The Energy Sector in 2030
Expect a decade of accelerating change
The world we live in today is very different from 10 years ago. What change will the coming decade bring?
Technology – a brave new world
The world is decarbonizing, the nascent technologies of 2020 are now mainstream. Energy storage, at scale, is crucial in balancing a power market dominated by intermittent solar and wind. New generation cobalt-light, high-nickel lithium-ion batteries underpin an industrialized electric vehicle (EV) market in which China leads manufacturing and dominates the supply chain. One in four light vehicle sales globally is an EV while autonomous EVs are starting to take off in the mass market.
‘Free’ surplus renewable generation supports green hydrogen pilot projects, threatening fossil fuels’ stranglehold on energy-intensive industries, including steel and cement. Hydrogen is emerging as a potentially viable solution for residential and commercial space heating. Industrial-scale carbon capture and storage opens the prospect of prolonging fossil fuels’ life in markets where there’s access to suitable spent oil or gas reservoirs. Among emerging technology bets are bio-methane (net-zero emissions gas), algae (low-emissions biofuels) and biotechnological advances in the food chain that disrupt agriculture.
Smart cities: an electrifying experience
Cities in China, California, Japan and Europe lead the way on decarbonization and how we consume energy – a sneak peek into what a 2050 world looks like. In these cities, smart homes give us complete control over energy consumption and efficiency. Smart systems connect wirelessly to appliances and control domestic ambience – cooking, heating, lighting – cost-effectively, choosing when to buy power from the grid, sell it or store it.
Originally posted on forbes.com