Those claiming there’s no energy transition only an “energy addition,” are wrong. I told FT: Yes, it’s correct that we are not on track globally to reduce emissions fast enough. But if you look at what’s happening across sectors, technologies, and geographies, you see real transitions underway.

Those claiming there’s no energy transition only an “energy addition,” are wrong. I told FT: Yes, it’s correct that we are not on track globally to reduce emissions fast enough. But if you look at what’s happening across sectors, technologies, and geographies, you see real transitions underway.

Evidence over noise. At Oxford Energy Day I argued for policy led by data, not click-bait, point-scoring, or misinformation. Great discussion on how to use data better, where gaps remain, and the benefits evidence can unlock. Full recording available soon!

NEW ANALYSIS: Electrification of process heat can dramatically reduce the fashion industry's emissions. I wrote the foreword for this new report on "What fuels fashion?" by Fashion Revolution. Full report here: issuu.com/fashionrevol...

This is a 'small' lignite mine on the former GDR border, the scar is so deep and wide. With it's own cloud ceiling in the morning. 150Mt CO2 emitted and it still emits by sitting there with exposed, once sequestered carbon. Burning stuff is the past. Don't live in the past.

Critics slam renewables for land use but ignore fossil fuels' huge impact. Germany's Hambach lignite mine: 85 sq km pit, 300m deep, snapped from ISS. My first ever energy research protect professionally was on the externalities of lignite. In short: they are very significant!

If sustained this would make a huge contribution to reducing carbon emissions and mark peak coal in China’s electricity mix.

Incredible indeed. Check it out on Google Maps: maps.app.goo.gl/A4jDtgHhfP84... This snapshot covers at least 20 km, from North to South.

Heat pumps remain the cheapest way to heat in Germany for 2025. Despite overall increases, heat pumps rise only ~5% and still beat gas, oil, pellets, and district heat on annual costs. Fossil systems are a long-term cost trap. @co2online.bsky.social

HELP NEEDED: A colleague's mum in mid Wales has been told by her heating company they cannot install a heat pump for her in her old stone house. Can someone recommend a local installer who is experienced with old houses and heat pumps?

Critics of renewables often point to land use as a reason not to invest in wind & solar. Land use IS a real issue for all energy assets incl renewables (unless on-site). But what critics conveniently forget is the huge land impact of fossil fuels. Aerial view of fracking sites in Wickett, Texas. 👇

It's absolutely astonishing: In just about 13 years, Norway has skyrocketed from virtually no sales of zero-emission battery electric vehicles to nearly 100% of all new passenger car purchases.

I’m in Norway right now. When I told folks here that back home in the UK people say heat pumps don’t work in cold weather they just laughed out loud. Find out why 👇 www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-h...

Critics say renewables are inefficient: solar panels capture ~20% of sunlight, wind turbines ~40%. OK, apply the same to fossil fuels: What % of solar radiation becomes biomass then buried as coal/oil? ChatGPT: 0.00002%.

'Aren't heat pumps hopeless in the cold?' That's one of three myths busted in the excellent book 'Clearing the Air' @hannahritchie.bsky.social which tackles 50 questions. She clearly shows they perform well in cold weather, citing our Joule paper on heat pump performance during cold weather. 👇

Boring can be brilliant. In Pueblo, Colorado, they're planning to replace a coal plant with one of largest clean energy hubs in US. At its core: a thermal battery. These batteries can provide round-the-clock heat, slashing emissions, creating jobs, and improving public health.

Boring can be brilliant. In Pueblo, Colorado, they're planning to replace a coal plant with one of largest clean energy hubs in US. At its core: a thermal battery. These batteries can provide round-the-clock heat, slashing emissions, creating jobs, and improving public health.

ICE vehicles waste a whopping 80% of the energy in their fuel. Electric vehicles are propelled by entirely different mechanisms. Energy enters the vehicle as electricity, which directly powers the drivetrain: EVs need not convert one form of energy to another resulting in much higher efficiency.

Electrification of process heat in the textiles industry is a major decarbonisation and efficiency opportunity. Great piece by @newclimate.bsky.social newclimate.org/news/beyond-...

Electrification is vastly more efficient than combustion technologies: 🚘 An electric car uses about 75% less final energy than an ICE car. 🔥 A heat pump delivers about 4x more heat for the same energy input. Note: Of course the exact efficiency and saving will differ between models and context.

Generating electricity from fossil fuels is very inefficient. Moving from coal to solar reduces primary energy consumption by 2/3 at the point of electricity generation.

Nuclear makes up about 10% of global electricity and one quarter of the world’s low-carbon power. Nice visual from Orennia shows the diversity between countries.

Big night in Cambridge for decarbonisation. 3 heat pumps together weighing 20t were lifted by a giant crane onto the roof of the Murray Easton Building at @caiuscollege.bsky.social @cam.ac.uk. Hope Oxford forgives me for promoting the other place but I'm also affiliated with @cisl.cam.ac.uk...

Good news: Oil and gas investment has been falling. But over the last few years it has been stagnating.

Disruptive innovation is a term popularised by the American academic Clayton Christensen. This is a prime example: learning effects lead to reduced cost of solar leading to more adoption resulting in more learning effects because of modularisation. Killer graph from @ember-energy.org

Pakistan’s rooftop solar boom shows how energy transitions often start from the bottom up. I told Christian Science Monitor @csmonitor.bsky.social: when tariffs soar and panel prices plunge, people innovate. www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-S...

