Sustainable Energy Asia Podcast

Episodes

• 
  Ep 30 Financing renewable projects across the life cycle 24.10.2026 28m

  Siva Sreedharan, co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of Verdant Energy, a renewable energy IPP focused on Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand, shared how renewable energy projects can be financed at different stages of their lifecycle.   Siva walked us through two recent Verdant transactions. The first is the USD 30m acquisition bridge financing provided by EAAIF and Ninety One for a 16 MW wind and 6 MWh battery storage project in Puerto Galera, Mindoro, in the Philippines. The second is a VND 792 billion (c. USD 30 million) 15-year green bond, guaranteed by GuarantCo, which finances 58 MW of C&I rooftop solar in Vietnam and is the country’s first certified green C&I solar bond.   Siva and Ben also discussed the role of private credit, local banks, institutional investors and credit enhancement in financing renewable energy across emerging markets, as well as financing options at the development stage and Verdant’s outlook.
• 
  Ep 29 The development of the renewable C&I sector in Asia with Gavin Adda 17.01.2026 41m

  Gavin Adda, CEO of Peak Energy, former head of renewables at TotalEnergies and founder of Cleantech Solar, shared about his journey building the renewable C&I sector in Asia. Gavin delved on topics such as the evolution of the sector, the regulation in different countries, how to scale, the terms to get right in the CPPA, financing and opportunities for the sector in the region.
• 
  Ep 28 Energy transition in China with Cory Combs 14.12.2025 44m

  Cory Combs, Head of critical minerals and supply chain research at Trivium China, is back on the show to cover the energy transition in China. When it comes to energy transition, China is arguably the most dynamic geography globally, leading in many sectors.   Cory and Benjamin discussed a wide range of topics: power market reform, the explosive EV market, battery materials, and the latest developments on critical minerals.
• 
  Ep 27 Indonesia’s long-awaited power development plan (RUPTL 2025 - 2034) 11.08.2025 33m

  Jean-Louis Neves Mandelli and Frederic Draps, Partners at Arshurst, shared key insights on the new power development plan (RUPTL 2025-2034) and the Indonesian power sector. Drawing on over 10 years of experience covering the market, Jean-Louis and Fred discussed the main takeaways from the RUPTL, the role of private IPPs under the new plan, key challenges, and important considerations for investing in Indonesia’s power sector.
• 
  Ep 26 State of the offshore wind sector in Taiwan and the Philippines with Scott Hsu 22.03.2025 27m

  Scott Hsu, Head of Taiwan and the Philippines at K2 Management, provides insights into the development of the offshore wind industry in both regions.   As the project director for Formosa 1 - the first offshore wind project in Taiwan - Scott has witnessed the industry’s evolution from its inception.   He discusses recent developments in Taiwan, including the shift to Corporate PPAs, the relaxation of localization requirements, and the challenges the sector has faced in recent years. Additionally, he highlights the rapid growth of the offshore wind industry in the Philippines, where numerous developers are actively investing in the sector.
• 
  Ep 25 Unlocking EV charging infrastructure in India with Kartikey Hariyani 28.12.2024 21m

  Kartikey Hariyani, CEO of Charge Zone, an EV charging infrastructure company in India, speaks about his experience funding the company, the EV charging landscape in India and how to develop and grow in this dynamic market.
• 
  Ep 24 Korea power market and offshore wind sector with Marnix Schrijner and David Plunkett 05.10.2024 25m

  Marnix Schrijner and David Plunkett, Head of power market and Korea market expert at Afry, a power market consultancy, are sharing their views on the Korean power market and the latest developments in the Korean offshore wind sector. The two power experts delved into the Korean power market structure, the 11th basic plan, the Korean framework for the offshore wind sector, the result of last year offshore wind auction and the significant changes in this year offshore wind auction mechanism.
• 
  Ep 23 IEA Critical minerals outlook with Shobhan Dhir 21.07.2024 26m

  Shobhan Dhir, critical minerals analyst at the IEA, presents the key insights from the International Energy Agency (IEA) Critical Minerals Outlook 2024, the latest developments in the EV market, and the different battery cathode chemistries. As part of our conversation, we also covered the supply and demand of two critical minerals that are playing an essential role in the energy transition copper and lithium.   Read the Critical minerals outlook 2024
• 
  Ep 22 EV battery chemistry with Cormac O'Laoire 02.06.2024 33m

  Cormac O'Laoire, Managing Director at Electrios Energy and head of strategy at Green Li-on presents the different EV battery cathode chemistries. After an early career in academics, Cormac spent over 10 years in Hong Kong following the development of the battery supply chain. In our conversation, we will cover subjects such as the main chemistries, NMC, NCA, LFP, the role played by Korea and China in the industry and latest development of LMFP, sodium iron and solid-state batteries.
• 
  Ep 21 Decarbonizing small and remote grids with hydrogen with Mathieu Geze 31.03.2024 23m

  Mathieu Geze, Director for Asia at HDF Energy, an European IPP specialised in hydrogen solutions, shares his view on the challenges of decarbonising small grids and how HDF Energy can provide a green baseload solution combining solar, battery and a hydrogen system.   Based in Indonesia, Mathieu explains why HDF Energy has opted to start developing projects in the country and shares the challenges and successes of his journey developing projects in Eastern Indonesia.
• 
  Ep 20 Replay - Singapore electricity market and renewable import into Singapore with Mike Thomas 24.03.2024 30m

