Energy Storage Takes On Weird New Forms As Sparkling Green Future Takes Shape
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on CleanTechnica.
The first section is entitled Gravity-Enabled Energy Storage Tested By Scotland’s Gravitricity and explains it well.
It then writes an interesting aside about pairing a Gravitricity system, with an idea from GE, in a section, which is entitled A Wind Power & Energy Storage Twofer, Maybe.
GE were proposing a lattice-style wind-turbine tower, so why not put a Gravitricity system inside?
Hence the maybe in the section title!
I can imagine an office or residential tower with a Gravitricity system built into the lift core in the centre of the building. Top the building with solar panels or wind turbines and you’re going some way towards a building that could be self-sufficient in energy.
Putting two and two together, so they add up to five, is the best way to improve efficiency.
The last section is entitled How To Do Energy Storage Without Any Energy Storage.
As I have never played a computer game, I don’t understand it, but it is based on research at two reputable universities; Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands and Northwestern University in the US.
Conclusion
We will be seeing weirder and weirder ideas for energy generation and storage in the future.
New Energy Storage “Water Battery” Breakthrough: Look Ma, No Underground Powerhouse
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on CleenTechnoca.
Pumped hydro storage as used at Dinorwig power station or Electric Mountain in the UK is a good way to store electricity.
But it is expensive to build and one of the major costs is building a large underground powerhouse. This is Wikipedia’s description of the construction of the powerhouse at Dinorwig.
Twelve million tonnes (12,000,000 long tons; 13,000,000 short tons) of rock had to be moved from inside the mountain, creating tunnels wide enough for two lorries to pass comfortably and an enormous cavern 51 metres (167 ft) tall, 180 metres (590 ft) long, and 23 metres (75 ft) wide[10] known as “the concert hall”. The power station comprises 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) of tunnels, one million tons of concrete, 200,000 tons of cement and 4,500 tons of steel.
That is big, but on the other hand, it reportedly paid for itself in two years.
According to the article, a company called Obermeyer Hydro Inc has come up with a new design of pumped storage turbine., which eliminated the need for an underground powerhouse.
- Cost savings of 45 % are claimed.
- Reading the full article, I get the impression, that a radical redesign of the reversible turbine will be a game-changer.
- I suspect, it could be of benefit in small countries like the UK, where pumped storage is expensive and faces strong opposition in certain areas.
It is also significant, that this appears to be successful innovation in an area, where it was thought we had reached the ultimate design.
Hitachi Rail To Acquire Perpetuum In Digital Expansion
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the first two paragraphs.
Hitachi Rail Ltd has agreed to acquire Southampton-based condition monitoring specialist Perpetuum as part of a strategy to strengthen the use of digital technology in rail operations.
Established as a university spin-off less than a decade ago, Perpetuum developed the use of bogie-mounted self-powered vibration sensors to monitor the condition of rolling stock. Wireless equipment fitted to around 3 000 vehicles operating across three continents sends back real-time data about the performance of wheelsets, gearboxes, motors and bogies.
It seems to me, that Hitachi have bought an interesting company.
Let’s hope they develop the technology, but keep that development in Southampton.
Do We Need More New Measurement Trains?
In New Measurement Train – 30th July 2020, I said this.
With all the spare InterCity 125 trains at present, will Network Rail create a second train?
We have now had the tragic Stonehaven Derailment, where three have been sadly killed.
Increasingly, we seem to be getting weather-related problems on the UK’s railways.
I can remember several in the last few years.
So perhaps just as the Hatfield Crash led to the New Measurement Train, we should up our testing and the development of new tests.
Extra trains would increase the amount of testing, but also provide more laboratory space to test the testing systems in real railway conditions.
Perhaps, if a University or high-tech company has a feasible idea, there should be a mechanism, whereby they can rent space in the trains, just as they can on satellite launchers.
Funding To Develop Geothermal Energy Plans For Disused Flooded Coal Mines
The title of this post, is the same as that of this page on the University of Strathclyde web site.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Researchers at the University of Strathclyde have won early stage funding to develop plans to tap into the geothermal energy contained within disused, flooded coal mines in Scotland.
I have talked about this technique before in Can Abandoned Mines Heat Our Future?, which I wrote after I attended a public lecture at The Geological Society.
This page on the Geological Society web site, gives a summary of the lecture and details of the speaker; Charlotte Adams of Durham University.
This paragraph indicates the scale of the Scottish project, which has been called HotScot.
Heat trapped in 600 km3 of disused mine-workings in the Central Belt of Scotland could meet up to 8% of Scotland’s domestic heating demand.
It looks to be a very comprehensive project.
Conclusion
As this appears to be the second project where disused coal mines are used as a source of heat, after one in Spennymoor, that I wrote about in Exciting Renewable Energy Project for Spennymoor. I wouldn’t be surprised to see other projects starting in other mining areas.
And not just in the UK, as techniques developed by engineers and scientists get more efficient and more affordable.
Turning Waste Plastic Into Hydrogen – Is This The Future?
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on H2 View.
This paragraph is a description of the process from Myles Kitcher of Peel L&P Environmental.
