#04: Gridlocked or Grid-Ready? What's Next for Energy and Supply Chains

In this episode of Moving the World, Susan Uthayakumar, chief energy and sustainability officer at Prologis, welcomes Dr. Arun Majumdar, dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, to explore the forces shaping the future of energy and infrastructure. From distributed energy systems and grid resilience to AI-driven innovation and supply chain decarbonization, they break down what’s technically possible, economically viable and urgently needed to accelerate the transition to a sustainable global economy. They discuss: 0:00 Intro 0:37 Building a cleaner, more resilient energy system 0:48 The three-way energy challenge: economy, security and environment 2:25 Are we moving fast enough on the energy transition? 4:09 Why energy transition is different around the world 6:40 What is slowing clean energy adoption 9:52 Why transmission has become the biggest bottleneck 12:58 The next wave: geothermal, storage and nuclear 15:16 The overlooked power of efficiency 16:28 Why nuclear is back in the conversation 18:18 Why energy is a boardroom topic 19:53 AI’s power demand is changing the equation 21:11 How data centers could support the grid 23:40 Why an all-of-the-above energy strategy matters 24:16 The tension between security and decarbonization 30:07 Closing remarks Read the podcast recap on the Prologis blog: https://www.prologis.com/insights-new... Today’s experts: Susan Uthayakumar is Prologis’ chief energy and sustainability officer, leading the company’s Energy, Mobility and Sustainability (EMS) businesses along with its Global Impact and Sustainability team. She drives customer-focused solutions that support Prologis’ strategic objectives, net zero commitments and social impact initiatives. Before joining Prologis, Susan held leadership roles at Schneider Electric, including president of its global sustainability business division and chief executive officer of Schneider Electric Canada. Dr. Arun Majumdar is the inaugural dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and the Jay Precourt provostial chair professor at Stanford University. He holds appointments in mechanical engineering, energy science and engineering and photon science at SLAC, and is a senior fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy and, by courtesy, the Hoover Institution. He previously served as the founding director of ARPA-E under President Obama and as acting under secretary of energy, where he oversaw major clean energy initiatives and advised on policy, strategy and crisis response. Dr. Majumdar has chaired multiple DOE advisory boards, led the Biden-Harris DOE, FERC and NRC transition review, and previously served as Google’s vice president for energy. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Prologis.