Alex Beard, King of Oil Bets on Batteries & Renewable Energy

Alex Beard, one of the world’s most renowned oil traders is diversifying his portfolio to include battery sites across the United Kingdom and show more interest towards renewable energy.

The former Glencore Executive said he plans to build a 500 megawatts storage to power homes with his Adaptogen Capital Investment fund. During his time at Glencore, his company was trading almost 7% of the world oil. However, in fast-changing times he believes it is necessary to shift to renewables and focus on the energy industry.

He said in a statement, “I have time for a second career in energy markets. It won’t be oil and gas but it will be the transition away from carbon that will be most relevant for next 25 years.”

Alex Beard plans to raise capital with its investment fund as the nation’s goes through an energy crisis which has sky rocketed fuel prices. The low supply of fuel has created the perfect opportunity to divert sources towards wind and nuclear power. He further said, “The current crisis gives you a taste of what we will be experiencing more and more often. Batteries provide you with stability when the grid becomes unstable and are key enabling assets in the energy transition.”

Economies are moving further away from traditional fuel sources such as gas and coal. It has become more important than ever for governments to find power sources for grids which are will not be affected by supply outages or price hikes. Wind and solar renewable energies are highly dependent on weather circumstances.

Renewable energy companies are not affected by price risks as the government in the U.K has provided guaranteed contracts to keep competition under control. However, with the increase in output, the industry will have to face price volatility and learn how to manage hedge price. Alex Beard who had a 2% stake in Glencore worth 1.2 billion has announced to co-sponsor a special purpose acquisition company SPAC in Amsterdam called Energy Transition Partners.