Carbon Capture, Hydrogen, Fission Or Fusion: Which Can Take Us To Net-Zero By 2050?

Carbon Capture, Hydrogen, Fission Or Fusion: Which Can Take Us To Net-Zero By 2050?

Share to Linkedin More than 110 countries and countless companies have pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, but can they get there with existing technologies? Probably not. Net Zero by 2050: Pipedream or Possibility? The world is counting on electrification to replace fossil fuels, which means that global power demand could double between 2020 and 2050 according to McKinsey. The grid is nowhere near prepared. Wind, solar and battery technology have already achieved a lot, but they are not baseload power solutions. Advancements in energy efficiency, biomass, solar heat and geothermal are also encouraging, but altogether, existing technologies can neutralize 50% to 60% of carbon emissions, at best. No wonder Bill Gates believes that new "breakthrough technologies" are essential for reaching net-zero emissions, as he argues in his new book. But the net-zero equation is complex. The transition to battery-powered electric vehicles, for instance, will cause 10 to 14x increases in demand for nickel, aluminum, phosphorous, iron and copper by 2030, Bloomberg estimates. As reserves become depleted and increasingly difficult to mine, extraction could require even more consumption of diesel fuel and fresh water. In the hard-to-abate industries that require heat and steam power, the situation is even more