Scott Institute Distinguished Lecture Series
On Tuesday, November 2, 2021, Metro21 attended the Carnegie Mellon University Scott Institute's Distinguished Lecture Series featuring Siemens Energy's Richard Voorberg.
Richard Voorberg is President of the North America Hub of Siemens Energy. In this seminar, he discusses his role in having regional responsibility for the Energy business in the Americas, which includes the company’s Generation, Industrial Applications, and Transmission divisions.
The Evolution of Energy
- The global energy landscape is transitioning – due to climate change, demographic change, urbanization, digitalization, globalization.
- There is expected to be a >50% increase in global electricity generation by 2040, while 770 million people are currently without electricity.
- They anticipate that natural gas will still produce over 25% of the U.S.’s electricity in 2040 – the rest will be generated by nuclear and renewables. This is based on permits that are currently being issued for new gas plants. It is possible that these same plants could be converted to using hydrogen fuel if it becomes cost-effective to do so.
- They are developing technology to use wind power to harvest hydrogen from H2O, which can then be used to fuel hard-to-decarbonize sectors like transportation. This could lead to hydrogen fuel produced at $1 per kilogram by the end of the decade. It can also allow for transportation of power across the world – wind power generated in Chile can be used to create Hydrogen fuel which can then be shipped to Europe.
Decarbonization roadmap:
