Ørsted’s Andy Brown: "We should think in centuries.”

“We’re not in an energy transition.
We’re in an energy addition.”


In this wide-ranging conversation, Andy Brown
OBE, President of the Energy Institute and
Vice Chairman of Ørsted, breaks down the real state of the
global energy system with rare clarity.


Drawing on the Statistical Review of World Energy, Andy
reveals what the data actually shows:
– Global energy demand rose 2%
– CO₂ emissions rose 1%
– Every energy source — fossil and renewable — grew
simultaneously


The transition, he argues, is not yet a transition
at all. It is an addition.





We explore:


1. The global energy picture


– Why decarbonising electricity is the
world’s most urgent task
– Why electrification — still only 20% of final energy use — must
accelerate dramatically
– How China has become both the
problem and the solution:
• 57% of all new renewables
• Two-thirds of global EV sales
• Electricity growth equal to adding an entire Germany in a
single year


2. Ørsted — leadership through turbulence


Andy discusses Ørsted’s rise to the world’s offshore wind leader
— and the hard lessons from recent U.S. setbacks, supply-chain
pressures, and a $9bn equity raise.
He explains how risk management, staged commitments,
and culture helped stabilise the organisation
during crisis.


3. Carbon capture — from theory to reality


A deep dive into one of the world’s most advanced CCS chains:
Ørsted’s biogenic CO₂ capture, liquefaction, transport via
Northern Lights, and permanent storage 2.6 km beneath the
Norwegian seabed.
Andy explains why CCS may be essential — and why without a global
CO₂ price, it cannot scale to the levels required by the IPCC.


4. Leadership at scale


Reflecting on leading Pearl GTL in
Qatar — one of the largest industrial projects ever built — Andy
shows how a culture of care delivered world-record
safety performance.
He shares what leadership requires when systems are in flux, and
how incumbents can be moved from fossil to future.


5. Talent, purpose, resilience


From developing the next generation of leaders to surviving a
five-artery heart bypass, Andy speaks openly about purpose,
vulnerability, and creating environments where people dare to
step beyond what they were asked to do.


6. The long view


Andy closes with a profound shift in perspective:


“Everyone thinks in decades.
We should think in centuries.”


This episode is a masterclass in systems thinking — energy,
economics, geopolitics, leadership — and what it truly takes to
transform the foundations of modern society.


A conversation for anyone shaping, or trying to
understand, the next era of global energy.


For more information: Ørsted, Energy Institute