Energy Evolution

In the latest Platts Future Energy podcast, Janjoost Jullens, Energy Lead at the at the Blocklab innovation lab in the Netherlands, and James Rilett, Senior Director of Innovation at S&P Global Platts, tell Henry Edwardes-Evans about Platts AI trading platform Distro. Rotterdam's blockchain-based microgrid has driven user costs down 11% and producer returns up 14% - now its developers are looking...

New financial tools are emerging alongside new technology to help companies address greenhouse gas emissions. Unlike green bonds, where the proceeds from the bond are used for new and existing projects with environmental benefits, sustainability-linked bonds can be more flexible.  NRG Energy announced the issuance of a $900 million sustainability-linked-bond earlier in December. The company says t...

Cobalt is a pivotal metal for the batteries that underpin electric vehicles. Recent long-term supply commitments signed by battery makers suggest that cobalt is set to remain a crucial component for many years, as such understanding the market and pricing of this metal is critical. In the latest instalment of the Platts Future Energy podcast, Emmanuel Latham is joined by Robin Tisserand, Cobalt Br...

As the world aims to hit global climate goals, countries and companies around the world are setting targets and making plans to reduce emissions of greenhouse gas. While utilities are leading the way in the energy sector, rising pressure from investors has the oil and gas sector working to catch up. S&P Global Market Intelligence's Energy Evolution interviewed Williams Cos. Inc. President and CEO...

The global steel sector accounts for roughly 7% of the world's CO2 emissions . Blast furnaces, which process iron ore and coking coal, and produce most of the world's steel, have a higher emissions intensity compared with mini-mills that melt ferrous scrap. Incorporating hydrogen and renewable power could help the sector lower its emissions profile as it looks for new ways to meet demand for green...

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to enter the White House with big plans to address climate change, a goal with substantial implications for the energy sector. Biden's climate plan is a $2 trillion economywide proposal that looks to cut or eliminate emissions from power generation, transportation, buildings, agriculture and more. S&P Global Market Intelligence's Energy Evolution team briefly...

While Democratic nominee Joseph Biden and Republican President Donald Trump have different stances on fossil fuels, much of the demand for clean energy is being driven at the state and individual consumer level, where it may be difficult to reverse the momentum of a transition toward more renewables. But there are several ways that transition could be slowed or accelerated by the outcome of the el...

In this first Platts Future Energy podcast, representatives from Analytics, News and Pricing discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the Energy Transition , with a focus on: energy demand and carbon emissions, now and in the years ahead; recovery programs, whether supportive, regressive or ineffective; and finally, the technology pathways set to emerge strongest from the pandemic.

With the upcoming U.S. presidential election offering two very different visions for the energy industry's future, some executives remain confident the renewable energy transition has gained a permanent foothold no matter the outcome. On Energy Evolution's latest episode, Sunnova CEO John Berger, Hannon Armstrong Managing Director Susan Nickey, Ramaco Resources Chairman Randall Atkins and former E...

With an annual traded value of around $35 billion, nickel would probably be categorized by most as a medium-sized commodity. For the past few decades it has really had quite a low profile, perhaps due to its mainly industrial use as an alloying agent in stainless steel production. But excitement and chatter has been building around nickel sulfate in particular, due to its critical role in battery...

Overall global EV sales have been weaker in 2020, mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic hitting sales in Asia, although European sales are notably up year on year, with European governments employing a number of incentives and subsidies to encourage car buyers to switch over to EVs. In the latest Battery Metals Podcast, S&P Global Platts senior pricing specialists Emmanuel Latham and Jacqueline Holm...

As the 2020 wildfire season continues to inflict damage across the American West, a key question will be how much, and how fast, the battery storage sector can mobilize to reinforce the power grid in California and elsewhere. S&P Global Market Intelligence examines the prospects of battery storage technology in our latest episode featuring Fluence Energy LLC COO John Zahurancik; Dan Finn-Foley, he...

