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real-human
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 Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2023 12:09 pm Post subject: |
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Put your money where your mouth is...
Ultra-hot carbon batteries promise super-cheap heat and energy storage
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Bill Gates-backed startup Antora Energy is preparing to roll out a containerized, modular heat battery, designed to store renewable energy at the lowest possible cost – then release it efficiently as electricity or industrial process heat. |
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/bill-gates-backed-green-battery-startup-pilots-experimental-system-to-power-industry/ar-AA1gBBGf?cvid=7552d6d3a766490197e66908fadbb3b0&ocid=winp2fptaskbar&ei=15
Bill Gates-Backed Green Battery Startup Pilots Experimental System to Power Industry
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Antora Energy, a thermal battery startup backed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, has launched its first commercial-scale system.
The battery is getting its first shot at proving its efficacy as part of a pilot project at Wellhead Electric Company, Anota’s energy facility near Fresno, California. If it all goes well, then the startup plans to ship the first of its energy devices to buyers by 2025, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
Antora takes a different approach to building batteries that enables them to store renewable energy. Unlike a lithium-ion battery, which stores electricity as chemical energy, Antora batteries capture energy as heat. The company’s thermal batteries are designed to store energy at extreme temperatures as high as 1,800°C, which can then be released as electricity or used directly in certain industrial processes, like making cement.
Antora secured backing from Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures and the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency — Energy (ARPA-E), a governmental investment arm that puts money into various energy and tech moonshots (a similar government vehicle made a number of successful bets including the programs that became the internet). Gates, for his part, has poured money into various technical solutions to the climate crisis and global emissions — beyond Antora’s batteries, Gates has also backed experimental tech like solar engineering, whereby artificially created clouds would be used to cool the planet down.
Antora’s power could be in helping heavy industry transition to clean energy — solar and wind struggle to cope with the day-to-day heat and electricity needs of industrial plants. Because the thermal batteries release both electricity and heat, they are ostensibly able to replace the need for fossil fuels at these plants.
The company is building out its manufacturing facility in the Bay Area of San Francisco with a 2024 completion date. It’s already targeting potential customers in states like Kansas, Iowa — both windy states — and in sunny locations where that allows its batteries to store excess solar energy. |
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real-human
Joined: 02 Jul 2011
Posts: 14892
Location: on earth
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| Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2023 2:42 pm Post subject: |
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/bill-gates-backed-startup-launches-wildly-hot-thermal-battery-system-uninterruptible-reliable-supply-of-process-heat/ar-AA1hLT0z?cvid=85a57cf3c7124685b5a57e9e15235ea0&ocid=winp2fptaskbarhover&ei=46
Bill Gates-backed startup launches wildly hot thermal battery system: ‘Uninterruptible, reliable supply of process heat’
| Quote: | As the need to cool down our overheating planet becomes more pressing, companies are finding new ways to help. One company, backed by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy, is doing its part to help cool the planet by getting carbon blocks really, really hot, Bloomberg reported.
Antora Energy, a thermal battery startup, has launched its first commercial-scale system at a facility in Fresno, California. The pilot project is a significant step toward getting heavy industry off dirty energy.
The International Energy Agency states that, in 2019, the power and heavy industry sectors accounted for about 60% of annual pollution, and Energy Innovation says they are projected to be the largest source of planet-warming pollution in the United States by 2030.
Typical lithium-ion batteries store electricity as chemical energy. In contrast, Bloomberg explained, Antora’s thermal battery system stores energy as electrically generated heat inside carbon blocks at temperatures upward of 3,272 degrees Fahrenheit (1,800 degrees Celsius).
The system then converts the heat back to electricity using thermophotovoltaic cells similar to those found in solar panels and can directly discharge it as either heat or electricity.
Industrial facilities like cement and steel plants need continuous heat and run on tons of dirty energy like coal and natural gas. Renewable energy sources are intermittent — there are also times when more solar or wind power is generated than the grid can handle, and the excess power is sometimes wasted.
Antora’s battery could smooth out intermittency issues, as it can take intermittent solar and wind power and convert it to an efficient, continuous supply of industrial heat and electricity.
Jon Glass, the acting deputy director for commercialization at the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, a government entity that awarded Antora nearly $8 million as part of a program aimed at developing long-duration energy storage systems, told Bloomberg, “You can achieve the benefits of industrial CHP, combined heat and power, in a zero-carbon way.”
Breakthrough Energy partner Christina Karapataki further said, “What the plant really cares about is having an uninterruptible, reliable supply of process heat. Whether it’s coming from a natural gas boiler or a coal-fired boiler, or whether it’s coming from an Antora system heating up an oil pipeline, the plant really doesn’t care.”
In the long run, Antora chief executive officer and co-founder Andrew Ponec told Bloomberg he sees a trajectory where an Antora system could best dirty energy on cost with no subsidies.
“I think where the challenge is biggest is who funds units two or three through 10 where it’s not the very first of a kind, but the technology still doesn’t look yet like a solar or wind,” he said. “There haven’t been many years of operational data and so people still need to get into the details of evaluating if it is a risk that their company wants to take.”
