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From lab to commercialisation: what is the optimal pathway for Clean Energy Technologies?

January 11, 2023 by Madeline Geocaris and Andrea Wuorenmaa

It’s a considerable challenge to predict, decades in advance, what the world will need and get it from lab to market. Madeline Geocaris and Andrea Wuorenmaa at NREL summarise four case studies that reveal the key elements required: a good balance of technology, R&D, and public-private partnership; regulatory and market force alignment; good timing for market opportunities. The goal is the optimal pathway to the successful first … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Innovations Tagged With: blades, development, DOE, HydrogenFuelCells, innovation, JISEA, markets, NREL, refrigerators, regulations, research, solarPV, standards, wind

Laser-driven Nuclear fusion achieves “ignition”: lab gets more energy out than in

December 21, 2022 by John Pasley

Though nuclear fusion serving the grid is surely still decades away, it has got one important step closer, explains John Pasley at the University of York. For the first time, in the U.S. the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory achieved “ignition” for laser driven fusion. That means more energy was taken out, by a factor of 1.5, than put in. However, the two million Joules of laser light fired at the fuel pellets needed 300 million Joules to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Nuclear Tagged With: electricity, fusion, grids, ignition, innovation, ITER, Laser, Nuclear, US

Solar PV windows on highly glazed skyscrapers can cut energy by 40%+

November 30, 2022 by Wayne Hicks

Around a third of the world’s energy consumption and CO2 emissions come from buildings. Highly glazed skyscrapers and buildings may look beautiful and let in plenty of light, but waste a lot of energy due to the extra cooling needed in summer and heating in winter. Modern skyscrapers can have window-to-wall ratios of 70%+. But modern thermally efficient photovoltaic windows not only provide insulation but turn the absorbed light into power. Wayne … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buildings, Energy Tagged With: buildings, efficiency, emissions, generation, innovation, insulation, PV, rooftop, skyscrapers, windows

Wave Energy Converter performance tool, publicly available online

October 26, 2022 by Tiffany Plate

Advancements in wave energy technology (WEC) have been slow, mainly because of the harsh marine environments WECs must operate in, as well as the complex regulatory requirements. Tiffany Plate at NREL explains it’s why the U.S. Department of Energy and NREL have collaborated on the Small WEC Analysis tool, publicly available online. Its purpose is to provide baseline information about the performance of different types of WECs in various ocean … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Renewables Tagged With: absorbers, attenuators, Energy, innovation, marine, ocean, surge, US, wave, WEC

China: decades of support for innovation is now delivering results

October 4, 2022 by Daisy Chi

The evolution of China’s clean energy sector used to be based on a technology catch-up approach, which meant secondary innovation based on imported technologies. Daisy Chi at ECECP looks at the IEA’s recent report, “Tracking Clean Energy Innovation: Focus on China”, to conclude that the nation is now a major force in clean energy innovation. Decades of innovation-focussed policies, strong funding support, institutional reforms, big targets and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Innovations Tagged With: batteries, China, emissions, EVs, funding, IEA, innovation, markets, patents, policies, research, solar

Aluminium, sulphur and salt batteries. Cheaper than lithium-ion, for homes and EV charging stations

September 7, 2022 by David Chandler

The high and escalating demand for the lithium-ion batteries that dominate the market is driving the search for alternatives. Ideally, they will be made from inexpensive, abundant materials. David Chandler at MIT describes research there into a design that uses aluminium and sulphur as its two electrode materials, with a molten salt electrolyte in-between. The results point at batteries that have a projected cost per cell of about one-sixth that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Storage Tagged With: aluminium, batteries, charging, costs, electrolyte, EVs, innovation, lithium, research, residential, salt, storage, sulphur

New research into making water boil using less energy

July 20, 2022 by David Chandler

Can the boiling of water be done more efficiently? If so, a wide range of processes can save energy, not least the standard use of steam turbines in electricity generators. David Chandler at MIT describes research there that modifies the surface of the heating element. A combination of microscale dents and nanoscale bumps and ridges on the surface, and pillars that allow the “wicking” of water by capillary action, improves the efficiency of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Innovations Tagged With: boiling, efficiency, industry, innovation, steam, turbines, water

Energy security concerns are building momentum for Nuclear

July 19, 2022 by IEA

The IEA’s latest report on nuclear power recommends a doubling of capacity by 2050. It emphasises that, though many advanced economies are planning a decline, 32 nations have nuclear today and reactors are now under construction in 19 countries. It’s evidence of a momentum behind nuclear power that should be further stimulated by recent spikes in oil, gas and electricity prices, says the IEA. Russia and China remain nuclear advocates, which … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Nuclear Tagged With: Canada, China, costs, electricity, EnergySecurity, France, innovation, investment, Nuclear, Russia, SMRs, UK, US

Project Air: building a first-of-a-kind, large-scale sustainable methanol plant for the chemicals industry

July 5, 2022 by Project Air

Project Air is creating a first-of-a-kind, large-scale sustainable methanol plant. It uses CCU for converting CO2, residue streams, green hydrogen and biomethane into methanol. It’s a collaboration between specialty chemicals innovator Perstorp (Sweden) and energy firms Fortum (Finland) and Uniper (Germany). Perstorp aims to be the first chemical producer to replace all fossil-based methanol for its European production facilities (200,000 tons … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Industry Tagged With: biomethane, CarbonPrice, CBAM, CCU, chemicals, ETS, EU, FitFor55, Fortum, hydrogen, innovation, methanol, Perstorp, REDIII, REPowerEU, Uniper

