Power Plays
Claim This Podcastby Charlotte Kirk and Lucy Shaw
Podcast Overview
<p>Join us - Dr Charlotte Kirk and Lucy Shaw - as we dive into the tech, finance and politics powering the energy transition each week.</p><p>We'll unpack what happened, why it matters, and what you need to know.</p><p>With deep industry insights and unique insider knowledge, we'll keep you up to date with all the Power Plays. </p>
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
2/19/2026
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Recent Episodes
August 6, 2026
How Battery Swapping Could Transform Electric Trucking, with Will Rowe, CEO of Swaptopus
<p><strong>Recorded 3 August 2026</strong></p><p>This week, Charlotte and Lucy are joined by <strong>Will Rowe, Founder and CEO of Swaptopus</strong>, the joint venture between Octopus Energy Generation and CATL, building a battery-swapping network for electric HGVs across the UK and Europe.</p><p><strong>Story 1: Swaptopus & the future of electric freight</strong></p><p>Drawing on Will's experience in electrification and commercial transport, the discussion explores how battery swapping could accelerate HGV electrification across Europe. Topics include:</p><ul><li>⚡ <strong>Battery swapping for HGVs:</strong> Why Swaptopus believes swapping can reduce downtime, improve vehicle utilisation and overcome grid constraints compared with conventional charging.</li><li>🚛 <strong>Designing the optimal system:</strong> The trade-offs between battery size, charging infrastructure, battery inventory and European freight duty cycles, and how autonomous trucks could reshape vehicle architecture.</li><li>🔋 <strong>Battery stations as energy assets:</strong> How swapping hubs could participate in electricity markets through flexibility services, energy trading and capacity markets alongside freight operations.</li><li>♻️ <strong>Battery manufacturing & second life:</strong> Standardisation across truck manufacturers, European battery supply chains, and how retired truck batteries could be repurposed for commercial and industrial energy storage.</li><li>⚖️ <strong>Hydrogen vs batteries:</strong> Why battery-electric trucking has accelerated so rapidly, whether infrastructure risks becoming stranded, and why flexible infrastructure matters more than backing a single technology pathway.</li><li>📈 <strong>Demand-side electrification:</strong> Why governments have focused on renewable generation but paid far less attention to electrifying transport, heating and industry, and the policy changes needed to accelerate adoption.</li></ul><p><strong>Story 2: Andy Burnham, North Sea oil & climate leadership</strong></p><p>🛢️ Andy Burnham's comments on taking a more pragmatic approach to North Sea oil and gas prompt a wider discussion about energy security, affordability and decarbonisation.</p><ul><li>Should climate leadership be measured by reducing fossil fuel production or fossil fuel demand?</li><li>The role of gas in supporting highly renewable electricity systems.</li><li>Lessons from Norway and China, where fossil fuel production continues alongside rapid electrification.</li><li>The balance between industrial competitiveness, energy security and long-term climate goals.</li></ul><p><strong>Story 3: Could balcony solar be a game changer in the UK?</strong></p><p>☀️ The UK is set to legalise plug-in balcony solar systems, potentially opening rooftop generation to millions more households. We discuss:</p><ul><li>Whether balcony solar is primarily about electricity generation or consumer empowerment.</li><li>How consumer-owned solar could accelerate the adoption of batteries and flexible demand.</li><li>The role of distributed energy resources in the future electricity system.</li><li>How electricity pricing and network charging should evolve as more consumers become both generators and users.</li></ul>
July 31, 2026
What Miatta Fahnbulleh means for UK energy, with Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett
<p><strong>Recorded on 29 July. </strong>We're excited to welcome our <strong>second-ever guest host—and our first-ever triumvirate recording.</strong> Joining Charlotte and Lucy is <strong>Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett</strong>, former government advisor at the UK Deparment for Energy, Head of Renewable Delivery Policy & Strategy at DESNZ, senior energy adviser in Number 10 during the energy crisis, and currently a Policy Fellow at the University of Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy, and host of the Energy Revolution Podcast.</p><p>We unpack what the UK's new Energy Secretary means for the future of energy policy, why electrification and demand-side policy are becoming the next major challenge after years of renewable build-out, and how new proposals to reform grid connections could reshape the race to build AI data centres. We also explore whether the UK's successful Contracts for Difference model has reached its limits, before looking at what China's solar manufacturing glut and India's push for domestic production reveal about the trade-offs between industrial policy, energy security and rapid decarbonisation.</p><p>In this episode</p><ul><li>What Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh's appointment means for UK energy policy and the shift from generation to consumers</li><li>Why electrification, affordable electricity and demand-side policy are becoming the next frontier of the energy transition</li><li>The debate around locational pricing, grid reform and what really determines where major industrial projects get built</li><li>Ofgem's proposed grid connection fees for data centres and whether large electricity users should pay more for new infrastructure</li><li>Contracts for Difference vs corporate PPAs, and what the next phase of renewable deployment could look like</li><li>China's solar manufacturing oversupply, India's domestic manufacturing ambitions, and the balance between resilient supply chains and rapid deployment</li></ul>
July 28, 2026
Carbon Reimagined: eSAF Approval, On's Low-Carbon Running Shoes, CO₂ Electrolysis in India & Europe's €100 Billion Industrial Bet
<p>Recorded 23rd July: First Charlotte explores how carbon is shifting from being viewed solely as a waste product to becoming a valuable industrial feedstock. From sustainable aviation fuel and captured-carbon running shoes to low-carbon chemicals and Europe's latest industrial policy, the episode examines how renewable electricity and CO₂ are reshaping heavy industry, and what it will take to scale these technologies commercially.</p><p>Then Lucy discusses the first days of the UK's new government under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the appointment of Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh, and what their early policy announcements could mean for energy affordability, electrification and the UK's long-term transition away from fossil fuels.</p><p><strong>This week's topics include:</strong></p><ul><li>The ASTM approval of the methanol-to-jet (MTJ) pathway, creating a second commercial Power-to-Liquid route for sustainable aviation fuel alongside Fischer-Tropsch.</li><li>Why MTJ could lower the cost of eSAF through higher jet fuel selectivity and smaller, more modular production plants.</li><li>How captured carbon is being turned into high-performance running shoe midsoles through Infinium and On's new partnership.</li><li>Dioxycle's collaboration with Adani to produce low-carbon formic acid from captured CO₂ using electrolysis.</li><li>The European Commission's proposed €100 billion Industrial Decarbonisation Bank and Carbon Contracts for Difference.</li><li>Reforms to the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), including the expansion of carbon removals and new support for industrial decarbonisation.</li><li>The UK's new government, early energy policy signals, electricity affordability, North Sea oil and gas, and the future direction of UK energy policy.</li></ul><p></p>
23 total episodes available
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- What is Power Plays?
<p>Join us - Dr Charlotte Kirk and Lucy Shaw - as we dive into the tech, finance and politics powering the energy transition each week.</p><p>We'll unpack what happened, why it matters, and what you need to know.</p><p>With deep industry insights and unique insider knowledge, we'll keep you up to date with all the Power Plays. </p> - How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates daily.
- Where can I listen to this podcast?
This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
- Does this podcast accept guests?
Information about guest appearances is not available.
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