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Last week, we hosted a roundtable at Piper Maddox as part of the Clean Energy Exchange event series, focused on grid flexibility. With Michael Lee moderating, we had folks from Tesla, Leap, Olivine, Enersponse, Shadowpower, and others who know this space inside out. The feeling in the (virtual) room? We’re at a real tipping point. Virtual Power Plants aren’t just “emergency response” tools anymore, they’re critical infrastructure, and the market conditions are lining up perfectly for them to step up. Capacity prices are through the roof, wholesale markets are volatile, and demand is growing in ways the old models can’t handle. This is exactly when VPPs should be at the forefront of conversations: fast to deploy, low-cost, and able to deliver flexibility exactly where it’s needed. 1. The market design problem The problem is the market design hasn’t caught up. We’re still stuck with siloed programs that box in assets instead of letting them work where they have the most impact. We need models that open up multiple revenue streams and recognise that not all VPP resources are the same – an HVAC system doesn’t behave like an EV fleet or a battery, and they shouldn’t be valued like they do. One point that landed hard in the discussion was around local value. The way we price flexibility right now is far too broad. A single neighbourhood with a cluster of flexible assets can fix a local constraint far more cheaply than building more infrastructure – but you’d never know that from today’s pricing zones. We need distribution-level nodal pricing that actually reflects the hyper-local impact these assets can have. 2. Balancing grid and customer needs Then there’s the customer side. Batteries are the classic example – the grid wants certainty, customers want backup. If programs can’t balance those needs, participation will always be limited. With over 3,500 utilities in the US, capability is all over the place. Some are ready to play, others are decades behind. Meeting them where they are, or going around them when we have to – will be key. That means understanding the realities of each market, working with what’s already in place, and finding ways to connect customers and utilities without overcomplicating the participation process. 3. The missing industry voice The final piece is advocacy. Right now, there’s no unified industry voice pushing for fair valuation or smarter market rules. Imagine what we could do with a coalition of VPP providers, utilities, generators, and even data centres speaking with one voice. The narrative on grid reliability needs a rewrite – and the proof these assets deliver is already there from recent heatwaves and grid events. If we want VPPs to fulfil their potential, we need to align as an industry, decide what we’re pushing for, and make sure the message is loud enough to cut through. Bottom line: VPPs aren’t the future – they’re here. But without changes to market design, pricing, and the way we advocate for them, they’ll stay underused. Get it right, and they can become the backbone of a more flexible, reliable, and cost-effective grid.

At Piper Maddox, we are proud to be part of LHi Group, a global specialist in talent solutions, and even prouder to share that our parent company has just released its first-ever Impact & Sustainability Report, an exciting milestone that reflects our collective commitment to a more sustainable future. A Year of Progress: Sustainability and Social Responsibility in 2024 For those of us working in clean energy and clean tech recruitment, sustainability is more than just a corporate initiative, it’s at the heart of everything we do. That’s why LHi’s 2024 Impact & Sustainability Report is particularly meaningful. It showcases the group’s outstanding achievements across environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments, diversity and inclusion efforts, and responsible business growth. Key highlights from the report include: Record-breaking fundraising efforts: LHi Group raised an incredible £26,894 for charitable causes, reinforcing our culture of giving back and driving social impact. Strengthening diversity & inclusion: LHi-IN, our dedicated DEI initiative, expanded to include eight thriving communities, providing a platform for employees to engage, learn, and drive meaningful change. A focus on sustainability: LHi continues to integrate ESG into business decisions, from internal policies to industry partnerships, ensuring we contribute to a cleaner, greener future. Empowering women in leadership: The launch of the Women’s Sales Board marked a major step toward achieving 50/50 gender representation in leadership within five years. Technology-driven impact: AI-powered recruitment solutions enhance our ability to connect top talent with organisations making a difference in clean energy and beyond. What this means for Clean Energy talent solutions For us at Piper Maddox, this report reaffirms our mission: To power the clean energy transition by connecting the best talent with the companies leading the charge. With LHi doubling down on ESG commitments and sustainable recruitment, we are better positioned than ever to support clients and candidates who share our passion for a net-zero future. As we step into 2025, we are excited to align with LHi’s key strategic goals: Expanding sustainable recruitment practices to ensure we place candidates in roles that drive real environmental impact. Enhancing AI-driven hiring solutions to streamline the recruitment process and deliver even greater value to clients and candidates. Growing our presence in high-demand clean energy and clean tech markets, particularly in North America, where investment in renewables and grid transformation is accelerating. Looking Ahead The release of LHi Group’s Impact Report is more than just a reflection on the past, it’s a commitment to the future. At Piper Maddox, we are proud to be part of an organisation that prioritises sustainability, DEI, and responsible business practices. We invite our clients, candidates, and industry partners to explore the full LHi Group Impact & Sustainability Report.

