We have managed to cover a lot of topics in energy innovation for our Advent Calendar and we would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read it so far, however, we are not finished! One more day to complete before we can all take some well deserved time off to celebrate and reflect upon a wonderful year but what else is there to discuss? Well, we thought we would highlight some of the alternative energy innovations that are being discussed to complete the list so what are they?
The final frontier in energy innovation? Maybe. Space presents many opportunities for energy, whether it be mining asteroids or collecting precious gas from nearby planets and moons but the most common idea that is being discussed is space solar. The idea that in the near future we could have satellites covered in solar panels circling the earth generating masses amount of energy from having a closer proximity to the sun and therefor more powerful UV rays. How we get this power back to earth is a different story and therein lies the current issue with solar panels in our atmosphere BUT what this space...
Nuclear power currently only uses around 5-10% of uranium atoms in traditional fission reactions leaving the remainder to be piled up in nuclear waste that takes thousands of years to decay. Scientists are looking into this waste as a potential energy source for the future. Much like biomass generators turning waste into energy could we do the same with nuclear? Only time will tell so check back periodically...
Limitless carbon-free power replicating our own sun? Sounds like the answer to many of our global power problems but how close are we to replicating this and providing it on a small scale? If some companies are to be believed we could have Nuclear Fusion power in a decade on a scale that is usable locally as well as globally. There may be light at the end of the tunnel...
Theoretically if we have matter then we also have anti-matter, and much like the purpose of the Large Hadron Collider if we can make these collide together in a contained manner then the power released by the collision could be vast. We must stress though this is still completely theoretical and no extensive research has been undertaken to date but we are sure by 2090 this could be the answer!
Finally we would like our Advent Calendar by wishing everyone a wonderful festive season and a happy new year from the entire team at ENSEK. We will see you in 2019 with more exciting energy innovation!