Batteries that store thermal energy can replace fossil fuels in industrial processes

"Industrial companies are searching for ways to make steel, cement and chemicals without burning fossil fuels. Some of the world's biggest investors are betting a fast-developing battery that stores heat can solve the problem.

BlackRock, Saudi Aramco and Rio Tinto headline a group of financiers pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into startups making heat batteries. Also called thermal batteries, they use renewable energy to heat up blocks, rocks or molten salt. That heat is released on demand to power industrial processes.

Using electricity to generate heat is nothing new. The difference is that these toasters are roughly the size of shipping containers and release steam as hot as 2,750 degrees Fahrenheit, more than one-quarter of the sun's surface temperature. The trick is keeping the batteries hot until the heat is needed.

Industrial heat accounts for about one-fifth of global energy use and roughly 10% of greenhouse-gas emissions. Hundreds of industrial processes including steelmaking burn fossil fuels to generate the high heat they need.

Large manufacturers are looking at everything from green hydrogen to nuclear fusion to replace fossil fuels and cut emissions. Knowing how hard this can be, they are also looking at removing carbon directly from the atmosphere to offset emissions that can't be eliminated.

The latest bet on heat batteries is a $150 million investment round for a California startup called Antora Energy from backers including BlackRock, renewable-energy giant NextEra Energy and Bill Gates's Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

Antora uses carbon blocks that glow red like a toaster coil or an electric stove when heated up. Antora's batteries are unusual because heat is transferred using the light from the hot blocks, eliminating the need for air or fluid to transfer energy and making the product cheaper.

"There's not some crazy, magic technology going on here," Andrew Ponec, Antora's chief executive, said in an interview. "It's something that's very intuitive."

Traditional batteries store and release renewable power by moving lithium ions through a liquid from the cathode to the anode and back again. They are great when space is at a premium, as is the case inside electric cars. But they can explode or catch fire when they overheat. They are also relatively expensive and typically can only discharge energy for several hours, limiting their applications in heavy industry.

Heat-battery startups say they can cheaply store days worth of renewable energy with a different approach. To charge, Antora's batteries run renewable electricity through an element comparable to a toaster coil to warm up the blocks. The company settled on the carbon blocks because they can store heat for a long time and actually get better at storing energy as they get hotter. That allows them to maintain high temperatures for long periods when heat or steam needs to be used.

Other startups are making similar claims, driving significant funding into the industry for the first time. Cheap wind and solar power now make heat batteries cost competitive with heat made from burning fossil fuels like natural gas, analysts say. Tax credits from the 2022 law known as the Inflation Reduction Act are accelerating the momentum.

Many industrial companies had planned to use hydrogen made from renewable power to generate heat, but high production costs and project delays are making that less attractive. That has led companies to pursue other solutions such as heat batteries.

Heat batteries may be poised to leapfrog hydrogen for many industrial uses. They can be deployed at large scale in the next few years and keep costs down by using abundant raw materials, investors say. They are one of several technologies being unlocked by the drop in renewable-electricity prices over the past decade.

"Antora represents the next era for wind and solar," said Meghan Sharp, global head of Decarbonization Partners, a joint venture between BlackRock and Singapore's Temasek Holdings that invests in clean-energy companies and led the Antora investment round. "They're bringing renewables to industry."

Founded in 2018, Antora turned on its first battery for a customer in September near Fresno, Calif., and opened its first manufacturing facility in San Jose, Calif., last year. The company expects to use the new funding to install larger projects for customers in the Midwest, accelerate battery production and increase hiring." [1]

1.  Heat Is the New Hot Climate Play --- Batteries that store thermal energy can replace fossil fuels in industrial processes. Ramkumar, Amrith; Patterson, Scott.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 23 Feb 2024: B.1.

Mes neišlaikome konkurencijos su Trečiuoju pasauliu, vedamu Kinijos

JAV subsidijos nusiurbia investicijas iš Europos Sąjungos. Europos Sąjunga praranda pramonę ir žemės ūkį. JAV subsidijos padeda ne JAV darbuotojams, o masei parazitinių kompanijų, gaminančių defektyvius ir brangesnius, negu rinkos kaina, šiuolaikinės ekonomikos komponentus. Žemiausia kaina ir geriausia kokybė Kinijos atveju naikina bet kokius mūsų šansus konkuruoti.

Visi mes, kam neabejingas mūsų likimas, turime sustabdyti šį melą ir švaistymą, vedantį į Vakarų pražūtį.

