We are looking at factors like electric vehicle penetration, retail footprint and how we partner with manufacturers.
A recent example is our investment in Fulcrum Energy, which is biojet fuel from waste. We have signed a contract with this company to take their biofuel product and own part of the business. We know that the aviation industry is hungry for bio-derived jet fuels – so this complements our business well. We have also just introduced PTAir, a lower carbon petrochemical product.
We have worked on carbon usage and storage for a long time and are now looking for specifics around what will make it more cost effective and scalable.
We look at technologies which may totally transform the way we work. For example, block chain technology, artificial intelligence and cognitive computing. Our recent investment in Beyond Limits, an artificial intelligence (AI) and cognitive computing company, is already helping us enhance the speed and quality of decision making and manage operational risks.
We are investigating the generation of electricity, and how that electricity can be moved around, sold, traded and stored, as well as how we can use natural gas synergistically with renewables, and new technologies like fuel cells.