(Image via Heliogen.)
Imagine a clean energy solution that could replace the biggest emitters of fossil fuels.
A company that emerged seemingly from out of nowhere, backed by the world’s richest human, Bill Gates, is proposing just such an answer.
California-based clean energy company Heliogen announced last week that it had achieved a breakthrough in concentrated solar energy. Using a proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) system that diverts solar energy via an array of mirrors, it could replace fossil fuels used in heavy-emissions processes that make cement, steel, glass and petrochemicals.
This “solar oven” can generate extreme heat above 1,000 degrees Celsius (roughly a quarter of the heat found on the surface of the sun). This carbon-free endeavour could tap into potential that has so far evaded the clean energy revolution.
The environmental implications are massive. Data from the Environmental Protection Agency found that the three biggest CO2 emitters are electricity, transportation and buildings. On its own, cement accounts for 7% of global CO2 emissions, according to the International Energy Agency.
Heliogen is working with Parsons Corporation (NYSE: PSN), a leader in the defence, intelligence, and critical infrastructure markets with specific experience in the development of solar thermal projects.
One of its more famous backers, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates said in the news release that Heliogen’s solution will serve as a means to reduce CO2 emissions from industrial processes who are responsible for generating a fifth of the world’s share.
“These materials are everywhere in our lives but we don’t have any proven breakthroughs that will give us affordable, zero-carbon versions of them. If we’re going to get to zero-carbon emissions overall, we have a lot of inventing to do. I’m pleased to have been an early backer of Bill Gross’s novel solar concentration technology. Its capacity to achieve the high temperatures required for these processes is a promising development in the quest to one day replace fossil fuel.”
The chief selling point here is the fact that, unlike fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas, sunlight is free. Heliogen offers its technology as an already economical solution against fossil fuels because of its reliance on AI.
Renewable energy technologies convert energy from different natural sources like the sun, but also tides, wind and others, into its usable forms such as electricity. According to market analysis from Allied Market Research, the global renewable energy market was valued at $928 Billion (USD) in 2017, and is expected to reach $1,512.3 Billion by 2025, registering a CAGR of 6.1% from 2018 to 2025.