Technologies that will shape the Net Zero future

Which technologies will lead the way to a Net Zero future? This is one of the key questions that we wanted to answer in our last Future Trends Forum Building a Net Zero world.

One of the experts’ panels provided data and discussed trends, concluding that the solution will not come from one single technology, but from a combination made up of a variety of innovations in different fields: solar, wind, marine, batteries, electric vehicles, biogas, green hydrogen.

The four participating experts are:

• Alejandro Micó, COO and co-founder of Sunalizer, who presented the potential of solar energy and the role that the Internet of Things (IoT) will play in optimizing demand-based energy production.
• Katrin Puetz, founder of (B)energy, who is committed to use biogas as an alternative energy source for underdeveloped countries, with special focus on Africa.
• Marcelino Oreja, former CEO of Enagás, who is betting on green hydrogen as an energy vector that needs to be in the net zero equation, especially in the mobility sector.
• Tracey Forrest, Program Director, Transformative Quantum Technologies at University of Waterloo, director of the University of Waterloo’s Transformative Quantum Technologies Program and Q4Climate executive board member, discusses the potential of quantum computing, and quantum technologies in general, as applied to the Net Zero challenge.

In the video below you can watch and listen to the insights and perspectives of these four experts:

Below, we summarize the ideas shared by these four experts:

Pushing the limits of efficiency

All four experts agree that great innovations are taking place in efforts to increase the energy efficiency of materials and processes. And that we should continue to invest in this, encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship in this field.

Regarding solar energy, Alejandro Micó points out that energy production costs have been decreasing year after year, so each 10 years are being reduced by half.

Innovations in solar modules have led to power ratings of up to 700W, when 10 years ago these ratings were between 200 and 300W. The latest modules are with an energy conversion efficiency of 23%. 10 years ago, was only 15%. The near future points to efficiencies of more than 30%, reaching 35%.

In addition, solar energy efficiency could be increased with the use of IoT and quantum computing, creating solutions that generate solar energy following the demand and taking advantage of the hours when the sun generates more energy to program the operation of machines that do not need to be in operation more than in certain periods (for example, household appliances).

Marcelino Oreja, meanwhile, strongly insists that public administrations should promote innovation, entrepreneurship and new projects in order to achieve energy efficiencies far superior to existing ones. Because, as he says, almost everything we need to reach net zero has yet to be discovered.

To achieve qualitative leaps in increasing energy efficiency, Tracey Forrest tells us that quantum computing may be the answer: both for system optimization and for modeling and simulation.

When we want to use quantum computing to solve a problem, we have to think differently and redefine what is feasible, as Dario Gil also pointed out in the #FutureTalks Quantum Computing: A New Way of Solving Problems, a New Way of Thinking.

Green hydrogen will be part of the Net Zero solution

In line with initiatives to improve energy efficiency, Marcelino Oreja argues that green hydrogen will be part of the solution. Especially when there is no viable energy alternative, as in the case of transport or the need for energy in remote locations.

This expert points us to the initiative of Costa Rica, a country that wants to lead the hydrogen industry worldwide.

For hydrogen to become a viable commercial reality, it will be essential to innovate in the production processes in order to reduce production prices. At present, the price is 5 to 6 euros per kilo, i. e., about four times more expensive than natural gas.

So what is the way forward? Marcelino Oreja is clear: by means of pilot projects, small tests and innovations arising from entrepreneurs, through public-private collaboration. He gives as an example the first industrial-scale project in Spain and a pioneer in Southern Europe, led by Acciona and Enagás. It is a small project that aims to generate 300 tons of green hydrogen per year, but will serve as a test laboratory to scale up to commercial solutions.

One of the most significant innovations in the production of green hydrogen could come from a photocatalysis. The expert points to the innovation project being developed in Spain by Repsol and Enagás as an example. A demonstration plant is expected to be built in 2024 at Repsol’s industrial complex in Puertollano, with the goal of reaching commercial maturity before 2030.

Quantum computing as a Net Zero enabling technology

We recently published the article Quantum computing to achieve net zero (in Spanish), where we pointed out four major areas where Net Zero efforts can be boosted with the help of quantum computing, around simulations to:

• achieve emission reductions in the industrial sector,
• obtain green hydrogen and capturing carbon through much more efficient and cheaper procedures,
• design new batteries and
• optimize electricity grids management.

Furthermore, Tracey Forrest highlights the trend to explore the use of quantum technologies beyond computation:

• high-temperature superconductors,
• the efficiency of solar panels harnessing the quantum properties of new materials, and
• novel spintronic devices.

Finally, there are uses of quantum technologies that solve problems that until now have been very difficult to solve and with much more imprecise results, such as the detection of methane concentration from satellites.

Are technologies alone enough to get to Net Zero?

The quick and concise answer: NO. Technology is a tool and an enabler, but it requires decisive commitments from all stakeholders, especially from public administrations.

As our trustee Jens Shulte-Bockum points out, there is a need to financially stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship to come up with solutions that combine renewable electricity generation and green hydrogen production, cost-competitively.

It is possible that, in the next 5 to 10 years, solar energy could produce hydrogen below the cost of natural gas and oil extraction with new materials and processes.

In other words, a scenario where solar energy would be fed into the grid and, in addition, during off-peak demand hours, would be used to generate hydrogen.

If we achieve cost competitiveness, we will avoid exploiting huge new fossil fuel deposits, such as the ones in Africa.

In any case, there is unanimous agreement that the solution will not come from the hand of a single technology, but from the combination of innovations in different fields: solar, wind, marine, batteries, electric vehicles, biogas, green hydrogen. For this, a smart network will have to be created, capable of matching production and demand flows in the most optimal way.

Furthermore, for this to happen, cooperation and coordination is needed at all levels: international, between public administrations and with the private sector and the public. That is, it would be urgent to define an international regulatory framework, so that guidelines, action plans and accountability requirements can be defined for the stakeholders involved.

A clear case of this need for coordination is in Africa, where international funds dedicated to the three-fold sustainability and the move towards net zero are being used without rigorous control and accountability, according to Katrin Puetz.
If you want to gain a further insight in the state-of-the-art of Net Zero innovations and technologies, you can do so on our website.