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The cold economy - Why? What? How?

Author(s) : PETERS T.

Type of article: Periodical article

Summary

For many years cold has been the Cinderella of the energy debate. While governments have developed policies to green everything from electricity to transport to heat, the energy and environmental impacts of cooling have so far been largely ignored. This is a serious oversight, since making things cold is energy intensive and can be highly polluting, and demand for cooling in all its forms is booming worldwide – especially in developing countries. According to one projection, by the end of this century, global demand for air conditioning alone could consume the equivalent of half our worldwide electricity generation today - and most of the increase will come in developing markets. At the same time, huge amounts of cold are wasted, particularly during the re-gasification of LNG, which could be recycled as liquid air to provide clean cold services. The ‘greening’ of cold is clearly an urgent global problem, but this cannot be achieved through the current piecemeal approach. We believe it requires the development of a fully integrated ’cold economy’, which may in turn offer Britain a massive business opportunity to build new technologies, advanced manufacturing hubs and global exports.

Details

  • Original title: The cold economy - Why? What? How?
  • Record ID : 30018008
  • Languages: English
  • Subject: Technology, General information
  • Source: Birmingham Energy Institute
  • Publication date: 2016/05

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