We cannot compete with the Third World led by China

US subsidies drain investments from the European Union. The European Union is losing industry and agriculture as a result. US subsidies do not help US workers, but do help a mass of parasitic companies that produce defective and above-market price components of the modern economy. The lowest price and best quality in the case of China destroys any chance, we had, to compete.

All of us who care about our destiny must stop this lie and waste that is leading to the downfall of the West.

Vakarų sankcijos nesustabdo Rusijos pastangų konflikte

  „Praėjus dvejiems metams nuo įvykių Ukrainoje pradžios, Vakarų sankcijoms nepavyko atlikti svarbiausios užduoties – sustabdyti Kremliaus karinę mašiną.

 

     Vakarų pareigūnai ir ekspertai teigia, kad nuo 2022 metų vasario Rusijai įvestos finansinės, ekonominės, karinės ir energetinės sankcijos pakenkė Rusijos ekonomikai ir ginklų gamybos pajėgumams, o artimiausiais metais sukels rimtų problemų Kremliui. Tačiau jie pripažįsta, kad apribojimai paveikė lėčiau, nei jie tikėjosi.

 

     Šią savaitę Vakarų šalys imasi naujų sankcijų Rusijai. Pirmą kartą Europos Sąjunga nusitaikys į žemyninės Kinijos įmones, kai šeštadienį bus paskelbta apie savo priemones, teigia pareigūnai, o ne pastangas įtikinti Pekiną nesumažinti sankcijų ir imtis griežtesnių veiksmų.

 

     JK trečiadienį įvedė sankcijas šešiems rusams, kurie, jos teigimu, buvo susiję su pagrindinio opozicijos veikėjo Aleksejaus Navalno mirtimi, paskelbta vasario 16 d.

 

     Ketvirtadienį Londonas taip pat paskelbė apie naujas sankcijas, skirtas Rusijos prekių ir ginkluotės sektoriui. Tai buvo keletas naftos prekybininkų ir laivybos kompanijų bei trys Kinijos įmonės, tiekiančios Rusijai sankcionuotus elektronikos ir dronų variklius. Pagal sankcijas joks JK subjektas negali turėti verslo su šiomis įmonėmis.

 

     Bideno administracija penktadienį planuoja paskelbti daugybę sankcijų, skirtų Maskvai nubausti tiek dėl Navalno mirties, tiek dėl besitęsiančio konflikto Ukrainoje, tačiau JAV pareigūnai privačiai pripažįsta, kad naujosios priemonės, greičiausiai, turės ribotą smūgį.

 

     Bideno administracija tvirtina, kad tokios priemonės, laikui bėgant, pasmaugs Rusijos ekonomiką ir gynybos pramonę ir trukdys jos gebėjimui surengti konfliktą dėl Ukrainos, kartu įvardija ir izoliuoja pareigūnus, bendrininkus su žmogaus teisių pažeidimais. „Tai dar vienas švaistiklio posūkis, kitas vairo pasukimas“, – šią savaitę žurnalistams sakė patarėjas nacionalinio saugumo klausimais Jake'as Sallivanas.

 

     Rusijai sankcijų vengimas tapo prioritetu. Kremlius nurodė Rusijos žvalgybos tarnyboms ieškoti būdų, kaip išsisukinėti, sako Vakarų pareigūnai. Maskva padidino prekybą su Kinija, Indija ir kitomis prie Vakarų priemonių neprisijungusiomis šalimis, padėdama jai parduoti energiją ir užsitikrinti konfliktui svarbiausio importo tiekimą.

 

     Rusija naudojo kevalo kompanijas ir kaimynines šalis, pirkdama ginkluose naudojamus komponentus. Be to, ji įsigijo daug senų laivų, valdomų nepermatomų nuosavybių, kad galėtų apeiti Vakarų nustatytą naftos kainų viršutinę ribą.

 

     Maskvai vengiant sankcijų, sukurtas sudėtingas katės ir pelės žaidimas. Vakarų pareigūnai kuria priemones, kad pakenktų Rusijai, bet Kremlius galiausiai prisitaiko, priversdamas JAV ir Europos politikos formuotojus grįžti prie piešimo lentos. Tai konkurencija, kurios Kremlius negali sau leisti pralaimėti.

 

     Tačiau Ukrainai ginantis, o JAV paramai Ukrainai susidūrus su politine opozicija, sankcijos nesutrukdė Rusijai šiais metais smarkiai padidinti karines išlaidas.

