As a management consultancy for the energy transition, our business is to have insight into the energy industry and its future evolution. Our insight comes from experience in the sector, an understanding of current and future energy challenges and an ability to take a fresh perspective on matters. This article explores the lessons that the energy industry can learn from the natural world.
Hydrogen produced from surplus renewable power, or gasification of coal/biomass with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), can be injected into the gas grid and used as a major energy store to support the decarbonisation and distribution of energy supplies. The approach could be the biggest single step in enabling the low carbon energy transformation. The concept is already being tested in Germany, but in many countries the approach is barely recognised.
Energy storage is integral to life as we know it. Since it was discovered that electricity could be put to use in practical applications, scientists have been searching for more efficient ways to store and utilise it, and this search still goes on.
Electricity Market Reform (EMR) constitutes the single biggest change in the UK electricity market in a generation. EMR is intended to provide the commercial basis for generations of low-carbon electricity at the lowest possible cost, whilst being neutral to the energy source used.
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is the only technology available which enables the continued use of fossil fuels for power generation whilst reducing green-house gas emissions. The UK government sees CCS as an important element of its energy policy alongside renewables and nuclear to enable the country to meet its carbon emissions reduction targets, but slow progress in the UK threatens the future of this critically important technology.
