The Rt Hon. Chris Skidmore, MP: Can the UK retain a global leadership role in Net Zero?

This week we are partnering with General Index to share their episode which explores the market and pricing dynamics around SAF. We chose this episode as our Guest Podcast because of the links with co2 reuse, industrial decarbonization as well as the opportunity to host a discussion which was more focused on the economics of a key green product.  The aviation sector’s goal is to hit net zero by 2050 – and given the challenge of abating the sector, the potential for new, sustainable fuels is important.  This episode of The Price of Everything was introduced and presented by Neil Bradford and David Elward. It was produced by Andrew Wheeler at General Index, in collaboration with Sassy Clyde and Fraser Heanue of Janno Media. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, or if you have any ideas and would like to be involved in future episodes, then please get in touch. Show links: -          Learn more about GX and how they’re bringing robust, reliable price transparency to the world’s commodity markets.-          Follow David Elward of General Index on LinkedIn-          Learn more about SkyNRG and their role in the SAF Market-          Get in touch with Alex Cameron of Decarb Connect on LinkedIn if you’d like to guest host a podcast episode Learn about our Sponsor: Janno MediaMany thanks to our production partner and sponsor Janno Media for their support in delivering this podcast. They continue to facilitate great conversations that connect us with our audience, and their skills and expertise mean we can concentrate exclusively on generating great content to engage, inform and inspire. Want to learn more about Decarb Connect? Our global membership platform, events and facilitated introductions support the acceleration of industrial decarbonization around the world. Our clients include the most energy-intensive industrials from cement, metals and mining, glass, ceramics, chemicals, O&G and many more along with technology disruptors, investors and advisors.  Explore our Decarbonisation Leaders Network (DLN), where members share insights and experiences as they accelerate their net zero plans. Check out our full offering and learn more about our members, summits, reports and webinars.  If you enjoyed this conversation, take a look at the discussions about industrial decarbonisation taking place across our global event series. You could the community of leading decarbonizers at conferences in Berlin (June), Boston (Our TechInvest event in September), Toronto (November), the UK or Houston or at any number of meet ups, site tours and virtual meetings. 

In this week’s podcast, Bruno Fux joins Alex Cameron to discuss the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for decarbonisation in Vietnam, and specifically his plans for Siam City Cement. considering the country's commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. You’ll hear a comparison of Siam City Cement's initiatives vs those in regions benefiting from more robust policy incentives and will hear about the company's proactive steps towards lowering emissions and increasing circularity. Whether it's replacing fossil fuels, reducing the clinker factor in cement, or engaging with the next generation of sustainability leaders, Siam City Cement’s efforts represent a crucial pivot towards sustainability in a traditionally resource-intensive industry. Tune into this episode for insights into how Siam City Cement is not just adapting to but also shaping the industrial sustainability landscape in Vietnam. This discussion also provides insights into why, in future competitivity terms, Bruno and the leaders of Siam City Cement are pursuing sustainability and net zero targets, no matter how challenging the context.  Show links: -          Follow Alex Cameron on LinkedIn and find how to get involved with the membership and work of Decarb Connect-          Connect to Bruno Fux -          Learn more about the sustainability and co2 projects at Siam City Cement Learn about our Sponsor: Janno MediaMany thanks to our production partner and sponsor Janno Media for their support in delivering this podcast. They continue to facilitate great conversations that connect us with our audience, and their skills and expertise mean we can concentrate exclusively on generating great content to engage, inform and inspire. Want to learn more about Decarb Connect? Our global membership platform, events and facilitated introductions support the acceleration of industrial decarbonization around the world. Our clients include the most energy-intensive industrials from cement, metals and mining, glass, ceramics, chemicals, O&G and many more along with technology disruptors, investors and advisors.  Explore our Decarbonisation Leaders Network (DLN), where members share insights and experiences as they accelerate their net zero plans. Check out our full offering and learn more about our members, summits, reports and webinars.  If you enjoyed this conversation, take a look at the discussions about industrial decarbonisation taking place across our global event series. You could the community of leading decarbonizers at conferences in Berlin (June), Boston (Our TechInvest event in September), Toronto (November), the UK or Houston or at any number of meet ups, site tours and virtual meetings.  

