Episode 48 | Supermajor Subscription | Shell
I'm a huge fan of energy efficiency--within limits. I believe all companies and organizations should attempt to maximize their facilities, balancing the costs of energy-efficient upgrades with the payback period an organization can tolerate.
I'm also fond of a business model whereby a company can continue to earn revenue past the initial point of sale, like selling razor blades after you've sold the razor.
Shell Energy Inside, a new offering from Shell Energy, is an energy-efficiency company that allows potential clients to offset a lot of the upfront expenses, by bundling them into a subscription. This offering was first announced in November 2018, and Shell's initial partners are:
- GridPoint—A VA-based controls and analytics firm
- SparkFund—A DC-based energy technology subscription company
- MP2 Energy—Shell's Retail Electric company
For this episode I spoke with Shell's Eric Bradley and SparkFund's Pier LaFarge.
According to SparkFund's video, the company sees components like HVAC, electric car charging stations, even lighting, as something that would be better expensed on a subscription basis, same as offices rent copiers, desktops, and coffee makers.
To hear that Shell, which many of us would view as an "oil and gas company," is expanding into the energy efficiency space, is probably a surprise to fewer of us. Take a look at any commercial featuring a supermajor—the Shells, BPs, Chevrons, Exxons of the world—and they’re touting technologies that you don’t fill in your tank.
But as I discussed with our guests, yes, Shell has always produced electricity. Its natural gas has always fueled power plants, for instance. And as we move into technologies like electric vehicles, grid-scale storage, I think we’re going to see that perceived imaginary line between power and oil and gas disappear.
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