Succinate can be released from contracting skeletal muscle and accumulate in brown adipose tissue (BAT) to drive thermogenesis and protect against obesity. A study in this issue of Nature Metabolism uncovers the mechanistic underpinnings of BAT succinate sequestration through MCT1-dependent uptake and cytosolic pH changes, thus strengthening the role for cellular shuttling of succinate in the control of systemic energy homeostasis.