Switched On

To stay competitive in a world where commodity prices fluctuate and environmental pressures grow, for miners, going digital is no longer a question of if or should, but a question of when, or how. This week Switched On speaks with BloombergNEF Digital Industry analyst Danya Liu about recent advances in mining digitalization. She’ll walk us through the ways miners are incorporating sensors, robots, drones, and more to improve operational efficiency, conserve resources, and raise their bottom line.

This episode is based on a report titled Digitalization Strategies in Mining. BNEF clients can access this report on bnef.com or BNEF Mobile, or at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Switched On is hosted this week by Mark Taylor.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Generation oversupply, not enough transmission, and offtaker risk are just a few challenges facing clean energy developers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite these obstacles, projects continue to get built a faster rate than almost anywhere in the world. This week, Switched On speaks with energy analyst Antoine Vagneur-Jones, from BloombergNEF's EMEA team, about clean energy proliferation in this region, what's driving it, and what developers should pay attention to when exploring opportunities there.

This episode is based on a report titled Sub-Saharan Africa Market Outlook 2020.

BNEF clients can access this report on bnef.com or BNEF Mobile, or at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Switched On is hosted this week by Mark Taylor and Dana Perkins.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The growth of renewables and the fracking revolution has made for a lot of cheap energy in the U.S. and an energy landscape nearly unrecognizable from what it was a decade ago. This week, Switched On speaks with BloombergNEF's head of Americas, Ethan Zindler, about the changes we've seen in U.S. energy over the past decade, who is best positioned in the current market, and what to expect going forward.

This episode is based on a report titled Sustainable Energy in America Factbook 2020 done by BloombergNEF in collaboration with the Business Council for Sustainable Energy.

BNEF clients can access this report on bnef.com or BNEF Mobile, or at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal. This report is also available publicly at www.bcse.org.

Switched On is hosted this week by Mark Taylor.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Batteries are getting cheaper. This means more affordable electric cars, and wind and solar as a more viable option for round-the-clock power. This week, Switched On speaks with BloombergNEF's energy storage analyst James Frith about trends in battery pricing. We discuss results from the latest BNEF battery price survey, the future of battery pricing and technologies, and who is best positioned to win in this market.

This episode is based on a report titled 2019 Lithium-Ion Battery Price Survey.

BNEF clients can access this report on bnef.com or BNEF Mobile, or at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Switched On is hosted this week by Mark Taylor and Dana Perkins.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you fly more than you used to, or less? For most of the world, the answer is more, and it’s likely to be more for the foreseeable future. This week, Switched On speaks with BloombergNEF oil demand analyst David Doherty about aviation’s current and future demand paths. Expanding aviation means more demand for aviation fuel, but it also means additional airports, runways, and aircraft. There is increasing pressure to reduce aviation emissions, in a sector that for many reasons is extremely difficult to decarbonize.

This episode is based on a report titled Jet Fuel: Turbulence Ahead for Demand Growth.

BNEF clients can access this report on bnef.com or BNEF Mobile, or at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Switched On is hosted this week by Mark Taylor and Dana Perkins.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you noticed more electric vehicles on the road recently? How about charging stations? Well, you’ll probably see a lot more in 2020. This week on Switched On we talk with Colin McKerracher, who leads transport analysis at BloombergNEF, about his 10 predictions for EVs and mobility in 2020. The market will speed forward in 2020, but there are some twists and turns in the road ahead. The wide-ranging conversation touches on everything from EV sales projections, to charge-point proliferation and charging speeds, to advances in electric marine and air travel.

This episode is based on a report titled EVs and New Mobility: Trends to Watch in 2020.

BNEF clients can access this report on bnef.com or BNEF Mobile, or at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Switched On is hosted this week by Mark Taylor and Dana Perkins.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today less than 20% of plastic waste is recycled. This week on Switched On we talk with Ilhan Savut and Julia Attwood about chemical recycling, a new way to recycle. Instead of simply washing and melting down plastic, chemical recycling breaks plastics down into their most basic materials. Doing this opens up the options for using recycled plastic and has the potential to save a lot more waste from the landfill or the incinerator.

This episode is based on a report titled Chemical Recycling: Technologies, Costs and Capacity.

BNEF clients can access this report on bnef.com or BNEF Mobile, or at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Switched On is hosted this week by Dana Perkins.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Remember acid rain and worries about sulfur emissions from your car? Maybe. Maybe not. It was a long time ago that sulfur was regulated out of the gas you put in your car. Well those concerns are front-of-mind for the global shipping industry, which still relies heavily on high-sulfur fuel to move goods across the seas. On January 1, new regulations come into play that drastically reduce the amount of sulfur oxide ships can emit. This week on Switched On we talk with Richard Chatterton, who leads oil market analysis for BloombergNEF, about how shippers will meet the new standards, what the regulations could do for refiners, and what it all means for the rest of us.

This episode is based on a report series titled IMO 2020 Monthly. BNEF clients can access this report on bnef.com or BNEF Mobile, or at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Switched On is hosted this week by Mark Taylor and Dana Perkins.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In solar’s early days, getting electrons from solar panel to power grid was as much a financial as a technical challenge. Photovoltaic power cost more than conventional grid power, and so deploying it required government subsidy of some kind. Those subsidies could create a booming market, and gloom thereafter when subsidies expired. However, with more than a decade of decreasing costs and increasing efficiency, solar is now not just cheap enough to be viable - it is often cheaper than any other source of power in a given market. This competitive position is driving a boom in Spain, Portugal, and Italy. This week on Switched On we talk with Pietro Radoia about this coming-of-age for solar, and the challenges this boom brings.

This episode is based on a report titled Europe’s Subsidy-Free PV Market Takes Off.

BNEF clients can access this report on bnef.com or BNEF Mobile, or at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Switched On is hosted this week by Mark Taylor and Dana Perkins.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We use cobalt every day. It's in the lithium-ion batteries in our phones, and in the growing fleet of electric vehicles out on the road. But chances are more than good that at least some of the cobalt in your phone or EV is not ethically sourced. This week on Switched On, we talk with Kwasi Ampofo, a BloombergNEF analyst focused on metals and mining, about his recent travels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We'll hear about what he observed in the cobalt mines there, and what companies are doing to ensure ethical sourcing of this critical metal.

This episode is based on a report titled Solving the ‘Blood Cobalt’ Challenge for EVs.

BNEF clients can access this report on bnef.com or BNEF Mobile, or at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Switched On is hosted this week by Mark Taylor and Dana Perkins.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.