Redefining Energy - TECH

• 51. The Hydrogen Titanic (1/2)

  In this episode of Redefining Energy Tech, host Michael Barnard sat down with Dr. Joseph Romm—physicist, energy policy veteran, and author of The Hype About Hydrogen—to pull back the curtain on hydrogen’s persistent mystique. Romm isn’t new to the debate. Back in the early 2000s, he was among the first to publicly challenge the logic of hydrogen as a viable energy carrier. Now, twenty years later, he’s back with a completely rewritten edition of his book, just in time for Earth Day, and the message hasn’t changed: the hydrogen hype is still hype.What makes Romm’s critique so compelling is his history. He once supported hydrogen research while in the Clinton-era Department of Energy, betting on Sandia Labs’ onboard gasoline reformers. But that hope dissolved under the weight of technical reality. In 2003, as the Bush administration rolled out its $1.3 billion hydrogen initiative, Romm published the first edition of The Hype About Hydrogen, drawing a stark contrast between hydrogen’s theoretical promise and its practical inefficiency. The fundamental math hasn’t budged. Hydrogen production, storage, transport, and conversion wastes up to 80% of the original renewable electricity. Batteries? They waste closer to 20%.Fast forward to today, and hydrogen is once again being paraded as a climate solution, this time with a new coat of green paint. But Romm’s updated research shows the same miscalculations baked into the models of the IEA, CSIRO, and even PIK—institutions that projected green hydrogen prices based on wildly optimistic learning curves. Hydrogen didn’t follow the same cost trajectory as solar or batteries. In fact, between 2020 and 2024, the cost of electrolyzers increased by 40%—a staggering reversal of expectations that should have set off alarm bells across boardrooms and ministries.We also tackled the real-world energy transition playing out in China. While Western nations argue over tariffs and watch supply chains buckle, China is installing 350 gigawatts of solar and wind in a single year—ten times its nuclear additions—and prioritizing direct electrification over hydrogen. It’s not just policy rhetoric; it’s industrial reality.This divergence is becoming painfully clear in the transport sector. European advisors have publicly declared hydrogen “dead for trucks,” pointing instead to the obvious solution: battery-electric vehicles and megawatt-scale charging infrastructure. The market is responding. Companies trying to straddle both hydrogen and battery bets—Van Hool, Quantron, Nikola—are struggling or collapsing. Romm calls this “narrative disarticulation”—an elegant way of saying that serious people are quietly walking away from the hydrogen dream.His final warning is unequivocal: investing in hydrogen based on outdated assumptions is a recipe for stranded assets and political distraction. Industry’s call to support “dirty hydrogen now, clean later” isn’t just a bait-and-switch—it’s a carbon trap dressed up in green branding. If we’re serious about climate, it’s time to let go of the hydrogen mirage and double down on what we know works: clean, efficient electrification.Want to rethink your assumptions on hydrogen? This is the episode to listen to.

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• 50. Geothermal: Drilling for Decarbonization (2/2)

