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Electricity Storage Options 5 – Pure Electricity

Outline of superconducting magnet coils for energy storage

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

richardmiller 02/01/202302/01/2023 Blog No Comments Read more

Electricity Storage Options 2 – Using Gravity

Giant inlet valves for the turbines

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

richardmiller 28/11/202205/12/2022 Blog 3 Comments Read more

Renewable Energy and Storage – the Options

Renewable Energy and Storage – the Options

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!”,

richardmiller 21/11/202228/11/2022 Blog 5 Comments Read more

The World Has Changed In 20 Years, But Not Innovation

The World Has Changed In 20 Years, But Not Innovation

On May 17th 2001, twenty years ago, I started Miller-Klein Associates Ltd. The corporate merry-go-round had taken another turn, leaving me without an exciting job, so I turned to private practice. My ambitions were limited. I wasn’t interested in starting

richardmiller 17/05/202117/05/2021 Blog No Comments Read more

The Price Today is not the Price in the Future

The Price Today is not the Price in the Future

Prices fall We have all noticed, or should have noticed, that manufactured products tend to get cheaper with time. The extreme case is computing. The first personal computer I used professionally in 1978 was the Commodore PET. This beast had

richardmiller 23/11/202023/11/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

When Best Practice is a Terrible Idea

When Best Practice is a Terrible Idea

I don’t know about you, but I react badly to the label “best practice”. What gets touted as best practice is often terrible practice. Or at least the wrong practice in the wrong place at the wrong time. It starts

richardmiller 05/10/202005/10/2020 Blog 2 Comments Read more

A Powerful Tool to Focus on Stocks and Flows

A Powerful Tool to Focus on Stocks and Flows

In 1892 the wonderfully named Captain Matthew Henry Phineas Riall Sankey became lead engineer and steam engine designer for Willans and Robinson. The efficiency of steam engines was a hot topic, and he needed to understand and communicate where the

richardmiller 24/08/202024/08/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

How to Understand Your Customers? Listen to Them!

How to Understand Your Customers? Listen to Them!

In your innovation journey, you will have to talk to your customers to find out whether your new idea works for them. After all, we know that the number one reason for innovations falling flat is that they solve a

richardmiller 10/08/202010/08/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

Two Great Innovations – One Specific Solution and One Technology

Frankfurt Passivhaus Devevlopment

There are many kinds of innovation. Some hit you with a flash of light as you realise that there is a simple, practical and clever solution to a pervasive problem. The kind of innovation that makes you slap your head

richardmiller 13/07/202013/07/2020 Blog 1 Comment Read more

Precision Has Made Our World What It Is

Maudslay Screw Cutter

Looking back through the history of innovation, the technologies that created the biggest impact are the ones that enabled further innovation. Whether it’s the water wheel, the steam engine, the electric motor or the microchip, each triggered a wave of

richardmiller 29/06/202029/06/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

What are the Characteristics of Innovative Companies?

What are the Characteristics of Innovative Companies?

In an earlier blog, I warned about thoughtlessly following the practices of successful companies, hoping the magic would rub off on you. Buying in to the latest management fad. What I called “cargo cult management”. But human nature is human

richardmiller 15/06/202016/08/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

SMART Objectives Can Be So Dumb

SMART Objectives Can Be So Dumb

We have all heard the famous Peter Drucker phrase from his 1954 book the Practice of Management – “what gets measured, gets managed”. It is a cliché of management practice, and like all clichés it contains a truth. If you

richardmiller 09/12/201909/12/2019 Blog 1 Comment Read more

Batteries Included, But They Need To Be Better

Batteries Included, But They Need To Be Better

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

richardmiller 28/10/201928/10/2019 Blog No Comments Read more

Keeping up with the Latest Innovation in Low-Carbon Vehicles

Keeping up with the Latest Innovation in Low-Carbon Vehicles

Every year I try to get to the Cenex Low Carbon Vehicles show at Millbrook proving ground. It’s a great way to take the pulse of the industry and to learn more about the future of transport. You find out

richardmiller 30/09/201930/09/2019 Blog No Comments Read more

Getting the Best Value Out of Household Waste

Getting the Best Value Out of Household Waste

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%

richardmiller 27/08/201916/06/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

