Archive:000/Decarbonize the energy supply: Difference between revisions

How to produce enough [[?|energy]] (for the world) without burning [[fossil fuels]]?

* [[Solar]] & [[wind power]] would have to be the main sources{{x|in most parts of the world}}, because [[?|other renewables are limited to very specific geographic regions]].

* [[?|Most solar panels today]] would probably be '''unsustainable''' or even impossible to scale up, due to having [[?|too many scarce minerals in them]].

** ''See discussion on'' [[?|alternatives to this]].

* Batteries [[?|''might'' be scalable enough]] to smooth out the '''day/night''' cycle of solar. {{x|Best bet would be either [[sodium-ion]] or [[iron redox flow batteries]].}}

** But the '''seasonal''' fluctuations of wind & solar [[?|probably need ''far more'' energy storage capacity]].

*** ''See discussion on'' [[?|other energy storage types and whether any could provide enough capacity]].

* [[?|Is there enough land to scale up wind power]] (without causing significant [[habitat loss|ecological damage]])?

Considering the different types of nuclear power, it seems that [[?|'''thorium''' power]] is the one with the least problems. Here's a comparison:

* [[?|Why isn't thorium power a thing yet?]]

* [[?|Would small (shipping-container-sized) thorium reactors be viable?]]

* Most EVs today use [[?|lithium-ion batteries (NMC type)]]. Scaling these up is [[?|'''unsustainable''' due to the amount of '''cobalt''' in them]]. {{talk|Need to mention 3 issues about cobalt: Child labor, scarcity, and the possibility of mining the ocean floor (since conventional mining wouldn't be able to produce enough to make all cars electric). All this would be even worse if cobalt isn't fully recovered in EV battery recycling.}}

** Best alternatives ([[?|so far]]) hold somewhat less of a charge (i.e. the vehicle gets less {{p2|range|"Range" refers to the distance the vehicle can travel after 1 full charge.}}). {{talk|TODO: Add to this page a simple comparison between NMC, LFP and sodium-ion, in terms of typical expected EV range.}}

*** [[?|LFP batteries]] are cobalt-free but still lithium-based. Lithium scarcity [[?|would be somewhat a problem]] but not as bad as cobalt.

*** [[?|Sodium-ion batteries]] are made from abundant materials - they don't have any mineral-scarcity problem ([[?|probably]]). But they hold even less of a charge than LFP.

**** Sodium-ion batteries are [[?|quite new to the market]] (in 2024), and the hope is that they'll become a lot cheaper than existing batteries. That way, [[?|EVs could be cheap and durable]], with the only tradeoff being the lack of range.{{qn}} Probably still good enough for city/suburban living.

*** For '''buses''', LFP and sodium-ion are both perfectly fine. The {{p2|lower energy-density|i.e. the fact that more battery mass is needed to hold the same amount of energy}} is not a problem, because buses need extra weight at the bottom anyway for stability.

* [[?|Next steps for sodium-ion batteries]] {{talk|Is it true that sodium-ion EVs are available in China already, and just not in North America? If sodium-ion batteries are on the market now, how does their cost compare to lithium-based batteries so far?}}

* [[?|How well are EV batteries recycled?]]

* [[?|Hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles]] would be unsustainable to scale up, because of the [[?|amount of platinum & palladium in the fuel cells]]. {{talk|This page needs to mention: Hydrogen ''production'' also requires these same metals but it [[?|can be done with much less of them]] and thus could probably be done sustainably.}}

* [[?|Hydrogen combustion vehicles]] don't have this problem, but their fuel-efficiency is lower.{{qn}} {{talk|How bad would this be an issue if renewables or nuclear were to be the main energy sources?}} {{talk|Discussion needed: Estimate: How much hydrogen would have to be stored (stocked) at any given time, for the supply chain to work (let's say if it's all produced through nuclear power)? Probably a lot less than what it would take to smooth out the seasonality of renewables - I need to write a page explaining why.}}

''This wiki currently needs more research:''<small>