This month the UK government promised to accelerate the phase-out of fossil-fuelled cars. From 2035 all new diesel and petrol car sales (including hybrids) are banned. Promises are one thing, realistic policies, plans and investment is another. Last year only 1.6% of new passenger vehicles sold were EVs and that has to rise to 100% in 15 years. Ashley Fly at Loughborough University sets out what needs to be done. First, skills and training; much … [Read more...]
Defining green investments, ending greenwash: the EUâs new Taxonomy Regulation
When the EU Commissionâs new Taxonomy Regulation is approved, expected in March, it will provide the legal framework to define what is a truly âgreenâ investment. As Luca Bonaccorsi at Transport & Environment explains, right now asset managers and national authorities are free to define what is green, allowing some to greenwash investments in things like oil and pesticides. The Taxonomy's purpose is to reduce ambiguity and therefore increase … [Read more...]
The cost of climate inaction: putting a $ price on 4.5°C warming
Oriana Tannenbaum and Rushad Nanavatty at Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) have gathered data that puts a price on not making the necessary investments in tackling climate change. For the U.S., a 4.5°C warming scenario (by 2050) will cost $5.2tn. At a more drastic 6°C the cost is $17tn. These projections are hard to do when treating the climate as an âinfrastructure assetâ, though proven methodologies do exist for tradition assets, and the authors … [Read more...]
EV Charging Infrastructure: âhiddenâ soft costs are slowing take up
You donât buy an EV if youâve nowhere to charge it. So the take up of EVs depends on the availability â and therefore the costs - of charging infrastructure. Rocky Mountain Instituteâs Chris Nelder describes the surprising conclusion of their recent report âReducing EV Charging Infrastructure Costsâ, that itâs the soft costs that are stubbornly refusing to go down in the U.S. That means things like permitting delays, complex utility … [Read more...]
Lithium-Sulphur batteries: cheaper, greener, hold more energy
The rapid expansion of electric power across the world is putting a strain on battery production. The standard lithium-ion battery depends on minerals and metals in limited supply, so alternatives are needed urgently. Mahdokht Shaibani at Monash University describes the work of her team on developing lithium-sulphur batteries. There are many advantages, not least the abundance of sulphur, the 16th most common element on Earth. Added to that, … [Read more...]
EU pathway to 3m EV charge points by 2030
Right now the EU has around 185,000 public charge points, which is enough for todayâs market (seven cars for each point). The current policy scenario targets 33m electric cars by 2030 (44m for climate neutrality). Transport & Environmentâs Nico Muzi summarises their latest report that plots their ambitious pathway. Itâs driven by the forceful idea of a European âright to plugâ, and enabled by their new Public Charging Supply metric, using a … [Read more...]
CCUS, nuclear, industrial heat, hydrogen, smart grids: âlarge unitâ innovation needs more support
How do we accelerate innovation across all technologies? Simon Bennett at the IEA breaks down the task into âsmall unitâ and âlarge unitâ challenges. The first is easier and moves faster. Thanks to their small size and unit cost, heat pumps, EVs and solar panels benefit from mass production, mass deployment (100,000 to 100m units/year globally) and large customer markets with fierce competition. They can also easily leverage other fast-evolving … [Read more...]
Decarbonising light duty vehicles globally: consumer choice, technology, policy pathways
The MIT Energy Initiative (MITIE) has completed a 3-year study of âMobility of the Futureâ to plot a decarbonised pathway for light duty vehicles (i.e. cars) globally. Wide in scope and detail, it covers government policies, consumer choices and technologies, combining their multiple and complex impacts to make their assessments. Kathryn Luu at MITIE reviews the final 220-page report. For consumers, cost, convenience, and â increasingly â carbon … [Read more...]
Midwest U.S. grid operator MISO: modelling for a clean energy future
Planning canât be easy for a grid operator. Take MISO which operates one of the worldâs largest energy markets. Theyâre responsible for integration and bulk transmission across the central U.S., but decisions on the actual future energy mix and demand are being made elsewhere: by state governments, utilities and consumers big and small. Given the amounts invested in infrastructure and the lead times involved, no one will thank MISO if their … [Read more...]
An independent Global Energy Forecast to 2050 (part 5 of 5): Electric cars
Schalk Cloete has completed his own 5-part independent Global Energy Forecast to 2050, to compare with this yearâs IEA World Energy Outlook, published this week. Underpinning all his predictions is his bet that the world will adopt tech-neutral policies (i.e. not backing any one technology over another) in 2030 as the best and only way to accelerate the transition to meet the 2050 goals. Given that, he sees the traditional fossil fuel ICEâs share … [Read more...]
EVs should be getting cheaper. Instead theyâre getting bigger
Manufacturing an EV is getting cheaper, but affluent consumers are buying bigger cars for the same money. If manufacturers are left to serve them first, theyâll leave until last the development of cheaper EVs, penetrating new markets, that would more rapidly accelerate the replacement of fossil fuel cars and therefore the transition. That leaves policy makers with a big problem with the âsuccessâ of EVs, explain Leonardo Paoli and Simon Bennett … [Read more...]
Electro-mobility planning, pricing, smart-charging: âPentalateral Regionâ can lead Europe
At the end of October, Ministers and Director-Generals of Energy and Mobility from the Pentalateral Region (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and Germany), CEOs and experts came together to understand how electro-mobility can accelerate the energy transition. Reducing vehicle emissions is one thing, but a vast number of âbatteries on wheelsâ can also enable rapid grid expansion. IRENA were one of the experts, and their analysis says … [Read more...]
The 7 battery technologies that can be cost competitive by 2030 for EVs to grids
Rapid performance improvements, falling prices and massive investment is accelerating us towards a time when batteries undercut fossil fuels for storage and despatch, right across the board, according to a report by Rocky Mountain Institute. The authors, Charlie Bloch, James Newcomb, Samhita Shiledar and Madeline Tyson have made forecasts for 7 battery technologies: the current leader Li-ion as well as Li-Metal, Li-Sulphur, Zinc, High … [Read more...]
Hydrogen Fuel Cell trucks can decarbonise heavy transport
Patrick Molloy at Rocky Mountain Institute runs through the pros and cons of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs). The big pluses are that hydrogen has an energy density of around 120 MJ/kg, almost three times more than diesel or gasoline. Half the energy generated by an internal combustion engine is wasted as heat, whereas electric drivetrains used by FCEVs only lose 10%. Nikola Motors, a U.S. maker of hydrogen trucks, claims its vehicles can get … [Read more...]
Non-energy firms lead investments in clean energy start-ups
Investments in innovative âblue skyâ companies tell us where the bets are being placed on the energy sectorâs future. Such investments leaped in 2016, mostly directed at clean energy technology. This analysis by Simon Bennett at the IEA usefully includes a long list of firms and their investments. Digital sensors, batteries, electric vehicles and smart algorithms are among the main recipients this year. Other fascinating categories include … [Read more...]
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