noelcowardspeaksout
noelcowardspeaksout t1_irztu0g wrote
Reply to Geothermal May Beat Batteries for Energy Storage: Enhanced geothermal systems are well suited to store excess renewable power as heat. by filosoful
A new project uses an insulated silo of sand to store heat. It is a simple design that uses common and cheap materials, so might gain some traction.
noelcowardspeaksout t1_irx3ka1 wrote
Reply to comment by Somhlth in China’s Electric Trucks May Well Pull Forward Peak Oil Demand by PeteWenzel
Interesting. I thought Hydrogen was slated to be the most economic power source for trucks - but I suppose the tech for EV's is a lot simpler and that it is much easier to mass produce and roll out at this early stage. Anyhow whatever wins in the long run it's good to see.
It now costs $1000 dollars to fill up a trailer truck in the US - so I can imagine the electric drive trains won't take long to pay for themselves.
It's good to see US solar slated to ramp up so much, just in time for this transformation in the haulage industry.
noelcowardspeaksout OP t1_irx1xl2 wrote
There was a magnetic field density hurdle that MIT broke, described as a watershed moment in the development of fusion -
"It was a moment three years in the making, based on intensive research and design work: On September 5, 2021, for the first time, a large high-temperature superconducting electromagnet was ramped up to a field strength of 20 tesla, the most powerful magnetic field of its kind ever created on Earth. That successful demonstration helps resolve the greatest uncertainty in the quest to build the world’s first fusion power plant that can produce more power than it consumes, according to the project’s leaders at MIT "
Because of the improved materials the machines can be built a lot smaller, they can attain sustained fusion, and they will be a lot cheaper. This much is now widely accepted.
The UK design improves on the flat torus shape to increase magnetic flux further. The fact that it will be grid connected will mark an important milestone on this very long journey.
Submitted by noelcowardspeaksout t3_y1akde in Futurology
noelcowardspeaksout t1_is52ebg wrote
Reply to comment by lunar2solar in South Korean researchers say they have developed an anode-free lithium-ion battery that is 40% more energy dense than existing batteries and will enable EVs to travel 630km (390 miles) on a single charge. by lughnasadh
Small improvements continually trickle through. They also have grid scale power storage Sodium Ion batteries to replace lithium now which is quite significant. Large scale testing is going on for other power storage tech too.
The big breakthrough everyone is waiting for, the solid state battery, has been slated to appear by a many car companies in 2025.