This week, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) provides voice to Filipa Monteiro Martins, Renewables Innovation Unit Manager on the Portuguese vitality firm Galp. He says inclusion is a important driver of long-term enterprise success and innovation, particularly within the renewable vitality business, the place the power to adapt and evolve is important.
Innovation has been a significant driver of current development within the renewable vitality sector, reducing prices and bettering the capabilities of key applied sciences equivalent to photo voltaic panels and de- electrical automobile, in addition to bettering vitality effectivity. The time period renewable innovation goals to develop and implement new applied sciences, processes, and techniques to enhance using renewable vitality.
Like different fields of innovation, dynamic innovation usually follows McKinsey’s Three Horizons Framework. Horizon 1 focuses on short-term enhancements to present applied sciences (for instance take a look at options to enhance the operational effectivity of belongings), Horizon 2 includes the event of mid-term alternatives in rising applied sciences or options (eg agrivoltaics), and Horizon 3 explores long-term, high-impact improvements that may change the vitality panorama (eg disruptive cell applied sciences equivalent to perovskite photo voltaic cells). This framework offers steering for balancing present priorities with long-term development alternatives.
Among the present challenges within the renewable sector, variety, fairness, and inclusion (DEI) are necessary pillars to succeed, as a result of they promote completely different pondering that’s vital to search out new and disruptive options. Collaboration can also be an vital facet of sustainable innovation. When workforce members really feel valued and revered, they’re extra prone to take dangers and supply daring concepts – a vital a part of innovation. The 2024 Hunt Scanlon DEI Report highlights that inclusion is a important driver of long-term enterprise success and innovation, particularly in industries like ours, the place the power to adapt and evolve is important (Hunt Scanlon Media) . Similarly, a current research by the Boston Consulting Group (2024) highlights that numerous management groups are 45% extra prone to report market share development in comparison with much less numerous friends, highlighting the enterprise worth of variety driving innovation (BCG Global).
Innovation may be stifled by cognitive biases, equivalent to groupthink, which usually tend to happen in homogeneous teams. Embracing intersectionality – the interconnection of social classes, equivalent to gender, ethnicity, class, sexuality, and training – fosters an inclusive tradition and ensures that each workforce member feels empowered to contribute to their distinctive insights, thus fostering new, efficient drawback fixing and higher resolution adoption. Emphasizing variety creates an atmosphere the place completely different concepts and factors of view are explored, doubtlessly resulting in stronger and extra authentic options. The 2024 Elsevier report on gender variety in analysis helps this by revealing that numerous groups can produce extra progressive and impactful analysis outcomes, which is in keeping with the final word aim of vitality innovation (Digital Commons Data).
For anybody coming into the renewable sector, it is very important perceive the significance of steady studying and adaptation on account of quickly altering applied sciences and laws. Building a collaborative community with colleagues from completely different backgrounds improves innovation, as a result of it brings to the desk completely different views. Strength is equally vital, together with discovering mentors for inspiration and steering. Thus, embracing variety and collaboration not solely fosters innovation but additionally prepares people to navigate and succeed on this dynamic discipline.
Filipa Monteiro Martins is Galp’s Renewables Innovation Unit Manager, the place she leads initiatives that drive the event and implementation of cutting-edge renewable vitality applied sciences. With experience in large-scale renewable vitality era, together with photo voltaic and wind, he’s centered on bettering the efficiency of renewable belongings. His work additionally contains the event of flexibility applied sciences to raised combine and use renewable vitality, together with exploring new developments equivalent to agrivoltaics. Prior to this function, Filipa managed the implementation of photovoltaic initiatives all through Iberia, the place she managed large-scale photo voltaic installations and contributed to the enlargement of Galp’s photo voltaic capability. Before transferring to the renewable sector, Filipa gained in depth expertise within the oil and fuel business, together with a key function as secondee at Eni, specializing in technical and contractual interface administration, and former Galp place. With a various background protecting completely different vitality sectors, Filipa brings a wealth of expertise and a robust dedication to selling innovation and inclusivity in renewable vitality. Filipa has an Executive MBA from Lisbon MBA Nova-Católica, an MSc in Petroleum Engineering from Heriot-Watt University, and an MSc in Civil Engineering from FEUP.
Interested in becoming a member of Filipa Martins and different girls business leaders and consultants at Women in Solar Europe? Learn extra: www.wiseu.community
The views and opinions expressed on this article are these of the creator, and don’t essentially replicate these held by pv journal.
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