Switched On
by Bloomberg
Latest episode
The Energy Transition Has One Big Metal Problem
The Energy Transition Has One Big Metal Problem
About this podcast
The future of energy, transport, sustainability and more, as told by BNEF analysts. Each week, Dana Perkins and Tom Rowlands-Rees sit down with BloombergNEF (BNEF) analysts to uncover the key findings and stories behind their latest research.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 327 episodes
- The Energy Transition Has One Big Metal Problem · 30 minCopper could become the defining materials bottleneck of the energy transition. Demand is set to rise 60% by 2050, while declining ore quality and a lack of new mines threaten a…
- China’s Data Center Boom Goes Where Power Is Cheap · 26 minChina is steering its data center boom toward where power is plentiful and cheaper. National computing hubs are concentrating large projects in areas where land, electricity and…
- Lula's Next Test is an Energy Crunch: Analyst Reaction · 20 minBrazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will enter his fourth term with an energy system transformed by electrification. The country’s rapid wind and solar growth has…
- Europe’s Energy Strategy Faces the Cost of Dependence · 36 minEurope’s energy shocks have exposed the cost of energy dependence. The loss of Russian gas accelerated investment in renewables and liquefied natural gas, but high prices…
- Oil Shock Puts Heat Pumps in Play: Analyst Reaction · 15 minThe economics of heating your home are shifting. Whether a heat pump saves money increasingly depends on what heats your home, where you live and when you use electricity…
- Gas Turbine Makers Cash In on Global Power Rush · 33 minGas turbines are a hot topic. Orders for this critical piece of infrastructure are surging alongside rising power demand and the need to refurbish aging power plants. Data…
- Europe's Power Markets Face a New Balancing Act · 31 minEurope’s power mix is changing fast. Ample output from wind, solar and nuclear means that northwest Europe could require significantly less power from fossil fuels this winter…
- Where Transition Risk Meets Corporate Opportunity · 28 minThe energy transition is reshaping how companies make money. BNEF’s new Transition Risk and Opportunities Outlook models revenues for more than 70,000 companies as demand shifts…
- Water Stress Brings Risks for Thirsty Power Generators · 25 minPower plants have a water problem that’s getting harder to ignore. Coal, gas and nuclear facilities rely heavily on water for cooling, leaving some exposed as drought and heat…
- Global Gas Tug of War Is Brewing for Winter · 28 minEurope’s gas market is heading into winter with little room for error. Lower storage levels and disruption in the Middle East have left the region more exposed to weather and…
- Food and Farming Caught in Geopolitical Crossfire · 27 minNo country can feed itself entirely on its own. The global food system depends on a complex web of trade, not just for food but for fertilizer, animal feed, pesticides and labor…
- US Grid Ban Hits Batteries Hardest: Analyst Reaction · 17 minUS efforts to secure its power grid could come at a cost. A new executive order could restrict grid and power equipment supplied by companies tied to China, with batteries…
- BNEF Pioneers: Buses, Bioleaching and Better Batteries · 45 minSome of the most interesting climate technologies don’t fit neatly into a category. That is the idea behind the Wildcard entries in BloombergNEF’s annual Pioneers competition…
- Six Months In, the Iran War Redraws the Energy Map · 33 minThe Iran war is redrawing the global energy landscape. Six months of high oil prices and disrupted trade have strengthened the case for technologies that reduce reliance on…
- Turkey's Renewables Boom Has More Than Climate in Mind · 33 minTurkey is quietly becoming a renewables heavyweight. Rapid wind and solar deployment is helping the country meet rising electricity demand while reducing exposure to imported…
- States Put Data Centers on Pause: Analyst Reaction · 15 minAmerica’s data center boom is running into political resistance. Texas, New York and Pennsylvania are moving to slow or pause new projects amid concerns over electricity costs…
- EV Boom Changes Lanes as New Markets Take the Wheel · 32 minThe electric vehicle boom is entering a new phase. As China’s market matures and the US steps back from EVs, emerging markets are becoming the new hotspot for electrified…
- EU Electrification Push Lacks Pull: Analyst Reaction · 19 minEurope’s electrification ambitions are running ahead of its policies. The EU wants electricity to account for 46% of final energy consumption by 2040, but BNEF’s modeling…
- Offshore Wind Is Outgrowing the Boats That Build It · 27 minOffshore wind turbines are getting too big for the ships that install them. BloombergNEF estimates more than 30 gigawatts of offshore wind installations could struggle to find…
- Rhine Drought Drives Fuel Costs Up: Analyst Reaction · 15 minEurope’s energy supply chains are running out of water. Weeks of heat and drought have pushed Rhine water levels to exceptional lows, restricting barge traffic and sending gasoil…
- Battery Tax Credits Are Rewriting US Solar Economics · 28 minUS solar developers are building projects around batteries, not panels. Federal tax credits for energy storage are reshaping the economics of new solar projects, encouraging…
- China Builds Nuclear Power While the West Reinvents It · 40 minNuclear power is gaining momentum around the globe, but the industry’s path has diverged. China and India are rapidly expanding conventional reactor fleets, while the US and…
- Gas Is Letting Data Centers Grow Beyond the Grid · 29 minArtificial intelligence is heating up the race to build data centers, and with BloombergNEF projecting 194 gigawatts of demand by 2035, the biggest challenge isn't computing…
- AI’s Edge in Hurricane Forecasting: Analyst Reaction · 15 minArtificial intelligence is beginning to transform weather forecasting. New AI models are proving remarkably accurate at predicting hurricane tracks, in some cases matching or…
