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Inefficient building electrification risks prolonging fossil fuel use

A new study finds that decarbonization pathways need to incorporate more efficient electric heating technologies and more renewable energy sources to minimize strain on the U.S. electric grid during increased electricity usage from heating in December and January. Otherwise, harmful fossil fuels will continue to power these seasonal spikes in energy demand.

Buildings’ direct fossil fuel consumption, burned in water heaters, furnaces, and other heating sources, accounts for nearly 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Switching to an electric system that powers heating through , rather than coal, oil, and natural gas—the process known as building electrification or building decarbonization—is a crucial step towards achieving global net-zero climate goals.

However, most building decarbonization models have not accounted for seasonal fluctuations in energy demand for heating or cooling. This makes it difficult to predict what an eventual switch to cleaner, all-electric heating in buildings could mean for the nation’s electrical grid, especially during peaks in energy use.

Western Japan’s Sakurajima volcano erupts —weather agency

A volcano on Japan’s western major island of Kyushu, called Sakurajima, erupted at about 8:05 p.m. (1105 GMT) on Sunday, the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) said, but media said there were no immediate reports of damage.

There were reports of volcanic stones raining down at a distance of 2.5 km (1.5 miles) from the volcano, NHK public television said. The eruption alert level has been raised to 5, the highest, with some areas advised to evacuate, NHK said. Sakurajima is one of Japan’s most active volcanoes and eruptions of varying levels are frequent. In 2019 it spewed ash 5.5 km (3.4 miles) high.

“The Crisis of the Day” Stated the U.S. Supreme Court When Ruling Against the EPA’s Oversight of the Environment

At the time climate change was only beginning to be talked about in the scientific community as well as behind the scenes among researchers working for fossil fuel companies.

Climate change fit the EPA’s mandate. And unlike an oil or chemical spill, no reputable scientist would see climate change as equivalent to “the crisis of the day.” But this phrase appears in Chief Justice John Roberts’ opinion justifying the decision in West Virginia v. EPA to deny the Agency its power to regulate carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants which based on the mandated powers described above is its purview (see points 3, 4, and 5).

First steps towards high-speed motors for fuel cell components

The transport sector is transforming towards climate-friendly powertrains with significantly reduced CO 2 emissions. The electrification of powertrains remains a major challenge not only for trucks, buses, trains, and ships but also for aircraft. These applications cannot be realized in the future with batteries because of the energy requirements. The fuel cell is an extremely promising energy supplier for these applications, which supplies electrical energy from stored hydrogen and ambient air.

Fraunhofer Institutes LBF, IFAM, IISB, and SCAI joined their forces to develop advanced and highly efficient components for fuel cells. The project HABICHT aims to design and develop a high-speed motor for a fuel cell compressor to enable innovation in the utility vehicle and aviation domain. The electric machine should at least achieve apower density of 30 kW/kgby using innovative materials for direct cooling of the stator and maximizing the rotor’shigh-speed capability (150.000 rpm). The rotor design will use a new manufacturing process to glue and pot the magnets to be suitable for high circumferential speeds.

Prototype of a high-speed motor for a fuel cell compressor. (Image: Project HABICHT)

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