I often wonder about the rigor of assessments and the lack of a common approach when evaluating or assessing the contributions of new concepts or innovation solutions in any Energy Transition and the broader impacts these can have. So does this 18S framework provide this?
So what makes up the 18S framework to assess any change and innovation in the Energy transition?
I feel this framework can apply to any energy transition and provides a common point of evaluation with consistency in each part of the 18S to evaluate for efficiencies, affordability, reliability, accessibility, availability, dependability, abundance, and effectiveness.
The elements and dimensions of this 18S can determine what we need to work through and understand to gain a more “holistic” overview, especially coming from any changes and new innovative solutions.
I certainly got the inspiration from this paper for constructing this 18S for evaluating new energy transition innovation solutions.
I came across this 18 S approach in a paper by Dincer & Acar “Innovation in Hydrogen Production,” 2017. It struck me as an excellent way to work around all involved in any evaluation of working through the energy Transition in future evaluations.
The depth of assessment for a very detailed hydrogen evaluation was impressive in this paper, “Innovation in Hydrogen Production” It gave an extensive evaluation of hydrogen broken down by this 18S framework. It is well worth reading.
Here I provide a brief note of ideas for each of these 18S as a prompter and stimulus, no more.
At this point, it is not a comprehensive explanation of each part just a trigger to establish a possible Energy Transition Evaluation that covers many of the essential bases.
Source
There is a strong need to identify reliable, affordable, abundant, and clean sources focused on replacement with renewable resources solutions.
For instance, renewable sources offer the best opportunity for reducing GHG emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. Selected sources where emissions, efficiencies, cost, renewability, and multi-generation options can be compared.
Systems
There is always a clear need to identify, develop and implement efficient and effective systems.
Systems should address all critical aspects of design, construction, operation, and maintenance. Compliance with the requirements reduces the system risk to a safe level.
Regardless of the type of energy innovation, innovative systems need evaluation, for potential cost minimization, Emissions reduction, size decrease, Improved reliability, and durability. Increased system efficiency, less complexity, more efficient.
Service
Services should support new connections between energy supply and demand. This can be done in either centralized or decentralized ways, possibly improving overall system flexibility, possibly improving overall system flexibility.
In any added value of services, to extend, to extend the scope, value, and flexibility become important to evaluate.
Scope
It is necessary to define the scope and proceed accordingly in any research and development activities or evaluation and assessment of what it sets out to achieve.
The interconnected characteristics of the present energy systems – including production, distribution, and conversion processes are challenging to decision-makers aiming to stimulate a widespread energy transition.
A well-defined and developed scope needs to account for the impact of any change-over, and possible drops in existing efficiencies before new innovation solutions gain their levels of suggested benefits.
Staff
A well-trained staff is required in every domain of a changing energy transformation, ranging from research to commercialization and from production to utilization. What knowledge is transferable, and what needs to be learned?
Staff need to gain experience in the development of safety criteria, different codes, standards, certification, and approval needs where adoption gains are shared internationally to speed up competency and establishment.
During the transition to new systems, user competency and approval are very essential for gaining an understanding and encouragement for change.
Scale-up
There is a strong need to place an emphasis work on scaling up for large-scale applications. Scaling up can reduce unit costs of production, delivery, and storage, how is this being explained?
Knowing how any scaling-up has quantifiable potential to reduce costs, how is this addressed?
Safety
Safety is a significant topic to deal with, especially for any new technologies or system changes
What is being proposed as new safety procedures and standards, accident procedures, and different user competencies (in-home usage for example)
Do safety procedures and standards change if energy solutions or designs have different characteristics compared to the current ones used in the market?
Scheme
The goal is to organize existing schemes so that they work together towards a mutual energy “connected” target, a new energy system.
There is a need to develop schemes for dealing with changing production, storage, handling, transportation, delivery, and end-use. For instance, a variety of alternatives are available and how have they been assessed,
Sector
Sectoral integration is essential to properly identify the advantages and disadvantages of changing existing emission mitigation strategies and suggesting new and different optimum pathways among different end-use sectors and their implications.
Also, it is important to make sure that today’s investment decisions do not risk the development of innovative technologies in the long term
In energy end-use sectors, technological advancement, the enhancement and extending existing technologies, the development of novel and more efficient technologies, and behavioral alteration to decrease energy use, including converting to low-carbon alternatives all can have sectorial implications.
