Michael’s guest for Episode 121 of Cleaning Up is Rob Miller, Professor of Aerothermal Engineering at the University of Cambridge and Director of the Whittle Laboratory. The Whittle Laboratory is conducting world-leading research in pursuit of making net-zero aviation a reality. With the aviation sector looking set to be one of the hardest to abate in the net-zero transition, Michael wanted to know whether electrification or hydrogen represents the best chance to keep the world flying in sustainable fashion. Also on the agenda were the complexities of producing - and defining - sustainable airline fuel, and the scale of the risk posed by aircraft contrails. Relevant Guest & Topic Links The Aviation Impact Accelerator (AIA) is helping map pathways to net zero aviation: https://whittle.eng.cam.ac.uk/aviation-impact-accelerator/ Explore the AIA’s Resource to Climate Comparison Evaluator (RECCE): https://recce.aiatools.org/ Read about the plans for the new Whittle Laboratory: https://whittle.eng.cam.ac.uk/new-whittle-laboratory/ King Charles toured the Whittle Laboratory in 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjoY4y_qZAkGuest BioRob Miller is professor of aerothermal technology and director of the Whittle Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. He is also director of the Rolls-Royce Whittle University Technology Centre in Cambridge. Rob is a member of the UK Department for Transport’s Science Advisory Council, the FlyZero Design Advisory Group, and a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. In 2014 he set up and led the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Gas Turbine Aerodynamics. He led the team that pioneered rapid technology development, the process of reducing research and development times in aerospace from years to months or weeks. In 2020 he set up the Aviation Impact Accelerator (AIA), an international expert group aiming to build an interactive whole-system simulator to accelerate the journey to climate-neutral aviation.Rob’s honours include the Royal Academy of Engineering President's Special Awards for Pandemic Service, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Thomas Hawksley Gold Medal, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Air Breathing Propulsion Award, the American Society of Engineers IGTI Best Paper Award (2019, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2010, 2008, 2007, 2005) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers highest honour in the field, The Gas Turbine Award, four times (2019. 2015, 2014, 2010).

Today on Cleaning Up, Michael's guest is CEO and Founder of Africa GreenCo, Ana Hajduka. Africa GreenCo provide a trading operation and guarantee scheme for power producers in Sub-Saharan Africa to enable and sustain renewable energy investment and development in the region. This episode coincided with International Women's Day, so as well as outlining Africa GreenCo's ambitions to promote renewable energy supply in Africa, Ana ended with some truly fascinating insights into what it takes to be a successful woman in the climate space.Relevant Guest & Topic Links Learn more about Africa GreenCo’s mission here: https://africagreenco.com/ Sustainable development in Africa was discussed recently in Cleaning Up Episode 118 with Achim Steiner: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep118-achim-steiner-sustaining-development/ Bridging the energy gap in Africa was one of the topics discussed in Cleaning Up Episode 62 with Damilola Ogunbiyi: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep62-damilola-ogunbiyi-energy-the-red-thread-through-the-sdgs/ Guest Bio Ana is qualified as a lawyer in both England & Wales and the State of New York and is an infrastructure and energy professional. Ana trained with Allen & Overy LLP and went on to work for Fulbright & Jaworski LLP and Trinity International LLP, advising on a diverse range of projects within the energy sector, predominately in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ana was involved in a number of renewable energy projects across sub-Saharan Africa and is an African IPP project finance and PPA risk allocation specialist. In March 2015, Ana was appointed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) as the Team Leader responsible for a Project Team in charge of developing international renewable energy PPP standards as part of the Sustainable Energy for All agenda. Ana holds a degree in Law from University College London, studied for an LPC at the University of Oxford and holds an MSc in International History and International Relations from the London School of Economics.

