New Device Separates Hydrogen From Natural Gas When The Two Gases Are Blended In Pipelines
The title of this post, is the same as that of on this article on Hydrogen Fuel News.
This is the introductory paragraph.
With clean hydrogen gaining recognition worldwide as the carbon-free fuel capable of making a significant contribution to addressing climate change, Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced it will field test a new technology that can simultaneously separate and compress hydrogen from a blend of hydrogen and natural gas.
It may sound rather mundane, but it means, you can convert surplus electricity into hydrogen and blend it with natural gas and distribute it in the local natural gas grid.
- As natural gas grids can contain a proportion of hydrogen, this shouldn’t be a problem.
- Any user, who needs hydrogen connects one of these clever devices to the grid and it separates out the hydrogen, for your use.
- All very simple and efficient, as you don’t need a second gas grid for hydrogen.
I very much like this idea, which was developed by a Dutch company called HyET Hydrogen.
There is also an explanatory video.
This invention could change the world!
Will The United States Be The Largest Battery In The World?
This article on Renewables Now is entitled Swell Bags Funds For 200 MWh Of Distributed Energy Storage In VPPs.
This is the introductory paragraph.
US distributed energy and grid solutions provider Swell Energy Inc has secured financial backing for up to USD 450 million (EUR 370.6m) worth of virtual power plants (VPPs) to be deployed across the country.
200 MWh a lot of energy storage and it works out at around $450,000 per MWh.
But it was the last paragraph that caught my eye.
Swell expects distributed energy systems in its portfolio to generate more than 3,000 GW over the next 20 years and customers to potentially store 1,000 GWh for later use.
If that should be 3,000 GWh, that will be 150 GWh per year. By comparison Drax, which is the largest power station in the UK, can generate 34,689.6 GWh in a year.
Drax may be 230 times bigger in GWh per year, but the US numbers are impressive and as wind and solar develop in the country, I suspect the United States will become the largest battery in the world.
Watch the US renewable energy sector grow!
Engineers Go Microbial To Store Energy, Sequester CO2
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Cornell Chronicle.
This is the first two paragraphs.
By borrowing nature’s blueprints for photosynthesis, Cornell bioengineers have found a way to efficiently absorb and store large-scale, low-cost renewable energy from the sun – while sequestering atmospheric carbon dioxide to use later as a biofuel.
The key: Let bioengineered microbes do all the work.
This is slave labour, that even the most ardent of Human and Animal Rights activists would approve.
This is technology to watch!
Gore Street Energy’s £60mln Fundraise Significantly Oversubscribed
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Proactive Investors.
Surprise! Surprise!
Well not to me! Or I suspect Which!
This article on Which is entitled Solar Panel Battery Popularity Is Booming: Should You Buy One?
I have read the article and it leaves, the overall impression, that the UK population are thinking seriously about adding batteries to their solar panels.
So if the UK population is thinking seriously about personal energy storage, it would be very surprising if professional fund managers weren’t thinking the same.
After all, I did write World’s Largest Wind Farm Attracts Huge Backing From Insurance Giant, over two years ago.
So if we’re operating and commissioning offshore wind farms like these.
- Dogger Bank – 4.8 MW
- Gwynt y Mor – 576 MW
- East Anglia Array – 7.2 GW
- Hornsea – 6 GW
- London Array – 630 MW
- Walney – 1.7 GW
- Whitelee – 539 MW
We’re going to need some humungous batteries to tide us through calm periods.
As I write this post on a Monday afternoon, the UK is generating 11.5 GW of electricity by wind, which is more than we’re generating by biomass, coal and nuclear combined.
This is a quote from Alex O’Cinneide, who is Gore Street Capital’s chief executive, in the Proactive Investors article.
We are looking forward to deploying this capital against our significant global pipeline of 1.3GW and towards the capital expenditure requirements in the company’s existing 440MW portfolio.
Gore Street certainly seem to be expanding, their portfolio of batteries.
Conclusion
The City of London has discovered renewable energy and found a way to fund it, to the benefit of all investors, from the guy with a pension managed by a reputable company to global insurance companies, funds and other companies, who have billions of pounds, dollars or euros, that needs a profitable home.
The next big development will come, when a company like Gore Street goes Giga and decide to fund Gigawatt batteries being developed by the next generation of energy storage companies, like Gravitricity, Highview Power, Siemens Ganesa and Zinc8.
Thermal Energy Storage The Key To Reducing Agricultural Food Pollution
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on EurekAlert.
