Welcome to the Future of Energy

My guest this week is Will Hitchcock, solar energy expert and the founder and CEO at Above, a technology company that is using drones to accelerate the rollout of solar energy around the world.

I first met Will long before climate change became a major social and political issue. At a time when most people did not really understand drones and solar panels, I remember being fascinated by his plan to develop services which used drones to inspect large solar sites.

Seven years on the company Will founded – Above – has grown into a hugely successful business and a leader in the solar energy industry. Their drones are now flying in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia-Pacific with more innovative solutions planned over the next few years.

Here’s Will

“I always had a feeling that humans were overshooting their use of the planet and its resources and that we are on borrowed time. I also knew that renewable energy had to be part of the solution.

What is aerial thermography?

“In the context of solar energy, aerial thermography involves using specially adapted drones, sophisticated cameras and software to reduce the cost of designing, building and operating solar assets. That can range from a few panels on a roof to massive, commercial-scale solar sites.

What is happening in the solar industry?  

“The drive to decarbonise the world’s energy means solar is being rolled out at a scale and speed that has never been attempted before.

“Technologies that reduce the cost of building and owning solar assets are key to achieving the rapid and sustainable deployment of solar energy around the world.

“With major players in the market investing in large-scale solar, the opportunities for Above have been amazing. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be part of the solar industry.

Technologies that reduce the cost of building and owning solar assets are key to achieving the rapid and sustainable deployment of solar energy around the world.

1. Reducing the cost of maintenance

Above’s drones capture high-resolution images and data across a solar site. Cutting-edge software is then used to identify defects inside individual solar cells.

2. Designing better solar sites

By building a detailed simulation of the terrain and light conditions at a proposed location, Above’s drones help optimise the design of new solar sites.

3. Building big and keeping quality high

Drones make it easy to track what is happening during the construction of a new solar site. They help identify potential problems, inform decisions about what components and skills are needed, and help businesses anticipate costs at each stage of a project.

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I spoke to Claudette Worley, Managing Director at Energie Solutions, to find out.

With energy from our homes making up around 14% of the UK’s carbon emissions and energy bills at all-time high, replacing fossil fuels with a renewable source of heating has never been more urgent.

 

 

85% of UK homes still rely on natural gas.

How does air source heating work?

Air source heating works like a fridge in reverse, taking the air from outside your home and turning it into a liquid. That’s then heated and transferred to radiators and a hot water cylinder. Although they rely on electricity, they are highly energy-efficient. Many are also combined with a source of renewable energy such as solar thermal or solar photovoltaic (PV) panels.

“Energie Solutions became one of the UK’s first MCS (Micro Certification Scheme) accredited installers of solar PV systems in 2006, which quickly evolved into installing air source heating in 2012. The sector has experienced significant growth since then, but it is still a long way off what is needed to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions to Net Zero by 2050.

“The UK’s investment in renewable technology is still many years behind almost every country in Europe. In countries like Sweden, which started investing in these technologies far earlier, air and ground source heat pumps are common in many homes.

How can the UK bring air source heating to more homes?

1. Reduce the upfront cost of an air source heat pump

“There’s no two ways about it; compared to a gas boiler, installing an air source heat pump is expensive. That’s where the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) hasn’t been particularly helpful because the people who took advantage of the scheme were generally people who already had the money to invest. So, it’s good to see that the government has announced a new ‘Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), which offers anyone with a fossil fuel boiler £5,000 upfront towards the cost of an air source heat pump. That said, there’s still more that needs to be done to make them more affordable.

2. Improve regulation around air source heating

“Homeowners need to be able to make a well-informed decision, not just about the technology they are buying, but also about the company installing their air source heat pump. I see so many people who have been persuaded by a salesman who has knocked on their door, promising them maintenance-free heating and no more gas bills. Three months down the line their home has been damaged, they are cold, and they are paying huge electricity bills.

“Every company offering to install an air heat pump should be MCS accredited, although at the moment, not enough is being done to tackle companies who don’t follow the rules.

“Many companies will also outsource installations to subcontractors for very low fees that can’t possibly cover the cost of installing an air heat pump to a high standard. So, I’d always suggest doing your research on the company that will install your system.

3. Offer alternatives to misinformation

“Partly because so many systems are installed incorrectly, there is a lot of negativity around air source heat pumps. That ranges from people saying they’ll make your energy bills more expensive to non-existent requirements such as needing radiators as big as your wall. Although these claims are false, they are everywhere.

