In this issue, we celebrate companies that are helping to progress the energy transition. These range from established companies that are adapting existing conversion processes to incorporate renewable feedstocks and lower the carbon intensity of our fuels and chemicals, to start-ups progressing along tortuous pathways to bring new processes and technologies to market. We need both approaches for a successful energy transition. In 2025, we can celebrate 100 years of the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process. The FT process was originally commercialised to convert coal into liquid fuels, first in Germany, then South Africa, and more recently in China. Applications were then successfully extended to (natural) gas-to-liquids (GTL) with the bp plant in Alaska, Shell Bintulu in Malaysia, and the Pearl GTL unit in Qatar. The application window for the FT process is now being extended further, using captured carbon dioxide to synthesise sustainable fuels and chemicals. It is important to recognise and celebrate other innovative approaches, such as LanzaTech’s gas fermentation process, which uses microbes to convert waste carbon dioxide streams into ethanol and then synthesise sustainable aviation fuels. This is a new application of possibly the world’s oldest commercial chemical process. On a more sober note, DNV has just released its Global Energy Transition Outlook 2025 . In its latest forecast, DNV considers the current trajectory of the energy transition means we are unlikely to reach net-zero carbon emissions until 2060. Up to this point, DNV, consistent with other credible agencies such as the International Energy Agency (IEA), had considered net zero by 2050 to be feasible, provided there was an immediate, massive increase in investment. It is highly likely that we will overshoot the 2ºC target in the next decade, making carbon withdrawals essential (as recognised by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC]). Innovative applications that utilise captured carbon may yet help restore a healthy equilibrium in the Earth’s carbon cycle. In the next decade, we can anticipate accelerated investment in renewable hydrogen and its derivatives as First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) plants demonstrate commercial readiness across a range of technologies. Government initiatives, in the form of targets and mandates, that support the scale-up of capacity for renewable hydrogen and its derivatives, particularly e-fuels, will be essential. Technology companies, from R&D start-ups through to global multinational engineering and energy majors, all have a role, and we will continue to recognise progress and celebrate success whenever we can.
Managing Editor Rachel Storry
rachel.storry@emap.com tel +44 (0)7786 136440 Consulting Editor
Robin Nelson robin.nelson@ decarbonisationtechnology.com Editorial Assistant Lisa Harrison lisa.harrison@emap.com Graphics Peter Harper Business Development Director Paul Mason info@decarbonisationtechnology.com
tel +44 844 5888 771 Business Development Luke Massingham Luke.Massingham@ petroleumtechnology.com Managing Director Richard Watts richard.watts@emap.com
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Cover Story ArcelorMittal Steelanol Facility using LanzaTech technology Photo Credit: Bjorn Heijstra, LanzaTech
Dr Robin Nelson
www.decarbonisationtechnology.com
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