McKinsey&Company
Techie fixes for climate change
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Deus ex machina. Technology got us into this mess, but it also might get us out of it. Energy experts point to tech with the potential to either slow or reverse climate change. Ground-source heat pumps and high-efficiency air conditioners offer more efficient heating and cooling. Direct air capture can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and can operate in any location. Next-generation nuclear power plants and clean electric grids are not fantasies but real options currently being built. [WSJ] |
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Mind the (funding) gap. Cryptocurrency, the metaverse, and NFTs excite investors looking for the next big thing. That’s a problem for European companies aspiring to raise money for viable climate-change solutions. Investors get excited about start-ups, but funds tend to dry up at the scaling phase that could convert an idea for a better battery or sustainable aviation fuel into a game changer. European companies say that investors will only pony up the hundreds of millions of dollars needed if regulations compel the use of sustainable products and systems. [NYT] |
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Great need. To reach net zero by 2050, capital spending on low-emission equipment and infrastructure would need to average about $6.5 trillion a year. The annual production of clean hydrogen would need to increase more than sevenfold, requiring an additional $540 billion of investment. The global capacity of long-duration energy storage must increase by a factor of 400 by 2040, which will depend on innovations in chemical, electrochemical, mechanical, and thermal technologies.
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Cooperate to compete. Climate technologies are interdependent, so competing in these markets often requires cooperation across value chains and industrial ecosystems. The success of climate technologies, including green methanol, green hydrogen, green steel, and carbon capture, depends on first being able to generate and store renewable electricity. Read on to learn why executives shouldn’t wait for a supportive ecosystem to form, and how they can gain big first-mover advantages.
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| — Edited by Katy McLaughlin |
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