Clean Energy Transition

#Batteries are starting to dominate the evening peak in California's grid, charging up with daytime solar then discharging as solar ramps down. On 5th April they set another new record for share of supply, peaking at over 34% at 7pm. This represents a rapid progression - two years ago the record was just 13%. And they remained the largest source of supply on the grid from 6:35pm until 9:40pm. As more and more battery storage enters the mix, batteries will continue to play an increasing role in the state's grid, and continue to break more records. They are flexible and extremely quick to respond. By charging in the middle of the day they are soaking up excess solar and are then putting this to good use later, reducing the need for gas and imports in the nighttime hours. From just 0.5 GW in 2018, by late 2024 California already had over 13 GW of battery storage capacity, with more on the way. While that may sound like a lot, there is still some way to go with the California Energy Commission estimating the state will need around 52 GW of battery storage to meet it's 2045 target of getting all its power from carbon-free sources. Batteries will play an important role in the decarbonised grid of the future. As prices continue to fall we will see more and more batteries deployed, and are certainly seeing this happen in Australia - especially Western Australia. We are just on the cusp of much more widespread adoption. Onwards and upwards! #energy #sustainability #renewables #energytransition

Critical Minerals and their importance to Energy Transitions. The demand for critical minerals is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, as the energy transition accelerates. This could lead to supply shortages and price volatility, which could threaten the success of the transition. There are a number of things that can be done to address the challenge of critical minerals for the energy transition. These include: ● Recycling: Critical minerals can be recycled from old products, which can help to reduce demand for new minerals. ● Increasing production: Governments and companies can work to increase the production of critical minerals, both domestically and internationally. ● Developing new technologies: New technologies could reduce the demand for critical minerals in some applications. ● Building a more secure supply chain: Governments and companies can work to build a more secure supply chain for critical minerals, by diversifying sources of supply and reducing reliance on countries with unstable political environments. The energy transition is a complex challenge, but it is essential to addressing climate change. Critical #minerals play a vital role in this transition, and we need to take steps to ensure that there is a secure and sustainable supply of these minerals #energy #sustainability #cleanenergy #powergeneration #energytransition #environment #economy #future #impact #innovation #technology

We’ve called efficiency the unsung hero of the energy transition in the past. While the energy transition will happen first through the transition of energy usages, like the shift with transport, from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles, or from fuel or gas boilers to heat pumps, we cannot ignore the utmost priority of the energy transition: efficiency. Efficiency is the greatest path to reduce our energy use, our impact on the world’s climate through CO2 emission reduction, and very importantly, the best way to make solid and practical savings. In its most historical form, energy efficiency is about better insulation, to reduce heating (or cooling) loss in buildings like family homes, warehouses, office high rises, and shopping malls. This is useful, but expensive and tedious to realize on existing installations. Digitizing home, buildings, industries and infrastructure brings similar benefits at a much lower cost and a much higher economic return. The combination of IoT, big data, software and AI can significantly reduce energy use and waste by detecting leaky valves, or automatically adjusting heating, lighting, processes and other systems to the number of people present at any given time, using real-time data analysis. It also allows owners to measure precisely progress, report automatically on their energy and sustainability parameters, and benefit from new services through smart grid interaction. And this is just the energy benefit. Automation and digital tools also optimize the processes, safety, reliability, and uptime leading to greater productivity and performance.

NEW RESEARCH - WHY THE ENERGY TRANSITION IS DISRUPTIVE & COULD BE MUCH FASTER THAN WE THINK: The clean energy transition isn’t just about swapping out old tech for new—it’s a complex, non-linear process full of feedback loops, tipping points, and unexpected consequences. Our new “Systems Archetypes of the Energy Transition” brief is a must-read for anyone shaping policy, investing, or innovating in this space. Key takeaways: 1) Feedback loops drive change: Reinforcing loops (like learning-by-doing and economies of scale) have made solar, wind, and batteries cheaper and more widespread, often outpacing even the boldest forecasts. 2) Path dependence is real: Early advantages for a technology (think BEVs vs. hydrogen cars) can snowball into market dominance, making policy choices and timing critical. 3) Limits and synergies: As renewables grow, market dynamics like “cannibalisation” can dampen investment—unless we design markets and storage solutions to keep the momentum going. 4) Policy design is everything: Well-intentioned fixes (like price caps or broad subsidies) can backfire, while smart, targeted interventions can unlock positive feedbacks across sectors. 5) Tipping points and decline: The decline of fossil fuels isn’t just a mirror image of clean tech growth—it comes with its own feedbacks, risks, and opportunities for a just transition. The brief also offers practical guidance on using causal loop diagrams and participatory systems mapping—powerful tools for understanding and managing the complexity of the transition. If you’re working on energy, climate, or innovation policy, I highly recommend giving this a read. Let’s move beyond linear thinking and embrace the systems view—because the future will be shaped by those who understand the dynamics beneath the surface. This briefing was led by Simon Sharpe at S-Curve Economics CIC, Max Collett 柯墨, Pete Barbrook-Johnson, me at Environmental Change Institute (ECI), University of Oxford & Oriel College, Oxford & the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) and Michael Grubb at UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources.

