Financing Decarbonisation Ep 31: Dr Nadine Moustafa & Paul Davies

Is Carbon capture an investable industry, and can it be financeable?

Host

• Dr. Nadine Moustafa, Research Associate at Imperial, specialising in carbon management and decarbonisation technologies.

Guest 

• Paul Davies - Director at 7CO2: The Severnside Carbon Capture and Shipping Hub

Topics Discussed 

• Government's role in financing decarbonisation
• The public and private sector contributions to decarbonisation industries
• Innovation in carbon capture lending itself to investment
• Policies and the market.

Timecode & Chapters;

00:02:21 – Introduction & Guest Background

00:02:47 – What Makes Financing Decarbonization Different?

00:03:53 – Role of Government & Carbon Pricing

00:04:36 – Public-Private Collaboration

00:06:19 – Evolving Risk & Government Support

00:08:10 – Negative Emissions & Market Potential

00:09:05 – Business Models for Carbon Capture

00:11:24 – Infrastructure Scaling Challenges

00:12:14 – Why CCS Projects Lag Behind

00:14:03 – Government’s Role in Mitigating Risk

00:15:25 – Financial Close & Project Rollout

00:17:09 – Non-Pipeline Transport Solutions

00:19:16 – Modular vs. Mega Projects

00:21:29 – Importance of Long-Term Policy Signals

00:23:01 – Sector-Specific Financing Opportunities

00:25:10 – Aviation & Consumer Offsets

00:27:36 – Revenue-Driven Sectors Will Lead

00:28:13 – Cross-Sector Financing Mechanisms

00:30:31 – Residual Emissions & Net Zero

00:33:31 – Long-Term Use of Fossil Fuels

00:34:39 – Advice for Stakeholders

00:36:03 – The Magic Wand Question

00:37:11 – Social Acceptability & Political Support

00:38:23 – Closing Thoughts

Nadine's links:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadine-moustafa-ph-d-5831a1a7/

Imperial profile - https://profiles.imperial.ac.uk/n.mou...

Paul's links:

7CO2: The Severnside Carbon Capture and Shipping Hub -

What are the key challenges in manufacturing wind turbines, and is the lifespan of wind turbines impacting the sustainable nature of wind farming?

Host

• Dr. Aidan Rhodes, Research Fellow and Briefing paper at Energy Futures Lab

Guest 

• Cristina Fernández Alonso, a product service engineer – and Blade Project manager at GE Vernova
• Sara Jiménez Alfaro, an aeronautical Engineer and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford and Imperial College

Topics Discussed 

• The ongoing construction and targets of the largest wind farm in the world.
• Challenges to the construction, operation and maintenance of wind turbines.
• Innovative research into the lifespan of these offshore giants.
• Wind power as a leading innovator in renewable energy.

Chapters & Timestamps 

 01:43 - Episode Introduction: Offshore Wind Farms

Host introduces the topic and guests.

02:06 - Guest Introductions: Cristina Fernandez & Jose Jimenez Alfaro

Backgrounds and roles in offshore wind energy.

03:01 - Cristina’s Career Journey

From Spain to Imperial College and her role at GE Vernova.

05:05 - Long-Term Wind Turbine Maintenance

Cristina discusses her passion for turbine maintenance and customer collaboration.

05:45 - Sara’s Research Journey

From aeronautical engineering to fracture mechanics in offshore wind.

07:04 - Fatigue and Corrosion in Wind Turbines

Sara explains his research on extending turbine lifespan.

08:11 - Overview of the Dogger Bank Project

Cristina describes the scale and significance of the world’s largest wind farm.

10:00 - Wind Turbine Efficiency and Capacity

Technical details on turbine design and energy output.

11:10 - Advances in Materials Science

Discussion on fracture mechanics and material properties.

12:24 - Collaboration on Dogger Bank Project

Multi-stakeholder coordination and logistics.

14:10 - Logistics and Transportation Challenges

Moving massive turbine components across Europe.

16:31 - Offshore Wind Challenges

Structural and environmental challenges in offshore installations.

Aidan’s Links  - Aidan Rhodes Profile | Imperial College London

Aidan Rhodes | LinkedIn

Cristina’s links - Cristina Fernández Alonso | LinkedIn

Sara’s links - Sara Jiménez Alfaro | LinkedIn

Produced by Annemarie van Basten

Annemarie Van Basten | LinkedIn

Additional Links 

• Dogger Bank

The World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm - Dogger Bank Wind...

To reach net zero, we need to electrify transport—from personal vehicles to heavy goods trucks.

In this episode, Edoardo Taricco, a mechanical engineer and recent graduate of the MSc in Sustainable Energy Futures programme at Imperial College London, explores the future of electric vehicles and sustainable travel.

Guests

• Gregory Offer – Professor in electrochemical science and engineering at Imperial College London. His work focuses on battery, fuel cell, and supercapacitor technologies for transport applications.
• Jade Edwards – Head of Insights at Zapmap, a leading source of EV charging data and analysis. Her team examines EV charging infrastructure, driver behavior, and industry trends.

Topics Discussed

• The evolving EV market – Trends in consumer behavior, policy, and global adoption.
• Charging infrastructure – Innovations, accessibility, and user experience.
• Electrifying heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) – Technological challenges, emerging solutions, and alternatives beyond batteries.
• The role of EVs in grid stability – How bidirectional charging and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology could reshape energy systems.
• Decarbonizing transport – The need for smaller EVs, active transport, and better public transit integration.

Chapters & Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction

00:42 – Meet our guests

03:20 – The shift to EVs: consumer trends and policy drivers

06:40 – Overcoming range anxiety and lifestyle changes with EVs

12:17 – The potential of EVs in supporting the energy grid

19:51 – Charging infrastructure: accessibility, investment, and rollout challenges

30:35 – Standardization and payment systems in EV charging

40:03 – Battery technology, thermal management, and future improvements

50:01 – The relationship between EV sales and charging infrastructure growth

53:05 – The rise of SUVs and challenges in decarbonizing transport

58:34 – Electrifying heavy goods vehicles: challenges and solutions

1:02:34 – Future of fleet charging and shared infrastructure

1:03:06 – Closing thoughts and where to find our guests

Edoardo’s Links

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edoardo-taricco-9a77a2205/

Greg’s links

Imperial profile: https://profiles.imperial.ac.uk/gregory.offer

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregory-offer-3180379/?originalSubdomain=uk

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/electrochem-sci-eng/

Jade’s Links

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jade-edwards-0a16b51/

https://www.zap-map.com/

Produced by Jonny Prest

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonnyprest/

Additional Links

• Ultra-rapid EV charging, powered by Sainsburys

https://www.about.sainsburys.co.uk/sustainability/plan-for-better/our-stories/2023/sainsburys-ultra-rapid-electric-vehicle-charging

• Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G)