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This week marks the end of our series on the nexus of competitiveness and the energy transition. Over the past seven episodes, we've delved into the key questions facing European industry as it strives for economic strength and decarbonisation.
In this final episode, David, Jan, and Kira reflect on the insights from our guests, revisiting our first episode on the European Commission’s Clean Industrial Deal and the Draghi report and exploring why competitiveness has become a central concern for lawmakers and business leaders alike.
We’ve covered a lot, from understanding China's role in the global energy transition and navigating complex geopolitical landscapes, to examining the implications of the shifting world order on trade. We also explored practical pathways for European industrial decarbonisation over the next decade, the pivotal role of industrial energy efficiency, and the potential of Europe’s offshore wind sector. Finally, we tackled the important issue of power prices and the potential impact of a decarbonised economy on energy bills.
Tune in to this final episode to hear our reflections and join the conversation. We also encourage you to share your own thoughts and insights on the key themes explored throughout this series—what have you learned, and what do you believe are the most important steps for Europe to take next?
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The cost of power is inextricably linked to Europe’s competitiveness. Bram Claeys from the Regulatory Assistance Project joins Watt Matters to discuss the impact recent price fluctuations have had on European industry and what a decarbonised economy would mean for energy bills
Power prices play a crucial role in the industrial sector. When energy prices rise, it often leads to increased production costs, which can either drive up product prices or squeeze profit margins.
Many industrial companies are now exploring options for low-carbon energy sources. While these alternatives can provide more affordable power in the long run, they typically require a higher initial investment, which may, in turn, impact overall pricing structures.
This week on Watt Matters, as we near the end of our investigation into competitiveness, we look at how the energy transition is affecting power prices.
In this episode, the Watt Matters team is joined by Bram Claeys, a senior advisor at the Regulatory Assistance Project, to discuss the dilemma of sourcing cheaper and cleaner power while remaining competitive.
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The wind sector could be a key pillar of the European Union’s clean energy future and help bolster the bloc’s competitiveness, but the industry faces significant challenges.
From permitting roadblocks to supply chain bottlenecks, the wind sector is struggling to meet installation targets at a time when Europe is thirsty for more low-cost, clean energy generation.
On this episode of Watt Matters, Ulrik Stridbaek from Ørsted joins the team to discuss the recommendations of the company’s recent report on offshore wind, the potential of Europe’s wind sector and what is needed to support it.
Please share your thoughts in the contribution section on the FORESIGHT app.
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Making Europe’s industry more efficient can have big benefits: cutting energy consumption, boosting productivity, providing international market advantages and allowing companies to hit green goals.
There are low hanging fruits that industries can take advantage of, but there needs to be more awareness and a shift in thinking towards efficiency as something that is strategic for companies to invest in to really drive efficiency gains.
On this episode of Watt Matters, Clemens Rohde and Lisa Neusel from the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research join the Watt Matters team to discuss the benefits of efficient industrial efficiency, the technology needed to achieve it and how this should be reflected in policy.
Even if you have energy efficient technologies, you need to use them efficiently, Rohde says.
Please share your thoughts in the contribution section on the FORESIGHT app.
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Europe’s energy-thirsty industries are suffering from high power prices, are at risk of being outpaced by global competitors and need to decarbonise to meet the European Union’s green targets.
The energy transition can help address all of this, by increasing electrification, energy efficiency, circularity and more to develop a decarbonised, competitive industry in Europe.
On this episode, Adèle Naudy-Chambaud from Schneider Electric joins the Watt Matters team to discuss how Europe’s industry can decarbonise over the next decade and what is needed from EU policy to support this.
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Since his return to the White House, President Donald Trump has caused shock waves across global trade. On this episode of Watt Matters, Joseph Francois from the World Trade Institute joins the team to discuss the new trade paradigm and what it means for the energy transition
The world has entered a new paradigm of tense trade and geopolitical relationships at a time when it should be collaborating on decarbonisation.
Donald Trump's re-election and pursuit of protectionist policies made matters even more complex, throwing a spanner in the works of the energy transition and reshuffling the country’s political alliances.
Recorded before Trump’s wave of new tariffs in early April, on this episode of Watt Matters, the team is joined by Joseph Francois from the World Trade Institute to discuss where the energy transition fits into this new world order and the thinking behind Trump’s approach to trade.
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China is the world’s biggest emitter but also a key driver of the energy transition. The country is responsible for the biggest renewables rollout but also commissioned 70% of new coal capacity in 2024.
The country has also been accused of unfair practices, with markets like the European Union and the United States placing tariffs on its goods. There are also fears that the EU could lose its competitive edge in producing certain technologies to China.
