All Electric Society

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The term All Electric Society describes a future picture of the world in which CO 2 -neutral electricity is the central form of energy . The first conceptual approaches to the concept were formulated as early as the 1970s; in the course of the energy transition , it has been widely discussed as a solution since around 2010.

definition

Under the term All Electric Society, the future global energy supply is propagated on the basis of electricity generated mainly from solar energy in a CO 2 -neutral manner. This regeneratively generated electrical energy is intended to function as the primary main form of energy, from which other forms of energy are obtained through conversion processes in phases with excess energy ( Power-to-X ). This concept is intended to increasingly reduce the use of fossil fuels in favor of renewable energies . The phrase "All Electric" refers to the idea that electrical energy should largely represent the basis for other forms of energy. Critics, however, interpret the All Electric Society as a concept of the exclusively direct use of electricity for all energy-consuming applications.

background

Background of the concept of All Electric Society is the goal in the fight against man-made climate change , global CO 2 in the longer term to reduce emissions to a minimum and at the same time to increase the amount of available energy globally dramatically to economic in all regions of the world prosperity to enable. Proponents see the All Electric Society as a desirable target state of the energy transition and discuss them in the context of the goals for sustainable development of the United Nations (Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs), particularly goal number 7 "Affordable and clean energy." In the context of a “ Delphi study on the future of energy systems in Germany, Europe and the world in 2040” published in 2016 , 75 percent of the participants considered the thesis “In 2040 the“ All Electric Society ”will become a reality” as likely or safely entering.

concept

The concept of the All Electric Society is based on the assumption that in the fight against climate change, the global CO 2 emissions that arise when burning the fossil fuels coal , crude oil and natural gas must be reduced quickly and drastically, but at the same time the global availability of energy must be significantly expanded to overcome regional development deficits. Based on the calculations that the current global energy demand is exceeded by a factor of 10,000 through the sunlight falling on the earth, photovoltaics in particular is assigned a key role here . But also wind and water power , geothermal energy and other CO 2 -neutral energy sources are part of the considerations. The core idea is that through a long-term restructuring of the global energy industry, the world energy consumption will be obtained from these regenerative sources primarily in the form of electricity at ever lower costs .

This drastic reduction in energy costs is necessary in order to make so-called Power-to-X technologies, through which electricity is converted into gas or liquid fuels, economically viable. Such energy sources, also known as green fuels or e-fuel , play a key role in the concept of the All Electric Society insofar as they can help to solve the problem of storing and making energy available at any location. In addition, they make it possible to existing infrastructure ( pipelines , gas storage , etc.) is partly to further use and, for example, the practical principle of combustion engines in the air - and maritime and partly in the individual traffic on CO 2 -neutral manner continue. A disadvantage of energy conversion in Power-to-X technologies is their currently very low efficiency . Although this inefficiency does not pose a technical problem, it makes the process uneconomical at today's electricity prices and causes massive capacity limitations with the current availability of sustainably generated electrical energy.

In the medium and long term, proponents of the All Electric Society see this problem as being both capacitively and economically solvable due to the exponential growth in electricity generation from renewable sources. For the transition period, in which the energy industry is to be increasingly converted to electricity-based energy sources without a sufficient supply of affordable, CO 2 -neutral electricity being available, the experts are relying on massive increases in efficiency through so-called sector coupling .

Sector coupling is understood to mean the networking of the sectors of the energy industry and industry , which are to be coupled, i.e. optimized in a common holistic approach. The idea behind the concept is to leave behind solutions that are tailored to individual sectors (electricity, heating or cooling supply, transport and industry) that only consider solutions within the respective sector, and instead to take a holistic view of all sectors come, which enables a more stable, more efficient and cheaper overall system.

The intelligent coupling of the sectors with the help of certain energy-efficient technologies such as heat pump heating , CHP systems or electric cars enables a significant reduction in energy consumption. With the simultaneous expansion of renewable energy generation, this in turn should lead to significant energy surpluses in the relatively short term, which - assuming the appropriate political framework conditions - enable the economically marketable production of eFuels. In this respect, sector coupling is necessary in order to implement the energy transition and to shape the transformation towards an all-electric society.

