Redefining Energy1 Sep 2025

193. The Seven Deadly Sins of the Energy Transition

Three wise men met and discussed the Seven Sins of The Energy Transition. Laurent, Gerard and Michael dissect seven sectors that have captured attention, investments and public money and are at best dead ends, at worst disasters waiting to happen.

Greed — “Subsidy Mining in a Lab Coat” (Carbon Capture & Direct Air Capture)
A capital-intensive detour that soaks up public money while delivering trivial abatement at extreme cost, great PR for incumbents, weak climate math.
Gluttony — “Three Kilowatt-Hours to Move One” (Hydrogen-for-Energy)
An energy-wasting appetite: make H₂ with clean power, then throw most of that power away moving, compressing, liquefying, and reconverting it—useful only in narrow industrial niches.
Sloth — “Always ‘On Time’ by 2040” (Small Modular Reactors)
Perma-prototype promises that stay years late and dollars short while wind, solar, and storage deploy at scale now.
Pride — “We Will Bottle the Sun” (Fusion Salvationism)
Technological hubris as strategy: a captivating physics quest, but not a climate plan for the 2030s. Invest in science, don’t budget on miracles.
Lust — “Drop-In Fantasies for Every Engine” (Biofuels-Everywhere)
The seductive promise of pouring yesterday’s fuels into tomorrow’s problems; keep them for hard-to-electrify edges, not as a universal fix.
Wrath — “Culture War at Sea” (America’s Offshore-Wind Own-Goals)
Ideological backlash, litigation, and policy whiplash torch viable projects and local supply chains while the rest of the world builds.
Envy — “Green Halo by Checkbox” (ESG Box-Ticking)
Chasing ratings and labels instead of real-world decarbonization and cash-flow-relevant risk; better to separate E, S, and G and measure outcomes

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(196)

237. Datacenters: "Let’s get Physical" with Quinbrook - Jul26

Gerard and Laurent first welcomed David Scaysbrook to the podcast in Episode 66, back in January 2022, for a conversation about the future of 24/7 power. Four years later, it felt like the right momen...

13 Jul 31min

236. The Bankability of Energy Storage (Solar Power Summit) - Jul26

In May 2026, our co-host Laurent Segalen had the privilege of chairing a high-profile panel hosted by SolarPower Europe at its annual Solar Power Summit in Brussels, one of the leading gatherings for ...

6 Jul 26min

235. European Sovereign Neocloud - Jun26

Gerard and Laurent welcome Michel Boutouil, co-founder and CEO of Polarise, a leading European AI infrastructure provider and NVIDIA Cloud Partner based in Berlin. After discussing about what happens ...

29 Jun 32min

234. Engie, the remarkable turn around (live from Eurelectric Power Summit) - Jun26

At the Eurelectric Power Summit 2026 in Helsinki, Laurent had the opportunity to sit down with Catherine MacGregor, CEO of ENGIE and Vice President of Eurelectric, for a wide-ranging discussion on the...

22 Jun 27min

233. To predict the future, “In BNEF we Trust” - Jun26

The International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) have made significant progress in recent years. Yet they remain largely top-down institutions shaped by poli...

15 Jun 28min

232. GB’s NESO: the “cool” operator - Jun26

Gerard and Laurent have the pleasure of welcoming Fintan Slye, CEO of NESO — Great Britain’s National Energy System Operator. In a lively and wide-ranging discussion, we explored NESO’s governance an...

8 Jun 29min

231. Car Wars: China vs. the West - Jun26

The global auto industry is splitting into two very different worlds — what legendary auto expert Michael Dunne calls “a tale of two countries.” Dunne, CEO of Dunne Insights LLC, has spent decades at ...

1 Jun 32min

230. The growing complexity of battery fleet management - May26

The BESS market is growing at a phenomenal pace. You would think battery management is becoming easier. The reality? It is becoming increasingly complex. Between data risks, a growing number of suppl...

25 Mai 30min