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael welcomes Dr Aneeqa Khan, Manchester-ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Research Fellow in Nuclear Fusion.Aneeqa had insights to offer on the significance of the recent fusion breakthrough at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, some of the challenges facing nuclear scientists and engineers, and the race to bring a raft of fusion technologies to commercialisation and grid integration.Links and Related Episodes:Dr. Khan spoke to the New Statesman about fusion and the climate: https://www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/climate-energy-nature/2022/12/when-nuclear-fusion-produce-enough-powerDiscover Cleaning Up’s Nuclear playlist on YouTube, including Episode 29 with Steven Chu: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe8ZTD7dMaaBcbo3W_zva0ChNZ9R9rL-UDr. Khan’s recent research output can be found here: https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/persons/aneeqa.khan#:~:text=Aneeqa%20Khan%20is%20a%20research,khan%40manchester.ac.ukLearn about Helion’s plasma accelerator: https://www.helionenergy.com/our-technology/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bDXXWQxK38Cleaning Up Episode 114 featured James DeMuth, CEO of Seurat Technologies:https://www.cleaningup.live/ep114-james-demuth-disrupting-manufacturing-with-laser-printing/Guest BioDr Khan has been Manchester-ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Research Fellow in Nuclear Fusion at the University of Manchester since 2019. Previously, she’s held postdoctoral positions at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Garching, Germany, and at ITER Organization in Saint-Paul-lès-Durance, France.Dr Khan holds a BEng in Mechanical Engineering and a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of Manchester. Dr Khan’s areas of research interest include material deposition, irradiation effects and fuel retention. 

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael welcomes Achim Steiner, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and co-chair of UN Energy. Michael had questions for Steiner on UNDP’s roster of initiatives, balancing climate priorities with development goals, and how to clear a path to financing billions of dollars of clean infrastructure in the midst of a global energy crisis.Like, share and subscribe to Cleaning Up for more essential conversations around the net zero transition. Links and Related Episodes: Learn more about UNDP: https://www.undp.org/energyOver 120 countries are part of UNDP’s Climate Promise: https://climatepromise.undp.org/Discover UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub: https://sdgfinance.undp.org/Many of the episodes mentioned can be found in our ‘United Nations’ playlist on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvl91lgPsUg&list=PLe8ZTD7dMaaDVAOrAyAwuMKrmq3G9ih75Watch Episode 98 with Bill McKibben: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W9uR6eTe94Watch Episode 59 with Alain Ebobissé: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep-59-alain-ebobisse-meeting-africas-infrastructure-needs/Guest BioAchim Steiner became Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme in 2017, and is also the Vice-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group. Steiner has been a global leader on sustainable development, climate resilience and international cooperation for nearly three decades.Prior to joining UNDP, he was Director of the Oxford Martin School and Professorial Fellow of Balliol College, University of Oxford. He led the United Nations Environment Programme (2006-2016), and was Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi. Steiner previously held positions including Director General of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and Secretary General of the World Commission on Dams.Steiner graduated in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (MA) from Worcester College, Oxford University, and holds an MA from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael welcomes Dr. Nawal Al-Hosany, UAE’s Permanent Representative to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), for a wide-ranging discussion on IRENA’s work promoting an equitable transition, the UAE’s emergence as a renewables superpower, and the significance of COP28 coming to the region later this year.Links and Related Episodes: Learn more about the International Renewable Energy Agency and its work: https://www.irena.org/Learn about IRENA and the UAE’s Beyond Food initiative: https://www.irena.org/News/pressreleases/2022/Mar/UAE-and-IRENA-Launch-New-Initiative-to-Provide-Access-to-Energy-for-Clean-CookingDr. Nawal’s recent op-ed on the importance of climate education: https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2023/01/05/its-time-to-put-youth-at-the-top-of-the-climate-agenda/Visit the UAE mission to IRENA’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@uaemissiontoirenaWatch Cleaning Up Episode 87 with Francesco La Camera: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep87-francesco-la-camera-the-economist-diplomat-championing-clean-energy/Guest BioDr. Nawal Al-Hosany is the Permanent Representative of the UAE to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) as of April 2018. Previously, Dr. Al Hosany held the position of the Executive Director of Sustainability at Masdar, the international renewable energy leader based in Abu Dhabi. She also served as the Director of the Zayed Future Energy Prize for eight years between 2011-2018. Dr. Al-Hosany is an active member of various climate-focused boards and committees, including the advisory council of National Geographic magazine and the advisory Panel for the Momentum for Change initiative of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). She is a board member of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and she serves as the Vice Chair for the Global Council of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).She graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at the UAE University in 1992 and obtained her PhD from Newcastle University in the UK in 2002. In July 2018, Dr. Al-Hosany was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Keele University in the UK in recognition for her achievements in the field of sustainability. Dr Al-Hosany has also received the “Arab Woman Award” and the “Emirates Business Women Award”.

