Without Metals, there is no Energy Transition EP. 297

This week on Energy Unplugged, Richard Howard, Aurora Energy Research's Global Research Director, is joined by Georgina Hallett, Chief Sustainability Officer & Head of Physical Markets at the London Metal Exchange (LME). The Energy Transition is often described as a shift from fossil fuels to clean electricity. But behind every solar panel, wind turbine, battery and transmission line sits another story - one built from copper, aluminium, nickel and other critical metals.

As governments and businesses race towards net zero, demand for these materials is surging. Yet growing supply is far from straightforward. The world needs more mining, more processing, and more investment, while simultaneously facing rising expectations around environmental performance, transparency, and responsible sourcing.

Richard and Georgina explore whether the energy transition is, in reality, a metals transition. They discuss the scale of the challenge facing global supply chains, the increasingly strategic importance of critical minerals, and whether security of supply, affordability and sustainability can all be achieved at the same time.

The conversation also lifts the lid on the hidden machinery of global metals markets. Georgina explains how the London Metal Exchange helps price and manage risk across some of the world's most important commodities, and why transparency is becoming a critical ingredient in the transition to a lower-carbon economy.

You will learn:

• Why metals are becoming one of the defining constraints - and opportunities - of the energy transition.

• Whether critical mineral supply can keep pace with growing electrification and net-zero ambitions.

• How sustainability standards, traceability and transparency are reshaping global metals markets.

• Why sustainable metals could increasingly command a premium.

• How critical minerals are becoming central to energy security, industrial strategy and geopolitics.