Energy Evolution

President Joe Biden moved quickly to return the United States to the Paris climate. He is likely to take major steps forward on climate policy that could impact the energy transition as the world heads to the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference later this year. However, the United States also faces a credibility problem on climate change issues after the Trump administration withdrew from the agreement.  During this episode, we hear from multiple guests on the U.S. returning to climate talks, and what the implications could be for on the energy transition already underway: Christine Todd Whitman, former New Jersey governor and EPA chief; Eric Usher, the head of the United Nations’ Environmental Program Finance Initiative; Jonathan Elkind, a senior research scholar at the center on global energy policy at Columbia University; Amanda O’Toole, global portfolio manager and clean economy strategy manager with AXA Investment Managers; and Paul Baiocchi, senior investment strategy advisor at SS&C ALPS Advisors. Energy Evolution co-hosts Dan Testa, Allison Good and Taylor Kuykendall are veteran journalists with broad expertise covering the utility, oil and gas and mining sectors. Subscribe to Energy Evolution on your favorite platform to catch our latest episodes!

During the Trump years, the US issued an Executive Order to ensure the local development of critical minerals, but no material production was established after that. During his campaign, president Joe Biden stressed the importance of promoting clean energy, which is directly linked to the supply of key battery metals. What will the new US administration bring in terms of policy and strategy around lithium and other battery metals? In this Platts Future Energy podcast Henrique Ribeiro talks to renown lithium guru Joe Lowry and Editor in Chief of Platts Metals Daily Anthony Poole to answer this and other questions.

Hydrogen is generating a lot of buzz in the U.S. energy world, but what might look like a nascent technological revolution is not going to occur overnight, according to several experts interviewed on this episode. But while hydrogen has received its fair share of hype in the past, this time may be different as the growth of sustainability-driven investments, rising pressure to act on climate change and shifting economics are increasingly favoring hydrogen technologies. Energy Evolution co-hosts Dan Testa, Allison Good and Taylor Kuykendall are veteran journalists with broad expertise covering the utility, oil and gas and mining sectors. Subscribe to Energy Evolution on your favorite platform to catch our latest episodes!

Spain’s Repsol was the first oil major to set net-zero emissions to target in December 2019, and the company has pivoted fast to grow its low-carbon energy business launching a raft of wind, solar, biofuels, and green-hydrogen projects. The surge in clean energy projects will see Repsol's low-carbon spending jump to 40% of total capex by 2030, up from an already peer group-leading 25% in 2020. Following an interview with Luis Cabra, Repsol's head of Energy Transition, Sustainability, and Technology, S&P Global Platts Robert Perkins and Roman Kramarchuk discuss the key points of Repsol’s low-carbon transition strategy and how they fit with the S&P Global Platts broader outlook of the energy transition landscape.

The COVID-19 pandemic hit many industries hard in 2020, including automotives. Electric vehicles’ sales, however, grew substantially from 2019 -- and the trend should continue in 2021, supporting the demand for battery metals such as lithium and cobalt. This edition of the Platts Future Energy podcast explains why EVs outperformed internal combustion engine cars and how the lithium and cobalt markets reacted to this increase amid the pandemic.

In the latest Platts Future Energy podcast, Janjoost Jullens, Energy Lead at the at the Blocklab innovation lab in the Netherlands, and James Rilett, Senior Director of Innovation at S&P Global Platts, tell Henry Edwardes-Evans about Platts AI trading platform Distro. Rotterdam's blockchain-based microgrid has driven user costs down 11% and producer returns up 14% - now its developers are looking to extend its reach within the port and roll the system out elsewhere.

New financial tools are emerging alongside new technology to help companies address greenhouse gas emissions. Unlike green bonds, where the proceeds from the bond are used for new and existing projects with environmental benefits, sustainability-linked bonds can be more flexible.  NRG Energy announced the issuance of a $900 million sustainability-linked-bond earlier in December. The company says that is going to help them achieve a 50% reduction of absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 and reach net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 from a 2014 baseline.   Gaetan Frotte, the senior vice president and Treasurer at NRG Energy, spoke with Energy Evolution co-host Taylor Kuykendall about the latest announcement. 

Cobalt is a pivotal metal for the batteries that underpin electric vehicles. Recent long-term supply commitments signed by battery makers suggest that cobalt is set to remain a crucial component for many years, as such understanding the market and pricing of this metal is critical. In the latest instalment of the Platts Future Energy podcast, Emmanuel Latham is joined by Robin Tisserand, Cobalt Broker at SCB Group, to discuss the market, the major pricing issues and the risk management options available to the market and what this means for cobalt’s future as a key battery raw material.

As the world aims to hit global climate goals, countries and companies around the world are setting targets and making plans to reduce emissions of greenhouse gas. While utilities are leading the way in the energy sector, rising pressure from investors has the oil and gas sector working to catch up. S&P Global Market Intelligence's Energy Evolution interviewed Williams Cos. Inc. President and CEO Alan Armstrong and Enbridge Inc. Chief Sustainability Officer Peter Sheffield on their companies' recently-announced ambitions to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.  Energy Evolution co-hosts Dan Testa, Allison Good and Taylor Kuykendall are veteran journalists with broad expertise covering the utility, oil and gas and mining sectors. Subscribe to Energy Evolution on your favorite platform to catch our latest episodes!

The global steel sector accounts for roughly 7% of the world’s CO2 emissions. Blast furnaces, which process iron ore and coking coal, and produce most of the world’s steel, have a higher emissions intensity compared with mini-mills that melt ferrous scrap. Incorporating hydrogen and renewable power could help the sector lower its emissions profile as it looks for new ways to meet demand for greener steel. S&P Global Platts managing editor Andrew Moore speaks with Platts senior editor for steel raw materials and metals analysis Hector Forster and Platts Analytics’ lead hydrogen analyst Zane McDonald on how hydrogen may help transition the steel sector away from emissions-intensive blast furnaces and more toward direct reduction iron- and scrap-fed electric arc furnaces. The discussion covers global steel production trends, PCI coal substitution by hydrogen, power and hydrogen sources, carbon-based taxes on steel in Europe, and how demand for low emissions steel is already being seen in Europe.