Antora is building a battery manufacturing facility in the Bay Area that it expects to complete by 2024 and plans to ship the technology to its first buyers in 2025. |
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real-human
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Posts: 14892
Location: on earth
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2023 10:37 pm Post subject: |
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to my knowledge not gates funded but similar to one he funded.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/kairos-power-s-next-generation-nuclear-reactor-in-oak-ridge-gets-the-green-light/ar-AA1lqXHN?cvid=743162ed26b9426196d850c6a88a2708&ocid=winp2fptaskbarhover&ei=5&sc=shoreline
Kairos Power's next-generation nuclear reactor in Oak Ridge gets the green light
| Quote: | Anew kind of commercial nuclear reactor is a big step closer to becoming a reality in the U.S., and it's being developed in Oak Ridge.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted Kairos Power a construction permit for Hermes, a demonstration reactor, on Dec. 12.
Unlike every commercial nuclear reactor in the country, Hermes will not be cooled by water, but by a molten salt mixture that captures heat produced by fission and transfers that heat to create steam to spin turbines.
While traditional water-cooled reactors require huge plants whose systems often operate under extreme pressure, the coolant in Hermes will stay liquid at high temperatures and low pressures, making the reactor design safer, more compact and more energy efficient.
Hermes is the first non-water-cooled reactor to be approved for construction in the U.S. in half a century. The last molten salt reactor was an experiment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the 1960s that laid the groundwork for the technology but was never commercialized.
The company plans to begin construction next year at the Heritage Center Industrial Park, a historical Manhattan Project site formerly known as the East Tennessee Technology Park, bringing $100 million of investment and 55 new jobs to Oak Ridge.
The park where Kairos will build the reactor was once public land owned by the Department of Energy, but now it's been turned over to private companies creating the next evolution of nuclear power.
Kairos must get a separate operating license from the NRC before it can fully operate Hermes. It expects the reactor will be up and running in 2026.
Hermes will not create power for the grid, but rather demonstrate the affordability and safety of the novel technology at a small scale. It is one step on California-based Kairos Power's path to commercialize the fluoride-salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor at full scale.
Kairos has enjoyed good relationships with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which it first engaged on Hermes licensing in 2018, and the community of Oak Ridge.
The two relationships came together at a mandatory hearing on the construction permit in October, where a letter of support from Oak Ridge leaders was read aloud and NRC Commissioner David Wright commended Kairos's engagement with local partners.
One key local partner is TRISO-X, a subsidiary of X-energy, which will create the advanced fuel to power Hermes. In 2022, the company broke ground on a production facility in Oak Ridge, the first commercial advanced nuclear fuel facility in North America. Its pellet fuel was first developed at ORNL, and one golf-ball-sized piece can create the same energy as burning four tons of coal.
In 2020, the Department of Energy announced it would invest up to $303 million over seven years in the Hermes project, which will go to Kairos and its research partners. To date, the company says it has been funded almost exclusively by private investors. |
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real-human
Joined: 02 Jul 2011
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| Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2023 8:35 pm Post subject: |
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/inside-zap-energy-the-bill-gates-backed-company-that-wants-to-bring-fusion-power-to-the-electrical-grid/ar-AA1lWugQ?cvid=0c2de2b129084adc88c59c86354086a6&ocid=winp2fptaskbarhover&ei=15&sc=shoreline
Inside Zap Energy, the Bill Gates-backed company that wants to bring fusion power to the electrical grid
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Behind the glass doors of an unassuming office building in Everett, Washington, sits a machine designed to harness the power of the sun. And maybe one day it will.
Zap Energy hopes to use its Z-pinch device to generate bountiful electricity with nuclear fusion.
Fusion is what powers the sun, and if it can work here on Earth, it may produce almost 4 million times the energy of fossil fuels like coal or oil.
As the climate crisis worsens, some see fusion as the ticket to abundant, fossil-fuel-free energy. However, critics say the technology is too far behind to make a meaningful impact on the problem in the next few decades.
That said, Zap Energy hopes to have a pilot plant running in the next few years, though it doesn't have a firm date for the goal.
"Zap Energy is still doing some fundamental R and D," Ben Levitt, vice president of the company's research and development, told Business Insider during a recent visit to the company offices. "We're kind of building the plane as we fly."
The fusion rac |
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real-human
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| Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2024 4:53 pm Post subject: |
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/bill-gates-backed-startup-develops-hawt-turbines-that-reduce-cost-of-wind-power-to-new-lows-here-s-how-they-work/ar-AA1mongu?cvid=3a2afd51516c4748bed7a39ec531aa38&ocid=winp2fptaskbar&ei=15&sc=shoreline
Bill Gates-backed startup develops ‘HAWT’ turbines that reduce cost of wind power to new lows — here’s how they work
| Quote: | Airloom Energy, a Wyoming-based wind energy startup backed by Bill Gates, created a revolutionary wind-powered technology that it claims can slash energy costs by nearly 70%.
