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Forbes
29-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
American Energy Policy: Going Against The Market Trends
The administration's goals of energy dominance and energy affordability are easy to support. Our leaders intend to provide the people with cheap energy and good jobs, for which they favor coal, oil and natural gas over solar and other renewables. ('Drill Baby Drill!') Energy strategy, national security, and environmental policies are all implicitly linked. The new administration has shifted direction on energy strategy at the expense of the environment, skeptical that renewables will help meet our energy needs. They view fossil fuels as secure and affordable, and the transition to net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emission by 2050 a 'harmful and dangerous' strategy. Even without any concern for climate change, market forces are now enough to drive corporations and societies to expand the use of alternatives to hydrocarbons. Interesting and lucrative breakthroughs are happening in the sectors of energy production and storage. As an American Patriot, I would love for American scientists and engineers to be the ones leading the global pivot to nuclear fusion, a long-term goal as recently stated by our new Energy Secretary. As Secretary of Energy Chris Wright stated at CERAWeek 2025, 'Energy is the enabler of everything that we do. Everything. Energy is not A sector of the economy; it is the sector that enables every other sector. Energy is life.' The next question then would be how to secure our energy supply. Secretary Wright recognizes that nuclear power, both fission and fusion, will be the production methods of the future. He even claims that an American fusion plant could be running during this administration. How can we meet our needs in this transition? For our friends and allies in Germany, solar combined with batteries is now more cost effective than gas powered power plants. Advances in recent years have made solar panels one of the cheapest and most versatile sources of electricity. Recent advances in battery technology are addressing the intermittency of variable renewable energy like wind and solar, while nuclear expansion is a focal point for advanced economies. We're seeing an inflection point in global energy generation, where for many nations, coal and oil are no longer the cheapest options. Natural gas will be necessary for a time, but it will be a component in a diverse energy landscape. It's clear that while renewables expand, we will still use some hydrocarbons. The IEA's World Energy Outlook estimates fossil fuel use will peak globally by 2030. In 2024, solar and wind generated more electricity than coal in both America and the EU. The green technology revolution is happening, and it's the most capitalized and advanced economies that are investing in clean technologies. They're the future of the global economy, and purely from a technological dominance and competitiveness perspective, we as a nation need to maintain the edge on advanced research. The future of energy production, storage and transmission are central to the future of our national security and economic stability. As the energy think tank Ember observes, building new infrastructure for fossil fuels is like renting. The fuel costs will be continuous and higher than maintenance on clean energy infrastructure. Clean energy in a productive investment like buying a house, one big purchase, a pay off point, and then pure return on investment. In this instance, the investment can be recovered in a year. Expanding into renewables doesn't mean the immediate abandonment of all fossil fuels. Strategic petroleum reserves will continue to be important, and other hydrocarbons have specific uses that can't be immediately replaced. Yet, this reasonable premise is different from the idea that we can't, or shouldn't, further diversify into economically viable renewables. We realists can agree that we want to keep using natural gas and other fossil fuels for where it's necessary, but for cost considerations and energy security, we don't need to make them the first choice at every turn. Nor should we cease research into future potential alternatives. Innovation will continue to be key in developing technologies and answering some questions, but to say that there's no hope for green technology is false. As we continue to work toward this inevitability, why can't we regain the status of global innovators, responsible for the upcoming breakthroughs in efficient power grids, batteries, direct ocean capture, or any of the other societally beneficial and lucrative technologies that will be produced, refined, and globally expanded over the next few decades?