4. Do more to tackle a growing skills shortage

“The UK is not doing enough to maintain the knowledge and expertise needed to take air source heating to a larger market. We need to make sure a skilled workforce is coming through from colleges and do more to incentivise people to take up apprenticeships.

“Speaking from experience, there are so many barriers stopping companies from taking on an apprentice through a local college. We have successfully taken on people and taught them the trade, but it takes years before they learn all the skills they need.

“It’s all very well politicians making pledges around Net Zero and promising to replace gas boilers. But as the current workforce retires, we must have the skilled people needed to turn that into a reality.”

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No sign of the US rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement.

The uncertainty around Brexit. 

2018 probably won’t be remembered as a landmark year for sustainability. But it wasn’t all bad.

So to restore faith in humanity (and for a bit of post-festive cheer) here’s a look back at some of the more positive moments for sustainability.
 

1. Sir David Attenborough urges the world to act on climate change

Just over a year since Blue Planet helped make ocean plastic a headline issue, Sir David Attenborough, one of the world’s most recognised voices on the natural world, made an impassioned speech at the UN Climate Summit, urging leaders to act to protect humanity from disaster.

Getting so many nations (each with different agendas) to agree to a common framework is never going to be easy. And like me, you may find all this more than a bit depressing.

But on a more positive note, the appearance of public figures at these high-profile political events does remind us just how much the narrative has changed. 

What was ‘tomorrow’s problem’ is now widely seen as a ‘global emergency’ in which governments, businesses and individuals all have a role. 

Let’s hope it translates into action on the ground.

2. Nepal becomes the first nation to almost double its wild tiger population

According to the Nepalese government, there are now 235 wild tigers in Nepal, an increase of more than 90% since 2009. A small but significant victory for conservations working to save these beautiful animals from extinction.

3. Colombia approves the world’s largest rainforest conservation zone

Colombia has announced the expansion of the Serrania del Chiribiquete, now the world’s largest tropical rainforest national park; home to almost 3,000 animal and plant species.

4. Iceland’s Christmas Orangutang Advert

Having seen first hand the devastating impact of palm oil on a trip to Malaysia in 2013, I have always been troubled by the never-ending drive to reduce pristine rainforest to dust in the name of cheap snacks and silky-smooth shampoo.

So I can’t help feeling Iceland deserve some credit for breaking the silence with their brilliantly executed Christmas advert, which uses clever story-telling and animation to raise difficult questions for businesses and consumers.

The company has also made (at least a start) in demonstrating that the problem is entirely avoidable, pledging to remove palm oil from its own brand products by the end of 2018.

Unfortunately, some focused more on why the advert was banned, whether it had some hidden political agenda, and who actually created the original footage, rather than the more positive news that a major UK retailer had taken steps to reduce the impact of its products.

While the move away from palm oil sounds simple in principle, the reality is far more complex, involving global supply chains with multiple stakeholders.

Add to that a climate of significant uncertainty and it is no wonder Borneo’s orangutans aren’t ‘top of the tree’ for many businesses. Sorry, I’m a writer – couldn’t resist! 🙂

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

Ben

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Coming up:

1. Reuse: Nissan and EU Horizon 2020
2. Recycling: Apple and the University of California

Reuse of lithium-ion batteries

After about 10 years of use, an electric vehicle’s battery will typically be replaced with 70-80% of its original capacity.

With a view to recovering this value, some car manufacturers have launched early-stage trials designed to explore the potential for reusing these batteries in a different industry.

Nissan and 4R Energy Corporation

A pilot designed to test the potential for reusing electric vehicle batteries to store energy used for street lighting.

OU Takso (EU Horizon 2020)

Another interesting pilot looking at how electric vehicle batteries could be repurposed to support the renewable energy sector within EU member states.

Benefits

If proven to be viable, this type of reuse model could create many new opportunities for innovation (the full potential of which is not yet known).

Large-scale reuse could also ease the pressure on the future supply of non-renewable resources by keeping batteries in use for around 20 years.

Challenges

Given the cost and complexity involved in recycling lithium-ion batteries, there’s no doubt reuse is an important development.

If governments continue to put pressure on businesses over issues like climate change, I would be surprised if we don’t see many other companies (at testing the waters) in this area.

But of course, the commercial case has to stack up. It is still possible that (in the absence of a compelling business case) battery manufacturers will simply replace resources like cobalt and nickel with cheaper materials. Not quick, not easy – and not a long-term solution – but a possibility.

Recycling lithium-ion batteries

Apple has confirmed it plans to “one day end” its reliance on mining by recycling millions of its customers unwanted devices.

