The next generation of infrastructure drives economic growth through purposeful design.
— Jim Carroll
The opportunity
Decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors like heavy industry and transportation, provide long-duration energy storage, and create a versatile, zero-emission fuel.
From “Decoding Tomorrow: 30 Megatrends - #9 Climate-Positive Technologies: “The next generation of infrastructure will drive economic growth through purposeful design.”” (July 2025)
Green Hydrogen: Electrolysis of water using renewable energy to produce hydrogen fuel.
Then there is Green Hydrogen Production. Green hydrogen is produced through the electrolysis of water powered by renewable electricity. This process takes an age-old process with a new twist, splitting water molecules into hydrogen, resulting in zero carbon emissions at the point of production. This clean fuel holds immense promise for decarbonizing various sectors, because it’s far more climate negative than previous alternatives.
How about “Carbon-Negative Concrete?” These technologies transform concrete from an environmental liability into a tool for carbon sequestration through CO2 mineralization. Companies like CarbonCure inject captured CO2 into concrete mixes during production. The CO2 forms calcium carbonate minerals that become permanently embedded within the concrete, enhancing its strength. This offers economic value through the generation and sale of high-quality carbon credits, reduced cement usage due to enhanced strength, and the sale of carbon-negative aggregates, all contributing to circular economy benefits from waste concrete utilization.
From “Decoding Tomorrow: The Way Forward: #3 Energy: ""The power plant of the past was a smokestack on the horizon. The power plant of the future is the solar panel on your roof, the battery in your garage, and the intelligent software that connects them all.”” (September 2025)
climate-positive technologies. Innovation is moving beyond simply reducing harm (net-zero) to actively enhancing ecological systems. Technologies like green hydrogen production and carbon-negative concrete are creating pathways to generate both environmental benefits and new economic value.
aging and inadequate infrastructure: Smaller players do not operate in a vacuum; they must connect to the existing grid. This infrastructure is often old and ill-equipped to handle the dynamic, two-way flow of power from thousands of distributed energy resources (DERs) like rooftop solar and EV batteries.
build a collaborative ecosystem : Success requires forging strategic partnerships to access capital, technology, and expertise. Collaborate with technology providers, like Evyon’s partnership with a major automaker, to de-risk development. Engage with universities for access to state-of-the-art research and a pipeline of skilled talent, and partner with community colleges to develop training programs for the new workforce the clean energy economy requires.
From “Article: Fueling America’s Future: New Energy Solutions, New Careers” (April 2013)
When we try to imagine what U.S. energy may look like in 2035, Jim Carroll, a futurist and energy expert, points to a few clues from very real energy trends emerging right now, changes which include new ways of transporting goods around the country, and new ways in which we think about energy infrastructure and workforces.
“Energy companies are working to retrofit long-distance trucks for natural gas,” Carroll says. But that might be just an interim step toward a brand new paradigm for this industry. Carroll says that technologists are already asking questions like: “How do we use robotics, radar and GPS to link together seven or 10 trucks in a unit that can self drive down the road in a way that is energy efficient?”
But, again, the future of energy depends as much on such refinements as bigger innovations that are already being conceived. Some analysts predict that homes will be equipped with hydrogen fuel cells that will create low-emission electricity via a chemical process that combines hydrogen and oxygen.
Read the full pieces on jimcarroll.com:
Decoding Tomorrow: 30 Megatrends - #9 Climate-Positive Technologies: “The next generation of infrastructure will drive economic growth through purposeful design.”
Decoding Tomorrow: The Way Forward: #3 Energy: ""The power plant of the past was a smokestack on the horizon. The power plant of the future is the solar panel on your roof, the battery in your garage, and the intelligent software that connects them all.”
Article: Fueling America’s Future: New Energy Solutions, New Careers