Timeline of sustainable energy research 2020–present
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Timeline of notable events in the research and development of sustainable energy including renewable energy, solar energy and nuclear fusion energy, particularly for ways that are sustainable within the Earth system.
Events currently not included in the timelines include:
- events of new goal-codifying policy about, commercialization of, adoptions of, deployment-statistics of, announced developments of, announced funding for and dissemination of sustainable energy -technologies and -infrastructure/systems
- research about related phase-outs in general – such as about the fossil fuel phase out
- research about relevant alternative technologies – such as in transport, HVAC, refrigeration, passive cooling and district heating
- research about related public awareness, media, policy-making and education
- research about related geopolitics, policies, and integrated strategies
Renewable energy capacity[1]
Grids[edit]
Smart grids[edit]
Research about smart grids to reduce, load-balance and optimize energy consumption on the level of the energy infrastructure and make intermittent, spatially-varying sustainable energies viable and interconnected.
Super grids[edit]
Microgrids[edit]
Off-the-grid[edit]
Grid energy storage[edit]
Other and general variable energy management[edit]
Solar power[edit]
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Reported timeline of research solar cell energy conversion efficiencies since 1976 (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)
Space-based solar power[edit]
- 2020
- The US Naval Research Laboratory conducts its first test of solar power generation in a satellite, the Photovoltaic Radio-frequency Antenna Module (PRAM) experiment aboard the Boeing X-37.[2][3]
Floating solar[edit]
- 2020
- A study concludes that deploying floating solar panels on existing hydro reservoirs could generate 16%–40% (4,251 to 10,616 TWh/year) of global energy needs when not considering project-siting constraints, local development regulations, "economic or market potential" and potential future technology improvements.[4][5]
Wind power[edit]
- 2021
- A study using simulations finds that large scale vertical-axis wind turbines could outcompete conventional HAWTs (horizontal axis) wind farm turbines.[6][7]
- Scientists report that due to decreases in power generation efficiency of wind farms downwind of offshore wind farms, cross-national limits and potentials for optimization need to be considered in strategic decision-making.[8][9]
- Researchers report, based on simulations, how large wind-farm performance can be significantly improved using windbreaks.[10][11]
Hydrogen energy[edit]
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (November 2021) |
Hydroelectricity and marine energy[edit]
- 2021
- Engineers report the development of a prototype wave energy converter that is twice as efficient as similar existing experimental technologies, which could be a major step towards practical viability of tapping into the sustainable energy source.[12][13]
Energy storage[edit]
| This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (November 2021) |
Nuclear fusion[edit]
- 2020
- Assembly of ITER, which has been under construction for years, commences.[14]
- The Chinese experimental nuclear fusion reactor HL-2M is turned on for the first time, achieving its first plasma discharge.[15]
- 2021
- China's EAST tokamak sets a new world record for superheated plasma, sustaining a temperature of 120 million degrees Celsius for 101 seconds and a peak of 160 million degrees Celsius for 20 seconds.[16]
- The National Ignition Facility achieves generating 70% of the input energy, necessary to sustain fusion, from inertial confinement fusion energy, an 8x improvement over previous experiments in spring 2021 and a 25x increase over the yields achieved in 2018.[17]
- The first Fusion Industry Association report was published - "The global fusion industry in 2021"[18]
Geothermal energy[edit]
| This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (November 2021) |
Bioenergy, chemical engineering and biotechnology[edit]
- 2020
- Scientists report the development of micro-droplets for algal cells or synergistic algal-bacterial multicellular spheroid microbial reactors capable of producing oxygen as well as hydrogen via photosynthesis in daylight under air.[19][20]
General[edit]
Research about sustainable energy in general or across different types.
Other energy-need reductions[edit]
Research and development of (technical) means to substantially or systematically reduce need for energy beyond smart grids, education / educational technology (such as about differential environmental impacts of diets), transportation infrastructure (bicycles and rail transport) and conventional improvements of energy efficiency on the level of the energy system.
- 2020
- A study shows a set of different scenarios of minimal energy requirements for providing decent living standards globally, finding that – according to their models, assessments and data – by 2050 global energy use could be reduced to 1960 levels despite of 'sufficiency' still being materially relatively generous.[21][22][23]
Materials and recycling[edit]
- 2020
- Researchers report that mining for renewable energy production will increase threats to biodiversity and publish a map of areas that contain needed materials as well as estimations of their overlaps with "Key Biodiversity Areas", "Remaining Wilderness" and "Protected Areas". The authors assess that careful strategic planning is needed.[24][25][26]
Deep-sea mining[edit]
- 2020
- Researchers assess to what extent international law and existing policy support the practice of a proactive knowledge management system that enables systematic addressing of uncertainties about the environmental effects of seabed mining via regulations that, for example, enable the International Seabed Authority to actively engage in generating and synthesizing information.[27] A moratorium on deep-sea mining until rigorous and transparent impact assessments are carried out is enacted at the 2021 world congress of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).[28]
Maintenance[edit]
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2021) |
Maintenance of sustainable energy systems could be automated, standardized and simplified and the required resources and efforts for such get reduced via research relevant for their design and processes like waste management.
