Redefining Energy

Solar industry faced challenges in 2021, but still grew by 27%. Jenny Chase from Bloomberg NEF discusses solar trends, prices, technologies, and supply and demand. Solar remains the cheapest electricity source worldwide. The hosts congratulate Patrick Graichen and Paul Martin for their achievements. The podcast also covers forecasting challenges, advancements in solar cell technologies, the importance of balance system costs, and a partnership with Aquila Capital for 2022.

EV charging is developing exponentially. It is now a 30bnUSD market per year, growing at a astonishing pace of 20%. More than 1.5m EV charging stations are now operational in the world, 50% in China, 30% in Europe. The US will catch up soon thank to the Biden Infrastructure plan that commits 7.5bnUSD to EV charging. But ultra-fast charging comes with technical challenges as the impact on the local electricity networks are tremendous. On the one hand, large EV charging networks are being deployed with a commoditised approach and questionable business models; on the other hand, new turn-key sophisticated solutions start to emerge, such as integrating batteries and EV charging, creating micro-grids at retailers’ premises. We invite Arcady Sosinov, CEO FreeWire Technologies, a Californian Start-Up that has raised more than 100mUSD from leading investors (Riverstone, BP, BlueBear), to discuss the future of Ultra-fast EV charging. And it is not going to be necessarily what people currently think.

Guests Marc Carney, known for the speech 'Breaking the Tragedy of the Horizon', and Blackrock, author of the letter 'Because capital markets pull future risk forward', discuss the exponential growth of ESG investing. They explore its challenges, inflated claims, maze-like nature, and intervention by regulators. They also touch on the performance comparison between oil and gas stocks and sustainable funds, concerns about fees and portfolio performance, the imbalance of capital and opportunity in the market, the lack of renewable infrastructure, self-regulation in finance, greenwashing, conflicting views on ESG investing, and the need for standardization and clarity in ESG ratings and taxonomies.

Renewables are developing very fast, but without a proper distribution system, the energy transition will soon stall. So, what does tomorrow’s green grid looks like? It seems like a dull subject, but the grid modernisation is the necessary condition of a successful roll out of wind, solar and EV Charging. What needs to change, what type of investment are necessary, not just from a deployment perspective but also in terms of efficiency, costs, and regulation.We have the privilege of inviting Antonio Cammisecra, Head of Global Infrastructure & Networks at the giant Italian Utility ENEL. ENEL operates distribution networks in eight countries on two continents. Antonio provides us with a ground-breaking vision of tomorrow’s green grid, digital and adaptable. He also unveils breakthrough management techniques such as quantum computing and cyber-security.Distribution networks should definitely not be underhyped.Thank you to Aquila Capital for supporting the showIf you want to help increase our audience, a 5* ratings and a kind review really help!

For the past decade, Natural Gas has been promoted as the “Clean, Reliable and Cheap” fuel to assist the Energy Transition. Well that cosy theory, heavily promoted by the fossil fuel companies, is collapsing in front of our eyes with the Gas crunch affecting Europe, Asia and Latin America. As of 6 October 2021, TTF (the Dutch gas hub) front month prices briefly touched 160EUR/MWh, 8 times higher than where they were at beginning of the year, and equivalent to a staggering 56USD/mmbtu or 350USD/bbl of Oil.In this episode, that we record almost live, Gerard and Laurent try to analyse the causes, the impacts, and the long-term consequences of what we dub “The Natgaspocalypse”. We might as well have called the episode “From Russia with love” as we are discussing, amongst other factors, the role of Russia in the current energy crunch. But a lot of other long-term and short-term factors have come together to create the perfect storm. So, if supply is being analysed, there is also a lot to discuss about demand.How those crazy energy prices are fed to the final consumers is creating havoc within the Energy supply chain and triggers heavy-handed, hastily designed, government interventions. Such crises certainly distract the decision makers from their lofty “Net Zero by 2050” goals. Even when the market ends up rebalancing, as commodities market always do, the suddenness of the shock and its magnitude will generate significant consequences that will go beyond price controls and geopolitics. Governments will need to be more hands-on, whether through a faster decarbonisation or simply doubling down on gas. The Energy Transition will not be a smooth journey.We thank Aquila Capital for their supporthttps://www.aquila-capital.de/en/

Exploring long-duration energy storage solutions to combat low wind and solar periods. Discussing the potential of pumped hydro storage, flow batteries, and new technologies. Analyzing the challenges and opportunities for grid storage and the need for government intervention and market reforms.

Steel and cement with their 2,000 mills and 3,000 kilns, together currently emit 15% of the world’s CO2. So far, they’ve been exempted from carbon trading or carbon pricing, which means no significant reductions have been implemented. But in a 1.5degree and Net Zero scenarios, they start to feel the pressure. We brought Dolf Gielen, Director Innovation and Technology at IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency) into the conversation to try to understand why those industries are so hard to decarbonise. And we are focusing the debate on a very simple choice: do you fix the fuel (with CCS – Carbon Capture and Storage of CO2) or do you switch the fuel (with – for example Hydrogen or Biomass)? There are a lot of hurdles to overcome, such as: bad economics, international competition (especially for steel, not so for cement), and regulators who don’t seem to be very interested.Some promising options are now on the table, but they will require massive governments interventions. References:Engineering with Rosie (Youtube) on CCS technologies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC388uNJhUY An excellent blog on cement emissions:https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/co2-emission-from-cement-industry-whats-best-estimate-claude-lorea/McKinsey on decarbonizing Steel:https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/metals-and-mining/our-insights/decarbonization-challenge-for-steelDolf Gielen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dolf-gielen-852ab514/And, last but not least, a hilarious video explaining really how CCS/CCUS workshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSZgoFyuHC8 Many Thanks to Aquila Capital for supporting the showhttps://www.aquila-capital.de/en/

Exploring the impact of methane emissions in the energy sector and the importance of transparency. MIQ's grading system revolutionizing methane monitoring. Insights on reducing flaring and standardizing gas assets globally. Discussing challenges in methane emissions from gas imports and certification solutions. Emphasizing the need for transparency in tracking methane emissions for rapid decarbonization.

Explore the challenges of decarbonizing aviation through electrification, innovative electric plane startups, and the potential of hydrogen, biofuels, and e-fuels. Learn about the advancements in electric vehicles and vertical takeoff aircraft for sustainable transportation. Discover the technologies and challenges in sustainable aviation, such as battery-powered planes and different approaches for short-haul vs. long-haul flights.

Discussion on the current state of the EV market, Tesla's competitors, and laggards. Exploring the future of transport, data collection in car manufacturing, and the impact of individuals on the energy transition.