Renewable Energy Updates

WOBO thanks Renewable Energy Magazine for a selection of articles linked to energy related developments.

GreenFire Energy to Develop Closed-Loop Testing Capabilities at Well Testing Facility

GreenFire Energy Inc. will provide its Advanced Geothermal System (AGS), a closed-loop technology, as an industrial affiliate in the Wells2Watts Geothermal Energy Consortium. The consortium’s near-term focus is in using closed-loop geothermal technology to transform dry non-productive geothermal wells and non-productive oil and gas wells into geothermal wells capable of producing electrical power.

£5.5m Transship II Project to See UK Research Vessel Powered by Hydrogen

A university research ship, the only one of its kind in the UK, is set to reduce its emissions by up to 60% thanks to a pioneering £5.5 million hydrogen power initiative that could help re-shape the future of shipping.

The Transship II project is the largest retrofit of its kind to-date and will see the Prince Madog retrofitted with a hydrogen electric hybrid propulsion system that will enable zero to low emission operation by 2025.

The project is part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Round 3 (CMDC3), funded by the Department for Transport in partnership with Innovate UK. It will be delivered by a consortium of major UK innovators in green maritime technology and hydrogen systems, led by O.S Energy who own and operate a fleet of dedicated offshore service vessels.

Other consortium partners include H2Tec, part of Edinburgh-based hydrogen technologies expert Logan Energy, as well as Solis Marine Engineering, Newcastle Marine Services, Chartwell Marine, Cedar Marine, Stone Marine Propulsions and the universities of Exeter and Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.

The Prince Madog, based at Bangor University in Wales, recently celebrated 20 years of service to education and science. The research vessel has changed the way we understand marine and coastal sciences and is one of the largest such ships in Europe.

60 percent of wind industry professionals believe floating offshore wind will reach full commercialisation without subsidies by 2035

Independent energy expert and assurance provider DNV has published new research that surveyed 244 developers, investors, manufacturers, advisors and operators across the globe and found that 60 percent of respondents think floating offshore wind will reach full commercialisation by 2035, with 25 percent believing it will be as early as 2030.

Green Biofuels Launches Ireland’s First Low-Carbon Fuel Terminal

Leading UK biofuel supplier Green Biofuels Limited has launched Ireland’s first renewable biofuel terminal in a built facility in Cork Harbour. The facility took its first cargo delivery on 11th January. Through its Irish business Green D Project Limited, the new terminal is a major commitment by GBF to Ireland’s cleaner energy infrastructure for transport and generator power, further accelerating the transition to Net Zero.

Researchers aim to replace toxic electrode materials in energy storage devices with cleaner alternatives

Researchers led by Professor Watchareeya Kaveevivitchai of National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Taiwan are designing and developing advanced functional materials as alternatives to the toxic electrode materials traditionally used in energy storage devices.

Long-term natural resource scarcity is an impediment to achieving the goal of clean and sustainable energy storage and production, essential to meet the growing demand for energy. However, advanced materials science and engineering are on the cutting edge of creating viable solutions to complex energy problems. Currently, researchers from the World Universities Network are aiming to develop unique non-toxic electrode materials for high-energy-density rechargeable batteries.

There are limited natural resources in the world and they are getting depleted at fast rates. The use of fossil fuels further stresses the environment by emitting CO2, which is the main cause of global warming and environmental pollution. Therefore, the supply of alternative green renewable energy needs to be a top priority globally. Simultaneously, energy needs to be stored and transferred efficiently to harness the full benefits of renewable energy systems.

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