Countries are increasingly looking for clean technology to meet their energy needs. Several countries and organisations have formed partnerships to explore innovative ideas and technology to increase the adoption of clean solutions. Green hydrogen, for instance, has gained momentum as an essential transition fuel to decarbonise multiple sectors of the economy.,
This article presents recent renewable energy developments receiving increasing attention in the global energy transition.
- Green Hydrogen: As an emissions-free energy resource, green hydrogen is rapidly gaining traction in the clean energy space. Several countries, such as Egypt, Namibia and Mauritania, have begun investments in the resource. Due to its properties, green hydrogen is envisioned as the future fuel for hard-to-abate industries, including the manufacturing, cement and aviation sector.
- Solar Powered Automobiles: Solar energy utilisation has progressed into the automobile industry. Solar-powered cars are electric vehicles that utilise photovoltaic cells to convert energy from the sunlight into electricity. This technology also allows the cars to store excess energy through a battery storage device for later uses. Telsa, the American Automotive and clean energy company, is currently piloting the production of solar-powered automobiles. Students in the Netherlands recently developed a solar-powered vehicle that comprises expansive solar panels on the roof allowing it to travel up to 740km on a sunny day.
- Solar Roof Tiles: Like the regular roof panels such as Aluminum, technology has provided a way to roof homes with solar roof tiles. These tiles offer a substitute for traditional solar panels. Instead of being installed on existing roofs, solar tiles are part of the roof. For example, Telsa’s solar roof tiles have an output of 71.67W.
- Energy Storage: One of the significant challenges of renewable energy solutions like solar power has been energy storage capacity. The goal of cutting carbon emissions through renewable energy cannot be actualised without developing efficient storage solutions. Among the emerging energy storage technologies are iron-flow batteries – these batteries rely on materials that are cheap, abundant and non-toxic (iron, salt and water) and unlike the typical lithium-ion batteries, these batteries store energy for long (up to 12 hours). Another is the hydroelectric storage – which uses the power generated at a given time to pump water into chambers located above turbines. Then, when the energy is required, the water is released to flow down through the turbines, turning them and releasing the stored energy as electricity. Some other emerging storage technology is thermal storage which involves the heating or cooling of a medium to use the energy for later uses.