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael welcomes Tom Samson, CEO of Rolls-Royce SMR. Rolls-Royce SMR are among a raft of new companies innovating in the field of Small Modular Reactors, hoping to provide nuclear energy in smaller, more repeatable modules at a lower price point than traditional gigawatt-scale reactors. Michael had questions for Samson on nuclear’s “desperately poor track record” for price control, the practicalities of factory-building a nuclear reactor, and the feasibility of nuclear finding a role in an energy landscape full of increasingly cheap renewables. Like, subscribe and share for more insights and in-depth interviews from the front-line of the net-zero transition.Links and Related Episodes: Learn more about Rolls-Royce SMR: https://www.rolls-royce-smr.com/about-us Watch a walkthrough of Rolls-Royce SMR’s nuclear technology here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jmp-z5bzmE Watch Cleaning Up Episode 5 with Kirsty Gogan, “Fighting for Nuclear”: https://www.cleaningup.live/episode-5-kirsty-gogan/ Watch Cleaning Up Episode 94 with Julia Pyke, “The Fight for GW Nuclear”: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep94-julia-pyke-the-case-for-gw-nuclear/ Watch Cleaning Up Episode 74 with Francesco Starace: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep74-francesco-starace-europes-clean-power-leader/ Watch Cleaning Up Episode 97 with Julio Freidmann: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep97-julio-friedmann-the-carbon-wrangler/ Guest Bio Tom Samson is the CEO of Rolls-Royce SMR Limited. He has over 30 years of experience in the power industry in various senior level executive positions in the UK and internationally. Samson joined Marubeni Corporation in 2009, where he undertook a number of CEO and Board-level assignments in the UAE and USA. Samson was appointed Chief Operating Officer for ENEC in the UAE in 2012, where he helped establish Nawah Energy as the operator of Barakah, the first nuclear power plant in the region. Samson was appointed CEO and Board member at NuGeneration Ltd in 2015, which was responsible for developing a new nuclear power station at Moorside in Cumbria. In early 2020 Samson joined Rolls-Royce to lead their SMR Consortium and is a Board Member of Rolls-Royce SMR Limited. Samson holds a degree from Edinburgh Napier University in Energy Engineering. Samson began his career as a Chartered Engineer at GEC Alstom designing combined cycle gas-fired power plants.

This week, Michael invites Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe, to debate the importance of hydrogen in powering Europe and the world towards a decarbonized economy. Hydrogen Europe is an industry association of more than 400 members that promotes the role of hydrogen in reaching carbon neutrality in Europe. Chatzimarkakis holds hydrogen to be the miracle molecule of the transition, while Michael’s Hydrogen Ladder has a far narrower view of its likely uses on the path to net zero. What follows is a comprehensive, robust – and at moments, fierce - discussion of hydrogen in the transition, covering electrolyzers, fertilizers, freight, transportation and heating, as well as following the “pots of money” behind hydrogen infrastructure and lobbying in Europe. Spark more healthy debate around net zero pathways by liking and sharing the episode, and don’t forget to subscribe. Relevant Guest & Topic Links: Learn more about Hydrogen Europe: https://hydrogeneurope.eu/ HE’s Hydrogen Act (2021) lays out a roadmap for a ‘European Hydrogen Economy’: https://hydrogeneurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2021.04_HE_Hydrogen-Act_Final.pdf HE’s Clean Hydrogen Monitor (2022) provides an overview of the European hydrogen market: https://hydrogeneurope.eu/clean-hydrogen-monitor2022/ Explore Michael’s Hydrogen Ladder here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/clean-hydrogen-ladder-v40-michael-liebreich/ President von der Leyen’s speech at the European Parliament Plenary on December 15th 2022: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/fi/speech_22_7727 Watch Cleaning Up Episode 111 with Dan Yergin here: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep111-daniel-yergin-the-worlds-most-influential-energy-analyst/ Watch Episode 88 with Patrick Graichen here: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep88-patrick-graichen-germanys-secretary-of-state-for-the-energiewende/ Guest Bio:Chatzimarkakis was a Member of European Parliament from 2004 until 2014 for Germany’s Free Democratic Party (FDP), serving on the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy among others. From 1999 to 2004, Chatzimarkakis was Managing Partner at Polit Data Concept, a public affair consultancy, and served as a Science Policy Officer at Germany’s Bundestag from 1995 to 1998. Chatzimarkakis holds an MA from the University of Bonn in Political Science. He has held positions as a lecturer at University Duisberg Essen and Saarland University.

