Industries that continue to rely on fossil fuels without major efforts to electrify will risk recurring price shocks in the future, a University of Oxford analysis has found.
The continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz is leading to ramping concerns that energy prices will rise drastically in the coming months.
The Oxford report finds that as much as 75% of global industry is exposed to recurring price shocks, but electrification may offer a pathway to more stable and resilient energy costs.
In recent history, the 2022 Russian gas crisis forced widespread factory closures and production shifts across Europe, and many energy-intensive industries are still trying to recover. The impacts also forced factory shutdowns in Pakistan and Bangladesh and drove up costs for manufacturers in Japan and South Korea.
Professor Jan Rosenow, professor of energy and climate policy, said: “Industry has now lived through two major fossil fuel shocks in three years – first the 2022 gas crisis and now Hormuz...