While wind energy continues to get cheaper as more wind farms come online, the turbines themselves are outrageously expensive — a standard utility-scale 2.5 MW horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT) can cost roughly $2.1 million, according to an example cited on the Airloom website.
In comparison, the startup’s unique wind power system — simply called AirLoom — comes in at just under $225,000 for a 2.5 MW system. It estimates an entire 20 MW AirLoom wind farm would cost less than $6 million — only about 25% of what conventional wind farms normally cost.
The cost savings can be attributed mostly to the AirLoom’s vastly smaller size and intuitive design that resembles a racetrack, with several 82-foot poles suspending the track in the air. A number of 33-foot blades, or wings, are placed evenly along the oval-shaped track, propelled by air currents to generate energy.
Standard “pinwheel” turbines reach staggering heights of 500 feet or more, with the average tower now more than 320 feet tall, holding up massive 210-plus-foot blades, per the U.S. Department of Energy.
Though the wings on the AirLoom are much smaller, they still could reportedly generate the same energy as HAWT blades in part due to generators connected to the system that spin at 5,000 RPM, compared to 12 RPM for traditional turbines, according to a video on the Airloom website.
Related video: Bill Gates: Climate adaptation a priority as global warming 'likely above our goals' (CNBC)
Bill how do you make sure that the impact is
Since Airloom’s device uses “human-scale parts” that are easier to manufacture and transport, the company says this will help lower the overall cost of harnessing wind energy. Plus, HAWT blades take up a ton of room in landfills and have rarely been recycled, according to Chemical & Engineering News (though creative solutions are emerging for this).
The reduced weight and size of materials used in the breakthrough AirLoom wind device will lessen the impact on landfills once it’s decommissioned.
“Cost and environmental advantages extend over the Airloom’s entire lifecycle. It uses readily sourced materials to ensure rapid manufacturing, and an entire 2.5 MW Airloom could be transported in one standard tractor trailer,” Airloom Energy said in a press release.
Founded in 2020, the startup plans to use the $4 million it received in seed funding led by Bill Gates’ investment firm, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, for the research and development of its 50 kW prototype.
In the future, Airloom aims to scale up the system, building tracks up to 1,300 feet long (per the website video) for 1 MW systems, and generating hundreds of megawatts in industrial-scale wind farms.
The company hasn’t yet announced when we might see its devices deployed in commercial wind farms. But, if the prototype is successful, it could be a game-changer for the wind power industry, helping to drive down energy costs and add to our arsenal of planet-cooling technologies.
“For decades, the wind industry has lowered the cost of energy production by scaling ever larger turbines. Although this has been extremely successful in driving down overall costs, the approach now faces challenges in terms of both siting and cost of materials,” said business lead Carmichael Roberts of Breakthrough Energy Ventures in the press release.
“Airloom’s unique approach can solve both these problems, opening new market opportunities for wind energy that will further drive down costs,” he added. |
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real-human
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| Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2024 9:57 pm Post subject: |
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/technology/bill-gates-backed-startup-uses-revolutionary-method-to-cut-cost-of-clean-energy-storage-we-see-that-as-sort-of-open-ground-that-we-can-go-and-make-a-big-difference-in/ar-AA1mJFhK?ocid=winp2fptaskbarhover&cvid=470a99149ec14c0fae95a7236f91cb61&ei=50
Bill Gates-backed startup uses revolutionary method to cut cost of clean-energy storage: ‘We see that as sort of open ground that we can go and make a big difference in’
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Bill Gates-backed startup uses revolutionary method to cut cost of clean-energy storage: ‘We see that as sort of open ground that we can go and make a big difference in’
© Provided by The Cool Down
As the infrastructure for solar and wind energy is built out, there is a growing need for storage systems for clean energy.
A startup called Fourth Power is planning to build a prototype facility for one such system in Boston, which will hopefully be completed in 2026, as reported by Financial Post (FP).
Fourth Power, which has received financial backing from Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, plans to use liquid tin for thermal energy storage. According to Carmichael Roberts — the head of Breakthough’s investment committee — this strategy could be as much as 10 times cheaper than the current standard lithium-ion battery storage systems.
Asegun Henry, the company’s founder and chief technology officer, told Recharge that the technology has been in development for more than 10 years.
Thermal energy storage means converting renewable energy into heat, and BloombergNEF analyst Stephanie Diaz told the FP it is an attractive solution “because it can be flexibly sited, is relatively energy dense, and can provide ancillary services.”
It could also store a lot more energy in one place than lithium-ion batteries, most of which only have a storage capacity of a few hours. And no lithium means no need for lithium mining — generally considered an environmentally destructive practice that uses massive amounts of water and significantly degrades land in order to remove a nonrenewable resource from the Earth.
The need for battery storage solutions like this one is significant, as the United States has continued to increase its production of dirty energy sources like oil while ignoring its previously agreed-upon deadlines for a clean-energy transition.
“Thermal energy storage needs to exist for the promise of a true renewable grid, but it hasn’t been fully developed,” said Roberts, per the FP. “We see that as sort of open ground that we can go and make a big difference in.”
Fourth Power reportedly hopes to begin delivering its batteries by the end of the decade. |
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