Catalyzing the new sustainable energy rush

Abstract

Energy has transformed every aspect of society, powering unprecedented population growth, economic well-being, new industries, and emerging technological possibilities. However, energy has been historically coupled with greenhouse gas emissions. Meeting energy demand while decoupling it from emissions is urgent yet challenging due to our widespread and long-standing reliance on fossil energy sources, infrastructure, and related feedstocks. Here, we discuss how disruptive innovations across three major areas can catalyze the new sustainable energy rush. Firstly, we need abundant, emissions-free primary energy production through innovations that accelerate deployment of mature technologies and advance nascent technologies with promising technoeconomics and scalability. Second, efficient, intermodal methods to transport the future mix of emissions-free electrical, thermal, and chemical energy are essential. Lastly, sustainable carbon sources and conversion processes must be established to produce wide-ranging chemicals and materials. We discuss exemplary technologies that need to be developed or drastically improved to quickly reach cost targets for broad deployment and adoption. We highlight how true disruption in these core areas will create completely new learning curves and create future new industries. These technologies require multi-disciplinary expertise and collaborations across academia, industry, and government to ultimately realize this vision of a sustainable, prosperous energy future.