“This issue provides our thoughts on how the Covid-19 pandemic has reshaped the energy industry and how the Energy Tech sector has responded and will continue to respond going forward. We will return to our regularly scheduled content (i.e. Company Spotlight) in January to further explore these trends.”

Reflecting on 2020’s impact on the energy industry, it was a year full of disruption to the status quo. The global lockdowns and related negative economic effects forced energy companies to change their behaviors to not only continue to provide the same products and/or services to their customers but also look for opportunities to differentiate. COVID accelerated the following trends and these are expected to continue to reshape the industry in 2021 and beyond:

Stronger Emphasis on ESG Efforts: Already gaining momentum in 2019, the push for increased environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives by corporations, especially those in the energy industry, significantly ramped in 2020. This has caused management teams to seriously rethink their carbon footprint going forward, but there is still no standard way to measure how companies in the same sector and across industries compare on their ESG impacts. Although groups like the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) are making an effort to standardize ESG comparisons, we believe that Energy Tech companies will be in a better position to track sustainability metrics, especially in complex supply chains where it is difficult to have a “cradle-to-grave” audit trail of each supplier.
Adapting Strategies from Other Industries: Compared to other industries, the energy industry has always been slow to adopt new technologies. For example, transaction data is widely used in the e-commerce industry to not only determine who are potential customers but also when they are likely to purchase an item but very few distributors in the energy industry take the same approach. However, we have seen numerous companies take advantage of this dynamic and become first-movers in the energy industry by adapting what has worked in other industries. These lessons learned have enabled companies to not only differentiate themselves by offering a better product/service to its customers but also help drive higher profitability. We expect to see more of this migration of technology, but it will require management teams to commit to rethink how they do business in order to be successful.
Widespread Acceptance of Remote Working: With Zoom and Teams calls becoming part of our everyday routine, it is not a surprise that other forms of remote working have started to be embraced by the energy industry to increase productivity. We have seen digital twin technology replace in-person site visits, both field and corporate operations become more decentralized, and significant progress towards truly unmanned operations wherever possible. We believe the continued adoption of this new way of working is critical to the profitability of the energy industry.

While we, like many others in the energy industry, are ready to turn the page on 2020, one positive note to take away from the past year is that most in the industry have “bought in” on the need for digitalization and are looking to the Energy Tech community to lead us “out of the dark”. We are excited about the Energy Tech sector’s potential growth in 2021 and look forward to continuing our conversations with these innovative teams. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

This transaction is Gordon’s 2nd acquisition in 2020 and adds dynamics-while-drilling (DWD) capabilities (including weight and torque on bit as well as bending). Moving forward, the combined company will continue working on data visualization software to provide real-time feedback of the downhole environment.

Founded in 2012, EV Infrastructure is focused on the engineering and construction of level 2 and level 3 high power fast-charging stations, which typically serve utility, commercial, and municipal applications. The company is based in Costa Mesa, California and is White Deer’s first investment in the “Energy Transition” segment.

ClearTrace is a software company that provides automated energy and carbon accounting for investors, enterprises, and real estate owners. The series A financing was led by Clean Energy Ventures, Brookfield Renewable Partners, and Clean Energy Venture Group.

With the backdrop that the IEA believes renewable energy will become the largest source of electricity generation worldwide by 2025, Accenture made an investment and strategic alliance with Reactive Technologies. Reactive Technologies provides power and grid technology to help utilities accelerate the transition to low-carbon energy.

NanoTech is a material science company focused on fireproofing and insulation technologies that can be used across various industries, including commercial construction, chemical plants, oil and gas, aviation, and utilities. NanoTech is currently based at Halliburton’s corporate campus in Houston, Texas.

Energy Technology Musings

Looking Forward to 2021: What is the “New Normal” for Energy Tech?