As calls for racial justice grow across the U.S., the impacts of energy infrastructure projects on communities of color are also getting more attention. Does the cancellation of a major project like the Atlantic Coast gas pipeline mark a turning point for the movement? In this episode, S&P Global Market Intelligence's Energy Evolution podcast team spoke about the implications for the sector with e...

For some time, many lithium-ion industry participants believed LFP (lithium iron phosphate) would be progressively phased out from electric vehicles due to its intrinsic lower energy density compared with nickel-rich chemistries. However, technology improvements -- coupled with the current market dynamics in China -- have put LFP back in the story. Henrique Ribeiro and Emmanuel Latham discuss the...

Local governments around the United States are making it more difficult to include natural gas as a fuel option in new building construction. S&P Global Market Intelligence senior reporter Tom DiChristopher joins the podcast with interviews about the varied approaches communities are taking on natural gas infrastructure and how the industry is responding. 

NanoGraf Technologies CEO Dr Francis Wang talks to S&P Global Platts senior pricing specialist Jacqueline Holman about the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on China's dominance in the battery metal supply chain, as well as the challenges and opportunities of the supply chain becoming more global.

The battery metals industry has welcomed China's two-year extension of subsidies for new energy vehicles, but the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented EV sales from picking up as expected. In this edition of S&P Global Platts' monthly Battery Metals podcast, Jacqueline Holman and Henrique Ribeiro discuss how the new Chinese policy works and what can be expected for EV sales and battery metals going for...

The coronavirus pandemic is wreaking havoc on the world economy. Could the global energy transition and the jobs that come with it be a part of the cure? Former U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz believes it will be. He is behind a new initiative to develop the framework for a modern energy economy that prioritizes the creation and preservation of high-quality jobs. Energy Evolution...

S&P Global Platts Battery Metals podcast looks at how cobalt markets are faring during the current coronavirus pandemic. Emmanuel Latham is joined by Battery Metals editor Melvin Goh to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on Chinese cobalt sulfate refining, the developing situation in the DRC, anticipated market developments and what this all means for cobalt prices.

The coronavirus pandemic could help accelerate the investment shift from oil and gas to renewable energy. But the pace of that transition depends heavily on how governments direct economic recovery spending, and whether the consumer behavior changes induced by the pandemic prove permanent. In this episode, the Energy Evolution team spoke about these issues with Fatih Birol of the International Ene...

States developing long-term plans to zero out carbon emissions by mid-century are key to driving adoption of advanced nuclear technology, Dr. José Reyes, a co-founder of NuScale Power said on S&P Global Market Intelligence's Energy Evolution podcast. NuScale is developing a new design for nuclear small modular reactors, or SMRs, which could be useful for states moving toward a system in which "fir...

Joe Lowry of Global Lithium -- known as "Mr. Lithium" -- forecasts lithium demand to fall in 2020 compared with 2019, the first annual decrease in many years. Lowry examines the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak on the lithium market with Henrique Ribeiro of S&P Global Platts.

As the COVID-19 pandemic drives crude oil prices into the $30 per barrel range, the Energy Evolution team takes a look at what the global economic slowdown means for fossil fuels, utilities and renewable energy.   Listen to the episode, and subscribe to catch future episodes.   (Photo: AP)

In this episode of the S&P Global Platts Battery Metals podcast, Platts head of APAC Metals Insights Paul Bartholomew, analyst Lucy Tang, and associate editor Joyce Zhang discuss how the coronavirus outbreak is affecting China's automobile and new energy vehicle industry, and illustrate the details of the latest Platts survey on battery metals and lithium outlook.

BlackRock Inc., the world's largest asset manager, recently announced it would be pulling out of its investments in certain parts of the coal sector. The move is part of a broader trend where banks, insurers and other parts of the finance world are pledging to stay away from fossil fuels to address concerns about climate change. Join us on Energy Evolution, where this month we check in on what is...