Energy Technology: Industry Insights

As Big Tech pushes forward with new data centres, there is a growing need for reliable, clean power. Geothermal has emerged as a solution, enabled by next generation energy technologies which are unlocking new geographies. Delivery of these technologies looks familiar – much of the physical build-out of new geothermal systems relies on traditional oil and gas expertise and equipment. Some oil and...

Most global transport and heavy industry still rely on fossil fuels; for these hard-to-abate sectors, decarbonisation hinges on the development of low-carbon alternatives. Green hydrogen, ethanol and synthetic fuels are seeing some limited adoption, but cost-competitiveness and scalability remain challenging. Across the solar, wind and tidal sectors, researchers are working to push the needle towa...

Gastech 2026, hosted in Bangkok, Thailand, brought together tens of thousands of energy professionals from more than 150 countries to discuss some of the biggest problems and solutions shaping the industry.   At the event, we spoke to experts from across the industry value chain to get their views on some of the key themes running through this year’s agenda, including geopolitics and energy securi...

Platinum has traditionally been associated with catalytic converters, which reduce harmful emissions from internal combustion engine vehicles. But as global vehicle fleets electrify, the platinum industry is looking for sources of demand beyond the automotive market. Hydrogen offers one potential answer. Platinum is used in proton-exchange membrane, or PEM, fuel cells and electrolysers, where it h...

Solar farms are getting bigger every year, and with them, so are the challenges of design, construction and maintenance. Drones are flying to the rescue to lower costs, improve safety and optimise output. Today, drones are being deployed across the full solar lifecycle, from site surveying and construction monitoring to post-commissioning O&M.   In this episode, we explore how drones can deliv...

The Democratic Republic of Congo is seeking greater access to historical geological records held in Belgium as the country looks to exert greater control over the information underpinning its mineral wealth. The involvement of US mining company KoBold Metals has added a new dimension to the debate, bringing geological archives into the wider discussion around digital exploration and critical miner...

Offshore oil and gas electrification has proven benefits including lower operational costs and emissions reductions. However, global uptake has remained low and, outside of Norway, most platforms still rely on fossil power. Potential decarbonisation wins have been overshadowed by rising infrastructure costs and long connectivity timelines, but the burgeoning offshore renewables sector could bolste...

AI represents a huge opportunity for the grid sector facing a rapidly changing load landscape. However, for the historically conservative and risk-averse industry, trustworthiness remains a hurdle to mass implementation.  Fragmented network data is another challenge – at the same time, it could represent an opportunity for AI to work around the flaws.  In this episode, we gather insights directly...

As intermittent renewables expand, so does the demand for long duration energy storage (LDES). However, different geologies and applications require tailored solutions, and increasingly developers are looking to the subterranean. Underground storage bypasses some limitations of traditional electrochemical batteries, including degradation, thermal runaway and supply chain constraints. However, comp...

The 2026 Iran war and subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz was yet another harsh wake-up call to the entire world – after the pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and trade wars – about the dangers of foreign reliance for energy supplies. Yet, throughout the height of the crisis, China, the world's largest crude oil importer appeared relatively immune to the blow. Has the Asian powe...

Cyber espionage represents a silent but prolific threat for mining operators. In an era of increasing digitalisation, the mining industry has more attack surfaces than ever before. As the race for transition minerals heats up, the sector also has more security-critical information, including geological surveys and M&A planning.   As a result, cyber espionage is rife – most states are both perp...

Biofuel demand is growing, driven by decarbonisation strategies across hard-to-abate sectors. However, scaling up production presents challenges; feedstock variations are unavoidable, and conventional refineries aren’t built for the chemical diversity of waste inputs, nor the contaminants. In this episode, we speak to Lewis Sweet, general manager for sustainable fuels and chemicals at Honeywell Pr...

