Cleantech Infrastructure
Posted on January 6, 2022 Cleantech
The size and complexity of the energy infrastructure that has been put into place over the past century to support the fossil fuel-based economy is staggering. The very existence of this infrastructure puts a constraint on how we transition to a new energy paradigm, as financial, scheduling, and energy requirements do not support a ‘start over’ approach. Consistent with cleantech drivers, the most promising approaches and technologies for producing greener fuels are designed to integrate into existing facilities and distribution networks.
Cleantech innovators and investors have expanded their scope to consider other established commodity-based industries that have seen their markets evolve. For example, the pulp and paper industry has seen a decline in demand for newsprint products, as readership has moved to digital platforms. In response, some industry players are looking to cleantech innovation as a means of repurposing their legacy assets into supporting infrastructure for the green economy. Pulp mills have been targeted for their potential to produce the feedstocks for green fuels, which would then be further processed in the reconfigured energy complex.