Dissertation

|1.1 Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Power|
Figure2:Projection of the world primary energy demand according to the different OECD scenarios.
Demand is given in million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mteo, 1 Mtoe = 11 630 GWh = 41.868 PJ). [3]
According to the OECD World Energy Outlook (the OECD and IEA represent the interests of the
industrial nations), the different scenarios can be imagined for governments all over the world to
handle the resulting problems by policy actions that affect technology, the price of energy services
as well as the end-user behavior within the next 25 years (see figure 2). The Current Policy Scenario
depicts what happens if governments do not change the use of energy. In contrary, the New Policies
Scenario assumes that the broad policy commitments and plans that have been announced by
countries around the world will be implemented. Finally the 450 scenario depicts the pathway
that would be necessary to limit global warming to 2°C by limitation of the atmospheric CO 2
concentration to 450 parts per million.
By this means, it has become an important research aim to compensate negative effects and to
overcome the looming energy crisis. [4] Hence we need to understand the key issues of recent
energy production to identify the novel resources and technologies capable of producing energy
in a sustainable manner. Otherwise, if not a change in mind, at the latest the depletion of nonrenewable
resources will force drastic changes of modern technological society and possibly even
of human culture. [5]
1.1 Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Power
Fossil fuels are resources with general abundance and a very high energy density as well as general
adaptability. Hence their very low prices on the world market allow for their use in even extremely
demanding or inefficient processes, required by modern society (e.g. flying in an airplane instead
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