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Global food production faces the twin challenges of meeting growing demand while achieving that both sustainably and lowering carbon emissions. In this episode we dive into what this actually means . What is the impact of agriculture on carbon emissions and how does the sector impact the environment? How are farmers, processors, traders and shippers building sustainability into practices and strategy? What are the policy frameworks and incentives globally? And how are competitive advantages bein...
Who prices Lithium today and who will trade it in the future? In this episode we dive back into the Lithium supply chains. What forms of Lithium are traded and how are contracts structured and priced? What efforts are the exchanges making to create liquidity and risk management tools and will the trading houses of today dominate Lithium trading in the future? Our guests are Simons Moores, founder and CEO, and Caspar Rawles,Chief Data Officer, at Benchmark Minerals Intelligence, the independent p...
This week, journalist and author, Rob Copeland joins to discuss his explosive best-selling book: The Fund: Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates and the unravelling of a Wall St Legend. Long seen as the paragon of systematic trading, Bridgewater grew to the largest hedge fund in history. Alongside that, its founder, Ray Dalio - a one-time commodities trader - a business legend with his best-selling books and his devotion to his “Principles”. Rob’s book exposes a very different fund and leader. We di...
Wind & solar have had a tough year. Rising costs, disrupted supply chains, market economics and weather events have all contributed to the woes that have seen projects parked and stock prices fall. Yet, renewables are crucial to the energy transition and can be cost competitive and profitable in many cases. Just what does it take to build projects and companies that can weather this volatility? How can the sector build resiliency and robustness? Julie McLaughlin and Elizaveta Malashenko of A...
The commodity trading world is adjusting to greater volatility and higher capital costs. Individual companies are needing to increase their market and commodity footprints to navigate the energy transition while many are building trading capabilities for the first time. Commodity Trading Risk Management software, the backbone of any trading platform, needs to keep up. The wrong choice can be very costly. How have CTRM’s evolved over the last 5 years in capability, price and implementation? Samee...
The Dark Cloud: The hidden costs of a digital world with Guillaume Pitron What is the energetic consequence of a simple ‘like’ on social media? Or a zoom call? Modern technology is underpinned by a very real material and energetic infrastructure that is putting immense strain on energy production and the world’s natural resources. 5G and AI have supercharged this consumption. Yet, technology companies have been successful in creating a “dematerialized” perception. The energy transition and susta...
In 2023, Renewables have struggled with rising costs and higher interest rates. Alongside, there is a growing palpable shift in the perceptions, and expectations of nuclear power’s role in the energy transition. Is this a structural shift? Natural gas remains the bridge fuel but can shale production keep up with growing US exports and if not, what will that mean? in this episode, Adam Rozencwajg, Managing Partner of Natural Resource investor Goehring and Rozencwajg rejoins us to discuss the stru...
In this episode we return to Lithium – the critical metal of the electron age. The supply chain is both constrained and concentrated, leading to a rush to find suitable deposits worldwide. However, its not just quality of deposit that matters but type, geography and the political and social environment in which it sits. In this episode, we review the Lithium Triangle, the rich swath of brines that cover Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. How and why has the Lithium Triangle acquired its name? What ro...
Hydrogen made in a steam reformer, grey hydrogen, is responsible for 3% of global greenhouse emissions yet it is embedded in many industrial applications. More broadly industry accounts for some 10% of emission. Switching industry to green hydrogen would make a huge difference. Yet, green hydrogen remains rare. The costs in both the operating expenses and capital expenditure means implementation is extraordinarily difficult, especially in a high interest rate environment. What are the challenges...
Download here: https://www.flipsnack.com/hcinsider/q3-2023-market-review/full-view.html To sign up to receive the review in future quarters, along side our other thought pieces, interviews and analysis in the sector visit: https://www.hcgroup.global/hc-insider You can also email me at pchapman@hcgroup.global with any specific questions and I can direct you internally to best contact. For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities ...
Cotton is a commodity that is familiar to all of us. However, the market for cotton is not. How and where is it produced and traded? How is the cotton market being impacted by de-globalization, digitization and the energy transition? Who are the players and what can the cotton market tell us about the broader economic cycle? Our guest is Crawford Tatum, veteran cotton trader at some of the largest houses and now Director of Economic Research and Market Risk at the Staple Cotton Cooperative Assoc...
Combining energy storage and renewables tackles intermittency and synchronicity (the famous duck curve) and unlocks the economics and trading opportunities. However, implementation is challenging. The technical and engineering challenges around which battery and the transformers required to connect to the grid (currently on extended back log). The contracts and commercials are challenging? How will manage and profit from the trade? And both of these depend on location and regulatory environment....
Who really prices oil? Traders? OPEC? Financial Flows and hedge funds? The oil markets are far different than two decades ago. They are increasingly financialized opening trading to a far greater number and variety of participants. Now, as in equities, sentiment can drive markets in the short term irrespective of the physical flows. On September 14 in London, HC Group and Onyx Capital hosted a live podcast event to address just this. Kurt Chapman, Director of Levmet, Saad Rahim, Chief Economist ...
Taiwan’s energy security is on a knife edge. Energy Transition policies have increased reliance on fossil imports while also increasing CO2 emissions. At the same time, China’s growing belligerence poses an existential threat. Taiwan is crucial to the global economy given its centrality in semi-conductors, itself an ever power-hungry industry. How did Taiwan end up in this state? What were the policies and why have they had limited success? What would a blockade mean for Taiwan? Is the upcoming ...
Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise & Staggering Fall with Zeke Faux On the day of publication, Bloomberg investigative reporter Zeke Faux, joins us to discuss his new book Number Go Up. Zeke followed Crypto’s wild ride with a ring-side seat including being inside SBF’s penthouse as the fallen crypto king faces his imminent arrest. In 2021, all the numbers went up. Billionaires were minted overnight. Crypto would change the world; former presidents and prime ministers lauded SBF as the n...
Chip War: How semiconductors became the new oil with Chris Miller Semi-conductors, microchips, are the new oil - the scarce resource on which the modern world depends. Today, military, economic, and geopolitical power are built on a foundation of computer chips. This has only accelerated with the emergence of AI. Yet, the supply chain is incredibly concentrated with just a handful of countries and companies dominating. As with oil in the previous century, chips sit at the center of geopolitics, ...
Commodity Supply Chain Challenges with Anton Posner COVID is in the rear-view mirror, yet the commodity supply chains remain volatile and uncertain. In this episode, we catch up on the state of bulk commodities shipping and logistics. 2022 generated unprecedented returns, particularly in the container market. Why and what has happened since? How are traders and logistics providers managing high interest rates, war, enormous scandals involving missing inventory and the uncertainty wrought by the ...
Biofuels on the Edge with Walter Cronin Biofuels are key to decarbonize transportation in the energy transition. However, poor harvests, weak regulatory support, war and inflation all threaten the key grain and oilseed feedstocks. Money is flowing into processing and infrastructure, but have the risks been priced in? This year only Brazil’s bumper crop of soybean has saved global supply after atrocious harvests in Argentina and a US crop on the brink of disaster only saved by early August rains....
Rice is one of the most important global food sources, providing nearly a one fifth of global calorific intake. Yet the market for rice is relatively opaque with a small futures market. Much of the rice produced is consumed locally and much of global trade is at the subject of governmental control. Rice is also at the mercy of an increasingly volatile weather and climate. India recently announced an export ban on non-basmati rice, roiling global markets. Where is the rice market headed and what ...
Ice: The Rise and Fall of a Hot Commodity with Amy Brady A hundred years ago, ice was the one of the important commodities and most powerful industries in the world. A history filled with merchant kings, monopolies, traders and short squeezes. And cocktails. And then it all melted away – another rapid transition. In this episode, author and historian Amy Brady joins us to discuss the surprising history of ice. How the industry was created and importance to life, the economy and culture in Americ...
Whale Oil: The Original Energy Transition with Eric Jay Dolin In 1859, illumination throughout the major metropolises of the West was powered by whale oil. Whale oil was at the center of international trade (and trade disputes). Prices were at an all time high and great fortunes had been made. Yet, in that same year, Edwin Drake started the oil rush in Titusville, Pennsylvania…and every thing changed. Quickly. What lessons are there in this first energy transition in the modern era? In this epis...
Walls, Bridges & Dilemmas in the Energy Transition with Eirik Waerness Eirik Waerness, Chief Economist of Equinor, the global energy major, joins us to discuss their Energy Perspectives 2023- an independent scenario analysis describing the development paths up to 2050 for the world economy, energy markets and energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. What are the blockages, accelerators and dilemmas the world faces in trying to hit 2050 goals? Have we already blown past 1.5c? A clear-eyed, so...
Changing Battery Chemistries & Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) with John Passalacqua and Isobel Sheldon The Lithium-Ion battery is the fulcrum on which the energy transition hinges. However, its chemistry continues to evolve. The Nickel-Cobalt variant has led the charge in EVS, primarily due to the singular focus on range. However, cost, raw materials, safety and utility has led many manufacturers towards Lithium Iron-Phosphate (LFP) batteries to meet the mass adoption needed to reach decarboni...
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Back to Ag Futures with Scott Irwin In this episode, we are joined by a global leader in the field of agricultural economics. His research on commodity markets is widely cited by other academic researchers and is in high demand among farmers, market analysts, traders, and policymakers. We are discussing the future and history of agricultural futures and his book, “Back to the Futures: Crashing Dirt Bikes, Chasing Cows, and Unraveling the Mystery of Commodity Futures Markets “. We cover Scott’s w...
Volatility with Stephen Roseme The commodity markets have had a period of unprecedented volatility. Furthermore, the energy transition is likely drive volatility over the long-term as infrastructure, funding and markets all degrade across hydrocarbons. However, volatility also drives opportunities of the trade floors who can manage it. What is volatility? What are its sources? How is it changing? And how are the tools and technologies changing that are needed to manage it? What does it mean for ...
A lot has changed in the last three years when it comes to investing in the energy transition. Inflation and rising rates have altered economics, the tools and the returns expected. ESG is no longer the all-conquering paradigm sweeping all theses before it. The complexity of delivering the transition (and the trade offs) are better understood. Western governments are far more focused on securing the critical raw material supply chains that will be required. War & deglobalization have sharpen...
The EU has set ambitious goals to decarbonize, especially in transportation, accelerated by the geopolitical necessity to reduce reliance on hydrocarbons. However, the minerals and even technological know-how for the electron economy especially, sits largely outside the region. The also face stiff competition for both, especially from the US - supercharged by the IRA. How is Europe planning to compete? What are its proposed policies and goals? What is the Critical Raw Materials Act? What is the ...
Food inflation is persistent globally, even after the underlying commodity prices have dropped. What is going on? Will food prices normalize and if so when? Has something structural happened? And what is the outlook for the softs and grains markets in a turbulent world both in trade and weather. Is China demand growing and what does El Niño mean for crops? What does high food prices mean for global economic health and stability? Our guest is Kona Haque, Head of Research for ED&F Man, the wor...
