2022

America’s recently passed climate law provides strong support for accelerated adoption of clean vehicles in the US. Subsidies are generous for consumers looking to go electric, but only for vehicles that meet strict geographic requirements for critical mineral sourcing, battery manufacturing and vehicle assembly. Unabashedly, the US is seeking to shift the EV supply chain from China to North America, but at what cost?

Security of electricity supply and electricity costs have become major business concerns for the Swiss industry sector. On the current trajectory towards a clean energy system, situations in winter with reduced availability of electricity followed by soaring prices may occur more regularly. With Switzerland establishing a strategic reserve to overcome electricity shortage situations, we argue in this blog post that demand-side measures should be part of such a reserve.

The secret to getting through the energy crisis is that everyone in Europe does their part. And a bit of luck. In this post on the Energy Blog @ ETH Zurich, the author highlights some preliminary results from his investigation of the gas shortage in Europe – because winter is here but Russian gas is not. He models the optimal response to the gas crisis to outline a potential strategy for European countries to get through this daunting situation.

The joint initiative "SPEED2ZERO" contributes to halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, preparing the infrastructure needed to achieve this, building a resilient energy system and safeguarding biodiversity.

ESC member Aldo Steinfeld, professor and head of the Professorship of Renewable Energy Carriers, receives the 2022 Sustainable Engineering Research Award by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, for pioneering and visionary contributions in renewable energy carriers, and leadership in clean energy research and education, and solar power technologies. Congratulations!