Clean ammonia - the decarbonised future of fertiliser
We know we need to decarbonise ammonia production. There are already technical solutions, including electrification, and the use of green hydrogen as a feedstock. In most cases they are not yet financially comparable, but they seem to be getting closer. But in many situations decentralisation can also be a practical
What caught our eye - three key stories (week 14, 2024)
Clean ammonia; industrial decarbonisation; the allure of consensus
Sunday Brunch: the Post Office scandal - a failure of operational governance
Governance starts with the board in setting the culture of the company. But execution is key.
Buying ethical and affordable chocolate is really hard
Those of you who celebrate Easter will have noticed that your easter egg has either got smaller or more expensive. But spare a thought for those who want to buy ethical chocolate - they have a different problem. How do you know your chocolate is ethical, and how much extra
Coal's (very) long goodbye
Bloomberg (republished in various newspapers) recently highlighted coal's recent period of resurgence, on the back of China's energy insecurity, rising Indian demand, the fallout of the Ukraine war, and "faltering international programs to wean developing economies off fossil fuels". If we go back a
Has Britain's diversity drive backfired?
We have recently seen 'DEI' come under fire, particularly in North America, but also in Europe. "Britain's diversity drive has backfired?" was the headline of a recent Telegraph article that caught our eye via a LinkedIn post from Paul Sesay. On 20 March 2024,
What caught our eye - three key stories (week 13, 2024)
UK's diversity drive backfired?; coal's very long goodbye; buying affordable ethical chocolate is hard
Temperature control is a key electricity demand driver
In Hannah Ritchie's recent Sustainability by numbers blog, she asks the question "what do American households use electricity for?" As many of you will know, Hannah is a data scientist and deputy editor and lead researcher at Our World in Data. She dives into data from
Facilitating inclusion
At a recent Australia and New Zealand Roadshow in London organised by the UK Department for Business and Trade, I met Denise Crouch and Jamie Crathern from LapSafe who talked passionately about their business. LapSafe provide smart lockers, trolleys and cabinets to organisations in the education, healthcare, manufacturing and other
Economic shutdown in the energy transition
It's not just the total cost of the alternatives that we need to consider, it's the operating cost advantage. Much of what we read about transition technologies, such as EVs, heat pumps and renewable electricity generation, focuses on new capacity being added. So new EV sales
What caught our eye - three key stories (week 12, 2024)
Economic shutdown in the energy transition; facilitating inclusion; temperature control is key need
Sunday Brunch: Geothermal as a solution - but not just yet
One of the challenges around renewables based electricity grids is coping with the periods when the variable generation sources, such as wind and solar, are insufficient to meet demand. Which is where geothermal has a role.