The sustainable global energy economy: Hydrogen or silicon?
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Citation
Export citationBardsley, W.E. (2008). The sustainable global energy economy: Hydrogen or silicon? Natural Resources Research, 17(4), 197-204.
Permanent Research Commons link: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/884
Abstract
A sustainable global silicon energy economy is proposed as a potential alternative to the
hydrogen economy. This first visualisation of a silicon energy economy is based on largescale
and carbon-neutral metallic silicon production from major smelters in North Africa
and elsewhere, supplied by desert silica sand and electricity from extensive solar
generating systems. The resulting “fuel silicon” is shipped around the world to emission-free
silicon power stations for either immediate electricity generation or stockpiling. The
high energy density of silicon and its stable storage make it an ideal material for
maintaining national economic functioning through security of base load power supply
from a renewable source. This contrasts with the present situation of fossil fuel usage
with its associated global warming and geopolitical supply uncertainties. Critical
technological requirements for the silicon economy are carbon-neutral silicon production
and the development of efficient silicon-fired power stations capable of high-temperature
rapid oxidation of fuel silicon. A call is made for the development of research effort into
these specific engineering issues, and also with respect to large-scale economical solar
power generation.
Date
2008Type
Publisher
Springer
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This is an author’s accepted version of an article published in the journal: Natural Resources Research. The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com.