Event summary: “45% RES by 2030: EU’s latest investment challenge to DSOs”

July 5, 2022 by Sara Stefanini

Sara Stefanini provides a written summary of our panel discussion held on Thursday June 30th 2022. It’s a full summary of the 90 minute discussion (including audience questions), but it begins conveniently with a summary of the highlights. Investment in and the modernisation of the electricity distribution grid is one the biggest challenges the EU has to overcome in the next decade. It’s a €400bn investment challenge by 2050 says Eurelectric, an … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Grids Tagged With: Automation, buildings, Digitalisation, DSO, EU, EVs, flexibility, grids, industry, innovation, investment, markets, modernisation, smartgrids, SmartMeters, solar, transport, TSO, wind

Critical minerals: price spikes are affecting Wind, Solar, Batteries, EVs

June 9, 2022 by Tae-Yoon Kim

A wide range of critical minerals are needed for the energy transition. Tae-Yoon Kim at the IEA summarises the reasons why we should expect this to be a year of price spikes due in the main to the Russia-Ukraine war and post-lockdown supply chain bottlenecks. So severe is the problem that the long record of declining costs in clean energy technologies like solar, wind, batteries and electric vehicles is being reversed. Although these crises will … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Resources Tagged With: aluminium, batteries, China, cobalt, copper, efficiency, EVs, innovation, lithium, minerals, nickel, palladium, prices, Russia, solar, Ukraine, uranium

Engineered soil microbe can convert CO2 20 times faster than natural photosynthesis

June 8, 2022 by Glennda Chui

New research led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Germany has shown how a bacterial enzyme found in the soil can be made to convert carbon dioxide into carbon compounds 20 times faster than plant enzymes do during natural photosynthesis. As Glennda Chui at Stanford University explains, it’s very early days but could open a door to artificially … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Carbon Capture, Energy Tagged With: biofuels, CCS, CCUS, CDR, CO2, enzyme, fertilisers, innovation, microbe, soil

Event Summary: “CHINA: Carbon Neutral by 2060 – Innovation”

June 7, 2022 by Sara Stefanini

Here are the highlights of our 2-day 4-session workshop “CHINA: Carbon Neutral by 2060 - Innovation”, compiled by Sara Stefanini. It’s a quick and efficient way for readers to see the main points made by our expert panellists. Held at the end of May, it was the fourth of our EU-China workshops since the first was held in November 2020, produced for the EU China Energy Cooperation Platform (ECECP). As always, leading speakers from the EU, major … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Innovations Tagged With: AirLiquide, batteries, CCS, CCUS, CDR, China, Danfoss, EU, event, EVs, Flow, grids, hydrogen, innovation, Novozymes, renewables, Scania, SchneiderElectric, Shell, smartgrids, solar, storage, TotalEnergies, wind

China’s impressive growth in Renewables and Transmission now needs Market innovation

May 12, 2022 by Simon Göss

***REGISTER NOW for CHINA: Carbon Neutral by 2060 - INNOVATION*** - China has the world’s largest power plant fleet for both coal and renewables. Together they make up most of the total power capacity of over 2,200 GW... STOP PRESS: China's Transition is the biggest single opportunity for managing climate change and also for those businesses who are ready with the innovations that will ensure the best possible outomes in an incredibly … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Events, Innovations Tagged With: China, coal, electricity, EU, grids, hydro, innovation, markets, renewables, solar, Transmission, UHV, wind

Could nano-scale filters for isolating CO2, Hydrogen and Biogas accelerate the energy transition?

April 6, 2022 by David Chandler

Nano-scale filters have been developed to separate out molecules like CO2 and hydrogen from gaseous streams. The research, led by MIT, could open a new door to raising the efficiency of carbon capture, isolating hydrogen for fuel use, and the purification of biogas fuel from waste. David Chandler at MIT explains how it would replace century-old methods of separating gaseous molecules that use energy-intensive and hard-to-electrify high … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Innovations Tagged With: biogas, chemicals, CO2, filters, hydrogen, industry, innovation, membranes

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  • Biofuel is approaching a feedstock crunch. How bad? And what must be done? by IEA | posted on January 23, 2023
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  • Can Aluminium-air batteries outperform Li-ion for EVs? by Helena Uhde | posted on September 8, 2021
  • Gravity Batteries: any nation can do it at scale using rocks by Simon Read | posted on July 27, 2022
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  • Making Hydrogen will consume 2% of total global renewable capacity growth by 2027 by IEA | posted on January 17, 2023
  • EU energy ministers unable to agree on biofuels policy by Karel Beckman | posted on December 15, 2013
  • Why hydrogen fuel cell cars are not competitive — from a hydrogen fuel cell expert by Zachary Shahan | posted on June 17, 2016
  • Smart Glasses: experts can monitor and advise on power plant inspections anywhere in the world by Christoph Gatzen | posted on January 25, 2023
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  • 2023 lookahead for Sustainable Finance: EU Taxonomy, ESG ratings, corporate disclosure laws, Europe’s “IRA” by Luca Bonaccorsi | posted on January 12, 2023

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Recent Posts

Make Hydrogen in developing nations: share prosperity while meeting our climate goals

Smart Glasses: experts can monitor and advise on power plant inspections anywhere in the world

Concrete: 8% of global emissions and rising. Which innovations can achieve net zero by 2050?

Biofuel is approaching a feedstock crunch. How bad? And what must be done?

Europe needs a Regional Green Bank to fulfil its Green Deal and match the U.S.

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