Sapere Aude
Tag: energy
Possible 5X improvement in heat exchangers
Researchers have discovered a simple way to give a major boost to turbulent heat exchange, a method of heat transport widely used in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. In a paper published in Nature Communications, the researchers show that adding a readily available organic solvent to common water-based turbulent heat exchange systems can boost their capacity to move heat by 500%
In Britain, the birthplace of the industrial revolution, no coal has been used to produce power for the last 11 days. This is an arresting chart of how quickly the country’s reliance on coal has been reduced:
The fossil fuel industry is pushing lawmakers to implement a tax on CO2 emissions, but environmentalists are skeptical of its newfound support for climate action.
Solar is 50% worse than nuclear for lifetime CO2 emissions per kilowatt-hour. Nuclear and wind tie for the best.
Despite its advanced age, the average American plant has a generating capacity—a measure of the percentage of time a reactor is producing energy—of more than 90%. Plants abroad have an average generating capacity of 75%. “In terms of the ability to reliably generate electricity and safely generate electricity, the US fleet still sets the standard for performance. The place that the US is falling behind in is in the ability to build a new plant at schedule and at a low cost. A combination of solar, wind, and nuclear led to decarbonization at the lowest cost. New York, New Jersey, and Illinois have introduced subsidies to keep their nuclear power plants profitable and running, rather than trying to meet energy demands with renewables alone. But keeping America’s current fleet running is not enough to decarbonize the electricity sector.”
it wouldn’t need saving if people weren’t so dumb and mood-affiliated.
Fastest-growing jobs: solar panel installer, wind turbine techs
2021-04-14: The way to do this is not with silly nonsense like union jobs
What we need to produce are very cheap renewable technologies, ones so cheap that the poorer countries of the world will adopt them as well. If we insist on packing a lot of labor costs (“good jobs”) into our energy technologies, we will not come close to achieving that end.
I was disappointed and unnerved by recent comments from Brian Deese, President Joe Biden’s top economic adviser, who in the context of climate change remarked that “…investing in infrastructure can be one of the most effective ways to do that in a way that creates lots of jobs.” The correct Econ 101 answer, of course, is that a low-jobs energy infrastructure liberates labor to produce other goods and services for us, leading to higher overall output. Such policies remind me of the “make-work” fallacy, namely the view that the deliberate creation of domestic jobs (for instance through tariffs) will lead to a better economy. We will wind up with more good jobs in total if we seek to lower green energy prices, not raise them.
There are estimates that perovskite solar panels could cost just 10 to 20 cents per watt, compared to 75 cents per watt for traditional silicon-based panels — anywhere from 3X to 8X cost savings. Perovskite’s conversion efficiency has increased at an astounding rate over the last 4 years — from 4% to nearly 20%. And this is just the beginning — the theoretical limit of perovskite’s conversion efficiency is 66%, compared to silicon’s theoretical limit of 32%.
Perhaps even more important than how much electricity EVs would consume is the question of when it would be consumed. We based the above estimates on optimal, off-peak charging patterns. If instead most EVs were to be charged in the afternoon, the electricity grid would need more generation capacity to avoid outages. While EVs might increase the amount of electricity the US consumes, the investment required to accommodate them may be smaller than it appears. Many regions already have sufficient generation capacity if vehicles are charged during off-peak hours. The energy storage on board EVs could provide the flexibility needed to shift charging times and help grid operators better manage the supply and demand of electricity.
2021-02-09: The US doesn’t have a charging standard. This is insane. Of course it means that Tesla becomes the standard.
2022-02-08: EV uptake simulation as a function of charging infrastructure. Pretty dumb simulation as it predicts a decline in EV sales.
50% of adults who are aware of electric vehicles say they are unlikely to seriously consider purchasing one. Consumers hesitant to make the switch cite concerns such as the high purchase price, limited driving range and lack of sufficient charging infrastructure.
Using a model that is a stylized portrayal of the US auto market, we’re able to simulate the impact of policies intended to overcome these concerns about EVs. Each scenario assumes a limited number of vehicle technologies are available to consumers; the number of cars on the road remains constant; new powertrains are supported by targeted advertising campaigns to raise awareness.
2022-10-14: Shell is trying to convert their gas stations to electric, but are not price competitive. A Tesla Model 3 has a max battery of 82 kwh, which would cost £23 at the average rate, not £35. And much much cheaper at home. In a world where every parking spot can become a charging spot (why not?), this business plan isn’t going to work.
