Bridgit Hartland-Johnson's passion for accessible cleantech ? #EnergiseHer

Interviewed and written by Marta Colina Alonso, Researcher at Brightsmith.

One of the challenges renewable energy sets out to overcome is ensuring everyone, everywhere, has access to the energy resources they need. It was this very mission that motivated Bridgit Hartland-Johnson, ?rsted's System Integration Innovation Manager, to pursue a career in cleantech.

A self-proclaimed technology geek, Bridgit is a firm believer in the power of recognizing talent and taking chances in fellow female engineers and colleagues as key support systems for women in the industry, and she advocates for careers in engineering without the need for a university degree. My conversation with her was nothing short of motivating and insightful, and I hope you find it likewise ??

Welcome Bridgit! Give us a little intro about yourself

Thank you! I’m Bridgit Hartland-Johnson, I’m married and have no kids, and normally live between Shropshire and London. I have an electrical engineering background, and I’ve worked my whole life in the power sector, but I don’t have a degree. Before I worked at ?rsted I worked for OEMS, like Siemens and Schneider Electric, and I have had the chance to work in Paris, Delhi, Mumbai and Nurnberg, so I’ve been very lucky so far. I’m currently responsible for system integration in project development at ?rsted, which means my responsibility is to find business case levers or better ways to interact with the grid for our offshore wind portfolio in the UK. I play around with hydrogen, platform electrification, energy storage, and try to work out how they can be integrated into our projects. It’s a lot of fun!

You’ve been in many different countries and roles, but how did you get into cleantech in the first place?

I have always loved this space, I’m a bit of a geek with new technologies – back in 2007 I worked on smart grids when it was still very new and niche, but I think I really got into this space when I lived in India. My husband’s job moved there, and I was able to work as a freelance consultant and eventually set up my own business. At the time, 40% of people in India did not have access to electricity, and those who did regularly had power cuts. It made me realise how access to affordable cleantech can really be a massive accelerator to providing electricity and a road out of poverty for less advantaged communities.

That’s such an interesting and real introduction into the true potential of cleantech… What do you think is the most important aspect we need to consider in order to make clean energy accessible to everyone?

The price of gas and electricity right now is shocking, and quite honestly scares me. Renewable energy is somehow being blamed for this, but the thing is: we just need to do more faster. The fact that we still do not have smart meters everywhere is nonsensical. It has been proven time and time again that renewable energy is cheaper than its alternative, we’re just not smart in how we use it. Learning how to use it properly, is critical to the transition.

"Access to affordable cleantech can really be a massive accelerator to providing electricity and a road out of poverty for less advantaged communities."

Why is it important to encourage women to pursue a career in this sector?

If we’re being honest, this is not a very attractive industry for women if you look at it on a surface level. The branding and wording isn’t very female friendly. I come from a family of male engineers, so I always had that influence and from a young age and always knew it was what I wanted to do. That influence happened through awareness and role models – we need to do more of this. There is a lot of value in seeing yourself in someone else, you visualise opportunities and your dreams suddenly become so much more attainable.

You’re a very successful woman in tech, and you did it all without a degree. Is it really possible to achieve great things in this field without higher education?

It is absolutely possible. I still sometimes get imposter syndrome when I am with ‘real’ engineers, but we are talking about it more now. These days, learning resources are so widely available – you can learn how to code or build a computer just by looking up videos on YouTube. I feel we are starting to recognize skills and capabilities beyond a degree, it’s about making these people feel like they are still worthy and talented. And these changes are tangible – we’ve recently promoted a few women at ?rsted who don’t have a technical background, into technical management roles, and to me that’s totally inspiring. They know everything they need to know for the job. So yes, you absolutely can learn everything you need to and want to learn without a degree.

"There is a lot of value in seeing yourself in someone else, you visualise opportunities and your dreams suddenly become so much more attainable."

Do you find that support systems for women within the industry help move towards a more gender balanced workforce?

Yes! Again, we also need a reset here; because we have a huge skills shortage, but also because we need new solutions to new problems. For example, I recently obtained an all-woman project management team for a new project, and at the end of the day no one could argue with me because they are all the best people for the job. So it’s not about having women for the sake of women, it’s having women because they can, and are, sometimes the best people for the job. We need more people in our industry who are willing to give women more opportunities, recognising them just for their talent.

What do you love most about your job and industry?

I’m totally in it for the cause. I have always loved working in the power sector – if I see an air insulated high voltage substation it makes me very happy! But I feel that for most people who don’t support the cause is because they’re not equipped with the tools and knowledge, they need to care about it – unfortunately not all of society is onboard to respond as fast as we need to. But I am now in a position of privilege that helps me do a little extra of the right thing to help everyone, a job where I can truly create the solutions I believe in, and with what feels like total freedom. It’s my dream job!

What would you say to your 12-year-old self as a valuable piece of advice that can help young women wanting to join the industry today?

I wasn’t aware of what was possible back then. I was once told “oh, you’re good at maths, you could probably go to work at the local bank in town” and I remember feeling so deflated. So, I would say: take advantage of today’s great access to information, be curious, be aware, if something interests you, go for it. Also, don’t be scared to change your career – nobody has a job for life anymore. Coming to ?rsted for me was a leap, but it has really paid off and I love my day-to-day job. Keep trying things that give you purpose and make you believe what you are doing is worthwhile.

Connect with Bridgit and learn more about her work at ?rsted here ??