Breakthroughs that are making Renewable Energy Viable

On the other hand, Lusoco, a Dutch based start-up, has developed a luminous solar concentrator technology. It concentrates light to the edges where thin-film solar cells are positioned using high refractive index materials like glasses and polymers as well as fluorescent ink. Additionally, the fluorescent coating produces light at night as well, making self-sustaining signage possible.

Green Hydrogen Development

“Inclusion of hydrogen as an energy carrier in future energy portfolio presents a unique opportunity to address emerging energy vectors, including power to gas, power to power, power to mobility and even vehicle to grid applications,” Dharmendra Pradhan, former Union minister for petroleum and natural gas & steel said at a seminar.

Green hydrogen production opens up a whole new avenue to attain the goal for net zero. Today, many experts agree that green hydrogen will be essential to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement, since there are certain portions of the economy whose emissions are difficult to eliminate.

Green hydrogen is the most sustainable alternative in the near future. With no carbon footprint, green hydrogen will be largely used across multiple industries, like - aviation, automobile, manufacturing and more. However, the cost of green hydrogen production and transportation has been a source of concern for the industry. For example — hydrogen is so less dense than gasoline, it is difficult to transport. It either needs to be cooled to -253˚C to liquefy it, or it needs to be compressed to 700 times atmospheric pressure.

Lavo, an Australian startup has developed an effective way for green hydrogen production. The business has developed environmentally friendly hydrogen fuel cells that harness water and solar power to generate electricity. A metal hydride storage tank houses hydrogen in the startup's unique Lavo Hydrogen Battery System. It is a hybrid solution since it also has a lithium-ion battery for quick reaction.

Synthetic Bioenergy

The use of bioenergy can help achieve larger environmental, social, economic, and sustainability goals by providing renewable, low-carbon energy systems that trap atmospheric carbon and have a variety of positive environmental and socioeconomic effects. Although there is scientific proof of the advantages of bioenergy, outcomes are sometimes inconsistent and ambiguous. Beyond carbon, it's necessary to take into account numerous sustainable characteristics of bioenergy systems.

Phycobloom, a UK based firm, employs synthetic biology to extract bio-oil from algae. This oil is released into the environment by genetically modified algae created by the firm. Since the same batch of algae is utilized again, the procedure is quick and low-cost. This method also closes the loop between the generation of fuel and greenhouse gas emissions because algae only need air, water, and sunlight to flourish. Thus, the startup's solution lessens the transportation industry's reliance on fossil fuels.

The Way to New Innovations

Today, businesses are utilizing clean and sustainable energy to combat climate change and adhere to environmental regulations. Making renewable energy cost-competitive with fossil fuels is the problem. While economies of scale address the cost issue, technologies like automation, blockchain, and machine learning increase the effectiveness of operations and maintenance.

Additionally, improvements in hardware like sophisticated photovoltaics like nanofibers and mono-passive emitter real contact (PERC) based panels increase the efficiency of solar conversion. Mini wind turbines and buoyant aerial turbines are becoming more and more common in the wind energy industry. The usage of oscillating water columns and overstepping energy converters is made possible by hydropower advancements. In addition, research on platinum-free catalysts like tin carbon is making green hydrogen fuel cells more affordable.