Innovation, sustainability and the future of cities
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