Aggreko - Experts & Thought Leaders

Around 250 owners, organizers, and hosts of the world’s greatest events gathered in Glasgow, Scotland at Host City 2023 under the theme “Driving and Reacting to Change”. Artificial intelligence, climate change, and Generation Z were among the concerns addressed by representatives of Paris 2024, Milano-Cortina 2026, LA28, Cirque de Soleil, FIFA, and many more. 10th edition of Host City The 10th edition of Host City, the greatest meeting of cities and sports, business, and cultural events, took place at the Technology & Innovation Centre on 20-21 November with the support of Global Presenting Partners and Hosts, Glasgow Life, and EventScotland. Attendees came from Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. In her opening remarks, Susan Deighan, Chief Executive, of Glasgow Life, said, “High-profile events undoubtedly contribute to a city’s economy and identity, and over the past two decades Glasgow has cemented its reputation as the perfect location for international events." equality, diversity, and inclusion We must commit to collectively making a genuine effort to drive the change that celebrates access" "Glasgow is a pioneer and an architect of its future which has led the way in reacting to change. Looking ahead, how will host cities respond to ensure that equality, diversity, and inclusion are not just fashionable buzzwords?" “We must commit to collectively making a genuine effort to drive the change that celebrates access for all.” governance, sustainability, and AI Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events, at VisitScotland, covered a range of topics in his opening remarks including governance, sustainability, and the impact of technology. “AI and other technologies are having a transformative impact on events but the balance between automation and human interaction will be key considerations to understand and navigate going forward,” said Bush. benefits of the sector He also impressed the audience both in his opening remarks and in the panel discussion on the strategic development of destinations through sports and events, the challenge around funding, and the importance of demonstrating the impact of events through robust measurement. “We are all very privileged to work in this sector but as I have said previously, I would encourage all of you to continue to extoll the values and benefits of the sector to ensure that our funding partners whoever they may be, governments, commercial or the paying spectator continue to support and be excited by events!,” he said. Rollercoaster year More and more sporting events, bigger music festivals, and larger conferences" David De Behr, Head of Sales, Major Events, Aggreko, said the events industry had been on a “rollercoaster” over the past four years. “We went from 2019 where the world was exploding with events to the darkest period ever where we had to react to just survive. And here we are at the end of 2023 – a massive year. It has been bigger than 2019 and it has been non-stop. More and more sporting events, bigger music festivals, and larger conferences. I am confident that our industry will drive and react.” impact of AI across sports, entertainment There were a total of 60 speakers across 20 panels and presentations addressing the most pressing concerns in the industry. Vikram Philip Rajkumar, Account Director at Satisfi Labs, outlined the impact of AI across sports, entertainment, and tourism. “AI is not coming – it is here,” said Rajkumar. “Whether you integrate it or not, your fans and consumers are going to bring it to your doorstep and demand those services.” strategic development Petra Sörling, IOC Member and International Table Tennis Federation President, and Damien Combredet-Blassel, Director of Impact & Heritage of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee participated on a panel focusing on the strategic development of destinations through sport and events. Combredet-Blassel underlined the efforts of Paris 2024 to get people active in France with an initiative that promotes 30 minutes of exercise a day, which drew praise from Sörling. overview of the use of existing venues If people are active, they are more keen to watch sport and stay active which is good for the city" "We need to activate people, so what Paris is doing is brilliant,” said Sörling. “If people are active, they are more keen to watch sport and stay active which is good for the city.” Hilary Ash, Vice President of Games Delivery & Infrastructure at LA28 Olympic & Paralympic Games, was also among the speakers. She gave an overview of the use of existing venues and the Games Plan including the sports programme and venue mapping. operational delivery phase “We are at an exciting pivot," said Ash, following the confirmation that cricket, squash, lacrosse, flag football, and baseball/softball will be the additional sports at LA28. “We are in the operational delivery phase and going into a greater level of detail now we have a formal masterplan.” overlay infrastructure plans Giulio Alessandrini, Director of Venues & Infrastructure, Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, outlined the overlay infrastructure plans and the challenges facing the event, including global warming that threatens the future of winter sport. “Climate change is a hot topic and the Winter Olympics rely on the climate,” said Alessandrini. "We don’t know how much snow will be there in 2026 but we are trying to plan as much as possible. We are improving snow-making technologies." disparity in investment We’re delighted to be back to pre-pandemic attendance levels for Host City" Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society highlighted the disparity in investment between major short-term sporting events, which move around the world, and resident arts festivals. “I feel that we host the cultural Olympics in Edinburgh,” said McCarthy. Ben Avison, Conference Director at Host City, said, “We’re delighted to be back to pre-pandemic attendance levels for Host City." Policy objectives “We are clearly in a different world in terms of the pressure on public sector expenditure, which impacts heavily on our events industry, so we are extremely pleased to have such good numbers at Host City in Glasgow, Scotland." “It has been great to hear how the industry is driving change in areas including policy objectives, fan engagement, and digital twins for event planning, but in other areas such as artificial intelligence and climate change we are still reacting to change.”