Steve Meller, Founder and CEO of CH4 Global, joined Alex to talk about the scale up of his company which is focused on massively reducing methane emissions from cattle using a seaweed technology.  Steve Meller brings experience from the corporate, entrepreneurial and academic world to his leadership of CH4 Global – all are playing their part from the selection of the tech, the selection of the team and the essential core of a product that is commercially profitable from first sale. Listen to hear how Steve has led the scale up from research and lab development through their current project to construct their first commercial-scale facility.  Agriculture accounts for 12 gigatonnes of co2-equivalent methane – whether you’re focused on ch2 or co2, listen in to learn how CH4 Global is scaling and their focus on real impact tied to a strong commercial. Steve talks with Alex about their capital efficient approach focused on validating the science, demonstrating commercial-scale production, and ensuring positive economics for farmers. He also discussed strategic partnerships for further scaling, critical to accessing the global market for his product.  Key points of discussion: -        Selecting an approach, technology and team that can deliver an outsized impact by 2030-        Building a cost-effective and profitable platform without subsidies-        Scalability of on-land production of seaweed-        Timeline to their first commercial facility to be completed in 2024 You’ll also hear how CH4 Global raised $55M to date through angel, seed, and venture funding and their next steps in terms of funding rounds.  Show links: -        Follow Alex Cameron on LinkedIn and find how to get involved with the membership and work of Decarb Connect-        Connect to Steve Meller and the work of CH4 Global-        Learn about CH4’s work so far and their great video overviews of methane and the agricultural climate issue Learn about our Sponsor: Janno MediaMany thanks to our production partner and sponsor Janno Media for their support in delivering this podcast. They continue to facilitate great conversations that connect us with our audience, and their skills and expertise mean we can concentrate exclusively on generating great content to engage, inform and inspire. Want to learn more about Decarb Connect? Our global membership platform, events and facilitated introductions support the acceleration of industrial decarbonization around the world. Our clients include the most energy-intensive industrials from cement, metals and mining, glass, ceramics, chemicals, O&G and many more along with technology disruptors, investors and advisors.  Explore our Decarbonisation Leaders Network (DLN), where members share insights and experiences as they accelerate their net zero plans. Check out our full offering and learn more about our members, summits, reports and webinars.  If you enjoyed this conversation, take a look at the discussions about industrial decarbonisation taking place across our global event series. In 2024 you could join us at conferences in Manchester, Houston, Berlin (June), Toronto (November) or at any number of meet ups, site tours and virtual meetings.    

 India’s watershed moment in climate-terms was the Paris COP where commitments were made on co2 sequestration, co2 intensity and renewables. More recently at COP Last year more commitments were made including hitting Net Zero by 2070.  India is a developing industrial nation that needs to balance the right of a population to seek better overall living standards but which also needs to find the right response to internal and external calls for supporting its own industrials as they decarbonize.  Post-CBAM, discussions are ongoing about the nature of a carbon market or more carbon regulations – and from Decarb Connect’s own experience, there are also highly motivated steel and cement organisations in India that are proactively trying to find routes forward.  Join Alex Cameron, CEO of Decarb Connect, as she talks with Jai Asundi, the Executive Director of CSTEP Centre for study of science, technology and policy). They explore the opportunities for domestic and foreign investment around the energy and decarbonisation transition – but also the unique challenges and landscape of India and how this alters the priorities being set.  Key discussion points: -          What will future electricity and co2-intensive materials demand look like in a nation that is on an economic and consumer-expectations journey?-          What kind of production-linked incentives are going to drive the tech ecosystem in India?-          What are the opportunities around pilots of critical tech for both domestic and international industrials?-          How are the CBAM headwinds driving policy discussions and planning?-          How will India’s unique approach to expanding renewables open up opportunities for investors and others in this energy transition?