The global energy crisis sparked by war in Ukraine has underscored how parts of the renewables supply chain might face similar struggles if not quickly diversified, energy executives told the Reuters NEXT conference this week.
Europe has scrambled to replace natural gas from Russia, its primary supplier, following the February invasion of Ukraine, casting a spotlight on the region's over-reliance on a single gas source.
“Out of this crisis, you learn that there are many other things that might follow this same pattern,” said Francesco Starace, chief executive of Italy's Enel, speaking at the conference on Thursday in New York.
Mr Starace noted how solar panels are produced overwhelmingly in China, saying that, and the manufacture of other energy components critical to transitioning from fossil fuels, are potential problem areas.
Enel is investing in manufacturing solar panels in Europe and in the US to hedge against the risk of a single-source supply chain, Mr Starace said, adding that he was aware of other companies following suit. He said the company is currently deciding between four different US states to site its planned factory.
“It is now the case that both in Europe and in the US, you have regulation and laws that kind of make it easier and more economically appealing to do this reshoring,” Mr Starace said.
China controls more than 80 per cent of solar panel manufacturing, according to the International Energy Agency, as well as an outsized share of lithium and other metals needed for battery production.
The head of China's Zijin Mining Group Co, which has already spent $16 billion buying three lithium mines over the past year, said at Reuters NEXT that his company expects to continue to move ahead with investments despite record-high lithium prices expected to halve by the end of 2025.
Expansion of renewables, including solar and wind, as well as battery storage, is seen as critical to energy transition efforts to reduce CO2 emissions and slow the effects of climate change.
South Africa, the most industrialised country in Africa, will need to add more than 50,000 megawatts of new power generation capacity to help meet demand and stabilise its grid, Brian Dames, chief executive of African Rainbow Energy & Power, said at a Reuters NEXT panel on Wednesday.
“Most of that is going to be renewables,” Mr Dames said.
That nation is aiming to slash the use of coal in its power generation to about 38 per cent by 2031, while ramping up wind, solar and gas generation to around 47 per cent during the period, according to a plan presented to parliament by state utility Eskom.
Egypt, which recently hosted the Cop27 UN climate talks, expects to award deals next year to build 21 water desalination plants in the first $3 billion phase of a programme that will draw on cheap renewable energy, said Ayman Soliman, the chief executive of the country's sovereign fund, during a separate Reuters NEXT discussion.
The bottlenecks caused by the war in Ukraine along with the Covid-19 health crisis threatens to delay large-scale pushes to boost clean power generation and storage as well as the operations of smaller climate-focused energy start-ups.
“Getting electronic components, especially power electronic components that are going into battery installations, and inverters, and electric vehicles — those are still in very high demand,” said Sophia Wennstedt, chief executive of Chicago-based Blip Energy, which focuses on battery-based home energy storage systems. She said the bottlenecks are a top concern for the coming year.
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Types of policy
Term life insurance: this is the cheapest and most-popular form of life cover. You pay a regular monthly premium for a pre-agreed period, typically anything between five and 25 years, or possibly longer. If you die within that time, the policy will pay a cash lump sum, which is typically tax-free even outside the UAE. If you die after the policy ends, you do not get anything in return. There is no cash-in value at any time. Once you stop paying premiums, cover stops.
Whole-of-life insurance: as its name suggests, this type of life cover is designed to run for the rest of your life. You pay regular monthly premiums and in return, get a guaranteed cash lump sum whenever you die. As a result, premiums are typically much higher than one term life insurance, although they do not usually increase with age. In some cases, you have to keep up premiums for as long as you live, although there may be a cut-off period, say, at age 80 but it can go as high as 95. There are penalties if you don’t last the course and you may get a lot less than you paid in.
Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.
Income protection: this pays a replacement income if you fall ill and are unable to continue working. On the best policies, this will continue either until you recover, or reach retirement age. Unlike critical illness cover, policies will typically pay out for stress and musculoskeletal problems such as back trouble.
Anna and the Apocalypse
Director: John McPhail
Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton
Three stars
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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INFO
Everton 0
Arsenal 0
Man of the Match: Djibril Sidibe (Everton)
GROUP RESULTS
Group A
Results
Ireland beat UAE by 226 runs
West Indies beat Netherlands by 54 runs
Group B
Results
Zimbabwe tied with Scotland
Nepal beat Hong Kong by five wickets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
Premier League results
Saturday
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Arsenal 1
Bournemouth 0 Manchester City 1
Brighton & Hove Albion 1 Huddersfield Town 0
Burnley 1 Crystal Palace 3
Manchester United 3 Southampton 2
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Cardiff City 0
West Ham United 2 Newcastle United 0
Sunday
Watford 2 Leicester City 1
Fulham 1 Chelsea 2
Everton 0 Liverpool 0
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
