Do you know the history of global energy transition in 200 years?

The way we access energy has changed dramatically over the past 200 years.

Humans have invented steam engines, oil lamps, internal combustion engines, and developed large-scale electricity consumption, promoting new developments in energy acquisition methods. The main body of the global economy has begun to shift from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy, which requires more efficient energy input.

In the process of energy development, people have gradually realized that to avoid the catastrophic effects of climate change, we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, so we have been working hard to achieve energy transition.

Coal and the first energy transition

Before the Industrial Revolution, people burned wood and dried manure to heat and cook food, while relying on human, wind and water power to grind grain, and horses or other livestock to pull carts to transport grain.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, firewood and charcoal were in short supply, and their prices began to soar. Both household consumption and industrial consumption increased as a result, and the economy grew and became more elusive.

As a result, industrialized economies such as the United Kingdom needed a new energy source that was cheaper, and they started using coal, which marked the beginning of the first major energy transition.

With economies of scale, the cost of coal production decreases and output increases, and people begin to use coal in large quantities. At the same time, technology has advanced, coal has become more common, and new ways of using it have emerged.

The steam engine, one of the main technologies that sparked the Industrial Revolution, relies heavily on coal, which is also used to heat and cook at home. Coal's share of the global energy mix rose sharply from 1.7% in 1800 to 47.2% in 1900.

The rise of oil and gas

In 1859, Edwin L. Drake drilled the first commercial oil well in Pennsylvania. But it took nearly a century before oil became the main energy source.

In the past, oil was mainly used to make lamps and lanterns. After the production of internal combustion engine vehicles began, the demand for oil increased. After the Second World War, people bought cars in large quantities, and oil was in short supply.

The German chemist R.W. Bunsen's assistant invented the Bunsen burner (a gas-fueled heating appliance invented to equip Heidelberg University's chemistry laboratory) to give people the opportunity to use natural gas. With natural gas pipelines, natural gas becomes the primary energy source for home heating, cooking, water heaters and other appliances.

In the home heating market, coal is not as attractive as natural gas and electricity; in the transportation market, it is not as attractive as oil. Nonetheless, coal remains the world's most important source of electricity generation, still accounting for more than a third of global electricity generation.

Renewable Energy Transition

Renewable energy is at the heart of the energy transition. Countries are increasing their efforts to reduce emissions and mass-produce solar and wind energy.

Here's how the share of renewables in the global energy mix has changed over the past two decades:

Between 2000 and 2010, the share of renewable energy increased by only 1.1%. But between 2010 and 2020, its growth rate continued to accelerate, with an increase of 3.5%.

Furthermore, the current energy transition is unprecedented in scale and speed. Climate goals call for net-zero emissions by 2050, meaning that in less than 30 years, fossil fuels will largely disappear and renewable power generation will increase rapidly and unstoppably.

In 2020, renewable energy developed rapidly, and a year later, new renewable energy capacity set a new record. In addition, in 2021, global energy transition investment will reach an all-time high of $755 billion.

Yet history shows that simply increasing power generation capacity is not enough to facilitate the energy transition. Coal relies on mines, canals and rail transport; oil relies on wells, pipelines and refineries; and electricity relies on generators and complex grids.

Likewise, a complete energy transition will require massive investments in natural resources, infrastructure and electricity storage to change our energy consumption habits.