2. World energy in 2050 and electrical energy storage requirements

2.1 World energy needs

At present, the world's annual primary energy consumption is equivalent to the energy contained in 12 billion tonnes of oil, i.e. energy close to 140,000 TWh; 80,000 TWh is lost, with current solutions, in power plants, vehicle engines, biomass households... Actual energy use is around 60,000 TWh/year, a third of which is in the form of electricity: 50,000 TWh comes from fossil fuels, 10,000 TWh in equal parts from biomass, nuclear and hydroelectric power, 50% of which is used by one billion people in industrialized countries, where domestic heating accounts for a large share, and 50% by 6 billion people in other countries, which are generally warm and sunny.

The studies below are based on actual energy use, and not on primary energy,...