Trump's trip to China on rare earths, electricity market reforms in the US, and the evolving Chinese EV market

Burnham's By-election & UK Energy Policy; FERC 2222, Data Centres, DERs & VPPS; Phoenix Tailings & Rare-Earth Supply Chains

Recorded 21st June. Lucy joins from a sweltering London, while Charlotte records from Lake Tahoe after racing the Broken Arrow Skyrace with The North Face team. We cover three stories spanning UK energy politics, FERC 2222, and rare-earth supply chains: 1. Andy Burnham, Labour and the Future of UK Energy Policy Lucy looks at Andy Burnham’s election to Parliament in Makerfield and what it could mean for the future direction of Labour’s energy and infrastructure agenda. The discussion covers: * why Burnham’s victory is being viewed as more than a routine by-election * what a more devolved approach to energy policy could mean * the debate around public ownership, public control and essential infrastructure * whether nationalisation would reduce energy bills, or whether market design is the bigger issue * how locational pricing and planning reform could affect where clean energy gets built * the trade-off between local decision-making and a national energy strategy * why affordability may become more politically important than net-zero targets 2. FERC 2222, Data Centres and Virtual Power Plants Charlotte turns to the US, where FERC has ordered six major grid operators to explain whether data-centre interconnection costs are being shifted onto existing electricity customers. The discussion covers: * how FERC Order 2222 opened wholesale electricity markets to aggregated DERs, including batteries, EVs, rooftop solar and flexible loads * why the debate has intensified as hyperscale AI campuses seek hundreds of megawatts to gigawatts of new power demand * why capacity is becoming one of the most valuable resources in the electricity system * how 10,000 residential batteries can form a virtual power plant, while 100,000 batteries could provide roughly 1–1.5 GW of dispatchable capacity * how VPPs can unlock value from existing infrastructure rather than waiting years for new transmission and substations * why capacity payments, demand response and ancillary services are creating new revenue streams for distributed assets * how community batteries and resilience hubs could provide backup power during outages while supporting grid reliability 3. Phoenix Tailings and Rare-Earth Supply Chains Charlotte discusses Phoenix Tailings, the US rare-earth processing company that secured $500 million of financing from the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital. The discussion covers: * how rare-earth magnets underpin EVs, wind turbines, robotics, defence systems, data centres and industrial automation * why China’s dominance of refining and magnet production has become a strategic concern * the difference between mining rare earths and processing them into usable oxides, metals and magnets * how Phoenix Tailings uses mine tailings, industrial waste streams and secondary feedstocks * why rare-earth separation is one of the most technically challenging parts of the supply chain * how advanced separation chemistry and electrochemical processing could reduce waste, emissions and reagent use * the key scale-up challenges around yield, recovery, reliability, offtake and commercial execution Across the episode, the common theme is infrastructure: who pays for it, who controls it, and how governments, markets and technology shape the systems needed for the energy transition.

Part 2: State Intervention in Energy - The EU's plans for Aviation Carbon Pricing, Eskom Green launch and the UK's Grid Connection Reforms

Recorded 14th June - Part 2: This episode was so packed that we’re releasing it in two parts, so we don’t have to cut any of the good bits. Here in Part 2, Lucy picks up the theme of state intervention in energy markets - looking at where governments are trying to shape, correct or accelerate the energy transition. First up: the European Union’s plans to expand carbon pricing for extra-EU aviation. The discussion covers: * why most international aviation emissions are currently excluded from EU carbon pricing * the history of the EU ETS, “stop the clock”, and the role of CORSIA * how the EU is using both carbon pricing and RefuelEU Aviation to push airlines towards lower-carbon fuels * why sustainable aviation fuel still faces major cost, scale and feedstock constraints * the difference between bio-based SAF and e-SAF * how aviation policy compares with maritime decarbonisation, the IMO and emerging global carbon pricing for shipping Lucy then turns to South Africa, where Eskom is launching Eskom Green and beginning to convert some of its coal-heavy sites towards renewables. We discuss: * why coal still dominates South Africa’s power system * how Eskom’s role is changing as the market liberalises * why private sector renewables, rooftop solar and behind-the-meter power have grown in response to blackouts and high energy costs * what it means for a state-owned utility to lead renewables deployment while the market is opening up Finally, Lucy looks at the UK’s latest grid connection reforms, after the National Energy System Operator approved 713 generation projects representing around 37 GW of capacity. The conversation explores: * why grid connections have become one of the biggest bottlenecks in the UK power system * how Clean Power 2030 is reshaping national planning * why connecting more generation is only one side of the challenge * the need to electrify heat, transport and demand alongside new supply * how grid-enhancing technologies, dynamic line ratings, advanced conductors, topology optimisation, VPPs, distributed batteries, smart thermostats, EVs, heat pumps, microgrids and behind-the-meter assets can help get more out of the grid we already have Across all of these stories, the common theme is how governments and markets interact: when to intervene, when to let price signals work, and how to design energy systems that can scale clean power without making energy more expensive or less reliable.

