Summit | Joe McDonald (tem) & Adam Chirkowski (AlbionVC): Fixing the $900B energy problem

<p>Cheap, reliable energy is becoming a strategic advantage. As AI, data centres and manufacturing demand more power, the economics of electricity increasingly influence which countries and companies can stay competitive.</p><p>Recorded at EUVC Summit 2026, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-mcdonald-energy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Joe McDonald</a>, CEO and Co-Founder of <a href="https://www.tem.energy/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">tem</a>, joins <a href="uk.linkedin.com/in/adam-chirkowski-a4703b63" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Adam Chirkowski</a>, Partner at <a href="https://albion.vc/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">AlbionVC</a>, to discuss how the energy market needs to change and why the UK and parts of Europe could be particularly well positioned to build major new companies in the sector.</p><p>Joe explains how tem is rebuilding the transaction infrastructure behind energy using AI, why layers of intermediation still add significant cost and what it takes to compete with long-established utilities. </p><p>The conversation also explores why the complexity of energy can create defensibility, how the sector could develop in a similar way to fintech and why lowering the cost of the electron matters far beyond the energy industry itself.</p><p><br><strong>Highlights</strong></p><ul><li>Why energy costs increasingly influence national competitiveness</li><li>How AI and data centres are increasing the importance of low-cost power</li><li>Where friction still exists in energy transactions</li><li>How tem is building new transaction infrastructure</li><li>Why incumbents struggle to reinvent their own business models</li><li>How complexity can become a moat in energy</li><li>Why the UK and parts of Europe may have a structural advantage</li><li>What the energy sector can learn from fintech</li><li>Why Europe could produce the next generation of major energy companies</li></ul>