Future Cleantech Architects

Different Long Duration Energy Storage Technologies Are Needed to Ensure Grid Flexibility and Stability | LDES Highlight Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) is an essential piece of the flexibility toolbox needed to help balance electricity supply and demand. It stores surplus renewable energy when production exceeds demand and releases it back to the grid when needed, reducing curtailment and strengthening energy security during periods of low supply. There are four main families of LDES technologies, with several technologies within each family: ⚙️ Mechanical LDES: Typically stores energy as gravitational or pressure potential, such as in pumped hydro storage or compressed air systems. 🔥 Thermal LDES: Stores energy as heat or cryogenic cold, later converting it back into electricity or using it directly for heating applications such as steam in industrial processes. Examples include molten salt and liquid air storage. ⚗️ Chemical LDES: Uses reversible chemical reactions to store and release energy, such as green hydrogen, hydrogen derivatives (like ammonia or methane), or solid materials such as sulfur and iron powder. 🔋 Electrochemical LDES: Commonly known as battery storage, this category includes lithium-ion batteries (for shorter durations), flow batteries, and emerging chemistries such as sodium and zinc. Because each technology family offers different characteristics and storage durations, deploying a diverse portfolio of LDES solutions will be essential to ensure grid stability and energy security as renewable shares continue to grow. 🔗 See our factsheet for an overview of LDES! https://lnkd.in/ditWiPRH Peter Schniering Antoine Koen Peter Ruschhaupt Marlène Siméon Magnolia Tovar Francesca Brunner James Lazenby Rene Severens Friedrich Schubert Leonie Brand Liv Hvass Kure #longdurationenergystorage

As Renewables Grow, So Does the Need for Flexibility | LDES Highlight Solar and wind are the cheapest and fastest-growing sources of electricity worldwide. Around a dozen countries already meet over 25% of their electricity demand from these sources, with Denmark exceeding 50%, and Spain and Uruguay close to 40%.   Because solar and wind fluctuate and are not available on demand, flexible solutions are needed. Today, this flexibility mostly comes from fossil-fuel-based plants or hydropower. But as fossil fuels are phased out and hydropower will be limited in the future, new low-carbon tools, such as long duration energy storage (LDES), will be essential to minimize curtailment and cover gaps across daily, weekly, and seasonal timescales.   LDES is a key piece of the flexibility puzzle, especially for countries with high shares of renewables. By integrating LDES into the grid, utilities can balance supply and demand more effectively, improve energy security, and reduce wasted renewable generation. 🔗 See our factsheet for an overview on LDES! https://lnkd.in/ditWiPRH Peter Schniering Marlène Siméon Antoine Koen Peter Ruschhaupt Magnolia Tovar Leonie Brand Francesca Brunner Rene Severens Liv Hvass Kure Friedrich Schubert James Lazenby Rene Severens Juliane Harlfinger #longdurationenergystorage #LDES #flexibility

Coffee & Cleantech #4 at the German Parliament – Successfully Completed! Our experts took a closer look at the future of the global #steel industry — a sector facing fierce international competition and an urgent need to decarbonize. As part of our technical briefing series for policymakers, the session provided a concise overview of a sector shaped by overcapacity and geopolitical dynamics. Friedrich Schubert, Peter Ruschhaupt, Rene Severens, Juliane Harlfinger and Peter Schniering guided policymakers through the fundamentals and critical gaps in iron ore supply, iron and steelmaking processes, as well as the main levers for decarbonization. Key takeaways included: ✅ Global overcapacity is massive — around five times total European capacity — and continues to rise. ✅ The global market is heavily distorted by subsidies and tariffs. ✅ While smaller than the automotive industry in terms of jobs and value creation, the steel sector remains of high strategic importance. ✅ Production pathways differ significantly in resource requirements and emissions intensity. ✅ Future low-carbon pathways will require vast amounts of clean electricity. ✅ The first process step — producing iron from high-grade iron ore — will also require green hydrogen and is likely to be most competitive in regions with very low-cost renewable energy. ✅ Any framework developed by EU member states and the European Union will need to be pragmatic, carefully diversify risks, and account for the immense pressures on European industries. We were pleased to host a high-level contribution by Dr. Marie Jaroni CSO / CTO at thyssenkrupp Steel, who highlighted key challenges for Europe‘s industry, specific steps in responsibly decarbonizing, and emphasized the urgent need for swift action. Stay tuned for our upcoming policy brief on the future of the steel industry, to be released in November. Bennet Ribbeck Magnolia Tovar Antoine Koen James Lazenby Patrick Cummins-Tripodi Marlène Siméon Liv Hvass Kure Leonie Brand Francesca Brunner Christina Martelock