On this episode of Watt Matters, Belinda Schäpe from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, author of China’s Climate Transition: Outlook 2024, joins the Watt Matters team to discuss China's role in the global energy transition and how to navigate geopolitical challenges in this.
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A flexible grid underpins Europe’s energy transition and helps bring more renewables online. According to statistics from SolarPower Europe, it could also bring big benefits, including saving the European Union €30 billion and avoiding 151 million tonnes of CO2 emissions every year by 2030.
However, to make all of this a reality, Europe’s energy system infrastructure and energy market need to support flexibility.
On this special, live episode of Watt Matters, recorded at the Solar Power Summit in Brussels, a panel of experts joins Kira to discuss flexibility's role in the energy transition and how Europe can improve it.
The panel comprises:
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Today’s uncertain geopolitical context and the economic power of the United States, China, and others mean Europe must find new ways to collaborate and compete in the global economy. By doing so, European countries can create jobs, ensure growth, and, equally importantly, decarbonise.
In late February 2025, the European Commission produced its Clean Industrial Deal. As the name suggests, it is a blueprint to achieve these goals by increasing efforts to decarbonise as well as boost productivity—particularly in the high-carbon-emitting, energy-intensive heavy industrial sector.
On this first episode of the series, the Watt Matters team is joined by Phuc-Vinh Nguyen, head of the Jacques Delors Energy Centre, an independent think tank providing decision-makers with insights on energy transition issues. This conversation examines what exactly competitiveness means and why it matters to Europe and to society’s decarbonisation efforts.
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The energy transition is gaining momentum. For our Watt Matters series on Energy in 2030, we’ve seen growing interest in new ways to decarbonise our world and tackle climate change.
We’ve looked at carbon removals, industrial electrification, ground source heat pumps, and other innovations vital for transitioning our energy systems and economies to net zero emissions by 2050.
Across the series, energy efficiency has kept cropping up as a critical transition component, often underestimated but essential for reducing energy demand and enhancing system flexibility.
In the series's final instalment, the Watt Matters team reflect on the key takeaways from each episode, the need for tailored approaches and clear communication, and highlights the need for ongoing ambition to reach the world’s 2030 climate and energy targets.
Watt Matters will return for a new series in the Spring of 2025, so keep an eye out. And let us know what areas we should be talking about in the contribution section below.
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Digitalisation holds big benefits for energy systems, including allowing more renewables to be integrated and providing a picture of what’s happening across the entire system without requiring any physical upgrades.
When it comes to asset management, digitalisation can help companies better understand assets like power plants and allow them to provide more information to their customers.
On this special episode of Watt Matters, recorded live at asset management company 3E’s SynaptiQ Connect Days conference, Kira is joined by a panel of experts to dive into the benefits these technologies can provide.
Kira welcomes Werner Coppye, 3E’s co-founder and chief technology officer; Ludovica Rosato, digital transformation manager at renewables developer BayWa; and Margarida Correia Pires, head of business development at utility EDP to find out how it works and how to roll it out.
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Carbon removals technologies go beyond the more traditional carbon capture or tree-planting. They look at how to draw carbon directly out of the air so it can no longer cause the damaging greenhouse effect.
Research into this area is ramping up, with a number of options on the table from Direct Air Capture to enhanced rock weathering. As with many aspects of the energy transition, the funding is growing but still the regulatory landscape is playing catch up.
Joining Watt Matters to discuss this emerging sector is Dr Steve Smith, executive director of Oxford Net Zero and CO2RE—the UK's national research hub on greenhouse gas removal—at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, part of the University of Oxford.
Steve and the Watt Matters team examine where the sector stands today, what its impact could be in the 2030s, and whether it could risk becoming a distraction from carbon reduction efforts.
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Electrifying as many sectors as possible will play a significant role in reducing emissions to net zero by mid-century.
While many industrial processes can be easily switched to an electricity-based system, some are proving more difficult. As 2030 approaches, efforts to electrify are accelerating, and many businesses are exploring electrification opportunities.
In this episode of Watt Matters, Richard Hart, industry director at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, joins David, Jan and Kira to discuss the low-hanging fruit of electrification that remains unutilised and how different industries can reach harder to decarbonise technologies in the next decade.
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We ask every guest who enters the Watt Matters studio to look into their crystal ball and give their vision of the energy sector in ten-to-twenty years. Their answers are often aspirational but always revealing.
Many market observers provide their own visions for the future by publishing “scenarios” and “outlooks”. One thing they all have in common is showing the complexity of the energy transition.
