Although the end of winter is approaching, the energy crisis will not end when flowers bloom in the spring. Policymakers around the world are hard at work and considering the actions that will ensure energy security at an affordable price for their country. In this episode of Switched On, Germany’s Dr. Patrick Graichen, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, sits down in conversation with Emma Champion, Head of Regional Energy Transitions at BloombergNEF...
Feb 10, 2023•31 min
Hydrogen's role in the energy transition is hotly debated. Technology costs, the practicalities of distribution and storage, and potential applications in hard-to-abate industries are just a few of the discussion topics surrounding this little molecule. In today’s show, we consider the future of hydrogen by zooming in on the electrolyzer market. Cumulative electrolyzer installations are expected to grow from 2 gigawatts in 2022 to roughly 240 gigawatts by 2030. Europe and China are already major...
Jan 19, 2023•34 min
Electric vehicles (EVs) are gaining market share and reducing transportation-related emissions around the world. Facilitating this roll-out are the critical charging networks. When supplied with clean energy, these networks can further decarbonize vehicles, and their expansion can combat range anxiety and facilitate user adoption. On today’s episode of Switched On, Colin McKerracher, Head of Advanced Transport at BloombergNEF, speaks with Melanie Lane, CEO of Shell Recharge Solutions Europe, abo...
Jan 11, 2023•30 min
When Covid-19 disrupted global supply chains, many people realized for the first time how vulnerable these complex systems really are. Some Western governments have responded by looking to expand manufacturing on their own soil. In today’s episode, we are joined by Antoine Vagneur-Jones, BNEF’s Head of Trade and Supply Chains, to discuss what a turn toward domestic clean-energy manufacturing may mean for battery and solar value chains. As Antoine explains, any such shift would bring benefits – b...
Dec 02, 2022•28 min
The 27th Conference of the Parties has concluded in Egypt, with the annual UN climate summit finally reaching a deal after two days of overtime. In today’s show, we take a closer look at the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan. Headed into COP27, many referred to the event as the “implementation COP,” given the need to deliver on previous commitments. To tell us how this year’s COP performed against stated objectives, we speak with Victoria Cuming, global head of policy at BNEF. From loss and da...
Nov 25, 2022•35 min
Europe is constructing a more flexible electricity grid to prepare for what is shaping up to be a volatile transition to net zero. There is a range of projects ranging from the mega, such as the proposal to build artificial islands in the North Sea, to the micro, for example, deploying distributed resources to make residential and industrial customers more flexible. In this episode, Sanjeet Sanghera speaks with Chris Peeters, CEO of Elia Group. They explore what Elia is doing in both of these do...
Nov 18, 2022•38 min
Natural gas prices remain elevated and security of supply is uncertain. In Europe, the reduced flows of natural gas coming from Russia have impacted everything from home heating to manufacturing. As we head into winter in the Northern Hemisphere, what is likely to happen in natural gas markets and what factors are important to consider when we think about implications beyond this year? In today’s episode, we hear from Stefan Ulrich and Arun Toora, who are both European gas specialists at BNEF. T...
Nov 04, 2022•34 min
The voluntary carbon offsets market is growing as companies and countries look to meet their climate goals. Offsets from agriculture have been getting attention recently. While they comprise only 1% of total offsets today, their potential to spur innovation and change in agricultural practices means there is scope for a much bigger impact. From soil management to livestock-related activities, farmers are at the heart of the agriculture offsets market. Today, we speak about what agriculture carbo...
Oct 28, 2022•37 min
Several countries in Africa are looking to expand their energy systems to meet rising electricity demand. The question remains whether they will industrialize in the same way developed nations have done in the past, or whether they will install a greater proportion of low-carbon technologies. The region is at an inflection point and just like in Robert Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken, choosing the road less traveled may have benefits. As we look ahead to the COP27 summit, which will be held in E...
Oct 21, 2022•30 min
Solar has a critical role to play in decarbonizing the global energy system. It also has the potential to reduce power price volatility by increasing domestically produced energy supply in some parts of the world. In 2022, BloombergNEF expects to see yet another record year of solar build. This is all the while the cost of components, materials and projects remains elevated. In today’s episode of Switched On, Dana Perkins speaks with Jenny Chase, head of solar at BNEF, about what is happening in...