JUST DROPPED: Ember’s new slide deck from Kingsmill Bond and the Ember Futures team lays out how manufactured, modular technologies are rewriting the physics, economics, and geopolitics of energy. A treasure trove of visuals and storytelling. ember-energy.org/latest-insig...

Pakistan’s rooftop solar boom shows how energy transitions often start from the bottom up. I told Christian Science Monitor @csmonitor.bsky.social: when tariffs soar and panel prices plunge, people innovate. www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-S...

As we move to net zero, what happens to gas grids as fossil gas declines? In “Managed decline,” I unpack the regulatory gaps driving higher bills and how countries are planning ahead. We need integrated, long-term planning for a just, orderly transition. medium.com/@jan.rosenow...

As we move to net zero, what happens to gas grids as fossil gas declines? In “Managed decline,” I unpack the regulatory gaps driving higher bills and how countries are planning ahead. We need integrated, long-term planning for a just, orderly transition. medium.com/@jan.rosenow...

Just look at what happened with solar investment - it’s astonishing. Solar has seen the most rapid investment growth, soaring from $142 billion in 2015 to a projected $441 billion this year.

Did you know: Even if 100% of our electricity is from gas it is still less carbon intensive to use a heat pump than a gas boiler. Professor David MacKay already told us this in 2008 in his celebrated book “Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air”. interactive.carbonbrief.org/factcheck/he...

A must-read from @mliebreich.bsky.social. Rest assured, you will not agree with everything he says. But as Michael says “This is surely a moment for frank talk, given what is going on in the world.” about.bnef.com/insights/cle...

When I was a teen, a teacher told me: “You’ll end up in the gutter.” Crushing then, but it taught me: Limiting words from authority can linger but they don’t define us. To students & changemakers: Don’t let others cap your potential. To educators: Lift up, don’t tear down.

More and more people decide to generate their own electricity. But in Europe there are huge differences in uptake between countries. Top of the list: Netherlands. But notice where Poland sits: Number 4!

Heat pumps will struggle to compete with fossil fuel boilers until we fix electricity pricing. I spoke with @financialtimes.com for their article out today about this exact issue. My colleagues and I have researched this extensively. Read our analysis here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Just dropped: @financialtimes.com excellent special report on electrification. I told them: “Overhauling the world’s energy system from fossil fuels is less daunting with electrification's efficiency gains—making the energy transition outlook more optimistic than it seems."

Europe has hundreds of smart electricity tariffs, but most households are still on fixed-price contracts. This kills the incentive for a flexible, consumer-responsive energy market. Good news: Hundreds of smart, flexible electricity tariffs are now available in Europe.

Exciting clean energy breakthrough if you missed it: Finland launches world's largest sand battery in Pornainen! 13m tall, stores 100 MWh of renewable power as heat in sand at 450°C for weeks. Heats homes/offices/schools, cuts CO2 by 70% vs old woodchip plant. www.independent.co.uk/tech/sand-ba...

I know ppl say this a lot but I think it weirdly hasn't sunk in yet: once China's fossil fuel use starts to drop, our *entire species* usage of fossil fuels will mostly follow the same trajectory. Massive new @ember-energy.org report out today on China: ember-energy.org/latest-insig...

Which countries are scaling solar and wind the fastest? China leads decisively when it comes to total electricity generation: Its incremental solar and wind generation from 2021 to 2024 is greater than that of the other 19 “top 20” countries put together. Chart @hannahritchie.bsky.social

Almost 2 years ago, MVV Energie AG started to operate Germany’s largest river heat pump (20MW) in Mannheim. 2 more river heat pumps are to be added of a completely different caliber: a heat pump with 150MW & another with 100MW. HT @jaapburger.eu www.swr.de/swraktuell/b...

It is most bizarre that the German energy regulator BNetzA just published a new report where it is assumed that grid scale batteries in Germany won't expand. This is counter to the fact that Germany’s battery storage market is finally shifting gears expected to reach 5.7GW by the end of 2026.

What's up with heat pumps in Europe? Daikin's Naofumi Takenaka warns adoption is 3-5 years behind, key for ditching gas boilers to fight climate change. Setbacks from living costs, spending cuts, populism, policy reversals, misinformation & lobbying. IMO, it's a temporary blip, not a lasting trend.

This is why I’m optimistic about energy innovation: It took the global solar industry 68 years to reach 1 terawatt (TW) of installed power, from the first commercial silicon solar cell in 1954 to 2022. The next 1TW was delivered in only two additional years from 2023 to 2024.

Betting on hydrogen as the key solution for decarbonising industry looks increasingly like a very bad idea. Yes we will need to replace grey and black hydrogen used as feedstock with clean hydrogen but as a fuel the economics look terrible.

Should Germany slow down the build out of renewables the FAZ asked me. I said: “Slowing down the expansion now merely postpones the pressure to act into the future, meaning we will then need much higher build-out rates to meet the climate targets.

China’s role in global solar manufacturing cannot be overstated: Factories in China produced 588GW of solar cells last year, surpassing domestic demand of 277GW and overseas demand of 174GW.

Unthinkable 20 years ago when I started to work on energy: The world may finally be hitting peak coal, as wind, solar and hydro continue to grow and will overtake coal generation perhaps already in 2026. Graphic by @orennia.bsky.social

Industrial electrification rarely gets the limelight with most of the attention diverted to electric cars and heat pumps in buildings. This article is a rare exception highlighting a major shift moving away from CCS and hydrogen towards electrification. www.economist.com/briefing/202...