The Power of Industry Clusters in Regional Development

The Power of Industry Clusters in Regional Development

Earlier this year, I wrote about industry clusters. What they are, where they come from, and how important they are. So I was surprised to open my newspaper this morning and find an article by Larry Elliott arguing that the

richardmiller 22/07/201916/06/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

If You Want To Disrupt An Industry, First Understand It

If You Want To Disrupt An Industry, First Understand It

Everyone wants to be disruptive; to transform a market, sweeping away the big players and bringing exciting new ideas. It is the big win that everyone looks for. There are millions of articles about business disruption on Google with titles

richardmiller 28/05/201928/05/2019 Blog No Comments Read more

Think About the User Not the Technology!

Nest Thermostat

You have created a great new product you are really excited about. You have sorted out the business model, figured out how to deliver it to the user, and fixed any manufacturing and cost problems. This will be great! And

richardmiller 29/04/201929/04/2019 Blog No Comments Read more

Tackling the Climate Crisis – 100 Exciting Solutions

Tackling the Climate Crisis – 100 Exciting Solutions

Over the last 12 months, we have seen increasing interest in the climate crisis. We hear explicit warnings on climate risks from respected commentators like David Attenborough. Greta Thunberg is energising younger people to campaign for their future. Activists like

richardmiller 15/04/201924/04/2019 Blog 1 Comment Read more

5 Ways a Technology Can Come Back From the Dead

5 Ways a Technology Can Come Back From the Dead

When a new technology appears it is usually accompanied by great excitement, at least from its inventors. What new opportunities does the technology open up? Where can we use it? The early enthusiasm quickly runs into practical barriers. The Gartner

richardmiller 03/04/201909/08/2019 Blog No Comments Read more

Digital Twins Are Useful, But Can You Trust Them?

Digital Twins Are Useful, But Can You Trust Them?

You may have seen the TV advert for Experian in which Marcus Brigstocke meets his ‘data self’. A collection of live information that governs how financial institutions treat him as a customer. This is a variant of the ‘digital twin’

richardmiller 18/03/2019 Blog 1 Comment Read more

Why Industry Clusters Are Important For You

Why Industry Clusters Are Important For You

What do Mumbai, Copenhagen, the Spanish town of Castellón de la Plana, and the small US town of Dalton, Georgia, have in common? Each is at the centre of a concentrated industry cluster. Mumbai is famous for being the home

richardmiller 05/03/201905/03/2019 Blog 1 Comment Read more

Great Innovation Stories Teach Us How To Do Better

Great Innovation Stories Teach Us How To Do Better

I love reading innovation stories. Where the idea came from, how they overcame problems, and what they make possible. Stories are how we excite people about innovation and why it matters. We need to tell more stories and better stories.

richardmiller 18/02/201920/07/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

Helping City Managers See the Results of Their Decisions

Helping City Managers See the Results of Their Decisions

I have long thought the only way we can create cities that are economically successful, great places to live, sustainable and resilient, is to treat them as an integrated system of systems. The problem is that cities are so complicated

richardmiller 04/02/201903/11/2020 Blog No Comments Read more

Stop Wasting Vital Materials to Avoid Economic Collapse

Stop Wasting Vital Materials to Avoid Economic Collapse

150 years ago, Dimitri Mendeleev developed the Periodic Table of the Elements. A way of organising all the information about the behaviour of the 63 elements known at the time. It has become an iconic image of science, and in

richardmiller 21/01/201926/01/2019 Blog 1 Comment Read more

How to Pick the Right Business Experiment

How to Pick the Right Business Experiment

To innovate, we need to try things out; to experiment. But how do we select the right experiment? How do we choose? Whenever we conduct an experiment, we want the maximum information at the minimum cost. Experiments should be as

