Switched On
Bloomberg
300 episodes
The future of energy, transport, sustainability and more, as told by BNEF analysts. Each week, Dana Perkins and Tom Rowlands-Rees sit down with BloombergNEF (BNEF) analysts to uncover the key findings and stories behind their latest research.
Episodes page 4 of 6
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Green Jet Fuel Mandates Lift Demand for Scarce Supply
Sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, has the potential to help decarbonize aviation and is the most scalable technology for this hard-to-abate sector in the near term. With offtake agreements for SAF surging over the…
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China’s Clean-Tech Glut Undercuts US Onshoring Hopes
China is churning out clean energy technology at a breakneck pace, driving down prices on everything from solar panels to lithium ion batteries. With supply far exceeding demand, the timing couldn’t be worse for the…
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Do or Die: Carbon Offset Markets Face Critical Year
Voluntary carbon markets are coming off a tumultuous year, with constant public scrutiny and high-profile scandals undermining investor confidence. Despite the turmoil, the market has grown to a record size, as…
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Methanol Sets Sail as EU Targets Shipping Emissions
Seaborne freight is the lifeblood of the global economy. It’s also a heavy polluter. Now that shipping companies, retailers and governments are all looking to decarbonize the supply chain, what is the outlook for clean…
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Canada Tops China for Battery Supply Chain Potential
As the world races to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles, countries are ramping up their efforts across the supply chain, from mining raw materials to fostering consumer demand. For the fourth year,…
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United Taps Green Jet Fuel as Net-Zero Plan Takes Off
The aviation industry’s pathway to net zero is far from certain. Operational improvements and technologies such as sustainable aviation fuel and zero-emission aircraft could offer substantial emissions reductions, but…
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Plastics Greenium Boosts Chemical Recycling Outlook
With plastic production set to double by 2050, immediate action is needed to address plastic waste pollution and the inefficiencies of existing recycling systems. Chemical recycling could help process lower-grade…
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Mind the EV Battery Recycling Gap
As electric vehicle sales skyrocket, so too will the need for EV batteries and the metals that make them work. That’s where recycling comes in. By 2035, some 3.7 million metric tons of batteries could be nearing the…
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Wind and Solar Scale Up as China Builds Megabases
The Chinese government is rolling out one of the world’s most ambitious clean energy plans, targeting 1,200 gigawatts of installed renewable capacity by 2030. Part of their strategy involves building megabases, huge…
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EVs Race Ahead of Renewables in Transition Investment
At the beginning of each year, BloombergNEF releases the Energy Transition Investment Trends report, its definitive resource on global investment in the low-carbon energy transition. Since the report’s inception a…
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Are We Addicted to Cars? The Case for Public Transport
California has long been proactive when it comes to environmental policy, implementing measures ranging from a carbon market to put a price on emissions, to legislation to phase out the sale of new gasoline and diesel…
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Things to Watch: Hydrogen
On today’s bonus episode of the podcast, Dana is joined by Kathy Gao, a Senior Associate from BloombergNEF’s Hydrogen team, to unpack the things to watch for the sector in 2024. Together they discuss offtake agreements…
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Wall Street Gets Greener But Fossil-Fuel Habit Lingers
For every dollar supporting fossil-fuel supply, at least $4 must be put towards low-carbon energy this decade to keep the world on track to limit warming to 1.5C. But are the capital flows of corporations and financial…
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Things to Watch: Industrial Decarbonization
On today’s bonus episode of the podcast, Dana is joined by BloombergNEF’s Industrial Decarbonization Specialist, Julia Attwood, to discuss what to watch in this space in 2024. Together they talk about the expanding…
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Things to Watch: Wind
On today’s bonus episode of the podcast, Dana is joined by BloombergNEF’s Head of Wind Research, Oliver Metcalfe, to discuss the things to watch for the wind sector in 2024. Together they talk about whether this year…
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Election Fever: Fate of Climate Fight Hangs in Balance
Set against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions, this year will see elections taking place in markets that account for a combined 67% of global GDP. With the uncertainty that changes in leadership can bring, could…
