Smart Society Show

Electricity has become one of the defining economic and political issues of our time. In this episode, Brynne Kennedy and Chris Skidmore unpack the growing pressure around power prices in the US and UK, the urgent need for grid modernization, and why on-site generation, storage, and smarter forecasting are becoming essential as demand surges.They are joined first by Dave Easton, Partner on the Growth Equity Team at Generation Investment Management, who explains how Generation’s research-led “roadmap” approach helps identify where value will accrue across sustainability themes before the market fully catches on. He shares why the collision between AI and energy has been visible for years to those paying attention, why sustainable investing is simply best-practice investing, and why the next decade could create more opportunity in energy technology than the last hundred years combined.In the second half, Sean Kelly, co-founder and CEO of Amperon, explains how his Houston-based company built an AI-powered electricity forecasting platform now operating across 24 countries. Sean shares how Amperon helps traders, utilities, and grid operators navigate a more volatile, renewable-heavy power system through better demand, generation, and price forecasting — and why AI-driven forecasting is becoming critical infrastructure in its own right.From electricity prices and storage to AI adoption and grid reliability, this episode explores the technologies, business models, and investment themes shaping the future of energy.

In this episode of The Smart Society Show, Brynne Kennedy and Chris Skidmore explore the accelerating collision of AI, data centers, and energy infrastructure, from the growing power bottleneck facing AI to the rise of off-grid, behind-the-meter generation and the renewed importance of transition finance.They are joined by Freddie Sarhan, Founder and CEO of Sapphire Technologies, who explains how Sapphire is turning wasted pressure energy in natural gas pipelines into clean, 24/7 electricity and cooling for data centers and industrial customers. Vicki Knott, Co-Founder and CEO of CruxOCM, also joins to discuss how her company is bringing adaptive cruise control-style automation to pipeline control rooms, helping make critical energy infrastructure safer, more efficient, and ready for a more automated future.

This week, Brynne Kennedy and Rt Hon Chris Skidmore OBE speak with two leaders shaping global climate policy and the future of on-site power: Catherine McKenna, former Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Chair of the UN Net Zero Expert Group, and Shannon Miller, Co-Founder and CEO of Mainspring Energy.Brynne and Chris discuss the key outcomes from COP in Brazil, the rising strain between AI-driven electricity demand and grid capacity, and the renewed focus on nuclear power as clean baseload. They examine how geopolitics, permitting, and implementation are now central to the energy transition.Catherine McKenna reflects on her path from negotiating the Paris Agreement to defining global net-zero standards at the UN. She outlines what drives real climate action today: credible regulation, pricing climate risk, ending public fossil fuel finance, and ensuring policy certainty for investors.Shannon Miller explains how Mainspring’s linear generator technology delivers reliable, fuel-flexible on-site power for data centers, industrial users, and logistics hubs. She highlights deployments with partners like Prologis and utilities, showing how microgrids and modular systems are accelerating clean, resilient power where it’s needed most.

In this new episode of The Smart Society Show, co-hosts Brynne Kennedy and Chris Skidmore speak with two leaders at the forefront of global infrastructure and AI-enabled clean power: Sir Danny Alexander, CEO of HSBC Infrastructure Finance & Sustainability, and John Diklev, founder & CEO of Flower.Brynne and Chris begin with insights from COP and the rising pressure on global power systems—from AI-driven electricity demand to the growing focus on energy security, sovereignty, and the practical challenge of building reliable, affordable, clean power at scale.In our Climate Leaders segment, Sir Danny Alexander reflects on his experience in UK government and multilateral development finance, sharing how blended finance, stable policy, and smarter regulation can unlock capital for the energy transition across global markets.In the Chasing Unicorns segment, John Diklev explains how Flower is creating AI-optimised clean power by combining renewable assets with flexible storage and real-time trading. He introduces Green Baseload, Flower’s model for delivering reliable, affordable clean energy to data centers and industry.

In this Season 2 premiere of The Smart Society Show, co-hosts Brynne Kennedy and Chris Skidmore sit down with two leading voices in policy and energy, former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Greg Jackson, founder & CEO of Octopus Energy.Brynne and Chris open the episode with a discussion on the shifting dynamics of global energy, from the surge in power demand driven by AI and data centers, to how industrial policy and energy sovereignty are becoming central to economic strategy. They explore why the focus has moved beyond emissions targets to the real-world challenge of delivering affordable, reliable, and abundant power.In our Climate Leaders segment, Boris Johnson reflects on his time in office and at COP26, sharing his perspective on how to sustain public support for net zero. He discusses the need to pair technology and growth with affordability, ensuring the green transition creates jobs, investment, and long-term economic competitiveness.In the Chasing Unicorns segment, Greg Jackson explains how Octopus Energy’s recently spun-off software platform, Kraken, is redefining how energy systems work - using AI and automation to optimize grids, integrate renewables, and reduce costs for households and businesses worldwide. He offers a vision for a future where technology makes clean energy not just possible, but better and cheaper for everyone.