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael is joined by James DeMuth. James is co-founder and CEO of Seurat Technologies, a specialist in 3D metal printing, or Additive Manufacturing. With their own licensed laser technology, their aim is to decarbonize traditional, emissions-intensive manufacturing processes by competing with them, and ultimately, displacing them. Relevant Guest & Topic James is evangelical about the potential of Seurat’s technology to transform the manufacturing industry for the better:“Our goal is to make hardware production as simple to do and as cheap to produce as it is to write code and software... I don't think we have any concept, at all, for the explosion in applications that we would see when that happens.” Relevant Guest & Topic Links:Area Printing Explained https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llAcqwD2TBY Seurat Technologies Inc. https://www.seurat.com/ The Economist on Seurat and Additive Manufacturing https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2022/03/19/a-new-type-of-3d-printing-may-bring-it-into-the-mainstreamOn Seurat’s 2024 plans for a 100,000-square-foot factory https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/10/06/business/local-3d-printing-startup-build-new-factory-mass-production/?p1=BGSearch_Overlay_LatestStories A comprehensive look at Seurat’s approach to additive manufacturing https://issuu.com/inovar-communications/docs/metal_am_spring_2022/141?fr=sN2VjNjQ3NDg2NTg Why the name? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmzUHwFGKtI  Guest Bio: Since co-founding Seurat in 2015, DeMuth has served as the company’s CTO, and as of 2020, their CEO. DeMuth spent six years at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, as a Research Associate, then as a Mechanical Engineer working in Advanced Manufacturing and Fusion Energy. At LLNL, DeMuth worked on power generation, additive manufacturing technologies, and the Laser Inertial Fusion Energy (LIFE) Engine. DeMuth holds a BSc from Santa Clara University in Mechanical Engineering, and an MA from Stanford University in Mechanical Engineering.

This week’s episode of Cleaning Up sees the return of Jonathan Maxwell, Founder and CEO of Sustainable Development Capital Limited (SDCL), one of the world’s biggest investors in energy efficiency. Jonathan is back for the first in a series of 'checkpoints' on Cleaning Up, as we invite guests back to the show to give an update on their sector or specialism on the path to net zero. Guest Bio: investment trust investing exclusively in energy efficiency - Sustainable Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEEIT). Jonathan chairs the Trust’s Investment Committee.Jonathan has over two decades of experience in the financial sector – he spent early days of his career at HSBC Infrastructure and led the IPO process of HICL Infrastructure Company (formerly HSBC Infrastructure Company) – one of the biggest infrastructure funds listed on the London Stock Exchange.In 2007 he founded Sustainable Development Capital (SDCL), a boutique investment firm specializing in clean energy, energy efficiency and decentralised energy infrastructure projects. He has led the company ever since as the CEO. Jonathan holds a degree in Modern History from Oxford University.View: Relevant Guest & Topic Links:Find out more about SDCL: https://www.sdclgroup.com/Find out more about SDCL: https://www.sdclgroup.com/ Explore LLNL's flowcharts, or Sankey diagrams: https://flowcharts.llnl.gov/ See last year's flowchart's produced by BEIS detailing UK energy use: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/energy-flow-chart-2021 SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust PLC's listing on the LSE: https://www.londonstockexchange.com/stock/SEIT/sdcl-energy-efficiency-income-trust-plc/company-page BEIS in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement, including the pledge to establish an Energy Efficiency Taskforce: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/beis-in-the-autumn-statement#:~:text=Energy%20Efficiency%20Taskforce&text=The%20taskforce%20will%20support%20a,billion%20provided%20in%20this%20Parliament.Watch: Related Episodes:Watch Jonathan's first appearance on Episode 14 of Cleaning Up in 2020: https://youtu.be/Wqrtr2lePM8Watch Episode 111 with Dan Yergin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QIh4U3VgjcWatch Episode 110 with Adair Turner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P2JgeOXp9wWatch Episode 109 with Ion Yadigaroglu and Dipender Saluja: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUTPkszXs_YWatch Episode 84 with Mark Carney: https://youtu.be/HtA5ufMzKAU

Bob Litterman, financial risk expert and climate policy leader, discusses the urgency of global emission reduction incentives. Emphasizing the time sensitivity of climate risk, he advocates for proactive risk management. The conversation explores carbon pricing strategies, clean energy investments, and the role of financial systems in addressing climate change.