Titanium is an engineer’s dream. Lighter than steel yet stronger than aluminum and extraordinarily corrosion resistant, titanium can help facilitate the clean energy transition—from EVs to wind turbines. Yet ittypicallyremains the preserve of space programs and Swiss watches.The current process for manufacturing titanium is expensive, complex, toxic and highly carbon intensive. Additionally, like many critical metals, the supply chain is dominated by foreign nations including China and Russia. T...
Nov 23, 2022•49 min•Ep. 123
Gas stations have played a pivotal role in civil infrastructure for over a century. The pump has served as a proxy for a country’s development status and a polity’s health. Over time its role has developed. As fuel margins tightened, companies reimagined themselves as roadside retailers. Others have backward integrated into supply and trading firms. However, what does the energy transition hold for this ubiquitous sector? How will EVs transform the market and how can retailers adapt? Our guest i...
Nov 16, 2022•46 min•Ep. 122
LNG now drives natural gas prices in Europe. After decades of this only being the case in Asian markets, LNG could shortly price markets worldwide. How did we get here in terms of assets, players and politics? Will this remain in place throughout the energy transition? What does it mean for producers like the US? What does it mean for Natural Gas traders and who stands to benefit? Our guest is Tamir Druz, Managing Director of Capra Energy, an LNG and Natural Gas Training and Data Provider. He is...
Nov 09, 2022•45 min•Ep. 121
What is happening to the Super-Cycle? The thesis is redistributive policies, energy transition and deglobalization have dramatically constrained supply while ballooning demand. Arguably, all conditions have tightened exacerbated by conflict, energy subsidies and a worsening emissions outlook. So why have commodities fallen off the Spring highs? Is this a pause before prices inexorably march upwards? Jeff Currie, Chief Economist for Commodities at Goldman Sachs returns to talk about the last 6 mo...
Nov 02, 2022•45 min•Ep. 120
In this episode, we take a look at the Meat Industry and the ag and animal nutrition sector that underpins it. The sector faces unprecedented challenges. Producers are working to meet the demands of a growing population while adapting to long term trends such as changing consumer expectations, in addition to innovating to address the challenges presented by climate change. At the same time, they face short term volatility from feedstock prices, conflict, disease and increasing regulation. Here t...
Oct 26, 2022•46 min•Ep. 119
The past decade has seen a vibrant investment market centered on food and agri technology, in part driven by the twin imperatives of sustainability and resilience in a changing climate and in response to changing consumer demands. Some returns have been atmospheric such as alternative protein first movers like Beyond Meat. Large agri and food houses have been keen investors and buyers as they respond to shareholder demands. However, this is a challenging space where biological systems rule and m...
Oct 19, 2022•44 min•Ep. 118
The Lithium-Ion battery is central to energy transition. However, the key components within it come with a heavy environmental toll and are captive in an opaque supply chain dominated by a handful of Chinese companies. Western OEMs are now scrambling to meet demand for batteries while navigating these trade-offs. Governments are reacting to how the core components – Nickel, Lithium, Cobalt and Copper – are strategic resources and that Western miners alone cannot meet the demand. In this episode,...
Oct 12, 2022•45 min•Ep. 117
A hundred or more years ago, the oil business was vertically integrated and companies, often back by governmental support, scrambled to secure untapped reserves. So it is with Lithium at the dawn of the battery age. The parallels do not stop there as this episode uncovers. Access to Lithium is becoming the crucial bottleneck for battery companies, OEMs and countries alike – and a combination of prescient policy and aggressive entrepreneurs has put China way ahead. Can the West ever recover? What...
Oct 05, 2022•50 min•Ep. 116
Throughout history Solar flares have swept the earth, creating nothing more than a planet wide lightshow for the human race. However, in the digital age, we are uniquely vulnerable. Even relatively weak events can destroy our uniquely vulnerable power grids – leaving whole regions in blackout for months, even years. Powerful events, like the 1859 Carrington Event, could destroy civilization as we know it – every electronic system would be destroyed with no hope of rebuilding in any short period ...
Sep 28, 2022•42 min•Ep. 115
Batteries are now at the center of geopolitical competition. Lithium extraction and processing is not going to meet forecasted demand. All the mineral components of batteries have environmental impacts, especially cobalt and graphite. It’s against this backdrop that commodity traders are investing in battery recycling. Can and how are batteries recycled? What are the technical, regulatory and market challenges to unlocking the vast resources trapped within used batteries. Who is leading the race...