-          The two big climate commitments in india are net zero emissions by 2070 and meeting fifty percent of electricity requirements from renewable energy sources by 2030o   What are the practical implications for these targets (land use, water, carbon capture)o   What could this mean for a developing economy and how people will live?o   What is the size of the opportunity?o   What are the technology and alternative material requirements developing  Show links: -          Follow Alex Cameron on LinkedIn and find how to get involved with the membership and work of Decarb Connect-          Connect to Jai Asundi and the work of CSTEP-          Read up on CSTEPS report in the Energy and Emissions Implications for a Desired Quality of Life in India-          Take a look at CSTEP’s No Silver Bullet report, exploring the route and reality of achieving Net Zero in India Learn about our Sponsor: Janno MediaMany thanks to our production partner and sponsor Janno Media for their support in delivering this podcast. They continue to facilitate great conversations that connect us with our audience, and their skills and expertise mean we can concentrate exclusively on generating great content to engage, inform and inspire. Want to learn more about Decarb Connect? Our global membership platform, events and facilitated introductions support the acceleration of industrial decarbonization around the world. Our clients include the most energy-intensive industrials from cement, metals and mining, glass, ceramics, chemicals, O&G and many more along with technology disruptors, investors and advisors.  Explore our Decarbonisation Leaders Network (DLN), where members share insights and experiences as they accelerate their net zero plans. Check out our full offering and learn more about our members, summits, reports and webinars.  If you enjoyed this conversation, take a look at the discussions about industrial decarbonisation taking place across our global event series. In 2024 you could join us at conferences in Manchester, Houston, Berlin (June), Toronto (November) or at any number of meet ups, site tours and virtual meetings.  

 CCS drives discussion whether you’re for it, against it or just hope it’s a solution you’ll be able to use. In this episode, Alex Cameron talks with Malc Kent to get to the heart of the questions that industrial members of the Decarbonization Leaders Network ask, specifically: o   What do we really know about the safety and security of long term underground storage?o   Are we learning much from previous project successes, failures or issues?o   Could industrials store co2 underground on or in close proximity to their sites?o   How do the costs of an average CCS project breakdown? How does MK see this changing over the next decade as more projects come on line? More than this, you’ll hear Malc’s view on the emerging global locations that have momentum when it comes to Co2 storage and what CGG are doing to join the dots of the value chain and participants in this nascent market. You’ll also hear about the timeline and big steps needed to get to a fully functioning market place for co2 storage. No industrial thinks CCS is their sole solution, but with many in energy-intensive sectors looking to the technology as a pillar of their multi-stranded (and multi-location) roadmap these are essential discussion points.  Show Links: ·         Learn more about Malc Kent and the work of CGG around the world·         Connect with Alex to suggest a guest or to talk about what you’re hearing on the podcast (or simply to learn more about Decarb Connect)·         Explore our upcoming events in the US, UK, Europe, Canada and more Learn about our Sponsor: Janno MediaMany thanks to our production partner and sponsor Janno Media for their support in delivering this podcast. They continue to facilitate great conversations that connect us with our audience, and their skills and expertise mean we can concentrate exclusively on generating great content to engage, inform and inspire. Want to learn more about Decarb Connect? Our global membership platform, events and facilitated introductions support the acceleration of industrial decarbonization around the world. Our clients include the most energy-intensive industrials from cement, metals and mining, glass, ceramics, chemicals, O&G and many more along with technology disruptors, investors and advisors.  Explore our Decarbonisation Leaders Network (DLN), where members share insights and experiences as they accelerate their net zero plans. Check out our full offering and learn more about our members, summits, reports and webinars.  If you enjoyed this conversation, take a look at the discussions about industrial decarbonisation taking place across our global event series. In 2024 you could join us at conferences in Manchester (February), Houston (March), Berlin (June), Toronto (November) or at any number of meet ups, site tours and virtual meetings.   

