Episodes
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In this episode of the S&P Global Commodity Insights Energy Evolution podcast, host Taylor Kuykendall interviews J. Clay Sell, the CEO of X-energy, a company focused on advanced small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs).
X-energy is pioneering a new generation of nuclear technology that promises safer, more economical, and more efficient power generation. The episode follows the announcement of a recent $500 million Series C financing round led by Amazon. The two companies aim to develop over 5 GW of SMR power projects across the U.S. by 2039. The discussion covers the potential of SMRs, the importance of government support and the challenges of deploying this technology.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications.
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In this episode of Energy Evolution, host Taylor Kuykendall engages with CEOs Jimmy Brock of CONSOL Energy and Randall Atkins of Ramaco Resources to discuss the evolving role of coal in the energy landscape.
Although coal's share of US electricity generation has declined significantly, both executives argue that coal remains vital, particularly in steel production. They explore coal's diversification into new markets, including rare earth elements and advanced carbon products, while also discussing the future of carbon capture technologies.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications.
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As more of the world’s power grids are supplied with renewables, accurate weather forecasting has become an increasingly important asset for power utilities.
In this episode of Energy Evolution, correspondent Camilla Naschert speaks to Malte Rieck, meteorologist at Vattenfall, about the key parameters his team is watching, how AI is becoming a sharper tool for forecasting, and how extreme weather events may change the output profile of renewables fleets in the future.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications.
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For this week's episode, Energy Evolution presents an episode of the Platts Commodities Focus podcast, another show in the network of S&P Global Commodity Insights' podcasts.
Political experts say Nov. 5 will likely become known as one of the most pivotal elections in US history. Whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris wins the presidency, and whether Republicans or Democrats control Congress, the energy sector faces major potential shifts. There will be implications for supply chains, energy infrastructure, and the overall direction of US energy markets.
Jasmin Melvin, senior editor and team lead for The Energy Daily, leads a discussion on what's at stake in the oil, gas, power and metals arenas with Commodity Insights reporters and analysts Zack Hale, Taylor Kuykendall, Starr Spencer and Anna Mosby. They examine the polarizing energy positions from the presidential candidates and how a potentially divided Congress could reshape energy policy.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications. Veteran journalists Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall co-host the show, routinely featuring the work of Commodity Insights journalists, including regular correspondent Camilla Naschert.
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In this episode of the Energy Evolution podcast, the focus is on the rise and fall of California solar pioneer SunPower, as well as its potential for a rebirth following a recent asset sale in its ongoing bankruptcy process.
S&P Global Commodity Insights senior reporter Garrett Hering shares an interview with T.J. Rodgers, the former chairman of SunPower and founding CEO of Cypress Semiconductor, SunPower's former corporate parent. They delve into SunPower's history, its challenges, and the potential impact of its bankruptcy on the broader energy landscape and transition to lower-carbon energy. Rodgers, who has a long history with SunPower, shares his ambition to breathe new life into the company through the acquisition of key assets out of bankruptcy.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications. Veteran journalists Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall co-host the show, routinely featuring the work of Commodity Insights journalists, including regular correspondent Camilla Naschert.
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This episode of Energy Evolution features an interview with Corrado De Gasperis, Chairman and CEO of Comstock Inc., who explains the company's shift from a focus on precious metals mining to new business lines as well, including urban mining and recycling materials from end-of-life electrification products and solar panels. Comstock aims to commercialize decarbonization technologies while addressing the growing need for sustainable mineral sources.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications. Veteran journalists Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall co-host the show, which routinely features regular correspondents Camilla Naschert and Camellia Moors.
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As airlines look to decarbonize and governments crack down on heavy industry carbon emissions, some in the aviation industry are turning to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
In this episode, correspondents Camellia Moors and Camilla Naschert speak with experts from across the SAF industry about what SAF is, how it’s being used, its potential to curb carbon emissions and the biggest challenges and opportunities in its global uptake.
Today’s guests are Andrew Chen, principal for aviation decarbonization at RMI; Dick Benschop, board member and senior fellow at the Mission Possible Partnership; Phil Moore, global head of sustainable aviation fuel at EcoCeres; and Daniel Chereau, head of fuel at the International Air Transport Association.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications. Veteran journalists Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall co-host the show, which routinely features regular correspondents Camilla Naschert and Camellia Moors.
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The US Department of Energy is on a roll when it comes to backing the US domestic battery industry.
In July, the agency’s Loan Programs Office announced a conditional commitment of up to $1.2 billion for a direct loan to battery separator, extruder, and engineering services company ENTEK to finance a lithium-ion battery separator facility in Indiana.
