Innovation, sustainability and the future of cities
I started this thread of posts to discover whether electricity storage is a major barrier to wider deployment of renewables. So, what have we learned about electricity storage over the last nine weeks? Renewable energy has not created the need
Last week we talked about batteries for grid scale electricity storage. There is another way we can use chemical bonds to store spare renewable electricity – Power-to-X. The idea behind Power-to-X is to convert renewable electricity into a transportable and
This week we look at using batteries for temporary storage of renewable electricity. The installed battery capacity is still small compared to pumped hydro, but it is the fastest growing solution, and the most flexible. Battery is a generic term
After a quick holiday break over Christmas and the New Year, we get back to the blog series on energy storage technologies. I hope you all had an enjoyable time! In this 5th episode, we cover storing electricity as electricity
Looking for practical storage solutions for an electricity grid dominated by renewables, we have already examined gravity, pressure, and momentum as ways to capture and hold energy for later use. Next on our list is heat. It is helpful to
This series of blogs is about electricity storage and how it works with renewable energy to create net-zero electricity grids. Last week I talked about using weights and gravity to store electricity. The most popular method is pumped hydro storage.
Last week, I looked at the wide range of technologies available for electricity storage to support renewable energy grids. Gravity systems are the dominant form of electricity storage today. Current installations can store up to 9,000 GWh—about a quarter of
I get frustrated that any time renewable energy and net-zero get mentioned on social media, reporting a new technical breakthrough, a bigger pipeline of projects or reducing costs, someone will triumphantly reply “you know the sun doesn’t shine at night!”,
This week is my first anniversary as a battery electric vehicle driver. My previous car had reached the end of its economic life and I had promised myself that my next vehicle would be electric. There is little to say
When I first started working in industry, I was lucky to have a great manager. One aphorism he drummed into me was: “don’t let best be the enemy of better”. It is easy to keep looking for the optimum; to
Using the electricity stored in an Electric Vehicle battery to smooth and manage demand on the electricity grid was a big topic at this year’s Low Carbon Vehicles exhibition and conference in September at the Millbrook proving ground. This Vehicle
Wonderful Lithium-Ion Batteries A few weeks ago, John Goodenough, Akira Yoshino and Stanley Whittingham won the 2019 Chemistry Nobel Prize for their work on Lithium-ion batteries (Li-ion). Lithium-ion batteries have made our portable, cable-free, mobile world. From our mobile phones
We have a problem with household waste in the UK. The stuff that gets collected at the kerbside. In 2017 we collected about 27 million tonnes of waste from our homes. We are getting better recycling, and just over 45%
37% of UK carbon emissions come from heating – domestic, public and commercial, and industrial. About 85% of the heating comes from gas. In its Net Zero report, the Committee on Climate Change argues that we must reduce carbon emissions
Every year I try to get to the Cenex Low Carbon Vehicles show at Millbrook. Now ten years old, this exhibition gives me a chance to see where we are up to on our journey to zero-carbon transportation. You
Last week I visited the Rushlight Summer Showcase in London. This brings together clean technology companies looking for investment and potential investors. The companies give a series of five-minute pitches to an investor panel, and there is also an exhibition
The UK has a problem; rather a large one. The Climate Change Act 2008 commits the UK to reduce carbon emissions by 80% from a 1990 baseline by 2050. In 2016 the biggest single consumer of energy was transport at
The cost of renewable energy continues to fall, and more and more of our electricity comes from renewables and low-carbon sources. On one day in June the renewable electricity supply peaked at over half the UK’s demand, and National Grid
Decarbonising heat A key challenge facing the UK is decarbonising the energy system. The UK is legally committed to reduce its carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 and eventually to net-zero under the Paris Agreement. Most of the focus in