Notes from The FT Commodities Global Summit 2025: Uncertainty, Security and Opportunity

Over the past 50 years, nuclear’s share of global power generation has consistently failed to meet predictions. Now installed capacity is declining and the fleet is aging. Why? Have we seen “peak nuclear”? And what are the consequences for the power markets? Now, many see nuclear as having a key role to play in the energy transition, especially with the concept of Small Modular Reactors. Will this too fail to meet expectations? In this episode we look at the economics, technology and policy environment that has led to the stark gap between expectations of both, industry and the public, and the reality. Our guest is Mycle Schneider, an independent nuclear policy analyst and advisor to governments, parliamentarians, think tanks, and the media. Mycle is the coordinator and publisher of the annual World Nuclear Industry Status Report  (WNISR). To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insider To connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

19 Tammi 202259min

PPAs unlocked the power of renewables leading to the sectors incredible rise over the past decade. These long term agreements, primarily selling the power to utilities, provided the foundation for a whole slate of new developers to create wind and solar farms across Europe and US. Everything worked well in a decade of low prices and low volatility. Then came 2021 and these long term PPAs created an existential risk to certain participants. Utilities have faced huge margin calls to manage their exposure to hedged PPAs warehoused on their balance sheets. What is the history of the PPA? What do the events of 2021 mean for the PPA going forwards? How will their structure and tenure change in response? And what will it do to the appetite of buyers and what will that mean for the renewable power industry? Our guest is Werner Trabesinger, Head of Quantitative Analytics at Pexapark, a software company enabling market players to sell, manage and buy renewable power. To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insider To connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

12 Tammi 202251min

Fertilizers sit at the very heart of the commodities world. Their components are both mined and derived from hydrocarbons while their use underpins the agri sector. A truly global commodity but dominated by a handful of producers and traders. After a decade of low prices, last year saw prices quadrupled driven by energy price rises, shipping disruption and demand increase. What is the market structure? What does this all mean for market participants? Will fertilizers finally get a vibrant derivatives market? How will governments react to a prolonged price increase? What technologies might disrupt this sector? Our guest is Andres Santacruz, Head of Business Development for Fertilizers, Latin America and 10 year veteran in fertilizer trading. To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insiderTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

5 Tammi 202250min

In this special end of year episode, host Paul Chapman reviews some of the major themes of 2021 covered in the podcast and comments on the plans for 2022. To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insiderTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

29 Joulu 20218min

Ukraine was the breadbasket and the energy engine for the Soviet Union. It was also the main energy transit route connecting the East to Europe. Now, after years of underinvestment in production it faces an energy deficit, and due to the uncertain political and security environment its role of gas transistor is rapidly disappearing. How can Ukraine meet its energy shortfall? What is the opportunity to invest in the Ukraine in this sky high energy price environment? What is the political environment inside the country and what do Ukrainians make of the Russian threat. To give us an independent overview of Ukraine and its energy sector is Robert Bensh. Robert is an independent oil and gas executive with 20 years experience operating in Ukraine.  To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insiderTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

22 Joulu 202139min

There is a fundamental mismatch between forecasted demand and supply for those metals vital for energy transition and EVs. What are the supply challenges? And what are the solutions, if stated goals and public demand are to be met? What roles will policy, investment and market solutions play and how can the metal producers, traders and consumers prepare and profit from what will undoubtedly be one of the biggest stories in commodities over the next decade. Our guest, Chris Berry, founder of House Mountain Partners, a battery metal advisory firm, takes on this challenging subject.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insiderTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

15 Joulu 202147min

Technology is revolutionizing agriculture and its markets. Over the last two decades, rapid strides have been made in the business of farming. Genetics is de-commoditizing crops; in the future, constituent yields of oils and proteins will be far more likely to drive pricing than crop itself. Automation of planting, plant care and harvesting is boosting yield. Both technologies are tackling sustainability and driving the drastic reinvention of farm equipment and practices. At the heart of all this lies data. Across the globe, planting and yield data is being collected, uploaded and analyzed. How this data is owned and used could transform the agri commodity markets. Think crop reports on a real time, global basis. To guide us through this quiet revolution is Barrett Barr, Global Head of Business Development, Seeds for Syngenta and former strategist, technologist and economist for John Deere. To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insiderTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

8 Joulu 202141min

Emerging technologies, such as blockchain and artificial intelligence are unlocking the capacity to efficiently trace, track and share ownership of physical assets at a granular level. Digitalization not only provides the ability to interconnect entire value chains from origin through to trading but can also give commodities utility as a form of payments. Could commodities become new currencies, powering circular economies that de-risk all participants? Could the future take us back to a barter economy where the value of one digital asset is exchanged for the value of another? Our guest in this episode is pioneering just this concept. Brent de Jong is the Chairman of Emergent Technology & Payments which has launched G-Coin©, a digital gold token that can be used to save, send, and spend Responsible Gold™ - an idea that conceptually could be applied to all physical commodities. Brent is also the Managing Partner of De Jong Capital, an investment firm focused on the commodities world. To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcgroup.global/hc-insiderTo connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

1 Joulu 202152min