What Really is the Future of Green Energy?

As the world attempts to move towards a clean energy future, nuclear energy frequently appears in the news.

For all its benefits, nuclear power must overcome a decades-old, deep-rooted fear. The war in Ukraine renewed that fear, due to fighting near the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant or the potential use of nuclear weapons.

But nuclear power’s potential of cheap, carbon free power and energy security remains attractive. Nuclear power is there when you need it. Not just when the wind is blowing, or the sun is shining.

Fossil fuels like natural gas and coal are kings of base-load power today. But nuclear energy is starting to make strides in a lot of countries energy mix.

For more on this check out our YouTube Video “Uranium Will Rock”

Going forward nuclear energy must be part of the conversation for the world to reach net zero energy emissions. We wrote about the evolution of nuclear energy in The Grove, “Safe Energy”

Look Out EVs, there is a new power source coming.

Don’t be surprised if the Electric Car craze gives way to the Hydrogen Car revolution in the near future.

It is not only us here at Mangrove Investor that feel hydrogen fuel will dominate the future.

Even the Biden administration has gone all in, with the recent announcement that the U.S. Department of Energy plans to invest $1 billion into clean hydrogen.

Here is a recent extract from Mangrove Investor’s Matt Badiali:

In fact, hydrogen is the fuel that will probably dominate the future.

Like oil, coal, and natural gas, hydrogen is an efficient battery to store solar energy. Where fossil fuels store that energy in carbon (which converts to CO2 when we combust it), hydrogen converts to water.

It’s a natural replacement for methane (natural gas). When we combust natural gas in a power plant or stove, we produce both carbon and water – and that carbon gets pumped into the atmosphere. When we combust hydrogen, we just produce water. There is minimal waste.

Even better, to generate hydrogen fuel, we simply use electricity to split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen. The electricity and water can come from almost anywhere. And if that power is coming from solar panels, it is a virtually zero-emission process. 

If we move to hydrogen power, it will change the world. Imagine being able to produce fuel anywhere we have access to sunlight and water. It will cause a massive shift in global economics. Countries that once had to buy energy – usually in the form of oil and gas, regardless of the price – could now produce their own.

There is no silver bullet.

If a green energy future is remotely possible It will take a lot more than a few windmills and a handful of solar panels. To keep global warming to no more than 1.5°C  – as called for in the Paris Agreement – emissions need to be reduced by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.

No single energy source is going to provide the sort of change needed to meet these goals. Wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, bioenergy, nuclear and even hydrogen will all be part of the solution.

None are perfect but together great gains can be made towards a net zero future. And we are keeping a close eye on all these New Energy solutions.

For the Good

Michael Nichols

Numbers to Know

1

Hydrogen is the first element in the periodic table. It is the simplest and most abundant element in the universe, but it rarely exists as a gas on Earth – it must be separated from other elements. (Norwegian Hydrogen)

58

The number of public hydrogen fuel stations in the US. With 57 in California and 1 in Hawaii. (US Department of Energy)

1952

Operation Ivy was the first hydrogen bomb, which was tested at Enewetak atoll on November 1, 1952. (Atomic Heritage Foundation)

What’s New in Sustainable Investing

Unveiling Saudi Aramco’s Shocking Capitalization on Sustainable Investments

According to a report by Bloomberg, Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil company, successfully secured funds from sustainable investors through a complex financial arrangement.. (Impakter)

Low-Carbon Hydrogen Markets to Reach $130 Billion by 2033

IDTechEx projects that the low-carbon hydrogen market will grow substantially over the next decade, reaching US$130 billion by 2033 based on projected production capacities. (IDTechEX)

Video Of The Week

---