China’s ambitious ‘New Silk Road’ project aims to build road, rail and sea transport infrastructure, power grids, oil and gas pipelines in 78 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. However, despite the enormous scale of the project, it is very difficult for foreign investors to participate. Fortunately, other public initiatives in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the UK offer alternatives for infrastructure investment.
To understand the different decarbonisation paths available to us, we can refer to the Kaya equation[1] used by the IPCC to establish its emissions scenarios.
Total CO2 emissions = (Population) X (Income per person) X (CO2 emissions per USD of income)
Infrastructure is in vogue, and for good reasons! Here are 5 of them, ranging from performance to inflation protection to accelerating the energy transition.
Lithium is key to batteries. Batteries are key to electrification. Electrification is key to the energy transition. This is why lithium is at the heart of many debates. Of all the minerals that are essential to the transition, lithium is undoubtedly the one that has caused the most ink to flow. It fuels a certain number of fears, particularly of possible supply disruptions, but also a few fantasies. What is the real situation?
While Europe was largely dependent on Russia for its gas supplies, aided by a mild autumn, it has managed to reduce its consumption and find alternative sources of supply. The spectre of a gas shortage therefore seems to be dissipating. However, the measures taken are partly temporary and many investments in infrastructure will have to be made at full speed.
Alongside renewable energy, telecommunication facilities are the most dynamic sub-sector in the infrastructure investment universe. Thanks to massive government support, it offers many opportunities, even if the different assets show disparate dynamics.
Infrastructure companies face several significant external risks at present, including mounting inflation, higher interest rates, elevated energy prices, labour shortages, government intervention to control energy prices, natural gas and energy shortages, shortages of critical renewables components, Russian sanctions and supply chain failures. Not to mention COVID.