 

     Iranas ir Šiaurės Korėja Rusijai pristatė bepiločius orlaivius ir raketas, o Kinija ir Turkija padėjo Maskvai reguliariai tiekti Vakarų pagamintų dvejopo naudojimo prekių, nuo kurių priklauso jos kariškiai, kad galėtų vykdyti konfliktą.

 

     Skirtingai nei ankstesnių sankcijų Iranui ar Šiaurės Korėjai atveju, dėl Rusijos ekonominio svorio sunku ją izoliuoti. Taip pat ir faktas, kad ji eksportuoja ne tik naftą ir dujas, bet ir išteklius, įskaitant uraną ir titaną, kuriais remiasi Vakarų ekonomikos.

 

     JAV, Didžiosios Britanijos ir ES pareigūnai lankėsi viso pasaulio sostinėse, siekdami įtikinti neutralias šalis nepakenkti sankcijoms svarbioms karinėms ir dvejopo naudojimo prekėms. Pastangos buvo sėkmingos tokiose vietose, kaip Vidurinė Azija, bet ne tokiose milžiniškose ekonomikose, kaip Indija, Brazilija ir Kinija, kurios vengia sankcijų Rusijai.

 

     „Vidutinės trukmės Rusijos ekonomikos prognozė nėra gera“, – sakė ES sankcijų Rusijai caras Davidas O'Sullivanas. „Tačiau laikas nebūtinai yra sinchronizuojamas su tuo, ko reikia mūšio lauke."

 

     Prasidėjus įvykiams Ukrainoje, JAV ir jos partneriai sankcijas laikė trečiuoju ramsčiu, remiant Ukrainą, kartu su ekonomine ir karine pagalba Kijevui. Jie tikėjosi, kad tokios priemonės, kurių mastas buvo precedento, atims iš Rusijos modernią, aukštųjų technologijų ginkluotę, sumažins Rusijos pajamas ir sukels pakankamai ekonominio skausmo, kad įtikintų Kremlių siekti taikos.

 

     Rezultatai buvo įvairūs. JAV ir Europos pareigūnai teigia, kad dėl jų sankcijų Rusija neteko maždaug 400 mlrd. eurų arba 433 mlrd. dolerių.

 

     Vakarų pareigūnai trečiadienį pareiškė, kad sankcijos kenkia Rusijos karinei pramonei ir neleis Kremliui pagaminti pakankamai amunicijos konflikto reikmėms.

 

     Tačiau Kijevo ekonomikos mokyklos tyrimas, paskelbtas Sausis nustatė, kad maždaug 95% iš 2800 svetimų komponentų, rastų Rusijos ginkluose mūšio lauke nuo konflikto pradžios, buvo vakarietiški. Daugiau, nei 70%, atkeliavo iš JAV įmonių.

 

     Palyginti retais atvejais Rusija pirko komponentus iš Vakarų pardavėjų. Tyrime teigiama, kad Kinija ir Honkongas sudarė apytiksliai 69% įmonių, galutinai parduodančių komponentus Rusijai. Tačiau ir sankcijų vykdymas ES, kur jis yra padalintas kelioms nacionalinėms institucijoms, padėjo Maskvai išlaikyti būtiniausius tiekimus.

 

     Vakarų pareigūnai teigia, kad Kinija vis labiau įsidrąsino konfliktui įsibėgėjus, o Kinijos įmonės tiekia Rusijai chemikalų sprogmenims ir kitiems komponentams, padedantiems gaminti daugiau ginklų. Kinijos įmonės taip pat aptarė bepiločių orlaivių siuntimą į Rusiją, sakė pareigūnai.

 

Įdomu matyti sankcijų poveikį, sankcijas taikusiems, žmonėms. Sankcijos kelia visko, svarbiausia, maisto, kainas Vakaruose, sukeldamos žmonėms nesaugumo jausmą. Vakarų politikai karštį jaučia iš jų rinkiminių apygardų. Daugelis Vakarų politikų neteks darbo šiais metais per rinkimus.

 

1. World News: Western Sanctions Are Failing To Halt Russia's Conflict Effort. Norman, Laurence; Kantchev, Georgi.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 23 Feb 2024: A.8.

Western Sanctions Are Failing To Halt Russia's Conflict Effort

"Two years after events in Ukraine started, Western sanctions have failed in their most important task -- stopping the Kremlin's military  machine.

Western officials and experts say the financial, economic, military and energy sanctions imposed on Russia since February 2022 have damaged Russia's economy and arms-production capacity, and will create serious problems for the Kremlin in the coming years. But they acknowledge the restrictions have hit more slowly than they hoped.