Forbes
04-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
3 Drivers Of Global Energy Demand Everyone Must Know
What is driving global energy demand? Getty Images Every year, the world consumes a significant amount of energy. This energy is used not just to power our homes but also to power our transport and the fuels used for industrial purposes. Beyond the energy used by different sectors—household, industry, transport—regional trends also play a significant role in energy demand—a term used interchangeably with energy consumption to refer to the energy used, often varying across key countries. For instance, China and India were the top two countries with the most significant growth in energy demand in absolute terms in 2024. Last week, the International Energy Agency released its Global Energy Review 2025— a flagship document that helps us understand these dynamics more closely. The review by the IEA is the first global assessment of trends across the energy sector. The data is sourced from trusted sources such as power system operators worldwide, statistical releases from national energy administrators, etc., making the insights from the report significant to understanding how energy is consumed across the work. This publication is distinct from the World Energy Outlook, which the IEA releases annually, a long-term outlook based on future scenarios. Among the many insights in the new report, three trends in global energy demand particularly stand out. They are interesting because they impacted last year's trends and offer a glimpse into the hotspots of energy demand in the coming years. Therefore, experts, innovators, policymakers, and the private sector should watch out for these areas to help address future challenges in energy demand. The past year was the hottest year the world experienced. In addition to the gradual increase in temperatures due to climate change, the increase in extreme heat can also be attributed to El Nina, which causes the warming of the waters in the Pacific Ocean every few years. People use more air conditioners to cope with the heat, increasing energy demand. Cooling needs were roughly 20% higher last year compared to the long-term average between 2000 and 2020, according to the new IEA report. India, China and the US were three regions with high cooling demand. There is a direct connection between cooling demand and coal use. The increase in temperature accounted for almost the entire growth in coal demand last year, according to the new IEA report. This increase in demand happened because some countries rely on coal-fired power plants to meet the surge in power demand on hot days. The increase in coal use to meet the surge in energy demand for cooling underlines the need to think of innovative ways to make cooling needs more clean. There is potential to make cooling more efficient. India and China will account for over half of the total stock of air conditioners by 2040. Some older estimates of IEA suggest that by the year 2050, efficient cooling can reduce the global energy demand for cooling by 45%. Data centers are emerging as significant consumers of global energy demand, with growth concentrated in a few countries. The installed capacity of data centers has increased by 20% in the last year, mainly in the United States and China, according to the report. Although the IEA report released last week does not explore energy used by data centers in as much detail, earlier reports by IEA raise concerns about the potential impacts of energy demands from these centers for the power sector and the need to keep a closer watch on how they evolve. A report released last year by IEA mentioned that large hyper-scale data centers have an annual electricity consumption equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 350,000 to 400,000 electric cars. These centers account for only about 1% of global electricity consumption today, but the impact can be significant at a local level—something to watch out for. In some countries, such as Ireland, electricity use from data centers is already a big part of total electricity demand, accounting for over 20% of all electricity consumption, according to last year's report. On the other hand, data centers in large economies like the United States, China and the European Union account for only around 2-4% of total electricity consumption today. However, their local impact can be pronounced because they tend to be spatially concentrated. The sector has already surpassed 10% of electricity consumption in at least five US states. Although overall oil demand slowed, petrochemical feedstock emerged as a key driver in the sector. Oil came down to less than 30% of the energy demand 50 years after peaking at 46%, according to the report. The slowing down is attributed to many reasons, such as post-pandemic ease-out and the increase in the impact of electric vehicles. Petrochemical demand in oil consumption, increased by 12% over the previous five years, with growth primarily concentrated in China. Petrochemicals are used in products around us: plastic packaging is used for food, ammonia is used in fertilizers, synthetic rubber is used for tires, and many laundry detergents are used. The Chinese petrochemical industry is driving the growth of global oil demand. From being nonexistent in the market, it now accounts for 50% of industrial growth in the space, according to a 2023 IEA report that analyzed the Chinese petrochemical industry. The above petrochemical trend points to an interesting phenomenon: the future of oil is in petrochemicals. This a direction that some academic journals, such as this one in Energy Research & Social Science, have already started to point towards. The dominance of petrochemical demand in driving oil demand also raises a crucial issue: fossil-based plastics may continue expanding as the energy system decarbonizes. Thus, the problem that needs to be tackled is gradually moving away from fossil use in the chemical industry towards greener alternatives. At present, options such as green feedstock are either unavailable or not yet cost-competitive at scale. The three areas discussed above, from cooling and data centers to petrochemicals, are fascinating areas to keep on the radar for those interested in learning about the drivers of energy demand and the energy transition space. Addressing the challenges in these areas will lead the course of the future of energy transition and our ability to meet global climate goals.
