Wren’s Post

"Carbon in the atmosphere is a major driver of climate change. Now researchers from McGill University have designed a new catalyst for converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into methane—a cleaner source of energy—using tiny bits of copper called nanoclusters. While the traditional method of producing methane from fossil fuels introduces more CO2 into the atmosphere, the new process, electrocatalysis, does not. "On sunny days you can use solar power, or when it's a windy day you can use that wind to produce renewable electricity, but as soon as you produce that electricity you need to use it," says Mahdi Salehi, Ph.D. candidate at the Electrocatalysis Lab at McGill University. "But in our case, we can use that renewable but intermittent electricity to store the energy in chemicals like methane."" #co2 #methane #energystorage

☝️ Simply rebuilding an outdated power system is not enough ✅ Roman Nitsovych points out this fact in the Rubrykaʼs podcast 🔗 https://bit.ly/4ajmcfS 🎯 DiXi Group Research Director assures that if we want to rebuild Ukraine's energy system, we need to shift our focus from large coal-fired power plants to smaller objects that use local renewable resources, in particular biomass, sun, or wind ☀️ ☘ All new green technologies, Roman Nitsovych adds, have a much smaller impact on the climate, and make the energy system more sustainable. 🏡 If we talk about restoration, buildings should immediately be constructed as energy-efficient projects with almost zero emissions. It is also important to explain to society why it is necessary and show energy efficiency advantages. 🇺🇦 Ukraine needs to catch up with the European Union 🇪🇺 in the #GreenDeal implementation, so we have to run twice as fast. If the EU countries prepare National Energy and Climate Plans for about two years, Ukraine has to cope with its own in six months. 💪 DiXi Group is already involved in drafting this strategic document (https://bit.ly/4azwV6K), designed to plan and coordinate state policies on climate and energy for at least five years. 💬 "The plan is an important component of our accession to the EU and a road map for the green recovery, development, and decarbonization of the Ukrainian economy," Roman Nitsovych explains. 🧐 He adds that our National Energy and Climate Plan, the final version of which will be presented soon, contains goals within the Global Methane Pledge, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the Energy Community, and is also synchronized with the Plan of Ukraine. Can green recovery improve our energy security? Under what conditions will investors fund the reconstruction of Ukraine? You will find the answers to these and other questions in a conversation with Roman Nitsovych.

Stockholm Exergi Lands World's Largest Permanent Carbon Removal Deal With Microsoft: Swedish energy company Stockholm Exergi and Microsoft have announced a 10-year deal that will provide the tech giant with more than 3.3 million tons of carbon removal certificates through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage. While the value of the deal was not disclosed, it stands as the largest of its kind globally. Carbon Herald reports: Scheduled to commence in 2028 and span a decade, the agreement underscores a pivotal moment in combatting climate change. Anders Egelrud, CEO of Stockholm Exergi, lauded the deal as a "huge step" for the company and its BECCS project, emphasizing its profound implications for climate action. "I believe the agreement will inspire corporations with ambitious climate objectives, and we target to announce more deals with other pioneering companies over the coming months," he said. Recognizing the imperative of permanent carbon removals in limiting global warming to 1.5C or below, the deal aligns with Microsoft's ambitious goal of becoming carbon negative by 2030. "Leveraging existing biomass power plants is a crucial first step to building worldwide carbon removal capacity," Brian Marrs, Microsoft's Senior Director of Energy & Carbon Removal, said, highlighting the importance of sustainable biomass sourcing for BECCS projects, as is the case with Stockholm Exergi. The partners will adhere to stringent quality standards, ensuring transparent reporting and adherence to sustainability criteria. The BECCS facility, once operational, will remove up to 800,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually, contributing significantly to atmospheric carbon reduction. With environmental permits secured and construction set to commence in 2025, Stockholm Exergi plans to reach the final investment decision by the end of the year. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Stockholm Exergi Lands World's Largest Permanent Carbon Removal Deal With Microsoft: Swedish energy company Stockholm Exergi and Microsoft have announced a 10-year deal that will provide the tech giant with more than 3.3 million tons of carbon removal certificates through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage. While the value of the deal was not disclosed, it stands as the largest of its kind globally. Carbon Herald reports: Scheduled to commence in 2028 and span a decade, the agreement underscores a pivotal moment in combatting climate change. Anders Egelrud, CEO of Stockholm Exergi, lauded the deal as a "huge step" for the company and its BECCS project, emphasizing its profound implications for climate action. "I believe the agreement will inspire corporations with ambitious climate objectives, and we target to announce more deals with other pioneering companies over the coming months," he said. Recognizing the imperative of permanent carbon removals in limiting global warming to 1.5C or below, the deal aligns with Microsoft's ambitious goal of becoming carbon negative by 2030. "Leveraging existing biomass power plants is a crucial first step to building worldwide carbon removal capacity," Brian Marrs, Microsoft's Senior Director of Energy & Carbon Removal, said, highlighting the importance of sustainable biomass sourcing for BECCS projects, as is the case with Stockholm Exergi. The partners will adhere to stringent quality standards, ensuring transparent reporting and adherence to sustainability criteria. The BECCS facility, once operational, will remove up to 800,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually, contributing significantly to atmospheric carbon reduction. With environmental permits secured and construction set to commence in 2025, Stockholm Exergi plans to reach the final investment decision by the end of the year. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