Long Duration Energy Storage Is a Crucial Flexibility Tool for the Power System | LDES Highlight   Europe’s clean energy future depends not just on generating more renewables, but on making our entire system flexible enough to use that power when and where it is needed. With the EU Electrification Action Plan and Grids Package both on the horizon, this is a crucial moment to ensure flexibility, in particular long duration energy storage (LDES), take center stage. Flexibility is needed at different times to smooth out supply and demand curves that fluctuate throughout the day and across seasons. While gas peaker plants are a common tool used to fill supply gaps in many countries, several low-carbon alternatives exist, such as grid interconnection, clean dispatchable sources, renewable overcapacity, demand response, and long duration energy storage (LDES). LDES is one of the most crucial pieces of the energy flexibility puzzle, especially for countries reaching high shares of wind and solar power. By incorporating LDES into the grid, utilities can better manage the balance between supply and demand, improve energy security, and reduce curtailment (waste of excess production) of renewable sources. 🔗 See our factsheet for an overview on LDES! https://lnkd.in/ditWiPRH Peter Schniering Marlène Siméon Antoine Koen Peter Ruschhaupt Magnolia Tovar Leonie Brand Francesca Brunner Rene Severens Liv Hvass Kure Friedrich Schubert James Lazenby Rene Severens Juliane Harlfinger #longdurationenergystorage #LDES #flexibility

The Role of Green Hydrogen | FCA at Hydrogen Futures in Bonn   Future Cleantech Architects (FCA) took part in two key discussions at Hydrogen Futures, organized by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) and the DAAD German Academic Exchange Service in Bonn.   Our Founder & CEO, Peter Schniering, moderated a panel following a keynote on “The Role of Green Hydrogen in Achieving Global Decarbonization Goals”. The discussion examined lessons learned on the costs of producing and transporting green hydrogen, emerging ideas such as producing primary products near low-cost production sites, and evolving perspectives for African partners. It also explored strategies to scale the hydrogen economy in Germany, Europe, and beyond.   Our Director of Technologies & Impact, Magnolia Tovar, joined a panel discussion moderated on “The Hydrogen Economy in Europe”. The exchange focused on how green hydrogen can be deployed across sectors, the technologies currently available, and the barriers to scaling production and applications.   Across both sessions, FCA contributed with a realistic assessment of green hydrogen’s role, emphasizing the need to prioritize applications where this scarce resource can deliver the highest climate impact.   🔗 Learn more about our approach in the Hydrogen Guardrails Report: https://lnkd.in/eZ-BKsSG   🔗 Explore the key insights in our Hydrogen Factsheet: https://lnkd.in/gpXunBNw   Thanks to the organizers for making this exchange possible! Fangfang Xu Friedrich Schubert Marlène Siméon Antoine Koen Peter Ruschhaupt Leonie Brand Francesca Brunner Rene Severens Liv Hvass Kure James Lazenby Rene Severens Juliane Harlfinger #hydrogen

Accelerating Innovation in Hard-to-Abate Sectors | We Are Grateful to the City of Remscheid for Recognizing Our Work with Its Honorary Award On German Unity Day, the City of Remscheid honored Future Cleantech Architects with its Honorary Award for our work on industrial decarbonization.    Last Friday, four members of our team took the stage to receive the award. The ceremony, which also recognized other non-profit initiatives from the region, was framed in a European context. It opened with Beethoven’s Ode to Joy and remarks by the Lord Mayor, who emphasized the importance of collaboration in challenging geopolitical times. This recognition underscores the relevance of FCA’s mission: while much of our work takes place in the capitals where climate and energy policies are shaped, our efforts remain firmly rooted in the systemic and practical challenges faced by industry and innovators on the ground. From advancing research and development to bridging the so-called “valleys of death” in technology adoption, real-world applications are a vital driver of our approach. A big thank you to the City Council of Remscheid for this distinction. It strengthens our resolve to continue our science-based, independent, and pragmatic work towards accelerating systemic change in the global energy sector. Peter Schniering Friedrich Schubert Christina Martelock Juliane Harlfinger Marlène Siméon Magnolia Tovar Leonie Brand Francesca Brunner Antoine Koen Peter Ruschhaupt Liv Hvass Kure Rene Severens James Lazenby Patrick Cummins-Tripodi

