Sustainable mining - will we fund the required investment?
One of the biggest sustainability transition challenges relates to our ability to mine enough critical minerals to allow the various sustainable industries to scale up the (already known) solutions.
Positive story about coal mines; wee test for bowel cancer?; will European supply chain regs work?
A positive story about coal mines! Could abandoned coal mines be a useful energy source to heat our homes? Local politicians in the west of England, working with the Coal Authority (the public body that manages the effects of historic coal mining) believe so. West of England coalmines to be
Tracking concrete technology developments
Among the various organisations interested in lower carbon concrete is, unsurprisingly, the Institution of Structural Engineers. Concrete is a massively important building material. But, as they say "publicly available information about these technologies is often limited and inconsistent, making it difficult to draw comparisons with conventional concrete." Which
Electricity ducks being seen in Spain
Solar electricity generation offers the potential for low electricity prices, at least when the sun is shining. Data shows that there is a decent correlation between the market price of electricity and what is called the residual load (demand minus supply contributions from wind and solar). The best way to
Food system overhaul brings $10tn pa benefits; Spanish electricity ducks; tracking concrete tech developments
Radical food system overhaul could deliver US$10 trillon per year in benefits. A report from the Food System Economics Commission (FSEC) argues that the current set up of food systems globally (i.e. what food we grow, how we grow it and how we distribute it to people) has
Sunday Brunch: Who pays matters
Funding sustainability cannot just be a debate about which funding source - we also need to understand how willing the end consumer is to foot the bill. Or putting it in simple terms, who pays. Because someone has to. And who gains? Is it always the same 'person' that pays?
An 'Industrial Revolution' for efficient buildings?
The European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive could create a massive investment opportunity.
What caught our eyes - three key stories (week 4, 2024)
Battery recycling's 5% rate myth; Alzheimer's blood test; efficient buildings Industrial Revolution?
Sunday Brunch: Innovation alone will NOT save the world
Innovation is great. It's the life blood of long term value creation in many industries. But on it's own it's not enough. When it comes to putting your money to work, look beyond this to those companies that are good at taking good ideas, and turning them into profitable businesses.
Investment opportunities hiding in plain sight ?
A $330bn/year green investment opportunity. What is not to like. So what is the catch ? Yes, it's in emerging markets. But the real challenge is that we need to develop new business models.
What caught our eye - three key stories (week 3, 2024)
The cost of CCS; do EVs have a longer working life than ICEs?; the reemergence of measles
Critical minerals - will we have enough?
Kathryn Porter, who writes the Watt Logic blogs, recently did a two part detailed dive into the potential demand from the sustainability transitions for critical minerals. Part 1 sets the scene in some detail. In Part 2, the blog we are highlighting, she looks at the supply situation for two