The company already offers a good range of remanufactured products and a reasonably competitive trade-in service. And yes – there may well be a plan in the works for recycling lithium-ion batteries. But with no cost-effective, industrial-scale method for extracting resources like cobalt, it is likely to be many years away.

Two interesting developments (as far as I know, not linked to Apple) suggest progress is being made:

1. Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT)

In 2016, researchers in Finland extracted cobalt, lithium and nickel from battery waste. All above the 99.5% purity required for use in new batteries.

2. University of California

In this small-scale pilot, researchers successfully manufactured new batteries using recycled lithium and cobalt with no loss of capacity or performance. They are now working on simplifying the process to make it viable on an industrial scale.

This final question is probably the most challenging.

While this all sounds great in principle, can it actually be done cost-effectively within a vast, global supply chain?

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Coming up:

1. Is time running out for the lithium-ion battery?
2. Alternatives to existing lithium-ion technology
3. Reuse and recycling.

Our fickle relationship with electronics is no secret

According to the United Nations University, we generated 44.7 million metric tonnes of electrical waste in 2016 (forecast to reach 52 million metric tonnes by 2020). That’s equivalent to the weight of 1.23 million fully loaded 18-wheel trucks.

Only around 20% of this waste is reused or recycled, with most of the remaining 80% being sent to landfill (or stored in our homes).

Although not all of this waste is made up of mobile devices, the overall picture remains the same. We are wasting an enormous volume of high-value, non-renewable resources.

Is time running out for the humble lithium-ion battery?

• The vast majority of mobile devices and electric vehicles (currently available in the market today) rely on lithium-ion technology.
• Manufacturing new batteries requires non-renewable resources such as lithium carbonate, cobalt and nickel.
• There is currently no industrial scale, cost-effective method for recovering these non-renewable resources from used lithium-ion batteries.

The cost of sourcing nickel and cobalt is rapidly becoming prohibitive:

• The price of cobalt has already increased more than four-fold in under three years. From $10 a lb in December 2015 to around $43 a lb in September 2018.
• According to the World Economic Forum, demand for cobalt will more than double by 2020.

Broadly, this surge in demand is being fuelled by the growth of emerging markets, the rise of electric vehicles and (perhaps ironically) the renewable energy sector.

Even based on a conservative forecast on the future of electric vehicles (without significant innovation) demand for nickel is also likely to rise.

Phew! So what does this all mean?

The optimist:

In the absence of new innovation, it is difficult to foresee any scenario where manufacturers’ competitiveness won’t be damaged.

The pessimist (worst case scenario):

Without significant innovation, a future generation of products could be out of reach for the majority of consumers.

The social and environmental need for change is also clear:

• Nickel mining suspended in the Philippines in light of air and water pollution

• Human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo (estimated to supply 60 to 65% of the world’s cobalt).

Alternatives to lithium-ion (solid-state battery technology)

So-called ‘solid-state’ technology has attracted a lot of buzz recently.

Much to the frustration of many smartphone owners, lithium-ion has barely changed since Sony first released its ground-breaking new camcorder back in 1991. Yikes, I feel old!

Although potentially exciting from a sustainability perspective, solid-state batteries are not likely to take any industry by storm any time soon.
More on that later.

What is a ‘solid-state’ battery?

‘Solid-state’ is a rather nebulous buzzword that actually refers to eight different battery technologies. The basic principle is to create a thin, lightweight and long-lasting battery by replacing the conductive chemical liquid in lithium-ion with a solid electrolyte.

The benefits of solid-state battery technology

Solid-state batteries could significantly increase the potential for reuse and recycling.

Ilika (a company that is developing solid-state batteries for IoT devices) believe solid-state could increase ‘cycle life’ from two to around 10 years.

Challenges with solid-state technology:

1. Not yet suitable for use in smartphones
2. Still relies on non-renewable resources
3. High cost relative to performance
4. Extending product life may be perceived as commercially counter-intuitive.

Alternatives to lithium-ion (‘cobalt-free’ batteries)

Rising commodity prices have led manufacturers like Panasonic (who supply Tesla’s Model S) to announce plans to develop ‘cobalt-free’ batteries.

Interestingly, there have also been reports that the company seems to be increasing production of its existing cobalt-based batteries. Clean Technica recently reported that an employee at Panasonic has confirmed they are working towards a gradual reduction over a period of two to three years. In true automotive style – all pretty secretive – but definitely one to watch!

Next week, I will be exploring some exciting new developments around reuse and recycling; and how it could help businesses keep high-value resources out of landfill.

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