Political and social decisions are currently favoring developments that are necessary for a development towards the All Electric Society. In addition to international goals such as the aforementioned SDGs of the United Nations or the Paris Climate Agreement of 2016, there are various national programs for a climate-friendly conversion of energy systems, in Germany for example the national hydrogen strategy adopted in June 2020 , which is important prerequisites for Power-to-X technologies creates. The German electrotechnical industry is specifically concerned with the concept of the All Electric Society as part of the DKE's standardization work . The Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau (WHZ) is planning to set up an “All Electric Society” competence center; the concept is also being pursued in research and teaching at other universities.

criticism

The concept of an All Electric Society is also viewed critically by experts. The criticism does not primarily refer to the objectives described, but is based on the understanding that an All Electric Society actually means only the use of electricity for all areas of life and work. In some cases, criticism of the concept is even justified with a description of the relationships presented above (in particular the need for Power-to-X technologies), which suggests that the objections are raised more at the conceptual level than at the content level. Alternatively, the phrase "Most Electric Society" is brought into play.

literature

  • Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH (dena) (ed.): Dena lead study integrated energy transition, impulses for the design of the energy system up to 2050. Berlin, 2018. dena lead study integrated energy transition. Retrieved August 10, 2020 .
  • Edison Electric Institute: Electric Perspectives. Washington, DC, 1976, p. 20.
  • Kapferer, S., Gönner, T., Schwieters, N., Otto, S.-J. (Ed.): Delphi Energy Future 2040. Delphi study on the future of energy systems in Germany, Europe and the world in 2040, oO 2016. Delphi Energy Future 2040. Retrieved on August 10, 2020 .
  • Rifkin, J .: The Global Green New Deal. Why fossil fuel civilization will collapse around 2028 - and a bold economic plan can save life on earth. Frankfurt: Campus Verlag, 2019.
  • van der Veer JHC, van Wunnik TWM: An All-Electric Society for Less CO 2 ?. In: Okken PA, Swart RJ, Zwerver S. (Eds.) Climate and Energy: The Feasibility of Controlling CO 2 Emissions. Springer, Dordrecht 1989.
  • Weidenfeld, Ursula (2016): Sector coupling: “All Electric Society”? in et - Journal for Energy, Law, Technology and Environment, March 2016.
  • Wietschel, M .: Sector coupling - definition, opportunities and challenges. Karlsruhe: Fraunhofer ISI, 2018.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Edison Electric Institute: Electric Perspectives. Washington, DC, 1976, p. 20.
  2. ^ European Alliance for an All Electric Society. In: Energy & Management. July 26, 2017, accessed August 25, 2020 .
  3. ^ About Energy Norway
  4. ^ All Electric Society - Transformation of the Energy World
  5. ↑ Reuters / Markus Wacket: Unter Strom: Der Weg in die "All Electric Society", July 11, 2016.
  6. ↑ Energy surplus - hydrogen - lull periods
  7. ↑ Earning money with an electric car?
  8. ↑ “All electric society” is Illusion, March 6, 2020
  9. ↑ Kapferer, S., Gönner, T., Schwieters, N., Otto, S.-J. (Ed.): Delphi Energy Future 2040, oO 2016, p. 48.
  10. ↑ Let's fill up with the sun, VDI Blog, May 23, 2014
  11. ^ A b Empowering the All Electric Society. In: Etz Elektrotechnik + Automation . Association of Electrical, Electronics and Information Technology (VDE) , April 20, 2020, accessed on August 25, 2020 .
  12. ↑ Stefan Schultz: Power-to-Gas, The delayed energy revolution, spiegel.de, May 7, 2019
  13. ↑ Interview with Prof. Tobias Teich from the Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau, accessed on August 10, 2020
  14. ↑ Getec Net AG, Annual Report 2017
  15. ↑ Dr. Rüdiger Paschotta, RP-Energie-Lexikon
  16. ^ All Electric Society - Transformation of the Energy World
  17. ^ Kretschmer at "All Electric Society": This is where the mobility of the future arises
  18. ↑ On the way to the All Electric Society: 12th meeting of the Saxon Transfer Network
  19. ↑ ETH Zurich, Dept. of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering
  20. ↑ Energy politicians: Rejection of the "All Electric Society", debate at the geea political evening on November 30, 2016.
  21. ↑ Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH (dena) (ed.): Dena-Leitstudie Integrated Energiewende - Impulses for the design of the energy system up to 2050. Berlin, 2018, p.31.
  22. ↑ Why the “Most Electric World” could be our future, June 4th, 2019