With 46k stations in 80 countries, Shell is the world’s biggest gasoline retailer. The Fulham station is one of several prototypes it’s planning as more cars shift to battery power, aiming to get feedback on what works while laying the groundwork to hit a target of net-zero emissions by 2050. Charging can be done more or less anywhere there’s a plug, so the issue is one that the oil giants, regional chains, and independents that run the world’s 770k filling stations will confront in the coming decades. What’s the value of their real estate in cities and on highways worldwide? Will people still show up if recharging takes 30 minutes or more? Is there a business model that will work for filling stations when people can also charge up at home, the office, or the mall? One advantage they can bring is faster fill-ups: as little as 10 to 20 minutes vs. many hours when using a standard charger at home. And they typically occupy prime locations with lots of traffic, where tired and hungry drivers are likely to grab a coffee or a snack while charging their cars.
At the Fulham facility, fully charging a Tesla Model 3 takes 30 min and can cost more than £35
2022-10-20: Drastically faster charging allows for much smaller batteries, which is great for battery supply, car efficiency and cost. The fastest Tesla supercharger takes 20 min and is not recommended for daily use.
A breakthrough in electric vehicle battery design has enabled a 10-minute charge time for a typical EV battery. “Our fast-charging technology works for most energy-dense batteries and will open a new possibility to downsize electric vehicle batteries from 150 to 50 kWh without causing drivers to feel range anxiety. The smaller, faster-charging batteries will dramatically cut down battery cost and usage of critical raw materials such as cobalt, graphite and lithium, enabling mass adoption of affordable electric cars.
The technology relies on internal thermal modulation, an active method of temperature control to demand the best performance possible from the battery. Batteries operate most efficiently when they are hot, but not too hot. Keeping batteries consistently at just the right temperature has been major challenge for battery engineers. Historically, they have relied on external, bulky heating and cooling systems to regulate battery temperature, which respond slowly and waste a lot of energy.
The researchers developed a new battery structure that adds an ultrathin nickel foil as the fourth component besides anode, electrolyte and cathode. Acting as a stimulus, the nickel foil self-regulates the battery’s temperature and reactivity which allows for 10-minute fast charging on just about any EV battery.
2022-11-11: Tesla opensources their charger (as previously predicted)
With more than 10 years of use and 30b EV charging km to its name, the Tesla charging connector is the most proven in North America, offering AC charging and up to 1 MW DC charging in one slim package. It has no moving parts, is 50% the size, and 2x as powerful as Combined Charging System (CCS) connectors.
In pursuit of our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, today we are opening our EV connector design to the world. We invite charging network operators and vehicle manufacturers to put the Tesla charging connector and charge port, now called the North American Charging Standard (NACS), on their equipment and vehicles. NACS is the most common charging standard in North America: NACS vehicles outnumber CCS 2:1, and Tesla’s Supercharging network has 60% more NACS posts than all the CCS-equipped networks combined.
2022-11-28: Dumb scaling beats working with local mafias.
Charging EVs in parking lots with solar power is a marriage made in heaven. But the general rule for any solar or charging installation is that it be grid tied, so it can charge vehicles from the grid when the sun is not shining, and feed excess power back to the grid when the cars are not charging. Beam builds their stations in their factory, at scale — which is a big cost win — and then ships them on a flatbed trailer to the site, where they are simply dropped in any sunny parking spot. Without permits or contractors this can be done immediately, not months later. The Beam system is not cheap, however. Just cheaper for some locations than the high cost of traditional install.
US could save $78B by shutting down coal plants
42% of global coal capacity is already unprofitable because of high fuel costs; by 2040 that could reach 72% as existing CO2 pricing and air pollution regulations drive up costs while the price of onshore wind and solar power continues to fall; any future regulation would make coal power still more unprofitable.
It costs more to run 35% of coal power plants than to build new renewable generation; by 2030 building new renewables will be cheaper than continuing to operate 96% of today’s existing and planned coal plants.
China could save $389B by closing plants in line with the Paris Climate Agreement instead of pursuing business as usual plans; the EU could save $89B; the US could save $78B; and Russia could save $20B.
In Arizona, however, where a recent poll found that 75% of the electorate wanted more solar energy, A.P.S. has spent $22m campaigning against Prop 127. “You’d think we were proposing something truly harmful and dangerous”. He hasn’t been shy in returning the blows, spending $18m supporting Prop 127 through Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona. Their biggest expense was a paid force of petitioners who spread out across the state to collect 480k signatures to get the initiative on the ballot, 2x the amount required by law. “We’re on the side of the angels. This is a black-hat, white-hat fight.”
Gregor J. Rothfuss 