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Things to Watch: Aluminum, Copper and Steel
On today’s bonus episode of the podcast, Dana is joined by BloombergNEF metals analyst Yuchen Huo, to discuss the things to watch in industrial metals markets in 2024. Together they talk about what a continued slump…
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Gas Versus Solar: South Africa’s Battle to Ditch Coal
With an energy mix dominated by aging and increasingly unreliable coal power plants, South Africans have been putting up with rolling blackouts all the way back to 2007. The government’s latest energy strategy lays out…
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Road Ahead for EVs in 2024: BYD and Tesla Break Away
The start of each year sees BloombergNEF look at what could play out across the energy transition over the next 12 months. During January, Switched On will interview the brains behind the ‘Things to Watch’ series,…
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Fires, Floods and Freezes: The Cost of Climate Change
Extreme weather events like fires and floods are causing companies to take a closer look at the physical risks posed by climate change, and how they could impact their income and balance sheets. Despite the financial…
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BNEF Pioneers Award 2023: Metals and Materials
BNEF Pioneers is BloombergNEF’s annual climate-tech competition identifying game-changing innovations with the potential to accelerate global decarbonization and halt climate change. Last year, awards were given in…
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Farming’s New Frontier: AI Steers Path to Green Future
Pesticides are considered an indispensable part of modern agriculture, but with links to environmental damage and soil pollution, their use comes at a cost. Could cutting-edge technologies that harness artificial…
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OPEC and Peak Oil: Future of Energy in the Middle East
The final agreement signed at the COP28 climate summit marked a significant step forward, addressing for the first time the need to transition away from fossil fuels. Among its signatories were oil-and gas-rich nations…
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Guarding the Grid: Hackers Target Smarter Power System
As power grids evolve to accommodate new clean energy sources and smart technology, they are becoming more vulnerable to cyberattackers looking to exploit weaknesses in these increasingly connected systems. But what…
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US Offshore Wind Blows Cold as Interest Rates Heat Up
With a quarter of offshore wind project deals having been canceled in the US this year, the Biden administration’s target of having 30 gigawatts of installed capacity by 2030 is looking even further out of reach. But…
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Cruising to a Million: US EV Sales Near Key Milestone
The US has historically lagged behind mainland China and Europe for electric vehicle ownership, but is this about to change? If you believe GM and Ford, who cite falling demand for the delaying of their near-term EV…
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Solar Supply Glut Crushes Margins But Buildout Booming
It’s a good news, bad news situation for solar right now. On the one hand, annual installations are continuing to break records, with China set to build almost as much solar this year as the entire world rolled out in…
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Gridlock: US Struggles to Make Enough Transformers
Large power transformers, or LPTs for short, are integral for the functioning of the energy grid. But with BloombergNEF forecasting that the US will need to nearly double its units by 2030, will the country manage to…
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CCS Extends Its Reach Beyond Oil and Gas
Investment in carbon capture and storage is skyrocketing. Last year, the technology attracted some $6.4 billion globally, more than double the year before. But why are industries now looking to Carbon Capture and…
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Retreat or Engage? Green Investors’ Big Oil Dilemma
Oil and gas majors have long stated their intention to diversify away from fossil fuels and move toward clean energy production. However, in the last few years, many have wound back these plans, shooting for less…
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Climate Risks and Rewards: Rating Companies’ Exposure
Climate change and the transition to a net-zero economy presents both opportunities and risks to companies and assets. But how might an investor assess this exposure? On today’s show, Dana sits down with Tifenn…
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Crises Collide: Balancing Net Zero and Energy Security
Energy security has come into sharp focus over the past two years, as the shifting geopolitical landscape shakes up power markets around the world. To help customers, numerous governments have introduced regulatory…
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Pulling Carbon From the Sky: A Pricey Climate Solution
Removing carbon directly from the air might seem like a technology of the distant future, but ‘direct air capture’ is increasingly becoming a reality, especially as companies try to figure out how they’re going to meet…
