Totally Cooked: Episode 18 – Are we really on track for Net Zero? Part 2

Join hosts Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick and Iain Strachan of the Totally Cooked team for part 2, as they explore Australia’s path to net zero emissions with Monash University expert Roger Dargaville. The discussion goes deeper into the technologies and hard choices shaping Australia’s energy future. Unpacking why nuclear power doesn’t stack up economically or technically for Australia’s high-renewables grid, how pumped hydro acts as a giant rechargeable battery, and where hydrogen really fits into the mix—hint: it’s not grid storage.

The conversation also covers EV battery degradation and the emerging recycling industry, the challenges of decarbonising aviation with sustainable fuels, and the frustrating reality that fossil fuels can’t simply be switched off overnight. Roger shares what cutting-edge research is happening in his lab—from optimal energy system modelling and EV charging infrastructure to building-integrated solar and green steel—before the hosts close with a frank discussion on the political, economic, and intergenerational barriers that have slowed climate action for decades.

Iain records Totally Cooked on the lands of the Bunurong People of the Kulin Nation. Sarah records Totally Cooked on the lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging and recognise their unique and continuing connection to the land, skies, waters, plants and animals.

Show Notes

In this episode, we look at:

• Power systems engineering: why it’s the most in-demand job in the renewable energy sector right now.
• AC vs DC charging: why fast (DC) charging accelerates EV battery degradation—and how bad it really is.
• What happens to an EV battery at end of life—second-life stationary storage, recycling lithium, and why fresh mining is still cheaper (for now).
• The environmental footprint of lithium batteries vs internal combustion engine vehicles.
• Nuclear power: is it inherently safe? A clear-eyed look at modern reactor design, waste, and why some countries need it.
• Why nuclear doesn’t make economic or technical sense for Australia’s high-penetration renewables grid.
• The technology mismatch: why nuclear struggles to ramp up and down fast enough to complement variable solar and wind.
• How pumped hydro works—and how it differs from conventional hydroelectricity.
• Snowy 2.0 and the role of pumped hydro in providing flexible, dispatchable generation.
• Hydrogen as an energy vector, not a source: why it’s inefficient for grid storage but critical for industry.
• Green hydrogen’s role in decarbonising fertiliser production (the Haber-Bosch process) and green steel/iron making.
• Why hydrogen faces an uphill battle against batteries even for heavy freight transport.
• Hydrogen fuel cells for aviation vs sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs): what’s actually feasible?
• The challenge of decarbonising aviation—and what it would cost to run planes on synthetic kerosene.
• Why we can’t switch off fossil fuels overnight: the scale, cost, and complexity of legacy energy infrastructure.
• The diabolical problem of climate change: intergenerational and international inequity in who bears the cost vs who reaps the benefit.
• The Paris Agreement vs Kyoto: carrots vs sticks, and why voluntary diplomacy may be more effective than binding targets.
• China’s coal emissions: why what happens there is critical—and why the Chinese government has its own reasons to act.
• Free market economics and the role of government subsidies in making wind and solar cost-competitive.
• Weather risks to renewable energy infrastructure: transmission line failures, the 2016 South Australian blackout, and Victoria’s wind events.
• Why a more distributed renewable grid is simultaneously more vulnerable and more resilient The need for “overbuild” in renewable systems—and why it’s really just designing for reliability.
• Gold-plating the grid: the $40 billion guaranteed-return investment scheme of the mid-2010s and its impact on power bills.
• The Gladstone LNG export terminal, domestic gas prices, and what happened when the east coast market merged with international prices.
• Gas stoves vs induction: the great debate, and why there’s no technical difference for your scrambled eggs (but there is for your kids’ lungs).
• What Roger’s PhD students are working on right now: energy transition optimisation, EV charging infrastructure at Monash, green steel and ammonia life cycle assessment, battery chemistry, and building-integrated PV.
• Perovskite solar cells and the potential of transparent photovoltaic glass (shoutout to Clearview PV in Perth).
• The discovery of the photoelectric effect by accident—and why blue-sky research matters.
• Looking ahead: El Niño-Southern Oscillation, the role of oceans in the Earth system, and what exactly are clouds?

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This episode will be released and available to stream and download on Friday 3rd April, 2026.

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Because it’s time to feel empowered, not overwhelmed. Totally Cooked is a science-backed, straight-talking podcast about weather, climate change, and what it all means for life on Earth – especially here in Australia.

Hosted by climate scientist Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick and science communicator Iain Strachan, Totally Cooked breaks down how human activity is changing the Earth’s systems—from our skies to our seas—and what we can do about it.

From greenhouse gases to fire weather, supercomputers to Antarctic ice cores, this is climate science without the jargon, and where no subject is too complex or controversial.

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