Google X spins off its molten salt grid scale storage business
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Renewable energy sources only generate electricity when the sun shines or the wind blows, so companies have to find a way to store it so it can be used in times of scarcity. One of the biggest problems with renewable energy is that when...
Futurist Keynote, Germany: Life in 2030, RWE
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF A lot has changed in the last ten years, and even more will change in the next ten. Are you ready? Firstly, a big thank you to Kathrin and the team for inviting me to be the keynote at this years RWE Leadership meeting...
Second hand electric vehicle batteries help Engie accelerate renewable energy uptake
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Renewable energy is clean and green, but when the sun goes down and the wind drops energy output falls, which means sustainable renewable energy needs grid scale battery storage to support it. Multinational energy utility Engie has launched a new grid connected storage project...
California replaces three coal fired power stations with battery systems
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Grid scale energy storage is now a viable economic alternative to coal fired power stations designed to top up the grid during peak demands. Grid scale energy storage is going to get a big boost after California officials, who also recently announced that Los...
Renewable energy smashes a major installation milestone, hits 1 Trillion watts
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The rise of renewable energy is on a tear, and it’s now looking unstoppable. Global wind and solar developers took 40 years to install their first trillion watts of power generation capacity, and, as electric vehicles get ready to take off, and as renewables...
Futurist keynote, Paris: The Future of Sustainable Cities, ChangeNOW Summit
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The effect that climate change and pollution is having on our society and wellbeing is well documented but it’s clear from this summit that for every problem we face there are hundreds of innovative solutions. Firstly, a big thanks to the wonderful team, lead...
Elon Musk beats his 100 day deadline to power up the world’s biggest battery
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The world’s thirst for renewable energy is increasing, almost exponentially, and dips in supply have to be met from battery storage systems like these. Elon Musk started building a giant mega battery for the South Australian outback earlier this year with the aim of preventing the...
MIT’s breakthrough air battery could make grid scale storage 80 percent cheaper
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Renewable energy sources are still, by their very nature, unreliable which is why we need cheap, grid scale energy storage solutions if we’re ever going to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels and nuclear power, and MIT’s latest breakthrough could move the dial The...
Australia is building the world’s biggest solar farm
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF With solar technology improving in efficiency, and reducing in cost countries now seem to be racing to embrace it and the projects are getting bigger and bigger The record for the largest solar power plant keeps changing hands,. One minute it’s Africa, the next it’s...
Scientists create the first carbon free supercapacitor
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Breakthroughs in supercapacitor technology will have multiple benefits, from helping to create new renewable energy grid-scale electric storage systems and faster electric vehicle charging systems Elon Musk last year went on record to say that if anything was going to accelerate the roll out...
The end of fossil fuels, Asia and Europe draw up a Global Energy Grid
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As renewable energy becomes more reliable countries around the world are seriously exploring connecting their energy grids together to form a Global Super Grid. Northeast Asia, the region encompassing China, South Korea, and Japan, has not yet gotten around to connecting its electricity grids...
LA will switch to battery power, in 2021
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF For the first time ever a city has selected to build an energy storage device over a conventional power station. By 2021, electricity use in the west Los Angeles area may be in for a climate change fighting evolution. For many years, the tradition...
