Global Climate News - April 10
Finland's Thermal Energy Storage; Trends in sustainable packaging; US sets limits on PFAS; Storing hydrogen underground;
Finland’s Water-based 90GWh Energy Storage
Vantaa Energy, an urban energy company in Finland, is developing a 90GWh underground thermal energy storage facility.
This capacity could heat a medium-sized Finnish city or town for as long as a year.
The storage is being built in 3 caverns 100 metres below ground level. At this depth, the pressure of the mass of water (the storage medium) will allow it to remain in liquid form and retain a temperature of 140℃ - allowing more heat energy to be stored. What’s interesting is not just the scale but the entire solution.
The energy will come from solar power, when available, and from Vantaa’s waste-to-energy plant which will use non-recyclable waste. Toxic gases from burning the waste are cleaned using activated carbon to capture heavy metals, and lime (calcium carbonate) to capture sulphur dioxide. Particulate matter is collected with electrostatic precipitators.
Even waste heat from the combustion process in the waste-to-energy plant is used for further heating the water.
The thermal storage will serve the existing district heating network that uses electric boilers. The storage project is expected to start construction this year, be completed by 2028 and cost €200 million.
P.S. 56% of Vantaa’s total 2462 GWh energy produced in 2023 came from waste.
pv magazine | Vantaa Energy | Vantaa 2023 Annual Report (PDF)
News from Governments
US’ Environmental Protection Agency has announced a legally enforceable national drinking water standard that sets limits for several per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that occur individually and as mixtures in drinking water. The government has also announced nearly $1 billion in funding to “help states and territories implement PFAS testing and treatment at public water systems and to help owners of private wells address PFAS contamination”.
All public water systems have three years to complete their initial monitoring for these chemicals. They must inform the public of the level of PFAS measured in their drinking water. Where PFAS is found at levels that exceed these standards, systems must implement solutions to reduce PFAS in their drinking water within five years.
The new limits in this rule are achievable using a range of available technologies and approaches including granular activated carbon, reverse osmosis, and ion exchange systems. For example, the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, serving Wilmington, NC – one of the communities most heavily impacted by PFAS contamination – has effectively deployed a granular activated carbon system to remove PFAS regulated by this rule.
The European Union has approved €267 million in direct state aid for an EV production plant being set up by Volvo in Slovakia. Innovation News | EC Press Release
India and the European Union have launched a joint initiative to help battery recycling startups from both geographies meet with their counterparts, engage with investors, buyers and visit recycling facilities in the other geography. Applications close April 30, 2024 Mercom | EU Press Release | India Press Release
Storing Hydrogen Underground
Hydrogen tanks need to be highly pressurized or at cryogenic temperatures to keep the gas/liquid H2 from escaping. This itself uses energy and is expensive. Storing hydrogen underground in natural sites - such as salt caverns, aquifers, porous rocks - is likely cheaper and safer as they have thicker walls than tanks.
Solutions for storing natural gas or carbon dioxide (from carbon capture) in natural sites cannot be directly adapted for hydrogen because:
hydrogen is lighter - more prone to leakage than carbon dioxide and natural gas
hydrogen has very low density - a larger storage volume and higher pressure is needed to store same mass of gas
hydrogen will need to be stored and withdrawn for use; carbon dioxide storage is not intended for withdrawal
for withdrawal, there need to systems to maintain the pressure and flow rate of hydrogen; one approach is injecting a cushion gas (like nitrogen or methane), which can be easily compressed or allowed to expand, into the cavity to maintain pressure
hydrogen is very reactive and can react with minerals in rocks as well as materials like steel used to line the cavity; it can also be consumed in microbial reactions
In a review of research on underground hydrogen storage, the authors highlight some important considerations:
Have strict site exclusion criteria such as those close to urban and rural areas, major road and rail infra, gas pipelines, natural protected areas and water bodies
evaluate microbial reactions that consume hydrogen by “salt-loving microbes” in salt caverns
evaluate reactions of leftover organic molecules with hydrogen in depleted gas reservoirs
“Iron-rich formations can be considerably more beneficial, whereas sulfate-, carbonate-, and sulfide-rich formations should typically be avoided”
Another approach is to convert hydrogen to formic acid or ammonia, which are easy to transport in liquid form, for storage and convert it back to hydrogen for use.
Top Stories
Several organisations in Finland have together launched a research project, Hydrogen UnderGround (HUG), to assess construction of underground storage for green hydrogen. This is different from previous projects such as Hystock and Sun Storage, which are testing storing hydrogen in a depleted natural gas reservoir. Finland does not have natural sites - such as salt caverns, porous rocks, depleted aquifers - that can be used for storing hydrogen.
Five key trends in sustainable packaging -
Fiber-based packaging is perceived as environment-friendly, not disposed in oceans
materials from oceans - such as seaweed and chitin from crustacean shells - is being used as feedstock;
sorting waste using AI
information presented using QR codes to reduce labeling printed on packages
City-level interventions for collection and recycling
UK-based newcleo, developer of lead-cooled Small Modular Reactors, has entered into an agreement with France’s Atomic Energy Commission to put two 30MW reactors into service by 2030 in France. The plan also includes a MOX fuel manufacturing unit.
MOX is composed of depleted uranium, a by-product of the enrichment process, and Plutonium, extracted from spent fuel for years.
UK-based Helium exploration company, Helix exploration, has listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. Helix has confirmed helium reserves in the state of Montana in USA. (AIM is a submarket of London Stock Exchange that “allows companies that are smaller, less-developed, or want/need a more flexible approach to governance”) Innovation News
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Best,
Soumya Gupta
Founder, Telborg.com | SummaryWithAI.com
