3BL Media

28.09.2021 Share

Climate change no longer is a nebulous concept, as communities around the globe experience the devastating effects of rising temperatures and increasingly extreme weather events. To address this, policymakers, corporations and other stakeholders are plotting ambitious net-zero action, helping to establish electrification and decarbonization as the overarching “megatrends” of 2021, according to a new report from global engineering and construction leader Black & Veatch and Canary Media.

The report – 2021 Megatrends: Electrification and Decarbonization -- describes how individuals, companies and nations are working to combat climate change by pairing electrification efforts with advanced decarbonization technologies as they work to invest in a sustainable, carbon-free future.

According to the report, the situation has reached critical mass, with the acceleration of global decarbonization efforts essential to staving off the burgeoning climate crisis. In the United States, the Biden administration has made ambitious net-zero commitments, with the goal of decarbonizing the electric grid by 2035. To get there, the administration is encouraging the American economy to lower its carbon intensity, especially when it comes to buildings, transportation and heavy industry. A combination of green hydrogen and battery energy storage shows great promise in this effort.

The report dives into the role of electrification, addressing the proliferation of the “electrify everything” approach. While electrification is effective in many areas – e.g., heating and cooling buildings and fuelling vehicles – it falls short when it comes to powering aviation and heavy-duty vehicles. This is where green hydrogen (hydrogen produced through the use of renewable energy) holds sway, and the complementary pairing of electrification with hydrogen technologies is a key tool that will propel the world closer to a zero-carbon reality.

“With extreme climate events becoming much more frequent, it is crucial that all members of our global society make concerted efforts to increase sustainability and lower carbon emissions,” said Mario Azar, president of Black & Veatch’s power business. “As 2021 Megatrends: Electrification and Decarbonization makes clear, the widespread adoption of renewables and green hydrogen to replace fossil fuels will be integral in the path to our carbon-free future.”

Download the 2021 Megatrends: Electrification and Decarbonization report.

Click here to learn more about how Black & Veatch can help achieve your decarbonization goals