Switched On

Asia has the biggest share of everything -- area, population, economic growth, and now, carbon dioxide emissions. Can Asia keep its pace of development while reducing CO2, or does it have to go dirty to get rich? This week on Switched On, we talk with Justin Wu, head of Asia Pacific for BloombergNEF, about Asia's three largest economies, China, Japan, and India, and BNEF's outlook for how they are approaching the energy and transport transition.

This episode is based on three reports:

• 2H 2019 China Market Outlook
• Japan to Take on Plastics But It’s Not Quite in the Bag
• New Energy Outlook 2019, section on India

BNEF clients can access these reports 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.

Solar thermal power plants can provide electricity when demand is most high, during the evening, or even all night long. This ability could become more valuable in certain locations as the amount of less consistent wind and photovoltaic solar power on the grid expands. This week on Switched On, we talk with Jenny Chase, head of solar analysis for BloombergNEF, about where this lesser-known renewable works, and doesn't, and how it fits into the energy mix of the future.

This episode is based on a report titled Solar Thermal Market Outlook 2019. 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 Obama-era Clean Power Plan is being cut out by the Trump administration. It probably doesn't matter so much because the U.S. power fleet is decarbonizing anyway. And cars are getting more fuel efficient, despite efforts by the federal government to roll-back regulations there as well. This week on Switched On, we talk with Ethan Zindler, Head of Americas for BloombergNEF, to make sense of what is going on in the U.S. in power, transport and climate.

This episode is based on reports titled Time Running Short for Trump’s Anti-Climate Agenda, and Democrats Go to Town on Climate.

BNEF clients can access these reports 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.

Oil has always carried with it the possibility of adventure and big wins to be had, and thereby a growth story for investors. Utilities, not so much. But we could be seeing the tables turn as there seems to be no shortage of oil, and the world is increasingly going electric. Could there be a swap of sectors in the dull club? This week on Switched On, we delve into that with Nathaniel Bullard, BNEF's Head of Executive Insights and author of a weekly opinion piece called Sparklines.

This episode is based on the weekly Sparklines series from Bloomberg Opinion, by Nat Bullard.

Or on Bloomberg Anywhere at NI BULLARD. 

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Governments play a role, but the private sector may hold the real keys to decarbonization. This week on Switched On, we talk with Kyle Harrison, a BloombergNEF analyst focused on corporate energy strategy, about companies increasing use of renewable electricity and the targets they're setting to cut down on carbon. 

This episode is based on a report titled 2H 2019 Corporate Energy Market Outlook. 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.

Ride-hailing, e-commerce, micro-mobility, robotaxis – each of these is or will chip away at the need to own a car. Will the day come when the car becomes obsolete? This week on Switched On we talk with Ali Izadi, BNEF’s head of intelligent mobility, about this and whether car sales will peak, or if they already have.

This episode is based on a report titled Peak Car? BNEF Light Duty Vehicle Outlook.

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.

As demand for lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and stationary energy storage increases, a lot more lithium, cobalt, and nickel will be needed. This week on Switched On we talk with Sophie Lu about BNEF's battery metals forecast to 2030 and some of the political, environmental, and economic challenges of getting these critical metals out of the ground and into the factory.

This episode is based on a report titled 2H 2019 Battery Metals Outlook: Demand Realities. BNEF clients can access this report on bnef.com or BNEF Mobile, or at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal.

If you want to read more about the Wedderburn meteorite mentioned at the top of the show, have a look here, or here. 

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hydrogen has been in and out of fashion several times over the years. But now its potential to decarbonize long-haul trucking, and industrial processes that have been hard to reach with renewables and batteries, mean hydrogen could be back for good.

This week on Switched On we'll kick off the discussion about hydrogen with some basics, and start to get into the economics. We'll open the discussion with Albert Cheung, Global Head of Research for BloombergNEF who will introduce the topic and why BNEF is looking at it. Then we'll go into further detail with Kobad Bhavnagri and Martin Tengler about a report they wrote titled Hydrogen: The Economics of Storage. This report is the first in a series BNEF is doing on hydrogen, and can be found at:

https://www.bnef.com/core/insights/21015

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.

Sure, a Tesla has zero tailpipe emissions, but it charges from the grid, and the grid is powered by coal, so it can't really be considered clean, right? 

Today on Switched On we talk with Logan Goldie-Scot, who leads energy storage coverage for BloombergNEF, and BNEF Energy Storage Analyst James Frith. We'll discuss the CO2 footprints of electric vehicles and the batteries that go into them. EVs generally produce fewer lifetime emissions than vehicles with internal combustion engines, but there's a bit of nuance to this. It turns out it matters a lot where you are. James and Logan will explain this and the findings that throw BNEF squarely into the debate about whether EVs are actually clean. 

This episode is based on a report titled Lithium-Ion Battery Manufacturing Emissions, which can be found at: 

https://www.bnef.com/core/insights/20953 

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.

Light-up your dryer, TV, dishwasher, microwave, air conditioner, and maybe even mine some bitcoin, all at dinnertime, because it's all-you-can-eat electricity. Today on Switched On we talk with Jame Sprinz, Head of Decentralized Energy for BNEF, about the raft of new business models being applied to retail electricity. Never think about your bill and don't want to? There's a company that'll help you do that. Want to take control of your bill to get the best price, or pool electricity with other solar panel owners in your neighborhood? Someone wants to help you there, too. James will walk us through these business models, the start-ups testing them out, and the incumbents scoping their next moves. 

This episode is based on a report titled Company Profiles: New Residential Retail Models that can be found at: 

https://www.bnef.com/core/insights/20973 

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

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.