Celebrated every year on April 22nd, Earth Day is a reminder of the importance of environmental conservation and sustainability, encouraging us to come together and take action for a healthier planet and brighter future to raise awareness, inspire change, and foster a deeper connection with nature. Today, as we celebrate Earth Day in 2024, it's important to reflect on the steps made in sustainable technology and their role in shaping a more environmentally conscious future. From renewable energy breakthroughs to innovative solutions, these four groundbreaking technologies are at the forefront of shaping the future of sustainability. Next-generation solar panels: Traditional solar panels have long been recognised as a clean energy solution, but advancements in photovoltaic technology are making solar power even more accessible and efficient for powering homes, cars, boats, you name it! We need to ensure that we can continue to revolutinise the way we harness the sun's energy, as currently nearly all solar panels are made from silicon, which boast an efficiency of 22%. This means silicon panels can only convert about one-fifth of the sun's energy into electricity, because the material absorbs only a limited proportion of sunlight's wavelengths. Producing silicon is also expensive and energy-intensive. Scientists have been testing perovskite solar cells by stacking them on top of traditional silicon cells to make tandem cells. Layering the two materials, each absorbing a different part of the sun's spectrum, can potentially increase the panels' efficiency by over 50%. (1) Carbon capture and utilisation (CCU): Addressing the challenge of carbon emissions is crucial in the fight against climate change. CCUS involves the capture of CO2, generally from large point sources like power generation or industrial facilities that use either fossil fuels or biomass as fuel. CCUS facilities currently capture more than 45 Mt CO2 annually. (2) Since January 2022, project developers have announced ambitions for over 50 new capture facilities to be operating by 2030, capturing around 125 Mt CO2 per year. By doing this, it will help to tackle emissions in hard-to-abate sectors, particularly heavy industries like cement, steel or chemicals, and remove CO2 from the air to balance emissions that are unavoidable or technically difficult to abate. Vertical farming and controlled environment agriculture (CEA): With the world's population continuing to grow, sustainable agriculture techniques are essential for ensuring food security while minimising environmental impact. Vertical farming and CEA methods utilise indoor farming systems equipped with LED lighting, hydroponics, and advanced climate control technologies to optimise crop production in urban environments. CEA allows us to produce crops with 70% to 95% less water than required for normal cultivation (3), and therefore by reducing water usage, eliminating the need for chemical pesticides, and minimising land use, these innovative farming practices are revolutionising the way we grow food. Electric and autonomous vehicles: There is no doubt that transportation is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, especially with the increase of cars per household, but electric and autonomous vehicles (AVs) offer a cleaner and more efficient alternative. The widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), coupled with advancements in AV technology, promises to revolutionise the way we travel, reducing carbon emissions, easing traffic congestion, and enhancing road safety. In fact, under an appropriate pricing strategy, SAV deployment could reduce PM2.5 emission and energy consumption by 56–64% and 53–61%, respectively (4). As we look ahead to a more sustainable future, these four groundbreaking technologies are paving the way for transformative change. Through innovation and collaboration, we can create a world where economic wellbeing aligns with environmental care, securing a healthier planet for future generations. This Earth Day, let's celebrate these technological advancements and pledge to advance sustainability even further.

Piper Maddox, a leading Cleantech recruitment partner in the UK and US is pleased to announce its recent membership with Volta Foundation. This collaboration marks a significant step forward for Piper Maddox as it joins forces with an esteemed non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the global battery industry. With a network of over 50,000 battery professionals, Volta Foundation is committed to fostering a dynamic and sustainable battery ecosystem. Through its initiatives such as monthly events like Battery Brunch, publications including Battery Bits, industry reports like Battery Report, and open communication channels on Battery Street, Volta Foundation plays a pivotal role in promoting collaboration, innovation, and knowledge-sharing within the battery industry. "We are thrilled to join forces with Volta Foundation and contribute to their mission of driving progress within the battery industry," said Alex Cohen, Senior Director, North America at Piper Maddox. "As a member company, we are eager to engage with fellow industry leaders, participate in valuable events and initiatives, and collectively work towards a more sustainable energy future." Piper Maddox's decision to join Volta Foundation underscores its dedication to remaining at the forefront of the rapidly evolving battery industry. By collaborating with Volta Foundation and tapping into its diverse network of professionals, Piper Maddox aims to leverage its expertise and resources to address key challenges, foster innovation, and accelerate the transition to sustainable energy solutions.

