Sören Amelang at Clean Energy Wire runs through their collection of factsheets, analyses, reports and interviews that have tracked German industry’s attempts to grapple with decarbonisation. The very high energy intensity required by industries like steel, chemicals and cement makes a simple switch to clean electricity – short of a total redesign of processes – impossible. But Germany wants to maintain, even extend, its world leadership in … [Read more...]
From Buildings to Solar Thermal: using electric charge to vary insulating properties tenfold
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...]
Pumped Storage Hydropower 2.0: steel dams, underground, or 1-10MW modular
Pumped Storage Hydropower (PSH) is one of the most cost-effective utility-scale options for grid energy storage. The U.S. has plants across the country, totalling over 20GW of capacity. Now the Dept of Energy (DoE) is backing four teams developing blue sky (water?!) ideas that should make the next generation of PSH even cheaper. In this article the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) tracks their progress so far. They include dams made of … [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...]
High-efficiency “spacecraft” solar cells are coming down in price
Solar cells commonly used in spacecraft are highly efficient but too expensive to be used commercially down here on Earth. Two methods, HVPE (hydride vapour phase epitaxy) and the preferred MOVPE (metalorganic chemical vapour phase epitaxy), have been used to make these super-cells, reaching efficiencies of 29.1%. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) says its scientists have discovered a method, D-HVPE, that should achieve those … [Read more...]
Wind power predictions doubled by factoring in far-future design improvements
Existing studies estimate all Europe’s potential total maximum annual generation from wind is between 16 and 21 petawatt hours (PWh), already over five times Europe’s existing electricity total from all sources (3.6PWh). A new study doubles that figure to 34.3PWh. The study claims to improve on the accuracy of two factors used in making these predictions, explains Josh Gabbatiss at Carbon Brief. Firstly, it uses what it believes are realistic … [Read more...]
Time for tech-neutral incentives if renewables growth won’t stop climate change?
In 2018 energy use grew 2.9% and emissions 2%. That means renewables are not keeping up with energy’s growth: it will need a four-fold increase in wind and solar’s growth to do so, says Schalk Cloete. There’s more: to cut global CO2 emissions by the 3% per year we need to meet the Paris goals wind and solar growth rates must increase by over an order of magnitude. He reviews the evidence and concludes that current technology-forcing policies – … [Read more...]
Competitive battery storage: InnoEnergy doubles prize to accelerate start-ups entry to market
Utilities and other investors are putting more funds than ever into a battery storage market worth an estimated $250 billion. Right on cue, European clean energy innovation engine InnoEnergy announced a global call for storage entrepreneurs. Their €100,000 first prize meant applications from a diverse range of start-ups flooded in. But which of these should be fast-tracked into this competitive market? At a special event which highlighted a … [Read more...]
EXCLUSIVE: Geothermal could represent a far bigger share of renewables
The IEA says geothermal energy could account for only 3.5% of annual global electricity production and 3.9% of energy for heat (excluding ground source heat pumps) by 2050. But is this down to short term thinking? Geothermal could make a much bigger contribution to renewables, provided it is put onto the fast track like wind and solar, says Alexander Richter, President of the International Geothermal Association. … [Read more...]
“Consuming less energy may act as disincentive for investment in renewables”
According to Anthony Patt, Professor of Climate Policy at the ETH Zürich in Switzerland, the less we spend on energy, the less attractive renewables can look to businesses and investment markets. Such remarkable insights fly in the face of received wisdom and defy logic. Patt claims his models show that doubling current energy efficiency improvement rates buys us only one extra year to hit the Paris targets. Really? - This is how Anthony … [Read more...]
European business angels are rediscovering cleantech
Private investors often lack knowledge about the latest trends in cleantech, says Candace Johnson, president of the European Business Angel Network (EBAN) in an interview with Energy Post. But they are catching up quickly. EBAN has started a partnership with sustainable energy accelerator InnoEnergy to learn more about what is happening in the cleantech sector. “Business angels have more patience than venture capitalists”, notes Johnson. “We … [Read more...]
RWE’s Head of Innovation Inken Braunschmidt: “We want to be the Uber for energy”
Big energy companies are looking to the sharing economy, digitisation, big data, and mega-cities to inspire future revenue streams. In this exclusive interview with Energy Post, Inken Braunschmidt, leader of RWE’s “Innovation Hub” talks about her unique role at the helm of a department that’s not a department. Her job? To think non-utility ideas. Braunschmidt:”We’re really going to the edge of what energy has meant for 100 years.” … [Read more...]
“Supersonic electrons could produce future solar fuel”
Researchers from institutions including Lund University have taken a step closer to producing solar fuel using artificial photosynthesis. In a new study, they have successfully tracked the electrons’ rapid transit through a light-converting molecule. … [Read more...]
Cleantech innovation in Europe: the pace is picking up
The pace of innovation in the European energy sector is stepping up. “Energy is no longer seen as a commodity that simply needs to be there. It is perceived as a challenge for which solutions need to be found”, says Elena Bou, Innovation Director of KIC InnoEnergy, a top European company in the field of sustainable energy innovation, in an interview with Energy Post. According to Bou, successful innovation begins with “asking the right … [Read more...]
Four scientific breakthroughs that can take us to a new, clean energy world
Discussions on the energy transition usually focus on the economics of renewables and cost comparisons with fossil fuels and other energy sources. What is usually ignored, are innovations in materials and chemical processes, which are nonetheless increasingly important as agents of change in the energy sector. Innovation watcher Denis Kuznetsov discusses four scientific breakthroughs in materials research that could shake up the energy sector in … [Read more...]
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