Gulf Insider
17-03-2025
- Business
- Gulf Insider
Saudi Aramco, IEA Chiefs Clash In Houston Over The Future Of Oil
At CERAWeek 2025, Saudi Aramco's CEO Amin Nasser challenged the IEA's forecast of peak oil demand. The IEA maintained that even with peak demand, ongoing investments in oil and gas will be necessary due to natural field declines. Aramco's ambitious plans to scale blue hydrogen and ammonia face high costs and weak market demand, particularly in Europe and Asia. With the CERAWeek 2025 conference in Houston drawing to a close, C-Suite executives, ministers and top officials have weighed in on the trajectory of the global oil and gas sector with experts debating whether tariffs, trade, and competition will replace security, affordability, and sustainability in shaping energy markets and policy. However, one of the biggest highlights of the conference has been the showdown between Saudi Aramco's CEO Amin Nasser and IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol and their highly divergent views on the future of the global oil industry. Once again, the Aramco CEO was adamant that there were 'inherent flaws' in the energy transition away from conventional fuels, saying, ' So I pay little attention to forecasts claiming that next year will be peak this, or peak that ,' in a thinly-veiled dig at the IEA which has predicted a peak in oil demand by the end of the current decade. In its defense, the IEA says an oil demand peak doesn't necessarily mean a rapid plunge in fossil fuel consumption is imminent, adding that it will probably be followed by ' an undulating plateau lasting for many years .' Indeed, Fatih Birol reiterated that position in his remarks to the Houston conference, where he said investments in existing oil and gas fields are still needed to counter steep natural declines. Whereas some analysts interpreted this as an about-face, designed to pander to Trump and his 'drill baby drill' agenda, in reality the IEA has never advocated for an end to investments in upstream oil and gas. ' Even as demand for fossil fuels falls, energy security challenges will remain since the process of adjustment to changing demand patterns will not necessarily be easy or smooth. For example, the peaks in demand we see based on today's policies do not remove the need for investment in oil and gas supply, given how steep the natural declines from existing fields often are ,' the IEA stated in its 2023 World Energy Outlook. Republican lawmakers have threatened to reassess funding for the IEA, accusing it of becoming an 'energy transition cheerleader.' With the global energy transition picking up steam, hundreds of companies have laid out plans to cut their greenhouse gas emissions with the more ambitious ones pledging to achieve net zero emissions. Given this backdrop, Big Oil companies are finding themselves in a dilemma whereby they are under pressure to join the fight against climate change at a time when demand for the energy commodities they produce remains high. Not surprisingly, many are coming up with innovative ways to clean up their act without giving up their legacy businesses. Saudi Aramco is not any different. The world's biggest oil and gas company has unveiled plans to reach net-zero by 2050 without sacrificing oil and gas production. During a rare two-day visit by Fortune last May, the world's largest fossil fuel company lifted the curtain on dozens of research projects underway at its headquarters in Dhahran, in eastern Saudi Arabia, which the company believes will help it tackle climate change, even while pumping a mammoth 9 million barrels or so of oil a day. Aramco claims its tech breakthroughs have the potential to cut carbon emissions from each barrel of oil it produces by 15% by 2035, equivalent to 51.1 million tons of carbon a year. ' We don't see any contradiction. Combating emissions from these conventional energy sources is a very viable option ,' says Ashraf Al-Ghazzawi, Aramco's executive vice president for strategy and corporate development. ' We need all sources of energy to meet the growth in demand, which is just tremendous in the developing world. The main pillar of our strategy and technology is efficiency and optimization of our existing production ,' he told Fortune. According to Khowaiter, the company has tripled its research-and-development staff since 2010, and listed 1,033 patents with the U.S. patent office. Aramco now spends about $800 million a year on R&D, 60% of which is focused on 'sustainability'. Carbon capture is one of the technologies Aramco has adopted to cut emissions. At its Hawiyah gas plant, the company captures carbon emitted during oil and gas production; transports it 50 miles away then injects it into an oil well to boost the recovery of crude, as well as to store the carbon. Khowaiter revealed that the company aims to cut the cost of carbon capture by 50%, making it commercially viable. In December, Saudi Aramco signed a shareholders' agreement with Linde Plc (NYSE:LIN) and Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) for dthe evelopment of a 9mn t/y CCS hub at Jubail. Under the agreement, Aramco will hold 60%, with Linde and SLB each taking 20%. The 9mn t/y first-phase facility is due online by end-2027. Aramco also aims to produce 11 million tonnes of blue ammonia from its Jafurah natural gas field by 2030. For over a decade, the company has explored potential technologies to produce lower-carbon hydrogen from hydrocarbons, including Thermo-Neutral Reforming (TNR) with a goal to produce 'blue' hydrogen from about two million tonnes of blue hydrogen–by capturing the CO2 emissions from the production. However, Aramco is likely to struggle to find a buyer for its blue ammonia, with CEO Amin Nasser revealing its blue hydrogen costs the equivalent of about $250 a barrel of oil– three times higher than the current Brent spot price. ' It is very difficult to identify any off-take agreement in Europe [for blue hydrogen]… and they explained it's because of the high cost. Even the customers in Japan and Korea [which are planning massive H 2 economies] are waiting for government incentives. Until they get these incentives, it'll be costly for them to pursue that blue hydrogen, ' Nasser told a call with analysts. Figuring out which among the multiple lines of R&D will finally work could take years for Aramco to determine, with time not on its side. Still, the company has rejected any notion that it should cut fossil fuel output, ' We were never an either-or company. Aramco provides a great example where emissions can be dealt with, it can be managed, ' Ghazzawi, Aramco's strategy chief, has declared.
