Measuring the performance of an energy technology is key to informing policies and pathways as the transition scales up. But are we measuring all the right things and getting accurate answers? If we’re not, those policies and pathways could end up wrong. Paul Sapin at Imperial College, UK, explains how they are creating a library of data-rich models to greatly improve predictive power for all energy technologies, both existing and emerging. He … [Read more...]
Decarbonising end-use sectors: buildings, transport, industry. Which strategies are best?
The rapid pace of change in the energy sector is a positive sign for the transition. But the disruption it causes creates another big problem. It makes it harder to predict what will happen next. That makes strategies and pathways harder to design, and increases the risk of stranded assets. To try to come to grips with that future, Sean Ratka, Paul Durrant and Francisco Boshell summarise the findings of IRENA's 4-day “Innovation Week” held last … [Read more...]
Research into solid electrolytes to improve performance of lithium-ion batteries
If the limits of lithium-ion battery performance are indeed being reached, one way forward is to extend those limits with new materials. Mark Shwartz at Stanford University describes their research into solid electrolytes, which promise to be more energy dense than the standard liquid form. To identify the best compounds, artificial intelligence and machine learning were used rather than the usual and much lengthier trial-and-error experimental … [Read more...]
China’s new net zero emissions target for 2060: why now, and how?
China’s promise of peak emissions before 2030 and net zero by 2060 is a major and welcome step for the economic (and fossil fuel) powerhouse. But the rest of the world doesn’t need to make concessions to get China to stick to the new target, says John Seaman at the IFRI Centre for Energy & Climate. That’s because an energy transition is in China’s interests. It wants and needs to be at the forefront of new energy technologies to secure future … [Read more...]
Hydrogen, CCS, and more: without new clean energy technologies we cannot hit our 2050 emissions targets
The flagship 400-page report, Energy Technology Perspectives 2020, is another salvo from the IEA to concentrate the minds of the world on new technologies and their roll out. That’s because transforming electrification and the power sector alone, where most of the progress is happening, will only get us one-third of the way to net-zero emissions by 2050. The IEA has analysed over 800 new technology options. The most important categories – … [Read more...]
Cooling: up-front costs are the barrier to new solutions that cut energy use by two-thirds
Existing, latest technology could be delivering the world’s current air conditioning needs with just a third of the energy use, say Sneha Sachar at the AEEE (India) and Iain Campbell at RMI. The main barrier is the up-front costs. And that’s for everything from improving the thermal efficiency of buildings to accelerating the deployment of the most efficient cutting edge ACs (at present, legal minimums lag behind the best ACs, and the best ACs … [Read more...]
“Vertical well” Pumped-Storage Hydro: small, cheaper, 1-to-100MW range
In the U.S., pumped-storage hydropower (PSH) already provides 95% of all utility-scale energy storage. So any innovations that cut costs or extend PSH usability should be well received. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and its partners Obermeyer Hydro, Microtunneling Inc. and Small Hydro Consulting are demonstrating the advantages of a small pump installed in a vertical “well” rather than an underground powerhouse, one of the most … [Read more...]
IEA: Without accelerating clean energy innovations we cannot hit net zero by 2050
The impressive rise of renewables and energy efficiency, alone, will not be sufficient to meet the world’s 2050 emissions goal, says the IEA in its flagship Clean Energy Innovation report. New technologies, taken all the way through to widespread adoption by the market, must become an essential part of the net zero pathway. The stark warning is that existing policies to decarbonise shipping, trucks, aviation and heavy industry are not nearly … [Read more...]
Grid-scale Solar PV storage can use re-purposed old EV batteries
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...]
EU Recovery Package mustn’t sideline Green R&D
Today (Wednesday 27 May) the EC releases its COVID-19 Recovery package and Multiannual Financial Framework. The Green Deal and net-zero ambitions are expected to be a substantial part of it. Eleonora Moro and Léa Pilsner at E3G draw attention to Research & Innovation (R&I, or R&D), often in danger of being seen as a luxury in times of crisis because the big wins are not immediate. Already, the EU could do much better. Looking at … [Read more...]
Allam Cycle carbon capture gas plants: 11% more efficient, all CO2 captured
Globally, carbon capture is making precious little progress. Is the Allam Cycle natural gas power plant an important step forward? David Yellen at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center explains that, according to its designers, its energy conversion efficiency is 59%, 11% more than a standard combined-cycle gas turbine plant that’s carbon capture-equipped. It also captures 100% of the CO2, 10% more than the standard. NET Power plans to bring … [Read more...]
Wireless recharging of EVs as they drive?
Engineers have demonstrated a practical way to use magnetism to transmit electricity wirelessly to recharge electric cars. Stationary wireless EV charging has already been piloted and promoted by companies like Connected Kerb in the UK and car manufacturers. Experiments with the mobile version have also been conducted. Clearly, the less often an EV has to stop to recharge the better. But this has run into the problems of energy conversion … [Read more...]
Recyclable Wind Turbine Blades: thermoplastic, next-generation
When wind turbine blades are decommissioned they are usually scrapped and thrown into landfill because they cannot be recycled. In the U.S. over the next four years alone that will be the fate of more than 8,000 blades. As wind installations increase so will that number. It's because most blades are constructed from epoxy or other thermoset resins. So National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers are using a thermoplastic resin, … [Read more...]
Floating Offshore Wind Turbines: utility scale by 2024?
Floating wind turbines can access deeper waters that the usual fixed offshore ones. There the wind speeds are greater and more consistent. It opens the door to even greater efficiency and cost reductions. America’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has summarised a webinar by their Offshore Wind Research Platform Lead, Walt Musial. Other main take-aways include: floating platforms have long been engineered and proven by the oil and gas … [Read more...]
Nuclear fusion: public-private pitch for pilot power plant in U.S.
A working nuclear fusion plant has long been a dream of scientists. The “Sun in a box” would generate abundant low carbon energy with little waste and more safely than traditional existing nuclear (fission) plants. But the scientific, engineering and materials challenges are admittedly enormous. Meanwhile, other electricity generating technologies are getting cheaper, so will we ever need it? Nevertheless, a public-private collaboration in the … [Read more...]
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