Page 7 - NorthAmOil Week 31 2021

NorthAmOil COMMENTARY NorthAmOil

investments; underpinning clean-energy mar- contracts with transparent, auditable margins,”
kets; setting low-carbon targets to motivate the says the report. Businesses might lose some
private sector; and providing companies with a competitive advantage, but there is plenty of
safety net through their policies. net-zero transition work to go round, say the
Secondly, societies must develop all possible researchers, citing the successful global collab-
low-carbon technology options. Start the tran- orative work on the coronavirus (COVID-19)
sition now, with the low-carbon technologies vaccine.
that are ready – such as wind and solar – while Fifthly, the report asserts that digital tech-
investing in those still emerging, like hydrogen nology will make the net-zero transition more
and direct air capture, says the report. “We need efficient – to make sure projects are perform-
to take a portfolio approach to net zero so that ing optimally or if future projects need to be
we use multiple technologies to lower emis- improved. If people can log into a digital plat-
sions,” it continues. form and see real-time data that depicts the
For green hydrogen, the report notes that it direct effects of the net-zero transition, their
is currently more expensive than higher-emis- trust in the process will grow, say the research-
sions options; it needs large volumes of water; ers. They’ll understand why landscapes are
and transporting it can be complicated. That changing around them, and they’ll know it’s
said, the researchers say that it could be trans- for something that will ultimately benefit them,
formative in industries where decarbonising they suggest.
is not straightforward. For example, the steel The first shift
industry turns iron ore into steel using cok- What next?
ing coal, which can be replaced with hydro- Data will play a key role in convincing stake- necessary is
gen. Similarly, hydrogen fuel cells may offer holders to commit to financing infrastructure. making it more
advantages over electrification for heavy-duty Energy supply and demand is also balanced dig-
transport. itally, for example aggregating homes’ rooftop attractive to
Thirdly, net-zero projects must be standard- solar into virtual power plants. And technology
ised so they can be executed more quickly and can simulate a finished power plant. invest in low-
built in parallel. Governments could underwrite Blockchain can guarantee that a molecule of
developments to build confidence in the pipe- green hydrogen comes from a zero-emissions carbon than high-
line of future projects and also to give confi- source or it can track low-carbon aluminium. carbon energy.
dence to the supply chain. Artificial intelligence and machine learning can
Fourthly, communication must be global and enhance the matching of supply and demand in
collaborative. Governments need to set ambi- electricity markets, making them more effective.
tions, define goals and enact legislation that It is a tall order. But Chris Ashton, chief exec-
creates the market forces to drive the desired utive officer of Worley, is optimistic: “Humanity
low-carbon behaviours. They can incentivise has risen to monumental challenges before and,
this in various ways: access to capital markets, working together, we can do it again,” he says
entry to carbon markets and tax breaks. in the report. As Bloomberg notes, Worley is an
Countries and companies need to work innovator; its projects include green hydrogen
together. “We must start sharing. Ideas. Patents. plant and a steel facility in Belgium with a goal of
Processes. Designs. We need to see open-book recycling CO2 emissions into ethanol biofuel.™

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