The global energy system is undergoing radical change in the 21st century: scarcity is being replaced by abundance, and energy is being generated entirely from non-fossil sources. The era of oil is being replaced by a new era of electricity – this is one of the main hypotheses of the GDI study "Die neue Energiewelt" (English version).
GDI researcher Karin Frick explains how this change is taking place in Axpo's "Energy Voices" podcast. She emphasises that the transition from scarcity to abundance takes place in steps, leaps and ruptures that can be felt by everyone. The COVID pandemic has shown that we are prepared to do things differently. For example, nobody could have ever imagined that air travel would be stopped. "Every shift provides use with an opportunity to make the energy system more sustainable."
The researcher also highlights that energy is theoretically never in short supply: "So far, only our means of utilising it have been limited." This is because the sun, our largest energy supplier, radiates more energy onto the Earth in two hours than mankind consumes in a year. What is currently lacking is the ability to efficiently convert this energy so that we no longer have to rely on fossil fuels at all. "However, we see that there is a great deal of scope for technology to make progress as well as there being a lot of potential."
Listen to the podcast to learn more about new trends in the energy system such as the energy cyborg, the big battery boost and the renaissance of the nuclear industry – and in which areas Karin Frick personally sees the energy sources of the future.
Click here to listen to the Podcast.
Would you like to find out more about helping to shape the new world of energy? Download the free "A new world of energy" study written by the GDI on behalf of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy.