Hola!
A quick recap of the week: How much CO2 can current CCUS applications take? Navigating our dependency on fossil fuel during the Energy Transition. Flooded abandoned coal mines to source heat for housing and more.
Feliz semana!
CHART OF THE WEEK - Driving CO2 emissions to zero (and beyond) with carbon capture, use, and storage
Any pathway to mitigate climate change requires the rapid reduction of CO2 emissions and negative-emissions technologies to cut atmospheric concentrations.
This chart depicts the short- to medium-term technical potential for carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS), the whole article is worth the read.
Watt electricity do we need and from where? - Via the Economist
The Energy Transition is exactly that, a transition, and our dependence on fossil fuels will sometimes be painfully felt; as shown by the recent rise in gas prices in Europe due in part to low wind power production in the UK, Chinese gas buying spree and local regulations.
On Tuesday Britain’s government announced it was considering offering state loans to energy companies to cover the cost of taking on new customers, as several firms are expected to go bust. Last week electricity prices soared to £540 ($741) per megawatt hour, up from £147 a few weeks ago. European and American prices also recently hit record levels. Such highs have damaged businesses operating on thin margins, and will probably drive up inflation.
The price surge is the result of a perfect storm. Disruptions in Russia and Norway have led to shortages of natural gas, which generates about a fifth of Europe’s electricity, making it much more expensive. Buyers in China and Japan have snapped up shipments of liquified natural gas, a possible alternative source. Coal is pricey, too, because of Chinese demand and European carbon permits. And weeks of still air have curtailed wind power. Hence the particularly severe crisis in Britain, which relies on gas and wind energy almost twice as much as the European average and now faces possible food and power shortages.
Is it possible to source low carbon Heat from Abandoned Coal Mines...?!🤔 - Data from the UK Coal Authority (emojis are ours 😎)
🧐 There's around 23,000 abandoned coal mines around the UK and the water that has flooded into their void spaces has been naturally warmed by sub-surface geological processes to temperatures of up to 20°C.
🧮 Around a quarter of the UK's population is sited about these former coalfields - in nine out of ten of the largest urban areas. As such, there are great opportunities to utilise this zero-carbon energy heat networks.
MAP OF THE WEEK - Redwood’s plan to produce sustainable battery materials: anode copper foil and cathode active materials
Supply chains are all the rage nowadays, and finding sustainable ways to source metals are key for battery production and indeed for the electrification of transport, building and smart cities.
Redwood Materials (founded by ex-Tesla’s JB Straubel) that recently got a whopping $700min a Series C round, is bringing circular economy principles to provide valuable materials for the battery industry, in the quest to reduce the dependance of Chinese metals refining, Congolese cobalt and Chilean Lithium for example.
Redwood’s mission is to create a circular supply chain for electric vehicles and clean energy products, that make them more sustainable and drive down the single most expensive component: batteries. We’ve shared a lot about our recycling work which is certainly a core component of the battery sustainability equation but is only the tip of the iceberg for Redwood.
To make electric vehicles and energy storage products fully sustainable and affordable we need to actually close the loop at their end of life. This means not just collecting and recycling the batteries but also continuing further, fully refining the materials we recover and then manufacturing them back into precision battery materials to use those raw materials again.
If you want to send us an idea or a tip, a #ClimateTech company that we should have a look at, or if you have any questions, please reach us at: davidcongeof@gmail.com or arraiz.p.daniel@gmail.com.
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