Economic evaluation mechanisms[edit]
- 2021
- A review finds that the pace of cost-decline of renewables has been underestimated and that an "open cost-database would greatly benefit the energy scenario community".[29][30]
See also[edit]
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- Climate change adaptation
- Energy development
- Energy policy
- Energy system
- Renewable energy#Emerging technologies
- List of emerging technologies#Energy
- Technology transfer
- Outline of energy
- Not yet included
- Standardization#Environmental protection such as for certifications and policies
- Open energy system models
- Open energy system databases
- Power-to-X
- Feasibility studies
- Nanogeneration such as synthetic molecular motors for microbots and nanobots
- Timelines of related areas
- Timeline of materials technology#20th century
- Timeline of computing 2020–present
- Timeline of transportation technology#21st century
| Models | |
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| Open data | |
| Lists | |
| Concepts | |
| Applications | |
| People | |
| Organizations | |
References[edit]
- ^ "Renewable Energy Market Update 2021 / Renewable electricity / Renewables deployment geared up in 2020, establishing a "new normal" for capacity additions in 2021 and 2022". IEA.org. International Energy Agency. May 2021. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021.
- ^ David, Leonard (4 October 2021). "Air Force's X-37B robotic space plane wings past 500 days in Earth orbit". LiveScience. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ David, Leonard (3 November 2021). "Space solar power's time may finally be coming". Space.com. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ "The Combined Power Of Floating Solar On Hydro Reservoirs Shows New Potential". Forbes. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- ^ "Hybrid floating solar photovoltaics-hydropower systems: Benefits and global assessment of technical potential". Renewable Energy. 162: 1415–1427. 1 December 2020. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2020.08.080. ISSN 0960-1481. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- ^ "Vertical turbines could be the future for wind farms". techxplore.com. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- ^ "Numerical modelling and optimization of vertical axis wind turbine pairs: A scale up approach". Renewable Energy. 171: 1371–1381. 1 June 2021. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2021.03.001. ISSN 0960-1481. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- ^ "Are wind farms slowing each other down?". techxplore.com. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
- ^ Akhtar, Naveed; Geyer, Beate; Rockel, Burkhardt; Sommer, Philipp S.; Schrum, Corinna (3 June 2021). "Accelerating deployment of offshore wind energy alter wind climate and reduce future power generation potentials". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 11826. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-91283-3. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 8175401. PMID 34083704.
- ^ "Windbreaks, surprisingly, could help wind farms boost power output". Science News. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ Liu, Luoqin; Stevens, Richard J. A. M. (30 July 2021). "Enhanced wind-farm performance using windbreaks". Physical Review Fluids. 6 (7): 074611. doi:10.1103/PhysRevFluids.6.074611.
- ^ "New clean energy tech extracts twice the power from ocean waves". techxplore.com. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
- ^ "Study of a novel rotational speed amplified dual turbine wheel wave energy converter". Applied Energy. 301: 117423. 1 November 2021. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117423. ISSN 0306-2619.
- ^ Rincon, Paul (28 July 2020). "Largest nuclear fusion project begins assembly". BBC News. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- ^ "China turns on nuclear-powered 'artificial sun' (Update)". phys.org. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ "Chinese 'Artificial Sun' experimental fusion reactor sets world record for superheated plasma time". The Nation. 29 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
- ^ "NIF Experiment Puts Researchers at Threshold of Fusion Ignition". National Ignition Facility. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
- ^ "The global fusion industry in 2021". fusionindustryassociation.org.
- ^ "Research creates hydrogen-producing living droplets, paving way for alternative future energy source". phys.org. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
- ^ Xu, Zhijun; Wang, Shengliang; Zhao, Chunyu; Li, Shangsong; Liu, Xiaoman; Wang, Lei; Li, Mei; Huang, Xin; Mann, Stephen (25 November 2020). "Photosynthetic hydrogen production by droplet-based microbial micro-reactors under aerobic conditions". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 5985. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19823-5. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 7689460. PMID 33239636.
- ^ "Decent living for all does not have to cost the Earth". SCIENMAG: Latest Science and Health News. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ "Decent living for all does not have to cost the Earth". University of Leeds. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ Millward-Hopkins, Joel; Steinberger, Julia K.; Rao, Narasimha D.; Oswald, Yannick (1 November 2020). "Providing decent living with minimum energy: A global scenario". Global Environmental Change. 65: 102168. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2020.102168. ISSN 0959-3780. S2CID 224977493.
- ^ "Mining needed for renewable energy 'could harm biodiversity'". The Guardian. 1 September 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
- ^ "Mining for renewable energy could be another threat to the environment". phys.org. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
- ^ Sonter, Laura J.; Dade, Marie C.; Watson, James E. M.; Valenta, Rick K. (1 September 2020). "Renewable energy production will exacerbate mining threats to biodiversity". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 4174. Bibcode:2020NatCo..11.4174S. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-17928-5. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 7463236. PMID 32873789.
- ^ Ginzky, Harald; Singh, Pradeep A.; Markus, Till (1 April 2020). "Strengthening the International Seabed Authority's knowledge-base: Addressing uncertainties to enhance decision-making". Marine Policy. 114: 103823. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2020.103823. ISSN 0308-597X.
- ^ "Conservationists call for urgent ban on deep-sea mining". The Guardian. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ Johnson, Doug (3 October 2021). "The decreasing cost of renewables unlikely to plateau any time soon". Ars Technica. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ Xiao, Mengzhu; Junne, Tobias; Haas, Jannik; Klein, Martin (1 May 2021). "Plummeting costs of renewables - Are energy scenarios lagging?". Energy Strategy Reviews. 35: 100636. doi:10.1016/j.esr.2021.100636. ISSN 2211-467X.
