The world’s population is already more than 7 billion – a number that could exceed 11 billion by 2100, according to projections from the United Nations. This rising population, coupled with environmental challenges, puts even greater pressure on already strained energy resources. Historically, there has been a limit to the number of things that can run on electricity: many industrial processes and transportation technologies rely on their own combustion engines to run. However, as technology improves, it is increasingly possible for this need for an on-site, fossil-fuel powered combustion engine to be replaced with electricity, a process known as electrification.
The car is a perfect example of this shift. Until very recently, all cars were powered by their own gas-fired pistons: the internal combustion engine (ICE). The ICE is effectively a miniature, on-site, gasoline-fired power plant for cars, that produces the energy the car needs. With improvements in energy storage technologies, electric vehicles have become viable alternatives to gasoline-powered vehicles and are becoming increasingly popular throughout the world. As more and more people switch from an older ICE car to a newer electric vehicle, thus electrifying their own transportation, the need for electricity will continue to increase, and Africa is not immune to this change.
Another process that has witnessed a similar shift towards electrification with improved technology is home heating. Previously the domain of natural gas, oil, propane, diesel or even coal, innovative new and improved technologies, such as air source heat pumps and geothermal heat pumps, now mean that the energy required to heat your home can come from electricity rather than from burning fuel.
While there are still limits to what can be powered by electricity, scientists continue to push the boundaries and shift technology where those limits lie. Recent technological innovations have the potential to electrify more processes that previously required their own combustion engines.
The future of electricity
The energy landscape is changing, rapidly. The push for low carbon emissions and a more inclusive, less unequal world and the pursuit of efficiency has led to technological advancements that have significantly changed the way electricity is generated and distributed.
The future of electricity in one in which:
- Energy is distributed i.e., electricity generation is decentralised and independent, no longer controlled by a centralised generator and transmitted through a network to the end-users. This is a future in which the traditional utility company is not the beginning and end of all things. It is a future in which energy is democratised.
- Focus is on self-generation, whereby people and businesses can tap into abundant and freely available resources, notably the sun, to generate their own electricity. It is a future in which the consumers are also the producers, i.e., prosumers.
- Clean and renewable. With growing focus on climate emergency and the need for more significant declines in carbon emissions, the energy of the future will be green. In Europe, for instance, many traditionally coal-powered countries are setting ambitious goals to help the continent reach climate-neutrality by 2050.
- Efficient and optimised. Technological advancements are making it possible for appliances to be highly energy-efficient, but also for losses to be minimised, by ensuring power generated is not wasted (smart demand management) and that the cheapest power is used the most.
- Customer-centric. With energy independence and freedom, the power is no longer in the hands of the utility company, who is no longer an energy seller, but now a service provider. In the future, a very high focus will be put on the quality of service delivered to the customer and the user experience.
- Collaborative and integrated. With the shift from consumer to prosumer, the electricity customer of the future will transition to be an energy partner that can buy from the utility as much as they can sell to the utility. This will lead to the development of mini/nano/pico grids that integrate into the larger national grid.
nThe observed trends indicate a future where electrification means individual homes and businesses will have energy freedom and independence. That future is here now. Instead of relying upon fossil fuels that are extracted somewhere in the world, which you must purchase at volatile, ever-changing rates, you can now produce your own electricity to power your electrified processes, using a combination of solar and energy storage. Given the status quo in Africa, this energy future could not find better grounds to thrive than most African cities where traditional utility companies have failed on most measures. Whether they are dealing with poor customer service from the legacy of national monopoly, bad governance and maladministration, aged and poorly maintained infrastructure, or lack of innovation, centralised generation and distribution has failed in Africa and a new paradigm is needed.
