5 notizie per approfondire (7/2024)

La rubrica settimanale con i consigli di lettura di RivistaEnergia.it, dall’Europa e dal mondo. Forse non le notizie più eclatanti, ma proprio per questo interessanti da approfondire. Settimana 7/2024

“America’s biggest saltwater lake may hold a key to the country’s energy future. This summer, a California startup plans to start construction on a project to suck up water from the Great Salt Lake to extract one of its many valuable minerals: lithium, a critical ingredient in the rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles. The water will then be reinjected back into the lake, which Lilac Solutions says addresses concerns about the damaging effects of mineral extraction. At its peak, Lilac says it will use a series of pipes to suck up 80,000 gallons of water a minute to harvest the mineral. The company plans to eventually produce up to 20,000 tons of battery-grade lithium a year at its site in northern Utah, located among fields of cattle and pickleweed.”

The Great Salt Lake Is Full of Lithium. A Startup Wants to Harvest It
Articolo – The Wall Street Journal

“Basf is in the business of molecules. As the world’s biggest chemicals firm, with operations in more than 90 countries, it makes a lot of them. When those molecules contain carbon atoms (and a great many do—they are a wonderfully versatile resource) those carbon atoms tend to come from fossil fuels. When their manufacture requires high temperatures, which is also often the case, that heat comes from burning fossil fuels. Until recently basf’s massive plant in Ludwigshafen in Germany accounted for 4% of the country’s entire consumption of natural gas. Conventional wisdom has it that such a firm cannot really hope to lower very much the number of carbon-dioxide molecules it creates in the course of its business. The path to decarbonisation will come instead from gathering up those molecules and disposing of them underground, a process known as carbon capture and storage (ccs). The same conventional wisdom holds that if basf were to swear off burning molecules of gas to create heat, the obvious green alternative would be to burn hydrogen molecules instead. Those molecules would have to be manufactured, too, in an energy-intensive process.”

First electric cars. Next, electric factories?
Articolo – The Economist

“The European Commission will be polling the market on the possibility of securing gas volumes for 20 years on the AggregateEU platform, EU officials confirmed in a press briefing on 5 February. Responding to a question from ICIS, two European Commission officials confirmed a survey would be conducted in the upcoming weeks to understand the need for long-term products. They insisted, however, that, if launched, such products would have to be in full compliance with the EU’s climate targets, which entail reducing emissions by limiting dependence on fossil fuels. The announcement comes as the EU has extended beyond 2023 the lifespan of AggregateEU, a platform designed to bring gas buyers and sellers together. The European PRISMA capacity platform had been tasked to aggregate demand and under latest changes it will also start offering mid-term products of up to five years, which will be made available in the next tender on 15 February. AggregateEU was launched last year, with buyers and sellers being able to participate in short-term tenders and submit monthly demand until March 2025.”

EU mulls 20-year contracts on AggregateEU gas platform
Articolo – ICIS

“Coal, nickel, palm oil, rainforests. The riches of Indonesia matter to the rest of the world. Therefore, so does its presidential election. Early results on Wednesday in the world’s third-largest democracy signaled the victory of Prabowo Subianto, a former army general linked to human rights abuses, as the country’s next president. The new government’s approach on the management of its natural resources could have a significant effect on the world’s ability to keep global warming to relatively safe levels. Environmentalists are also watching what the vote might mean for their ability to operate freely in a country with a history of repression.”

Indonesia’s Vote: Three Takeaways for Climate Change
Articolo – The New York Times

“Energy diplomacy is one of the key determinants in achieving net zero emissions by 2050. The traditional concept of energy diplomacy is rooted in national security and fossil fuel supplies, which is disconnected from global efforts to develop and deploy renewables at a pace that can limit global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. Extant studies have not systematically analyzed the theoretical underpinnings of the form of energy diplomacy that can drive energy transition. This article proposes the concept of ‘renewable energy diplomacy’, which is comprised of four interconnected elements: Collaborative Resource Governance, Digital Trust Building, Energy-Environment Interdependence and Capacity Building. Renewable energy diplomacy provides a theoretical foundation based on environmental peacebuilding to address the critical geopolitical challenges that constrain energy transition.”

Renewable energy diplomacy and transitions: An environmental peacebuilding approach
Ricerca – Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions

della stessa rubrica

5 spunti per approfondire (6/2024), 9 febbraio
5 spunti per approfondire (5/2024), 2 febbraio
5 spunti per approfondire (4/2024), 26 gennaio