One of my recent papers, "Cost, environmental impact, and resilience of renewable energy under a changing climate," has not only been recognized as a Highly Cited Paper but also as a Hot Paper by Clarivate! This means it's among the top 0.1% of papers in Chemistry based on citation impact. Our work explores the intricate relationship between renewable energy and climate change. We've looked at how various renewable sources—solar, wind, biomass, hydropower, and geothermal—are affected by climate shifts. It's fascinating (and a bit alarming) to see how susceptible things like wind and hydropower can be to climate variability. Yet, there’s good news too, like the resilience and cost-effectiveness of solar energy which has seen a dramatic drop in prices over the past decade. We believe renewable energy is a cornerstone for not just reducing global emissions but also for shaping a sustainable future. By 2050, renewables could decarbonize 90% of the electricity sector, helping keep global warming under the critical 1.5 °C threshold. You can find our paper here: https://lnkd.in/eJHV6QEw #RenewableEnergy #ClimateChange #ScientificImpact #Chemistry #Net_zero

Geneva: As the climate emergency intensifies, demand is surging for minerals that are critical for renewable energy technologies like solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles (EVs). The global energy transition is offering mineral-rich countries the chance to bolster their industries and diversify their economies but also risks deepening their commodity dependence. United #Affordable #cleanenergy #climateaction #Climatechange #Commodities #Criticalminerals #EconomicDiversification #economicgrowth #Environment #Goal #Industry #Infrastructure #Innovation #RenewableEnergy

Stockholm Exergi Lands World's Largest Permanent Carbon Removal Deal With Microsoft: Swedish energy company Stockholm Exergi and Microsoft have announced a 10-year deal that will provide the tech giant with more than 3.3 million tons of carbon removal certificates through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage. While the value of the deal was not disclosed, it stands as the largest of its kind globally. Carbon Herald reports: Scheduled to commence in 2028 and span a decade, the agreement underscores a pivotal moment in combatting climate change. Anders Egelrud, CEO of Stockholm Exergi, lauded the deal as a "huge step" for the company and its BECCS project, emphasizing its profound implications for climate action. "I believe the agreement will inspire corporations with ambitious climate objectives, and we target to announce more deals with other pioneering companies over the coming months," he said. Recognizing the imperative of permanent carbon removals in limiting global warming to 1.5C or below, the deal aligns with Microsoft's ambitious goal of becoming carbon negative by 2030. "Leveraging existing biomass power plants is a crucial first step to building worldwide carbon removal capacity," Brian Marrs, Microsoft's Senior Director of Energy & Carbon Removal, said, highlighting the importance of sustainable biomass sourcing for BECCS projects, as is the case with Stockholm Exergi. The partners will adhere to stringent quality standards, ensuring transparent reporting and adherence to sustainability criteria. The BECCS facility, once operational, will remove up to 800,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually, contributing significantly to atmospheric carbon reduction. With environmental permits secured and construction set to commence in 2025, Stockholm Exergi plans to reach the final investment decision by the end of the year. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

I find this article very interesting.

The year 2024 has been for advocating for greening various sectors including the energy sector in a quest to combat climate change. We continue to believe that for countries to achieve their set energy visions and aspirations (energy transition, energy access, social economic transformation) over time should develop and put into use their abundant resources like fossils, uranium and other new and renewable resources. All we need is transparency, accountability, good governance and sustainable production and utilization of these. #energytransition #renewables #sustainability

Across the past few years, with significant time in South Africa, Ethiopia and Egypt, I have learned how impossible it will be for low and middle-income countries to de-fossilise their power grids. Learning from Jean Baptiste Fressoz's new book: More and More and More, things like an estimated 30-40% of recent renewables built in China have been bundled with coal power, which, along with several other countries opening new coal plant, has actually now increased coal capacity globally by 2%. Fressoz writes about the history of energy transitions and how each new phase has, in practice, remained almost wholly entangled with the previous one. He describes how the world has gorged on all forms of energy – with whole forests being used to prop up coal mines and highlights how coal and how oil remain central to industry and, therefore, our lives while reminding us that the world now burns more biomass and coal than ever before... because, as his book reveals: the ‘transition’ was never a genuine plan, it was promoted by energy companies as a means to put off any meaningful change... However Fressoz points out, that even if the world's electricity production could be 100% decarbonised, it would make little difference in achieving climate objectives, highlights this issue. It's astounding to think that the lock-downs of the pandemic only altered global emissions by a mere 5% and the world is meant to reduce emissions in the next 5 years by 45% according to COP 28 targets. Meanwhile, the transport and industry sectors are still contributing significantly to emissions. Companies that seemed to have managed okay with employees working from home or holding conferences online during the pandemic are now reverting back to demanding in-person meetings that will continue to drive this number up along with supply chains for industry. Key commodities like steel, plastic, fertilizers and cement, which are the foundation of many industries as well as economic development for many low and middle-income countries, have not shown any decline in production whatsoever, nor are they likely to, and all have large carbon footprints contributing to global emissions. The climate benefits of renewables are also questionable because some have higher environmental and social costs than expected, and there are even many purpose-built to power the fossil-fuel industry, such as in Norway, Qatar and Texas. Then there is the fact that we have increased the material complexity of objects, reinforcing the symbiotic nature of the economy and reducing the ability to recycle and reuse things like critical minerals. The smartphone is a case in point that uses 60 of the 87 metals on the periodic table; although it increases energy efficiency, it is now almost impossible to recycle. Humans seem to have an insatiable appetite for more, and if it doesn't slow-down, it will be our demise.   https://lnkd.in/daXGbCc5