- Mexico's Energy Future Sits Between Two Superpowers · 38 minMexico is entering a pivotal period for its energy system. A new wave of reforms is opening the door to greater private investment in clean power, storage and grid infrastructure…
- How Bitcoin Could Save Texas From an AI Power Crunch · 34 minTexas is becoming a test case for one of the biggest questions facing electricity markets. As AI-driven power demand for data centers accelerates, grid operators are exploring…
- China Bets Big on Green Hydrogen: Analyst Reaction · 27 minChina is emerging as the standout exception in the global hydrogen market. While many countries are scaling back ambitions, Beijing has set a new target to increase green…
- The Hidden Economics of EV Charging Networks · 36 minWhat does it take to build an electric-vehicle charging network that really works? As EV adoption accelerates, charging operators are shifting from installing as many chargers as…
- Battery Boom Is Upending Australian Power Market Rules · 38 minAustralia is becoming a proving ground for the future of electricity markets. With renewables now supplying a large share of generation and batteries being deployed at…
- Defending the Power Grid in an Age of Digital Threats · 35 minAs power grids become more digital and interconnected, they are also becoming more exposed. Utilities are facing a growing mix of physical and cyber threats, from attacks on…
- How Super El Niño Hits Power Markets: Analyst Reaction · 18 minEl Niño has officially arrived, and there are concerns this time that the weather phenomenon might be more intense than most years, a so-called “super” event. With Pacific Ocean…
- Heat Pumps and the Economics of Clean Heating · 39 minHeat pumps are at a crossroads. After a decade of growth, global sales fell in 2025 as weaker construction activity weighed on key markets. Yet the longer-term picture remains…
- What Explains the Growing Divide Between Oil and Gas · 35 minGas and oil are on a sharply divergent path. In BloombergNEF’s Economic Transition Scenario, oil demand peaks before the end of the decade, while gas demand continues to grow as…
- China Data Signals Clean Tech Shift: Analyst Reaction · 22 minChina’s latest export data is offering an early glimpse into how higher fossil fuel prices may be reshaping trade in clean energy technology. Shipments of solar products…
- Wind Power Expands as Competition Heats Up · 36 minThe wind industry is entering a new phase of scale. Offshore installations are set to surge in 2026 as a new generation of massive projects comes online, while onshore markets…
- Japan Nuclear Revival Reaches Tokyo: Analyst Reaction · 13 minJapan’s journey back to nuclear power is entering a new phase. Fifteen years after the Fukushima disaster and the shuttering of the country’s nuclear fleet, the return of the…
- Hydrogen Moves From Hype Cycle to Hard Economics · 38 minHydrogen’s place in the energy transition is changing. After years of hype around its role in reaching net zero, many projects have been delayed or canceled as costs remain high…
- BNEF Tier 1 Lists: The Mark of Credibility · 25 minBloombergNEF’s Tier 1 lists have become a defining feature of the clean energy industry. Built on real project deployment data, they track which manufacturers’ products are…
- Data Centers and the Future of Energy Storage · 32 minThe AI boom is ushering in a new era for energy storage. As data center buildout accelerates, batteries are evolving from short-duration backup tools into larger, more flexible…
- Energy Strategy in an Era of Global Fragmentation · 24 minMiddle powers are navigating a more fragmented global order. As tensions rise between major economies, the countries caught in between are being forced to rethink how they manage…
- Hormuz Delivers an Aluminum Shock: Analyst Reaction · 10 minSevere disruption in the Strait of Hormuz is rippling far beyond oil markets. Around 10% of global aluminum supply is tied to the Middle East, and with exports constrained…
- Nuclear Fusion Powers Up for Commercial Breakthrough · 32 minFusion energy is entering a new phase. After decades as a scientific pursuit, the sector is attracting billions in private and public capital, with big tech, oil companies and…
- PJM Grapples With Data Center Load and Supply Gaps · 28 minPJM Interconnection is entering an era of explosive power demand. Home to a significant share of the world’s data centers, the largest US electricity market could soon be facing…
- Spanish Blackout Lessons One Year On: Analyst Reaction · 12 minIt’s been nearly a year since Spain’s catastrophic blackout and key questions remain. Post-mortem reports point to a complex chain reaction in the grid, with no single trigger…
- How Fuel Price Shocks Are Rewiring Clean Tech Trade · 37 minEnergy shocks don’t just move prices, they reshape trade. As oil and gas prices rise, countries reliant on energy imports are accelerating the shift toward clean technologies…
- Beyond Climate: The Rise of Nature Risk · 36 minNature risk is becoming a critical challenge for companies. It’s also incredibly complex. Exposure spans an array of largely local issues, from water and biodiversity to waste…
- Finding Opportunity in a Complex Energy Transition · 20 minThe energy transition is entering a more complex phase. Geopolitics, trade tensions and rapid technological change are reshaping markets, creating new risks as well as new…
- Clean Power Costs Split After Years of Alignment · 34 minThe cost to build and run clean-power projects used to be heading in one direction: down. That story is now getting more complicated. Battery storage costs continued to fall last…
- European Power Confronts Gas Shock: Analyst Reaction · 11 minOil and gas prices are rising again as the Iran war shakes global energy markets. But so far Europe’s power system is holding up better than in 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine…
- US Clean Energy Factbook: Generation Hits 20-Year High · 37 minThe US energy transition has hit an inflection point. Electricity generation reached a 20-year high last year, as renewables and energy storage accounted for 90% of new capacity…