Amid all the economic & geopolitical uncertainty, global energy investment is set to rise this year to $3.3 trillion. China is by far the world's single largest investor in energy, spending almost as much as the US & EU combined. Read more in the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s new report → https://iea.li/4kVvhkF Around $2.2 trillion is set to be invested collectively in renewables, nuclear, grids, storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency & electrification in 2025. This is twice as much as the $1.1 trillion going to oil, gas & coal. Explore IEA's World Energy Investment → https://iea.li/43FIxCN Global upstream oil investment is set to fall for the 1st time since 2020. The 6% drop is driven mainly by a decline in the US shale sector. By contrast, investment in new LNG facilities is on an upward trajectory, with new projects in the US, Qatar, Canada preparing to start up. Today’s investment trends clearly show a new Age of Electricity is drawing nearer. This year, electricity investments are on course to be some 50% higher than the total amount being spent bringing oil, natural gas and coal to market, accounting for over half all energy investment. In a worrying sign for electricity security, #investment in grids is failing to keep pace with spending on power generation & electrification. Maintaining electricity security requires investment in grids to rise towards parity with power generation spending by the early 2030s. Fierce competition is contributing to falling prices for solar PV & batteries – but electricity equipment costs are going up, with transformers & cables in short supply. Meanwhile, higher US steel & aluminium prices are pushing up costs for drilling & large engineering projects. Rapid growth in electricity demand is underpinning continued investment in coal supply, mainly in China and India. In 2024, China started construction on nearly 100 GW of new coal-fired power plants, pushing global approvals of coal-fired plants to their highest level since 2015. Investment in biofuels, biogases & low-emissions hydrogen is set to rise to a record high in 2025. But projects are facing headwinds given an uncertain policy environment and a number have been cancelled or delayed. Read the IEA's World Energy Investment 2025, freely available in full on our site → https://iea.li/43FIxCN And to learn more, join our Chief Energy Economist Tim Gould, lead report author Cecilia Tam & me for the LIVE launch event from 11:00 CEST → https://iea.li/4jup9yA

The weekend just gone showed interesting power flows across GB interconnectors, which were exporting power to France while simultaneously importing renewable power from Denmark and Norway. This exchange of energy has been driven by colder temperatures in France, and the strong availability of clean power in Denmark and Norway. Connecting Markets and Energy Security National Grid Venture's interconnectors play a vital role in connecting markets, including those that are not directly linked themselves. France does not have connections to Denmark or Norway, but at the weekend, our assets facilitated the transmission of clean power to the market that needed it the most. Green future As the power systems of Europe move towards achieving their net zero targets, we will see more instances of excess generation in one area and high demand in another. By leveraging interconnectors, we can ensure that we always take advantage of the wind blowing and the sun shining, with an efficient flow of energy between regions. The flows in and out of GB over the weekend highlight the crucial role that GB plays as a 'busbar of Europe,' facilitating the exchange of power between different countries and enabling the transmission of clean energy to the markets that need it most.

Have I mentioned we are data geeks?🤓🤓 Performance uncertainty remains one of the biggest barriers to wider uptake of #energy #efficiency technologies.💡 #Wind-assisted propulsion,💨 air-lubrication systems🫧 and other proven #retrofits can cut fuel use by double-digit percentages.📉 But real-world savings swing with weather, routing and operations. Without clarity on a retrofit’s actual contribution, neither shipowners nor charterers can forecast returns with confidence.🤷🏻♀️ And because we’ve always believed that #data📊 can give us the clearest truth, we set out to address this challenge.👊🏻 Our friends at Eastern Pacific Shipping Pte. Ltd. gave us access to the Pacific Sentinel, on which we installed a high-frequency data acquisition system as three suction #sails⛵️ were retrofitted onboard the MR tanker in March 2025. Calibrated sensors captured #power consumption, vessel speed, engine load, heading and wind conditions every 15 seconds. Over four months as the vessel traded spot around the Americas,🌎 we saw #weather and #performance at a fidelity far beyond the single daily datapoint in a noon report. Building on #ITTC and DNV methodologies, Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) and EPS implemented an “on-off’’ testing protocol,🎛️ comparing power consumption with the sails activated and deactivated under otherwise similar environmental and operational conditions to isolate the sails’ true contribution. Under the predominantly near-headwind conditions sampled, the vessel saw an average instantaneous power savings⚡️ of 7.2%, with a 95% confidence interval between 6.2% and 8.2%. Instantaneous savings ranged from +28% to –14%. These rare outliers highlight just how sensitive power savings are to wind speed and direction, and underscore the importance of tracking dynamic operational data.⚠️ Access report here:  https://lnkd.in/g_dRFtJp If we want to scale energy-efficiency retrofits, we must tackle performance uncertainty head-on. Shipowners won’t invest, and charterers won’t commit, if they can’t trust that the #savings will show up in their fuel bills.💵 We therefore developed a power savings polar heat map to predict energy and fuel savings with wind conditions. With 3rd-party verification, this will enable performance-linked financing of the retrofits.💰 This case study is but a first step in building that validation layer. And it ladders🪜 up to what we launched last week: #FEET — the world’s first blended-finance fund designed to support energy-efficiency retrofits through a pay-as-you-save repayment structure. Progress is incremental, and this marks a big step in the right direction.👊🏻 Together, we are stronger; together, we can💪🏻 Shane Balani, Zheng Yang Cheng 钟正扬, Bhushan Taskar, Goh Wan Ni, Pavlos Karagiannidis, Mirtcho Spassov, CFA, Mike Wilson, Rashim Berry, Cyril Ducau

