Rethink Energy Podcast Rethink Research

In this episode the Rethink Energy team discusses:




New Zealand has lifted its ban on offshore oil and gas exploration, with the government expecting $6 billion investment - a similar sum would build 1 GW of wind-solar for each million citizens.
GCL Technology is to build an FBR granular polysilicon factory in the UAE - one of several proposals from Chinese solar manufacturers made over the past 12 months. If they all go ahead, this future 'Gulf state solar industry' across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman would be big enough to supply the entire EU or US market.

In this episode the Rethink Energy team discusses:




The EU's adoption of the Net Zero Industry Act is still just a preliminary step, allowing national subsidies for manufacturing - we remain sceptical. Solar wafer production, for example, is better off under the low cost conditions of India.
Shell has contracted UK equipment manufacturer Ceres to develop a pressurized solid-oxide electrolyzer (SOEC), for use in high-heat industries - relying on free heat provision to sustain more power-efficient electrolysis.

In this episode the Rethink Energy team discusses:




The Biden Administration doubles down on solar tariffs - but the more important move to protect US solar manufacturing is a new round of Department of Commerce anti-dumping investigations.


Gotion has joined its fellow Chinese giants in releasing a fast-charging lithium iron phosphate battery, stating that this will deliver 500km range off a 10-minute charging time.
In the US, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) adoption will continue to languish until a political decision is made and EU-style minimum-usage targets are imposed.

Neil Spann, CEO of Power Roll, joins us to discuss the British startup's microgroove technology. The main development angle which the company is pursuing for these microgrooves is a unique photovoltaic cell-module architecture which can be used for thin-film solar - for now, that means perovskites. We discuss the state of the solar market, of the Building-Integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) sector, of perovskite adoption in general - and the specifics of Power Roll's technology and its plans for manufacturing scaleup and commercialization.

In this episode the Rethink Energy team discusses:


Several liquid carbon dioxide energy storage (LCES) projects have now come online in the past few years - with perhaps 1 GWh total worldwide of what may constitute a more efficient and powerful version of compressed-air technology.
Pink hydrogen production agreements have become a minor trend for scandinavian nuclear power plants. Nuclear's status as consistent green power which however can't easily load-follow and thus can end up as cheap "excess" power makes it a natural fit for electrolyzers, and Europe has a large nuclear fleet with many decades of potential lifespan remaining.

Philip Hodges, Country Market Director Energy UK at engineering and consultancy company Ramboll, joins us to discuss heat pump adoption in the UK - and related topics of building energy efficiency, district energy, and industrial decarbonization.