In June, the DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy, announced it would give $20 million to solid-state battery company ION Storage Systems for the development and commercialization of the company’s solid-state lithium-metal batteries.
In this episode, correspondent Camellia Moors speaks with Chelsea Sexton, director of the DOE’s Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Loan Program; Kim Medford, president for manufacturing at ENTEK; and Ricky Hannah, CEO and board director of ION, about what the federal government’s support means for the industry and US energy transition goals.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications. Veteran journalists Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall co-host the show, which routinely features regular correspondents Camilla Naschert and Camellia Moors.
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On this week’s episode of Energy Evolution, S&P Global Commodity Insights hydrogen specialists Shankari Srinivasan and Catherine Robinson discuss their research on the current state of the hydrogen industry just a few weeks before World Hydrogen Week, which will take place Sept. 30- Oct. 4 in Copenhagen.
While the mood has been dampened by project cancellations, the industry is now moving from planning to delivery, Srinivasan tells podcast correspondent Camilla Naschert.
Blue hydrogen, made using gas and carbon capture, will play a major role, especially in Asia and the US, leveraging lower cost differentials and existing infrastructure, Robinson says.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications.
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Today's episode of Energy Evolution is all about the Advanced Clean Energy Storage project in Delta, Utah. ACES will use electrolysis to convert renewable energy into hydrogen and store it so that the otherwise intermittent resources will be dispatchable on demand from storage in large salt caverns underground. The first project will convert and store up to 100 metric tons per day of hydrogen and is expected to enter commercial-scale operations in mid-2025.
Chevron recently acquired Magnum Development LLC and a majority interest in the project, which is a joint venture with Mitsubishi Power Americas.
Our guests discussing the topic are Austin Knight and Michael Ducker. Knight is the vice president of hydrogen for Chevron New Energies, a division of Chevron USA Inc. Ducker is the President & CEO of MHI Hydrogen Infrastructure, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Power Americas and a power solutions brand of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications. Veteran journalists Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall co-host the show, which routinely features regular correspondents Camilla Naschert and Camellia Moors.
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This week's episode of Energy Evolution features a conversation with Deise Yumi Asami, the founder of Maximo, an AI-powered robot that automates the heavy lifting for placing and attaching solar modules. The project is being run by AES Corp., a Virginia-based utility and power generation company.
In the episode, Asami explains how the robot uses AI to improve its own performance, how it is changing the way solar is installed and the broader implications of AI and automation in the energy transition.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications. Veteran journalists Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall co-host the show, which routinely features regular correspondents Camilla Naschert and Camellia Moors.
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This week on Energy Evolution we hear from Lord Adair Turner, British businessman and former chairman of the UK Financial Services Authority.
Turner is now heading up the Energy Transitions Commission, an industrial collective. He tells Taylor Kuykendall and Camilla Naschert about the risks he sees for America's climate goals if Donald Trump is re-elected, the challenges of deindustrialization in Europe and why a carbon border is needed.
Turner also argues that concerns over dependence on Chinese cleantech are overblown and that AI datacenters may need regulatory guardrails.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications. Veteran journalists Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall co-host the show, which routinely features regular correspondents Camilla Naschert and Camellia Moors.
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Solar power is the fastest growing source of electricity in the US. But as adoption of solar and other renewable power generation grows, developers are facing new realities when it comes to financing projects and setting expectations about their returns.
In this episode, guest Sheldon Kimber, founder and CEO of independent power producer Intersect Power, speaks with correspondent Camellia Moors about the business case for solar power development in the US, some of the policies surrounding the industry, and solar power’s role in the US energy transition.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications. Veteran journalists Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall co-host the show, which routinely features regular correspondents Camilla Naschert and Camellia Moors.
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“Green steel” is becoming an increasingly desirable product around the world as more end users establish decarbonization goals and legislation like the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) goes into effect. But with no single definition, steel market participants are having to come up with their own standards as they pursue lower-carbon steelmaking.
In this episode, Laura Varriale, managing editor of the ferrous metals team, EMEA, at S&P Global Commodity Insights and Guido Kerkhoff, management board chairman and CEO of the European unit of German steel service company Klöckner & Co., talk about the state of the European and US green steel markets, challenges and advancements, and how steel trading might be affected by CBAM and the decarbonization drive.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications. Veteran journalists Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall co-host the show, which routinely features regular correspondents Camilla Naschert and Camellia Moors.
