Switched On

The growth of renewables and the fracking revolution has made for a lot of cheap energy in the U.S. and an energy landscape nearly unrecognizable from what it was a decade ago. This week, Switched On speaks with BloombergNEF's head of Americas, Ethan Zindler, about the changes we've seen in U.S. energy over the past decade, who is best positioned in the current market, and what to expect going for...

Batteries are getting cheaper. This means more affordable electric cars, and wind and solar as a more viable option for round-the-clock power. This week, Switched On speaks with BloombergNEF's energy storage analyst James Frith about trends in battery pricing. We discuss results from the latest BNEF battery price survey, the future of battery pricing and technologies, and who is best positioned to...

Do you fly more than you used to, or less? For most of the world, the answer is more, and it’s likely to be more for the foreseeable future. This week, Switched On speaks with BloombergNEF oil demand analyst David Doherty about aviation’s current and future demand paths. Expanding aviation means more demand for aviation fuel, but it also means additional airports, runways, and aircraft. There is i...

Have you noticed more electric vehicles on the road recently? How about charging stations? Well, you’ll probably see a lot more in 2020. This week on Switched On we talk with Colin McKerracher, who leads transport analysis at BloombergNEF, about his 10 predictions for EVs and mobility in 2020. The market will speed forward in 2020, but there are some twists and turns in the road ahead. The wide-ra...

Today less than 20% of plastic waste is recycled. This week on Switched On we talk with Ilhan Savut and Julia Attwood about chemical recycling, a new way to recycle. Instead of simply washing and melting down plastic, chemical recycling breaks plastics down into their most basic materials. Doing this opens up the options for using recycled plastic and has the potential to save a lot more waste fro...

Remember acid rain and worries about sulfur emissions from your car? Maybe. Maybe not. It was a long time ago that sulfur was regulated out of the gas you put in your car. Well those concerns are front-of-mind for the global shipping industry, which still relies heavily on high-sulfur fuel to move goods across the seas. On January 1, new regulations come into play that drastically reduce the amoun...

In solar’s early days, getting electrons from solar panel to power grid was as much a financial as a technical challenge. Photovoltaic power cost more than conventional grid power, and so deploying it required government subsidy of some kind. Those subsidies could create a booming market, and gloom thereafter when subsidies expired. However, with more than a decade of decreasing costs and increasi...

We use cobalt every day. It's in the lithium-ion batteries in our phones, and in the growing fleet of electric vehicles out on the road. But chances are more than good that at least some of the cobalt in your phone or EV is not ethically sourced. This week on Switched On, we talk with Kwasi Ampofo, a BloombergNEF analyst focused on metals and mining, about his recent travels in the Democratic Repu...

Asia has the biggest share of everything -- area, population, economic growth, and now, carbon dioxide emissions. Can Asia keep its pace of development while reducing CO2, or does it have to go dirty to get rich? This week on Switched On, we talk with Justin Wu, head of Asia Pacific for BloombergNEF, about Asia's three largest economies, China, Japan, and India, and BNEF's outlook for how they are...

Solar thermal power plants can provide electricity when demand is most high, during the evening, or even all night long. This ability could become more valuable in certain locations as the amount of less consistent wind and photovoltaic solar power on the grid expands. This week on Switched On, we talk with Jenny Chase, head of solar analysis for BloombergNEF, about where this lesser-known renewab...

The Obama-era Clean Power Plan is being cut out by the Trump administration. It probably doesn't matter so much because the U.S. power fleet is decarbonizing anyway. And cars are getting more fuel efficient, despite efforts by the federal government to roll-back regulations there as well. This week on Switched On, we talk with Ethan Zindler, Head of Americas for BloombergNEF, to make sense of what...

Oil has always carried with it the possibility of adventure and big wins to be had, and thereby a growth story for investors. Utilities, not so much. But we could be seeing the tables turn as there seems to be no shortage of oil, and the world is increasingly going electric. Could there be a swap of sectors in the dull club? This week on Switched On, we delve into that with Nathaniel Bullard, BNEF...

Governments play a role, but the private sector may hold the real keys to decarbonization. This week on Switched On, we talk with Kyle Harrison, a BloombergNEF analyst focused on corporate energy strategy, about companies increasing use of renewable electricity and the targets they're setting to cut down on carbon.  This episode is based on a report titled 2H 2019 Corporate Energy Market Outlook ....

