CNBC on how energy storage could revolutionize industries in the next 10 years

CNBC reports (LINK) that over the last decade a surge in lithium-ion battery production has led to an 85% decline in prices, making electric vehicles and energy storage commercially viable for the first time in history. Today the batteries hold the key to transitioning away from fossil fuel dependence, and are set to play a greater role in the coming decade.

Credit CNBC

UBS estimates that over the next ten years the energy storage market in the United States could grow to as much as $426 billion, and there are many ways to buy into the surge, including chemical companies, battery cell makers, car companies, solar companies and utility companies. “Capturing the massive economic opportunity underlying the shift to controls and battery-based energy systems requires that planners, policymakers, regulators, and investors take an ecosystem approach to developing these markets,” sustainability-focused research firm Rocky Mountain Institute said recently.

Credits: Ron DiFelice, Thanks for sharing LinkedIn!

IBM proposes sustainable successor to lithium-ion battery

IBM Research reports (LINK) on a cobalt and nickel free battery technology based on a new cathode and electrode material. Dr. Young-Hye Na (LINK) is the manager of the research group dedicated to ‘Materials and Process Innovations for Energy Industry’ at IBM Almaden Research Center. Her research team is currently focusing on the development of next generation energy storage systems including metal-air batteries, solid-state electrolytes, new battery chemistries based on Cobalt-free cathode materials, and microbatteries.

Most lithium-ion battery material stacks include metals such as nickel and cobalt, which pose tremendous environmental and humanitarian risks in the sourcing of metals. Especially cobalt that is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo has come under fire for careless and exploitative extraction practices. Recently, International Rights Advocates sued Apple, Tesla, and other tech companies over the deaths of children working in these mines (LINK).

The new battery still uses lithium, but because it is generated from seawater rather than mined, there is little impact on the environment.

IBM development lab for next-generation batteries (Photo credit: IBM Research's lab in Almaden, California)

US Federal officials plan to approve a massive solar farm with energy storage in the desert outside Las Vegas

According to the Los Angeles Times United States Federal officials plan to approve a massive solar farm with energy storage in the desert outside Las Vegas. A $1-billion project that will provide electricity to Nevada residents served by Warren Buffett’s NV Energy. At 690 megawatts across 7,100 acres, the facility would generate more power than the largest solar farm currently operating in the United States.

 

 

Germany’s energy consumption and power mix in charts 2019

Fraunhofer ISE just released the 2019 Energy charts for Germany (LINK). In 2019, solar and wind energy plants jointly produced approx. 173 TWh. This puts them ahead of the sum of lignite and hard coal at 151 TWh.

 

Credit: Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE

 
Photovoltaic systems fed approx. 46.5 TWh into the public grid in 2019. Production increased by approx. 0.8 TWh or 1.7% compared to the previous year. The installed PV capacity at the end of October was approx. 48.6 GW. The expansion in 2019 amounted to October approx. 3.3 GW. The maximum solar capacity was approx. 33.5 GW on 19.04.2019 at 13:00. At this time, 48% of the total power generation came from photovoltaic. The maximum share of solar energy in the total daily energy of all electricity sources on 29 June was 27%. From March to September 2019, the monthly electricity production of PV systems was higher than those of coal-fired power plants.

Wind energy produced about 127 TWh in 2019 and was about 15.7% higher than in 2018, making wind energy the biggest energy source share, followed by lignite, nuclear energy, and gas. In eight months, wind power production exceeded the lignite-based generation, and in all twelve months, wind energy was ahead of nuclear energy. The maximum capacity generated was approximately 46.7 GW on 15 March 2019 at 19:00. The share of onshore wind was approx. 102.6 TWh. Offshore Wind was able to increase production from 19.1 TWh in 2018 to 24.4 TWh in 2019. Approx. 20.2 TWh were generated in the North Sea. Offshore production in the Baltic Sea amounted to approx. 4.1 TWh. At the end of October 2019, the installed capacity of onshore wind at 53.1 GW and offshore wind at 7.6 GW.

Hydropower produced approx. 19.2 TWh compared to 15.9 TWh in 2018. The installed capacity is about 4.8 GW. It has hardly changed compared to the previous year.

About 44 TWh were produced from biomass. Production has been declining slightly since 2016. In total, renewable energy sources solar, wind, hydro, and biomass in the year 2019 about 237 TWh. They are thus 7% above the level of the previous year with 221 TWh.