richardmiller 07/01/201907/01/2019 Blog No Comments Read more

Clean Technology Innovation in Good Health

Clean Technology Innovation in Good Health

Last Friday I attended the annual Business Green Technology Awards. I always enjoy these events as they provide a great snapshot of innovation activity in the cleantech sector in the UK. This year I was a member of the judging

richardmiller 10/12/201810/12/2018 Blog 1 Comment Read more

Experiment To Improve The Chance Of Innovation Success

Experiment To Improve The Chance Of Innovation Success

We know that business needs to innovate. Whether a startup, established SME or major industry player, new customer offers are critical for survival. We also know that most innovations fail in the market; despite our enthusiasm, creativity and persistence. We

richardmiller 27/11/201821/01/2020 Blog 1 Comment Read more

The “Abominable No-Man” and Innovation

The “Abominable No-Man” and Innovation

In 1955 C. Northcote Parkinson wrote an article in The Economist that introduced the world to Parkinson’s Law – “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. An observation so universal in application that it is instantly recognisable

richardmiller 13/11/2018 Blog No Comments Read more

Getting the Best Out of the Glasgow Demonstrator

Getting the Best Out of the Glasgow Demonstrator

One of the fascinating things about innovation projects is the way that they evolve and change as the project progresses, and how they leave echoes long after the project has finished. In 2012 I was involved in setting up the

richardmiller 29/10/2018 Blog No Comments Read more

What are the latest developments in low carbon vehicles?

What are the latest developments in low carbon vehicles?

  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

richardmiller 03/10/2018 Blog 1 Comment Read more

Careful Pricing Is Vital For Successful Innovation

Careful Pricing Is Vital For Successful Innovation

Correctly pricing a new product or service is vital. Too high and you get no customers, too low and you leave money on the table. Either way you burn through cash so your innovation, and possibly your company, fails. Pricing

richardmiller 17/09/2018 Blog No Comments Read more

Understanding Your Project Portfolio with the Consumer/Technology Matrix

Understanding Your Project Portfolio with the Consumer/Technology Matrix

When you are only working on one innovation project at a time, you can give it all the care and attention it needs. There are no competing resource demands; at least for creating new products and services. Life gets more

richardmiller 31/07/201816/06/2020 Blog 2 Comments Read more

How to Spot and Make Use of Disruptive Innovation

How to Spot and Make Use of Disruptive Innovation

For many years I have been fascinated by the idea of disruptive innovation and technologies. Whilst disruption certainly happens, there are plenty of historical examples of that, I don’t think you can identify which innovations will be disruptive and how

richardmiller 16/07/201820/07/2018 Blog No Comments Read more

A Green Future: What Can We Do about Plastic Packaging?

A Green Future: What Can We Do about Plastic Packaging?

[This article was co-authored by Darren Ragheb of CPI and Richard Miller] At the end of 2017 the natural history programme, Blue Planet II, dramatically pushed the impact of waste plastics on the oceans into public eye. Since then, the topic

richardmiller 02/07/201802/07/2018 Blog No Comments Read more

A Snapshot of Energy Innovation from the Rushlight Summer Showcase

A Snapshot of Energy Innovation from the Rushlight Summer Showcase

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

richardmiller 18/06/2018 Blog No Comments Read more

Why Do Startups Fail?

Why Do Startups Fail?

