Carbon Free: The Way Forward

It’s now or never. The goal of achieving global climate neutrality is essential for ecological, economic and social reasons and requires immediate and decisive action from politicians and society. Carbon Free summarizes the building blocks we need to successfully manage the energy transition.

Replete with international examples, the book’s first part explores the transformation of the energy markets, necessary accompanying redistributions, the often neglected issue of global population development, but also the ethical and political framework conditions under which the energy transition should take place. Part II deals with sector-specific topics including renewable energies, heat pumps, geothermal energy and solar thermal energy. Levelized costs of energy in the context of innovation promotion and the financing method of project financing are presented. The chapters in this part discuss implementation of strategic energy partnerships and how to shape future regulatory steps. The book’s third part then goes on to discuss the available toolbox, with contributions on the technical and economic perspectives of green hydrogen, grid infrastructures, digitalization as well as the circular economy.

This book will benefit both scholars and practitioners with its unique overview of the elements that need to be taken into account in order for the energy transition to succeed.

Jörg Böttcher has three decades of experience in structuring renewable energy projects. Since 2021, he has been working at IB.SH, the promotional bank of the state of Schleswig-Holstein, and advises municipalities on all aspects of the energy and heating transition. He has published a number of books on the intersection of project financing and renewable energies.