Oil giant BP has learned from mistakes made in its first short-lived foray into renewables that leave it better placed to succeed in its latest energy transition push, a senior executive involved in both has claimed.

Stephen Cook, chief commercial officer for BP’s technology group and co-founder of Launchpad – “a factory for growing new energy businesses” that puts the financial and commercial clout of BP behind clean energy technology start-ups – is looking to rapidly scale-up ventures that advance the company’s move to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner.