Shell says electricity to meet 60% of China's energy use by 2060: Reuters

• Shell anticipates China's power generation would triple to more than 60EJ in 2060, up from 20EJ in 2020

• Solar and wind power to overtake coal in China by 2034, up from 10% now, and to reach 80% by 2060

China may triple electricity output to supply 60 percent of the country's total energy by 2060, up from the current 23 percent, as part of Beijing's carbon-neutral aim, said Royal Dutch Shell, Reuters reported. 

Shell is one of the world's major investors in China's energy industry, with operations that include gas production, petrochemicals, and a retail gasoline network.

China has laid out intentions to attain peak emissions by 2030, but no formal carbon strategy for 2060 has been released.

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This involves investing in a dependable and sustainable power infrastructure as well as showing innovations that alter heavy industry via the use of hydrogen, biofuel, and carbon capture and use.

The energy provider has lately moved into low-carbon businesses including hydrogen power and electric vehicle charging.

Shell anticipates that China's power generation would more than triple to more than 60EJ in 2060, up from 20EJ in 2020.

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Solar and wind power are predicted to overtake coal in China by 2034, up from 10% now, and to reach 80% by 2060, according to Shell.

Hydrogen is predicted to reach 17 exajoules (EJ), or the equivalent of 580 million tonnes of coal, by 2060, up from nearly nothing now, with over 85 percent of the hydrogen generated by electrolysis driven by renewable and nuclear energy, Shell said. 

According to the business, hydrogen will account for 16% of overall energy consumption in 2060, with heavy industries and long-distance transportation being the primary users.

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In addition, the business anticipates that China's carbon pricing would grow to 1,300 yuan ($204.82) per tonne in 2060, up from 300 yuan in 2030.

Biofuel facility

Last year, Shell plans to establish a biofuels facility in Singapore to assist the corporation in meeting global low-carbon energy demands and halving emissions by 2030.

The oil giant intends a 550,000-tonne-per-year (tpy) biofuels factory that will convert waste and vegetable oils into sustainable aircraft fuel (SAF). 

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Shell aims to produce around 2 million tpy of SAF globally by 2025, even though SAF represents less than 0.1 percent of today's global jet fuel consumption.

($1 = 6.35 Chinese yuan)

Source: Reuters

Picture Credits: FT