This episode steps back to the early innovation cycle that is still needed to accelerate industrial decarbonisation. Bruce Adderley joins the podcast to explore how the £66m of the TFI Challenge in the UK has had an amplified effect, securing £200m+ of co-investment for collaborations across steel, cement, chem, glass and more of the foundation industries.  Whether you are UK-based or not, listen in these takeaways including: -          How govt grants can be used to drive novel interventions in our oldest industries-          How collaboration across industry, rather than siloed grant allocations, was the secret to successful projects and scaling of innovative tech-          How the investor partnering programme secured co-investments from entities including HG investors, the Clean Growth Fund, SpeedInvest Industry, Turquoise International and Midven Limited You’ll also hear about two specific projects the Challenge ignited: -          Cement 2 Zero (reuse of end of life cement in electric arc furnaces)-          Rectify (a circular supply chain developing high-quality grades of recycled steel for the production of low carbon ‘green steel’)UK-based? This is also a great opportunity hear about how tax payer money has been put to use in ways that are leading to further co investments in decarb, new facilities and city regeneration.  Based outside the UK? Listen in and share this with policy makers/influencers and those trying to spark decarbonisation projects with seed capital elsewhere in the world.  Don’t forget – you can meet Bruce and learn about another project in the challenge that involves Unilever at our Decarb Connect UK event in Manchester from February 27-29. Show Links: ·         Learn about Bruce Adderly and UKRI’s Transforming Foundation Industries Challenge ·         Learn more about the TFI Co-Investor Partner Programme·         Read up on the Rectify project and watch a video about Cement2Zero ·         Connect with Alex to suggest a guest or to talk about what you’re hearing on the podcast (or simply to learn more about Decarb Connect)·         Explore our upcoming events in the US, UK, Europe, Canada and more  Learn about our Sponsor: Janno MediaMany thanks to our production partner and sponsor Janno Media for their support in delivering this podcast. They continue to facilitate great conversations that connect us with our audience, and their skills and expertise mean we can concentrate exclusively on generating great content to engage, inform and inspire. Want to learn more about Decarb Connect? Our global membership platform, events and facilitated introductions support the acceleration of industrial decarbonization around the world. Our clients include the most energy-intensive industrials from cement, metals and mining, glass, ceramics, chemicals, O&G and many more along with technology disruptors, investors and advisors.  Explore our Decarbonisation Leaders Network (DLN), where members share insights and experiences as they accelerate their net zero plans. Check out our full offering and learn more about our members, summits, reports and webinars.  If you enjoyed this conversation, take a look at the discussions about industrial decarbonisation taking place across our global event series. In 2024 you could join us at conferences in Manchester (February), Houston (March), Berlin (June), Toronto (November) or at any number of meet ups, site tours and virtual meetings.  

 If you’re an industrial or an investor exploring the Carbon Capture space, listen in to this conversation with Erica Nemser, CEO of Compact Membrane System, and Alex Cameron, CEO of Decarb Connect. You’ll hear about the growing ecosystem, types of point source carbon capture technology – and also will get the inside story on how CMS is scaling its solution and business. Erica brings a background as an economist and a former McKinsey leader to her leadership of CMS and has scaled the company from a research lab to a commercially-driven, profitable, and market-making company. You’ll explore the ecosystem of technologies and where CMS’s membrane solution sits. We also explore key demonstration projects with Voestalpine and RHI Magnesita, including a look at how different streams of CO2 impact the choice of technology and partner. Show Links: ·         Learn about Compact Membrane Systems (CMS) and their plans·         Connect with Erica Nemser at CMS·         Connect with Alex to suggest a guest or to talk about what you’re hearing on the podcast (or simply to learn more about Decarb Connect)·         Explore our upcoming events in the US, UK, Europe, Canada and more·         Find out about the Verbund X accelerator  Learn about our Sponsor: Janno MediaMany thanks to our production partner and sponsor Janno Media for their support in delivering this podcast. They continue to facilitate great conversations that connect us with our audience, and their skills and expertise mean we can concentrate exclusively on generating great content to engage, inform and inspire. Want to learn more about Decarb Connect? Our global membership platform, events and facilitated introductions support the acceleration of industrial decarbonization around the world. Our clients include the most energy-intensive industrials from cement, metals and mining, glass, ceramics, chemicals, O&G and many more along with technology disruptors, investors and advisors.  Explore our Decarbonisation Leaders Network (DLN), where members share insights and experiences as they accelerate their net zero plans. Check out our full offering and learn more about our members, summits, reports and webinars.  If you enjoyed this conversation, take a look at the discussions about industrial decarbonisation taking place across our global event series. In 2024 you could join us at conferences in Manchester (February), Houston (March), Berlin (June), Toronto (November) or at any number of meet ups, site tours and virtual meetings.    

