September 2021

The ever-evolving energy industry is now seeing its long-term strategy become clearer. There is a certainly a shift away from oil, gas and coal. The time of the fossil fuel has come and gone (although they will certainly be with us for some time to come) – this news is not new. But, for some time, the next stage in the energy mix was rather unclear. Would all focus go to renewables? Would money be ploughed into manufacturing? Would endless R&D happen around batteries and storage? Would the environment ever truly be at the forefront of the giant energy majors?

While these questions remain, the path is now a little clearer. Wind energy is going to play a major role in the world’s energy mix. Solar will be a major job creator and a large part of the mix, and biogas will be the next step in the circular economy. But it is from hydrogen where the next energy boom will emerge. Industry insiders have been researching and pushing hydrogen for some time. Its potential has been documented, and now there are real projects on the ground that are starting to demonstrate the element’s power.

Damien Ricordeau, Founder and CEO at Finergreen, a boutique financial advisory business in the renewable space, tells us that the deals of the future will surround hydrogen and its involvement in the storage of electricity produced from renewable sources.

One of those sources will be the Dogger Bank wind farm off the east coast of Yorkshire in the UK. This will be the world’s largest when complete and fully operational. Bringing the power onshore and moving it into homes will help reduce emissions from thermal plants and will lessen reliability on the fuels of the past. But, the 3.6GW – capable of powering six million UK households – must be used efficiently, and may need to be stored. Projects like Dogger Bank will inevitably need to involved hydrogen in the future.

Investing in renewables or hydrogen storage? Can you see any drawbacks? Get in touch and let us know how your business is navigating the switch.