The Energy Revolution

In this special episode of the podcast, host Sulaiman is joined by Lucy Yu, CEO at the Centre for Net Zero and the UK Government’s AI Champion for Clean Energy, to explore how AI could reshape the UK electricity network. Lucy recently led the independent review for government on the use of AI across the electricity system, giving her a detailed view of both the opportunities and the barriers to pu...

Battery storage has gone from a relatively niche technology to one of the fastest-growing parts of the energy system. But as more batteries connect to the grid, the markets they rely on are changing just as quickly. In this episode, our host Sulaiman is joined by Rimshah Javed, Principal Originator at Danske Commodities, to explore how battery markets are evolving across the UK and Europe, and wha...

The energy transition is redefining what it means to be an energy retailer. For decades, these companies played a relatively straightforward role: buying electricity from the wholesale market and selling it to consumers. But that model is being turned on its head. As households increasingly adopt electric vehicles, heat pumps, rooftop solar and home batteries, consumers are becoming active partici...

Europe has experienced more heatwaves this summer than in any previous year, and the energy system is struggling to cope. As the effects of climate change become more dramatic and damaging each year, our energy infrastructure will come under increasing strain as well. Increasing AC demand, Nuclear shutoffs, and plants down for summer maintenance, hot summers create new challenges that the UK and E...

As the energy system becomes more weather-dependent, matching supply with demand becomes a more of a geographic challenge. Wind, solar and hydro are spread across different geographies, weather systems and time zones. A cleaner, cheaper and more resilient power system will therefore need to be more connected. In this episode, Simon Ludlam, founder of Etchea Energy, joins host Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarret...

China is already central to the global clean energy story. It dominates renewable technology manufacturing, leads the world on EVs and batteries, and is often described as the emerging “electrostate”. But we tend to hear much less about China’s own electricity system. So how does it work? Why has electricity been so important to China’s economic growth? And what can the UK and Europe learn from th...

This week we’re talking about energy bills. The UK has some of the highest electricity prices in theworld, and global events are once again pushing oil and gas markets into the headlines. But what actually drives the cost of energy in Britain? How will the latest crisis in the Middle East feed through to household bills? And does the price cap really protect consumers in the way people think? This...

A few weeks ago, Tony Blair published an essay arguing that the UK should focus less on clean power, and more on cheap power. But is that really the choice Britain faces? And in a world of rising electricity demand, data centres, expensive gas, and growing pressure on the grid, what would genuinely cheap power actually look like? This week, Andrew Sissons returns to the podcast to join host Sulaim...

This week we have a special episode of The Energy Revolution Podcast, as we’re joined by Chris Stark, Head of the UK’s Clean Power Mission, to discuss the UK’s plan to build a clean power system by 2030. What has the Clean Power Mission achieved so far? And how can the UK make sure clean power translates into lower bills, greater energy security and a more electrified economy? Chris and our host,...

For decades, the North Sea has played a major role in Britain’s energy system, economy and industrial base. But production has been declining for years, and the debate over what should happen next remains highly contested. Why are projects like Jackdaw and Rosebank still being reconsidered? What does the government’s position on new licences mean in practice? And what would further domestic produc...

This week we're live from Innovation Zero, to talk the challenges of scaling new climate technologies. The so-called "valley of death" affects all sectors, but clean tech is particularly difficult to move from research to wide-scale adoption. Why? And what can we do about it? Our guest this week is Rhian-Mari Thomas OBE, CEO at the Green Finance Institute and the first person to win...

The Hormuz Oil Crisis is reminding Britain just how reliant we still are on oil and gas. Our electricity is fairly clean, but only 21% of final energy use is electrified. The rest - in our homes, our cars, and our industries - relies on increasingly volatile and expensive oil and gas. Why is Britain so far behind in electrifying compared to countries like France, the Netherlands, or Norway? And wh...