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Japan Revisits Nuclear But Solar and Wind Are Future
Japan has pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, yet the pathways to this target are complicated by the country’s recent history. In the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima meltdown, Japan suspended all of its…
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Winter Gas Outlook: Cautious Optimism as LNG Steps Up
It’s been a volatile year for natural gas. Last winter, global gas prices spiked in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and European nations rushed to replace sanctioned Russian pipeline supply. North America…
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Lithium Rush: The Key Metal Powering the EV Revolution
Lithium is integral to the majority of electric vehicle battery chemistries, making it one of the world’s most sought-after metals. Once it’s out of ground, who controls the supply of lithium and its refining? With the…
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Domino Effect: How Tesla Is Winning the Charging War
When it comes to charging an electric vehicle in the US, drivers face a complex landscape. Tesla currently dominates the sector with its highly efficient stations and ultra-fast chargers, but an array of companies are…
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Ammonia: From Fertilizer to Fuel of the Future
Ammonia is one of the world’s most widely used chemicals, found in everything from fertilizers to explosives. But this tiny, crucial molecule has a heavy carbon footprint, with ammonia production and end use…
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G-20 Sherpa Sees India as a Global Hydrogen Champion
This month, BNEF’s New Delhi Summit took place alongside the B20 meetings, the official business community engagement forum for the G20. Among BNEF’s guests was Amitabh Kant, the G20 Sherpa for the Indian government,…
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Cream of the Crop: The Business of Plant-Based Milk
The dairy industry relies on 270 million cows to produce over 600 million tons of milk annually, and these cows are having a significant impact on the environment. Plant-based milks have been presented as an…
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Power Grids: The Backbone of the Race to Net Zero
The transmission grid is a topic that reaches across many of our episodes, but it’s never before been the center of attention. That changes today. While the installation of clean energy equipment is essential for the…
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Ercot’s Extremes: Weather, Solar and Bitcoin
The Texas power grid has had a volatile few years. As temperatures in the Lone Star State soared earlier this summer, power prices spiked to nearly $5,000 per megawatt-hour. However, that eye-watering price tag paled…
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Forging a Clean Future: The Challenge for Steelmakers
Steel is one of the world’s most widely used materials. It also accounts for 7-8% of global emissions, and ‘greening’ its production process presents an enormous challenge. So how can manufacturers decarbonize this…
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Mining for Scrap: The Future of Green Aluminum
Aluminum is one of the most commonly used metals today, appearing in everything from new buildings to food packaging. But what, exactly, makes aluminum such an important metal, and why are its emissions so difficult to…
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Embracing Imperfectionism, with Charles Conn
Imperfection is usually considered a negative, but is there something to be said for embracing ‘imperfectionism’? What can we learn from failures, and what are the mindsets and tools we need to turn imperfect outcomes…
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Electric Vehicle Outlook 2023: On the Road to Net Zero
Electric vehicle sales are gaining momentum around the world, ushering in the end of the internal combustion era. On today’s episode, Dana speaks with Colin McKerracher, BNEF’s Head of Advanced Transport, about his…
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Sun, Wind and Pink Tides in Latin America
Clean energy is booming in Latin America, where wind and solar are breaking records year after year. But as the world battles inflation, can the trend continue? And can the region harness its clean-energy resources to…
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Resourceful Diplomacy with Helaina Matza
Countries are racing to acquire the rare minerals and resources necessary for clean energy tech. So how can they secure their own positions while also building strategic partnerships? Helaina Matza, who has spent her…
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Perennial Possibilities for Agriculture
Agriculture, forestry and land use are among the most climate-sensitive areas of our economy. They also account for almost a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, which begs the question: Can anything be done to…
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G-20 Climate Policy in Focus
The last year has been a tough one for the G-20 member nations, with soaring energy prices and a global inflationary crisis. Against such a backdrop, what is happening to climate policies and net-zero targets? Victoria…
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