NTNU Energy Transition Podcast

Sasha Mackler is the director of the Energy Program at the Bipartisan Policy Center - a Washington, DC-based think tank. He has spent over 20 years in this field, including 10 years in the private sector working on carbon capture and biomass fuel supply. Mackler has managed a number of energy policy projects on topics such as tax incentives, federal RD&D, finance, workforce transition, carbon...

Christopher Jones is a Professor at Georgia University of Technology and has been working on direct air capture (DAC) technology since 2008. Direct air capture is a process that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in order to reduce the negative impacts of climate change. In this podcast episode, Jones discusses the importance of this technology in reversing the paradigm of emitting carbon...

Ann Mari Svensson is a Professor at NTNU's Materials Science and Engineering department. She specializes in electrochemical processes for energy storage and electrolysis, which is important for developing new battery technologies. ntnu.edu/employees/annmari.svensson The future is electric, and batteries will play a big role in it. Renewables, like wind and solar, don't consistently deliver energy...

What are the first thoughts you have when you think about Switzerland? Mountains, Skiing, Nature, Toblerone? For sure! But what you may not have known is that the pace of the energy transition in Switzerland has not been amazingly fast in the last years. However, now, with the energy crises and spiking prices for fossil fuel things seem to be moving at a different pace. In this episode you will le...

In this episode, I talk to Prof. Christina Voigt. Christina is a Professor at the University of Oslo and has been a member of the climate negotiation delegation of Norway for years. The last time we talked was right after COP26, in episode 3 of this podcast. The climate negotiation process occurring through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) is the primary forum f...

This week we ask Equinor - Norway's state-owned multinational energy company - straight up: Why are you still investing in oil and gas? As society transitions away from fossil fuels, a huge oil and natural gas exporter like Norway will face huge changes. To understand how Equinor is positioning itself for this, we talked to Frida Eklöf Monstad , who works with business development for low-carbon s...

High energy prices and a reduced supply of natural gas are pressuring the European economy. What possible impacts will this have on Europe's climate ambitions? Already we have seen a shift back to coal, and with the current war in Ukraine as a backdrop, it is little wonder that many raise concern. To help us ponder this question, we've brought along Taube van Melkebeke for this week's episode. She...

Most pathways to climate neutrality include the use of carbon management technologies, like carbon capture and storage (CCS). In many ways, the technology is mature, but still needs massive upscaling to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. Has CCS been overlooked? What is the current situation in Europe? What policies are needed to move this forward? In this week's episode, we grill Eadbh...

What are the challenges Romania faces in the Energy Transition? The Eastern European country has committed itself to phase out coal, and plans a transition to renewables like solar and hydrogen. How are things progressing, and what are the current hurdles? To learn about Romania's energy system, policies, markets and social situation, we talked with Dr. Luciana Miu. She is is the Head of Clean Eco...

Technologies are often spotlighted when examining different energy transition pathways. However, how we use and produce technology and energy plays a significant role. Profound changes are needed to avoid dangerous climate change, and can only be achieved through public support for relevant policies. Therefore, implementing energy policies requires knowledge of citizens' lifestyles and behaviors....

The Inflation Reduction Act promises a $369 billion investment in climate action - the largest in U.S. history - and could drive significant emissions reductions. Its passing is both surprising, controversial, and full of compromises. To get the gist of it, we sat down with the founding editor of BusinessGreen.com , James Murray, who explains why he thinks the legislation's climate provisions will...

Traditionally, business school teaches us to maximize profits. Is this really what the world needs right now? In this week's episode, we talk to Puck Hegeman about the practice and importance of financing startup companies and small businesses, and give advice to conscious startups that look beyond just making money. Hegeman is a private equity impact investor at Wire Private Markets Fund (WPMF) -...

Our guest this week is Helen Anijalg, Co-Founder of Roofit.solar - a provider of building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) construction elements that replace the conventional roofing and facade materials. By combining solar technology and building material, homeowners can invest in visually appealing roofs and facades that, over time, pay for themselves. Listen and learn more about the technology an...

Connie Hedegaard was the EU Commissioner for Climate Action between 2010 and 2014 and continues to be a strong climate action advocate. Since she left office, she continued to work with a number of non-profit organizations, and is also active on corporate boards of companies such as Danfoss, Volkswagen, and Nordex. In this episode you will learn how policy is made in the EU, and while we talk most...

The International Energy Agency estimates total annual energy investment to surge to USD 5 trillion by 2030. Why is money so important in the energy transition and how can countries move to sustainable, market-oriented economies? This is what you will learn when listening to this episode of the NTNU Energy Transition Podcast with Harry Boyd-Carpenter (Managing Director, Climate Strategy and Delive...

Per Lindberg is the CEO and co-founder of Sunlit Sea - a technology provider to the floating solar industry, that aims to address the potential of optimizing cost, longevity, power production, operation and maintenance. He has over 10 years of experience within the solar industry and explains both pros and cons of floating solar technology. How does it harmonize with other energy sources? How does...

Expectations are one of these fluffy social science topics, but when you look closer you actually realize how important they are in innovation and sustainability transition processes. The energy transition is fundamentally influenced by expectations that we have towards specific solutions and modes of operations. We set up financial incentives, change policies, and invest into research, because we...

Bryte Batteries thinks unused, self-produced energy could be strategically stored and sold by utilizing cost-efficient and safe battery technologies. This creates business opportunities for building owners in most sectors, that are both profitable and environmentally friendly.  This week's guest is the CEO of Bryte Batteries - an NTNU affiliated startup. Brian explains to us the principles be...

How can governments support renewable electricity technologies? What's being done, and what does the future look like? And why were these policies needed initially, to give such technologies traction? What's needed, if we are to reach Europe's ambitious goals for transitioning to renewable energy? Today's guest is Dr. Pablo del Rio. He is the head of the Environmental Economics Group (GEA) at the...

Today's guest, Marianne Ryghaug holds a PhD in Political Science and is a Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. She leads the Center for Energy, Climate and Environment at the Department of Interdisiplinay studies of Culture, NTNU. The last years her research has particularly been focused on research related to s...

What if we treat energy efficiency as a source of energy in its own right? Investors could prioritize more cost-effective demand-side solutions instead of complex and costly energy sources and new infrastructure. Essentially reducing fossil fuels consumption and energy production while increasing independency and security of supply. Reduced energy demand could also control the level of investment...

The global south, with countries such as Indonesia and India, relies heavily on coal and other fossil fuels. Many of these countries have not embarked on real decarbonization pathways. In this episode, we take a closer look at the barriers these countries face to supply the growing energy demand and do this in a sustainable way. Today's guest, Jose Antonio Ordonez , is a researcher in the Fraunhof...

The CO2 is all around us, can't we just collect and store it safely? Today's guest is Jay Fuhrman. He is a postdoctoral researcher at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Joint Global Change Research Institute. He received his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Virginia in 2021. Jay’s research uses integrated assessment models to understand the transitions req...

Some of the biggest emitters also face the biggest challenges in the energy transition. I today's episode, we take a closer look at the potential solutions, with focus on the steel and refinery industries.  Our guest today is Dr. Frauke Urban . She is an Associate Professor and Docent in the Management of Sustainable Energy Systems at the Department for Industrial Economics and Management at...

Chief Scientist and Research Manager at SINTEF Energy , John Olav Giæver Tande is a pioneer in floating offshore wind energy and head the NorthWind research center - an 8 year, 31.5 million EUR research center working to make wind power cheaper, efficient, and more sustainable. The European Commission wants 1/3 of all electricity to 2050 supplied by offshore wind, making it the backbone of the ent...