Jodie Eaton is an energy expert with more than 30 years in trading and retail. She held significant roles at companies including npower and E.ON, before joining Shell Energy UK (SEUK) in 2020 as COO, becoming CEO two years later.
Jodie’s leadership in the years since has been pivotal to the company’s delivery of sustainable energy solutions. SEUK caters to medium and large commercial and industrial businesses across a variety of sectors such as manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and technology.
At the helm of SEUK, Jodie’s role is focused on maximising the opportunities that being part of the wider Shell brand can bring, as well as nurturing the SEUK teams to ensure the brand is offering customers the best possible service — and at the best price.
“Our goal is to work closely with our customers, giving them complete confidence in supply security and helping them to meet both their decarbonisation needs,” Jodie explains. “We help them cut through the noise to understand what solutions are right for them — either directly or through our trusted energy consultant relationships.
In this conversation with Energy Digital, Jodie shares her insights on smart technologies and how innovations are vital in decarbonising not only SEUK but its customers.
Q. What opportunities do smart technologies bring?
We’re now harnessing big data within SEUK to provide meticulous levels of insight and analysis. Over the decades, we have built up deep knowledge of our industrial processes and aggregated data sets into cloud-based stores, which enables us to use data to develop solutions to optimise our processes.
We are also using these optimisation capabilities to accelerate research in clean energy technology. For example, we are using data-driven simulation efforts, combined with physics-based models, to optimise efficiency and yields, reduce capital expenditure and reduce time to market for low carbon fuels.
In today’s rapidly evolving business energy landscape, accurate and reliable data is vital for effective strategic decision-making, especially when it comes to improving operational performance and driving efficiencies. That said, for many businesses, accessing the right data is often highly complex.
Smart technologies offer a solution to address high-quality data access, helping businesses to unlock performance, make evidence-based decisions, plan investment and resolve issues in real-time.
Smart technologies can be found in a wide range of systems, including air conditioning units, lighting and energy storage, enabling these systems to communicate and optimise local energy consumption in response to demand. These enhancements can have a positive impact on energy savings, CO₂ emissions, asset life cycles and operation and maintenance costs.
Q. What role do smart tech and AI play in energy efficiency and decarbonisation?
Cutting costs and reducing carbon emissions are fast-becoming critical business priorities and, collectively, smart technologies and AI are helping to create more intelligent, responsive and future-proof energy systems. Smart technologies and AI harness a myriad of inputted variables to provide information not just on energy consumption in real-time, but also on factors that can influence energy use, for example, from external temperatures to the availability of onsite generation or stored energy. This can give businesses far greater control over how they buy, use, store and — in some cases — generate their energy to meet fluctuating demand.
Grid optimisation, efficient use of intermittent renewable energy sources and flexible load management are just a few of the ways in which AI can help energy users to meet their energy needs. For example, by monitoring power consumption and generation data in real time, AI can be used to determine the exact energy needed, by specific areas of a business, at any given time. This allows electricity to be distributed in even loads.
By embracing the potential of smart technologies and AI, businesses can navigate the challenges of decarbonisation with confidence and accelerate the transition towards sustainability and resilience.
Q. How will smart tech and AI accelerate your sustainability journey?
At Shell, we’re committed to leading the way in sustainability, progressing decarbonisation and becoming a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050. Our Powering Progress strategy sets out a clear roadmap to become net-zero emissions by 2050, integrating sustainability within our wider business strategy.
To achieve this, we’re already harnessing the potential of smart technologies and AI across our global operations, using their capabilities to offer significant commercial value. From machine learning and computer vision to deep learning, virtual assistants, autonomous vehicles and even robotics, we’re in a strong position to leverage technology to our advantage.
At a Shell refinery in the Netherlands, AI is used to detect valve control issues. With thousands of data points captured every minute, anomalies are spotted and alerts triggered so that further investigation can take place. This not only alleviates the risk of equipment failure, but also prevents parts from being changed while still in good condition.
In the Shell Recharge division, AI is being used to further improve the efficiencies of EV charging. Drivers enter their journey data into the RechargePlus app, where the algorithm moves charging times to when renewable generation is highest and grid prices are lower. This helps to reduce costs for consumers and reduce associated emissions.
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