Energy Smart Technologies
Energy Efficiency
This sector covers technologies and practices aimed at improving efficiency both on the supply side – in generation, transmission and distribution – and on the demand side, including the built environment and industry. From CHP and superconducting transmission to efficient lighting, building materials, industrial processes and HVAC, a range of technologies exist that can capture the low-hanging fruit of efficiency.
Digital Energy
Digital energy encompasses a web of technologies and services that use information and communications technology to improve energy efficiency, security and reliability, starting with the smart power grid. The smart grid includes systems to balance supply and demand, automate grid monitoring and control, flatten peak consumption and communicate in real-time with consumers. Supply and demand data will flow between power producers and customers, and automated demand-side management and virtual power plants will become reality.
Power storage
Many renewable energy and emerging energy technologies are either intermittent, or have response curves that are unable to follow the dynamic demands that will be put on them when deployed. Batteries and other energy storage technologies therefore become key enablers for any shift to these technologies. Within this sector we include compressed air, flywheels, capacitors and a range of battery technologies, including flow batteries.
Hydrogen and fuel cells
This sector covers the production, storage and direct applications of hydrogen as a fuel, as well as the associated market for fuel cells. Although they have been around for 150 years and their performance is not in doubt, the high manufacturing costs and infrastructure needs of fuel cells mean that they have yet to capture the mass market. A large number of companies and research initiatives are hoping to change that over the coming decade. We draw a distinction between the hydrogen industry and the fuel cell sector: fuel cells can burn a variety of hydrocarbon fuels, and hydrogen can be used by other systems, such as internal combustion engines.
Advanced Transportation
Transport presently accounts for a quarter of world energy consumption. Advanced Transportation covers technologies that reduce the use of energy associated with all types of transportation. Key technologies include electric and hybrid vehicles, plug-in vehicle charge infrastructure, transportation-suitable fuel cells, and combustion efficiency technologies.