For years, the narrative has been all about the unstoppable clean energy expansion, but recent policy reversals, geopolitical shifts and supply chain bottlenecks have made the trend not so straightforward anymore. In this episode, we look under the hood of the global energy transition and map out where the money is actually flowing. We review overall investment trends, break down the picture for d...

As governments seek to diversify critical mineral supplychains beyond China, Brazil is emerging as one of the world's most promising new sources of rare earth elements. The country holds the world's second-largest rare earth resource base and is advancing a new generation of projects, which could provide lower-impact production of the magnet rare earths needed for EVs, offshore wind turbin...

January brought massive change for Venezuela. After almost 13 years, Nicolás Maduro was removed from power and, within the month, the path was being laid for a revival of the country’s oil sector.  The opportunity is huge. Venezuela is home to the world’s largest proven oil reserves and, throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, it produced over three million barrels per day. However, financial m...

Bioleaching has been part of the mining industry fordecades, using naturally occurring microorganisms to extract metals from ores and concentrates. Yet as demand for copper, critical minerals and strategic resources grows, the technology is attracting renewed attention. Declining ore grades, rising environmental pressures andvast quantities of historical mine waste are forcing mining companies to...

Last week, European power industry leaders and policymakers gathered in Helsinki for Eurelectric's Power Summit 2026 to discuss the sector's most pressing challenges. Energy systems are facing unprecedented threats. We’re seeing a massive spike in power demand, driven largely by data centers and industrial electrification; navigating a volatile geopolitical landscape and with it, having to...

Modern offshore wind farms aren't just growing in numbers – they are literally growing, scaling up turbines in sizes we couldn’t have imagined a decade ago. We’ve officially entered the era of super size wind. We’re seeing colossal wind turbines deployed across the world that surpass 15MW per unit and boast rotor diameters wider than the height of most skyscrapers. But while the engineering is...

Liquified natural gas (LNG) has been touted as the cleaner fuel alternative and a central stepping stone on the journey to decarbonisation. Industry forecasts expect to see massive demand growth, and the high prices from 2022-2023 saw governments rush to expand export capacity.   However, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has put pressure on existing supply chains, and some experts foresee signi...

Copper and gold serve very different markets – one tied to electrification and industrial growth, the other to monetary value and geopolitical uncertainty – but the operational realities of mining both metals are increasingly converging. As ore grades decline and deposits become deeper and more technically complex, miners face growing pressure around energy costs, water access, permitting, infrast...

The Offshore Technology Conference is an annual gathering of oil and gas professionals from around the world, who meet in Texas to discuss the technological trends defining offshore operations. This year, Energy Technology was on the ground, to ask what is disrupting the sector and who is making waves offshore. In this episode, we speak to managers, engineers, academics and C-suite executives to u...

As ore grades decline and cost pressures intensify, operators are being forced to rethink what sits in legacy assets. Technologies such as advanced sorting, bioleaching and nanotechnology are beginning to unlock value from material that has already been processed once. The shift is not straightforward. Commercial viability remains site-specific, classification gaps persist, and the economics hinge...

Global power systems are entering a new phase of transformation. Power demand is accelerating, driven by electrification across transport and industry as well as the expansion of digital infrastructure. At the same time, intermittent clean energy like wind and solar are scaling rapidly, making flexibility solutions essential to balance supply and demand and maintain grid stability. This is why ene...

Electric vehicle adoption is happening, curbing emissions and improving transport’s environmental profile. In recognition of Earth Day, the Energy Technology editors get together to discuss the implications of the shift for the power, oil and gas and mining sectors. Join us to assess the EV market landscape and associated infrastructure, as we unpick emerging trends in battery technologies, changi...

The conflict between the US/Israel and Iran has put pressure on global oil supply chains. Major producers in the Middle East include Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates; with the Strait of Hormuz still closed and the US now blockading Iranian vessels, exports have been choked, and production has had to scale down rapidly. Markets have felt the ramifications, although security of supply looks...