Oct 14, 2022•25 min
Batteries for electric vehicles and stationary storage are increasingly in demand. But while ever-cheaper batteries were expected only a couple of years ago, supply turbulence for the key metals needed has increased prices in 2022 and made future costs uncertain. Depending on the chemistry selected, battery metals can make up 60-80% of a battery’s total cost. Alongside human rights concerns, metals prices have led battery manufacturers to take a closer look at their chemistries. In today’s episo...
Oct 07, 2022•40 min
Not long ago, floating offshore wind turbines were treated as conceptual cleantech. More recently, they have become reality with gigawatts of capacity slated for installation within this decade. In this episode, we discuss the potential for floating wind, its growth drivers and cost trends with Oliver Metcalfe, head of wind research at BloombergNEF, and Luisa Amorim, the offshore wind specialist at BNEF. This episode draws upon research found in the BNEF 1H 2022 Offshore Wind Market Outlook and ...
Sep 30, 2022•33 min
In the years following the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011, the conversation around decarbonizing the energy sector moved away from nuclear. However, current commodity price volatility has brought nuclear back to the fore and countries that were previously focused on decommissioning nuclear power stations are now, once again, discussing its virtues. Will this spur a nuclear renaissance and how might this time be different from the 1960s and 1970s? What technology breakthroughs could make the ...
Sep 16, 2022•44 min
Fit for 55 is designed to support the European Union’s pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 when compared with 1990 levels. To aid in achieving this goal, there are several changes proposed to the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). In today’s episode of Switched On, we speak with Bo Qin and Emma Coker, who focus on carbon markets for BNEF. They outline these changes and their impact on the EU ETS. This episode was based on two BloombergNEF research notes: How ‘Fit...
Sep 02, 2022•32 min
The roll out of charging infrastructure is combatting range anxiety and enabling the adoption of Electric Vehicles. Ryan Fisher, whose research focuses on Electric Vehicles and Charging Infrastructure for BNEF, discusses how quickly this is happening, what is facilitating charger installations around the world, and how charging might impact the electricity grid in the future. Today's podcast pulls from research found in BNEF's Electric Vehicle Outlook (EVO) 2022. For more information, go tohttps...
Jun 28, 2022•40 min
Today’s episode features an interview from BNEF’s Summit in Munich that took place on May 24, 2022. Colin McKerracher, Head of Advanced Transport at BNEF, spoke with Irene Feige, Head of Climate Strategy and Circular Economy at BMW Group. They discuss how to take emissions and the circular economy into account when designing a vehicle. Irene shares her views on the automotive supply chain, spanning from materials to manufacturing. To find out about BNEF’s Summits and to listen to more interviews...
Jun 17, 2022•21 min
To understand how the energy transition could play out around the world, one might turn to Europe to see how progressive policies and favorable economics for renewables are having an impact. For the second year in a row, BloombergNEF has taken a closer look at Europe’s place in the energy transition through a series of forward-looking scenarios found in the European Energy Transition Outlook 2022. In today’s episode, we speak with Andreas Gandolfo, Head of European Power Analysis, and Emma Champ...
Jun 10, 2022•49 min
Today’s episode features an interview from BNEF’s recent Summit in New York City, where Ethan Zindler, Head of Americas for BNEF, spoke with Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance and Chair of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ). As emphasis on sustainable finance grows and reporting frameworks refine, he highlights the importance of corporate disclosure. Mark also shares his perspective on the role of renewable energy in the energy transition, and how it pr...
May 19, 2022•19 min
Looking to better understand the newly proposed rules on climate-related disclosures from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), or where nuclear and gas belong on the EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities, or perhaps what the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) is doing? You’ve come to the right place and today’s episode goes through all of this and more with Maia Godemer and Mallory Rutigliano, who write about sustainable finance for BloombergNEF (BNEF). Complimentary BN...
May 17, 2022•49 min
From flight shaming to solar ‘buycotts,’ political consumers are making their voices heard on climate by using their wallet. In today’s episode we speak with Hugh Bromley, who writes about consumer issues across the global energy, transport, and sustainability sectors for BloombergNEF (BNEF). We discuss case studies from around the world, where political consumers are driving decarbonization through actions like buying electric vehicles or eating vegan diets. Today’s episode is based on a report...
