Both Europe and the U.S. are making plans to secure supplies of critical minerals as the transition gains pace. Domestic mining or securing import deals with close allies is the main focus. Here, Maria Krol-Sinclair and Thomas Hale at CSIS review the prospects for a new method that will require neither: phytomining. Some plants, called hyperaccumulators, soak up high concentrations of metals into their leaves, bark, and roots. These plants can … [Read more...]
Bioenergy is the undervalued pillar of the clean energy transition
Bioenergy is already the world’s largest source of renewable energy, responsible for 70% of the supply (and around 10% of total primary energy). Burning organic matter goes back to the invention of fire and is still commonplace around the globe. Yet it gets hardly any of the attention and policy support that’s given to other clean energy technologies like solar, wind and now hydrogen. Bioenergy can and should play an even greater role, explain … [Read more...]
