 UK's four gas distribution networks explained5:15 Transmission pressure: 90 bar and above6:25 Line packing - storing gas inside the pipes7:55 Industrial vs domestic gas pressure needs12:34 Replacing 100-year-old cast iron gas pipes13:56 Biomethane in the gas network17:15 Hydrogen blending: how much the network can take21:22 Getting hydrogen to industrial gas users23:18 Electrification vs the gas network's engineering reality24:26 What happens when homes remove their gas connection25:46 Why decommissioning the gas network isn't linear31:57 Sam Wilson's contrarian take on the energy transitionMusic licensed via Artlist.🔔 Subscribe for more energy market analysis: / @modoenergy 🔗 Follow Modo Energy:→ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/modo-energy→ Twitter/X: x.com/modoenergy
The grid is swapping spinning turbines for grid forming inverters, and something is getting lost in the trade. A turbine could always throw 5 times its normal output to clear a fault, for free, using nothing but physics. Inverters can only manage around 1.5 times theirs. So if renewables are going to take over, where does that missing strength come from instead?Ben Braun is Chief Engineer at Fluence, where he's spent his career working on power electronics - from batteries to the grid. In this episode, he breaks down grid forming vs grid following inverters for everyone without an electrical engineering degree.They cover:- Why "grid forming is slower" than grid following - and why that slower response is actually what makes it more stable in a fault.- Why NESO in GB and AEMO in Australia are chasing completely different things from grid forming batteries.- Why grid inertia disappears as spinning turbines retire, and how a sudden burst of power from a battery can fake it.- Why volatile AI training loads are turning data centres into miniature grids of their own, and how batteries are used to stop that volatility ever reaching the wider network.- Why Ben's biggest concern isn't too little fault current on the grid, but too much of it - and why that could force a wave of grid upgrades most people haven't priced inWant to see which grids are paying for inertia and fault current today, or where the next stability tenders are opening? Ko, Modo Energy's AI analyst, is built for exactly these questions. Free sign up: https://modoenergy.com/product/ko?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=ben_braun&utm_content=ko_signup📄 Related article: [companion article link]―――――――――――――――⏱ CHAPTERS―――――――――――――――00:00 – Why the Grid Needs More Than Power Flow01:31 – Grid Forming Inverters: Common Misconceptions04:51 – Grid Forming vs Grid Following Speed Explained07:16 – Bathtub Analogy for Grid Forming Batteries11:44 – NESO Stability Pathfinder and Global Grid Forming Numbers14:11 – AEMO's System Strength Charge Explained16:28 – Inertia and Short Circuit Level for Beginners17:10 – Grid Inertia Explained With Lorries and Cyclists21:44 – How Batteries Replicate Grid Inertia23:03 – Fault Current Basics: Fuses and Circuit Breakers26:16 – Fault Current Math and Retiring Turbines28:52 – Voltage Stiffness and System Strength39:07 – Reactive Power Explained With a Circus Tent42:23 – Black Start and Grid Restoration Explained46:57 – Grid Forming Inverters for Data Centres53:30 – Contrarian View: Too Much Fault Current61:18 – Grid Upgrades for High Fault Current LevelsYou can watch or listen to new episodes every Tuesday. Transmission is a Modo Energy production. Your host is Ed Porter - Director EMEA & APAC at Modo Energy.Music licensed via Artlist.🔔 Subscribe for more energy market analysis: / @modoenergy 🔗 Follow Modo Energy:→ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/modo-energy→ Twitter/X: x.com/modoenergy
The grid is swapping spinning turbines for grid forming inverters, and something is getting lost in the trade. A turbine could always throw 5 times its normal output to clear a fault, for free, using nothing but physics. Inverters can only manage around 1.5 times theirs. So if renewables are going to take over, where does that missing strength come from instead?Ben Braun is Chief Engineer at Fluence, where he's spent his career working on power electronics - from batteries to the grid. In this episode, he breaks down grid forming vs grid following inverters for everyone without an electrical engineering degree.They cover:- Why "grid forming is slower" than grid following - and why that slower response is actually what makes it more stable in a fault.