According to Clare Jackson, CEO of Hydrogen UK, delivering hydrogen projects can be likened to a game of Whac-A-Mole and in this episode of the Energy Transitions podcast, she explains why.

Hydrogen projects are easy to announce, but difficult to deliver, with early enthusiasm often giving way to the practical work of securing permits, financing, and securing infrastructure and regulatory approvals. Every hurdle exposes the next one, she explains. A project may overcome financing, only to face planning delays, for example.

However, says Jackson, this situation is not evidence that hydrogen has failed or that the sector has entered a repetitive cycle with no hope of growth. Rather, it reflects the complexity of building an entirely new energy sector, where technical, financial, regulatory and market challenges must all be addressed before projects become operational. And more importantly, it reflects a maturing sector moving from hype to execution.

Jackson emphasises that hydrogen, alongside carbon capture and electrification, will play a critical role in building a resilient, low-carbon energy system, if we can shift hydrogen through these “awkward teenage years”.

The United States is experiencing an unprecedented wave of electricity demand growth. While electrification and electric vehicles continue to contribute significantly, the rapid expansion of AI-driven data centres has introduced a new level of complexity. Facilities consuming hundreds of megawatts, or even gigawatts, of power are being developed on timelines far shorter than utilities have traditionally planned for.

This creates a mismatch between supply, demand and network capacity that manifests as grid congestion. In this episode of the Energy Transitions podcast, Pamela Largue speaks to Nick Chaset, CEO of Octopus Energy US, to learn more about how the grid congestion challenge should be tackled. He points to the expanding role of distributed assets such as energy storage and highlights the regulatory reforms needed to unlock smarter networks.

Chaset also asserts that while continued investment in generation and network infrastructure is critical, the reality is that building more assets alone may not be enough. The future grid will need to be smarter, more flexible and more responsive to survive the increasing demand loads we are expecting in the future.  

As governments grapple with volatile fossil fuel prices, supply disruptions and geopolitical uncertainty, is the renewable energy agenda being overshadowed by the growing focus on energy security?

In this episode of the Energy Transitions podcast, Pamela Largue speaks with Bruce Douglas, CEO of the Global Renewables Alliance, about why he believes today's energy security concerns are actually accelerating, not slowing, the shift to renewable energy.

He points to growing momentum across Europe and Asia, where policymakers are accelerating renewable deployment, electrification, storage and grid investment. In his view, renewables are now not only the cleanest option, but increasingly the fastest and most cost-effective way to add new generation capacity.

Industrial heat accounts for roughly two-thirds of energy use in manufacturing, yet it remains one of the least discussed challenges in the energy transition. 

In this episode of the Energy Transitions podcast, Pamela Largue speaks with Daniel Galis, Europe Director at the Renewable Thermal Collaborative, about the European Innovation Fund's €1 billion Heat Auction and its role in accelerating industrial heat decarbonisation.

Daniel explains how competitive auction mechanisms are being used to support renewable heat technologies, explores why electric boilers dominated the first funding round, and discusses the barriers facing heat pumps, geothermal and solar thermal solutions. 

He also highlights a critical challenge for Europe’s industrial future: high electricity prices.

Geopolitical instability, persistent fossil fuel dependence, and the need to maintain industrial competitiveness are forcing European policymakers and energy leaders to confront increasingly urgent questions about whether policies support or hinder energy security, resilience and decarbonisation.

In this episode of the Energy Transitions Podcast, Pamela Largue speaks with Marion Labatut, European Affairs Director at EDF, about the strategic choices Europe must make to remain resilient while accelerating its net zero ambitions.

Labatut believes one of Europe’s strongest strategic advantages lies in expanding the use of electricity across transport, buildings, and industry. To support this, she calls for Europe to “stay the regulatory course” and to ensure greater regional coordination to reduce overall system costs and improve grid efficiency.

In this episode of the Energy Transitions Podcast, Pamela Largue speaks with Dr. Dagmar Thien, Manager of Conventional Island Nuclear Power Plant Equipment at Siemens Energy, about the company’s long-standing role in nuclear energy and how it is supporting the current nuclear renaissance.

In this episode you will learn more about:

This episode is brought to you in partnership with Siemens Energy.

Fusion energy is moving from science fiction to commercial reality, driven by focused government strategies, increasing private investment, and a range of technological breakthroughs.

To identify the leaders in the race to harness this limitless source of clean power, Pamela Largue speaks with Andrew Holland, Chief Executive Officer of the Fusion Industry Association. Holland highlights the technologies showing the greatest promise, from tokamaks and stellarators to inertial confinement and laser fusion.

He explores the developments making fusion commercially viable and outlines what must happen next to ensure scalable supply chains, fit-for-purpose regulation, and public acceptance.

As the world grapples with an energy security crisis, Holland also emphasises fusion’s potential role in reducing countries’ energy dependence on one another — a key step toward separating energy from geopolitics.

Across Europe, increasing electrification and the rapid growth of distributed energy resources have pushed regulation and grid operations toward higher levels of visibility, coordination, and data exchange.

In Italy, a regulatory journey that began in 2018 has led to a framework that treats observability as a foundational capability for secure and resilient system operation. To learn more about this journey and how observability and controllability are reshaping grid operations, Pamela Largue speaks to Flavia Serri, Grid Solutions Engineer and Gianluca Sapienza, Head of Grid Engineering Services at Gridspertise.

Serri and Sapienza provide a system-level perspective on how regulatory vision can translate into real-world implementation at scale.

This episode of the Energy Transitions podcast is brought to you in partnership with Gridspertise.

Floating offshore wind may still be on the path to full commercialisation, but its strategic importance for Europe’s energy security is already undeniable. This emerging technology will be a critical tool to unlocking vast renewable resources in deeper waters, a tool that France, and especially the Occitanie region, is looking to harness through a series of technologically-advanced pilot projects.

However, technology alone won’t determine success. Building a resilient local value chain, one that delivers economic benefits, creates jobs, and fosters innovation, is equally critical. In this episode of the Energy Transitions podcast, Pamela Largue speaks with Marie-Laure Barois, Co-Founder and Spokesperson of Wind’Occ, and Senior Advisor in Marine Renewable Energies and the Blue Economy. Together, they explore what it takes to turn early-stage momentum into long-term industrial strength, from nurturing talent and advancing innovation to ensuring inclusivity and maintaining Europe’s competitive edge in a rapidly evolving global market.

In this Energy Transitions podcast, Lobna El Gammal and David Cashman of EY talk about how utilities can maximise preparedness for major events, the role digital technologies can play, and why there is no time to waste in doing so.

In this episode you will learn more about: