Global Climate News - April 12
South Africa's helium-cooled SMR; Europe's voluntary carbon removal certification; decarbonizing large vehicles in Europe; Pumped hydro storage in Sydney
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South Africa’s Helium-cooled High Temperature Reactor
South Africa is looking to build a high-temperature small modular reactor that will produce both electricity and heat.
A conventional Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR), operates at a temperature of about 300℃, whereas the HTMR-100 produces heat at the much higher temperature of 750℃. This enables hot gas, at a temperature of 750℃, to be sold directly to customers. This reactor can be supplied to produce electricity, or process heat.
The reactor has low water use and been designed to serve areas with water scarcity. It uses helium as a coolant, as opposed to other SMR designs that use lead, sodium or molten salts for cooling.
Why helium:
with lead, when reactor is cooled down for maintenance, lead can solidify
helium is not corrosive - molten salts can be
when the coolant is removed for maintenance/inspections, hot metals & liquid salts are difficult to handle and sodium can react with air or water; helium is inert
an optical probe can be inserted into the reactor or coolant-line for a visual inspection without removing the coolant if helium is used
The reactor has a life of 40 years, and this can be extended upto 60 years. The team estimates that the first unit can be put into operation in 5 years.
Interesting: South Africa had a nuclear programme much before most countries - the first research reactor, SAFARI-1, became critical in 1965.
Power Technology | Stratek Global | Stratek Global HTMR-100 (PDF)
News from Governments
The European Parliament as has adopted a new voluntary certification framework for carbon removals.
The new law covers different types of carbon removals namely permanent carbon storage, notably through industrial technologies, carbon storage in long-lasting products and carbon farming. The scope was also extended to cover certain types of carbon farming activities that reduce emissions from agricultural soils provided they lead to an overall improvement in the soil carbon balance. The reduction of methane release from enteric fermentation or manure management from livestock will be included as part of the 2026 review. Src
The European Commission will also establish a public EU registry for carbon removals and soil emission reductions within 4 years from when the regulation comes into force (expected in 20 days).
The European Parliament has adopted revised regulations that requires CO2 emissions from large trucks and buses to be reduced in a phased manner - 45% in 2030-34, 65% for 2035-39 and 90% for 2040 as compared to 2019 levels. Urban buses will be required to be zero-emission by 2035. Measures will also be taken to create demand for zero-emission heavy duty vehicles.
By 30 June 2024, the Commission shall present a legislative proposal to the European Parliament and to the Council to increase the share of zero-emission heavy-duty motor vehicles owner or leased by large fleet operators. The proposal shall include binding zero-emission mandates on large fleet operators, while taking into account regional disparities and the level of deployment of charging and refuelling infrastructure.
Europe has selected 42 projects involving electric charging, hydrogen refueling stations and electrification of airports for a total €424 million in funding. Innovation News | EC Press Release | EU Regulation for deployment of alternative fuels infra (2023)
The European Parliament has adopted a reform of the EU electricity market that
allows use of Contracts for Difference (CfDs) in all new electricity production, whether from renewables or nuclear
allows countries to prohibit suppliers from “cutting the electricity supply of vulnerable customers, including during disputes between suppliers and customers.”
allows the Union to “declare a regional or EU-wide electricity price crisis, allowing member states to take temporary measures to set electricity prices for SMEs and energy intensive industrial consumers”
Japan is collaborating with US on the latter’s Floating Offshore Wind Shot program.
The Floating Offshore Wind Energy Shot seeks to reduce the cost of floating offshore wind energy by more than 70%, to $45 per megawatt-hour by 2035 for deep water sites far from shore.
UK has launched a Water Restoration Fund that will use the fines and penalties collected from water companies to support projects for “re-meandering rivers and restoring water-dependent habitats, removing barriers to fish migration and increasing sustainable public access to nature”. GOV.UK
Top Stories
Lake Burragorang is the largest freshwater storage in Sydney (Australia). Energy developer ZENEnergy has proposed using the lake in a 1GW pumped hydro storage project that could provide power support for upto 8 hours for the state of New South Wales. An upper reservoir would be built on degraded land, the site of a former coal washery, near the lake. The site is also close to existing transmission infra, and power lines needed can be built underground reducing overall environmental impact of the project.
Power Technology | ZENEnergy Press Release | NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap
South Korea has developed a prefabricated, rapid-hardening concrete mat that can be used to pave and repair roads instead of using asphalt or concrete mixtures. The mat contains rapid hardening mortar and a woven fabric, both enclosed in layers of non-woven fabric. After preparing the base on the road to be paved, workers can lay the mat, secure it with pins and spray water to initiate the hardening and curing process. The mat can also be use on rural and farm roads, and on slopes, embankments and channels.
Src: Development Asia Hydrogen in the Balkans
Serbia - 1.5 GW wind + 500 MW solar + 30,000 tonnes hydrogen capacity, to be funded by China and operational by 2028; will be used to power mineral processing facilities
New gas pipeline, that will also be hydrogen ready, for North Macedonia passing through Greece;
World’s largest deposit of natural hydrogen found in Albania
About 70GW of coal-fired power generation was commissioned in 2023, two-thirds in China (47.4 GW). New capacity was also added in Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Japan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, South Korea, Greece, and Zimbabwe. ECEEE | Global Energy Monitor
A charity in the UK has launched VisitAHeatPump.com to allow homeowners interested in electric heat pumps to visit a household that is using the system. The Guardian
RMI blog on the proposed Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit in USA
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Soumya Gupta
Founder, Telborg.com | SummaryWithAI.com
LinkedIn | Twitter | soumya@telborg.com
