This week on Energy Unplugged, Pierre Dennery, Aurora’s outgoing Country Head for France, is joined by Dominique Ferreira, Global Brand Director for Omexom, the energy infrastructure brand of VINCI Energies.

Recorded live at the Building Beyond Conference in Paris, hosted by Leonard, VINCI's foresight and innovation platform. The conversation explores the growing importance of grid infrastructure in the energy transition, and why long-term investment, policy stability, and electrification are becoming central to energy security and decarbonisation strategies worldwide. Dominique works across Omexom’s global operations supporting grid infrastructure, electrification, and digitalisation projects that enable the energy transition across more than 30 countries.

Pierre and Dominique discuss the evolving balance between decentralisation and interconnection, how infrastructure priorities differ across regions, and the role of digitalisation, AI, and new grid technologies in shaping the future electricity system.

You will learn about:

• Why grid infrastructure has become one of the key bottlenecks of the global energy transition.

• How countries are balancing energy sovereignty, decarbonisation, and electrification through different energy strategies.

• Why interconnection and decentralisation are developing simultaneously across energy systems worldwide.

• How AI, digital twins, and predictive maintenance are changing the way grids are designed and operated.

This week on Energy Unplugged, Pierre Dennery, Aurora’s outgoing Country Head for France, is joined by Dominique Ferreira, Global Brand Director for Omexom, the energy infrastructure brand of VINCI Energies.

Recorded live at the Building Beyond Conference in Paris, hosted by Leonard, VINCI's foresight and innovation platform. The conversation explores the growing importance of grid infrastructure in the energy transition, and why long-term investment, policy stability, and electrification are becoming central to energy security and decarbonisation strategies worldwide. Dominique works across Omexom’s global operations supporting grid infrastructure, electrification, and digitalisation projects that enable the energy transition across more than 30 countries.

Pierre and Dominique discuss the evolving balance between decentralisation and interconnection, how infrastructure priorities differ across regions, and the role of digitalisation, AI, and new grid technologies in shaping the future electricity system.

You will learn about:

• Why grid infrastructure has become one of the key bottlenecks of the global energy transition.

• How countries are balancing energy sovereignty, decarbonisation, and electrification through different energy strategies.

• Why interconnection and decentralisation are developing simultaneously across energy systems worldwide.

• How AI, digital twins, and predictive maintenance are changing the way grids are designed and operated.

This week on Energy Unplugged, Hugo Batten, Managing Director of APAC for Aurora Energy Research, is joined by Elias Saba, Chief Commercial Officer of Eku Energy, and Lara Panjkov, Aurora’s Head of Research in APAC. Together, they explore how battery storage economics are evolving across Australia and Japan, and how shifting market dynamics are reshaping investment strategies.

Elias leads Eku’s global Technology, Markets and Trading function and brings over 15 years of experience across energy storage, renewables, and market design, including previous roles at Tesla and Macquarie. He has played a key role in commercialising major battery projects such as Hazelwood, Rangebank, and Williamsdale, and shares insights into how developers are structuring revenue, managing risk, and scaling storage portfolios across global markets.

The conversation examines key trends shaping battery investment today: falling but volatile technology costs, increasingly bespoke offtake structures, and the growing role of merchant exposure and optionality. The speakers also explore how Australia’s mature market contrasts with Japan’s more policy-driven approach, and how evolving regulation, grid constraints, and utility participation are influencing deployment.

You will learn about:

• Why early battery projects relied on merchant exposure and built-in flexibility.
• How offtake structures remain bespoke despite growing market standardisation.
• Why Japan’s battery market is developing differently, with strong government support.
• How new use cases like data centre co-location are shaping the next phase of storage investment.