 Team Pennsylvania (Team PA) has 27 years of history as a non-partisan organisation convening public-private partnerships are critical economic opportunities.  Abby Smith joins Alex to talk about what the role of neutral convener can do to accelerate non-partisan pathways around decarbonization (and other issues) and just what it is that they do to bring vastly different voices to the table to work out how to get great outcomes for Pennsylvania as a state.  Given that the state is the US’s second biggest energy producer and a major energy exporter, it is key for the country as well as the state that a strong future with great jobs and a strong economy can be defined. But just how does a “fossil fuel state” create this future given the real range of voices and concerns that need navigating? Listen in and hear about how Team PA sets a table that can bring all relevant voices together, how to get all groups focused on a shared future (albeit one that can be pursued from different angles) and how they hope to see PA power its future and make the most of the IRA, other emerging policy and incentives and the opportunities that the green economy can offer a state that sits on top of one of the major fossil fuel assets in the country.  This is a conversation for those of you who wonder how we can bring more voices together to benefit from opportunities, and an opportunity to reconsider assumptions about how we achieve net zero at a state or national level.  Show Links: ·         Explore the work of Team PA·         Connect with Abby Smith ·         Connect with Alex to suggest a guest or to talk about what you’re hearing on the podcast (or simply to learn more about Decarb Connect)·         Explore our upcoming events in the US, UK, Europe, Canada and more  Learn more about our guest, Abby Smith: Abby Smith is Team Pennsylvania’s President & CEO. Her work has focused extensively on building strategic public-private partnerships to address long-term issues that no one sector can tackle alone. Abby’s 20-year career includes high-level strategic planning and leading cross-sector collaboratives at the state level in Pennsylvania as well as in several other states, along with ample experience as a grant and project manager overseeing multi-million-dollar grants and serving on various state-level councils. In early 2023, Abby received an Above & Beyond Award, honoring Pennsylvania women of “public and civic mind” who have demonstrated exemplary leadership in their field, combined with having made significant contributions to society. Learn about our Sponsor: Janno MediaMany thanks to our production partner and sponsor Janno Media for their support in delivering this podcast. They continue to facilitate great conversations that connect us with our audience, and their skills and expertise mean we can concentrate exclusively on generating great content to engage, inform and inspire. Want to learn more about Decarb Connect? Our global membership platform, events and facilitated introductions support the acceleration of industrial decarbonization around the world. Our clients include the most energy-intensive industrials from cement, metals and mining, glass, ceramics, chemicals, O&G and many more along with technology disruptors, investors and advisors.  Explore our Decarbonisation Leaders Network (DLN), where members share insights and experiences as they accelerate their net zero plans. Check out our full offering and learn more about our members, summits, reports and webinars.  If you enjoyed this conversation, take a look at the discussions about industrial decarbonisation taking place across our global event series. In 2024 you could join us at conferences in Manchester (February), Houston (March), Berlin (June), Toronto (November) or at any number of meet ups, site tours and virtual meetings.   