At Peel L&P Environmental we’ve been working with PowerHouse Energy who have developed a world first plastic to hydrogen technology. The first plant at Protos, our strategic energy and resource hub in Cheshire, is due to start construction later this year. It will take unrecyclable waste plastic – destined for landfill, or worse export overseas – and use it to create a local source of clean hydrogen to fuel buses, Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) and cars. Not only will this help reduce air pollution and improve air quality on local roads, it’s helping us deal with the pressing problem of plastic waste.
This sounds like an eminently sensible way of dealing with unrecyclable waste plastic.
The Schoolgirl Who Helped To Win A War
The title of this post, is the same as a programme to be shown on the BBC News Channel, this weekend.
Seeing the trailers on the BBC this morning, I am reminded of my mother, who was my mathematical parent. The girl in the story is Hazel Hill, who was the daughter of Captain Frederick William Hill, who worked on armaments research.
My mother would be a few years older than Hazel and won a scholarship to one of the best girls schools in London at the time; Dame Alice Owen’s, which was then in Islington.
I get the impression, that contrary to perceived opinion, that in the 1920s and 1930s, girls with aptitude were well-schooled in practical mathematics.
I’d be very interested to know, where Hazel Hill went to school.
I shall watch the programme.
South Wales Metro Railway Works Imminent
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
Work starts on the third of August and is described in this sentence,
TfW is now starting to build the South Wales Metro which will see major infrastructure works including the electrification of over 170km of track mostly with overhead lines, station and signalling upgrades and the construction of at least five new stations.
It will be one of the most innovative electrification projects ever performed in the UK, as it uses discontinuous electrification.
I explained discontinuous electrification in More On Discontinuous Electrification In South Wales, where I said this.
In the July 2018 Edition of Modern Railways, there is an article entitled KeolisAmey Wins Welsh Franchise.
This is said about the electrification on the South Wales Metro.
KeolisAmey has opted to use continuous overhead line equipment but discontinuous power on the Core Valley Lnes (CVL), meaning isolated OLE will be installed under bridges. On reaching a permanently earthed section, trains will automatically switch from 25 KVAC overhead to on-board battery supply, but the pantograph will remain in contact with the overhead cable, ready to collect power after the section. The company believes this method of reducing costly and disruptive engineering works could revive the business cases of cancelled electrification schemes. Hopes of having money left over for other schemes rest partly on this choice of technology.
Other points made include.
-
- A total of 172 km. of track will be electrified.
- The system is used elsewhere, but not in the UK.
- Disruptive engineering works will be avoided on fifty-five structures.
- Between Radyr and Ninian Park stations is also proposed for electrification.
Nothing is said about only electrifying the uphill track, which surely could be a way of reducing costs.
I wrote the last sentence, as surely coming down the hills, the trains can be powered by Newton’s friend.
The New Stations
This article on Business Live, gives the list of new stations and their completion dates.
- Crwys Road – End of 2022
- Loudoun Square – End of 2023
- Cardiff Bay – End of 2023
- Treforest Estate – End of 2025
- Gabalfa – 2028
If the builders crack on as they did at Horden station, I wouldn’t be surprised to see those dates achieved, with time to spare.
Vivarail And Hitachi Seem To Be Following Similar Philosophies
This press release on the Vivarail web site, is entitled Battery Trains And Decarbonisation Of The National Network.
This is the two paragraphs.
Vivarail welcomes the recent announcements regarding new technologies for rail, and the growing understanding that battery trains will be a key part of the decarbonisation agenda.
Battery trains have been much misunderstood until now – the assumption has been that they can’t run very far and take ages to recharge. Neither of these are true! Vivarail’s trains:
To disprove the assumptions, they then make these points.
- Have a range of up to 100 miles between charges
- Recharge in only 10 minutes
They also make this mission statement.
Vivarail’s battery train, Fast Charge and power storage system is a complete package that can drop into place with minimal cost and effort to deliver a totally emission-free independently powered train, ideally designed for metro shuttles, branch lines and discrete routes across the country.
They add these points.
- Batteries can be charged from 750 VDC third-rail or 25 KVAC overhead electrification or hydrogen fuel cells.
- A daily range of 650 miles can be achieved on hydrogen.
- Vivarail seem very positive about hydrogen.
- The company uses modern high-performance lithium Ion pouch batteries from Intilion.
- It also appears that Vivarail are happy to install their traction package on other trains.
The press release finishes with this paragraph.
The rail industry needs to move now to hit its own decarbonisation targets and assist with the national effort. Battery trains are the quick win to achieve that.
Following on from Hitachi’s announcement on Monday, that I wrote about in Hyperdrive Innovation And Hitachi Rail To Develop Battery Tech For Trains, it does appear that battery trains will be arriving soon in a station near you!
HS2 Trials UK’s First Electric Forklift
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
This is the introductory paragraph.
In their efforts to lessen their carbon footprint and support the country’s green economic recovery, HS2 are trailing the UK’s first electric forklift on one of its major construction sites in London.
The construction industry is certainly thinking about cutting its emissions.
The Anonymous Widower 