The Crisis Forcing An Energy Revolution | Ep268: Jonathan Maxwell

The UK is heavily exposed to global energy markets and has some of the highest electricity prices in Europe. At the same time, vast amounts of heat generated across industry and infrastructure go unused. Whether it should be called "waste" is a matter of debate, but could making better use of the energy we already produce be one of the biggest untapped opportunities in the energy transition?

This week, Michael Liebreich is joined by Jonathan Maxwell, founder and CEO of SDCL, a specialist investment firm focused on energy efficiency. They explore why energy efficiency should be treated as a strategic resource, why “waste” heat could become one of Europe's most overlooked energy resources, and how Europe and the UK can strengthen its energy resilience following renewed tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.

They discuss the economics of gas versus electricity, the rapid growth of AI-driven data centres and their power requirements, and how long-term infrastructure investment can help build a more resilient, affordable and efficient energy system.

Topics covered in this episode:

The Strait of Hormuz and Europe's energy security

The UK's energy system and the cost of electrification

Gas versus electricity pricing

Debating “waste” heat and energy efficiency

AI, data centres and growing power demand

Powering and cooling next-generation infrastructure

Infrastructure investment and portfolio management

Europe's energy transition beyond the AI boom

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is proud to be supported by its Leadership Circle. The members are Actis, Alcazar Energy, Arup, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Cygnum Capital, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information about the Leadership Circle, visit cleaningup.live

Links:

Jonathan Maxwell’s bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-maxwell-a121a533/

Jonathan on Cleaning Up 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN2YWPqBPHk

Jonathan on Cleaning Up 2023: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OTbyOxYUpg

Jonathan on Cleaning Up 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqrtr2lePM8

Jonathan’s substack: https://jonathanmaxwell.substack.com/

The Edge by Jonathan Maxwell: https://the-edge-book.com/product/the-edge-by-jonathan-maxwell/

SDCL: https://www.sdclgroup.com/

Ed Conway on Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhvEExdYeEU

Robert Dunn on Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juAyLAUmU3w

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://cleaninguppod.substack.com/

Acronyms:

LNG: Liquified Natural Gas

JCPOA: Joint and Comprehensive Plan of Action

CHP: Combined Heat and Power

PUE: Power Usage Effectiveness

CCHP: Combined Cooling Heat and Power

EBITDA: Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation

Chapters:

00:00 - Europe's Energy Security

05:11 - Strait of Hormuz Impact

15:39 - Electrifying the UK

23:14 - Gas vs Electricity

28:56 - Waste Heat Debate

32:14 - Powering Data Centres

42:20 - AI Investment

46:42 - Cooling Data Centres

52:16 - Managing Energy Assets

01:06:47 - Outro