- Why NESO in GB and AEMO in Australia are chasing completely different things from grid forming batteries.- Why grid inertia disappears as spinning turbines retire, and how a sudden burst of power from a battery can fake it.- Why volatile AI training loads are turning data centres into miniature grids of their own, and how batteries are used to stop that volatility ever reaching the wider network.- Why Ben's biggest concern isn't too little fault current on the grid, but too much of it - and why that could force a wave of grid upgrades most people haven't priced inWant to see which grids are paying for inertia and fault current today, or where the next stability tenders are opening? Ko, Modo Energy's AI analyst, is built for exactly these questions. Free sign up: https://modoenergy.com/product/ko?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=ben_braun&utm_content=ko_signup📄 Related article: [companion article link]―――――――――――――――⏱ CHAPTERS―――――――――――――――00:00 – Why the Grid Needs More Than Power Flow01:31 – Grid Forming Inverters: Common Misconceptions04:51 – Grid Forming vs Grid Following Speed Explained07:16 – Bathtub Analogy for Grid Forming Batteries11:44 – NESO Stability Pathfinder and Global Grid Forming Numbers14:11 – AEMO's System Strength Charge Explained16:28 – Inertia and Short Circuit Level for Beginners17:10 – Grid Inertia Explained With Lorries and Cyclists21:44 – How Batteries Replicate Grid Inertia23:03 – Fault Current Basics: Fuses and Circuit Breakers26:16 – Fault Current Math and Retiring Turbines28:52 – Voltage Stiffness and System Strength39:07 – Reactive Power Explained With a Circus Tent42:23 – Black Start and Grid Restoration Explained46:57 – Grid Forming Inverters for Data Centres53:30 – Contrarian View: Too Much Fault Current61:18 – Grid Upgrades for High Fault Current LevelsYou can watch or listen to new episodes every Tuesday. Transmission is a Modo Energy production. Your host is Ed Porter - Director EMEA & APAC at Modo Energy.Music licensed via Artlist.🔔 Subscribe for more energy market analysis: / @modoenergy 🔗 Follow Modo Energy:→ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/modo-energy→ Twitter/X: x.com/modoenergy
Joe McDonald says close to 30% of a business power bill can go to trading desks, balancing costs and wholesale market fees most customers never see. Behind suppliers can sit five or six more intermediaries, each taking a cut before the energy ever arrives. Is that a market working as designed, or one taking more than it should?Joe is Founder & CEO of Tem Energy, and has spent over a decade inside the middle of the energy market, watching where the money actually goes on its way to the meter. He's now building the AI infrastructure to strip those middlemen out of the chain, with Tem already transacting over £1 billion a year across thousands of UK businesses, backed by a fresh Series B to fund expansion into Texas and Australia.They cover:Why up to 30% of a business energy bill can go to trading desks, balancing costs and wholesale fees layered behind the supplier.How forward market contracts fix energy prices for months or years and why "shape matching" between generators and buyers creates a shadow market worth billions.The P442 grid charging exemption, and why a change this small took two years to push through.Why Joe believes Tem's AI agents could remove around 90% of labor costs in energy transactions, and why he sees that trade-off as necessary.Tem Energy's plan after its Series B - expanding into Texas and Australia before Europe and the case for energy AI becoming the UK's next trillion-dollar industry.Want to dig deeper into where that 30% actually goes, or how forward contracts are priced? Ask Ko, Modo Energy's AI analyst, for free sign up also gets you trial access to Modo Energy's research.You can watch or listen to new episodes every Tuesday. Transmission is a Modo Energy production. Your host is Ed Porter - Director EMEA & APAC at Modo Energy.Chapters:0:00 Introduction1:24 The Real Cost Layers Behind A Business Energy Bill3:17 The Mechanics Of Forward Energy Contracts5:25 Shape Matching Explained6:35 The Shadow Market Behind The Grid11:12 Pricing And Settling Energy Trades With AI26:46 The P442 Grid Charging Exemption36:29 The Slow Pace Of Energy Market Regulation37:37 The Same Problem Across Global Energy Markets38:36 Cutting Utility Operating Costs With AI39:22 Comparing This Model To Octopus And Kraken40:40 Joe McDonald's Contrarian View On Energy Markets41:34 Cutting 90% Of Energy Labor Costs With AI
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