Associated Press
03-03-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Helical Fusion Unveils 'GALOP"—A Groundbreaking Liquid Metal Blanket Testing System Essential for Commercial Fusion
Helical Fusion installs the world's first test system for pump-driven liquid metal blanket circulation and wall protection, key to commercial fusion power. TOKI, GIFU, JAPAN, March 3, 2025 / / -- Helical Fusion Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Co-Founder, CEO: Takaya Taguchi) has successfully installed 'GALOP' (GAs-driven Liquid metal OPeration), a proprietary test system designed to validate its liquid metal blanket technology, at its research facility located within the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS) in Toki City, Gifu Prefecture. The test system was developed in collaboration with Sukegawa Electric Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Takahagi City, Ibaraki; President: Mitsutoshi Takahashi), a company with over 70 years of expertise in thermal and measurement engineering. -The Significance of Fusion Energy With the global population projected to grow by approximately 1.7 billion by 2050*, and the rising electricity demand driven by advancements like generative AI, existing energy sources alone will struggle to meet the world's needs. Fusion power, harnessing the same principles that power the sun, offers a clean, safe, and nearly limitless energy source derived from seawater, making it a crucial technology for addressing these global challenges. The fusion plant construction and electricity market are expected to expand to an estimated $550 billion annually by 2050**, positioning Japan to lead a new industrial revolution akin to its dominance in the automotive sector. However, international competition in fusion development is intensifying. Helical Fusion aims to develop the world's first steady-state fusion reactor by 2034 and commercialize fusion energy worldwide to establish a sustainable energy future. -The Critical Role of Liquid Metal Blanket Development Helical Fusion's 'helical fusion reactor' is based on over 70 years of fusion research in Japan, particularly at NIFS, a world-leading institution. From plasma research to engineering, the reactor design has already overcome most technical hurdles for commercialization. One of the remaining challenges is the development of the blanket system—an essential component responsible for extracting energy, breeding fuel, and protecting the reactor's structure. Despite its importance, no fusion machine worldwide has yet successfully implemented this technology. Helical Fusion's proprietary 'liquid metal blanket,' designed by Co-Founder and CTO Junichi Miyazawa, is a breakthrough concept that balances efficiency and component durability. With the GALOP, the company aims to validate a novel liquid metal pump mechanism, a key step toward realizing the world's first commercial fusion reactor. *Source: International Energy Agency (IEA) – World Energy Outlook 2023 **Source: FusionX/Helixos – Global Fusion Market Analysis: Electricity, Supply Chain & Construction -About 'GALOP' Dimensions: Approx. 4m (W) × 2m (D) × 2m (H) Objectives: 1. Validate a new liquid metal circulation pump powered by pressurized gas, eliminating rotating components for improved corrosion resistance and high-temperature operation. 2. Demonstrate liquid metal protection for the first wall of the blanket. 3. Conduct long-duration steady-state liquid metal flow tests in a vacuum environment for material evaluation. -About Sukegawa Electric -Executive Comments Takaya Taguchi, Co-Founder & CEO, Helical Fusion: 'Sukegawa Electric has been an invaluable partner, bringing decades of experience in energy-related engineering to support our mission. The success of this test will mark a major milestone toward bringing fusion energy to society. We are confident that together, we can realize the world's first commercial fusion reactor.' Junichi Miyazawa, Co-Founder & CTO, Helical Fusion: 'The liquid metal blanket is a groundbreaking technology that no one has yet implemented. Our GALOP system represents a bold step in applying gas-driven liquid metal circulation in fusion reactors. I deeply appreciate President Takahashi and the Sukegawa Electric team for their unwavering commitment to this challenge. This test is a crucial bridge between fusion research and practical reactor development.' naho yoshimura Helical Fusion Co., Ltd. Facebook YouTube Legal Disclaimer:
