The UK should rise to the challenge of the energy revolution and make use of the talents of our scientists and engineers - Yorkshire Post Letters

I am constantly amazed by those who are critical of renewable energy and the move towards net zero and the enormous opportunities which it presents.

Surely it’s time to move beyond the old fossil fuel powered world where we dig up oil and gas, transport it halfway across the world and then set fire to it, dig up some more and start all over again.

We are on the cusp of an energy revolution and we must ensure that the UK embraces it, since it will be good for the climate, the environment and the economy, providing thousands of well-paid jobs as well as cheaper energy.

There is currently a huge amount of innovation in battery technology. Sodium-ion, solid state and lithium air batteries are all likely to have higher energy densities than the current lithium-ion batteries that we use today. Swedish researchers have even made a battery that uses lignin from the waste wood in paper mills.

The combination of renewable energy, electric vehicles (EVs) and battery technology will enable us to move towards a circular economy and away from the current take-make-waste model.

EVs and grid scale storage can smooth out the fluctuations in renewable energy supply. The Ford Explorer EV, which is already on sale in the United States, can power an American home for three days.

EV batteries can also have a second life as grid storage and the batteries can be recycled and made into new battery cells. There are a number of companies, such as Redwood Materials, who are already doing this. A gallon of diesel cannot be recycled.

The UK should rise to the challenge of this energy revolution and make use of the talents of our scientists and engineers.

As the Independent Review of Net Zero compiled by the Conservative MP Chris Skidmore concludes “Net zero is the economic opportunity of the 21 st century...The UK is in a race to capture the economic benefits of net zero … the costs of failing to act now are high.”