Energy Evolution

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UK hydrogen’s blue vision Apr 22, 2021

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The UK’s hydrogen production landscape is littered with big natural gas-based CCS projects – why is this, and what does it say about renewable hydrogen’s immediate prospects? S&P Global Platts Zane McDonald, Jeff McDonald and Henry Edwardes-Evans discuss projects, prices and policies with a little help from Ryse Hydrogen’s Jo Bamford.

Surging demand for battery metals drives push to mine ocean floor Apr 20, 2021

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The world is moving closer to mining the deep sea to accommodate surging demand for battery metals needed in the global energy transition, but opposition to the practice is also mounting.

After years of review, the International Seabed Authority, or ISA, is nearing completion of regulations that would allow entities to begin collecting lumps of metal from the deep ocean. While some tout the process as a greener alternative to terrestrial mining, several ocean scientists and environmental groups are urging caution.

This episode features interviews with: Douglas McCauley, a professor of ocean science at the University of California, Santa Barbara; Matthew Gianni, co-founder of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition; DeepGreen Metals Inc. CEO Gerard Barron; and Jeffrey Drazen, a professor at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa.

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!

Nickel pig iron-matte conversion could be a game changer for the battery industry Apr 13, 2021

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The recent plans announced by China's Tsingshan to convert nickel pig iron (unsuitable for batteries) into nickel matte (an intermediate for the production of battery-grade nickel sulfate) has shaken the market, causing nickel prices to pull the brakes on its bull run. The price uptrend was driven by the widespread belief that nickel demand for batteries would boom shortly, while supply of battery-grade material would not increase at the same pace. Tsingshan’s plans, however, could completely change the supply-demand landscape for battery-grade nickel, but not without a significant environmental cost that automakers might have to assimilate. In this Platts Future Energy podcast Henrique Ribeiro discusses these developments with independent nickel specialist Lyle Trytten, Platts clean energy senior analyst Michael Mccafferty, and Platts metals pricing director Scott Yarham.

The Evolving Energy Sector: Updated Takeaways for Energy Transition Outlooks Mar 23, 2021

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In the latest S&P Global Platts Future Energy Podcast, Roman Kramarchuk, Head of Future Energy Outlooks, is joined by Dan Klein, Head of Future Energy Pathways, to talk about the main takeaways of Platts Future Energy Outlooks Annual Guidebook, a comprehensive study that includes Platts oil, gas, and overall energy reference cases, along with long-term outlooks for global crude, regional crude and product markets, and regional natural gas markets. Discussion includes analysis around scenarios with emission levels consistent with limiting global warming to 2 degrees.

The mess with Texas Mar 16, 2021

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The February winter storm that crippled the Texas power grid left millions of residents without light and heat for days, and drove natural gas prices to record highs. So how did this happen? What does it mean for the future of the energy industry?

Joining the discussion are Jay Hakes, an author and former administrator of the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Emily Grubert, a professor at Georgia Tech, International Energy Agency analysts Keith Everhart and Gergely Molnar, and Shayle Kann with Energy Impact Partners.

UK’s first gigaplant readies for construction as EV demand rises Mar 09, 2021

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Ground is due to be broken on the UK’s first battery gigaplant, built by Britishvolt, in summer 2021, with the plant due to start producing batteries at scale by the end of 2023. The gigaplant is an important step in shortening the UK’s battery supply chain and helping ensure that UK automakers comply with the Brexit agreement’s rules of origin standard, which dictates that at least 40% of the value of the parts in a finished vehicle originate in the UK, or face paying export fees.

In the latest of S&P Global Platts Future Energy Podcast, EMEA metals senior pricing specialist Jacqueline Holman speaks to Britishvolt’s Chief Strategy Officer Isobel Sheldon, and Chief Technology Officer Allan Paterson about the company’s planned gigafactory in Blythe, Northumberland, and the UK’s battery supply chain. They are joined by Mark Mozur, lead analyst of energy transition at Platts Analytics to provide insight on EV demand and whether there will be enough batteries produced domestically to meet this demand.

Explore now: The Platts Atlas of Energy Transition, your map to the sustainable commodity markets of the future

US returns to Paris climate agreement, but faces 'credibility gap' Feb 19, 2021

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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.

Biden administration: a new dawn for battery metals in the US? Feb 09, 2021

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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.

Has hydrogen energy's time come? Jan 25, 2021

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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.

Spain’s Repsol taking the front seat in transition drive Jan 19, 2021

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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.

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