TRENDING reaching final investment decisions has quadrupled over the last two years . However , a refocus of applications has been observed due to the increasing costs of low-carbon hydrogen production , competition between uses and regulations . Only certain uses in ‘ Hard to Abate ’ industries , such as heavy industry and maritime mobility , have strong potential
• Global nuclear capacity needs to triple to ensure stable , low-carbon power . COP28 has recognised the critical role of nuclear energy for reducing the effects of climate change . While there is some promising progress in nuclear renaissance ,
According to the report , better forecasting for electricity consumption and finer optimisation scenarios , thanks to technologies such as AI , will help to improve grid balancing .
including Small Modular Reactors ( SMRs ), the development of new nuclear power plants is still difficult . In 2023 , 440 nuclear reactors ( 390GW ) provided 9 % of the world ’ s electricity – 25 % of the world ’ s low-carbon electricity . SMRs are in the planning or early construction stages with many years before they are deployed at scale as their industrialisation can prove to be complex . According to the report , more focus needs to be placed on extending the life of existing nuclear plants
• The power grid plays a fundamental role to accelerate clean energy transitions . Grid investment is starting to pick up and is expected to reach
US $ 400 billion in 2024 , with Europe , the US , China and parts of Latin America leading the way . According to the report , better forecasting for electricity consumption and finer optimisation scenarios , thanks to technologies such as AI , will help to improve grid balancing
• Whilst AI has the potential to significantly accelerate decarbonisation , a lack of skills and a focus on short-term proof of concepts is hampering adoption to date . However , AI coupled with GenAI in agentic LLM ( Large Language Model ) workflows has a clear role to play as a catalyst to improve grid efficiency , e-fuel discovery ; new battery or wind turbine design ; synthetic biology ; and augmented insights from many data sources for better-informed decision making
• Protectionist approaches to increasing energy sovereignty may have undesirable implications . On-going geopolitical uncertainties are affecting energy markets and systems . To ensure the security of supply , the use of embargoes , tariffs and subsidies in almost all jurisdictions is distorting energy markets and threatening efficient allocation of capital . According to the report , embargoes are proving ineffective , and decreasing the transparency and traceability of energy supplies , which is essential to tracking decarbonisation efforts . Denying access to the cheapest sources of energy equipment and energy supplies drives up prices for consumers and reduces funding available for the energy transition
• According to the report , ‘ Primary Energy Demand ’ is an outdated concept for energy transition . There is a need to move from primary to final energy consumption measurement ( in kWh ) to ensure accurate projections and clean energy progress . Measuring energy based on primary consumption ignores that : for the same end-energy services , new electric services are generally more efficient ; a lot of fossil fuels are wasted in the generation of electricity ; energy is also wasted on finding and processing fossil fuels
The World Energy Markets Observatory ( WEMO ) is Capgemini ’ s annual thought leadership and research report created in partnership with Hogan Lovells , Vaasa ETT and Enerdata , that tracks the transformation of global energy markets , including Europe , North America , Australia , South East Asia , India and China . Now in its 26th edition , the report has been prepared by a global team of over 100 experts and includes 15 articles , all backed with rigorous analysis . The report begins with a global outlook , and covers the topics pivotal to the energy transition including geopolitical impacts , demand-side energy transition , batteries , renewables , SMRs , hydrogen , industrial heat , GenAI and the Inflation Reduction Act ( IRA ). p
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