The Phenomenon (2020) | FULL MOVIE

https://youtu.be/xc_fmXy949g?si=sv-DyQ5-CmODi6SF

Five myths of H2 via rmi

ne of the factors constraining global decarbonization is the scarcity and value of renewable electricity, which is used to produce “green” hydrogen. Already the world needs vastly more clean electricity infrastructure, as power consumption in 2050 is expected to double from population and economic growth alone — and only 10 percent of electricity today comes from solar and wind. Add in the electricity required to make green hydrogen to decarbonize heavy industry and transport, and power consumption could triple. Given this backdrop, at a macro level, it is important to prioritize reducing electricity consumption and using renewable electricity most efficiently. As such, many of today’s micro-level business cases of hydrogen for heating buildings, generating power, or fueling light-duty vehicles are better suited for investments in energy efficiency or direct electrification (see Exhibit 1 below). https://rmi.org/five-hydrogen-myths-busted/

passive cooling strategies needed

A forthcoming change to B.C.’s Building Code that will require all new homes to have at least one temperature-controlled room presents an important opportunity to build creatively for the future, says an expert in environmental design and sustainable architecture. The government is proposing that all new homes have a minimum of one living space that is designed not to exceed a temperature of 26 C, through either passive cooling measures, such as shading, or a cooling appliance. Two years ago, a deadly heat wave killed 619 British Columbians. A coroner’s death review panel found that the majority of victims were older adults with compromised health, who lived alone in homes without adequate cooling systems. “Mandatory requirements for new buildings will help address the effects of extreme heat events on building occupants to improve public safety and better prevent future fatalities,” said a statement from the Ministry of Housing, provided by communications manager Tasha Schollen. The updated building code is expected to be implemented in December. Vivian Loftness, a professor of architecture at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, with 30 years of focus on environmental design and sustainability, said there are proven design strategies to help cool the home. These include “cool roofs” designed to reflect more sunlight than conventional roofs, strategic window placement and retractable awnings and other window coverings. Rainscreen facades – a cladding layer separated from the exterior wall by a small gap – offer additional protection against rain, heat and cold. Extreme, deadly heat in Canada is going to come back, worse than ever. Will we be ready? New condo towers can be built with quiet, high-efficiency heat pumps and dynamic shading devices over balcony windows. Transom windows with exhaust fans can pull cool nighttime breezes through the condo unit. “The design professions, and the building professions, are perfectly capable of delivering a house that does not overheat as long as the outside air is 30 degrees Celsius or less,” Ms. Loftness said. “It gets tough to do it when it’s 40 outside, but I think the important thing for the design profession is to not let them get sloppy, not let them just say, ‘Oh, well, we’ll just put in an air conditioner.’ They really have to be held to account for keeping that cooling load just to the hours and the days when the outside is really too hot.” In Switzerland, strict environmental laws set at the canton level make it difficult to purchase an air conditioner; in Geneva, for example, a homeowner must prove that they have a legitimate need for one. Other cantons require that air conditioners meet certain energy-efficiency standards. Ms. Loftness said it would be wise for B.C.’s updated Building Code to include some conditions so that builders don’t simply default to air conditioning, which relies heavily on electricity generated by burning fossil fuels and contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases. Mark Bernhardt, vice-president of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association of B.C. (CHBA BC) and a licensed builder and developer based in Victoria, said recent updates to the Building Code regarding energy-efficiency requirements have already spurred changes in how homes are built and designed. These have included extra insulation, strategic window placement and slightly bigger overhangs on the south side of a single-family home to shade windows. How does the human body respond to rising temperatures? This one-of-a-kind lab in Ottawa is trying to find out Exterior roller blinds on east- and west-facing windows is another cost-effective solution that requires little to no maintenance, and basements would likely stay relatively cool, he said. Mr. Bernhardt said condos will be more difficult, citing as an example smaller units with one bedroom, one living room and not many options to reconfigure. In parts of B.C.’s Southern Interior, where temperatures regularly exceed 30 degrees in the summer, most homes are already being built with cooling devices or the required hookups if the devices are not installed at the time of construction. “More energy use is not desirable, of course; there’s emissions associated with the electricity use,” Mr. Bernhardt said. “Shifting that demand from the winter, where it’s currently peaking, to the summer, is a really sort of different way of thinking about our grid.” BC Hydro set a new record for highest August peak hourly demand on Monday when 14 daily temperature records were set and consumption reached more than 8,400 megawatts. That is about 1,000 megawatts more than usual, and the equivalent of turning on about one million portable air-conditioning units, according to the energy supplier. Mr. Bernhardt said where he foresees challenges is with the existing housing stock. “You can’t force people to spend money on their homes, as much as we’d like to, in the name of saving people’s lives,” he said. “The hope is that over time, these buildings will go through an upgrade process and solve that problem. But in the meantime, I think we’re going to see a lot of portable air conditioners and things like that.”

Hydrogen storage without high pressure tanks, but in a liquid with baking soda!