  Mike Thomas, Founder and Managing Director at the Lantau Group explained the ins and outs of the Singapore electricity market and discussed the project to import renewable electricity into Singapore from neighbouring countries. Mike shared his over 30 years of energy analyst experience and described the main drivers of the electricity market in Singapore.
• 
  Ep 19 Replay - Hydrogen value chain and its potential to decarbonise the world With Thomas Briault 21.01.2024 19m

  Thomas Briault, Energy leader at Arup in South East Asia discussed the hydrogen value chain. He explained with talent how hydrogen is being produced, stored, transported, and used and its potential to decarbonise the world.
• 
  Ep 18 Volt Rush and China’s role in the EV battery supply chain with Henry Sanderson 02.09.2023 29m

  Henry Sanderson, Managing Editor at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, presents his book Volt Rush: the winners and losers of the race to go green. In this very well-researched book, Henry presents the battery technologies, the materials essential for EV batteries and the leading players in this industry. We focus our discussion on the many Chinese companies playing a central role in the EV battery supply chain.   We cover the following topics Battery: The role played by CATL in the global battery value chain and the personal story of its founder Robin Zeng Lithium: How lithium is extracted and processed in Chile and Australia and why lithium extracted from the spodumene is 7 times more carbon intensive than the Li extracted from Li brine Lithium: How Ganfeng Lithium and Tianqi Lithium are involved in the Li supply chain and how they have built their dominance over the years Cobalt: The role of the Congo DRC in the global cobalt supply chain and the role of the two dominant players Huayou Cobalt and Glencore Cobalt: The Amnesty 2016 report exposing issues around artisanal mining and child labour in the cobalt mining sector in Congo DRC and the impact of the report Nickel: How Tsingshan positioned itself to benefit from Indonesia's ban on raw Nickel ore export in 2020, and how it succeeded in dominating the nickel industry with its investment in the Morowali industrial park Nickel: The environmental impact of processing nickel for stainless steel and battery material Deep-sea mining: Recent developments of deep-sea mining potential in the Clarion-Clipperton zone     Podcast website
• 
  Ep 17 Developing onshore wind projects in Asia and Thailand renewable electricity tender with Olivier Duguet 21.07.2023 22m

  Olivier Duguet, Founder and CEO of the onshore wind developer, The Blue Circle, imparted his experiences in wind project development across Europe and Southeast Asia. We discussed about the key influencers for the cost reductions and technological advancement in wind energy over the past decade, and elements underpinning The Blue Circle's successful bid in the 2023 Thailand Renewable Energy Auction.
• 
  Ep 16 Vietnam PDP8 at last with Giles Cooper 24.06.2023 37m

  Giles Cooper, Managing Partner in Vietnam at a leading international law firm Allens, shared his views on the recently approved Power Development Plan 8 (PDP8) in Vietnam. We discussed about the key highlights from the PDP8, the next steps and the broader implications for renewable energy development in Vietnam.
• 
  Ep 15 Indonesia nickel and EV battery industry and the electrification of Indonesia’s roads with Putra Adhiguna 12.05.2023 31m

  Putra Adhiguna, Energy technology lead in a think tank, explores Indonesia's nickel and battery industry and EV development. We discussed Indonesia's role in the global nickel supply chain and the key players shaping the local landscape. Putra shared his view on the impact of the choices made by legacy automakers on Indonesia's decarbonisation path and what the government can do to foster the development of the nickel industry and electrify Indonesia's roads. Putra is Energy technology lead at Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) Putra's articles: Indonesia’s nickel edge yet to show up in its electric vehicles Electrifying Indonesia’s road transport
• 
  Ep 14 Decarbonization through biogas and biomethane with Kunal Shah 01.04.2023 22m

  Kunal Shah Chief Growth Officer of Anaergia presents the importance of biogas and biomethane in reducing GHG emissions and their role as alternative renewable energy. The conversation also touched upon biogas and biomethane’s potential market size, global development, incentives, and their role in the energy transition journey.
• 
  Ep 13 Saving the planet without the bullshit with Assaad Razzouk 04.02.2023 26m

  Assaad Razzouk, CEO of Gurin Energy and host of the Angry Clean Energy Guy presents his new book "Saving the planet without the bullshit". His book cuts through the misinformation and provides straight-to-the-point solutions to the climate issue. Assaad offers readers clear and sometimes surprising advice on how to eat, how to drink, what to wear, and how to invest to fight climate change. He sheds light on actions that matter and the ones that does not. A core message of his book is why and how we should phase out oil, gas, and coal and why we can be distracted from this critical goal.   His book: Saving the Planet without the bullshit His podcast: The Angry Clean Energy Guy
• 
  Ep 12 Voluntary carbon markets with Jay Mariyappan 20.01.2023 33m

  Jay Mariyappan, Partner at EEAM discussed the voluntary carbon markets. In this episode, Jay defines voluntary carbon markets in comparison to the compliance ones and explains how corporate commitments toward net zero are key drivers of the development of voluntary carbon markets. This episode also touches on the fundamental issue of heterogeneity and the quality of carbon offsets. In the end, Jay provides his view on the applicability of blockchain to this market.
• 
  Ep 11 M&A ESG due diligence with Trista Chen 28.12.2022 38m

  Trista Chen, Partner at ERM, talks about her experience in the ESG industry. Trista shares her view on the development and trend in sustainability and ESG, broke down ESG due diligence process and sheds light on ESG standards and climate finance. Combining one case study on ESG due diligence of an e-cosmetic company, Trista also explained in detail how ERM's ESG due diligence is executed on the project level.