Solution
A solution-based strategy is important in developing the right technologies and their implementation for sectoral use. and offering solutions to global energy-related issues.
We need to encourage the discovery of solutions to address global energy challenges via collaboration with different industries, companies, agencies, institutions, universities, local and global organizations, and stakeholders, and these collaborations might offer very different longer-term solutions. that aim to minimize costs, enhanced system efficiencies, and accelerate market introduction.
We always need to take social and environmental impacts into account to gain a wider public understanding of any solution change.
Fundamental research should consider solutions that are solid, sound, and promising and are clearly advancements on the existing.
Stakeholder
All stakeholders, academia, industries, government agencies, NGOs, etc. should come together in achieving the energy transition, it has an impact on all of our lives. Stakeholder involvement is an essential requirement.
Stakeholder education and involvement could potentially increase public approval and consequently eliminate several possible problems and long and often needless delays during the transition.
The success of stakeholder involvement is determined by their collaboration, mutual
actions and decisions, and tacit and binding agreements. Is this adequately addressed?
Standardization
There is an urgent need to develop the right standards to correctly govern the process of implementing and developing technical standards so as to cover the entire spectrum of solutions offered, so they can be compared and evaluated.
Standardization is vital to the development of an effective energy infrastructure where international codes and standards should be strengthened and harmonized globally to accelerate and optimize the changes needed.
Subsidy
During the transition to different-based energy systems, subsidies are essential to start and speed up the transition. Short and long-term subsidies promote the initial acceptance of changing energy systems; they can also help during scale-up and introduction of innovative solutions to new energy markets, able to adopt new technologies without going through longer “learning curves”.
When properly used, subsidies can support innovative technologies to be effectively delivered to the public very quickly, often generating early consumer interest.
It is important to recognize subsidies should be distributed between end users, manufacturers, and supply systems in order to stimulate the energy market and minimize or share the investment risk by all parties.
Stimulation
There is a need to implement stimulation packages for practitioners, technologists, engineers, etc. who are primarily responsible for implementing any new technologies.
Investment (i.e. venture capital) and early market deployment can provide early stimulation, so as to enable research, development, and demonstration of activities to accelerate new innovative energy solutions.
Thorough policies by governments and authorities can also stimulate collaborations between different sectors, research organizations, institutions, industries, and relevant players in the energy field so as to trigger and stimulate the success of innovative systems.
Structure
It is necessary to develop a structural approach at every step of the energy transition. Covering future production, storage, transportation, conversion, and utilization in various sectors, providing regular assessments of the existing structure, changes occurring, and the impact effect to encourage earlier conversion outlining associated costs.
There is recognition that extensive research, design, and demonstration are required to support the energy transition change systems and can radically alter the existing structures.
Strategy
It is necessary to develop strategies for outlining the advantages of any new innovative technology or infrastructure change and addressing their true implementation, impact, and effect.
Such a strategy covers a plan of action or policy designed to achieve the ultimate goal of switching to new solutions and its contribution to the energy transition economy.
A well-developed strategy is needed to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of existing energy compared to future ones.
Support
Evaluating many support projects can enhance the understanding of the interactions among different energy sectors.
Since innovative energy solutions are evolving and emerging fast, it requires urgent support academically, technically, financially, institutionally, and politically to contribute. This support is required for the research, design, development, building, and testing, and the final support of the scaling up.
Active and visible support is critical for technological advancements and public acceptance.
Sustainability
The vision of the twenty-first century is that sustainable energy systems need to shift to more favorable and sustaining future ones.
Any new innovative system should support the main pillars of sustainability: better efficiency, better cost-effectiveness, better resource use, better design and analysis, better energy security, and a better environment.
A holistic sustainability view is needed across multiple dimensions, covering energy impact changes, environmental, economic, social, and political dimensions.
The need is looking for promising solutions for global challenges in a sustainable fashion.
Views need to specifically address problems related to climate change, the present dominance and limited nature of fossil fuels, growing energy demands, and the different impact assessments.
Sustainability needs to be evaluated for, impact, efficiencies, affordability, reliability, accessibility, availability, dependability, abundance, and effectiveness as these all contribute to a different sustaining future at individual, local, regional, national, and global levels.
As a summary
The complexity we find in evaluating what to consider in assessing and recommending any change in the Energy System does need common levels of cross-comparison.
The elements and dimensions of this 18S framework can achieve a solid assessment of the critical aspects of any energy transition assessment.
