What is the best home battery for you?
If you value freedom, engineering and sustainability, you probably want to have a ‘home battery’ that stores and provides you with energy independent from the grid. But these are not as easily bought as your average turkey sandwich. Which battery do you need for your family? How do you install it? How much does it cost? This liveblog is intended to provide you with (some) of the answers.
Sustainalize this! 5 - Traffic Jam in “the Grid”
What is solar inflation? What is “the grid” and why is it “full”? Why are Germany and Chile struggling with negative energy prices? Tune in with our special guest Benjamin, as we discuss these questions, what they mean to electricity production in the future and how we could potentially solve these massive challenges. In this episode you learn all about “the grid”, how complex it can be, where it is "failing" - we are still not certain - and the ultimate wizard solution: virtual power plants.
Sustainalize this! 4 - Battery Recycling
Will our kids ever know what it is like to refuel a car with gasoline, or will everything be electrified by then? In this episode Vincent and Yvo discuss electric batteries and what happens with them when they die. Learn all about battery basics, how they are recycled at the moment and in the future, plus how we could all be driving around like in Mario Kart in the future with wireless charging lanes. And remember, we are not the experts here. We are simply learning, together.
Overbuilding solar and wind yields a least-cost all-renewables grid
The global energy firm Wartsila modeled the least-cost renewables mix for all regions of the world, based on projected technology costs for 2030. The analysis shows that all regions require overbuilding of renewable capacity of up to four times. Contrary to popular belief, no seasonal storage is required, “only” four to ten days of multi-day storage capacity.
Off Grid Solar Battery! - So easy its *Almost* Cheating...
A great movie by JerryRigEverything that shows you exactly how easy it can be to install solar panels and hook them up to a local grid with battery storage.
Get Ready for the Alfa Lift, an Electric-Hybrid Heavy Lift Crane Vessel
The Alfa Lift, a new build heavy lift crane vessel owned by Offshore Heavy Transport, is on track to enter service by early 2022. The vessel features a 3,000 ton main crane, 10,000+ m² smart deck which can be fully submerged to a depth of 15 meters and a electric-hybrid battery system made by Kongsberg.
Northvolt acquires Cuberg
With Northvolt’s acquisition of Silicon Valley battery company Cuberg, we're launching Northvolt into a new tier of cell architecture and performance. With an innovative cell design, Cuberg's technology will unlock far higher performance from batteries than we achieve with today’s technology.
Will Renewables end up as landfill?
Solar and Wind energy are growing at a truly astonishing pace on every continent. But in the race for global supremacy in the power generation sector have we neglected to consider how we will deal with millions of panels and turbines when they come to the end of their useful lives? Are we storing up yet another environmental problem?
EV Battery Prices Plunge 89% in Ten Years
The price of a lithium-ion battery pack used to power an electric vehicle has plunged 89% in the last decade, from $1,100 per kWh to $137 per kWh. Marine batteries still cost significantly more, ranging between $800-$1,000 per kWh for retrofits to $500 per kWh for newbuilds. DNV expects the cost of batteries to be reduced by 56% by 2025.
Webinar - Kongsberg Hybrid Solutions
A webinar on hybrid propulsion systems for offshore giving an introduction to a selection of our hybrid battery solutions and the advantages they offer.
The Big Friendly Hybrid Giant
The North Sea Giant, a Norwegian offshore construction vessel, is the first DNV class-approved ‘hybrid’ DP3 vessel with three batteries on-board that have a total capacity of 2.034 kWh. The batteries have been installed in an upgrade and serve the purpose of spinning reserve, peak shaving and load leveling. Since then, fuel consumption is reduced in all operational modes with over 2 million liters of diesel per year, saving up to 30% fuel.
The ‘Tesla Effect’ hits Germany as VW, Daimler, and BMW go Full-Electric
The auto industry witnessed a historic event happening in Germany in 2019, which went by largely unnoticed. In a rare act of unity, the leaders of the country’s big three Automakers; Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche, and BMW CEO Harald Krüger, all agreed that the future of German auto is the electric car. Over the next decade, each CEO would be pushing their respective companies to shift and embrace the idea of an electrified fleet.
Nanotechnology turns Bricks into Batteries
A team of researchers created small prototypes of ‘power bricks’ which are able to power small LEDs. The energy density is only about 1% of that of lithium ion batteries, but is believed this can be increased by tenfold. A brick costs only about 3 dollars to make.
Quantumscape Solid-State Showcase
A first look at QuantumScape’s groundbreaking solid-state electric vehicle battery technology. Warning: this video might change everything what you were told about batteries.
Batteries that charge up to 80% in 15 Minutes
Volkswagen-backed QuantumScape is building a solid-state lithium metal battery for electric vehicles that it says should allow a car to charge to 80% of its full capacity in 15 minutes.
Hurtigruten’s New Hybrid Ships
Designed in 2017 and launched in 2018, Hurtigreten has launched two new hybrid cruise vessels, the MS Roald Amundsen and MS Fridjof Nansen, that can sail fully electric for up to 30 minutes. Not only will it significantly reduce emissions, a hybrid system is also extremely quit. Arctic exploration has never been so much fun!
What are (Solid-State) Lithium-Metal Batteries?
The best explanatory video on regular lithium-ion batteries and solid-state lithium-ion batteries we have seen so far.
Quantumscape CEO on going public and why his battery technology will change the EV market
Quantumscape CEO Jagddep Singh discusses going public through a SPAC deal and his company's battery technology for electric vehicles.
NorthVolt’s Battle Plan to Win the Upcoming Battery-Wars
NortVolt, led by Tesla-Veteran Peter Carlsson, is building the very first European battery gigafactory. One that should counterbalance Elon Musk and, above all, the Asian producers. What is NorthVolt’s strategy to create a European battery power basis? An interview with CEO Peter Carlsson, who urges Europe to quickly build on its own battery knowledge.
Tesla’s Battery Day from a Maritime Perspective
Using Tesla’s announcements of Battery Day, DNV expects the cost of batteries to be reduced by 56% (measured in $/kWh) by 2025. Worldwide, DNV predicts that passenger electric vehicles are likely to start outselling their internal combustion engine counterparts from 2032 onwards. In North America, Europe and China this will take place well before 2030. Tesla’s success could spill over from land-based vehicles into adjacent transport sectors. On the assumption of success on all fronts, Tesla will achieve the critical battery density for short range electric airplanes – namely 400 Wh/kg with high cycle life.