124. The challenging Energy Transition of Japan - Mar24

124. The challenging Energy Transition of Japan - Mar24

“It’s hard to play a good game when you have been served weak cards”. This is the perennial challenge of Japan when it comes to the Energy Transition. And the game is getting harder when your two main choices, nuclear and hydrogen, are proving extremely costly in a world of cheap renewables.

How robust is a business model based on a protected internal market with high margins and limited competition allowing Japan Inc. to expand abroad at super competitive prices, but stifling innovation and diversification? Japan is “Prisoner of its geography” (to quote Tim Marshall); thankfully its answer has been a world class level of engineering allowing to partially overcome its shortcomings.

And Gerard, during his recent trip to Japan, has witnessed some extraordinary achievements in the energy transition in the downstream sector, with extreme energy efficiency, retail innovations, and digital developments.

We have the pleasure to welcome Shuichiro Kawamura, who heads one of the rare investments’ funds focusing on the Energy Transition. Established in 2006, Energy & Environment Investment (EEI) is Japan's first VC firm solely dedicated to the energy and environment sectors. They support startups with innovative technologies and services in this space, aiming to drive sustainable growth and positive global impact. As of Q1_24, the AUM of EEI is around US$500MM, with more than 130 portfolio companies. There is no easy formula in Japan. Only the smarts will survive.

We thank our friends and partners AQUILA CAPITAL for supporting our show.

Episoder(180)

165. Our Predictions for 2025

165. Our Predictions for 2025

Happy new year to all our listeners. It has become a tradition for the first episode of the year: Gerard, Laurent and Michael present their 2025 Predictions in the Energy Transition.Here are the predi...

2 Jan 202527min

164. 2024 Wrap up: Successes, Surprises and Shocks

164. 2024 Wrap up: Successes, Surprises and Shocks

Merry Christmas. This is our last Episode of the Year where Laurent and Gerard summarise what impressed them, surprised them and shocked them. AI, Hydrogen, Renewables, USA vs Europe vs China, Climate...

23 Des 202417min

163. Gerard is live at TedXBerlin / Welcome to the Era of Energy Disruption

163. Gerard is live at TedXBerlin / Welcome to the Era of Energy Disruption

Gerard delivered a master class at TedXBerlin about the four forces driving the Energy Revolution Solar, Batteries, Electronics and China. It is called “Welcome to the Era of Energy Disruption”  An ex...

16 Des 202414min

162. Industrial Climate Solutions – Bridging the “Missing Middle” - Dec24

162. Industrial Climate Solutions – Bridging the “Missing Middle” - Dec24

Just Climate is a 1.5bnUSD vehicle established by Generation Investment with the mission to invest in the highest impact solutions that can radically reduce or remove emissions. They occupy the “missi...

9 Des 202430min

161. Northvolt - Epitaph

161. Northvolt - Epitaph

Northvolt, once the poster child of the European battery industry, shocked the world last month by filling for Chapter 11 in the United States. The Swedish battery start-up burned through billions of ...

2 Des 202417min

160. Financing the Residential Energy Transition - Nov24

160. Financing the Residential Energy Transition - Nov24

Deploying solar and heat pumps in the residential sector is all well and good, but many attempts to scale have unfortunately failed.Beyond the king Octopus, Simon Phelan and his company Hometree have ...

25 Nov 202431min

159. Live from Baku Cop29. Inside the Zone: Chaos, Shock and Hope

159. Live from Baku Cop29. Inside the Zone: Chaos, Shock and Hope

Laurent goes live to Baku COP29 to discuss with Bruce “Almighty” Douglas, CEO Global Renewable Alliance and tireless promoter of Renewable Energy.He is the one who coins the famous “Triple Renewables”...

18 Nov 202413min

158. COP – Resilience or Irrelevance?

158. COP – Resilience or Irrelevance?

As COP29 begins, the ripple effects of the re-election of Donald Trump are reaching the shores of the Caspian Sea.  COP28 welcomed 85,000 delegates, within which a significant contingent of Oil lobbyi...

11 Nov 202428min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
stopp-verden
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
finansredaksjonen
pengepodden-2
pengesnakk
utbytte
rss-sunn-okonomi
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
liberal-halvtime
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
lederpodden
rss-politisk-preik
okonomiamatorene
rss-markedspuls-2