National Highways owns the strategy for a significant proportion of the UK’s roads and are a major buyer of asphalt, cement and steel. In this podcast you’ll join Alex Cameron, Founder of Decarb Connect, in conversation with the Executive Director of Procurement, Malcolm Dare, and the Director of Environmental Sustainability, Steve Elderkin, to learn how they are driving the adoption of lower carbon materials.  Whether you’re UK-based or not, the goal of this conversation is to highlight ways of working across a value chain to create a market for low carbon materials. You’ll hear about the role of supply chain transformation, the need for new low carbon tech to be adopted quickly so buyers can decarbonise – and we look specifically at the strategy around Contracting for Carbon Contract.If you’re a potential buyer of green products, you’ll love the insights into how to work with your value chain and the contracting for carbon concept. If you’re an industrial, you’ll be interested in how you can encourage more collaboration with buyers of your materials to jointly scale the market for low carbon products. And for anyone else – you’ll enjoy the buzz that comes from hearing about progress and real deployment of lower carbon products in national infrastructure. Show Links: ·         Learn about National Highways and their Net Zero Roads plans·         Connect with Malcolm Dare and Steve Elderkin at National Highways·         Connect with Alex to suggest a guest or to talk about what you’re hearing on the podcast (or simply to learn more about Decarb Connect)·         Explore our upcoming events in the US, UK, Europe, Canada and more Learn about our Sponsor: Janno MediaMany thanks to our production partner and sponsor Janno Media for their support in delivering this podcast. They continue to facilitate great conversations that connect us with our audience, and their skills and expertise mean we can concentrate exclusively on generating great content to engage, inform and inspire. Want to learn more about Decarb Connect? Our global membership platform, events and facilitated introductions support the acceleration of industrial decarbonization around the world. Our clients include the most energy-intensive industrials from cement, metals and mining, glass, ceramics, chemicals, O&G and many more along with technology disruptors, investors and advisors.  Explore our Decarbonisation Leaders Network (DLN), where members share insights and experiences as they accelerate their net zero plans. Check out our full offering and learn more about our members, summits, reports and webinars.  If you enjoyed this conversation, take a look at the discussions about industrial decarbonisation taking place across our global event series. In 2024 you could join us at conferences in Manchester (February), Houston (March), Berlin (June), Toronto (November) or at any number of meet ups, site tours and virtual meetings.    

The typical belief around industrial net zero is that industrial processes are “hard-to-abate” because of complex processes which require additional tech and because at-scale projects are financially unattractive. But what if there was already an example of financing-in-action and technology that can remove barriers to decarbonization more quickly? Listen in to this conversation with Arun Gupta, CEO of the decade-old Skyven and hear about how their approach to decarbonization has gone through early iterations to now offer energy-as-a-service – technology based around industrial heat pumps and more – that comes with the finance solution built-in. Alex and Arun talk about Skyven’s path to this moment in time, its work with F&B as well as Paper and Pulp and chem – and more importantly, the approach Skyven has taken to unblocking the path to financing decarbonization. We cover the role of public funding, the need for disruptors to focus more on true client needs vs what their tech does, the benefit of presenting a holistic technology-as-service and more. You’ll also hear about the significant projects in the pipeline and their plans to triple in size to focus on these major deployments – so we also talk about just how they are planning for that growth. If you’re a tech disruptor, you’ll love the story of Skyven and the insights into the approach they’ve taken to understand manufarcturers and investors to get he best outcome. If you’re an industrial, you’ll be interested in the holistic service approach and ideas for how to collaborate with tech companies. No matter what your background, listen in to hear how great engineering has been combined with strong team determinations to scale critical net zero tech. Show Links: ·         Find out more about Skyven and its work ·         Connect with Arun Gupta·         Connect with Alex to suggest a guest or to talk about what you’re hearing on the podcast (or simply to learn more about Decarb Connect)·         Explore our upcoming events in the US, UK, Europe, Canada and more Learn about our Sponsor: Janno MediaMany thanks to our production partner and sponsor Janno Media for their support in delivering this podcast. They continue to facilitate great conversations that connect us with our audience, and their skills and expertise mean we can concentrate exclusively on generating great content to engage, inform and inspire. Want to learn more about Decarb Connect? Our global membership platform, events and facilitated introductions support the acceleration of industrial decarbonization around the world. Our clients include the most energy-intensive industrials from cement, metals and mining, glass, ceramics, chemicals, O&G and many more along with technology disruptors, investors and advisors.  Explore our Decarbonisation Leaders Network (DLN), where members share insights and experiences as they accelerate their net zero plans. Check out our full offering and learn more about our members, summits, reports and webinars.  If you enjoyed this conversation, take a look at the discussions about industrial decarbonisation taking place across our global event series. In 2024 you could join us at conferences in Manchester (February), Houston (March), Berlin (June), Toronto (November) or at any number of meet ups, site tours and virtual meetings.