David
Chandler
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CCUS “gasphilic” process could double the conversion rate of CO2 into useful fuels
Study identifies causes of soaring Nuclear plant cost overruns
Grid-scale Solar PV storage can use re-purposed old EV batteries
Construction emissions: “mass wood” prototypes halve CO2, rapid modular deployment, 18 stories
From Buildings to Solar Thermal: using electric charge to vary insulating properties tenfold
Gas infrastructure leaks methane: fix it, or accelerate to clean energy
Lightweight Gasoline Cars: a necessary 30-year stop gap?
New solar cell allows a photon to release two electrons, not just one
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is proving very expensive. So rather than simply store the CO2 underground it’s better to turn it into something that you can sell. Hence, much work is being directed at turning CO2 into transportation fuels or chemical feedstocks by focussing on the science of reactive materials: the other chemicals in the soup, using different catalysts, and even designing the right nanostructures to maximise the results. MIT’s … [Read more...]
Why does nuclear power cost so much when the technology has had decades to get it right? MIT’s David Chandler explains how researchers there have identified the main causes of the cost overruns in the U.S. It turns out that building new plants by copying existing designs actually costs more. That’s because site-specific constraints mean problems are being fixed during construction, adding to costs and delays. New types of concrete are being … [Read more...]
Once an EV battery has declined to 80% of its original capacity it is considered too weak for continued vehicle use. Recycling the battery – at that point - to make another one is expensive. MIT’s David Chandler describes how researchers there have run experiments and models to show that old EV batteries can instead be packed together and used as backup storage for grid-scale solar PV installations. It’s cheaper than building new Li-ion battery … [Read more...]
Building and construction emissions account for two-thirds of the global total, with one tenth coming from the construction phase alone. David Chandler at MIT reviews their research, in collaboration with a range of specialist companies, into wooden buildings. Their construction emissions should be as low as half that of concrete or steel. The key is the development of large scale, cross-laminated “mass wood”. Factory built modules can be … [Read more...]
The insulating properties of a material don’t normally vary. Applying an electric charge to a material can vary its electronic and magnetic qualities, but not its thermal conductivity, normally. David Chandler at MIT says now a team of researchers there have found a way to do it. Their “electrical heat valve” can increase the thermal conductivity of thin-film strontium cobalt oxide (SCO) on demand by running a charge through it after adding … [Read more...]
Natural gas, because it’s low-carbon, is being used as a bridge fuel away from the old fossil fuel world. But there are two main problems. The infrastructure leaks methane (the main component of the gas) which is 25 times more potent than CO2 over a 100-year period (and 86 times over a 20-year period!). And, crucially, nobody is properly measuring those leaks. That means policy makers are growing the gas mix without knowing by how much it’s … [Read more...]
We should all be driving electric vehicles. But we have to wait for renewable electric grid capacity to support them all, charging points everywhere, and enough new batteries to be manufactured and put in all the new, affordable BEVs. And we’re running out of time. An interim solution has come from a study by MIT and Ford. David Chandler, writing for MIT, explains the study, which says that an interim solution – for certain regions - is … [Read more...]
In conventional silicon-based solar cells, each photon of light can only knock loose a single electron, creating electricity. That’s even if the photon carries more than enough energy to do so. One hammer, one nail. Now, for the first time researchers at MIT and Princeton University in the U.S. have got high-energy photons to strike silicon and kick out two electrons instead of one, opening the door for a new kind of solar cell with greater … [Read more...]
"Shell wants to be a voice and a leader in the energy transition", said Harry Brekelmans, the projects and technology director for Royal Dutch Shell, a founding member of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI). But the company must "not abandon the process that made us a leader", namely production and distribution of oil and gas. Brekelmans met with groups of MIT students and faculty members for a public discussion about energy issues with MITEI … [Read more...]
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