Warsaw 03:06:2026 04:32 PM Steve Walker
Renewable Energy Was Only Phase One
For twenty years the energy transition focused on electricity.
Wind turbines.
Solar farms.
Battery systems.
Grid balancing.
Transmission corridors.
And for good reason.
The world needed to decarbonise electricity generation first.
Phase One of the renewable transition was about replacing fossil electrons with renewable electrons.
That transition changed the energy landscape forever.
But electricity was never the whole economy.
Civilisation does not run on electricity alone.
Aircraft do not fly long distances on transmission cables.
Container ships do not cross oceans using extension cords.
Chemical manufacturing does not run on wind turbines alone.
Heavy transport, industrial heat, aviation fuels, maritime fuels, polymers, solvents, fertilisers and industrial feedstocks all require something more difficult than electricity.
They require molecules.