Ride-hailing, e-commerce, micro-mobility, robotaxis – each of these is or will chip away at the need to own a car. Will the day come when the car becomes obsolete? This week on Switched On we talk with Ali Izadi, BNEF’s head of intelligent mobility, about this and whether car sales will peak, or if they already have. This episode is based on a report titled Peak Car? BNEF Light Duty Vehicle Outloo...

As demand for lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and stationary energy storage increases, a lot more lithium, cobalt, and nickel will be needed. This week on Switched On we talk with Sophie Lu about BNEF's battery metals forecast to 2030 and some of the political, environmental, and economic challenges of getting these critical metals out of the ground and into the factory. This episode i...

Hydrogen has been in and out of fashion several times over the years. But now its potential to decarbonize long-haul trucking, and industrial processes that have been hard to reach with renewables and batteries, mean hydrogen could be back for good. This week on Switched On we'll kick off the discussion about hydrogen with some basics, and start to get into the economics. We'll open the discussion...

Sure, a Tesla has zero tailpipe emissions, but it charges from the grid, and the grid is powered by coal, so it can't really be considered clean, right?    Today on Switched On we talk with Logan Goldie-Scot, who leads energy storage coverage for BloombergNEF, and BNEF Energy Storage Analyst James Frith. We'll discuss the CO2 footprints of electric vehicles and the batteries that go into them. EVs...

Light-up your dryer, TV, dishwasher, microwave, air conditioner, and maybe even mine some bitcoin, all at dinnertime, because it's all-you-can-eat electricity. Today on Switched On we talk with Jame Sprinz, Head of Decentralized Energy for BNEF, about the raft of new business models being applied to retail electricity. Never think about your bill and don't want to? There's a company that'll help y...

Hong Kong taxi drivers are getting older. What happens when they retire? Is a busy city like Hong Kong ready for driverless cars? Insurance and insurability in a climate change world, and what companies are doing about it. And how climate change is all most of us have ever known. This week on Switched On we have a wide-ranging discussion with Nathaniel Bullard, BNEF's Head of Executive Insights an...

This week on Switched On we talk with Hannah Davinroy and Claire Curry about oil companies going after digital technologies. Whether it is to make their operations more efficient or help them expand into new areas, oil companies are developing digital capabilities via work in-house, acquisitions, or partnerships with big tech. Is it all just PR or are oilcos making meaningful steps to becoming mor...

This week on Switched On we talk with Meredith Annex, who leads BNEF's coverage of heating and cooling. Making buildings warmer or cooler accounts for 21% of global energy consumption, and a considerable share of CO2 emissions. Listen to Meredith explain why this is the missing piece to the energy and emissions puzzle. We will discuss the different ways of decarbonizing this sector, one so far dri...

Today on Switched On we talk with BNEF Wind Industry Analyst Tom Harries, about floating and airborne wind power. These applications are still in their infancy but show promise. Floating turbines can open up new market territory for offshore wind power, allowing for placement in waters too deep for fixed-bottom kit. And airborne wind could potentially provide quick deployment in disaster locations...

Today on Switched On we talk to Dr. Julia Attwood, Head of Advanced Materials for BNEF about bioplastics. Bioplastics comprise just about 1% of the plastics market right now, but its share is growing. Concern about plastic waste in the environment, climate change, and product sustainability has driven interest in bioplastics, though additional capacity has been slow-going.    Julia walks us throug...

Air conditioning already accounts for 9% of electricity consumed globally, and that demand is set to grow substantially in the coming decades. While many living in hot climates need it just for comfort, others see it as a status symbol – their ticket to the middle class. For businesses, it may underpin worker productivity. BNEF's Seb Henbest and Matthias Kimmel join the show today to discuss the e...

Today we talk to Dr. Julia Attwood, Head of Advanced Materials for BNEF about composites. We see them in high-end sporting goods and automotive, but carbon fiber and other composites are starting to make their way through industry and down the cost curve. Julia will introduce us to composites, go over their uses, advantages and limitations, costs, and future demand. Hosted this week by BNEF's Head...