They’re chasing a very particular vision of a low-carbon future — multibillion dollar developments that generate vast concentrations of renewable electricity and convert it into chemicals or clean fuels that can be shipped around the world to power trucks, ships or even airplanes.
‘The oil majors have been building multibillion-dollar projects since forever,’ said Julien Rolland, head of power and renewables at commodities trader Trafigura Group Pte Ltd. ‘This green hydrogen, green ammonia stuff will be the new energy industry.’
The plan is well suited to the companies’ natural strengths in project management and their financial heft, but even with those advantages they’re still making a big bet on an unproven technology that could fall short of its potential.
“I don’t think any company out there has…