Why was 2022 an important year for renewable energy? There is no doubt that 2022 was an important year for renewable energy. Despite delayed supply chain turbulences and skyrocketing raw material costs caused by the lingering coronavirus pandemic, the renewable energy industry maintained its upward growth trajectory over the past year, with the global renewable net capacity increasing by a groundbreaking 295 Gigawatts [1]. We can attribute these positive trends primarily to the largest global power players – notably China, the United States, the European Union, and India – and their commitment to market reforms and new renewable energy policy implementations. The most influential of these policies; China’s “Five-Year Plan” and Europe’s “REPowerEU”, have played an integral role in marking this year as the beginning of the green transition [2],[3]. On the American side of things, no law has been more integral to Biden’s presidency and contributed more to clean energy investment than the ‘Inflation Reduction Act of 2022’. In addition to combatting the national inflation crisis and reducing prescription drug prices, the US IRA aims to inject 369 billion dollars into the renewable energy industry, “lower overall energy costs, increase cleaner production, and reduce carbon emissions by roughly 40 percent by 2030” [4]. What markets are likely to benefit most from IRA? Being only a few months into IRA, it is challenging at this stage to discern IRA’s direct impacts on the industry and how successful it will be in the long term. That said, its presence has certainly created quite a buzz in several renewable energy markets. Assuming the IRA forecasts are correct, and this past decade’s growth trend is maintained, the markets that are likely to benefit the most from IRA lie in solar. This, of course, is probably not very shocking to most industry leaders; although hydropower and wind remain the largest source of global renewable energy capacity, solar PV has contributed to over 60% of capacity growth in 2021 and is expected to be “the most installed power capacity worldwide by 2027, surpassing coal, natural gas, and hydropower” [2]. As it currently stands, the solar cell market continues to be dominated by crystalline silicon - the leading material in photovoltaic energy harvesting technology. This has been the case since 1954, when Bell Labs modeled the first silicon cell to have an energy efficiency of over 6 percent [5]. 70 years later, most of the solar panels available for commercial use have an efficiency that fluctuates between 15 - 22 percent [6]. Although this progress is substantial, silicon-based solar projects are still relatively inefficient for how much they cost to manufacture and upkeep. Some even argue that the processes and materials involved in the production of solar panels are not environmentally friendly, casting even more uncertainty on solar as a potential long-term renewable energy source. What will most likely increase scientific research? The good news? Laws like the Inflation Reduction Act will most certainly increase scientific research in solar efficiency, both in silicon technology and in other materials whose efficiency potentials have yet to be fully recorded. Perovskite technology has been on the radar for many researchers and industry leaders, primarily due to its remarkable efficiency levels, low production costs, and commercial viability. We must note however, that a lot of work needs to be done before we can expect to see perovskite cells take over our suburbs. Its primary limitation is its durability; perovskite cells have continuously demonstrated short life lengths and a tendency to decompose when interacting with moisture and oxygen (two things that are somewhat common on this planet) [7]. That said, compared to silicon, progress in perovskite solar cell technology has been much faster; efficiency levels that were first reported at 3% back in 2009 are now standing at 25% today, making its durability issue slightly less concerning [7]. In addition to its competitive power conversion efficiencies (PCE), perovskite technology has received a lot of attention for its small size and low production time, cost, and complexity. As such, it seems that from both a business and scientific perspective, its commercial viability is not a matter of if, but a matter of when.

Piper Maddox is excited to announce the release of the Battery Storage Salary Survey. This is the initial year that Piper Maddox has conducted a salary survey for the battery storage community across the USA. The release of our battery storage salary survey marks a significant milestone in understanding the compensation trends and career growth opportunities within this dynamic industry. We invite you to download the survey report today and unlock the valuable insights that will shape the future of your career or organization in battery storage. How did Piper Maddox conduct the Salary Survey? Battery storage leaders were asked to share their views across a wide range of areas including, but not limited to, what attracts battery storage professionals to their organizations, what are the most difficult skill sets to recruit for, and the challenges of recruiting in the battery storage space. This information led Piper Maddox to create a survey focusing on the North American battery storage market where over 350 battery storage professionals located across the USA were surveyed and sourced from Piper Maddox’s professional network. As well as analyzing compensation trends, the research uncovers trends in areas such as, background and working preferences for candidates, insight into organizations' battery storage programs, and some of the key hiring challenges for organizations. 76% of people list an increase in compensation as a major motivator for seeking new opportunities and over 65% of individuals are looking for new job opportunities in 2023. Download our Battery Storage Salary Survey here.