Resilience: Google’s interconnection strategies, Form’s LDES commercialization, Iranian energy implications, and distributed battery benefits

Recorded on Monday 2nd March. We discuss the first energy market reactions to the escalating Middle East conflict and what it reveals about global supply chains. We also explore Google’s new data-centre energy strategy, Form Energy’s push to commercialise 100-hour batteries, and how distributed storage can help free up capacity to bring more capacity online faster.Initial energy shocks from the Middle East escalation – what the conflict could mean for global energy and commodity markets.War-risk premiums and shipping implications – how insurance markets are disrupting global energy and commodity flows The overlooked commodity that links energy to food – why sulfur shortages could ripple through fertilizer markets and push up agricultural costs.Connecting load to the grid - why it's often harder than building new generation.Google’s new strategies for powering data centres – 2 projects in Minnesota and Texas each show different combinations of colocation, storage, and interconnection strategies to speed up interconnection.The rise of multi-day batteries – why LDES can reshape how grids handle extreme weather and renewable volatility.Form Energy – how iron-air batteries store electricity by turning iron into rust and back again.Why 100 hours matters – the multi-day grid stress events that this technology is built to solve.Batteries vs grid expansion – how distributed storage could defer hundreds of billions of dollars in transmission upgrades and bring more capacity online faster.A growing policy divide – why the US is subsidising energy manufacturing while Europe focuses on lowering electricity prices.