Engineering the Energy Transition
Energy Terminal Weekly Newsletter
July 25th 2022 | Issue #16 | Subscribe here
Happy Monday!
Welcome to the ET weekly, a platform dedicated to elevating the next generation of energy leaders. In this week's issue we cover:
💦 The power of water
❓ 'Major Questions'
🔋 $700 mill purchase of renewables
🦺 Is nuclear safe?
🌏 Actions items for global energy conservation
⭐Startup Spotlight: ONE
One is driven to design a battery that can double the range of electric vehicles while using sustainable and safe materials, avoiding nickel and cobalt in particular.
🚨EPISODE 12 OUT NOW🚨
In Episode 12, Michael and Hope are joined by Jason Ethier, Senior Director of Membership at Greentown Labs, a climate tech incubator with headquarters in Boston and Houston. We walk through Jason’s personal startup journey, the benefits of working for a startup, the role of Greentown in the energy transition, and what incubators are looking for in prospective member companies. Jason’s engineering background has had a big influence on his career path, and we talk about how engineers can get business experience and how non-engineers can get technical. Tune in to hear all about Jason, Greentown Labs, and much more.
Episodes released bimonthly, subscribe to stay updated!
📣 Student Spotlight: Jack Kochansky
Welcome to our first student spotlight: a new initiative we started to highlight students making an impact in the energy industry. Our first student spotlight is Jack Kochansky, a rising Duke senior studying Economics and Public Policy and co-President with Michael at Duke Energy Club. This summer, Jack is interning with CustomerFirst Renewables, an energy and climate consulting company based in Bethesda, MD. We caught up with Jack to hear about how his internship is going and advice that he has for other students exploring internships in energy
consulting.
Hey Jack! We’re excited to hear about the internship and how your summer is going. To get started, let’s hear about where you’re working and an overview of some of the work you’re doing.
Sure! I’m interning as a Summer Analyst at CustomerFirst Renewables (CFR), a clean energy advising company. At a high level, what they do is help clean energy deals move from start to finish. For example, if a client wants to shift toward 100% renewable energy, CFR can work with the client, reach out to developers, and source different proposals and power purchase agreements to get the best deals for the client. We need a lot of people who don’t have experience in renewable energy to purchase renewable energy, so energy consultants like CFR can help out with that.
To read the rest of the interview, and learn more about Jack's exciting energy experience, click here !
📚 Reading List (7/18 - 7/25)
New Battery Technologies? Ocean Energy? Mineral mining? Check out this week’s handpicked reading list to learn more about these groundbreaking energy topics 🔥
🎙️Podcasts:
Catalyst with Shayle Kann, Seeking the Holy Grail of Batteries
Summary 📖 :
Battery technologies are key for two huge energy transition segments: electric vehicles and energy storage
The last several years have seen over 100 battery startups and huge investment in the space
Over the next 10 years, three battery chemistries are likely to dominate the market: lithium iron phosphate (LFP), nickel manganese cobalt (NMC), and nickel manganese aluminum (NMA)
Cost of raw materials and supply chain issues pose the biggest obstacles to battery development
POLITICO Energy, How ‘major questions’ could freeze Biden’s regulatory agenda
Summary 📖 :
Fallout on SCOTUS’s EPA ruling is that many opponents are arguing against current environmental regulations
These include arguments against a proposal to make corporations expose climate risks, and a proposal for state officials to work to curb highway emissions
There are even more problems coming up such as lawsuits against licensing of waste disposal sites, and lawsuits by racing enthusiasts against tampering of vehicles
Biden is currently tackling these problems by arguing that these lawsuits don’t fall under the category of ‘major questions’
My Climate Journey, Unlocking the Power of the Ocean
Summary 📖 :
Water is 30 to 60 times more energy dense than solar or wind and can meet 60% of the US energy demand
The IPCC has found that ocean energy is the lowest form of electricity from a lifecycle perspective
Calwave is a marine energy developer that provides technology to harness wave power
📰️ Articles:
The Wall Street Journal, Blackrock is buying renewable natural gas product for $700 million
Summary 📖 :
Blackrock is acquiring Massachusetts based company Vanguard Renewables, which produces natural gas from food waste and cow manure
With higher natural gas prices and supply shortages due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, investments in natural gas are more attractive
RNG is expensive and has low market share compared to standard natural gas, but the sale of carbon credits serve to help offset higher costs
The New York Times, Four Things Nations Can Do to Conserve Energy
Summary 📖 :
Recent energy crunch has forced EU executives to ask member states to decrease energy consumption by 15%
Setting an air-conditioner by just 1 degree celsius higher in government buildings could reduce energy use by 10%
Incentivize people to use public transport by lowering costs could save up to 330,000 barrels of oil a day
Canary Media, Chart: Which power sources are most deadly? Hint — not solar and wind
Summary 📖 :
Coal generates 35% of world wide electricity, and also kills 25 people per terawatt-hour of electricity (the most deadly electricity source)
Oil kills 18 people per terawatt-hour of electricity
Fossil gas in third deadliest kills 3 people per terawatt-hour of electricity
Most deaths by fossil fuels are reported due to air pollution, coming from European power plant pollution numbers (where regulations are much stricter than the US), so number of deaths is likely larger
Nuclear is second safest form of energy, with only solar beating it
And head here to check out previous reading lists !
☄️ Thanks for reading this edition of ET weekly!
Next episode will be out on August 8th, get excited. And, if you missed Episode 11 listen here!
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And a big thank you to our sponsor Energy Dialogues for making this all possible!