Talking Climate Tech 029

After a couple of weeks looking at Minewater Geothermal in our 🔦 Spotlight feature, and last week 💸 Investment News from the IEA global energy data, it's time to head back to our regular feature, 🚀 Startup News.

After recently writing about the US LNG / EU Tariff dance in Newsletter 028, my methane senses were on high alert. I picked up some reading on a methane monitoring scale-up, and as our most pressing short-term emissions problem, I thought it was worth exploring further.

Previously, we looked at some methane-related startups in Newsletter 012 - check those x3 out again for a refresh, and let's see what else is happening.

🚀 Startup News

A quick refresher on why we are here on methane again.

🔴 100-year timescale, methane has x28 > GWP than CO2

🔴 20-year timescale, methane is x84 > GWP than CO2

Cutting methane rapidly has a huge impact on the GWP and emissions through to 2050. It's the naughty one in the corner that doesn't get as much coverage as CO2. From IEA:

Close to 70% of methane emissions from fossil fuels come from the top 10 emitting countries

Around 40% of today’s methane emissions from fossil fuels could be avoided at no net cost.

The methane-watch map is taken from Kayrros satellite data - country view, and also switches to super-emitter view.

Cutting methane emissions from fossil fuels by 75% by 2030 is vital to limit warming to 1.5°c.

The Oil & Gas Climate Initiative has also created this Methane Library if you want to explore further strategies and solutions in the sector.

I should also mention at this point, once more, the amazing work of Oilfield Witness, Sharon Wilson + team. The Methane-Hunter casts an investigative thermal imaging camera eye, to show us what methane plumes actually look like.

Oilfield Witness uses a Teledyne FLIR G620 optical gas imaging (OGI) camera that is calibrated to detect hydrocarbons (methane and volatile organic compounds) in the 3.2 - 3.4 micrometer wavelength band of the electromagnetic spectrum (also called the energy spectrum). Humans see in the 0.4 - 0.7 micrometer range (visible light). Hydrocarbons absorb infrared light, so they appear opaque when using the OGI camera allowing us to "see" the methane and VOC emissions.

It's a big zepplin - they have moved from 9ft, to 70ft, to the big one at 217ft. Filled with helium, powered by solar and battery, it offers long-term monitoring. What's the pitch?

Sceye’s HAPS are designed to stay airborne in the stratosphere – between 60,000 ft and 65,000 ft – for months to a year at a time with powerful solar arrays, and best-in-class batteries, enabling our HAPS to stay over an area of operation and provide unparalleled telecommunications service and earth observation

They have focused on HAPS for the specific opportunity that sits betwen the other 3 solutions. 💡

It's not just methane emissions monitoring, think maritime shipping emissions, forest fires, or anything. The other big ticket deliverable - broadband - brings high-speed internet via a single HAPS to hundreds of thousands of devices at a time in any area. Interesting. 📶

Recent project with the EPA on methane monitoring - the pilot's next stage will move on from continuous high-res monitoring to real-time mapping and alerts with 4-inch optical and 10-foot infrared resolution. 🔎

🔎 Deeper Dive

Data Centres ℹ️

We know there is already a huge push on DC growth as the world continues to digitise. Add on top of that the exponential forecast growth to handle the AI era, and it's a bit of a feeding frenzy out there.

The impact on climate and energy - specifically how they are powered, cooled, and the environmental impact, typically on water resources and land use, are key to a sustainable digital era.

🇮🇪 Ireland plans legislation for data centres to build and run their own power lines

More from DCD. After the moratorium on new DC builds in Dublin since 2022 due to grid constraints, this looks to unlock the AI opportunity. They will be required to provide dispatchable generation and/or storage capacity to match the requested connection capacity. Let's hope that doesn't unleash a gas turbine frenzy - the proposed policy currently looks to be ruling that out, for now...

🇬🇧 Large data centres should be cooled with "treated sewage effluent" rather than drinking water

More from the BBC. Interesting call from Anglian Water on this, we know due to limited investment in UK water infrastructure, we seem to be under constant pressure - heading towards drought, or in flood. DCs certainly should be using treated water rather than potable water, just to relieve pressure on the system as a whole.

With more closed-loop and liquid-cooled systems, this may not be as big an issue in the US, but it still needs careful planning in the UK with the AI boom on the way.

🇵🇹 1.2 GW data centre campus, creating one of the largest and most sustainable ecosystems by harnessing the cooling power of the ocean

More from Gleeds. This 6-building facility, approx 30,000m² for the 220MW spaces, will be powered by renewable energy and use the adjacent Atlantic as a heat sink for cooling.

💥 Trump Watch

Even though I've been feeling a bit sorry for myself this week, I can still always turn to DJT for some amusement.

Before we get to the ridiculous Kool-Aid, let's check in on the key impact news.

The Truth Will Out ⚫

Nice update from Chris Wright, US Energy Secretary this week:

“Hydrocarbons are and will continue to be essential to improving the wealth, health, and lives of all human beings.”

He used to work in fracking and is Trump's choice to grease the wheels between the Whitehouse and the Fossil Fuel sector. Good recap on the continued assault on science, from E&E News.

He seems to have forgotten the various studies into this. Here is one from Harvard, which looked at 2018 data, pegging US deaths from FF at 350,000 per year, and globally 1 in every 5. 🤯

Selective Memory 💭

Not much else on climate this week, thankfully - he's been quite busy, at the G7, which he then got bored at and left. Mainly because his mate Vlad the Impaler isn't allowed back in to make it a G8 again. Politico.

Trump: ‘There would be no war’ if Russia were in G8

He forgot that Vald got kicked out of the G8 because he invaded Ukraine the first time. 🙄

Now he's thinking about bunker busters for Iran. Brace yourselves, this could get messy. Expect further oil price surges, more fuel poverty, inflation and economic headwinds. The Guardian.

Bling Bling 📱

Onto the latest Trump-grift, a mobile phone and network offer! It's no ordinary phone, this special one is GOLD...it's a beauty!

The MAGA bling is short on details, but it is supposed to be manufactured in the US, because it will Make America Great Again, and incredibly, for just $499. 🤣

🏡 Konfab News

Nothing exciting from me this week, just Nimbus Covid and some hayfever. 😷

😃 Good Stuff

Here are a couple of nice things to end the week on:

Mycelium Elephant 🐘 - I have written about this wonder fungi before, remarkable stuff. Now, some bright sparks in Singapore have created a new building material that mimics elephant skin, which will passively cool buildings.

Everything Comes Back Round 🎈- As we had a zepplin earlier, could they be making a comeback for transport and freight also? Like flares, everything comes back around, right? Airships are back in fashion!

⚡ Pylon of the Month

Your Tower of Power gives us pause for thought - fancy climbing those steps?

No technicals on this one, just a note of recognition and thanks to all those engineers who scale the heights to keep us connected. 🫡 ⚡

On that bombshell....

Thanks as always, let's keep pushing forward - remember, the momentum is unstoppable despite everything you might see and hear! 🌍

Stay warm, cool, dry, wet and safe wherever you are 🙏

Kane

Talking Climate Tech is free to its subscribers, but it does take a lot of time, energy and a fair bit of coffee to make it happen! 🥺

If you would like to support me, I could always use an extra cup... ☕ ⬇️