Energy News presents the most-viewed interviews of 2025, offering a deep dive into the minds shaping the future of clean energy and hydrogen.
From Franz Liebmann’s bold automotive bets that defied conventional wisdom to Doug Wicks’ insights on systemic hurdles stalling U.S. energy innovation, this year’s conversations explored both ambition and reality. Experts like Paul McCormack and Ad van Wijk tackled Europe’s fragmented hydrogen policies and the overlooked role of hydrogen in industrial decarbonization, highlighting the complex challenges and opportunities defining the energy transition. These interviews provide firsthand perspectives on the strategies, technologies, and policy shifts driving the sector forward.
The €100,000 Gamble That Proved Everyone Wrong: 800,000km in a Tesla Everyone Said Would Die
In 2014, Franz Liebmann did something that made his colleagues think he’d lost his mind. He spent €100,000 on a car he’d never test-driven, from a company everyone said would be bankrupt within months, using technology the automotive press dismissed as “a toy for showoffs.”
Doug Wicks on Why Energy Innovation Is Broken—and How to Fix It
In 2023, U.S. venture investment in energy innovation dropped 27% from its 2021 peak. While inflation and interest rates played a role, insiders suggest a more systemic issue: a stagnating ecosystem that fails to scale bold ideas. Doug Wicks, a former Program Director at ARPA-E, has seen firsthand why so many promising solutions fall short, not in the lab, but in the systems meant to support them.
Beyond the Battle, Forging Europe’s Green Hydrogen Future with Paul McCormack
The European Union’s target to produce 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030 hinges on a critical question: Can fragmented policies, competing national interests, and infrastructural gaps be overcome to unlock hydrogen’s role in the energy transition? Paul McCormack, CEO of Hydrogen Ireland, argues that success demands a radical rethinking of Europe’s approach—one that prioritizes agility, inclusivity, and systemic integration over rigid frameworks.
Reimagining Green Hydrogen: How Modular, Off-Grid Projects in Australia Aim for $2 per Kilo
With the EU projecting a 40% shortfall in water availability for human use by 2030, access to water is becoming a defining constraint for the future of green hydrogen. In Australia, an innovative hydrogen development strategy is attempting to solve this challenge in a way that could reshape cost and infrastructure assumptions for the sector.
Direct Electrification is a Fantasy of a Lot of People, Interview with Ad van Wijk
Electricity accounts for just 20% of global energy consumption, yet dominates decarbonization debates. The remaining 80%, industrial heat, heavy transport, and seasonal energy storage, demands solutions beyond electrification. Dutch energy strategist Ad van Wijk, a pivotal figure in hydrogen innovation, argues that hydrogen, often mischaracterized as a mere byproduct of renewables, is emerging as a critical vector for bridging this gap. We spoke to Ad at a Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Training in Zagreb.
The Hydrogen Market Isn’t Broken — It’s Finally Growing Up
For years, the hydrogen world has behaved like a teenager hopped up on optimism: big promises, loud declarations, and the belief that the whole planet would run on H₂ by “next summer.” Markus Exenberger, Executive Director at H2Global, puts that fantasy to rest. In our conversation at H2 MEET, he was brutally clear: the real work is only now being done — the slow, meticulous, bureaucratic, deeply unsexy work that turns hype into functioning markets.
Why the Energy Transition Is Stalling: Mark Jacobson’s Case Against Distraction and Delay
Air pollution is the second leading cause of death globally, contributing to nearly 7.5 million premature deaths each year. The economic cost of this pollution is staggering — approximately $30 trillion annually, according to Stanford professor Mark Jacobson. Despite this, the global energy transition remains sluggish, hindered not by a lack of technology but by political inertia and what Jacobson categorizes as strategic distractions.
Why Canada’s Zero-Emission Transit Revolution Is Stuck in Neutral
Canadian transit is pouring billions into decarbonization, yet the buses aren’t showing up—and when they do, they can’t always run. According to Dr. Josipa Petrunic, the CEO and President of CUTRIC, leading some of the country’s most ambitious zero-emission transit projects, the challenge isn’t just about technology; it’s about politics, fear, and an industry still haunted by a decade-old failure.
Europe’s Battery Industry is Dying Because We’re Too Scared to Win
The brutal truth about Europe’s battery ambitions hit me during a conversation in Sarajevo with Noshin Omar, the founder of AVESTA Holding. While Chinese battery startups surge from zero to billion-dollar valuations in just three years, Europe’s most innovative battery manufacturers are struggling to secure even scraps of capital and are drowning in permit applications.
Ammonia Is Cheaper Than Your Tesla’s Electricity Bill”: Why Greg Vezina Thinks the Hydrogen Hype Misses the Point
For over four decades, Greg Vezina has been warning that we’re backing the wrong horse. As CEO of Hydrofuel Canada, his message remains unchanged: ammonia is the real clean fuel, not hydrogen, not batteries, and not biofuels. In a world awash with climate pledges and costly techno-optimism, Vezina’s claim stands out: “We can produce ammonia fuel at a quarter of the cost of green hydrogen — and make it safer, cleaner, and cheaper than diesel.”