This week, Western countries are adopting new sanctions against Russia. For the first time, the European Union will target companies from mainland China when its measures are announced on Saturday, officials say, shifting from efforts to persuade Beijing not to undercut sanctions to a more forceful approach.

The U.K. on Wednesday imposed sanctions on six Russians it said were involved in the death of leading opposition figure Alexei Navalny, disclosed on Feb. 16.

On Thursday, London also announced new sanctions aimed at Russia's commodities and armaments sector. That included several oil traders and shipping companies, and three Chinese firms that have been supplying sanctioned electronics and drone engines to Russia. Under the sanctions, no U.K. entity can do business with the firms.

The Biden administration is planning to announce on Friday a raft of sanctions to punish Moscow, both over Navalny's death and its continued conflict  in Ukraine, but U.S. officials privately concede that the new measures are likely to land a limited blow.

The Biden administration argues that such measures will over time strangle the Russian economy and defense industry, and hamper its ability to wage conflict  on Ukraine, while naming and isolating officials complicit in human-rights abuses. "This is another turn of the crank, another turn of the wheel," national-security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters this week.

For Russia, dodging sanctions has become a priority. The Kremlin has directed Russian intelligence services to find channels for evasion, Western officials say. Moscow has increased trade with China, India and other countries not subscribing to the Western measures, helping it sell energy and secure the supply of critical imports for the conflict.

Russia has used shell companies and neighboring countries to buy components used in weapons. And it has obtained a large number of old vessels operating under opaque ownership to circumvent a Western-imposed oil-price cap.

Moscow's avoidance of sanctions has created an elaborate cat-and-mouse game. Western officials design measures to hurt Russia, but the Kremlin eventually adapts, forcing the U.S. and European policymakers back to the drawing board. It is a competition the Kremlin can't afford to lose. Western officials believe Russia can't produce enough ammunition on its own.

However, with Ukraine on the defensive and U.S. support for Ukraine facing political opposition, sanctions haven't prevented Russia from vastly increasing military spending this year.

Iran and North Korea have delivered drones and missiles to Russia, while China and Turkey have helped provide Moscow with a regular supply of Western-made dual-use goods its military depends on to conduct the conflict.

Unlike with past sanctions against Iran or North Korea, Russia's economic weight has made it hard to isolate. So has the fact it exports not just oil and gas but also resources including uranium and titanium on which Western economies rely.

U.S., British and EU officials have visited capitals around the world to persuade neutral countries not to undercut sanctions on critical military and dual-use goods. The effort has had some success in places including Central Asia but less with giant economies including India, Brazil and China, which have shunned sanctions on Russia.

"The medium-term prognosis for the Russian economy is not good," said David O'Sullivan, the EU's Russia sanctions czar. "But the time frame is not necessarily in sync with what is needed on the battlefield."

After events in Ukraine started, the U.S. and its partners saw sanctions as the third pillar in supporting Ukraine, alongside economic and military aid for Kyiv. They hoped the measures, which have been unprecedented in scale, would deprive Russia of modern, high-tech weaponry, curb Russian revenue and inflict enough economic pain to persuade the Kremlin to seek peace.

Results have been mixed. U.S. and European officials say their sanctions have deprived Russia of around 400 billion euros, or $433 billion, in revenue they would otherwise have had since February 2022.

Western officials on Wednesday said sanctions were hurting Russia's military industry and would prevent the Kremlin from producing enough ammunition for its conflict needs.

Yet a study from the Kyiv School of Economics published in January found that roughly 95% of the 2,800 foreign components found in Russian weapons on the battlefield since the conflict  started were Western. Over 70% came from U.S. firms.

In relatively few cases was Russia buying components from Western vendors. China and Hong Kong accounted for roughly 69% of the entities making final sales to Russia of components, the study said. However, sanctions enforcement in the EU, where it is divided among several national authorities, has helped Moscow maintain critical supplies.

Western officials say China has become increasingly emboldened as the conflict  has progressed and Chinese companies are providing Russia with chemicals to make explosives and other components that are helping it make more weapons. Chinese firms have also discussed sending drones to Russia, the officials said." [1]

It is interesting to see an effect of the sanctions on the sanctioning people. The sanctions are hitting prices of everything, most importantly, food, in the West, giving people insecurity feeling. Western politicians are getting the heat from their constituency. Many will loose their jobs in elections this year.

1. World News: Western Sanctions Are Failing To Halt Russia's Conflict Effort. Norman, Laurence; Kantchev, Georgi.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 23 Feb 2024: A.8.