Here’s how it works: Solutions of formate ions (hydrogen and carbon dioxide) in water carry hydrogen based on non-corrosive alkali metal formate. The ions react with water in the presence of a catalyst. That reaction makes hydrogen and bicarbonates the “baking soda” Autrey admires for its absence of environmental impacts. With the right mild tweaks in pressure, the bicarbonate-formate cycle can be reversed. That provides an on-off switch for an aqueous solution that can alternately store or release hydrogen. Before baking soda, the PNNL hydrogen storage team looked at ethanol as a liquid organic hydrogen carrier, the industry’s blanket term for storage and transport media. In tandem, they developed a catalyst that releases the hydrogen. Catalysts are designer additives that speed the processes used to make and break chemical bonds in an energy-efficient way. In May 2023, for a project related to the PNNL effort, EERE granted OCOchem of Richland, Washington, $2.5 million in funding over two years to develop an electrochemical process that makes formate and formic acid from carbon dioxide. The process would bind carbon dioxide with the hydrogen located in water’s iconic chemical bond, H2O. In a partnership just starting, PNNL will develop ways to release hydrogen from the OCOchem products. Hydrogen storage that ‘looks like water’ In the world of hydrogen storage research, the bicarbonate-formate cycle has created a buzz for quite some time. After all, it is based on materials that are abundant, non-flammable, and non-toxic. The cycle is built on an aqueous storage solution so mild it “looks like water,” said Autrey. “You can put out a fire with it.” But for formate-bicarbonate salts to become a viable means of storing hydrogen energy, researchers must still develop economically feasible scenarios. So far, the technology stores hydrogen at only 20 kilograms per cubic meter, compared to liquid hydrogen’s industry standard of 70. More fundamentally, said Autrey, researchers need a systems-level understanding of the required electrochemistry and catalysis. In engineering terms, to date, the idea of a workable bicarbonate-formate cycle has a low technical readiness level. “If we solve the catalysis problems,” he added, “we could get some real interest.” ‘An amazing shiny thing’ On the plus side, the salt solutions under consideration at PNNL release hydrogen upon reaction with water. They also operate at moderate temperatures and low pressures. In theory, at least, as Autrey and Gutiérrez describe in their 2023 paper, the bicarbonate-formate cycle represents “a feasible green alternative for storing and transporting energy” from hydrogen. The baking soda idea is also at the nexus of what the 2023 paper calls “several urgent scientific challenges.” Among them are how to make a hydrogen storage media from captured excess carbon dioxide. And even to use the same media to store electrons, which offers the promise of direct formate fuel cells. In addition, the PNNL work could provide insights for catalysis in the aqueous (water) phase. For now, the PNNL team is using palladium as their candidate catalyst. Their efforts include finding ways to make the rare metal more stable, reusable, and longer-lived. All in all, the baking soda idea “is this amazing shiny thing” for hydrogen storage, said Autrey. “What’s exciting are the possibilities.” *** https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Simple-Kitchen-Ingredient-Might-Revolutionize-Hydrogen-Storage.html

Cooling without compressors, blowers, or noise was perfected in Iran, now used in Seville

The structure is a part of CartujaQanat, an architectural experiment in cooling solutions that doesn’t rely on burning more planet-warming fossil fuels. The site, about the size of two soccer fields, includes two auditoriums, green spaces, a promenade and a shaded area with benches. But its star performer remains hidden — the qanat, a network of underground pipes and tubes inspired by Persian-era canals. The CartujaQanat project in Seville is sitting in limbo as administrative and technical hurdles have delayed its opening Photographer: Àngel García/Bloomberg The grid of aqueducts can lower surrounding temperatures by as much as 10C using just air, water and solar power, according to Emasesa, the Seville public water company that helped to build it. The system is modeled on ancient tunnels dug to bring water to agricultural fields that were first documented in what is today Iran. The Persians realized 1,000 years ago that the running water also cooled the air in the canals, so they fashioned vertical shafts to bring that air to the surface. “This is not an air-conditioning system like the one you may have in your home,” says Juan Luis López, the project’s supervisor and an engineer at Emasesa. “We use natural techniques and materials to reduce temperatures.” The CartujaQanat was designed by researchers at Universidad de Sevilla, who added some modern twists to the Persian engineering marvel that served as its inspiration. At night, water runs through an aqueduct outside, which takes it over solar panels on the roof and into giant tanks underground. Contact with the lower temperatures cools the water, while the closed circuit minimizes waste. When the day starts to get hot, solar-powered pumps push the same water through small pipes that run in front of fans to generate cold air. Small openings in the floor and steps allow the refreshing current to seep into the square. The square itself has features that make sure temperatures inside are lower even when the qanat system isn’t operating. It sits two (6.5 feet) underground, is covered by a white heat-reflecting roof and surrounded by columns and vegetation that help cool it down. read the rest here: https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2023-seville-spain-extreme-heat/?cmpid=BBD080823_GREENDAILY