March 5, 2022

Weekend Reads: Ukraine's Pre-War Lithium Wealth; Are You Ready for Battery Storage?

It's the weekend! Kick back and catch up with these must-read articles from around the web.

Before Invasion, Ukraine’s Lithium Wealth Was Drawing Global Attention (The New York Times) Deep below the ground in Ukraine, where Russia continues to mount an aggressive attack, lies vast, untapped mineral wealth that could hold the keys to a lucrative, clean-energy future for the Eastern European nation. Ukrainian researchers have speculated that the country’s eastern region holds close to 500,000 tons of lithium oxide, a source of lithium, which is critical to the production of the batteries that power electric vehicles. That preliminary assessment, if it holds, would make Ukraine’s lithium reserves one of the largest in the world.

Why climate solutions will fail without the help of social scientists (Vox) The latest installment from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change spells out in nearly 3,700 pages the effects of climate change that are well underway. At least 3.3 billion today are highly vulnerable to climate impacts like dangerous heat, food scarcity and drought, and increased rates of illness and death. The risks for humans and nature will only grow worse the longer governments and companies wait to drastically cut emissions and implement adaptation measures.

Five signs you’re ready for a battery energy storage system (The Manufacturer) If you work at a busy manufacturing company the chances are your energy consumption will need to increase in the next few years. You will also be under intense pressure to reduce your carbon emissions. How can this dilemma be solved? The biggest step most manufacturing companies could take to reduce carbon emissions would be to change energy provision. Yet, according to a recent CDP report, only 28% of companies have a low-carbon transition plan in place to meet their climate goals. Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) have been described as the true bridge to a clean-energy future, because the storage units make it possible to store energy from renewable sources, such as wind and solar PV.

China’s Energy Sector Methane Emissions Dwarf U.S. and Russia (Bloomberg) China’s coal operations spewed so much methane last year that it had the same global warming impact as all the carbon dioxide emissions from international shipping. The nation’s energy sector, the world’s largest coal producer, accounted for roughly a fifth of total global methane emissions from oil, gas, coal and biomass. It generated over 50% more than the next largest emitters: Russia and the U.S. The estimates, which are the latest from the International Energy Agency’s Methane Tracker, show the enormity of China’s task in mitigating its methane pollution.

US Army Beats US Postal Service To Electric Vehicle Punch (CleanTechnica) The US Postmaster General has blown off the electric vehicle revolution, but the US Army can show him how it’s done. The Army just launched a net zero goal and the Army Reserve already has an electrification plan for its non-tactical vehicles with a zero emission goal by the end of FY 27. That’s partly on account of climate change, and competition from near-peer adversaries also comes into play.

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