A while ago I wrote about why innovations fail, and I wondered about start-ups. Do they have the same problems, or are they completely different? How often start-ups fail is a matter of debate. A commonly quoted figure is that

richardmiller 14/05/2018 Blog 2 Comments Read more

Making Progress Means Changing the Team

Making Progress Means Changing the Team

Getting the right people doing the right jobs is one of the major challenges in a small, growing business. We each have our particular strengths and our favoured working styles. Teams need to evolve as the business develops, and getting

richardmiller 02/05/201802/05/2018 Blog No Comments Read more

All Innovation is Important, Not Just Some Types

All Innovation is Important, Not Just Some Types

Sometimes in conversation you suddenly run straight into a conceptual brick wall. You seem to be discussing the same topic, but somehow you are approaching it from such different positions that there seems to be ‘your topic’ and ‘their topic’

richardmiller 16/04/201816/04/2018 Blog No Comments Read more

Listening to Faint Whispers from the Future

Listening to Faint Whispers from the Future

“Prediction is difficult, especially of the future.”; a quote so useful that it has been linked to everyone from Yogi Berra to Niels Bohr. Yes, prediction is difficult, but when we innovate it is essential. We should be thinking not only about the

richardmiller 26/02/201817/08/2018 Blog No Comments Read more

The Eco-Innovation Compass

The Eco-Innovation Compass

To make progress towards a circular economy we need innovation. New products and services, new methods and new approaches. The challenge is, first of all, to find inspiration for innovative ideas, and secondly, to be able to compare different options

richardmiller 12/02/2018 Blog No Comments Read more

The Importance of the Zoom Function in Strategy

The Importance of the Zoom Function in Strategy

  We live in a big and complex world faced with big and complex problems; climate change, population growth, environmental degradation and inequality. In these mega-challenges, as well as the apparently simpler task of running a city or creating a

richardmiller 02/01/2018 Blog No Comments Read more

A Scaleable Approach to Improving Energy Efficiency in Buildings

A Scaleable Approach to Improving Energy Efficiency in Buildings

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

richardmiller 11/12/2017 Blog 1 Comment Read more

Successful Innovation Needs Divergent and Convergent Thinking

Successful Innovation Needs Divergent and Convergent Thinking

I was recently at an event on innovation when the speaker put up the following quote from the design guru John Maeda: “…economies are built upon convergent thinkers, people that execute things, get them done. But artists and designers are

richardmiller 27/11/2017 Blog No Comments Read more

5,000 Years of Knowledge Management

5,000 Years of Knowledge Management

Thomas Stewart said, “the history of business is the history of ways of managing knowledge.” Competitive advantage has always been about being better at using knowledge than the other person. And when you look back into the past, that has

richardmiller 16/10/201704/12/2017 Blog No Comments Read more

Where Do You Put Renewable Energy Until You Need It?

Where Do You Put Renewable Energy Until You Need It?

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

richardmiller 09/10/201717/08/2018 Blog 3 Comments Read more

Renewable Low-Carbon Heat

Renewable Low-Carbon Heat

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

richardmiller 26/09/201726/09/2017 Blog 1 Comment Read more

Another Brick in the Wall

Another Brick in the Wall

A few years ago, I was working with the product development group of a technology company. I asked one of the managers how information flowed between the various groups involved in bringing a new product to market. “It’s simple”, he

richardmiller 20/09/201717/08/2018 Blog No Comments Read more

Visiting the Future of Low Carbon Vehicles

Visiting the Future of Low Carbon Vehicles

On 7th September I visited the CENEX Low Carbon Vehicles event at Millbrook to find out what was going on in the world of low carbon transport. This was the 10th year, and in that time the topic has moved

richardmiller 11/09/201714/05/2018 Blog No Comments Read more

Seeing and Being Seen

Seeing and Being Seen

It’s the time of year to start looking forward to the best innovation conference and showcase in the UK – Innovate 2017. This year it is taking place on 8th and 9th November at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) Birmingham.

richardmiller 04/09/201714/05/2018 Blog No Comments Read more
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Recent Posts

  • Electricity Storage 8 – So What Have We Learned? 23/01/2023
  • Electricity Storage 7 – Power-to-X, Chemicals as an Energy Reservoir 17/01/2023
  • Electricity Storage Options 6 – Batteries Included 09/01/2023
  • Electricity Storage Options 5 – Pure Electricity 02/01/2023
  • Electricity Storage Options 4 – Turning up the Heat 12/12/2022

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