  Simon Todd is back with Michael Barnard for part 2/2, and this time he’s drilling deeper—both literally and figuratively. In this second round, the Managing Director of Causeway Energies walks us through the hard tech and hard truths of geothermal energy, especially as it applies to the UK and Ireland. What emerges is a grounded, brutally realistic look at where geothermal works, where it doesn’t, and how to separate serious solutions from science fiction. We kick off with the cross-pollination of oil and gas tech into geothermal—rotary PDC bits, custom drilling muds, and all the bruised geology that comes with punching into granite. The oil patch may be sunsetting, but its tools are still getting a second act. Todd highlights how firms like Fervo are making surgical improvements to geothermal drilling by leveraging fracking's dirty tricks for clean heat, aiming to stimulate natural fractures in hot granite. It's technically elegant, but there’s a catch: the economics are still brutal. EGS systems might sound great on paper, but $150–$250 per megawatt-hour isn’t going to win against wind or solar anytime soon. Todd doesn’t sugarcoat it. The question isn’t if Fervo’s system works—it’s whether it can keep working at nameplate for 25 years straight.He then turns to the UK and Ireland's own geothermal potential. Unlike the flashy volcanic zones of the western U.S. or Iceland, we’re working with Hot Sedimentary Aquifers and radiogenic granites. The geology is less forgiving, but far from useless. Causeway’s bet is on moderate-depth wells—500 to 1,500 meters—which fall into what Todd calls the "Goldilocks zone": hot enough to matter, shallow enough to stay affordable.And this is where Todd really breaks from the crowd. Forget chasing deep geothermal megaprojects with 5 km drill strings and power plant dreams. Causeway Energies has pivoted to something far more practical: industrial heat. About half of emissions are tied to heating, most of it well below 100°C. Modern high-temperature heat pumps—some hitting 150°C—make pairing geothermal with industrial facilities like breweries and hospitals an obvious win. The kicker? These systems offer round-trip efficiencies that embarrass hydrogen and electrify sectors gas can’t reach.One technology worth highlighting here is the Standing Column Well—basically a turbocharged hybrid of open and closed-loop systems that’s 3 to 5 times more thermally potent than your average ground loop. It thrives in fractured aquifers that aren’t fit for drinking water, dodging some of the regulatory red tape. And with a century’s worth of oil and gas borehole data lying around, Causeway has a treasure map to the best locations.Simon Todd isn't pitching geothermal as a silver bullet. He’s carving out a niche: targeted, replicable, cost-effective solutions for decarbonizing industrial heat. It’s not glamorous. It’s not headline-grabbing. But it works. And in the climate transition, that might just be the most disruptive idea of all.Follow the podcast to hear more from the people actually building the energy future, not just imagining it      

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• 49. Geothermal: Drilling for Decarbonization (1/2)

  In this eye-opening episode (part 1/2), Host Michael Barnard invites Simon Todd, Managing Director of Causeway Energies and a man whose geological expertise spans from the chalk beds of Northern Ireland to the drilling decks of BP. Simon joins the podcast to drag geothermal energy out of its misunderstood niche and into the spotlight it deserves.Simon, who spent 25 years at BP before pivoting hard into the future, lays out a vision for geothermal that’s far more than volcanic spas and Icelandic outliers. He starts by grounding us (literally) in the Earth’s temperature dynamics: from a molten 6,000°C core to the relatively tame gradients of continental crust. We learn that geothermal isn’t just a matter of poking around tectonic hotspots. With modern drilling and clever thermal engineering, you can tap heat just about anywhere—even in the soggy, non-volcanic soils of the UK and Ireland.He gets into the mechanics too, explaining how ground source heat pumps use the shallow earth—those top 10–15 meters that swing with the seasons—to store and retrieve heat. He unpacks the performance metric du jour, the Coefficient of Performance (COP), and shows how deeper wells (500 to 700 meters) vastly outperform air-source systems. The returns? In some projects, a sub-3-year payback. That’s not a climate virtue signal—that’s a boardroom greenlight.But Simon doesn't stop at closed-loop systems. He dives into the real geothermal opportunity hiding beneath our feet: open-loop aquifer systems. These draw warm water from permeable rock formations—‘rock sponges,’ as he puts it—offering faster heat transfer than passive conduction. And yet, while ATES systems thrive across the Netherlands and Belgium, they’re barely used in the UK or Ireland. Why? Bureaucratic inertia, unfamiliarity, and maybe just a lack of storytelling.With directional drilling tech now able to reach aquifers from a single pad, and real-time data steering drill heads with pinpoint accuracy, Simon argues we have the tools and the data. What’s missing is awareness—and maybe a bit of ambition.This episode is a geothermal masterclass from someone who’s lived both the legacy fossil past and the clean energy future. If you're still thinking geothermal is just for hot springs and sci-fi, Simon Todd is here to prove otherwise—with numbers, with tech, and with real-world results.Follow the show for more episodes like this one, where energy myths get debunked, and the future gets explained.

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• 48. Grid Reliability in a Renewable World (2/2)

  In this second part of the conversation, Mark O'Malley returns to discuss with co-host Michael Barnard grid reliability and the evolving challenges of integrating renewable energy.The conversation examines successful examples from Germany, Denmark, and Ireland, highlighting Ireland's unique position as a synchronous island. Texas also emerges as a case study, demonstrating how increased wind and solar capacity has contributed to improved grid stability. While these examples show progress, the discussion underscores the importance of balancing reliability standards with cost-effectiveness and exploring solutions such as flexible supply chains and industrial demand response to manage renewable intermittency.The episode delves into the state of research on power system transformation. While planning methodologies for renewables are well understood, gaps remain in implementation and data availability. Inverter-based resources (IBRs) are making strides, but their seamless integration into the grid remains a work in progress. High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) technology has proven effective, but its interaction with AC systems requires further study. The need for improved models is evident, as utilities and grid operators require greater confidence before deploying new technologies. However, commercial realities often hinder investment in specialized power system analysis tools, further complicating the transition.A key topic is the Global Power System Transformation Consortium (GPST), which is working toward becoming a legal entity capable of managing resources and funding. The initiative aims to support system operators worldwide in implementing cutting-edge research and solutions, requiring significant financial backing. Estimates suggest that $2 billion will be needed for global implementation, with an additional $500 million required for research and demonstrations. Despite these financial hurdles, progress is being made, as developers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) recognize the economic benefits of supporting GPST.Beyond funding, the industry faces another pressing challenge—an acute shortage of highly skilled power system professionals. While the demand for expertise is growing exponentially, talent production is increasing at a much slower pace. Bridging this gap will require targeted strategies to develop a new generation of engineers and researchers, ensuring that the power sector can keep up with the accelerating energy transition.Action items from this episode include reaching out to Mark O'Malley to explore GPST funding opportunities and developing strategies to scale up the production of skilled professionals in the power sector.        

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• 47. Grid Reliability in a Renewable World (1/2)

  The transformation of global power systems is accelerating as wind and solar become dominant energy sources. In the latest episode of Redefining Energy Tech, Mark O'Malley, Leverhulme Professor of Power Systems at Imperial College London, offers a deep dive into the challenges and opportunities of this transition in an in-depth conversation with host Michael Barnard.O'Malley brings decades of expertise in energy system integration, drawing from his work at McGill University, NREL, and the Energy Systems Integration Group. The conversation highlights a pivotal 2018-2019 workshop on achieving high renewable penetration, setting the stage for discussions on the shift from traditional synchronous generators to inverter-based resources.The move to an inverter-driven grid presents new technical hurdles, particularly in balancing supply and demand while maintaining stability. O'Malley outlines six critical research areas shaping the future of power systems: inverter technologies, distributed energy resources, planning and adequacy, control room modernization, stability detection tools, and system services.One of the most pressing challenges is optimizing the balance between grid-following and grid-forming inverters. While grid-following inverters currently dominate, grid-forming inverters hold the potential to establish voltage and frequency independently. The complexity of integrating diverse inverter designs across different manufacturers adds another layer of difficulty.Beyond technical challenges, the discussion extends to global power system dynamics, with a focus on China’s contrasting regional power structures. The integration of AC and DC transmission, particularly in connecting renewable-rich regions to demand centers, underscores the necessity for international collaboration in solving system-wide challenges.Key action items emerging from the discussion include updating the research agenda for power system transformation and refining the balance between inverter types in various grid configurations. As power systems evolve, the industry must prioritize research, coordination, and investment to ensure stability and reliability in a renewable-driven future.Listen to the full conversation on Redefining Energy Tech for an in-depth exploration of these critical issues shaping the next era of energy systems.

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