An energy sector expert has highlighted the importance of decentralized energy solutions for countering power scarcity, following reports the grid is at full capacity in one of the Netherlands’ major provinces. flexible approach Journalists from De Telegraaf have revealed that Enexis is expected to disclose the network in Overijssel will be locked for new connections and expansions. According to Chris Rason, Managing Director of Aggreko Energy Services, the difficulties faced in Holland are a sign of things to come for energy businesses relying too much on the national grid, signaling the need for a newer, more flexible approach to powering facilities. demonstrating energy supply issue The issue of grid constraints is nothing new to the Netherlands or the wider European continent" “The issue of grid constraints is nothing new to the Netherlands or the wider European continent,” Chris Rason explains. He adds, “Moratoriums have previously been placed on certain building work in Dublin and Amsterdam due to this strain. However, the situation in Overijssel is more acute and demonstrates an energy supply issue that will only become more common as existing power infrastructure ages." energy security Chris Rason continues, “To guarantee energy security and ensure critical processes are not threatened by huge demand and disruption, the energy sector needs to explore energy models that work independently or in parallel with the grid." He stated, "Bolstering on-site power generation will be key to this, and the industry needs to face up to this challenge now before the issues the Netherlands is currently experiencing become the norm.” decentralized energy technologies In the wake of a fraught period for the European energy market, Aggreko has launched a new report highlighting solutions to help high-energy users navigate difficult operating conditions. Titled 'The Race to Resilience', the whitepaper explores how facilities can address their immediate power needs, such as those affecting Overijssel, while also using other tools and services from Aggreko to plan more strategically. It goes on to demonstrate the importance of decentralized energy technologies as a way to establish long-term energy security while also reducing carbon emissions and transmission losses. role in the energy-intensive energy sector “As these recent events make clear, bridging solutions will be required to tackle pressure on over-extended power infrastructure,” said Chris Rason, adding “Technologies such as microgrids, gas-powered generators, combined heat and power, and battery storage all have a role to play in safeguarding the future of the energy-intensive energy sector." dynamic way forward He concludes, “Yet with permanent installations proving difficult to procure due to supply chain disruption and prohibitive up-front costs, short- to medium-term hired power offers a dynamic way forward. This issue is addressed in more detail in our new Race to Resilience report. I urge energy managers to download a copy and begin the transition today.”

A new analysis of site data from 12 Keltbray construction projects has revealed staggering savings since the business introduced Aggreko’s battery technologies to decarbonize its power usage and reduce running costs.  Keltbray is a construction engineering specialist delivering integrated solutions for complex building and infrastructure sectors across the UK. Recognized by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) for its efforts to quantifiably reduce the carbon emissions on its projects, the business is continually looking at new processes, technologies, and forward-thinking suppliers to partner with to continue such work. Data-led Improvement At the helm of its sustainability agenda is Kiro Tamer, Head of Environmental Sustainability, and ICE Carbon Champion. In 2021, Kiro approached Aggreko for support with Keltbray’s site power provision due to the capability of its specialist telemetry systems, which would allow the company to monitor equipment remotely. This was of particular interest to Kiro and his team as it would allow them to start monitoring power equipment performance around the clock to better inform their decarbonization strategy. Battery Viability and Versatility Aggreko right-sizes its equipment and implements other techniques, such as load on demand, for maximum efficiency In early 2022, Aggreko Sector Engineer Kath Argent began working in partnership with Keltbray to audit its power requirements across certain sites and identified the common issue of generator oversizing. Kath comments, “We often see hired equipment that is oversized as an attempted level of resilience, but it also means it is often running at less than 30% load and therefore inefficient. Aggreko right-sizes its equipment and implements other techniques, such as load on demand, for maximum efficiency.” BESS technology Kath and her team also introduced battery energy storage system (BESS) technology as part of Aggreko’s Greener Upgrades portfolio. According to Aggreko, while the sustainable benefits of batteries have long been undisputed, until recently there had been low uptake across the construction industry due to the perceptions the technology was in its infancy. Kiro comments, “We wanted to look at batteries for some time, but it also needed to make commercial sense and market conditions just hadn’t made it viable until that point. When fuel prices started to rise around April, that’s when things started to change. Since then, the adoption of the technology has come along so quickly.” Battery storage systems Keltbray introduced Aggreko’s battery storage systems on 12 projects which spanned six different counties Throughout 2022, Keltbray introduced Aggreko’s battery storage systems on 12 projects which spanned six different counties. It included a wide array of developments such as the construction of the iconic East London neighborhood at Silvertown Keys, maintenance of a cargo shed at Heathrow Airport, new flood defenses for Sheffield City Council, a new housing development for a leading UK housebuilder, and a large infrastructure project concerning the A30. Decarbonization strategy Kiro adds, “The versatility of this technology is demonstrated via the wide variety of projects and sites we have been able to introduce it into, making it a fundamental part of our decarbonization strategy." "In just 12 months, we went from using no batteries to them accounting for at least 25% of our temporary power procurement with Aggreko.” Staggering Savings The result was saving over 75,000 liters of fuel, which equated to over £100,000 in fuel costs As part of its commitment to work in partnership with Keltbray to help achieve its Net Zero goals, Aggreko’s insights team used its specialist telemetry system to analyze data from the 12 projects spanning 2022. By looking at load information and comparing traditional generator-only running costs against the new hybrid running costs, they were able to evaluate a reduction of over 200 tonnes of carbon. This was the result of saving over 75,000 liters of fuel, which equated to over £100,000 in fuel costs. Sustainable Kiro adds, “Our industry is working relentlessly to become more sustainable, but there are still many hurdles to overcome. Power procurement has never been simple, and I think there is a general lack of understanding on how to reduce reliance on diesel generators where there is no access to the grid." "But there are solutions out there as evidenced in this sustainability success story. For those who want to reap the rewards, the technology is there for the taking, and companies like Aggreko can help implement it smartly and quickly.”