TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN ENERGY TRANSITION : TARGET 1.5 C
We all are blessed by nature, everything is in perfect proportion, the oxygen in the atmosphere to breathe, the temperature, humidity, nutrients in plants, water, and heat. When civilization started, we were all living an organic life that was supported by nature, slowly we progressed for security and longevity in life. More civilised we became we started disturbing the balance of nature.
Green House Guess (GHG) emissions are at an all-time high, with 54 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere on average every year. Annual GHG emissions due to human activities continue to rise, and emissions from fossil fuels are the highest.
We need more energy to live a comfortable life although it will snatch our body’s natural energy by contributing to GHGs. The energy demand is increasing each day. The alternative New Energy is filling the demand gap rather than replacing the old energy. The refined product demand is increasing steadily. The oil demand is now reaching a new high against the prediction of analysts that 2019 is the peak for oil demand. The major oil demand is from the transport industry. The EV Fleet is only 25.9 Mn against the ICE approx. 1.2 billion. To make EV vehicles compete the battery prices should be made comparable to ICE without subsidiaries. Oil remains the primary energy till 2050, to achieve net zero emissions the demand should have a steep fall.
When we mention green energy, it refers to end-to-end from production to distribution its zero emission. The use of electricity generated from biofuel in powering TVs should be decarbonized. The metals Lithium, cobalt, and nickel used in EV Batteries are expected to shortfall by 2027. The mine development process needs to be expedited. There is a lack of commitment in the new energy sector. For energy transition 100 USD Trillion investment is required by 2050.
The Energy Industry is unpredictable because of the way demand is increasing, it must be a Hybrid industry with traditional biofuel and renewable energy (Solar, wind). With the latest technology development, we can predict the peak demand and manage the different kinds of energy in a hybrid way. When one energy reaches the threshold, the other energy will be made available to compensate for the demand without interruption.
SIX KEY BUSINESS EVOLVING BUSINESS PROCESSES WHERE TECHNOLOGY GOING TO MAKE AN IMPACT:
- Blockchain for Well to Wheel for NZE:
Well to Wheel emissions assess the GHG emissions generated throughout a fuel’s entire lifecycle. here are two components to the well-to-wheels assessment: well-to-tank (WtT) and tank-to-wheels (TtW). WtT includes the fuel production phases, and TtW the use of fuel. This applies to EVs and ICE vehicles both. To measure these emissions at each stage, there should be a blockchain process to stamp the emission at each stage without tempering and sole control which can be manipulated. When the product goes into the market it should be stamped green (NZE) grey (hybrid process) or Red (lack of NZE at each stage). We should try to achieve the green stamp.
If it is Solar Energy then solar panel manufacturing should also be green, the transportation of panels and installation and maintenance of everything should be carbon-free. The EV batteries manufacturing and refining process for metals used should be green including disposal.
2. AI-Driven Demand and Supply:
For the prediction of demand and supply based on historical data, AI can help us to plan our resources. It’s going to be a hybrid infrastructure for a few decades because oil is going to be an active fuel for a few more decades till we overcome the challenges of alternate energies. To create this hybrid infrastructure for everyone is not an intelligent decision. AI can help us from time to time by analyzing the demand and supply patterns where to focus.
3. AI and Virtual Reality in Production and Operations:
AI can help us in the production of wind energy by intelligently rotating the turbines according to wind direction and speed. AI can help us for exploration in the mining of metals required for EV batteries. AI can help us with virtual reality in creating simulations and modeling where it is not possible to perform physical operations.
4. Smart Grid management with Smart Systems:
There are billions of energy users having trillions of elements where energy is required. This huge data needs to be available in real-time. Managing the energy data of individual houses’ energy production and redistribution is a tremendous task in a country like India. It is money sensitive hence this data must be zero error, without any delay. Based on this cumulative energy data the decisions will be taken for supply, whether outward or inward. Every unit has a value.
One house might have all three types of energy sources, and maintaining three types of data and energy units for both-way transmission can only be handled by Blockchain and AI for traceability and accounting.
5. Managing carbon emissions emitted by Technology Infrastructure:
All the technology solutions will need servers and high processing which consumes high power and generates a lot of heat which needs cooling. We should always consider these emissions while designing the system aiming for NZE to achieve the 1.5 C target.
6. Currency free trade in Power Units:
Like we need energy for our body all the time, we need electricity 24×7 to live a comfortable life, it’s a necessity. Till now we consume it and pay which is a conservative power generation process, with the introduction of new energy there will be power generated by solar energy and power from wind energy. All three types of power will have different rates. It is going to be a hybrid system; we need to add a factor to equalize different power types in terms of units. There should be a credit and debit mechanism of power units for users where they can buy or sell collective power from all sources from a single platform. When we talk about the smart grid it is going to be a two-way transaction both are buyer and seller the energy companies and consumers or consumers to consumers. The user can generate solar or wind energy and sell the excess in the open market via a trading platform. Fewer money transactions will help in reducing theft cases and corruption with full transparency by establishing a regulated energy trading platform.