Part 1: The Supply Chains Behind Nuclear Growth - From Critical Minerals Recovery to Uranium Enrichment, plus Energy Storage updates

Recorded 14th June: Charlotte and Lucy are both in the US this week - Charlotte in San Francisco and Lucy in Boston. This episode was so packed that we’re releasing it in two parts, so we don’t have to cut any of the good bits. Here in Part 1, Charlotte dives into the nuclear supply chain - not just reactors, but the materials, processing and fuel infrastructure needed to make nuclear power possible. First up: DISA Technologies, the Wyoming-based mineral processing and uranium remediation company that raised a $33 million round led by Galvanize Climate Solutions, with participation from BHP Ventures. DISA is scaling its High Pressure Slurry Ablation technology, which uses particle-to-particle collisions to liberate valuable minerals from ore, tailings and legacy mine waste. We discuss: * why comminution is one of the biggest energy loads in mining * how better mineral liberation can improve recovery rates * why uranium remediation could become a critical part of rebuilding domestic nuclear fuel supply chains Charlotte then turns to Urenco, one of the world’s largest uranium enrichment companies, which announced a $1.5 billion expansion of its facility in New Mexico. The conversation explains: * the uranium fuel cycle * why enrichment is such a strategic choke point * the difference between LEU and HALEU * why fuel availability matters just as much as reactor deployment in any future nuclear buildout Finally for Part 1, we move from nuclear fuels to grid storage, covering recent momentum in sodium-ion and second-life batteries, including: * ESS Tech’s partnership with Alsym Energy * CATL’s 60 GWh sodium-ion agreement with HyperStrong * GM’s partnership with Peak Energy for stationary storage * Moment Energy’s $40 million Series B to repurpose EV batteries for grid applications Across all of these stories, the common theme is that the energy transition is increasingly about supply chains, processing capacity, infrastructure bottlenecks and the industrial systems needed to scale.ed to scale the energy transition.

Nyobolt's ultra-fast charging batteries, Antora's giant thermal battery, and Trump's attempted coal revival

Recorded 7th June. In this episode, we catch up after Charlotte’s set the record for the Fastest Known Time running the Camino de Santiago, and Lucy being elected as a local councillor. We then dive into four major energy stories spanning cutting-edge battery technologies, industrial decarbonisation, coal policy, and mine safety. Nyobolt's $60M Series C: The Future of Ultra-Fast Charging Nyobolt has become the latest UK battery unicorn after raising a $60 million Series C round. Charlotte explores why the company is taking a different approach from most battery developers by prioritising charging speed and power delivery rather than simply increasing energy density. * Why conventional lithium-ion batteries struggle with ultra-fast charging * How niobium-based anode materials allow lithium ions to move more rapidly through the battery * The trade-off between energy density and power density * Why fast charging matters more for robots, mining equipment, defence systems, and industrial automation than passenger EVs * How higher utilisation can create significant economic value for robotic and autonomous systems * The growing opportunity for high-power batteries in AI infrastructure and data centres Antora Energy's 5 GWh Thermal Battery Project Antora Energy has deployed one of the world's largest energy storage projects, using renewable electricity to provide industrial heat rather than electricity. Charlotte discusses why industrial heat represents one of the biggest decarbonisation challenges globally and how thermal batteries could help solve it. * How Antora stores electricity as heat in solid carbon blocks at temperatures above 2,000°C * Why industrial facilities need heat rather than electrons * How thermal storage enables renewable energy to provide reliable 24/7 industrial steam and process heat * The role of thermal batteries in sectors including steel, cement, chemicals, food processing, and pulp and paper * How Antora's radiative heat transfer system differs from conventional thermal storage technologies * The potential future use of thermophotovoltaics to convert stored heat back into electricity * Why ethanol production is proving to be an attractive first commercial market Trump's $700 Million Coal Push The Trump administration has announced a new package of support for the US coal industry. Lucy examines the rationale behind the policy, the economics of coal in modern electricity markets, and whether coal still has a role to play in supporting grid reliability. * New funding for coal plant upgrades, export infrastructure, and proposed new coal plants * The difference between coal as a reliability resource and coal as baseload generation * Whether preserving existing coal plants makes economic sense * How coal compares with renewables, batteries, gas, and other firm power resources * Whether AI-driven electricity demand changes the case for coal, as data-centre developers favour nuclear, geothermal, renewables, and storage over new coal generation China's Deadliest Coal Mine Accident Since 2009 We conclude with a discussion of a tragic coal mine accident in China that claimed 82 lives and what it reveals about the broader costs of fossil-fuel dependence. * The human cost of coal mining and industrial accidents * How safety regulations affect the economics of coal production * Whether major incidents accelerate transitions away from coal * The balance between energy security, affordability, and worker safety

Trump's trip to China on rare earths, electricity market reforms in the US, and the evolving Chinese EV market

This week on Power Plays (recorded May 13th, 2026), we are joined by a guest co-host, Henry Sanderson, while Charlotte completes an epic run in Spain. Henry is the author of Volt Rush, former journalist at Bloomberg and the Financial Times, and fellow at RUSI and Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. This week we cover: * Trump's trip to China - why is he going, what will he ask for in the negotiation to secure rare earth supply chains, and will this lead to more investment in the US cleantech sector? * The PJM's electricity market reform proposals - why there are calls for reform to capacity markets, what those reforms could look like, and will they will improve reliability? * The Beijing Auto Show and evolving EV trends - the move towards luxury EVs and battery swapping for heavy-duty vehicles like trucks * Struggling European battery manufacturers - Morrow's bankruptcy, why Europe's manufacturing has lagged China's * Power price moves - how lower power prices drive EVs, changes in China's market connectivity and design