Europe needs its own battery recycling industry, and the EUâs European Battery Alliance should make it happen, says RaphaĂ«l Danino-Perraud writing for the IFRI Centre for Energy & Climate. For economic, strategic and environmental reasons, todayâs overwhelming dependence on outsourcing â in this case to Asia - for battery manufacture and recycling needs to change. To start with, Asia provides over 90% of global car battery output, half coming … [Read more...]
Chinaâs 2019 electricity generation reviewed as its next 5-year plan is drafted
Simon Göss breaks down the totals and additions for electricity generation in China. In 2019 the total reached 7,325 TWh (more than twice Europeâs) after adding 330 TWh (more than half Germanyâs total). Of that 330 TWh, 120 TWh came from thermal (90%+ coal). But the numbers were dominated by renewables (hydro, wind, solar) which added almost 160 TWh. Though thatâs the third year of declining renewables additions, wind and solar curtailment is … [Read more...]
Are national fossil fuel car bans compatible with EU laws, intra-trade, movement?
A growing number of EU nations are announcing laws to phase out the sale of new fossil fuel cars within the next 20 years. But are the proposed bans compatible with EU laws, or even workable given cross border trade and movement rights? If you are Dutch, why not buy your new petrol car in Belgium, then drive it back to the Netherlands? How do you enforce CO2 targets with foreign haulage fleets transiting through your nation? Eoin Bannon at … [Read more...]
Multi-energy âislandâ Microgrids can increase grid resilience
As the number of different technologies producing power and providing storage increases, the grid is getting complicated. The best way to make it resilient against outages is therefore changing. The traditional way is to shut down the failing plant, leaving the rest of the grid to cope as best as it can with the change in voltage and frequency. Xi Zhang at the Energy Futures Lab, Imperial College, describes the research looking at multi-energy … [Read more...]
âAll new vehicles sold must be electric by 2030â but can your nation, state, city do it?
More and more nations, states and cities are announcing plans for the ramping up of EV adoption. Jim Conca takes a look at his home, Washington State in the U.S., where all new vehicles sold must be electric by 2030. He says the new rules imply his state will have 4 million EVs on the road by 2045, up from 52,000 today. He carefully crunches the numbers to see if this target is realistic. The good news is that grid capacity will only need to rise … [Read more...]
Machine learning cuts new EV battery design testing times by months, years
Normally, battery prototype testing can take months and years to find the optimal design for fast-charging and battery life. Now scientists from Stanford, MIT and the Toyota Research Institute have developed a machine learning programme that can cut battery testing times by 98%. Theyâve applied it to EV batteries. The faster a new and improved design is proven and taken to market the more rapid the uptake of EVs weâll have. Matthew Vollrath at … [Read more...]
UK to phase out petrol, diesel, hybrid car sales by 2035. Hereâs how
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...]
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