May 05, 2022•31 min
By the end of the decade, energy demand could grow by 80% across the five countries containing the majority of European data centers. Instead of placing strain on the grid, data centers have the potential to serve as a source of flexible demand. In today’s episode, Michael Kenefick and Sarrah Raza from BNEF discuss the future of the grid and how data centers might interact. Today’s episode is based on a report titled, Data Centers and Decarboninziation: Unlocking Flexibility in Europe’s Data Cen...
Apr 15, 2022•30 min
They are also one of the largest sources of industrial emissions. In today’s episode we talk about how companies are looking to reduce these emissions and some of the emissions reducing technologies that are being developed. We also discuss how high oil prices might this impact the petrochemicals supply chain. We are joined by Ilhan Savut who writes about sustainable materials for BNEF and Sisi Tang who an oil and chemicals analyst. Today’s episode is based on two separate BNEF research reports ...
Mar 29, 2022•30 min
What companies are buying voluntary carbon offsets? How much do offsets cost? Are they truly providing an additional carbon benefit? These are just some of the hotly discussed topics in the carbon offset space. This week, Switched On speaks with BNEF’s Head of Sustainability Research, Kyle Harrison, about the outlook for voluntary carbon offsets. He addresses some of the issues being discussed right now and what this might tell us about the future for offsets. This episode is based on the BNEF r...
Mar 18, 2022•35 min
What must be true today, in order to achieve a net-zero future? That is one of the questions considered by the BloombergNEF Energy Economics team when building forward-looking energy transition scenarios out to 2050. This week, Switched On speaks with BNEF’s Chief Economist, Seb Henbest. He talks about our Energy Transition Scenario, as well as what we might learn from the three net zero scenarios that were added in the last release of BNEF’s flagship New Energy Outlook report. Recorded in late-...
Feb 25, 2022•27 min
Recent volatility and high prices in natural gas commodities markets have created a knock-on effect for utilities and consumers. This week, Switched On speaks with BloombergNEF's global head of LNG analysis, Fauziah Marzuki, about the once regional but now global natural gas market. She discusses the future of natural gas including when and under what conditions natural gas prices and trade flows might stabilize. This episode is based on a report titled Four Ways to Think About the Future of Nat...
Feb 11, 2022•34 min
In June of this year, the California Public Utilities Commission put out a decision requiring an additional 11,500MW of clean energy capacity to be procured by entities supplying the California grid by 2026. But also stipulated 1,000MW of this has to come from zero-emitting, renewable resources that have at least an 80% capacity factor, or, geothermal. In part 1 of this series we talked about the new technologies enabling geothermal development. In part 2, we'll talk about the business case -- h...
Dec 07, 2021•31 min
Geothermal is a small industry, with just about 14 gigawatts of capacity online globally. But where it matters, it matters a lot. In pockets around the world, geothermal can be not just the cleanest form of power, but also the cheapest. Still, geothermal development is hard -- drilling wells involves similar risks to oil and gas projects, but offers returns more in line with utilities. That risk profile has stunted the growth of geothermal. There are several companies working hard on technologie...
Dec 03, 2021•30 min
In late October, Rio Tinto announced plans to capture and bury CO2 from its ISAL aluminum smelter outside Reykjavik in the basalt right under its feet. The initiative is part of a $7.5bn effort to reduce firm-wide operational emissions by 50% by 2030. Today, Switched On speaks with Kari Helgason, head of research and innovation at Carbfix, the company that will take Rio's CO2 and inject it underground where it will turn to rock within two years. In our conversation, which takes place on location...
Nov 22, 2021•34 min
Hundreds of countries and companies aim to hit net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050, or thereabouts. But even after COP26, most have not laid out clear pathways to getting there, and are putting themselves in the position of starting too late to meet the mid-century deadline. This decade is critical to get things going. This week, Switched On speaks with BNEF head of energy transition, Luiza Demoro, about the Pathfinders Initiative. Launched on October 18, Pathfinders is a resource from Bloomberg for ...
Nov 15, 2021•23 min
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. When it comes to reducing methane emissions, monitoring technology, economics, and policy all have an important role to play. This week, Switched On speaks with BNEF analysts Antoine Vagneur-Jones, who covers EMEA Energy Transitions, and Nakul Nair, who covers U.S. Gas & LNG. They tell us about methane emissions and what can be done. This episode is based on a report titled Global Demethanization Poised to Give U.S. LNG an Edge . You can also find Bloomber...
Nov 05, 2021•29 min
