Coal hits new peak, EVs live longer than thought and a 2 billion year old nuclear reactor
In this issue:
Coal use hits new peak
Global demand for coal is expected to hit an all-time high in 2024 according to the latest report from the IEA. Despite skyrocketing renewables, the predicted demise of coal appears to be deferred because of a combination of increased electricity demand and high gas prices. Demand in 2024 is expected to be 8.77 billion tonnes, an increase of 1% over 2023. The numbers aren’t all bad news as that growth rate is significantly lower than the 2.4% growth seen in 2023. Demand in developed economies is falling and expected to shrink further over the next three years but increases in India will partially offset that. Of course China, that consumes 30% more coal than the rest of the world combined, will determine the eventual trend. Overall, the latest prediction is that demand will plateau over the next three years with the new peak likely to be in 2027.
Heavy industry still off track with emissions
The latest research from the World Economic Forum on emissions from heavy industries tells us progress has been made but is still far short of where it needs to be to hit global emissions targets. The Net-Zero Industry Tracker analyses emissions across eight sectors that account for 40% of global emissions, namely, steel, aluminium, cement, chemicals, oil and gas, aviation, shipping and road freight. Against a backdrop of global emissions increasing 1.3%, these sectors have shown an emissions decrease of 0.9%. Emissions intensity dropped 1.2% in the last year.
Australia to get green(er) steel plant
Australian rivals Rio Tinto and BHP are joining forces along with Bluescope to build Australia’s largest electric, low-carbon iron production facility in Western Australia. The facility is expected to produce up to 40,000 tonnes of iron a year. However, while much of the talk is of green hydrogen, the plant will initially generate its electricity from gas. Using gas is expected to save 60% of the emissions of an equivalent coal-fired process.
EVs more enduring than we thought
It seems current technology EV batteries may have as much as a 40% longer life than has previously been thought. The revelation emerges from a study by Stanford scientists who conducted trials on 92 batteries over 24 months. Those used in every-day applications showed an average 38% longer life than the control group assessed using normal charge-discharge techniques. Their conclusion was that the stop-go nature of real-world driving increased the longevity of the batteries compared with fuller charge-discharge use.
Did you know …….
The world’s oldest nuclear reactor – which is also the only known natural nuclear reactor – is 2 billion years old. Located in Oklo, Gabon, the reactor is believed to have been created by a perfect storm of conditions and been active for around 100,000 years. It was discovered in 1972 by French physicist Francis Perrin who originally thought it was nuclear waste from the twentieth century.
NB, the name may sound familiar, it has been adopted by a US small-scale fission start-up.