Rewiring Urban Heat with Data: Digital Twins, Heat Networks and Glasgow’s Decarbonised Future

On this episode of the Hypercube Energy Podcast, Adam Sroka speaks with Tunde Olaoye, Director of Product and Innovation at Gren, a fast-growing UK energy company building next-generation heat and power networks. Tunde brings over a decade of experience across mechanical engineering, consultancy, and large-scale energy infrastructure, with a career spanning Babcock, WSP, SSE, and now Gren.

Tunde shares how Gren is rethinking urban heat through digital twins, optimisation, and large-scale network design, and how their “Energy on Clyde” project is laying the foundations for a new model of low-carbon heat infrastructure. They explore why heat networks are essential for decarbonising complex buildings, the challenges of legacy systems, and how data-driven control can unlock major efficiency gains.

The conversation ranges from hands-on engineering lessons to the cultural and financial innovations needed to scale clean heat. Tunde also reflects on the role of AI, the future of O&M optimisation, and what it takes to build a truly digital-first energy organisation.

Adam and Tunde cover:

• Tunde’s journey through engineering, consultancy, and the evolution of heat networks
• How heat networks work — and why they’re vital for decarbonising cities
• Digital twins for real-time optimisation, control, and asset insight
• Using data to reduce O&M costs and improve financial performance
• Parallels between heat, power, and other infrastructure systems
• The future of AI in operational decision-making and reliability
• Building inclusive, collaborative teams in a fast-scaling energy startup