Recorded Sunday 29th March. Two very different stories highlight the complexity of the energy transition - from the chemistry of steel and cement, to the geopolitics of offshore wind. The discussion explores how hidden industrial linkages, policy decisions, and market incentives shape the pace of decarbonization.

• Industrial decarbonization: A new technology turning steel waste into low-carbon cement inputs
• Energy politics: Policy decisions disrupting offshore wind development in the U.S. and U.K.

The discussion explores how hidden industrial linkages, policy decisions, and market incentives shape the pace of decarbonization.

1. Charlotte explains a technology that processes electric arc furnace steel slag so it can be reused as a supplementary cementitious material in concrete, replacing part of ordinary Portland cement. That matters because steel and cement together account for a 15% of global emissions, yet both remain hard-to-abate sectors.A key systems challenge is that as steel production shifts away from blast furnaces and toward electric arc furnaces, emissions fall, but the byproducts that cement producers historically relied on also change. New technologies can solve that mismatch while creating better economics for steel plants by turning a low-value waste product into a much more valuable cement input.
2. Lucy discusses offshore wind in the United States, and the political significance of a major offshore wind project being halted, with lease payments reportedly refunded and investment redirected toward oil and gas. In the UK, we then examine the rejection of a large proposed Chinese turbine manufacturing investment on security grounds, and what that could mean for jobs, industrial policy, and the domestic wind supply chain.

Key themes

Industrial decarbonization is deeply interconnected. Cleaning up steel production can unintentionally make cement harder to decarbonize unless new technologies emerge to bridge the gap.

Policy risk is now a major factor in clean energy investment. Offshore wind economics are shaped not only by technology and cost, but by politics, permitting, national security, and government priorities.

The energy transition is also an industrial strategy story. Decisions about where turbines are built, who finances projects, and how supply chains are structured will influence jobs, competitiveness, and long-term energy security.

Live from Octopus Energy HQ: Over-hyped, Under-hyped, or Hyped-Just-Right?

Introducing the origin story of Power Plays and celebrating with a live audience event hosted by Octopus Energy in London. We gave the audience six recent talking points in energy and asked them to vote: over-hyped, under-hyped, or hyped just right? The results weren't always what we expected. We also opened the floor to audience questions - from the future of the grid to hydropower's image problem, moonshots, and whether the North Sea still has a role to play.

The game — six topics, audience votes, live debate:

• Enhanced geothermal — less than 1% of global geothermal output today, but with oil & gas tailwinds in the US, is it finally having its moment?
• Balcony solar — a technology that started in off-grid Africa and is now trending in Germany and the UK. Does the 4–6 year payback period justify the hype?
• Vehicle-to-grid — why we both think this is deeply underhyped
• Coal phase-out — under-hyped according to the room. Why the UK's experience gives us a misleading picture of where global coal consumption is actually going
• Copper supply — the metal driving electrification, new refining and recycling technologies, alongisde substitution and optimisation opportunties
• Critical minerals geopolitics — Lucy takes the contrarian position: are we strategising for 60 very different supply chains together in a frenzied race that risks making energy more expensive for everyone?

Audience Q&A:

• The grid of the future: who builds it, who pays, and how distributed resources could let us do more with what we already have
• Why hydropower isn't sexy — and why it should be, from Snowy 2.0 to the Grand Renaissance and Itaipu
• Moonshots: space-based solar generation, beaming energy across time zones, and fusion

Recorded Sunday 15th March – In this episode we examine how the escalating Middle East conflict is moving beyond oil and gas headlines into the wider industrial systems that underpin the global economy.

We focus on how disruption is transmitted through refined fuels, fertilizers, industrial gases and metals supply chains — and why these second-order effects often shape inflation, food prices, manufacturing and energy security more than the initial price spike itself.

The episode closes with a discussion of resilience — from distributed energy and alternative production pathways to the policy options currently being considered in the UK.

Key Questions Explored:

Refined fuels:

• Why do jet fuel and diesel markets tighten faster than crude oil supply?

• Why are refineries configured for specific crude types and difficult to switch between?

• How do refined fuel shortages feed directly into aviation, freight and consumer prices?

Military logistics driving renewables adoption:

• Why is fuel logistics one of the largest operational risks in military operations?

• How do fuel supply convoys create security vulnerabilities in conflict zones?

• Why are militaries investing in microgrids, solar and battery storage to reduce fuel dependence?

Ammonia and fertilizers:

• Why is ammonia production so tightly linked to natural gas prices?

• How do fertilizer price increases transmit into global food costs and agricultural output?

• Why do many countries maintain domestic fertilizer production as a matter of national security?

Renewable ammonia and the Atome's Villeta project:

• What makes renewable ammonia viable in locations with abundant low-cost electricity?

• Why does proximity to agricultural demand and export infrastructure matter for project economics?

• How does the Villeta project illustrate a shift in fertilizer production toward renewable energy sources?

Helium:

• Why is helium supply closely tied to natural gas processing infrastructure?

• What happens to healthcare and semiconductor manufacturing when helium supply is disrupted, and what are knock-on effects for Taiwan?

• Why are global helium markets particularly vulnerable due to concentrated production?

Sulfur and sulfuric acid:

• How does sulfur recovered from oil and gas processing become a critical industrial chemical?

• Why is sulfuric acid essential for fertilizers, metal refining and battery material production?

• How can disruption in sulfur supply ripple into mining, agriculture and manufacturing costs?

What is the UK government doing to counter rising prices?

• What short-term measures can governments use to support households during energy price spikes?

• How might policies such as price monitoring, subsidies or targeted support be deployed?

• Why are distributed energy technologies like rooftop solar, batteries and flexibility increasingly central to resilience?