Clean energy is the much-needed catalyst for global Net Zero, decarbonisation, and climate positive targets. Yet the market for the technology is not accelerating at the same pace as the demand for solutions. Now, for the sake of our planet and people, it’s time for the energy sector to go through a radical transformation.

Despite the many barriers that have historically limited us to a slower pace of energy evolution, we are unlocking the potential and scale of clean energy technology to accelerate these collective and fundamental goals.

In this article, we explore the current energy landscape and our vision for transformation.

The state of the energy market

The energy sector accounts for nearly three quarters of global CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions, due to the use of fossil fuels and other non-renewable alternatives, have had and continue to have a severe impact on the planet, affecting the environment, human health, and more. In fact, atmospheric CO2 is the number one driver of climate change.

Encompassing a wide variety of industries, from transport to construction to manufacturing, innovation is needed on a large scale to effectively reduce our societal carbon emissions. For example, a single standard diesel generator emits roughly 1,27kg CO2/kWh compared to the comparatively meagre 4-6g from environmentally friendly sources.

Based on average daily usage in, say, a construction site or mobile business, a diesel generator could produce an estimated 2000kg of CO2 emissions every year. If a single generator can have this much of an impact, incremental improvements will not be enough: clearly the energy market needs a transformational change.

Net Zero targets are just around the corner: the EU aims to be climate neutral by 2050, the UK has committed to all electricity to come from 100% zero-carbon generation by 2035, and the Paris Agreement aims to reduce emissions by 45% by 2030.

Action needs to be taken now, not later, if these targets are to be met.

A slowly developing market

Clean energy is a non-pollutant source that, if adopted, could help tackle emissions and further global decarbonisation.

However, the development of these solutions to date is not happening quick enough. Take renewable electricity as an example. The market accelerated in the lead up to COP26, but still this momentum falls far short of what was needed to get us on track to meet Net Zero targets.

The clean energy market is at odds – it is in some ways being used today, and yet still seems to be years away from becoming a reality. Our energy sources only really diversified in the 19th century, with modern renewables being introduced as late as the 1980s. The global energy mix is still dominated by unclean sources.

The question is, why?

Overcoming barriers to adoption

Simply, clean energy technology that is scalable, quick, or cost-effective is hard to find.

This lack of accessibility is preventing people from adopting clean energy and, more importantly, preventing any investment into the infrastructure needed to produce these technologies. It’s a catch 22.

The biggest challenge is production. Although there are many sectors and organisations looking for ways to adopt clean energy alternatives, the operational means haven’t caught up to these demands. Existing solutions cannot be created at speed, scale or in an accessible price range.

Hydrogen is an excellent example. This potentially Net-Zero energy solution that is experiencing growing demand and increased investment, but it barely registers in the global energy mix and is still decades away from becoming a domestic solution. To add more fuel to this fire, less than 0.1% of global dedicated hydrogen production today actually comes from clean water electrolysis, while the rest still comes from fossil fuels.

This is because the current production methods being used are not commercially viable. The infrastructure – ranging from grids and gas line to factories – is basically non-existent. Without this in place, many solutions are expensive, inflexible in terms of size and therefore deployment, and the time to market is unacceptably long. In short, they aren’t fit for purpose.

However, a secondary challenge that exacerbates poor adoption is awareness.

This belief that clean energy solutions aren’t viable at scale creates a perception that they can never be viable. This leads us back to our catch 22.

Bramble’s revolutionary technology is breaking this poor production cycle and making clean energy accessible, now.

Making clean energy technology accessible

Bramble empowers scalable clean energy technology.

We were motivated to change the world and accelerate life-changing transformation in the energy sector. Inspired initially by the potential to develop hydrogen, we came up with a way to bring clean energy to the market today.

Our PCB-X platform is bridging the gap between the production current clean energy technology and the applications required to accelerate global decarbonisation. Through the PCB-X platform, Bramble delivers carbon-neutral energy for unlimited applications.

Using printed circuit board technology, we can create completely customisable and scalable fuel cells within 30 days, instead of the incumbent 14-16 months. Better yet, these solutions can be printed on circuit board (PCB) production lines that already exist across the globe, making it extremely cost-effective and accessible. Plus, they can be made in any size or shape for any use case.

Our technology is low-cost, globally scalable and has immediate uses in portable energy, mobility, range extension and so much more.

Immediate use cases

The PCB-X platform can be a catalyst for widespread change across sectors. The PCBFC TM products produced within this platform are flexibly defined by the need – whether it’s a car, a marine vessel, or construction equipment that needs powered.

Existing solutions include our hydrogen-based SDX range of portable fuel cells, the marine-based SeaKit, and electrolysers.

Our vision goes much further than this. We want to explore new ways clean energy can be deployed to change the face of the sector.

Through active trials, the PCB-X solution is enabling industry partners to innovate, demonstrate and action the global scalability of clean energy technology. To discover what’s possible, to lead the way to Net Zero.