Governments and industry leaders will be focusing on scaling existing green technologies and developing new ones in 2023. The goal to keep global warming at less than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels seems increasingly out of reach, but so do the catastrophic scenarios which were still deemed likely a couple of years ago.
One of the most promising technologies we can expect progress in is green hydrogen, a new clean-burning source of energy which allows energy from renewables to be captured and transported long distances – from regions with abundant wind or solar energy resources, to energy-hungry areas thousands of kilometres away.
Nuclear fusion is another green technology to watch in 2023, following the recent proof of concept that it can generate more energy than is required to kickstart the fusion process. Although still years away from achieving energy at scale, these latest results are likely to spur further research to develop the technology, bringing us closer to a future in which nuclear fusion could provide near-limitless, safe and clean energy.