Energy
Sustainable energy
Reinventing the energy system on a low carbon model is one of the critical challenges of the 21st Century. Today, the primary energy supply is 80% dependent on fossil fuels in the EU. Networks and supply chains have been optimised over decades to deliver energy from oil, coal and gas. But, they have also made us vulnerable to energy supply disruptions from outside the EU, to volatility in energy prices and to climate change.
There are different possible pathways to a low carbon economy. Clearly, no single measure or technology will suffice, and the precise mix in each country will depend on the particular combination of political choices, market forces, resource availability and public acceptance. Metsims help clients in developing clean and efficient energy technologies. We have particular expertise in the following low carbon energy generation and distribution technologies with our views on them for the future.
Wind energy has to accelerate the reduction of costs, increasingly move offshore and resolve the associated grid integration issues if it is to fulfil its huge potential.
Solar energy, including photovoltaics (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP), has to become more competitive and gain mass market appeal. Problems derived from its distributed and variable nature need to be resolved.
Electricity networks have to respond to three interrelated challenges – creating a real internal market; integrating a massive increase of intermittent energy sources; and managing complex interactions between suppliers and customers.
Bio-energy has to bring to commercial maturity the most promising technologies, in order to permit large-scale, sustainable production of advanced biofuels and highly efficient combined heat and power from biomass.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies have to be widely commercialised if the EU wants to achieve almost zero carbon power generation by 2050 and if the likely continued use of the vast global coal reserves is not to exacerbate climate change.
Metsims is in the forefront of this low carbon revolution with experts that is involved in the development of these technologies at the EU level.
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