Talking Climate Tech 010 redux
Flow Battery Startups, Trump Carnage, No Science, Some Science, Soil Club and Pylon of the Month!
Issued to subscribers 7th February 2025.
You might have noticed global politics has taken a severe turn lately. 💣
This isn't intended to be a political newsletter. However, much of what we see in the US is now impacting climate change and tech deployment - investment, policy and projects. And in longer-term plays via natural resources, delay and scientific denial.
That's the climate impact and the elephant in the room. 🐘 Sorry, no orange one was available.
Once the legal challenges gather, we will get some respite and can refocus energy and resources positively, to reduce climate change impact as we desperately need.
💸 Startup News | 🔎 Deeper Dive | 🏡 Konfab News | 😃 Good Stuff
💸 Startup News
We looked at x3 Thermal Energy Storage Startups in Newsletter 004. Let's check in on some Long Duration Energy Storage wannabees - Flow Batteries.
To date, there has been huge amounts of coverage and deployment on Li-ion batteries at grid scale - and it keeps on rising in parallel with Solar PV cost reductions.
But lithium-ion resources are a challenge, especially in the current geopolitical, rapidly changing landscape, IEA;
While the global battery supply chain is complex, every step in it – from the extraction of mineral ores to the use of high-grade chemicals for the manufacture of battery components in the final battery pack – has a high degree of geographic concentration
Li-ion is great for demand flexibility, grid balancing and multi-hour storage, made possible through cost reduction, also from the IEA;
90% cost reductions since 2010, higher energy densities and longer lifetimes. Lithium-ion battery prices have declined from USD 1,400 per kilowatt-hour in 2010 to less than USD 140 per kilowatt-hour in 2023, one of the fastest cost declines of any energy technology ever..
But we also need some Long Duration Energy Storage which can run for days, weeks or even seasons.
Pumped Hydro is the incumbent king globally, there is about 9,000GWh of capacity. But we also need more flexible and localised solutions less bound by large scale infrastructure projects.
So is this finally the time of Flow Batteries? This is not new tech, it's been around in some form or another for a while! Bit more background on a recent EU project here by ESS Inc..
🇺🇸 Form Energy - Iron-air battery, $1.2bn total funding to date, Form Energy.
🇺🇸 ESS Inc. - Iron-air battery, $375m total funding to date, ESS.
🇩🇪 CMBlu - Organi SolidFlow battery, $110m total funding to date, CMBlu.
There are a lot of other startups coming to the table in the Flow Battery sector, up to around 100 by some analytics reports. Will be interesting to see if they can make the leap to scale. Expect new from China soon. They did just put a 175MW/700MWh vanadium redox flow project live in December 2024.
🔎 Deeper Dive
Trump Watch 💥
The shock & awe strategy and impact are beyond anything we have seen. It cannot go without commentary and raising awareness of the impacts.
Trump Climate 🌱
⚫ 'Unleashing American Energy' Executive Order here
🚫 Permitting stop on 168 solar & wind projects
🚫 Removing environmental protections for energy development permits
🚫 'Solar for All' $7bn programme paused
🚫 IRA funding paused - some funding pushing through & committed
Roughly 84%, or $96.7 billion, in IRA clean energy grants obligated pre Trump Reuters report. Under Biden, 53 deals amounting to approximately $107.57 billion in committed project investment.
🚫 Wind Energy Exec. Order dead-stop analysis, factcheck.org
Wind is the largest renewable generator in the US, 10% of the country’s electricity. More than 73,000 wind turbines generate a total of 153,000 MW to power 46 million homes, American Clean Power. $10 billion invested in new projects in 2023, employing 131,000 workers.
The good thing about data, it's digital - you can capture, recover, store and retain it. The fightback to keep science and policy in place is on, thanks Columbia Uni. NY 👏
Trump Resources 🏗️
If you haven't seen enough already, here is the latest:
🇨🇦 🇲🇽 Canada & Mexico - on a 30-day pause before tariff resumption 🥊
Mexico sends a lot to the US, in 2022, it was $421bn vs. $294bn. The MAGA followers aren't going to be happy with prices up, he promised prices down!
🚢 Panama [shipping] and 🧊 Greenland [natural resources] - all quiet.
🇨🇳 China has responded with a measured approach;
15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas products. 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine cars imported from the U.S.
🇬🇧 🇪🇺 The UK/EU are so far waiting for their turn. ⌛
Good news - UK/EU aren't that attached to US LNG [DJT's expected big stick] as Renewables are delivering. More from Ember Electricity Review here. €59bn saving suggests we are on the right path.
He hasn't forgotten 🇺🇦 Ukraine, he just forgot to pick up the phone and end the war in 24 hours. He definitely hasn't forgotten their natural resources. More on Ukraine's Rare Earths here and via the Politico map below. It might mean he helps push Vlad away from the good stuff for a 'deal'. 🤝
Why it Matters - The Energy Transition is dependent on natural resources, and Trump wants them to try and catch up with Chii-naa. But he also wants to 'drill baby drill' expand US fossil fuel and deny climate science. The thing is, no one knows what his plan is, and neither does he. He just wants to say publically he 'won' the deal, whatever it is - and whether he did or not doesn't matter.
Trump Extra 💣
The most insane element of all is this week's madness, upstaging himself to date - the ethnic cleansing, relocation of 1.8m people, and development of Gaza as a new 'Riviera' development. 🤯
Think Trump Towers, beachside luxury homes 🏖️ and golf resorts ⛳ all owned by the US / Trump, and of course built by the US. 🇺🇸
"Everybody loves it" apparently - apart from the Gazans obviously, the Middle East in general, plus the rest of the world.
Nearly forgot, elsewhere, SS Musk is running amok with some college kids in the US Gov. financial system - more on that dismantling of the US Federal machinery and ending global aid programmes here. TLDR - it's very bad.
In the face of adversity, love this from the British campaign group Led By Donkeys, projected onto the Berlin Tesla gigafactory 👏
Something Else 🌍
New research says, checks notes, yep, still getting hotter. We have blown past 1.5°C, and now some new research indicates we are going to fly right past 2°C. It's on the upper level of analysis from Hansen, who is known for punchy predictions, but he's usually close. Dive into the full details here. 🥵
TLDR - Why it Matters - AMOC to shut down in 20-30 years, way ahead of schedule. Think 'Day After Tomorrow' in slow motion, without the Hollywood glamour. Summary of AMOC impact here from National Oceanography Centre, UK.
Sadly, too often the health benefits of the transport and energy electricfication transition get lost in the noise of politics and investment. What could that look like in the the next 10-15 years? 🇺🇸 American Lung Association tells us;
$1.2 trillion in public health benefits by avoiding up to 110,000 premature deaths and 13 million lost work days due to poor air quality
Imagine that globally 🤔
🏡 Konfab News
Guest Article 📝
Just finishing our next guest post...
Scaling AI Utilisation for Industrial Decarbonisation.
This one is from Christopher Pilgrim of UKRI Innovate UK Business Connect, and is also part of a newly formed entity to specifically support this AI strategy. Standby...
Video Podcast 🎙️
Where is 🎙️Ep.2 anyway, I hear you ask. It's coming!
Next up is a leader and innovator in the philanthropic community, driving change and helping scale impact with a new approach....towards the end of February.
😃 Good Stuff
Nature 🌳
In our regular 'Nature is Speaking' spot, this week it's a reminder from Edward Norton on that thin 'layer of skin' that tops our planet and happens to feed us and keep us alive - The Soil 🌱
First Rule of Soil Club, Talk about Soil Club!
Climate Community 👥
Want to be part of a wider group of changemakers? I will be sharing some interesting climate communities that I can recommened.
First up, its Good Ripple, led by Founder Carlos Terol, you can follow him on LinkedIn here for some powerful and insightful impact content.
Good Ripple - 4,000 members, UK based, social impact & sustainability ✅
Pylon of the Month ⚡
Quite controversial, our old friend the pylon. Interesting programme on BBC Panorama this week about the Grid Upgrades in the UK.
There are always options, alternatives and environmental considerations. But invariably speed and cost are the determining factors - it's a tricky balancing act. Europe is flagged as having a more considered approach - more sub-surface lines and offshore converter stations, less obtrusive pylons.
They could be aspirational, a bit more of an art installation - a timely reminder of this classic from Choi + Shine Architects proposed for Iceland.
Thanks as always, let's keep pushing forward with all things climate tech and the real-world solutions that meet our climate challenges.
Remember, despite everything you might see and hear, the momentum is unstoppable! 🌍
Stay warm, cool and safe, wherever you are 🙏
Kane 🌱
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