Switched On

China will be a huge market for electric vehicles. In BloombergNEF's latest Electric Vehicle Outlook, published last month, we project that EVs will be 25% of China's passenger vehicle sales in 2025, 48% in 2030, and 77% in 2040. This week, Switched On speaks with BloombergNEF electric vehicle analyst Siyi Mi about the policies China has in place to accelerate this growth, and how pure-play EV man...

U.S. benchmark oil prices are up almost 50% this year, as global demand continues its pandemic recovery. In the States, rising demand and rising prices have led to production increases - but only modest increases so far. This week, Switched On speaks with Tai Liu and Anna Dialynas, U.S. oil analysts for BloombergNEF. They will tell us us about how most U.S. oil producers are choosing fiscal discip...

Oil major BP has ambitions to cut its greenhouse gas emissions from its own operations, its oil & gas production, and the products it sells to net-zero by 2050. Also during that time the company plans to ramp up investment in non-oil and gas activities, like renewables, hydrogen, and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS). Today, Switched On's Dana Perkins speaks with Giulia Chierchia,...

The aluminum industry can achieve net-zero carbon emissions, and there are multiple routes to get there, starting from recycling and going all the way to carbon capture and storage (CCS) and offsets. Producers will need a combination of technologies to decarbonize fully. This week, Switched On speaks with BloombergNEF analysts Sharon Mustri and Julia Attwood about the costs of decarbonizing alumin...

For more than a decade, BloombergNEF has been forecasting the price of carbon credits under the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), and in the latest edition, the forecast breaches the 100-euro barrier for the first time ever. This week, Switched On speaks with Jahn Olsen, lead carbon analyst for BNEF about the factors contributing to this price forecast, and what it means for carbon emiss...

Electric vehicles are creating a lot of buzz, but are they profitable for the manufacturers? This week, Switched On speaks with Opel Automotive CEO Michael Lohscheller about his strategy for the transition to EVs. He discusses what the automotive industry must do to drive up profit from electrified cars, which includes taking a closer look at supply chains and battery manufacturing. Nikolas Soulop...

Elon Musk put out a $100 million prize earlier this year for innovation in 'carbon negative solutions', or pulling carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the air. But BloombergNEF carbon capture analyst David Madrid says Musk is missing the point -- what is needed for direct air capture is scale, not new technologies., This week, Switched On speaks with David about direct air capture, how it works, and the p...

Why does the threat of climate change give some nightmares while others simply ignore it? Where do perceptions lie and how do they differ by country, age, education level, or political affiliation? This week, Switched On speaks with BloombergNEF consumer research analyst, Hugh Bromley, about several recent surveys that ask how people perceive climate change and whether they see it as a top risk. T...

This year is looking like a major year for dialogue on - and commitments to - climate action. This week, Switched On speaks with two BloombergNEF colleagues to put this Summit into context and discuss some early indicators of how countries plan to meet their net-zero targets: Victoria Cumming, global policy lead, and Ali Izadi-Najafabadi, Head of Asia Pacific Research. This episode is based on our...

The global wind market is booming, with nearly 100 gigawatts of new capacity going online in 2020. Today, Switched On speaks with BloombergNEF wind analysts Isabelle Edwards and Leo Wang, who talk about what made 2020 a record year for installations, where the growth is happening, who is supplying all those turbines, and how all of this is just the start of things to come. This episode is based on...

This week, Switched On speaks with U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, who was sworn into office on February 25th. One of Secretary Granholm's objectives at the Department of Energy will be to set the U.S. on a path to achieving President Biden’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions from the power sector by 2035 by advancing cutting-edge clean energy technologies, and creating millions of clean...

European utility strategy continues to evolve as the energy transition moves forward. Today, Switched On speaks with BloombergNEF carbon analyst, Bo Qin, and decentralized energy analyst, Michael Kenefick. They will tell us about how low gas prices, combined with high carbon prices and renewables output, are squeezing coal out of the merit order in Europe, and how retail power continues to be a hi...

On March 15, Volkswagen signaled its ambition to compete in the growing electric vehicle market by building out battery production and charging infrastructure, as well as adding new EV models. And in January, General Motors announced its plan to only sell zero-emission light-duty vehicles by 2035, on its way to becoming carbon-neutral. This week, Switched On speaks with Colin McKerracher, head of...

