One of the big problems with the vision of a renewables-dominated future is that only about 20% of our final energy consumption comes from electricity. Electrification can only do so much to alleviate this limitation, meaning that the global energy system will be dominated by fuels for many decades to come.
The usual answer to this problem is "green fuels." Unfortunately, these fuels will remain far more expensive than alternatives derived from fossil fuels, even under optimistic assumptions. The article below reviews two of our recent peer-reviewed papers, explaining why green fuels are one of the lowest-value uses of clean electricity and will remain so for the foreseeable future.
