Annual-Report-2024 - Flipbook - Page 56
The Energy Transition Challenge
From Fossil to Future
Ensuring that our energy supply becomes more sustainable is a huge challenge that
concerns us all. Research in physics is closely entwined with the energy transition.
At #LINO24, both Nobel Laureates and Young Scientists discussed recent findings and
their implications for sustainable energy.
Global energy consumption has grown from around
7,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 1850 to over 28,000 TWh
in 1950 to a stunning 183,000 TWh today. However, this
energy largely comes from fossil fuels, which is posing
unprecedented challenges for our society. If we truly
want to achieve a sustainable future, an energy transition is essential.
This was the challenge addressed by Eric Betzig, who
was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2014, in
his joint Agora Talk. He began by highlighting the significant increase in life expectancy over the past century
and a half. This is largely attributed to the Industrial
Revolution, powered by fossil fuels – the same fossil fuels
causing the ongoing climate crisis.
The harnessing of energy enabled unprecedented
advancements in healthcare, sanitation, and overall
quality of life. Betzig described how four pillars of
modern civilization – steel, concrete, plastics, and ammonia – each come with substantial carbon footprints. Their
production processes are deeply intertwined with fossil
fuel use. Decarbonizing these sectors is no easy task.
Fossil fuel-derived energy has dominated the past
century, largely because it was cheaper and easier to
54 | Talking Physics That Matters
use than other forms of energy. The prices for renewable
energy are already competitive with those of fossil fuels
and sources of renewables are increasing every year.
However, the Laureate reminded the audience that no
change can happen overnight and that renewable energy
comes with its own challenges.
Betzig emphasized that some of the solutions will
be societal – implementing technologies like renewable
energy and sustainable fuel that have already been
developed. Other solutions, however, may require new
technologies.
Nobel Laureate J. Georg Bednorz illustrated the role
that superconductors can play in this transition. Superconductivity refers to the phenomenon where certain
materials can conduct electricity without resistance
at critical temperatures. Very low temperatures were
thought to be necessary for this phenomenon to occur.
Bednorz’s work, however, which showed that some materials can become superconductors at significantly higher
temperatures, has removed barriers to the widespread
adoption of superconducting technology.
One of the primary advantages of superconductors is
their ability to carry extremely high current densities –
