09.28 We’ve already seen a big move towards demand for EVs, says Chiang. Research in the battery spaces has pivoted dramatically towards better solutions, and iron-air is the lowest cost battery solution he can think of. Iron-air battery technology pulls oxygen from ambient air in a reversible reaction that converts iron to rust.
09.25 The tax credits come with some pretty strict requirements for US produced minerals and materials, points out James, asking how Chiang sees that playing out in the battery space.
We don’t have a lot of cobalt, but that’s okay because we’re moving away from it, says Chiang. Our resources are adequate, but scaling production of batteries is a real challenge. This motivates us to look at chemistries for batteries that are much more abundant, he adds.
09.21 The Inflation Reduction Act is going to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into cleantech sectors, says James. It’s an “enormous boon to cleantech development,” says Chiang. “It’ll really accelerate the move towards manufacturing…Scaling is really the key, and this will have an enormous impact on that scaling.”
09.20 Our first discussion is with Yet-Ming Chiang, professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. He’ll be talking us through what’s needed to bring us closer to a fossil fuel-free economy. Welcome to the stage!
09.19 But all is not lost. We may have far to go, but we have the technological potential and economic capacity to limit how much hotter the planet gets.
09.17 If we assume every country follows through on its latest commitments under the Paris climate deal, the world will be on track for about 2.4 ?C of warming over the levels of the late 1800s, he adds. That’s still far too high, but some scientists are warning the increase is going to be closer to 4?C this century.
09.16 We’ve seen remarkable progress in climate action over the past few months, says James. A big part of this was the US enacting a trio of major laws that could add up to the largest federal investment ever into climate and clean-energy technologies. Read our piece all about the Inflation Reduction Act.
09.10 Welcome to ClimateTech! Thank you for joining us—I’m Rhiannon, a reporter at MIT Technology Review, and I’ll be taking you through all of the developments from the conference this morning.
We’re kicking off now with some welcome remarks from James Temple, our senior climate change and energy editor.