Why Do We Need Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES)? | LDES Highlight Did you know that global electricity generation currently accounts for over 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions? Additionally, the demand for global electricity generation has more than doubled in the last 30 years and is expected to double again by 2050 to meet continued population and GDP growth, as well as to cover the electrification of new sectors previously supplied with fossil fuels (such as heating, transport, and industrial processes). The challenge ahead is huge and long duration energy storage (LDES), together with other energy flexibility tools, will be necessary to ensure security of supply and avoid massive waste of clean energy due to supply and demand fluctuations along daily, weekly, and seasonal time frames. Stay tuned for more on long duration energy storage! 🔗 See our factsheet for an overview! https://lnkd.in/ditWiPRH Peter Schniering Marlène Siméon Antoine Koen Peter Ruschhaupt Magnolia Tovar Leonie Brand Francesca Brunner Rene Severens Liv Hvass Kure Friedrich Schubert James Lazenby Rene Severens Juliane Harlfinger #longdurationenergystorage

Our EU Policy Unit is growing! We are happy to announce that Patrick Cummins-Tripodi has joined FCA as our new Cleantech Policy Officer, working closely with Marlène Siméon and Liv Hvass Kure. Patrick holds a Master's degree in European Politics and Policies from KU Leuven, and has previously worked at the European Parliament as an assistant to the Coordinator for the Greens-European Free Alliance Grouping on the Transport and Tourism Committee, as well as for the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union. Welcome to the team, Patrick! Peter Schniering Magnolia Tovar Antoine Koen Rene Severens Juliane Harlfinger Francesca Brunner Peter Ruschhaupt James Lazenby Leonie Brand Friedrich Schubert

Coffee & Cleantech on Next-Generation Geothermal in Brussels Completed! Our seventh edition of the technical briefing for policymakers in Brussels focused on next-generation geothermal, which represents a major opportunity for Europe’s clean energy needs. Some of the key points discussed were: ✅ It can provide much-needed flexible, dispatchable power to complement wind and solar (rather than competing directly with them) ✅ It can provide clean heat for industry and households ✅Technical progress is promising for the first time in a long time and unlocking fresh potential, but it needs support to scale up faster   ✅ There are opportunities to include innovative geothermal in the next Electrification Action Plan, Heating and Cooling strategy, and upcoming Innovation Fund auctions The 45-minute briefing was co-led by our Cleantech Analyst, Antoine Koen and our Head of EU Policy, Marlène Siméon.   A big thank you to the attendees for their active participation, including Thomas Pellerin-Carlin, Rose Hartwig-Peillon, Giorgio Gori, Bianca Maria Petteruti and Karin Lunde (Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament), Jens Gieseke (EPP Group in the European Parliament), Dominykas Mordas (Renew Europe), Uwe Lützen and ugo miretti (CINEA - European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency), Mariann Jakab and Eric Lecomte (EU Energy), Rowan Steele, Ewelina Daniel, and Kostis Sakellaris (EU Environment and Climate), Sanjeev Kumar (EGEC Geothermal), Anton Koninckx (Eurelectric), Edina Adam and Francesco Di Comite (Council of the European Union), Eleonora Moschini (European Climate Foundation), Adrián González González (International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)), and Johannes B. (European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA)).   Stay tuned for more on geothermal coming soon! Peter Schniering Liv Hvass Kure James Lazenby Peter Ruschhaupt Magnolia Tovar Francesca Brunner #geothermal

Small Modular Nuclear Reactors: New Release in Joint Series with Handelsblatt   The chemical and steel industries rely on vast amounts of process heat, usually provided by fossil fuels. In the United States, companies are exploring a different path: building small modular reactors (SMRs) to supply its plants with clean heat. The project aims to cut half a million tons of CO₂ per year and could be completed by the end of the decade.   In Germany, such a development would currently be unimaginable. Yet across Europe and Asia, similar initiatives are emerging. SMRs could provide climate-friendly process heat at high temperatures.   “How can we design industrial processes so that they do not cause greenhouse gas emissions, but do not become more expensive?” asks our Cleantech Analyst, Peter Ruschhaupt. He sees both potential and risk in nuclear heat: “There are clear economic and technical reasons why nuclear heat can make sense. However, nuclear energy production has often turned out to be very expensive in practice. Whether small modular reactors will be different is hard to predict. High temperature electrified heat with storage will be a tough competitor.”   Learn more about the debate on small modular reactors and process heat in this month’s article from Handelsblatt (in German, paywall): https://lnkd.in/dpUwHJTB   This article is the latest in the series “Green ideas that might change the world” that Handelsblatt and Future Cleantech Architects co-developed to shed light on some of the most intensively debated cleantech innovations. We are pleased to provide scientific guidance to the series. Stay tuned for new releases! Peter Schniering Magnolia Tovar Antoine Koen Rene Severens Juliane Harlfinger Francesca Brunner James Lazenby Marlène Siméon Liv Hvass Kure Leonie Brand Friedrich Schubert