The changing shape of the energy market - how will our lives change?

 I recently read this year’s Hult Prize challenge and its theme on embracing the potential of the energy industry. The Hult Prize is one of the largest global platforms for creating innovative business ideas developed in universities. Over the last ten years, the organisation has partnered with leading environmental and energy groups, continuing the progression of disruptive innovation in the industry. The latest challenge looks specifically at how we can creatively harness the potential of energy and utilize this for clean water, reliable food supplies, higher levels of employment and improved connectivity. The challenge believes that our world requires higher levels of disruption, to truly capitalize innovation and create a second tier of transformation; that is the transformation of human lives.

Improving energy availability

Since the 1990's, nearly 2 billion people have gained access to electricity, yet the International Energy Agency (IEA) has estimated that over 1.3 billion people still have no access to electricity, with a further 1 billion people having an inadequate supply of electricity. Furthermore, an additional 3 billion people have little availability to modern fuels for everyday cooking and heating, relying on traditional firewood, charcoal and kerosene fuels that are very harmful to human health and the environment. According to the Worldwatch Institute, the pollutants derived from these fuels contribute to nearly 2 million premature deaths worldwide every year.

Energy organisations are urging governments to invest more into electrification in developing nations, to tackle health, environmental issues and improve the livelihoods of millions of people.

Technology, Energy and Innovation

Technological advances have resulted in a dramatic transformation of how we produce, store and utilize energy. Since 2009, the costs of solar and wind have declined considerably, and experts predict that prices will continue to decrease. Whilst fossil fuels remain a dominant source of energy supply industry professionals believe there will be a gradual decline as nations move further towards low carbon sources of energy production.

In developed regions, energy customers are increasingly demanding more control over how and where their energy is produced. With declining costs and improved technology developments, consumers are capable of taking advantage of distributed energy resources such as solar and battery storage facilities. The advances in technology are enabling developing markets to progress at a faster rate, rapidly improving the existing infrastructure.

Distributed energy systems are developing further as grid operators are being pushed to offer flexible generation resources. Energy storage is now a dominant focus of energy innovation and is likely to expand rapidly, reducing the need for new, bigger infrastructure. Battery technology will also play a vital role in the energy storage market, providing an efficient and timely source of electricity for a range of end-users. Analysts expect costs to continue to decline and new battery technology to have the potential of disrupting markets and encouraging the transition to cleaner fuels, particularly in the case of conventional and electric vehicles.

Batteries will improve reliability and the overall timely delivery of energy for customers. How we generate and consume energy is constantly changing and advances in storage will make it easier for consumers to determine how and when to use energy. Smart technology will further enhance the efficiency for consumers, making households more informed, and ‘smarter’ to the wider energy network.

Mobility and Transport

The transportation of goods and the movement of people have significant impacts on our lives. An established and efficient transport network for people and goods is critical for extending the ability for humans to develop. Technological advancements driven by energy have made transport networks more accessible, efficient and cheaper. There is, however, much more that can happen to extend these benefits to all people, particularly for societies in remote rural regions.

The mobility network is deeply connected with new, energy driven innovations, creating a range of exciting projects across the sector. Yet, many nations still face a series of underdeveloped transport networks, impacting access to even the most basic services. The World Bank suggests that one billion people across low-income countries have little access to an all-weather road. The implications of this can mean, the sick are unable to receive urgent medical care, vital crops cannot be transported quick enough to market and many educational facilities are inaccessible.

In recent years, innovation in energy development is being utilized to transform each of these systems. Improvements in solar are starting to fuel vehicles and bicycles, and more recently even our road systems. Significant improvements in battery technology have developed the automotive market, promoting electric-powered vehicles as one of the fastest and lucrative consumer goods. Electric Vehicles only make up about 1% of all new vehicles sales, but experts believe this could rise to around 30% by 2030.

Autonomous transport is another developing market that has the potential to transform the transportation network in both urban and rural regions. Dubai, for example, is developing autonomous drones via a trial project to implement drone taxis across the city.

Food, Farming and Agriculture

Food production systems continue to be heavily reliant on fossil fuel driven technology. Today our food supply systems require considerably less land and human labour but still require significant energy investment. According to UN reports, global harvest produces a surplus of calories required per person, yet 12% of the global population remain malnourished. In richer, developed nations, food supply is reported to be nearly 75% higher than required, resulting in excess food waste and further health-related issues.

Technology is continuing to support mechanical farming practices but experts believe significantly more needs to be done in this sector to meet the demands of our growing population. This will include innovations in how we grow food, how it is processed, stored and distributed. Maintaining our historic rate of yield increase will not be possible without new energy technology systems. Resource-conserving processes such as conservation agriculture and climate-smart agriculture are supporting overall productivity. Further support in research and development and private investment can also facilitate the rise of new innovations in the industry.

Access to Water

Water is a critical resource for human life in all areas of energy production, and energy innovations are essential for the development of water supply and treatment systems. Water scarcity is now a real concern, with research suggesting that by 2025, nearly 1.8 billion people will live in water-deprived conditions. Energy driven innovations are therefore critical to improving how we collect, store and transport water, ensuring all people have suitable access to a water supply. New technology is supporting the process of cleaning water, conservation, flood prevention and pollution control. With further innovations, societies can produce more clean water from existing supplies, enabling people to access a relatively large untapped supply.

Healthcare

The creation of new levels of health knowledge, enabled by energy-driven technology is accelerating the range of options for improving human health services. For example, connected medicine, which involves telehealth, remote medicine and mobile health systems enable people to receive medical care with no regards to location. Innovations in telehealth mean disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment services can be provided by qualified professionals via digital networks.

Health service systems, however, continue to be unevenly distributed across many nations. Quality health services are inaccessible for millions of people in many rural regions and within larger urban slums. Innovations in energy enabled health services are generating the potential for start-up businesses to provide affordable and efficient healthcare for people worldwide. Peer-to-peer healthcare services are becoming evermore possible due to improvements in energy connectivity. Improvements in big data are also dramatically transforming the delivery of health services. Integrating big data with healthcare models will provide further opportunities to disrupt the health system.

Education

To participate in global activities requires knowledge and education skills, but access to these fields are unequally distributed. Whilst literacy rates have improved and educational inequality gaps have narrowed, there is significantly more that can be done. According to UN reports, over one billion adults lack literacy skills. New systems and ways of accessing information are continuing to influence our techniques of learning.

Whilst most of the world’s 1.5 billion schoolchildren, education models are based on traditional classroom environments. The disruption of traditional learning is happening, with virtual classrooms and open online courses rising in popularity. This is creating access to education for millions of people that previously had limited educational opportunities. Issues of connectivity and technological knowledge have made it more complicated for many educational facilities in developing nations to integrate these new systems. As a result, there is a growing need for low-cost interventions that can support teachers and provide students with more learning opportunities. Virtual and augmented reality services are transforming the way people experience and gather knowledge. Virtual classrooms enable human connections and can provide rich learning experiences for students that would otherwise not have the opportunity to participate.

Plan for the future

Cheaper, clean and efficient energy sources will have a dramatic effect on the transformation of millions of people worldwide. This, however, is only possible if both the products and services are provided to enable people to develop and move forward. Through time, it is quite obvious that energy powered innovations have expanded human development. These gains, however, have not been distributed equally across the world. Reshaping how we utilize energy, we can develop innovative systems that redesign industry. We have the ability to remove traditional barriers such as distance and eliminate the existing disparities between rich and poor, urban and rural, those that are educated and those that lack access to these key services.