This week’s Current Climate, which every Saturday brings you the latest news about the business of sustainability. Sign up to get it in your inbox every week.
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Last weekend, I read a fascinating essay by historian Bret Devereaux, who used scholarship to answer the question: why didn’t the Roman Empire have an industrial revolution? In answering the question, Devereaux notes that the industrial revolution was never inevitable. There was, in essence, a confluence of factors in Britain that helped lead to industrialization, to wit: an abundance of coal and the absence of cheaper forms of energy, a need to pump water out of coal mines AND a thriving textile industry whose bottlenecks could be improved by machines that could perform repetitive rotary motion. (I’m definitely oversimplifying some of the points here–do read the whole thing.)
Basically, absent the unique circumstances of the 18th century British economy, it’s possible the industrial revolution might not have happened for centuries more–if ever. Devereaux argues that “each innovation in the chain required not merely the discovery of the principle, but also the design and an economically viable use-case to all line up in order to have impact.“ Without that throughline of economic use cases, technology would surely have continued to advance, but without the acceleration and scale provided by industrialization.
Of course, the flip side of that industrialization was also a massive scale-up of environmental issues, from climate change to algal blooms to microplastics. But with so many companies, industries and capital investments into sustainable development, it makes you wonder: is there a confluence of economic circumstances somewhere in the world that could lead to a sustainable economic breakthrough as big as that of the steam engine? It’d be interesting to be able to see what historians centuries from now have to say about the economic and technological developments in our time.
The Big Read
Getty Images
California’s Lithium Rush For EV Batteries Hinges On Taming Toxic, Volcanic Brine
The Salton Sea region has one of the world’s largest known reserves of lithium, enough to power batteries for more than 50 million electric vehicles within a few years. But first it must be extracted from hot geothermal brine loaded with toxic material, a process that’s never been done before at scale.
Discoveries And Innovations
New research suggests Greenland’s rapidly melting ice sheet should push up global sea levels by about 10.8 inches even if the world slashes carbon emissions over the next century.
Midwest retail giant Meijer announced that it’s using robots and drones to help clean up plastic pollution in the Great Lakes.
This week, Hitachi Energy unveiled an eco-efficient 420-kV circuit breaker that enables the transmission of high voltage electricity without emitting sulfur hexafluoride, a potent greenhouse gas.
Sustainability Deals Of The Week
Offshore Wind: Hornsea 2, an offshore wind project that will provide over 1.4 million homes with 1.3 GW of electricity, became fully operational this week.
Scaling Solar: First Solar announced earlier this week that it’s planning to invest up to $1.2 billion to scale production of its photovoltaic solar modules.
Blue Ammonia: QatarEnergy announced this week that it plans to build the world’s largest “blue” ammonia plant, which is expected to cost over $1 billion to build. During the process of production, the plant will sequester rather than emit carbon dioxide at a rate of an estimated 1.5 million tons a year.
On The Horizon
On September 20, Forbes will convene the boldest business leaders who are driving a new wave of sustainable growth through disruptive processes, products, policies and people. Join us in New York City to learn from and meet the changemakers who are taking the economy into the next century and into a greener, healthier world. Confirmed speakers include: Michel Doukeris, CEO of AB InBev; Lisa Dyson, CEO of Air Protein; and Roger Martella, Chief Sustainability Officer of GE.
What Else We’re Reading This Week
New ‘super-fast’ method can shave EV battery charging down to minutes (Popular Science)
Australia’s epic wildfires expanded ozone hole and cranked up global heat (Nature)
Heat, Water, Fire: How Climate Change Is Transforming the Pacific Crest Trail (New York Times)
Green Transportation Update
Honda Motor Co.
The global auto industry now knows electrification isn’t a passing fad and it’s critical to get battery-powered models to market as quickly as possible to help curb carbon pollution. Honda, however, a company long known for fun, sensible, fuel-efficient vehicles has been a laggard in that space. Currently, it has no pure EV in its U.S. lineup and none arriving until 2024. But the Japanese automaker is finally shifting into higher gear, on the heels of the new U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and California’s plan to phase out sales of new gasoline autos by 2035. This week the company said it will build a $4.4 billion battery plant with LG, probably in Ohio, to supply future electric cars and trucks rolling out of its North American plants. That’s on top of its partnership with General Motors to get Ultium batteries and motors from the U.S. carmaker (the two are also collaborating on hydrogen fuel cells).
The Big Transportation Story
Bosch
Amazon To Buy Plug Power’s ‘Green’ Hydrogen In Deal With $2.1 Billion Stock Option
Batteries are much in demand for EVs, but they aren’t the only clean powertrain option. Hydrogen fuel cells also offer zero-emission power, turning the universe’s most abundant element into electricity with only water as a byproduct. This week German industrial heavyweight Bosch said it will add a $200 million factory line in South Carolina to make fuel cells for truckmakers, including its partner Nikola and other interested companies. For now, heavy-duty trucks will probably be the main user of hydrogen fuel though over time the technology may become more common in passenger vehicles.
More Green Transportation News
Could XPENG Be China’s Answer To Tesla?
Toyota invests in EV battery production in Japan, US
Elon Musk: ‘Civilization Will Crumble’ Without Oil And Gas In Short Term
Will Transit Agencies Fight Or Yield To The Self-Driving Revolution?
MG4 EV 2022 Review: Game Changing Electric Car Value