Global energy demand continues to grow rapidly. However, energy demand growth today, is more fragmented as hyper-growth of BRIC (i.e. Brazil, Russia, India, and China) economies slows and is supplemented by economic growth in Latin America, Southeast Asia, Middle East, and Africa. While diversified economic and energy demand growth is good, it poses unique challenges for energy supply which was accomplished in the past through megaprojects. Megaprojects, once justified by fears of “peak oil,” today are passe. Fears of "peak oil" and other energy supply constraints have receded in large measure due to the successful exploitation of unconventional resources, in particular shale gas and light tight oil in North America. Shale gas and light tight oil plays are distributed regionally and often produced in volumes that are significantly smaller than production from conventional wells. Simultaneously, renewable power, energy storage, and energy efficiency have all improved significantly both in terms of cost as well as performance. As a result, today, wind power is competing and often winning against gas-fired power in several parts of the world. Energy storage and energy utilization efficiency have also improved in leaps and bounds defying analyst predictions, and will further improve the competitiveness of renewable energies relative to hydrocarbons. During this time, a number of societal aspirations for a cleaner environment have also been addressed. Fuels and automobiles today are much cleaner than thirty years ago not just in developed economies but also in emerging economies although there is more room for improvement in the latter. Even so, there are significant environmental challenges with greenhouse gas emissions being the foremost. Although policy and regulatory support for limiting greenhouse gas emissions is mixed, a number of stakeholders – the industrial sector, in particular – are addressing through a mix of technology and innovation initiatives. Collectively, these developments have ushered our world into a new energy order that is characterized by four factors: (1) fragmented energy demand growth with difficult last-mile supply and logistical challenges; (2) distributed production and utilization of energy resources; (3) hyper-competition among energy supplies for market share; and (4) intensifying pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This new energy order needs an new innovation agenda that will be the focus of this presentation.

Innovation in the new energy order

2019 Spring National Meeting

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