In this fourth edition of the ClimateRoots Newsletter, we'll dive into battery technology in both our featured writer section and our education piece. You'll get to discover how different battery types work, why they are critical to reducing emissions and how implementing them properly makes a big difference for everybody! Lastly, as always, we've hand picked some of the news headlines we've found inciteful since our last issue to help keep you up to date on all things climate!

Redox Flow Battery / Image Courtesy of Journal of Power Sources

Featured Writer - Casey Davis

In this week’s featured author section, Casey Davis gives us some background into her current research endeavors at University of Colorado Boulder. Graduating from Barnard College in New York City with a degree in Environmental Science, she moved back home to Colorado to continue her education. While at Barnard, Casey worked on multiple research projects focused on Paleoceanography and Carbon Capture technology. Ever interested in being in a lab, she is currently pursuing a PhD in Chemistry, specifically materials and nano science. Her PhD research, which you can learn about on our blog, focuses on aqueous redox flow batteries.

Casey gives us some insight into what her current PhD research is investigating with her piece. She explains how scaling up redox flow batteries, a potential cleaner and safer replacement for the common lithium ion batteries, could provide the needed push for integrating renewable energy into our electric grid. However, like all those versed in climate and environment, Casey is aware that simply integrating technology will not fully solve the issue at hand. For redox flow batteries to be successful on the grid, she argues, we must be aware of those communities who could suffer as a result of the rapid electrification of the grid. Click below to read about how redox flow batteries could not only be a tool on our path to sustainability, but also to a more equitable world.

 Click below to read the full article and bibliography.

Weekly Headlines

California Wildfires Surpass 2020 Damage Records to Date (Los Angeles Times, The Weather Channel, Democracy Now!, ABC)

• Between January 1st and July 4th 2021, 4,600 fires have scorched 74,000 acres of land in California, compared with the 3,800 fires and 31,000 acres that were damaged during the same time period in 2020. 

• The wildfires are being exasperated by the increased temperatures and dryness on the west coast in recent weeks, a weather pattern fueled by climate change. These wildfire conditions are expected to get even worse this week.

• California is simultaneously experiencing drought across almost the entire state, with a drought emergency declared in 41 of the state's 58 counties. 

2011 Report Shows EPA Approved of “Forever Chemicals” for Fracking (New York Times, The Hill)

• Despite internal concerns, a 2011 report showed that the EPA approved the use of PFAS (toxic chemicals that can cause cancer and birth defects) for companies engaged in drilling and fracking.

• Though the EPA recommended additional testing after scientists found that the chemicals “could ‘persist in the environment’ and ‘be toxic to people, wild mammals, and birds.’” Those tests were not mandatory and there is no record that they were carried out. 

• The Biden administration is now moving to better regulate PFAS, claiming in a statement to The Hill that they are now “a top priority.”

Record Breaking Heat Cooks Millions of Marine Life (New York Times, LiveScience, NPR)

• High shoreline temperatures and persistent drought along the west coast of North America has killed millions of marine creatures and threatens freshwater animals as well.

• Though usually resilient, scientists note that intertidal creatures (like clams, mollusks and starfish) cannot endure high temperatures for long periods of time. Similarly, river temperatures threaten fish species, with Salmon particularly at risk. 

• While it is possible for sea creatures’ population to rebound within a year or two, the threat of more frequent and severe heat waves could jeopardize any chance of long term survival. 

To read more headlines from this week, click below.

Protest Against Fracking / Image Courtesy of Paul Alain-Hunt

Education Piece - Solar Energy Storage

Happy Friday!

In this week's education issue, we will be wrapping up our focus on solar energy with a discussion on energy storage! While renewable energy is a great source of clean power, it is ultimately dependent on local weather patterns that determine when and how much energy these systems can produce. By storing energy, typically through lithium-ion batteries, solar can continue to be relied upon and better integrated into the energy sector.

Lithium Ion batteries are the most common form of battery used for energy storage today and can be found in energy products, electric vehicles and your everyday electronics. Below are the basics on how they work, but if you would like a more in depth explanation, check out our blog!

Battery Science Overview:
1. As a battery charges or discharges, positively charged lithium ions flow from one side of the battery to the other through the separator. This creates an electric potential.

2. This electric potential will cause the movement of electrons in the same direction as the lithium ions. Since the electrons cannot move through the separator, they are forced to travel through the circuit in order to reach equilibrium at the otherside of the battery.

3. This movement of electrons through the circuit creates a current that is either flowing in a direction to charge the battery if it’s in charging mode or discharge the battery for use if it’s in discharging mode.

Batteries are only as good as their integration and, while wind and solar power are both great examples of highly efficient and clean energy generators, they can only do it under ideal conditions, such as sunny days or windy nights. Unfortunately, these unpredictable production patterns conflict with our current energy grid set up in which power is produced when and where we need it. Therefore, everytime we get an extra windy night in an area with wind power production, much of this energy is ‘spilled,’ or wasted, since there is no energy demand for it. (“Grid Integration”)

The solution then lies in our ability to store this excess energy until a time when it is needed. This is where our Lithium Ion batteries come into play. By increasing the electrical grid’s available battery storage capacity in conjunction with renewable energy projects, it becomes much more feasible to shut down our on demand fossil fuel burning power plants.
 

Batteries are often viewed as a new technology that is slated to transform our cars and homes. However, the bottom line is that many renewable energy methods will remain unreliable and unrealistic unless we can store the energy they generate for when it is needed most, with battery technology being the most likely candidate.

Check out the full article and bibliography on our blog!

Lithium Battery  / Image Courtesy of  Sarah Harmon and Charles Joyner, US Department of Energy.

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