Sep 21, 2022•43 min•Ep. 114
We are living in the Human Age and climate change presents an existential threat to humanity. For the commodities sector, it is the key driver of opportunities and challenge, from selecting strategies to pricing future risks. Growing awareness of the impacts is profoundly affecting society and companies alike. But what is climate change and to what future climate are we headed? Is humanity capable of addressing it whether through mitigation and adaptation? And how can the best intentions of ener...
Sep 14, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 113
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulates commodities futures markets and enforces the Commodity Exchange Act in the US. As such, it sets the tone for much of the global regulation governing the sector. In such a global, dynamic and evolving market, the CFTC has its work cut out. It also has teeth, exacting significant fines on transgressors through its enforcement arm. What is the CFTC? How is it constructed and managed? How can it provide stable and forward looking regulation in such ...
Sep 07, 2022•42 min•Ep. 112
The commodities sector has never been under more financing pressure. Yet, many traditional financiers have scaled back their capabilities or exited the space altogether. To fill this void, alternative financing has emerged from a range of sources including hedge funds, trade-finance funds, and other asset managers – bringing with it a new set of costs and challenges. In this panel recording, we take on the rise of alternative financing in the commodities sectors and its consequences with some of...
Aug 31, 2022•50 min•Ep. 111
Energy transition will be revolutionary. Fundamental to that statement is recognition that solar and batteries are technologies, not fuels. Their technological journeys have just begun - as have their consequences for societies, economics and for individuals. This is the biggest opportunity since the development of the combustion engine for the energy & commodities sector. But who will lead this next chapter in the global energy industry? Who is currently investing in what and what will the ...
Aug 24, 2022•55 min•Ep. 110
This episode continues our focus on the looming energy crisis in Europe; its causes, path and potential solutions. The episode is a recording of a Reuters Events webinar from late July 2022, where host Paul Chapman moderated a discussion between Gerard Reid, co-founder of Alexa Capital and host of the Redefining Energy Podcast and George Voloshin, previously head of the Paris branch of Aperio Intelligence and now at ACAMS. The panel discuss the structural and temporal backdrop to Europe’s unprec...
Aug 17, 2022•54 min•Ep. 109
At root, the rise in global food prices is tied to energy. The rise in energy prices is fundamentally driven by a lack of investment in hydrocarbons. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has tipped rising prices into the genesis of a crisis. The invasion has deepened the divide between energy exporters and importers, with profound and increasing impacts on food supply. What does the future hold and what are the milestones that signal whether the crisis is improving and getting worse? Will the pain of sa...
Aug 10, 2022•51 min•Ep. 108
Fifteen years ago, money was flowing into oil. Prices were high and the stock market rewarded successful exploration above all. A lot has happened since including a price collapse and the advent of shale. Now with prices on the rise again, how will this cycle look different? Is there the appetite to invest in oil exploration and production in a world of energy transition and an uncertain carbon regime? How have producers adapted and what choices do they face? Our guest is Morten Kelstrup, oil in...
Aug 03, 2022•49 min•Ep. 107
This week’s episode is a panel discussion on the US carbon markets, and beyond, recorded at the Reuters Event’s USA Commodity Trading 2022 in June. Our panelists take on the state of the compliance and voluntary carbon markets today. How in the absence of a federal carbon market, voluntary markets are leading the charge. How are voluntary credits generated? What is legal framework and the nascent legislation around them? How are they already transforming industry and technologies? What could the...
Jul 27, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 106
Blessed by geography and abundant oil and gas, the UAE is adding targeted legal, tax and infrastructure policies to create a commodity trading hubs in Abu Dhabi and Dubai that rivals Singapore, London and Geneva. Timed with the release of HC Group’s editorial on this subject in our quarterly review (available at www.hcgroup.global) , we dig into the rise of the UAE as a commodities hub. What is the background to the strategy. What specific policies are targeting commodity traders and what could ...
Jul 19, 2022•38 min•Ep. 105
Do the commodity markets pose a systemic risk to the global financial markets and beyond? A timely look at the risks inherent in the commodity markets and capacity of exchanges, clearing houses, traders, regulators and central banks to manage them. What are the main sources of systemic risk? What would a disruption look like and how could it spread through the broader global financial system? What are potential solutions? Our guest is Craig Pirrong, Professor of the Bauer Business School at the ...
