摘要
Energy transition,and the related chemistry transition due to their strong nexus,is creating a major worldwide change in the current production system,driven initially by social and environmental pressures(cleaner production,reduced greenhouse gas emissions),but today instead is pushed by economic(renewable energy sources are becoming progressively the more economic energy form)and geopolitical(energy security)motivations.Oil and natural gases are the building blocks of the current refinery and(petro)chemistry,but going beyond fossil fuels is the challenge associated with this transition.This has also major implications on the technologies and processes actually in use,further pushed from another emerging direction associated with the progressive change from centralized to delocalized productions,for a better link with the territory and the local resources.The combined effect of these two emerging directions determines a radical change in the energy and chemical production systems,with major technological implications.Current process technologies in the area of chemical and fuel production cannot just be adapted,they need to be fully redesigned(also in terms of concepts,materials,engineering)to address the new challenges of using renewable energy sources in delocalized productions(small‐scale production at the regional level using local resources and in strong symbiosis to other local productions).
