In our second podcast on geothermal, we delve a little deeper into some exciting projects in the UK, France and China to find out how they’re using geothermal to generate low carbon electricity, heating, cooling and maybe even zero-carbon Lithium.

Geothermal energy has been used commercially for way over 100 years and of course the Romans were renowned for their hot baths 2000 years ago. But modern geothermal energy is a rather more sophisticated beast. Generating low carbon electricity, heating and cooling from the heat beneath our feet is no longer restricted to geologically blessed areas. Geothermal is indeed hot! Hosted by Angela Lamont, technology journalist and featuring Ryan Law, Geothermal Engineering Ltd; Marit Brommer, International Geothermal Association; Jon Busby, British Geological Survey plus Nick Cameron and Mehdi Yusifov from bp.

From our main fusion podcast you will know that fusion is just really hard, although potentially miraculous in terms of working towards zero carbon. And it’s looking like those efforts are starting to pay off. This podcast delves into the different technology candidates that aim to solve the intractable problem of fusion.  Hosted by Angela Lamont, technology journalist and featuring Ian Chapman, UK Atomic Energy Authority; Mark Henderson, ITER; Nick Hawker, First Light Fusion; David Kingham, Tokamak Energy; Christophe Junillon, Atkins; and Bogdan Gagea from BP.  

To some fusion is a low carbon energy unicorn. You could spend all your life and all of your money tracking it, but you'll never harness it. To others, it's the solution the world has been waiting for. But the majority seem to neither know nor care what fusion is and it's high time that changed. Hosted by Angela Lamont, technology journalist and featuring Sir Steven Cowley, Princeton; Mark Henderson, ITER; Nick Hawker, First Light Fusion; David Kingham, Tokamak Energy; Christophe Junillon, Atkins; and Bogdan Gagea from BP.  

From bipedal walking to robot hands and even robots the size of a human cell – get an insight into the fascinating things robots can do, their role in the future energy system and how they could transform our lives in the future. Hosted by Angela Lamont, technology journalist, and featuring Rich Walker, Shadow Robot Company; Marc Miskin, University of Pennsylvania; Aaron D. Ames, Caltech; plus Morag Watson and Elinor Doubell from BP.

In this floating offshore wind special, we look at how this technology may unlock great potential in areas around the world that have great wind resources but where the coastal waters are either too deep or unsuitable for fixed offshore wind. Hosted by Angela Lamont, technology journalist and featuring Giles Dickson, WindEurope; Sarah Marshall, Atkins and Bruce Valpy, BVGA; plus Bogdan Gagea and Abigail Smith from BP.

Wind turbines have come a long way in the last 25 years and now they’re learning to float and fly in a bid to become a major player in the pathway towards the energy transition. Hosted by Angela Lamont, technology journalist and featuring Brian Case, GE Renewable Energy; Giles Dickson, WindEurope; Bruce Hall, ONYX InSight; Sarah Marshall, Atkins and Bruce Valpy, BVGA; plus Bogdan Gagea, Abigail Smith and Alistair Warwick from BP.    

Angela Lamont visits the Orkney Islands to find out first-hand how they’re pioneering the use of hydrogen for power, energy storage and marine transport to help decarbonize their community. Hosted by Angela Lamont, technology journalist, and featuring Neil Kermode and Caron Oag from EMEC; Adele Liddledale, Orkney Islands Council and David Hibbert, Orkney Marine services; plus Dan Walker from BP.

Blue, green or grey … find out about the different technologies and how the Orkney Islands are using it as part of their pioneering approach to zero carbon energy.  Could now be the time hydrogen comes of age? Hosted by Angela Lamont, technology journalist, and featuring Neil Kermode & Caron Oag, EMEC; Professor Nigel Brandon, Charles Purkess, ITM Power; Kobad Bhavnagri, Bloomberg NEF; Trevor Milton, Nikola Motor Company; plus David Eyton, Anri Cohen and Angelo Amorelli from BP.

Kurt Kelty was the first ‘battery person’ at Tesla and in this podcast special he shares his story at what was a ground-breaking time for both battery technology and Tesla.

In our second podcast on batteries, you'll hear some deeper insights on exactly how the technologies are evolving, how golf balls could hold the key to faster charging and how our idea of what makes a good battery may have been wrong all along.

What makes a battery a battery?  How is battery technology evolving to effectively store renewable energy and keep pace with the rapid rise in electric vehicles? What are the challenges … and will batteries ever be ‘up to the job’? Hosted by Angela Lamont, technology journalist, and featuring Logan Goldie-Scot, Head of Energy Storage, Bloomberg NEF; Kurt Kelty, Former Senior Director, Battery Technology, Tesla; Dr Doron Myersdorf, CEO & Co-founder, StoreDot and Mel Loveridge, Associate Professor, University of Warwick.  And from BP: David Eyton, Head of Technology; Dan Walker, Head of Technology Futures and Bogdan Gagea, Technology Futures Researcher.

What IS Perovskite and why have we never heard of it before?  Chris Case, CTO of Oxford PV looks at the huge potential...and limitations of this synthesized material which is hundreds of times more efficient at absorbing sunlight than existing silicon technology.

Has solar tech finally come of age?  What does going 'off grid' actually mean? Is ‘negative pricing’ for electricity an actual thing? And how does governmental policy affect new energy technologies? It’s all here...

Welcome to Technology Outlook podcast series 1.