Energy and Security Programme

Our evidence-led analysis helps governments, industry, and civil society understand how energy markets, technologies and global supply chains impact national and international security.

Overview

Energy security is no longer just about steady fuel supply: it encompasses price volatility, geopolitical leverage, industrial competitiveness, climate risk, and system resilience. As nations pursue net zero, dependencies and infrastructure shift. Mismanaging this shift risks new strategic vulnerabilities. Transitioning energy systems without adequate planning could leave gaps in capacity, resilience and infrastructure, especially under stress.

Our Focus

The Energy and Security Programme explores how transitions in the global energy system are:

Reconfiguring geopolitical competition through the evolution of economic statecraft in energy markets, critical raw materials and strategic supply chains.
Changing national security landscapes as countries reconsider reliance on imported hydrocarbons, energy infrastructure vulnerabilities, exposure to price shocks and uneven resilience.
Intersecting with climate and environmental risk as extreme weather, environmental degradation, and climate policies all feed into the energy security calculus.

Themes and approach

Core themes

Our research is organised around several interlinked themes:

Hydrocarbons dependence and energy transition
Examining how hydrocarbon markets interface with net zero goals and the security implications of that change.
Supply chains and strategic materials
Assessing risk in supply chains for critical inputs and the strategic importance of diversification and government intervention to reduce external control and geopolitical risk.
Infrastructure, system resilience, and flexibility
Analysing how energy systems and infrastructure can be made more resilient through risks management practices, use of technology, understanding markets and spatial planning.

Our approach

We integrate multidisciplinary expertise combining national security, international affairs, energy economics and technology to answer critical questions.

Evidence gathering through primary research, expert consultation, workshops and scenario analysis.

Our perspective is both domestic and international. We examine UK energy security but also how global trends and external dependencies feed into strategic risk.