Potential Energy Solutions for Better Sustainability

In this study, critical challenges related to increasing global energy demand and drawbacks of traditional fuels are discussed along with some potential solutions including the cutting-edge research taking place at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology's Clean Energy Research Laboratory. Renewable energies, hydrogen, thermodynamic and hybrid cycles, photonic hydrogen production, ammonia, system integration, and multigeneration are covered, and their importance in addressing global energy challenges in sustainable, clean, affordable, and reliable manners is given by examples. In addition to providing examples from the recent literature, renewable energies are comparatively assessed based on their performance criteria and environmental effect. Hydrogen and ammonia production performances of coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, biomass, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, solar, and wind are comparatively assessed based on their energy and exergy efficiencies, production costs, and emissions. Our results show that when emissions, efficiencies, and production costs are taken into account, natural gas has the highest performance in terms of hydrogen while hydropower has the highest performance in terms of ammonia production.