Talking Climate Tech 004 redux
Thermal Storage Startups, Industrial Heat Pumps, Wet House and Pylon of the Month!
Issued to subscribers 13th December 2024.
We are almost over the line and into the Christmas Holidays, and a well-deserved break for all. Get yourself a mince pie and have a read, you've earned it.
Warm and cosy? What we do with heat, how we generate it, use it, and waste it, are all important for our global decarbonisation strategy. Residential heat is for another time, let's take a look at big industrial thermal storage ♨️
💸 Startups to Watch
We will be exploring thermal energy storage more deeply in the New Year, in the meantime, here are 3 to watch.
🇦🇺 MGA Thermal added a total of $14m in its pre-series B, to advance its modular thermal blocks. This brings them up to a total of around $31m in equity and grants. More on MGA here.
Why it matters - storing renewable energy for later use, and avoiding curtailment is vital to decarbonising grids and industrial processes.
🇳🇴 Kyoto Group are further on their way to commercialisation of their Heat Cube for decarbonising industrial process heat. An energy infrastructure fund has gone in with an additional $26m investment.
Why it matters - process heat in industrial applications is a big-ticket item on the global decarbonisation list. More on their molten salt approach here.
🇺🇸 Rondo Energy are heading over to Europe, having picked up a handy $75m project support from the European Investment Bank and Breakthrough Energy Catalyst. You can read more on Rondo here and those projects here.
Why it matters - decarbonising industrial process heat of course! Dispatchable heat 24/7 at controllable flow rates and temperatures can replace fossil-fired boilers.
🔎 Deeper Dive
A few more snippets to keep you going through the weekend and beyond...
Electrification means it's all about the heat pumps. Check out this beast that will serve heat to 25,00 homes - the largest CO2 sea-water based heat pump is online and in test. ⚙️
That follows on from this 33MW air-water plant in Finland, which will save 56,000t of CO2 per year. MAN Energy Solutions getting it done. ✅
It's not just power that's an issue for Data Centres and our thirst for all things digital. Water is equally challenging. Microsoft has come up with a zero water evaporation for cooling design. More on water challenges and Data Centres here.
On that note, here in the UK there are alternate approaches to utilising waste heat from Data Centres, which impacts cooling needs and water consumption. A few months back, Octopus went in deep, with UK startup Deep Green. 👏
EV news update - even the Pope has gone electric. 🚗
🏡 Konfab News
Busy week at HQ, I have been editing the first episode of the video podcast. So, that takes a lot longer than expected, even with AI tools at your fingertips. 😀
The good news is, all done - dive on in! 🎙️
Kane Watkinson
Episode 1 - "Talking Climate Tech" Amrit Chandan
😃 Other Stuff
Money to wash away?
If you have money to burn, or wash away, why not buy a $295m house on the beach? And then watch it float away in a few years time. Some people really do have too much money and few observational skills when it comes to climate change.
🔴 68% risk of flooding in the next 15 years
🔴 95% chance of a flood over the next three decades
🔴 Flood exposure is “severe” and its risk from winds is “extreme”
Oliver Milman
$295m property will be worthless due to flooding
Why does it matter? Escalating insurance costs, subsidies and policy support for areas that can't be saved with defences in the longer term are going to play a critical role in driving our behaviours in response to climate change. It's always about the money, isn't it.
Trump Energy News
Nothing like annoying your neighbours before you've even moved in! It must be part of his famous 'negotiating skills' 🙄
CBS provided an update from Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who is swinging back 🥊 threatening to cut off the province’s electricity exports to the United States in the pending tariff wars:
“Depending how far this goes, we will go to the extent of cutting off their energy, going down to Michigan, going down to New York State, and over to Wisconsin,” Ford said. “I don’t want this to happen, but my number one job is to protect Ontario, Ontarians, and Canadians as a whole.”
How big is that punch? Well, it could be a haymaker - roughly 85% of U.S. electricity imports come from Canada, with Ontario sending down 13.9 million megawatt-hours of electricity, to power approximately 1.5 million American homes with nuclear and hydropower.
Meanwhile, Denmark and the rest of the world will be laughing as news resurfaces of him trying to buy Greenland, again. 🤯
Pylon of the Month
Fancy taking a look at a new design this month? Of course you do - last year National Grid energised 36 of the world’s first T-pylons between Bridgwater and Loxton in Somerset, with another 80 following-on in 2024.
The T-pylon design, the first major UK redesign since 1927, has a single pole and cross shaped arms, and is around a third shorter than traditional high-voltage pylon design with a smaller ground footprint.
Awards Season
End of the year means it's award nominations time. 'Friends of the show' REGEN are organising the Green Energy Awards 2024. Nominations are open in a range of categories, and you can attend the event itself in March. 🥂
Have a further read of their fascinating deep dives into key areas of the energy transition in the UK - policy, planning, a just transition, community energy, storage and distribution. 💡
That's it, see you next Friday.
Kane 🌱
PS - New subscribers can catch up on all the news via the links below ⬇️
