Cleaning Up Podcast

Mexico Is On The Brink Of A Solar Boom | Ep281: Alberto Estefan

2.3K views · 1d ago · 59:59

Guest: Alberto Estefan

Mexico’s energy future is closely tied to its neighbour to the north. It imports much of its natural gas from the US, but could it soon be exporting clean electricity, or even data, in return? With electricity demand surging, Mexico is preparing for a major expansion of its power system, with 30GW of new generation planned by 2030 and more than $40bn in potential investment.

Topics: Latin America · Mexico’s Growth · Solar Expansion · Investment Framework · Building Businesses · Gas and Renewables

▶️ Mentioned videos: Robert Capuano on Cleaning Up

How To Run A Grid In A State Of War | Deep Dive Ukraine 04: Vitalii Zaichenko & Volodymyr Kudrytskyi

2.7K views · 3d ago · 59:43

The grid is one of the most important assets in any functioning energy system, transmitting electricity from where it's generated to where it's needed. In Ukraine, that challenge is enormous. The country is very big, 1,300 kilometers from east to west, almost the distance from London to Rome. And the system is under constant attack from Russia, which targets the grid with everything from tiny drones to ballistic missiles.

▶️ Mentioned videos: Wärtsilä’s Håkan Agnevall on Cleaning Up

📰 Mentioned news: Article on bbc.co.uk

Can Indonesia Grow Without Burning More Coal? Ep280: Sandiaga Uno

2.5K views · 1w ago · 1:04:20

Guest: Sandiaga Uno

Indonesia is facing a defining question: can it continue to grow its economy while making the shift towards a greener future? In this episode of Cleaning Up, guest host Marie Cheong speaks with Sandiaga Uno, chair of Mutuagung Lestari International and former Deputy Governor of Jakarta and Minister of Tourism, about Indonesia’s potential to become a major player in the green economy, and why the country’s natural resources, growing energy needs and entrepreneurial ecosystem…

Topics: About Indonesia · Saratoga’s Evolution · Energy Transition · Rising Energy Demand · Growth and Policy · Carbon Credits

How Will The Russia-Ukraine War Come To An End? Deep Dive Ukraine 03: John E. Herbst

13K views · 1w ago · 45:07

One of the biggest questions when it comes to the brutal and drawn-out Russia-Ukraine war is how it can be brought to an end, and crucially, could it ever be replaced by a stable peace? To understand this, we have to ask not just where we are now, but how we got here.

Topics: The Orange Revolution · Putin’s Ambitions · NATO and Ukraine · US Policy Shifts · Ukraine’s Oil Strikes · Sanctions Hit Russia

📰 Mentioned news: Michael’s Substack on Ukraine striking Russian oil refineries

What The Mining Industry Really Thinks About The Energy Transition | Ep279: Rohitesh Dhawan

3.1K views · 2w ago · 1:03:33

The world needs more metals than ever before, but can the mining industry deliver the resources responsibly? The energy transition depends on the mining industry, yet the sector faces hard questions over coal, carbon emissions, environmental damage and the rights of the communities whose land and resources it extracts.

Topics: ICMM's Role · Tailings Dam Safety · Investor Accountability · Global Mining Standards · Coal and Emissions · Permitting New Mines

▶️ Mentioned videos: Mark Cutifani on Cleaning Up

Ukraine Is Building The Energy System Of The Future | Deep Dive 02: Andrii Gerus & Dmytro Boroday

11K views · 2w ago · 56:38

Can you make energy investments work in a country at war? Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, repeated attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have devastated its power system. By spring 2024, the country’s dispatchable generating capacity had fallen from 38 GW before the war to just 12 GW, leaving electricity in short supply and heating disrupted for many households.

Topics: Ukraine's Energy Crisis · Soviet Energy System · War Damage · Distributed Energy · Attracting Investors · War Risk Insurance

How Energy Security Became National Security | Ep278: Alexander De Croo

5.4K views · 3w ago · 58:59

Guest: Alexander De Croo

The world is facing a new era of geopolitical instability, rising energy costs and declining development finance. For many countries, access to reliable, affordable energy is no longer just an economic priority, it is a question of security.

Topics: UNDP’s Mission · Rethinking Development · Energy Security · Grids and Resilience · From Ambition to Action · Financing the Transition

▶️ Mentioned videos: Achim Steiner on Cleaning Up

Winter Is Coming, How Will Ukraine Will Survive It? Deep Dive Ukraine 01.

8K views · 3w ago · 40:55

Guest: Sorina Seitvelieva

It's been over four and a half years since Russia unleashed its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and still the war shows no sign of stopping. This week on Cleaning Up, we launch a new Deep Dive looking at Ukraine and how its people and energy systems cope through the war.