Lucy Yu is one of the UK's most influential minds in the energy and AI space. She is CEO at the Centre for Net Zero, and recently appointed as the UK government's AI Champion for Clean Energy. Today she joins our host Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett (Policy Fellow at the University of Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy), to discuss the future of these two crucial sectors. Can the grid cope wit...

Energy security is on everyone's mind right now. Since Israel and the US struck Iran and Iran's strikes across the Gulf nations, oil prices have soared over $100 a barrel and the Straits of Hormuz remain blockaded. But this isn't the first time we've seen such a shock. Just 4 years ago Russia's full invasion of Ukraine caused a global energy crisis, and any historian will remem...

What's the stock market got to do with renewables? While there's a lot of focus on the rise of private equity in the infrastructure space, there is still a strong tradition in the UK of listed infrastructure funds, and of retail investors wanting to invest in the energy transition more widely. So is there still a case for public markets? And where do they fit into the overall picture of re...

Do you find politics obtuse? Struggling to keep up with the twists and turns of energy decisions? With an endless web of party politics, departmental differences, and think-tanks pumping out ideas, it can be hard to know what the government is really thinking and how decisions get made. Our guest this week is Sam Alvis, Head of Energy Security and Environment at IPPR, the influential think-tank, a...

Is clean energy good for growth? Since the 2008 crisis the UK has seen persistently sluggish growth, even compared to comparable advanced economies. Low investment, Brexit, and challenges in traditionally strong sectors have held the economy back for close to two decades. Now with the energy transition underway, is this an opportunity to improve the country's prospects? Or is a constraint on a...

Can AI make our grid better and more reliable? Or are AI solutions overhyped by execs and consultants that don't understand the technology? This week we look at a real world case of AI being used to identify damaged equipment on the UK grid, and improve the way that network operators maintain their infrastructure. The episode covers the various types of AI models and what they can, and cannot,...

What does the future look like for fossil fuel demand? OPEC and large oil and gas companies are bullish, but the rapid rollout of clean tech is undermining many of their claims. Our guest this week is Molly Walton, who worked on the World Energy Outlook at the International Energy Agency and is now Director for Energy at the We Mean Business Coalition. She joins Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett, a former se...

Energy is all about deals. Assets are bought, sold, and refinanced. Companies are acquired, portfolios consolidated. But what goes into making these deals happen, and what can they tell us about the energy sector at large? This week we're joined by Gareth Baker , a partner at the law firm Gowling WLG with over 15 years of experience working on some of the highest profile deals in the energy se...

The UK is in a cost of living crisis, and energy prices in particular are constantly hitting the headlines. Fuel poverty has been climbing, and many on middle or even higher incomes are struggling with costs too. How did we get here? And what can be done to tackle the problem? In this episode we are joined by Tilly Cook of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. We hear some real stories about what fuel p...

Do PPAs have a future? More power than ever is being procured through government backed CfDs, so how and why will corporates continue to buy power directly?   This week we’re joined by serial entrepreneur and CEO of Renewabl Juan Pablo Cerda to discuss the unique benefits of PPAs, and how the market is evolving to offer more sophisticated power profiles to buyers.   Alongside our host, former gove...

How does innovation actually happen? Energy technologies are changing fast, but we'll need to change even faster if we're going to achieve a decarbonized economy. This week, we're joined by Michael Rea, CEO of the Carbon Trust, who has over 25 years experience building clean energy innovation systems in the UK, in everything from carbon accounting to the early days of offshore wind. Al...

The current approach to funding gas plants is breaking, but what should replace it? And when?   For a long time, gas has been the backbone of the energy system. That's changing rapidly as renewables become cheaper and more widely deployed, but removing gas completely from the energy system is not an easy task.   Despite becoming less important, a small amount of it is likely to linger on the s...

The Democratic Republic of Congo produces over 70% of the words Cobalt, a key material in many modern bateries and clean energy technologies. It is a mining powerhouse, central to the global energy system, and yet the economy remains one of the poorest in the world. So what do these mines look like on the ground? Why have Chinese firms been buying up more of the country's mines? and what does...