Jul 13, 2022•43 min•Ep. 104
High prices, high volatility, geopolitics risk, liquidity constraints and navigating the energy transition. These are just some of the challenges facing the commodity trading sector that the panelists take on in the discussion, recorded at the Reuters Events Commodity Trading USA event which was moderated by Paul Chapman and hosted by ING. The panel tackle the challenges, their significance and potential opportunities while laying out their views on the state and future of the commodities sector...
Jul 06, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 103
Renewable Energy faces the twin challenges of intermittency and spilled power, both of which drag on adoption and financing. If countries are to meet their climate goals, renewable energy generation needs to accelerate. One solution is connecting renewable power to flexible load, namely data centers meeting the demands of power hungry crypto mining and other applications. In this episode we dig into the fundamental challenges of widespread renewable adoption and potential solutions. Our guest is...
Jun 29, 2022•49 min•Ep. 102
Institutional firms have been utilizing algorithms to trade commodities for years and the adoption of this approach appears to be accelerating. The scale is such that even the markets themselves may be changing. Why? What are the advantages for a trader to distill trades into series of pre-determined decisions? What's the impact? How should (and in many cases are) traditional market participants adapt and adopt? Our guest is Stephen Roseme, founder and CEO of the Bridgeton Group, the developer o...
Jun 22, 2022•50 min•Ep. 101
Investment capital flows into the commodities sector have slowed despite rising returns and opportunity. Volatility, geopolitical risk and uncertainty over energy transition have impacted the rate of investment while increasing the need. In this episode, we discuss the cause and impact of this funding gap and what the role of banks is in supporting investment and managing the risks. Our guest is Nick O’Kane, Global Head of Commodities and Global Markets at Macquarie Group. Nick gives us his thou...
Jun 15, 2022•45 min•Ep. 100
Soybeans have become one of the world’s most important commodities. They feed us, our livestock and fuel our cars. As such they have become central in geopolitics, world trade and food security. However, prices are rising fast in the wake of rising demand for food and fuel, weather impacts of La Nina and climate change and the war in Ukraine. What will this mean for the world of commodities? In this episode we zoom into the world of soybeans. What are they? Where are they grown, crushed and sold...
Jun 08, 2022•45 min•Ep. 99
Geopolitical risk is back. Gone are the years of expanding free trade and liberalization of markets. Sanctions on Russia, great power rivalry and market interventions are all disrupting energy & commodities markets and its participants. What are the current sanctions on Russia, What is the short term impact and what more can we expect? What can we expect over the medium term? How can companies organize themselves to prepare and respond to this increasingly complex and uncertain landscape? Wh...
Jun 01, 2022•48 min•Ep. 98
Over the last decade, commodity markets have become increasingly financialized with much more granular contracts, and therefore hedges, available on exchanges. Oil is the tip of the spear. This is profoundly changing how oil is traded and by whom. Forward curves are now dictating supply and demand. The information produced by integrated physical systems – historically the unassailable competitive advantage of the majors – has now been democratized. This has also attracted new participants on a h...
May 25, 2022•55 min•Ep. 97
The adoption of battery electric vehicles has profound consequences for the commodities world. From the components required to build, to how they are charged and more broadly the future of energy management. What is the current state of the market? What new trends and technologies are emerging from wireless charging to battery swapping (and who will provide these services)? What is the role of the EV in energy transition? Have Western policies focused on promoting private ownership mean these ar...
May 18, 2022•49 min•Ep. 96
Europe is in an energy crisis. Power prices have quadrupled, governments have scrambled to provide liquidity to markets and subsidize households. And for the moment, gas is still flowing from Russia. How did we get to this state? What are the impacts and short-term consequences? Can Europe navigate to the “whole of Europe response” needed or could this test the political union to breaking point? What does this mean for European energy traders and markets and what are the solutions? Our guest to ...
May 11, 2022•50 min•Ep. 95
In February, the SEC released proposed rules for reporting climate risk and Green House Gas emissions, including Scope 1, 2 and 3. What exactly are in the proposed rules? How likely are they to be enacted? How will they affect the energy and commodities sector both in the US and globally? How should leadership respond? Now that these risks have been highlighted, will investors drive change through the supply chain? And do they herald more stringent reporting and remediation in the future? Julie ...
May 04, 2022•45 min•Ep. 94
