Preparing for the energy transition

The global energy transition came under the spotlight at this year’s Industrial Valve Summit (IVS) Valve industry Think Tank that recently took place in Bergamo, Italy. Pipes, Pumps & Valves Africa finds out more.

In a world of ongoing uncertainty, one thing that can be agreed upon is that transitioning from fossil fuels to more renewable energy must take place. “In the global framework, looking at aspects such as raw materials, price availability, deliveries, the price of energy going up, inflation, geopolitical tensions such as the ware in Russia and Ukraine to the situation in China where there is still a high risk of closure due to Covid-19 there is a lot of uncertainty in the world,” says Luca Pandolfi, IVS Project Manager. At the same time countries around the world have committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 introducing further uncertainty around the oil and gas sector and renewables. While there is agreement from most roleplayers that a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy will take longer than what was initially predicted, the reality is that companies need to start preparing for the energy transition. Pandolfi says this will not only mean new sourcing and production processes in some cases but also new supply chains.

“Industrial production is growing and while this is not necessarily at the rate that was expected pre-Covid, we are seeing a positive trend up. The new infrastructure will be needed.” He says the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has highlighted, however, that fossil fuels will continue to attract investment for some time to come albeit in very uncertain circumstances. Investments in renewable energy are also on the rise and particularly hydrogen is playing an increasingly important role. It is widely accepted that achieving economic growth without increasing greenhouse gas emissions is improving at only 1% per year. Securing economic growth and energy efficiency will require innovative new approaches. “The energy transition will be driven by green hydrogen production,” says Pandolfi. “We are going to have to work hard when it comes to renewable energy. Investments are massive while at the same time there is a focus on reducing the cost of energy around the world.” Methane, he says, also has to be taken into consideration as the heating there-of is even worse than carbon dioxide. “If we stand any chance of hitting the 2050 targets, we have to reduce the emissions of methane as well.”

Understanding the new landscape

All of these developments are important to valve manufacturers at large, says Pandolfi. “We are going to have to look at how we manufacture valves as we need to deliver products that not only allow for a change in terms