Rystad Energy’s latest forecast, Global Energy Scenarios 2024, tries to simplify the transition by highlighting the three key tasks for a successful energy transition: growing the clean power sector, increasing electrification, and addressing residual emissions.
Jon Ødegård Hansen, vice president of energy systems research at Rystad Energy, joins David, Jan and Kira to talk about the three steps and how important scenarios like this are in the conversation around decarbonisation.
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By minimising our energy needs, we can accelerate our journey to net zero, making the energy transition not only quicker but also more affordable.
The COP28 climate negotiations in 2023 saw the successful “triple-up, double-down” campaign, which included the promise to double the energy efficiency improvement rate by 2030.
To discuss how to ensure energy efficiency remains a top priority for governments and businesses up to 2030 and beyond, our guest this week is Rob Murray-Leach, a founder and former CEO of the Energy Efficiency Council in Australia.
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Wind and solar energy tend to be the main focus when we talk about renewable energy, but geothermal energy also offers many benefits; it is a constant energy source and offers the potential to decarbonise heating and cooling.
Ground-source heat pumps take advantage of the heat underground and can support the transition away from gas boilers, reducing a building's carbon footprint and cutting down on energy costs.
For the third episode of this series, Tamsin Lishman, CEO of Kensa Group, which is rolling out ground source heat pumps in the United Kingdom, joins the Watt Matters team to discuss the benefits of the technology and what is needed to boost its use into the 2030s.
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The energy transition needs to happen across society, including in our homes. Big shifts are expected in consumer demand and the technology we use, including electric vehicles and heat pumps.
To make the transition a success, it’s key that these elements work in the real world, and that households are involved in the transition and experience the benefits of a decarbonised society.
For the second episode of this series, Lucy Yu from the Centre for Net Zero joins the Watt Matters team to discuss what changes we can expect in our homes and the research her team is doing into consumer behaviour trends.
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Last year’s COP28 climate conference saw some big pledges, including tripling renewables and doubling energy efficiency by 2030 and agreeing to transition away from fossil fuels. With COP29 and COP30 on the horizon, it’s important to look at what is needed in the run-up to 2030 to get the world on track to meet its energy and climate goals.
How will that change the way our world looks? And what can we expect the energy transition to look like in 2030? Over the next few weeks, the Watt Matters team will try to answer those questions.
For our first episode, Maria Pastukhova from climate think tank E3G joins the team to discuss why 2030 is such a crucial date, the role of international meetings, like the upcoming COP29 and COP30 meetings, and the world’s progress towards the COP28 goals.
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A circular approach, which disconnects economic activity from the ever-increasing consumption of natural resources, has emerged as a key strategy for making our societies more sustainable and helping mitigate the climate crisis.
Circularity is particularly important for our built environment, as construction and renovation sites alone currently generate over a third of the waste that ends up in Europe’s landfills.
EU figures also suggest that greenhouse gas emissions from material extraction, manufacturing of construction products, and the construction and renovation of buildings account for 5-12% of EU countries’ emissions.
Despite the environmental benefits of embracing circularity, the uptake of circular principles in the construction industry is sluggish.
In the second of our special live podcasts—recorded at our event on circularity in Brussels at the end of May 2024—the panel discusses the barriers to shifting to circularity in the construction sector and how they can be overcome.
Joining Sean Carroll on today’s episode are:
● Philippe Moseley, Team Leader with the European Commission’s DG GROW
● Adrian Hiel, Head of Campaigns and Media with Energy Cities
● Julie Kjestrup, Head of Policy and Thought Leadership with the VELUX Group
Our thanks go to lead co-organiser ABB and our supporting organiser VELUX for making the event possible.
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As Europe progresses towards achieving a climate-neutral economy by 2050, the concept of circularity has emerged as a powerful approach to reducing emissions, minimising waste and promoting sustainability.
Adopting a more circular economy entails Europe transitioning from its linear economic model of producing, consuming, and disposing of materials to new approaches that aim to keep materials in the value chain for as long as possible. This will involve reducing resource extraction and ensuring that we operate within our planetary limits.
In the first of two special live podcasts—recorded at our event on circularity in Brussels at the end of May 2024—the panel discusses the impact of new regulations out of the European Union aimed at improving circularity and its impact on design and supply chains.
Joining David Weston on today’s episode are:
Emmanuelle Maire, Head of Unit at DG Environment at the European Commission
Ke Wang, Global Lead for Energy Minerals and Circularity at the World Resources Institute
Erich Labuda, President ABB Motion
Our thanks go to lead co-organiser ABB and our supporting organiser VELUX for making the event possible.
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