EnergyCents- Ep 144: eRobot: Energy sector embraces AI in race to innovate and transform

Inspiration Mobility is the world’s first electric vehicle Fleet Management Company, or eFMC.  The self-described “electrification accelerator” is backed by investment from Macquarie, Arclight Capital, and Ferrovial and offers solutions that include fleet management, charging-as-a-service (CaaS), and electrification finance. Inspiration Mobility CEO Josh Green joins EnergyCents hosts Hill Vaden and Sam Humphreys to discuss Inspiration Mobility’s business model and describe how the company is navigating opportunity within the transforming energy and transportation sectors. Learn more about Inspiration Mobility at: https://inspirationmobility.com/ Learn more about S&P Global Commodity Insights energy coverage at: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en

Renewable natural gas (RNG) has been one of the fastest low-carbon fuels to reach commerciality in the United States because of its ability to leverage traditional gas infrastructure. RNG has also benefited from recent innovation in compressed natural gas (CNG) engines used in heavy duty trucking. S&P Global experts Tom DiChristopher and Greg Genette joins EnergyCents with hosts Hill Vaden and Sam Humphreys to discuss RNG’s success as a drop-in fuel and how technological innovation and supportive policy are helping to decarbonize commercial transportation. Learn more about S&P Global Commodity Insights energy coverage at: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en

The future of global oil and gas exploration has been widely discussed recently, with the number of discoveries year on year for the past decade gradually declining. But with growing energy demands in emerging markets, a call to end 'energy poverty' and efforts to ensure energy security, exploration to boost companies' portfolios remains ever important. On this week's episode, Hill Vaden and Sam Humphreys talk to S&P Global International Upstream VP Michael Wynn about the current upstream climate, and the driving factors behind continued exploration and why operators are reaching out to deep water 'frontier' regions. Learn more about S&P Global Commodity Insights energy coverage at: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en

Brazil ranks among the world’s top 10 oil producers due largely to success in deepwater exploration and production. Much of the country’s oil production has high percentages of associated carbon dioxide and methane that are reinjected into producing reservoirs to improve recoveries and limit emissions. S&P Global Commodity Insights Brazilian Upstream Experts Chris Kennett and Susana Santos joins EnergyCents with hosts Hill Vaden and Sam Humphreys to discuss Brazil’s prolific offshore oil sector and how its use of CO2 advantages the carbon intensity of its barrels. Learn more about S&P Global Commodity Insights energy coverage at: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en

Operating an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle traditionally accounts for about 75% of a car’s full lifecycle emissions. That percentage breakdown changes with the adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEV), which have zero tailpipe emissions. S&P Global Mobility expert Xi Wang joins EnergyCents hosts Hill Vaden and Sam Humphreys to discuss the lifecycle emissions of automobile supply chains and flag how automakers plan to manage the CO2 footprint of their operations as they shift to electric vehicles. Learn more about S&P Global Commodity Insights energy coverage at: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en

Titans of industry have long embraced the concept that what gets measured gets managed. Reaching consensus on measurable items like benchmarks, milestones, and definitions of success can be some of the most challenging parts of any multi-stakeholder plan. S&P Global Commodity Insights' Simon Thorne joins EnergyCents hosts Hill Vaden and Sam Humphreys to discuss the importance of carbon accounting to decarbonizing the global economy and how challenging it can be to find consensus when every business sector and host government begins its journey from a different starting point. Learn more about S&P Global Commodity Insights energy coverage at: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en Links: Report: The GHG intensity of North Sea production in 2022

Heat pump sales jumped 36% in the Netherlands in 2023, thanks to government incentives promoting the decarbonization of residential construction. S&P Commodity Insights experts Alexandre Mace and Francesco d’Aveck join EnergyCents with hosts Hill Vaden and Sam Humphreys to discuss the rationale behind government planners’ heat-pump promotion and consider what learnings the Dutch case study offers for other countries.   Learn more about S&P Global Commodity Insights energy coverage at: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en

Direct Air Capture technology, or DAC, is garnering increased attention as project developers raise funds with ambitions of deployment at commercial scale.  S&P Commodity Insights’ Experts Paola Perez Peña and James Gutman join EnergyCents with hosts Hill Vaden and Sam Humphreys to discuss the potential role of DAC technology in decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors and describe some of the business models being explored by both energy incumbents and investor-backed start-ups.   Learn more about S&P Global Commodity Insights energy coverage at: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en   SPGCI Clean Energy Technology Webinar: https://events.spglobal.com/event/afb7ba0b-6149-48db-9d6d-9bcb9347bd19/summary  

As electric vehicles increase their market share, so increases the transportation sector’s reliance on metals supply and downstream smelting capacity.  How does this supply chain compare to that of traditional oil markets? S&P Commodity Insights’ Experts Stephen Jew and Mark Ferguson, focused respectively on liquids and metals, join EnergyCents with hosts Hill Vaden and Sam Humphreys to compare the global oil refining complex with metals smelting and consider the challenges of long-lead times and not-in-my-backyard resistance when adding capacity to either sector.   Learn more about S&P Global Commodity Insights energy coverage at: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en

Many governments are working to stimulate investments in clean hydrogen supply and/or demand, and trying to balance what can be competing priorities of support for climate and industrial lobbies. S&P Commodity Insights hydrogen and low-carbon fuels expert Brian Murphy joins EnergyCents with hosts Hill Vaden and Sam Humphreys to discuss the implications of recent hydrogen-directed policy in the United States and Asia, and how business models are responding to the uncertainties of evolving subsidies. Learn more about S&P Global Commodity Insights energy coverage at: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en