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...]
Factory-built energy-efficient modular affordable Housing for reducing lifecycle emissions
Building construction and operation accounts for 37% of global energy-related carbon emissions, according to the UNEP. And every part of the world needs new housing. The U.S. has a 3.8-million-unit housing shortage. Jeffrey Wolf, writing for NREL, describes how modular factory-made affordable net-zero housing is being developed that costs no more than existing construction methods. To get the greatest decarbonisation impact most cost-effectively, … [Read more...]
Critical minerals and materials: supply bottlenecks and risks need international cooperation
The growth in demand for minerals and materials needed for the energy transition is putting a strain on supply. Mining and processing are the two key bottlenecks. Dolf Gielen, Martina Lyons, Francisco Boshell and Peter Chawah at IRENA summarise the multiple challenges. New capacity is not the only problem: the geographical concentration of where the mining and, in particular, the processing is being done is the primary risk. China’s dominance in … [Read more...]
Research into slowing lithium degradation can extend Battery life by 30%
The massive scale-up of batteries is essential to a successful transition. That will be made much easier if the lifetime of existing lithium batteries is greatly extended. With each charge-discharge cycle, the batteries accumulate tiny islands of inactive lithium that are cut off from the electrodes, decreasing the battery’s capacity to store charge. Jennifer Huber at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory explains how new research is showing a … [Read more...]
Replacing centralised power with Distributed Energy Systems needs new policies and coordination
We need integrated resilient smart grids that can accommodate the rapid growth of intermittent renewables as well as the rise of “prosumers” who both buy and sell electricity into the grid. This is the focus of three online discussion sessions on February 8th, 9th and 10th organised and hosted by power management company Eaton. The proliferation of multiple generation sources (solar, wind, batteries and other clean, flexible technologies) means … [Read more...]
Energy Post Quiz 2021: ANSWERS
Hope you all had fun with the Energy Post Quiz, published before the Christmas break. Here are the answers. There are ten questions, both entertaining and insightful. The answers could all be found in articles that appeared here during 2021, and we give you the links to them. During 2021 Energy Post had another strong year in terms of number of debates hosted, event attendance, and readership for our articles: our readership grew by … [Read more...]
Energy Post Quiz 2021
Energy Post has had another strong year in terms of number of debates hosted, readership growth and event attendance. Our readership has grown by 17.16% year on year. We hosted 14 panel discussions (including 3 for ECECP with an average of 20 panellists from all corners of the globe). Together we've reached hundreds of thousands with our event packages. Our thanks to all our authors. Now, with all those parties cancelled due to Covid you have … [Read more...]
COP26 and the Glasgow Pact: a summary of achievements, and shortfalls
Experts from around the world summarise their reaction to the outcomes of this year’s UN climate summit, COP26, including the Glasgow Climate Pact agreed by all 197 countries attending the talks. Each expert covers their area of interest: overall targets, greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel finance, nature conservation, transportation, cities and buildings, energy sector transitions, science and innovation, and gender equality. The overall … [Read more...]
Coal phase-out by 21 nations only accounts for 3.2% of global power. What about the others?
The 21 nations committed to coal phase-out only account for 3.2% of global electricity generation. Three - Belgium, Austria and Sweden – have already done so. The rest hope to by different dates, ranging to 2040. Asia is where the main problem is, and their transition challenges are well known: growing economies, and energy security. Carlos Fernández Alvarez at the IEA spells out their recommendations, and references case studies in Canada, the … [Read more...]
IEA WEO 2021 message to COP26: 40% of clean energy goals will cut costs
The IEA’s latest World Energy Outlook was published on Wednesday. This year’s WEO-2021 is released earlier than usual to inform COP26 and, for the first time, is available for free to ensure the widest possible audience. Simon Evans at Carbon Brief offers his summary of the 386-page report, quoting relevant numbers and charts. He first points to the new scenario, Net-Zero Emissions by 2050 (NZE), as the IEA’s recognition that this is what … [Read more...]
New cooling system for inverters brings electric Heavy-Duty Trucks closer
39% of greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector comes from heavy-duty trucks. Commercial batteries struggle to deliver enough power to make electrification feasible for heavy-duty applications. Rebecca Martineau at NREL explains how a working prototype, developed with the heavy machinery manufacturer John Deere, is now getting a 378% increase in power density. The key to the innovations rests on a state-of-the-art thermal management … [Read more...]
Ice for storage for intermittent renewables, then for cooling
Cooling accounts for around a fifth of total energy consumption in buildings. All those air conditioners and electric fans make up a tenth of all global electricity consumption. Demand will keep rising as developing nations get wealthier. Andrea Willige, writing for the World Economic Forum, looks at ice as a seemingly simple solution. Ice can be used as an energy store like a battery, to balance the grid. Create it when energy is cheap (at … [Read more...]
Nanochemistry breakthrough could lift energy density of batteries by factor six
Finding new ways for batteries to increase the charge they can store will lift their energy density. Researchers at Stanford University have developed an alkali metal-chlorine battery that stores six times the charge of today’s commercially available lithium-ion batteries. Until this breakthrough, a high-performance rechargeable sodium-chlorine or lithium-chlorine battery has been impractical because chlorine is too reactive to convert back to an … [Read more...]
Nuclear Fusion: U.S. and China race to build world’s first commercial plant
Both the U.S. and China are investing in nuclear fusion, and expecting results. Fusion’s unresolved engineering challenges (getting more power out than you have to put in) must be overcome first. If achieved, it offers the prospect of an almost inexhaustible source of energy. As Dan Yurman explains, this month the U.S. passed a bill that includes $2.8bn for fusion energy-related projects and research. The U.S. Fusion Industry Association said … [Read more...]
Can Aluminium-air batteries outperform Li-ion for EVs?
Aluminium-air (Al-air) batteries for cars are an innovative technology that automakers and policy-makers should take a close look at, say Helena Uhde and Veronika Spurná at ECECP. Although a battery, they behave more like an engine: the fuel is the aluminium which reacts with the air via an electrolyte to produce electric power. Al-air has big advantages over a lithium-ion battery, the favoured choice for EVs. It has a travel range similar to … [Read more...]
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