Topics: Journey Into Ukraine · Life During War · The Kherson Frontline · Community Resilience · Preparing For Winter · Energy Security Lessons

📖 Mentioned book: Unbreakable Kherson Ukrainian Wartime Resilience

Is Nuclear Fusion About To Have A Theranos Moment? Ep 277: Sir Steven Cowley

90K views · 4w ago · 59:55

There's an old joke that energy from nuclear fusion is 30 years away and always will be. For many decades, the industry did little to spoil the fun, running mammoth and unwieldy research projects, hoovering up a few billion dollars every science funding cycle and announcing breakthroughs that were scientifically interesting, but did little to move us towards actual production of electricity.

Topics: Career in fusion · Commercial fusion · Laser fusion · Breeding tritium · Fusion startups · Laser versus magnets

▶️ Mentioned videos: Steven’s talk IPAM 2026 · s talk at SOSV Steven · Aneeqa Khan on Cleaning Up

Is The Earth Warming Faster Than We Thought? | Ep276: Peter Cox

21K views · 1mo ago · 1:06:54

Guest: Peter Cox

This week on Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington is joined by Peter Cox, Professor of Climate System Dynamics at the University of Exeter and Director of the Global Systems Institute. A former lead author of the IPCC climate reports, Peter has spent decades studying the complex feedbacks between the climate, carbon cycle and natural world.

Topics: Professor Peter Cox · Climate System Modelling · Climate Tipping Points · Accelerating Global Warming · Earth’s Energy Imbalance · The Darkening Planet

The Scandal at The Heart of The Energy Transition | Ep275: Jan Rosenow

65K views · 1mo ago · 1:05:24

Around two-thirds of the energy we put into today’s energy system ends up as rejected heat. So are we measuring the energy transition all wrong? Professor Jan Rosenow joins Michael Liebreich to unpack the “primary energy fallacy”: why focusing on the energy going into the system can obscure the useful energy we actually get out.

▶️ Mentioned videos: Jonathan Maxwell on Cleaning Up · Rob Dunn on Cleaning Up · Jorgo Chatzimarkakis on Cleaning Up

📰 Mentioned news: Jan Rosenow’s Substack

How AI Is Reshaping Security, Geopolitics and Climate | Episode 274: Afonso Salema & Sam Winter-Levy

2.1K views · 1mo ago · 1:05:36

Guest: Sam Winter-Levy

More than 80% of the world’s advanced AI compute is concentrated in the US and China. For Europe and other middle powers, the question may no longer be how to win the AI race, but how to avoid becoming dangerously dependent on those that do.

Topics: AI, security, geopolitics · Compute as power · The global AI race · Building data centres · Defending critical infrastructure · Who pays for security?

▶️ Mentioned videos: Episode 235: Inside Start Campus, Europe’s largest data centre · James Cameron on Cleaning Up in 2020 · James Cameron on Cleaning Up in 2025

Mexico Wants To Build An $8,000 EV For Everyone | Ep273: Roberto Capuano

50K views · 1mo ago · 57:10

Guest: Roberto Capuano

Can Mexico build an electric car for $8,000, and use it to create an entirely new domestic industry? This week on Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington visits Mexico City to sit down with Roberto Capuano, director of the Olinia Project, and discuss the state-backed effort to develop a new generation of affordable electric mini-vehicles.

Topics: Electrifying Mexico City · Olinia's Origins · Mini Electric Cars · Made in Mexico · State-Led Industry · Chinese Supply Chains

The Testbed for Asia's Clean-Tech Future | Ep272: Jaime Z. Urquijo

6.2K views · 2mo ago · 1:04:51

Can the Philippines become a testbed for Southeast Asia’s clean-tech future? Kicking off Season 19 of Cleaning Up, guest host Marie Cheong meets Jaime Z. Urquijo, Urban Estates Group Head at Ayala Land, one of the Philippines is largest real estate and development companies.

Topics: The Philippines · Ayala's history · Sustainability strategy · Net zero · Energy liberalisation · Regional challenges

▶️ Mentioned videos: Marie's past appearance on Cleaning Up

The Good, Bad and Downright Ugly of Australia's Energy Transition | Deep Dive 09: Anna Freeman

17K views · 2mo ago · 1:03:34

Australia has become a laboratory for the energy transition, what can the rest of the world learn? After two weeks travelling across Australia and meeting the leaders shaping its energy transition, Michael Liebreich got a close up view of the country’s transformation.

Topics: Solar Adoption · Big Batteries · The Missing Middle · Transmission Grids · Australia’s Wind Problem · China’s Superpower

▶️ Mentioned videos: Darren Miller · Chris Bowen · Marc England · Lily D'Ambrosio