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Energy transition: A look at 4 CEOs who explain how they will transform the world

Energy transition: A look at 4 CEOs who explain how they will transform the world

The energy transition It has become a topic that has gained greater relevance today due to the climate changes that have been experienced in different parts of the world.

According to the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to have any chance of keeping the global average temperature rise below 1.5°C, a “substantial reduction in total fossil fuel use, minimal unabated fossil fuel use, and use of carbon capture and storage in remaining fossil fuel systems”.

According to the report, a global investment of more than US$5 trillion per year will be required in energy transition technologies, more than four times the record investment of US$1.3 trillion in 2022, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). By 2030, cumulative investment in transition technologies should represent US$35 trillion.

electric vehicle charging

michael farkasfounder, executive chairman and CEO of Blink Chargingone of the leading owners, operators and providers of electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment and on-grid charging services.

Despite the fact that more and more sustainable vehicles are being introduced around the world to phase out internal combustion engines, the executive noted that there is still a long way to go to fully harness the potential of electric vehicles.

According to the CEO, when you look at the scale and numbers of how many charging stations have been deployed in this time, and how many electric vehicles are on the roads, and you look at where we need to be in 2030, 2050 and beyond, “ We haven’t even scratched the surface,” he said.

Initial concern that “range anxiety,” the fear that an electric vehicle will run out of power before reaching its destination, would deter people from making the switch was largely unfounded, he says.

According to Farkas, the cars coming on the market now can go over 600 miles on a single charge, that’s far more than anyone could do in a single trip. Now the question is whether consumers want those vehicles.

“Anyone who drives an EV realizes that it is much cheaper in terms of cost per mile on fuel. And EVs don’t need transmission or brake fluids to maintain the car. If you compare the costs of electric vehicles with those of cars with internal combustion engines, it makes a lot of sense. So we are seeing large numbers of fleets around the world switching to EVs because it saves them a lot on fuel and maintenance.”ended.

A greener aviation

The aviation industry represents 2.5% of global CO2 emissions, so aspiring to reduce its emissions is a goal to be achieved by 2050. What are the options?

theyeveen He is co-founder and commercial director of SkyNRGa world leader in sustainable aviation fuel solutions.

“Sustainable aviation fuel is basically a replacement for kerosene, fossil kerosene, but made from other materials like used cooking oil and other biowaste that can be used as fuels,” said.

Currently, less than 0.1% of all aviation fuel used in the world is sustainable, and that has to change, Veen says.

The sustainable fuels They are more expensive than fossils, so regulations also need to change to level the playing field.

Energy transition led by hydrogen fuel cells

Another alternative to meet the green transition quota is hydrogen. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels could save up to 60 gigatons of CO2 emissions by mid-century.

Jason Fewis president and CEO, of Fuel Cell Energy is a world leader in the manufacture of stationary fuel cell platforms to decarbonise energy and produce hydrogen through technological innovation in batteries.

The executive affirms that in reality, fuel cells consist of producing electricity through chemistry. “They take a fuel feedstock, whether it’s hydrogen or renewable natural gas, for example, and mix it with air and effectively reform it into hydrogen. The hydrogen is then used to produce electricity without burning the fuel,” he noted.

With traditional power generation, you run into environmental problems just because you ‘combuste’ the fuel, but in the case of fuel cells, it’s a chemical reaction. There is no combustion.

Hydrogen can also be used in transportation, through the creation of fuel cell electric vehicles, and can help decarbonise hard-to-give up industries such as steel, cement and glass manufacturing, which require high temperatures.

“It is a very abundant fuel and, to achieve decarbonization, hydrogen has to be part of the story. Long-term energy storage has to be part of the story. And because there are a number of industries that are going to have a very difficult time getting rid of emissions, carbon capture needs to be part of the story too, if we are to achieve our climate goals.”Few stated.

The role of nuclear energy in the energy transition

Finally, the idea that nuclear power could play a key role as a low-emission source of electricity is never discounted.

According to the IEA, the “available on demand to complement the role of renewable energies such as wind and solar in the transition to electrical systems with net zero emissions”.

Stefano Buonois founder and CEO of newcleoa company that is developing a new disruptive approach to extracting energy from the core that is safe, clean, renewable and technologically accessible.

The executive said that what is sought is to understand what scares people and why nuclear power has not been successful so far, and the reason was essentially the cost and, of course, the fear of accidents and waste. “So we tried to solve all three of these problems in our new design,” he noted.

“We are using nuclear waste, essentially plutonium and uranium, which has been used by the nuclear industry to actually produce more energy than was initially extracted. Another thing is the cost. Large facilities are very expensive. Historically, nuclear power has gotten too big to keep the cost down, but in reality the opposite has been true. So now nuclear power is coming back to the idea of ​​making very small, modular machines that can be mass-produced.”Explain.

However, nuclear technology essentially stopped progressing for 35 years. Given this, I began to investigate a lot using experience and research. “We are not discovering anything new. There is no need for a new technology, but we have to put this technology together in a new industrial design”, he concluded.

(With information from the World Economic Forum)

Source: Gestion

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