Hydrogen… what more can we wish for?

The Unpopular Blog Share this blog Subscribe to Blog Nr. 11 Hydrogen… what more can we wish for? Dr. Lars Schernikau Linkedin Instagram Youtube Twitter Content   A brief history of hydrogen  Why is carbon important for H2?  How to make H2 and what powers H2 storage?  What about money and safety?… Transport and Steel? […]

Natural Gas or Coal

Natural Gas or Coal, do we have a choice?

Electric vehicles part 2

Did you know, “Electrified Transport” is the single biggest investment envisioned for “NetZero”? Bloomberg New Energy Finance BNEF reported in May 2024 that we need to invest on average annually US$ 4.4 Tln in EVs from 2024 until 2050, or cumulatively US$ 120 Tln to reach “NetZero”! No wonder this is a “wanted” industry to be in… definitely worth to explore, don’t you think?

Electric vehicles part 1

EVs are lauded for their potential to slash CO2 emissions. However, a comprehensive environmental footprint considers more than just emissions. Factors like raw material extraction, energy consumption, and end-of-life disposal add layers to the sustainability narrative. Energy economist Michael Sura’s research delves into these aspects, offering insights into the nuanced environmental impact of EVs.

Nature’s influence on solar and wind power generation

When it comes to electricity generation, terms like capacity factor, utilization, and load factor often get thrown around like confetti at a parade. And guess what? They’re not synonymous with one another. A lot of confusion about using the term “capacity factor” stems from the press, certainly from politics, and even amongst “energy experts. It’s understandable, though. Knowing what phrases like “natural capacity factor” (nCF), “utilization”, “load factor”, and “conversion efficiency” really mean and which can be influenced/ improved with further investment is, in my opinion a crucial piece of the “renewable energy” puzzle…now as always with a puzzle let´s start with some corner stones/pieces

The Dilemma of Pricing CO2

CO2 pricing aims to internalize the external costs of CO2 emissions, thereby encouraging businesses and individuals to reduce their “carbon footprint”.

The concept is straightforward: by assigning a cost to CO2 emissions, it becomes financially advantageous to emit less CO2. However, this simplistic view overlooks significant complexities and unintended consequences.

Our entire existence is based on taking things from nature (“renewable” or not), so the “Net-Zero” discussion ignores a fundamental requirement of our survival. I agree that it should be our aim to reduce the environmental footprint as much as possible but only as long as our lives, health, and wealth don’t deteriorate as a result.

Now, I am sure, some readers and many “activists” may disagree, which I respect but find unrealistic at a global level. However, I would assume that most agree that no-one’s life ought to be harmed or shortened for the sake of reducing the environmental impact made. Otherwise, there is little room for a conversation

Why primary energy is still king

Primary energy is simply “raw unprocessed and free energy” we extract from nature (Lars Schernikau)
Discussions about the use of the primary energy metric have emerged as “renewables” such as wind and solar make up a larger share of electricity but a lower share of primary energy, as you can see in Figure 1. Some economists consider primary energy outdated and misleading because they consider that “primary energy” from solar and wind can be converted to usable electricity with little energy losses.

Coal’s importance for solar panel manufacturing

So why are coal and solar so closely interlinked? Why is it that solar panel manufacturing is impossible without coal?
So why are coal and solar so closely interlinked? Why is it that solar panel manufacturing is impossible without coal?
In this blog post you will see how important uninterrupted power supply is, especial for industrial processes such as silicon smelting. Obviously, this power comes from coal in China, and cannot come from wind or solar. Let’s dig deeper.

Energy Trilemma

Why “Renewables” cannot save but cost billions. Over the last 150 years, abundant electricity from coal and gas led to an unprecedented reduction in poverty, as well as an increase in longevity and health. Currently, these low cost, reliable power sources generate approximately 60% of electricity and 50% of primary energy worldwide. Primarily due to climate change concerns, coal and gas fuels are now slowly replaced by ‘renewables’, such as wind and solar based energy. But this comes with a cost.

Poverty, peace, health, education, and the environment should have our highest attention and are short of funds. We should divert investment from wind, solar and hydrogen and/or batteries to where the money will make a genuine positive impact to our environment and economies. For a truly long-term sustainable, energy dense future, in addition to more R&D and fission/fusion, we should invest in building/upgrading to newest high efficiency thermal power plants and installing up-to-date filter systems, globally.

Advantages of Nuclear Energy

The world’s first nuclear power plant started operation near Moscow in 1954. The following decades saw hundreds of nuclear reactors being built around the world, with the United States, France, and China leading the build-out, making up about half of today’s global installations. About 90 per cent of today’s operating nuclear reactors were built during the 1970s and 1980s, with a global average reactor age of about 32 years. Apparently over 90 per cent of US reactors received extensions to operate up to 60 years.
The world hosts about 420 GW of installed nuclear capacity, expected to rise to about 620 GW by 2050. Thus, today about 5 per cent of a total of 8.6 TW of installed power capacity is nuclear. The over 400 nuclear reactors contributed almost 10 per cent of global electricity generation of about 29,000 TWh in 2022 (Figure 1). (Only about 40 per cent of global primary energy of over 170,000 TWh is used to generate electricity; the other 60 per cent is used for industry, heating, and transport.)
Read about the advantages of nuclear energy