The transition to a low-carbon economy has been at the center of policy making in the European Union over the last decade. But Europe is still not on track to meet its 2030 clean energy and climate goals. This week, Switched On speaks with Dario Traum, global head of energy transition research for BloombergNEF, and Andreas Gandolfo, head of European power research. They will tell us about progress...

Prolonged frigid temperatures last weekend caused electricity demand in the Texas power grid, or ERCOT, to explode. The extreme cold resulted in more than 30GW of power plant outages, and a situation where demand outstripped supply by 30%. This resulted in millions of Texans being without power, heat, and clean water. This week, Switched On speaks with Anastacia Dialynas, head of US oil research,...

The EU Taxonomy regulation, which defines what the European Union considers an environmentally sustainable economic activity, will require additional disclosures from large listed companies in Europe starting in January 2022. This week, Switched On speaks with Maia Godemer, sustainable finance analyst for BNEF, about what the new rules mean for large European companies and asset managers. This epi...

The engine behind the analysis in BloombergNEF's New Energy Outlook (NEO) is the New Energy Forecast Model, or NEFM. This week, Switched On speaks with Ian Berryman, modeling analyst for BNEF. He'll tell us how the model works, the process he and team went through in building it, and how he took cues from ants and birds in building a lot of the software that powers it. This episode is based on the...

Vietnam had a boom in rooftop solar installations in December 2020 as installers raced to capture a generous feed-in tariff that expired at the end of the year. This week, Switched On speaks with Caroline Chua, BloombergNEF analyst focused on Southeast Asia, and Jenny Chase, head of solar for BloombergNEF. They talk about how this massive buildout occurred, how it beat BNEF forecasts, and what oth...

This week, Switched On speaks with Dr. John Murton, COP26 envoy for the U.K. government. During a conversation which was part of the BNEF Shanghai Summit on December 2, he and Veronika Henze, head of communications for BloombergNEF look at the upcoming global climate conference in November 2021, carbon neutrality, and the race to net zero emissions. BNEF users can see this interview and more, incl...

Electric vehicles, plastic alternatives, electrification of industrial processes – and more – are set to cut into demand for oil. In fact, we may have already reached a peak for the amount of oil produced in a single year, an idea known as ‘peak oil’. This week, Switched On speaks with oil demand analyst David Doherty. He will tell us about what peak oil means, how it is more than an academic conc...

Startups and food industry giants alike are working to improve the taste, texture, and appearance of alternative proteins, or fake meat. If they can get it good enough there is a huge market out there. This week, Switched On speaks with Hugh Bromley, consumer insights analyst for BloombergNEF. He talks about the various options out there for alternative proteins, along with go-to-market strategies...

The renewable diesel market is set to triple in the next four years. Increasingly stringent environmental standards, and imperatives to reduce transport emissions, make this like-for-like replacement for conventional diesel an attractive option. This week on the show, Switched On speaks with BNEF oil demand analyst Daisy Maugouber about market players, growth, and just where all the fry grease it...

A net-zero target is achieved when a country or company balances out its greenhouse gas emissions with other activities that store, reduce or offset those emissions. So in the end, what you’re putting up into the air is effectively, well, nothing. This week on the show, Switched On speaks with BNEF corporate sustainability analyst Kyle Harrison about what is driving the many corporate net zero ann...

Airbus aims to have an electric airliner in service by 2035. As part of this, the company announced three electric concept planes in September that are targeted for demonstration by 2025. Today Switched On speaks with Glenn Llewellyn, vice-president of zero emission aircraft at Airbus. He speaks with BloombergNEF Sustainability Editor Bryony Collins about this effort, the tradeoffs between batteri...

Minister Rachel Maclean says that for the United Kingdom to meet its 2050 net zero-emissions target, the country will need to expand the electric vehicle charging network, and offer enough EVs at the right price. During a conversation as part of the BNEF London Summit on October 20, she and Dana Perkins look at the future of transport in the UK as a whole. They discuss hydrogen, trains, planes, em...