Europe faces a transformation of its energy sector. Hydrogen is set to overtake the position of natural gas. This change is driven by the need to decarbonise the energy sector and reach the European Union’s (EU) zero-emission target in 2050.
Green electricity is now an established product on the electricity market and is often referred to as “green electricity”. Guarantees of origin (GoO/GO) can be used to prove this “green” characteristic, i.e. that the electricity was generated from a renewable energy plant (RE plant). According to current regulations, this green electricity certificate must be cancelled within one year. The next big step in the transformation of the energy industry is the production and utilisation of hydrogen.
The topic of security of energy supply is currently on everyone’s mind. This is why the German and French governments, among others, have published new plans for the modernisation of their power plants in the coming decades. Climate change is also an important issue. The EU Green Deal defines the goal of climate neutrality in Europe by 2050 and focuses primarily on renewable energies.
The year 2023 not only brought the German electricity market a substantial recovery from the high price phase in 2022, but also held some exciting developments in the areas of prices, generation, capacity expansion and electricity trading.
How could climate change transform the electricity market revenues of renewable energies? Future climate change will impact today’s investment decisions in renewable generation plants, as power prices are influenced by, among other things, the weather. Fundamental power price scenarios have not yet taken this into further consideration. Energy Brainpool has therefore developed the concept of a climate-sensitive “weather swarm”.
Hardly any other market in Germany has undergone as rapid a change in recent years as the market for battery storage. Within ten years, battery storage systems with a total of 6.5 GW power and 10.1 GWh energy have been installed.
In August 2023, the German energy market experienced record-breaking electricity generation from wind and solar. However, this is not the only thing that is causing problems for coal. In the meantime, the increased CO2 prices also mean a significant competitive disadvantage for fossil energy generation. Gas and oil prices did not settle down in August either. The LNG strike and OPEC production cuts drove prices up.
Amidst German high-tech laboratories, significant scientific innovations are born, which, along with German chemical products, are exported to the entire world. The impact of chemical-pharmaceutical products extends far beyond national borders. However, their production is accompanied not only by economic gain but also by an enormous consumption of energy and resources. Hence, a vital contemporary question arises: How can carbon neutrality be reconciled with the chemical industry?