Global Climate News: Aug 14-16

In this newsletter

• Reducing the costs of Long Duration Energy Storage
• Beavers, Wetlands, Blue Carbon Projects
• News from Governments
• Top stories

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Reducing the costs of Long Duration Energy Storage

A new report from the U.S. Department of Energy looks at the technology innovations needed to achieve a 90% cost reduction in long duration energy storage by 2030, with a target of $0.05/kWh LCOS (levelised cost of storage) or less.

Ten technologies across 4 categories have been considered

• Electrochemical energy storage: flow batteries (FBs), lead-acid batteries (PbAs), lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), sodium (Na) batteries, supercapacitors, and zinc (Zn) batteries
• Chemical energy storage: hydrogen storage
• Mechanical energy storage: compressed air energy storage (CAES) and pumped storage hydropower (PSH)
• Thermal energy storage (TES)

The following graph shows the range of LCOS for each technology if the top 10% of the cost reducing technology innovations are implemented. Only 3 technologies - Pumped storage hydropower, compressed air energy storage and flow batteries - are expected to reach the target cost of $0.05/kWh

However, both pumped hydropower and compressed air energy storage will require an investment of $500-800 million and 7-9 years to achieve the potentially low LCOS. On the other hand, lead-acid and zinc batteries can get to an LCOS of less than $0.10/kWh with an investment of $200 million and in less than 7 years. For lithium-ion batteries, both large-scale investment (>$1 billion) and a longer time period of 10 years is needed to approach the target LCOS of $0.05/kWh.

Achieving the promise of low-cost long duration energy storage, U.S. DoE, August 2024

Beavers, Wetlands, Blue Carbon Projects

The beaver, a large rodent that can live on land and in water, is a protected species in England and Scotland since 2022. Hunting of beavers for fur and a scent oil called castoreum led to their near-extinction over the past few decades.Theirpopulations are now beginning to rise in England and Scotland, where national programmes have been instituted to revive their numbers and an annual census is taken.

A major reason for the interest in beavers is their role in creating and maintaining wetlands. Beavers build dams and lodges using vegetation and mud. These structures slow the flow of water in small streams, preventing downstream flooding and aiding the formation of wetlands over time.

Wetlands, previously considered as wastelands, are “areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season”. Acting as reservoirs for large amounts of water, wetlands reduce the momentum of flowing water, preventing erosion of fertile topsoil and flooding.

the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found that protecting wetlands along the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts, saved $17 million in potential flood damage.

Since water flows slowly or remains stagnant for long periods in wetlands, sediments from it settle and many nutrients, wastes and impurities are absorbed by plants and decomposed by soil microbes. Over time, much of the nutrients and pollutants have been cleared from the water, and filtered water flows out of the wetlands.

Some types of wetlands are so good at this filtration function that environmental managers construct similar artificial wetlands to treat storm water and wastewater. U.S. EPA

The presence of water and nutrient-rich soil allows both lots of vegetation and aquatic species like fish to thrive in wetlands. Their biodiversity is comparable to that of coral reefs and rainforests.

Although wetlands make up only around 6 per cent of the Earth’s surface, 40 percent of all known plant and animal species live or breed in wetlands. Wetlands therefore hold a significant proportion of global biodiversity, with the freshwater component alone accounting for an estimated 12% of all species that you do not need a microscope to see including over one third of vertebrates, almost all amphibians, and half of fishes. Src

Many countries - Canada, the USA, Australia, the UK, Denmark - have wetland restoration programmes in place. Wetland restoration projects (one type of Blue Carbon Projects) are also being funded through the voluntary carbon market.

In a wetland, more carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and incorporated into vegetation and soil than in either a forest or an upland prairie. A study by The Conservation Fund found that wetlands store 81 to 216 metric tons of carbon per acre, depending on their type and location. Src

The carbon project registry Verra’s methodology for wetland restoration is under review, and is expected to be finalised later this year. Restoring these ecosystems is also an explicit target under Target 2 on restoration in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The Guardian | U.S. EPA - Wetlands

News from Governments

• China has published an action plan for a new electricity system that aims to enhance transmission capacity, increase wind and solar capacity in deserts and desertified areas, and upgrade coal-based power plants to reduce their emissions intensity. Press Release
• China’s Ministry of Emergency Management has launched an AI model for disaster prevention and emergency response.
• China has introduced a regulation for protecting glaciers, effective October 1 2024, in its Xizang Autonomous region which has 41% of China’s glaciers and 40% of the country’s lake area. The regulation will introduce “a responsibility system and performance evaluation mechanism for glacier protection goals, and establishes punitive measures for violations.” Press Release

Top Stories

1. US-based Oklo, which is building sodium-cooled nuclear fission micro-reactors in 15MW and 50MW configurations, has reported a non-binding letters of intent for 1350MW of reactor capacity in its Q2 earnings udpate. Interested buyers include operators of offshore oil facilities and data centers. "Oklo expects its plants’ levelized electricity costs to range from $40/MWh to $90/MWh, according to its shareholder presentation." Utility Dive
2. Shipping industry leaders in the UK and Europe are looking into the feasibility of a nuclear-powered container ship. Press Release
3. The US may alter its stance on production of plastics, at the final negotiations on the Plastic Pollution Treaty to be held in November 2024 in South Korea. Previously, the US, Saudi Arabia and China have focused on recycling measures, rather than reducing production. But a number of EU member states, and countries like South Korea and Canada are now in favour of reducing plastic production. Reuters
4. Rising sea levels are making the groundwater of island nations unsafe for drinking. The salinity of wells is rising both due to more frequent flooding at high tide, and because depleted underground aquifers pull in seawater as more freshwater is extracted. The Guardian
5. JOMOO, a bath and kitchen brand based in China, is now using robots that can work without lighting on its production line. Previously, hundreds of LEDs were needed per injection molding machine. Press Release
6. The International Chamber of Shipping, a global trade association of shipowners and operators, has proposed a fee of $60 per tonne of conventional fuel oil used for a period of 5 years to support the uptake of low-carbon fuels for shipping. The association posits that the $60 fee combined with a reward of $100 per tonne of CO? emissions prevented could reduce the current cost disadvantage of synthetic fuels and scale their uptake. Offshore Energy
7. Reducing lignin content is a key step in making densified wood - the naturally-occurring fibres of hemicellulose and lignin are broken down chemically and compressed mechanically making wood that is upto 3 times denser and stronger than natural wood. Scientists have now genetically engineered a variety of the Poplar tree to reduce its lignin content, to get wood that is “as strong as densified wood from chemical treatment” after soaking in water and hot pressing. Innovation News | Genome-edited trees for high-performance engineered wood
8. Antimicrobial resistance - when bacteria, fungi and parasites no longer respond to medicinal drugs - is a rising and critical risk as per the recent UN Global Foresights Report. A new study has found high levels of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in wild birds, that often travel over long distances showing up in urban centres. These birds can transmit the resistant bacteria to those reared in poultry farms, creating a pathway for the microbes to reach humans. Landfill sites, and water bodies polluted with sewage are likely sources of these microbes for wild birds. The Guardian
9. Hydrogen and ammonia update from pv magazine
10. New reports - Europe’s Sustainability Transitions Outlook by the European Environment Agency

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