The Collier Problem: Toward a Definition and Application

The collier problem of the nineteenth century boiled down to coal-powered ships being too inefficient to economically carry a cargo of coal to the globe-spanning network of coaling stations required for their operations. Thus, coal-carrying windjammers were a required piece of the infrastructure which made their nominal replacements’ operation possible, as they did not burn any coal in transit. While this is occasionally mentioned by other scholars, this problem has not been examined in itself as a historical and technological paradox, frequently intertwined with the myth of progress and other social phenomena. This paradox wherein a new technology absolutely requires the support of the technology it nominally replaces due to efficiency limits is the “collier problem.” The same type of problem exists in today’s energy transition, especially with renewable energy generation equipment which is produced and moved using almost entirely fossil fuels. Conventional (internal combustion–engined) ships will require alternative, zero-emissions fuels to carry these fuels to their point of use, thus burning the limited and critical resource they are carrying. By understanding the collier problem’s roots and the solutions which can be learned from its solution, the twenty-first century energy transition can be both clarified and accelerated.