It is an ambition of mine to pursue an MBA degree still and this year again a Dutch financial newspaper, Financieel Dagblad (FD), organizes the Career Challenge. The prize: a full scholarship for an MBA at Nyenrode, one of the best places (in my opinion) to do an MBA here. Last year I also participated and made it to the finals, how would this year go? The assignment was to write an essay on the changes in business models in one of four industries. I choose the energy industry as it is closest to my passion - electric vehicles.
Yesterday I got the message that I made it to the final 50, hence I will be attending the Mini MBA, or the finals later this month. There will also be some familiar faces from the Mini MBA of last year, will be great to catch up with them too.
I just wanted to share this with you and publish the essay that got me to the finals, as it relevant to electric vehicles. The automotive will change a lot, but there will also change a lot in the energy sector and there is room for new market leaders, if the current market leaders are not careful.
The global demand for energy will rise significantly going forward to 2020, despite successful implementation of technologies and measures to improve our energy efficiency. The keys for a successful energy industry are sustainability and self sufficiency. With the increasing effort to get oil from politically unstable regions, being self sufficient in terms of energy production (for example solar and wind power) becomes attractive. A global smart grid which provides buffers to store energy and better balance supply & demand, enables people to supply in each others needs. As a result of self sufficiency, energy will become abundant and the price for electricity will decrease to almost free.
Energy companies have to make the transition from being a supplier to facilitator, where they provide the facilities enabling sustainable energy. For the consumer they will provide access to energy at home and on the go. Similar to services like Spotify (music) and the BMWi (mobility) ambitions where access outweighs ownership. The energy company in 2020 will provide the hardware and the smart grid, a virtual market place.
What this smart grid will lead to is a new type of social network, where people share their electricity on the grid. The smart grid will require uniform, plug and play components, similar to the USB standard for computer has been. Plug in an extra solar panel if you need one.
The revenues for the energy company are in leasing the equipment (solar panels), a subscription and access to the smart grid. Also from trading electricity to regions where the demand is higher. In the light of the electric vehicles, energy companies can become the new oil companies of the future with presences along (or in) highways where they can gain a potentially large marketshare.
Keeping you posted on the outcome, thank you for your time.