How the energy crisis is reshaping investment

Hydropower is the third largest source of power generation globally, producing roughly as much electricity as solar and wind combined. Yet despite its huge role in electricity systems around the world, it is often left out of conversations on energy.  In this episode, IEA renewable energy analyst Yasmina Abdelilah explains how the role of hydropower in electricity systems has evolved in recent decades. With electricity demand surging around the world, she highlights the benefits hydropower could deliver across both advanced and emerging economies and discusses what is needed to overcome key barriers.

A lot has happened since the IEA published its landmark report last year on what artificial intelligence could mean for global electricity demand and its potential to reshape how energy systems work. The tech sector has poured hundreds of billions of dollars of additional investment into AI, while the technology itself and the ways in which it’s used have continued to develop rapidly. At the same time, the deployment of AI is increasingly constrained by a range of physical bottlenecks, including for energy, raising questions about the rate at which it can expand in the near term. In this episode, IEA analysts Siddharth Singh and Thomas Spencer – the lead authors of a new report on energy and AI – unpack these developments and their implications. They explain what energy and AI’s special relationship looks like in 2026 and how it could evolve in the years ahead.

Critical minerals are essential for many of today’s energy technologies – and for the broader economy. Lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite, for example, are crucial to battery performance. Rare earth elements are indispensable for the permanent magnets in wind turbines and electric vehicle motors. And electricity networks need huge amounts of aluminium and copper. As demand for these materials rises rapidly, so does their strategic importance. But in recent years, critical mineral supply chains have become more concentrated, not less – demanding greater attention from policymakers and industry. This episode features conversations with Benjamin Gallezot, the critical minerals envoy of France – which holds this year’s G7 Presidency – and Jakob Stausholm, the former CEO of multinational mining group Rio Tinto. Speaking on the sidelines of the IEA’s 2026 Ministerial Meeting in February, they discuss the growing importance of critical minerals for global energy and economic security – and what steps could be taken to strengthen supply chain security and resilience. Tae-Yoon Kim, the head of the IEA’s Critical Minerals Division, also joins the episode to share the latest data and analysis on the subject, as well as how the IEA is bringing countries together to tackle supply risks.