Investing in Decarbonization – Stephen Harrison

If you’re thinking of investing in decarbonization, have a chat with Stephen Harrison. As the founder of SPH4 Consulting, Stephen provides guidance for investors looking to make smart decisions about decarbonization tech. His expertise includes everything from hydrogen to e-fuels to carbon capture and storage to ammonia and more. 

In this episode, Stephen highlights some key energy developments he’s currently focused on and lays out his projections for our net zero future:

• Decarbonization is a hot topic right now. There’s tons of excitement and momentum propelling investors to bet their dollar on green tech. But with so many options, where exactly to invest? That’s where Stephen comes in. He supports investors with technical due diligence on early stage ideas and pushes the hard questions. How does this tech benchmark against its competitors? How easy is it to scale? What risks should be flagged? It may be hard to pick the top winners this early on, but Stephen can definitely help weed out the losers. 
• Stephen considers himself “technology agnostic.” What really matters to him is passing on a healthy planet to his children and grandchildren. He’s a supporter of any technology that gets us there. 
• According to Stephen, electrification is a big part of the answer, but won’t solve everything. We can’t survive on green electrons and batteries alone. Stephen advocates for using e-fuels, which provide the same energy density of things like traditional diesel. Renewable fuels are a drop in replacement that align with our current energy operations, allowing the world to keep on spinning in a climate friendly way without a complete reinvestment in infrastructure. This can help bring down the cost of the energy transition while we wait for battery technology to catch up. 
• Stephen has spent a lot of time working with developing nations, particularly Namibia and Pakistan. His advice? To always try and produce more value locally. For example, a country could produce green ammonia or hydrogen for export, but why not take a look at how importers will be using these commodities? If ultimately the end goal is to produce fertilizer or a particular e-fuel in Europe, why not do so locally and then export the finished product? This can help developing nations bring in more revenue and further grow their economies.