Sir Ian Wood KT GBE

The partnership will work with industry leaders to boost innovation, and will bring together top global EnergyTech investors, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and government leaders at a Barclays Eagle Labs virtual launch event.

The virtual event will take place next week on Tuesday 29th September to bring together the community and start strengthening the ecosystem by introducing startup culture and learning from other industry sectors.

The event will feature a global panel of speakers, including: Sir Ian Wood KT GBE, Wood Group founder and chair of ONE; Asymco.com founder and celebrated tech analyst Horace Dediu, renowned for his research on mobile technology and micro-mobility; BP Launchpad operating partner Siobhan Clarke; Peterson executive director and tech founder Sarah Moore; and The Open University’s Professor of Energy, Bill Nuttall.

Sir Ian Wood KT GBE, chair of Opportunity North East (ONE), said: “We are pleased to be partnering with Barclays Eagle Labs and CodeBase to bring together major players in the energy industry alongside businesses that can challenge and disrupt the mindset and culture to catalyse a more digitally focused energy sector. The partnership highlights the critical role the North East of Scotland will play to deliver new energy solutions and investments that address the changing global energy demand and climate change challenge.”

Ben Davey, CEO of Barclays Ventures, added: “Innovation and digitalisation of the energy sector will be key in meeting our energy needs in the future. That’s why we’re excited to work with our partners Opportunity North East and CodeBase to bring together tech start-ups with larger energy sector businesses, helping to strengthen the EnergyTech ecosystem and accelerate its digital transformation.”

Steven Drost, chief strategy officer, CodeBase, commented: “The energy space is evolving at pace. New technologies, climate change and societal demands are shaping how we create, package and price energy and digital is very much part of this mix. As US entrepreneur and investor Marc Andreessen famously put it almost a decade ago, ‘software is eating the world’ and in 2020 this very much includes the Energy sector.”