Sweden to investigate phasing out fossil fuels and banning sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030

The Swedish government has appointed an inquiry (LINK) to offer proposals on how to implement a ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars, and when fossil fuels should be phased out.

According to Swedish Public Service news, SVT (LINK) the goal is to prohibit to sell new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 onwards. The question will now be investigated, following an agreement between the government, the Social Democrates, the Center Party and the Liberals.

 

“Sweden will be the world’s first fossil-free welfare nation. The transport sector is responsible for a third of Sweden’s emissions of greenhouse gases, and thus has a significant role to play in the climate transition,” says Minister for Financial Markets and Housing Per Bolund.

The inquiry is to:

• analyse the conditions for introducing a national ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars, and how to exempt vehicles that run on renewable fuels and electric hybrid vehicles from such a ban;
• analyse how to bring about an EU-wide ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars and the phasing out of fossil fuels in the EU;
• make the necessary legislative proposals, albeit not in the area of taxation, where the inquiry may only analyse measures and conduct impact analyses; and
• propose a year by which fossil fuels should be phased out in Sweden, and the measures needed for this to happen in the most cost-effective manner possible.

Texas on track to install large-scale battery storage in the power grid

According to an article in the Houston Chronicle (LINK), Texas is adopting large-scale battery storage as battery prices fall, technology improves, and electricity demand grows. Now in the starting point, the amount of storage on the state’s power grid is still small at just 100 megawatts in a system with a generating capacity of nearly 80,000 megawatts. However, Texas is expected to more than triple the capacity to about 360 megawatts in 2020 and grow even faster in the coming years. Also, they are considering proposals to develop some 7,200 megawatts of large-scale battery storage within the next five years or so, exceeding the amount of natural gas generation in the pipeline.

 

According to the article, the growth of battery storage has boosted by falling prices for batteries. The price for lithium-ion batteries for electricity storage fell 35 percent to $187 per megawatt-hour in March compared to the first half of 2018 (Bloomberg New Energy Finance). By 2024, the costs for installing battery storage may fall to a point low enough for batteries to undercut natural gas-fired power plants during peak hours.

 

Background on power grid battery energy storage:

 

 

Clean Energy Solutions Center This webinar introduces key concepts for understanding the value of battery energy storage systems; reviews the services they can provide to the grid; and explores when, where, why and how they can be deployed economically.

First hydrogen-powered Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system launched in France

Electrive reports (LINK) that the first hydrogen-powered Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system has gone live in Pau, in the south of France. It is called Fébus and launched with the roll-out of a fleet of eight 18m Van Hool Exqui-City FC buses, serving a special six km route. The fuel cell technology for the buses, which also feature batteries, comes from Ballard Power Systems. The 18-metre-long articulated buses offer space for 125 passengers and can cover more than 300 kilometres per hydrogen filling.

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More information: LINK

Earlier this year Flixbus Germany said that it has begun talks with bus manufacturers about the introduction of hydrogen models to their fleat (LINK).

“After being the first to successfully launch three fully electric buses, we now want to develop the first long-distance buses powered by fuel cells, along with Freudenberg technology, to mark another milestone in the history of mobility,” said André Schwämmlein, founder and CEO of FlixMobility.

Background Bus rapid transit (WIKI-LINK): Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to improve capacity and reliability relative to a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes roadways that are dedicated to buses, and gives priority to buses at intersections where buses may interact with other traffic; alongside design features to reduce delays caused by passengers boarding or leaving buses, or purchasing fares. BRT aims to combine the capacity and speed of a metro with the flexibility, lower cost and simplicity of a bus system.

The first BRT system was the Rede Integrada de Transporte ('Integrated Transportation Network') in Curitiba, Brazil, which entered service in 1974.

As of March 2018, a total of 166 cities in six continents have implemented BRT systems, accounting for 4,906 km (3,048 mi) of BRT lanes and about 32.2 million passengers every day, of which about 19.6 million passengers ride daily in Latin America, which has the most cities with BRT systems, with 54, led by Brazil with 21 cities. The Latin American countries with the most daily ridership are Brazil (10.7M), Colombia (3.06M), and Mexico (2.5M). In the other regions, China (4.3M) and Iran (2.1M) also stand out. Currently, TransJakarta is considered as the largest BRT network in the world with approximately 251.2 kilometres (156.1 mi) of corridors connecting the Indonesian capital city.