Here are the five most-read Professional Engineering energy stories of 2021. Click on the links throughout to read the whole articles.
UK leads world on offshore wind
The most-read energy story of 2021 highlighted the UK’s strong lead on offshore wind energy capacity. The country has more installed – 10.4GW – than any other country, according to RenewableUK research, with more on the way thanks to record investment in offshore wind manufacturing.
Tiny grains store summer’s heat for winter
Zeolite granules can store the summer’s heat to warm homes in winter, but their impressive chemical storage is held back by poor conductivity. Thankfully, a team of researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute in Dresden, Germany, found a way to double the thermal conductivity of the tiny grains, in an advance that could reduce energy consumption from heating and cooling.
High-density pumped-hydro offers new opportunities
Instead of water, a new type of pumped-hydro energy storage system from developers RheEnergise uses a fluid that is two-and-a-half-times denser. This means an equivalent system could provide two-and-a-half-times the power of conventional systems – a significant increase, opening up thousands of potential new sites for pumped-hydro storage.
Graphene breakthrough boosts sodium batteries
Lithium-ion has been the dominant battery technology since the 1990s, when it made its consumer debut in the Sony Walkman. Lithium is expensive, however, and there are concerns about environmental damage from its extraction.
In August, researchers in Sweden announced a breakthrough that could make abundant and cheap sodium a serious lithium-ion competitor, thanks to a new concept electrode based on graphene.
New centre simulates future fusion power plants
A new multi-million pound facility is simulating the intense heat and magnetic fields of future nuclear fusion power stations. Designed to enable testing of power plant components in the extreme conditions that they will face during operation, the Fusion Technology Facility opened in September, in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.
Tomorrow: the five most-read aerospace stories of 2021.
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