The geography of energy is shifting, and Asia is at the tectonic centre of the change.    As the drama of the climate transition plays out across the world’s largest continent, you can see it first hand in entrepôts like Singapore, which I visited not so long ago. Around one fifth of the world’s energy and metals trade passes through the city’s port and financial markets, in part because the Asia Pacific region has dominated investment in critical materials over the last decade.  That strong demand follows the adoption of solar panels, electric vehicles, and battery storage, each of which depend on sourcing vastly more of the minerals required to build them: copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, aluminium, and rare earths. The average BYD or Tesla electric vehicle requires six times more mineral inputs than a conventional car.  Asia will need to import and extract these minerals in huge quantities to meet climate targets. Supply chains will reshape around the regions producing and processing these metals, many of which are geographically concentrated. Resource-rich Asian economies are using their deposits to drive growth.     Asian battery makers and miners are also developing advanced recycling techniques to meet this growth in demand more sustainably – by 2050 nearly half of all nickel demand could be met by recycled metals. One example is a company promoting sustainable solutions for lithium-ion batteries called Green Li-ion, so valuable materials within batteries can be reclaimed and reused efficiently. HSBC is supporting the Singaporean founded company through a green trade facility.   Indonesia has become the leading producer of battery metals, while Malaysia looks to benefit from rare earths investments. China is a dominant player, particularly in electric vehicles and the components of solar panels. As trade patterns evolve, producers such as Japan and the Philippines could play greater roles. Australia is already a commodities powerhouse and could become the world’s largest hydrogen exporter.    For many decades, exports of oil and gas shaped trade and geopolitics. In an era of energy transition, economies across the Asia Pacific region are primed to play a greater role. HSBC is primed to help.    #HSBC #climateaction #sustainability David Liao

I recently shared my perspective with The Economic Times that even as HVAC lines are being planned, High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) systems remain vital for long-distance transmission. Why does HVDC matter? Because it is the most efficient way to transmit electricity across long distances—especially power generated from renewable sources like solar and wind. India currently has 19,375 ckm of HVDC lines. By 2027, we need to add another 4,300 ckm. And this requirement will multiply as India accelerates its clean energy journey. This is why I believe prioritising and investing in HVDC infrastructure is key to unlocking the full potential of India’s renewable energy and enabling seamless transfer of green power across regions. The way we build our transmission backbone today will define how fast we reach our net-zero target in future. #CleanEnergy https://lnkd.in/dKKZnw6d

The energy transition is more than just a shift to renewables; it’s a total reinvention of our infrastructure, with electricity distribution networks acting as vital enablers of this change. Electricity is the best vector for decarbonization, and the world increasingly relies on it. Effectively these networks expand, must be capable of supporting renewable integration, but they must also be optimized for digital innovation, efficiency, and sustainability. This is where Electricity 4.0 plays a transformational role. The concept of Electricity 4.0 assumes massive electrification in tandem with deployment of digital intelligence within electric systems, turning traditional distribution networks into smart, responsive systems. These networks don’t just distribute power—they actively manage, monitor, and adapt in real-time, creating an energy ecosystem that is reliable, efficient, and more sustainable. One compelling example of making progress is the adoption of SF6-free medium-voltage (MV) switchgear. In our case it’s AirSeT. Let me recap how it fits into the bigger picture: 1. Integrating renewables at scale: Distributed renewables need robust networks to balance power flows dynamically and manage fluctuating demands. AirSeT is equipped with CompoDrive, 10x stronger than its predecessor to accommodate massively increasing switching requirements. 2. Optimizing energy management through digitalization: By embedding IoT and AI, we can achieve real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance, minimizing losses and boosting efficiency. Switchgear needs powerful digital capabilities to gather intelligence from the field. 3. Sustainable infrastructure with sustainable MV solutions: SF6-free minimizes CO2e footprints while ensuring network reliability. Each kilogram avoided means 24,300 kg of CO2e less in the networks. Operational life extended by up to 30% and no toxic byproducts of breaking support circularity. The journey toward a low-carbon economy demands more than just clean power generation; it requires revolutionary approaches to how energy is managed, distributed, and optimized. Electric distribution networks aren’t just supporting the transition—they’re driving it, like Drakenstein Municipality in South Africa. Let’s continue to lead this transformation, ensuring every step forward brings us closer to a resilient, sustainable energy future. Read this eBook to discover how SF6-free and digital solutions enable decarbonization and efficiency: https://lnkd.in/dGThND2Q #SF6Free #LifeIsOn #AirSeT