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Vacuuming CO2 out of the atmosphere may be possible, but at a cost of nearly $1,000 per metric ton of carbon captured and stored. Nevertheless, direct air capture is attracting serious investment from the US government, oil and gas companies and Microsoft. In this episode of Energy Evolution, hosts Taylor Kuykendall and Dan Testa and reporter Siri Hedreen discuss what the public and private sectors are doing to make this nascent technology a large-scale commercial reality.
First, they hear from the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Sasha Mackler on why direct air capture is a worthy investment, and why now. Next, Heirloom Carbon Technologies’ Max Scholten tells S&P Global Commodity Insights what the company is doing to lower the cost of carbon removal. Scholten also explains how clean electricity is a limiting factor, and how Heirloom’s technology design attempts to solve for the intermittency of wind and solar energy.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications. Veteran journalists Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall co-host the show, which routinely features regular correspondents Camilla Naschert and Camellia Moors.
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In this episode of Energy Evolution, host Taylor Kuykendall and S&P Global Commodity Insights climate and energy reporter Karin Rives discuss the increasing involvement of state lawmakers in electric utility regulations and their impact on the power industry and ratepayers.
Guests on today's show are Lillian Federico, a research director with Commodity Insights, California state Senator Josh Becker and Paul Alvarez with the consulting firm Wired Group.
They highlight how the energy transition and concerns over climate change have prompted lawmakers to shape energy policy, disrupting the traditional relationship between regulators, politicians and ratepayer advocates.
The episode explores various cases where legislators have pushed for utility investments, resulting in unintended consequences and financial burdens for ratepayers. It also examines the challenges of regulatory lag and the uncertainty created by swings in policy.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications. Veteran journalists Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall co-host the show, which routinely features regular correspondents Camilla Naschert and Camellia Moors.
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In this episode of the Energy Evolution podcast, host Taylor Kuykendall interviews William "Bill" Daley, who was White House Chief of Staff under President Barack Obama and Commerce Secretary during the administration of President Bill Clinton. Daley joined Taylor to discuss the role of climate technologies in driving economic growth and job creation. Daley explained the work of Crux Climate, a sustainable finance technology company, and how they facilitate the transferability of energy credits. He also emphasized the need for government support and investment in advanced manufacturing and new energy sources. Daley also highlighted the opportunities for economic development in various sectors, including solar, wind, batteries, hydrogen and nuclear energy. Daley also addressed the role of large organizations in the climate technology space and the importance of a balanced approach to energy sources.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications. The show is co-hosted by veteran journalists Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall.
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In this episode of Energy Evolution, host Taylor Kuykendall is joined by Tom Dichristopher, senior reporter at S&P Global Commodity Insights, to discuss the movement to ban new gas hookups and require all-electric construction for new buildings.
In 2023, a court struck down a gas ban in Berkeley, California, which was the first of its kind in the nation. The decision came as part of a legal settlement with the California Restaurant Association, and Berkeley will no longer enforce the ban while it goes through the process of repealing it.
The court opinion that led to the settlement is expected to set a precedent for other cities and counties in California and West Coast policymakers to reconsider their own gas bans and building electrification policies. Despite the repeal in Berkeley, many cities in California have implemented their own versions of gas bans, and there is still momentum to transition buildings away from natural gas in several states.
Local areas are exploring options to strengthen building codes and encourage electrification without violating federal energy laws.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications. The show is co-hosted by veteran journalists Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall.
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Electric vehicles are growing in popularity in the US, but purchasing one can come with a host of hurdles to navigate, from tax credits to charger availability.
In this episode of Energy Evolution, correspondent Camellia Moors interviews Bryan Birsic, CEO of Motor, about the challenges faced by EV drivers and headwinds to wider EV adoption. Backed by The AES Corp. and Mitsubishi Corp., Motor provides services designed to help drivers discover, switch to, and stick with EVs.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications. The show is co-hosted by veteran journalists Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall.
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Also known as 'forever chemicals', PFAS materials can be found in frying pans and rain coats, but also in hydrogen electrolyzers and batteries.
After a group of countries proposed a ban on PFAS chemicals in the EU in 2023, legislators are expected to restrict their use.
On this episode, correspondent Camilla Naschert hears from scientists Christina Jönsson (Research Institutes of Sweden) and Karsten Pinkwart (Fraunhofer Institut) about how this ban could work and what the energy sector now needs to consider in preparation.
Gerardo Familiar of chemicals giant and PFAS maker Chemours argues that the compounds are crucial for the energy transition and that a blanket ban has to be avoided.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to stay current on the energy transition and its implications. The show is co-hosted by veteran journalists Dan Testa and Taylor Kuykendall.
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