Research Overview

Governments across the world are looking for solutions to mitigate climate change and pave the way for decarbonization. The route to decarbonization requires supportive regulatory frameworks that mandate energy efficiency and emission reduction measures across all sectors. To achieve a low-carbon future, significant economic investments in renewables, hydrogen, bioenergy, CCUS, and electrification are required.

Electrification refers to the replacement of systems that use fossil fuels with systems that run on electricity generated from a renewable energy source (RES) or other low-carbon generation systems. Electrification delivers greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions in 2 ways; first, it shifts energy use from fossil fuels to RESs and low-carbon energy sources, thereby reducing the carbon intensity, and, second, it enables energy efficiency improvements and the increased adoption of digital technologies, thereby creating smart connected hubs. Despite this significant potential to reduce carbon emissions, the adoption of electrification is still nascent. Supporting policies and regulatory frameworks from governments will boost adoption.

Most electrification technologies are commercially available in the market. However, the high capital costs associated with the replacement of existing fossil fuel-based infrastructure, the high electricity prices, the lack of government incentives, and the poor awareness are significant barriers to the uptake of electrification.