UPDATED 1 Sept: The EI library in London is temporarily closed to the public, as a precautionary measure in light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The Knowledge Service will still be answering email queries via email , or via live chats during working hours (09:15-17:00 GMT). Our e-library is always open for members here: eLibrary , for full-text access to over 200 e-books and millions of articles. Thank you for your patience.
New Energy World™
New Energy World™ embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low-carbon technologies.
How to build a safe energy future?
7/2/2024
8 min read
Feature
As the energy industry undergoes rapid transformations on its journey to net zero, the importance of robust process safety measures cannot be overstated. Gaynor Woodford, TÜV Rheinland Sustainability Lead, and Laszlo Komaromi AMEI, Energy Institute (EI) Senior Technical Officer, share insights from the November 2023 TÜV Rheinland Process Safety Management Workshop and Conference, in which the EI actively participated.
Globally, nations and organisations are setting targets to achieve net zero CO2e emissions by 2050. In just 27 years, we have to rethink how we generate, store and use energy. For comparison, the first industrial revolution that introduced steam and water power took over a century. Data shows that decarbonisation is just not happening fast enough; current forecasts suggest a year-on-year decarbonisation rate of 17% is required to achieve a 1.5°C global temperature rise above pre-industrial levels.
History has demonstrated the opportunities introduced by each industrial revolution brings new hazards, but the challenge is to ensure changes to major accident hazards are properly managed, whether they occur in conventional or unconventional industry sectors.
In the European context, for example, 55% of CO2e emissions need to be reduced by 2030. Initially, abatement is expected to use existing technologies and techniques combined with demand-side measures. Beyond 2030, abatement will require application of new technologies at scale. This introduces complexity of planning in the short and long term.