May 2-3: Materials for DAC, Space Sustainability, Solar module prices
Removing Space Debris and refuelling satellites; Using ML to find materials for Direct Air Capture; Plastic waste to diesel;
Using ML to find materials for Direct Air Capture
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are organic molecules that also include metal clusters - a metal atom (such as Chromium) surrounded by other atoms such as oxygen and carbon. These are lab-made polymers and are porous - with up to 90% free volume and a large internal surface area, which is why they’re being tested as alternative materials for capturing carbon dioxide in Direct Air Capture (DAC) equipment.
Currently, DAC uses adsorbents like liquid amines and solid alkali hydroxides that strongly bind CO2, which then has to be removed using lots of energy. Conversely, MOFs can be made to release captured CO2 at lower temperatures (thus using less energy).
Another consideration in selecting DAC adsorbents is humidity. Water vapour and CO2 compete for binding with the adsorbent, and this can vary with temperature and humidity levels in the location where DAC is being used.
Machine Learning models are being used to identify which MOFs can perform as adsorbents for CO2 under different temperature and humidity conditions. A new dataset - OpenDAC2023 - includes data not only on the synthesis and structure of MOFs, but also on adsorption of CO2 and water.
Adsorption energy is an important parameter in selecting materials for use in DAC. When
Energy(adsorbent+adsorbate) < Energy(adsorbent) + Energy (adsorbate)
binding will occur between the two. The difference between the two sides of the equation is adsorption energy. The greater the adsorption energy (with a - sign), the stronger the binding. Using ML, the adsorption energy for each such pair of MOF and CO2, and MOF and water, is calculated. Materials that have higher adsorption energies for CO2 than water are preferred.
Innovation News | The Open DAC 2023 Dataset and Challenges for Sorbent Discovery in Direct Air Capture
Solar module prices lowest since 2024 started
Prices of PERC and TOPCon M10 solar modules have fallen by nearly 5% this week and are at their lowest since the beginning of the year.
PERC M10 at $0.0417/W
TOPCon M10 at $0.0494/W
PERC G12 at $0.0448/W
Recovering Space Debris
Estimates of space debris - components of man-made structures put into orbit - show there are approximately 1 million pieces between 1 cm and 10 cm, and over 130 million between 1mm to 1 cm in size, floating in space. These increase the probability of collisions with existing and new satellites and spacecraft. A collision with a large object can cause the object to break into pieces, creating more debris that can spawn a chain of collisions.
Missions are now underway to demonstrate that specially developed satellites can capture debris and bring it back to Earth.
AstroScale has developed a satellite with a flexible robotic arm to capture debris. It will use this in a mission to capture two unused satellites from low earth orbit.
AstroScale has also partnered with Japan to work on capturing large debris that cannot be controlled externally or communicated with. The satellite first approaches the target object and gathers data on it, preparing for capture. It successfully demonstrated capture of large space debris last week. The mission is aimed at commercialising space debris removal.
To improve sustainability, ClearSpace and the UK Space Agency are designing a servicer satellite that will be able to refuel commercial and other satellites in space, thus extending their lifetimes.
Top Stories
Australia-based pension fund Retirement Trust has announced it will exclude entities that get more than 10% of revenues from the mining or sale of thermal coal.
Coal added to Retirement Trust’s exclusion criteria, Src: Retirement Trust Product Update (Super Savings) for May 2024 (PDF) The thermal coal exclusion does not apply to companies deriving revenue from metallurgical coal (in other words, coal used in the production of steel); coal mined for internal power generation (e.g. in the case of vertically integrated power producers); intra-company sales of mined thermal coal; revenue from coal trading; and royalty income for companies not involved in thermal coal extraction operations.
US’s Ames Lab has developed a process to convert plastic waste into diesel using chemical catalysts. The ‘diesel’ produced does not have to be refined to remove sulphur, as is done for conventional diesel. Innovation News | Ames Lab Press Release
Construction on UK’s Eastern Green Link 2, a transmission route to connect offshore wind power off the coast of Scotland to the grid is expected to start later this year. The line will have 436km of 2GW HVDC cable undersea and another 70km on land, and has a proposed budget of £3.4 billion. Offshore Energy
Sweden is considering a carbon capture and storage logistics hub at its Norvik Port in East Sweden. Offshore Energy
France aims to install 45 GW offshore wind power by 2050. EurActiv
Sustainability reports from Latin American oil & gas company, GeoPark (PDF) and (via businesswire)
You can find all previous posts of this newsletter here.
​Best,
Soumya Gupta
Founder,
SummaryWithAI.com - Summarize long PDFs with AI
Telborg.com - AI for Climate Research
LinkedIn | Twitter | soumya@telborg.com
