Clean energy is a very big topic. There’s also a lot of excitement (and hype) about new technologies which promise to revolutionise energy production, transportation, smart infrastructure and life in general. Hydrogen is right up there. But how much of this is real?
Useful links:
- Mentioned in the podcast …
- Hydrogen Carrot Mountain on LinkedIN
- His thoughts on the Hydrogen Ladder – updated to version 5.0 on Substack.
- Energy Futures Lab, Imperial College London, Annual Lecture 2024.
- Online bio at Liebreich Associates
- Not all of us have a Wikipedia page. Michael does. Find it here.
- Michael’s podcast, “Cleaning Up” – find it here.
- Links to charitable projects here
- Michael’s 1992 Winter Olympics results here and a photo of him skiing (back then) here, and also an interesting article about this.
Introduction:
If you’re interested in the world of clean energy, you’ll know that it’s a very big topic. There’s also a lot of excitement – some would even say hype – about new technologies which promise to revolutionise energy production, transportation, smart infrastructure and life in general. But how much of it is real?
This is an interview with Michael Leibreich, an expert in the area of clean energy. He graduated from Christ’s College, Cambridge with first class honours in 1984, specialising in mechanics, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics and nuclear engineering. He then went on to graduate from Harvard Business School in 1990.
I won’t list his business accomplishments – they are vast and you can look them up – but recently he has served as a member of the UK’s Board of Trade and was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the Energy Institute. He also regularly delivers keynotes at conferences about clean energy. He has a reputation for delivering a contrarian, underhyped, realistic picture of the energy transition challenge – which can sometimes be uncomfortable to hear for those with vested interests in energy projects. He also has a successful podcast called “Cleaning Up” about clean energy and sustainable development. I’d highly recommend you take a listen.
In this interview, we zero in largely on the topic of hydrogen. Hydrogen is an energy source which is hugely promising, but at the same time often overhyped and even central to technofantasy and greenwashing. So we specifically asked Michael to share his perspective on the role of hydrogen in our transition away from fossil fuels. We think you’ll find the conversation both useful and refreshing.
Oh, and did I mention that he was a member of the British Ski Team, competing at the World & European Cups, the World & European Championships and the 1992 Olympics in Albertville? More about that and his other interests shortly.
