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

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. Recorded at EUVC Summit 2026, Joe McDonald, CEO and Co-Founder of tem, joins Adam Chirkowski, Partner at AlbionVC, 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. 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. 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. Highlights Why energy costs increasingly influence national competitiveness How AI and data centres are increasing the importance of low-cost power Where friction still exists in energy transactions How tem is building new transaction infrastructure Why incumbents struggle to reinvent their own business models How complexity can become a moat in energy Why the UK and parts of Europe may have a structural advantage What the energy sector can learn from fintech Why Europe could produce the next generation of major energy companies