These two paragraphs, introduce the article and give the aim of the project.
University of South Australia thermal energy researcher Professor Frank Bruno has been awarded almost $1 million by the Federal Government to find a solution to agricultural pollution in Australia and India.
Prof Bruno, South Australian Energy Chair at UniSA’s Future Industries Institute, will lead a collaborative project with India’s biggest private university, LPU, to develop a renewable energy-driven food processing and drying system which alleviates both pollution and landfill issues in both countries.
The big problem in India is air pollution, a lot of which is caused by farmers burning rice husks. By collecting solar energy, which will be stored as heat and used to dry crops, there is hope that this pollution can be reduced.
The whole article is very much a must-read.
Conclusion
This very much sounds like a good way to cut pollution in areas with lots of solar energy.
Limach And Hyperdrive Partner On Electric Machines
The title of this post, is the same as that as of this article on International Rental News.
This second deal from Hyperdrive Innovation is with Dutch excavator manufacturer Limach.
This paragraph from the article is important.
The construction industry is responsible for 40% of European carbon emissions, making it an urgent priority for decarbonisation to meet net zero targets.
That is a lot of carbon.
Multi-Million-Pound Battery Partnership Announced
The title of this post, is the same as that as of this article on Eureka magazine.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Hyperdrive Innovation, the UK’s leading designer and manufacturer of lithium-ion battery technology, today announces a new multi-million-pound 4-year supply agreement with Moffett, part of Hiab and world leading forklift truck manufacturer, to supply state-of-the-art battery packs for zero-emission machinery.
This seems to be a big deal for the Sunderland-based manufacturer, who are also working with Hitachi to provide battery packs for Hitachi’s Regional Battery Train.
Hyperdrive Innovation certainly must be developing some of the best battery technology available.
This Material Can Store The Sun’s Energy For Months, Maybe Even Years
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Anthropocene.
This is the sub-title.
Thin coatings of the material could soak up sun in summer months and provide heat to buildings in winter, all without using fuel or electricity.
This sounds like something to file under Too Good To Be True.
But the research does come from the University of Lancaster and uses a type of material called a metal-organic framework.
Conclusion
Increasingly, it seems to me, that we’re seeing lots of outstanding chemistry coming to the fore.
Work Begins On New Substation For World’s Longest Electricity Cable Between Denmark and Lincolnshire
The title of this post, is the same as that, of this article on Lincolnshire Live.
This is the sub-title.
Britain and Denmark will be able to share enough clean energy to power 1.5 million homes.
The Viking Link is a 1400 MW at 525 KV electricity interconnector between Bicker Fen in Lincolnshire and Revsing in Jutland, Denmark.
This Google Map, shows the location of Bicker Fen, about halfway between Boston and Sleaford.
This second map shows an enlarged view of the Bicker Fen area.
Note.
- The village of Bicker in the South-East corner of the map.
- In the North-West corner of the map is Bicker Fen Wind Farm.
This third map shows the wind farm.
Note the thirteen wind turbines between the two sub-stations full of wo electrical gubbins.
This sentence from the Wikipedia entry for Bicker, gives more details of the wind farm and the future plans for the area.
North of the main line of 400 kV pylons is the Bicker Fen windfarm consisting of 13 turbines producing 26 MW (2 MW each), enough for 14,000 homes. The construction of the windfarm met some local objection. The windmills sit north from Poplartree Farm and were built in June 2008 by Wind Prospect for EdF. They are of the type REpower MM82, made in Hamburg. Bicker Fen substation is also the proposed landing site for a 1,400 MW power cable from Denmark called Viking Link, as well as the proposed offshore wind farm Triton Knoll.
Triton Knoll is a big wind farm, with a planned capacity of 857 MW and should start producing electricity in the next couple of years.
Conclusion
The Viking Link and Triton Knoll are obviously a good fit, as the UK will be able to exchange energy as required.
But it would appear that there’s one thing missing from this setup – energy storage.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a large battery built at Bicker Fen. Something, like one of Highview Power‘s CRYOBatteries might be ideal.
Battery Life: The Race To Find A Storage Solution For A Green Energy Future
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Financial Times.
It is a long article, that gives a good review of the technologies available to store energy from wind and solar power.
It gives a lot more details and an image of the Siemens Gamesa hot rock energy storage system in Hamburg.
- It uses a thousand tonnes of volcanic rock.
- It can store 130 MWh of electricity.
The system has apparently been designed to re-use the turbines from closing coal-fired power stations, which is an innovative idea.
The Anonymous Widower 