Tag: decarbonization

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You Can Have the Pie and Eat It

In Paris, humanity has set itself the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C. Most people believe that this will be accompanied by significant sacrifice of quality of life. That is one reason why climate protection is simply rejected by many people, even to the point of outright denial. At Frontis Energy, we think we can protect the climate and live better. The latest study published in Nature Energy by a research group around Arnulf Grubler of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg, Austria, has now shown that we have good reasons.

The team used computer models to explore the potential of technological trends to reduce energy consumption. Among other things, the researchers said that the use of shared car services will increase and that fossil fuels will give way to solar energy and other forms of renewable energy. Their results show that global energy consumption would decrease by about 40% regardless of population, income, and economic growth. Air pollution and demand for biofuels would also decrease, which would improve health and food supplies.

In contrast to many previous assessments, the group’s findings suggest that humans can limit the temperature rise to 1.5 °C above preindustrial levels without resorting to drastic strategies to extract CO2 from the atmosphere later in the century.

Now, one can argue whether shared car services do not cut quality of life. Nevertheless, we think that individual mobility can be maintained while protecting our climate. CO2 recovery for the production of fuels (CO2 recycling that is) is such a possibility. The Power-to-Gas technology is the most advanced version of CO2 recycling and should certainly be considered in future studies. An example of such an assessment of the power-to-gas technology was published by a Swiss research group headed by Frédéric Meylan, who found that the carbon footprint can be neutralized with conventional technology after just a few cycles.

(Picture: Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Land of Cockaigne, Wikipedia)

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Cobalt Nanocrystals Make Lithium-Ion Batteries Age More Slowly

In todays Li-ion batteries, cobalt oxide cathodes improve performance and durability. While, such cobalt cathodes show the same performance as nickel oxide cathodes, they come at a higher price. Nickel cathodes, in turn, crack and dissolve quickly, which reduces their lifespan. Nevertheless, nickel cathodes are very popular because they are so cheap.

Now, the research team led by Jaephil Cho of the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea has developed a cathode made of more than 80% nickel. The researchers reported in the journal Energy & Environmental Science that a cathode coated with nanocrystals of cobalt aged more slowly than conventional nickel cathodes. After recharging 400 times at room temperature, the battery was able to retain 86% of its original capacity.

The novel nickel cathodes could help meet the growing demand for rechargeable batteries in electric vehicles if cobalt prices rise in the future.

(Photo: Wikipedia)

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Decarbonizing Planet Earth – Nuclear vs. Renewable

Adding to the controversial scientific debate whether renewable or nuclear energy decarbonize the atmosphere quicker, Lovins et al of the Rocky Mountain Institute in Basalt, Colorado, argue that renewable energy is doing a better job. In their recent study, published in Energy Research & Social Science, they analyzed 17 years of recent energy resource development worldwide to support their conclusion. Their paper stands in contrast to numerous previous studies, including a 2016 report published by Cao et al in Science, claiming that nuclear power is better suited for fast decarbonization. However, the nuclear waste problem still remains unresolved.

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Starting up Power-to-Gas Reactors

In their paper “Effect of Start-Up Strategies and Electrode Materials on Carbon Dioxide Reduction on Biocathodes“, which was recently published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Saheb-Alam et al. teach us how to start-up bio-electrical systems for CO2 conversion to methane gas. They compared pre-acclimated with pristine electrodes and found that there is no difference in start-up time. Their findings stand in contrast to previous observations where pre-acclimation has indeed helped to improve reactor performance. For example, LaBarge et al. found that electrodes acclimated with methane-forming microbes, called Methanobacterium, do reduce start-up time.