Artificial intelligence improves the efficiency of electric vehicles

25.12.2023

artificial-intelligence-4694502 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay/Gerd Altmann

Artificial intelligence (AI) plays a significant role in e-mobility and sustainable transport globally, and Serbia is catching up with the world in this area. The application of AI in e-mobility and sustainable transport in our country can contribute to the optimization of traffic routes, better battery performance, development of autonomous driving, vehicle maintenance and efficient management of charging points. This technology yields numerous benefits, including reduced emissions, higher efficiency, and a better experience for electric vehicle users.

We spoke with Dragiša Mišković, PhD, research associate and Head of the Human Computer Interface research group at the Artificial Intelligence Institute of Serbia, about the extent and nature of using AI in e-mobility and sustainable transport in Serbia.

The vision of the Artificial Intelligence Institute of Serbia is to become a global centre of excellence in scientific research and technology transfer in the field of AI and machine learning, as well as to create innovative leaders in that domain. Artificial intelligence is the ability of a computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks normally associated with intelligent beings and refers to the simulation of human intelligence through machines programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions.

IN FOCUS:

Q. How would you assess the development of e-mobility in our country?

Photo-illustration: Pixabay (Markus Roider)

A. Considering that e-mobility in Serbia is still developing, we face numerous challenges. Several key factors affect the e-mobility situation in Serbia, such as infrastructure for charging electric vehicles, incentives for their purchase, investments in research and development and providing support to startups and technology companies that deal with this segment. We also need to educate and raise awareness about the advantages of electromobility and the environmental and economic advantages of electric vehicles. These challenges are also typical for many other countries in the development stage of e-mobility. Thanks to appropriate infrastructure investments and incentives, Serbia has the potential to make progress in this area.

Q. What is Serbia’s position in this segment compared to the countries in the region that are also EU members? Which countries are the most developed when it comes to e-mobility?

A. In terms of the development of e-mobility, Serbia is in a similar position as other countries in the region. Electromobility is a relatively new industry developing rapidly worldwide, including the Balkan region. The Balkan countries, including Serbia, face similar challenges and opportunities related to e-mobility.

We should bear in mind that the situation in this segment is changing rapidly, and each country in the region has its own specific challenges and development strategies. It is crucial that countries in the region cooperate and exchange knowledge and experiences to accelerate development and achieve a sustainable transformation of the transport sector. Norway, the Netherlands, China, Germany, and Sweden are the leaders in e-mobility, as they have advanced systems, infrastructure, and initiatives to support the use of electric vehicles.

Q. To what extent are AI-based tools for e-mobility being developed and applied in Serbia?

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Jenny Ueberberg)

A. Artificial intelligence is playing an increasing role in e-mobility worldwide. It is used to optimize the performance of electric vehicles, improve autonomous driving systems, manage battery charging, predict energy consumption, optimize logistics and more.

Electromobility, a key sector of the economy and a source of development potential is gaining increasingly important in the modern world due to concern for the environment and health. Our wider regional community has an exceptional opportunity to become one of the leaders in Europe in this field, using the abundance of experience, tradition, and expertise we possess in these domains.

Large foreign companies still lead the development of e-mobility in Serbia, and it is important to encourage the involvement of domestic companies and institutes. We also need to carry out timely planning activities to develop the infrastructure for the fifth-generation network (5G) and systematically approach the drafting of regulations. The relevant laws will facilitate the widespread use of electric and autonomous vehicles.

Interviewed by: Mirjana Vujadinović Tomevski

Read the story in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine ELECTROMOBILITY

Arctic Report Card documents evidence of accelerating climate change

24.12.2023

brod_Antarktik — Foto-ilustracija: Unsplash (Henrique Setim)

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric has issued its annual Arctic Report Card. It documents new evidence that warming of the air, ocean and land is affecting people, ecosystems and communities across the Arctic region, which is heating up faster than any other part of the world.

Summer surface air temperatures during 2023 were the warmest ever observed in the Arctic. Overall, it was the Arctic’s sixth warmest year on record. Sea ice extent continued to decline, with the last 17 Septembers now registering as the lowest on record.

Unusual warmth in Greenland contributed to a cumulative melt-day area approaching the all-time record on the Greenland Ice Sheet. The highest point on Greenland’s ice sheet experienced melting for only the fifth time in the 34-year record.

Unusual warmth in northern Canada coincided with below-normal precipitation, contributing to the region’s extreme wildfire season and resulting smoke in the United States.

The annual Arctic Report Card, now in its 18th year, is the work of 82 authors from 13 countries. It includes a section titled Vital Signs, that updates eight measures of physical and biological changes, four chapters on emerging issues and a special report on the 2023 summer of extreme wildfires.

The Arctic Report Card provides important knowledge to inform WMO’s State of the Climate monitoring activities in the Arctic region.

“The overriding message from this year’s report card is that the time for action is now,” said Dr Rick Spinrad, NOAA administrator. “NOAA and our federal partners have ramped up our support and collaboration with state, tribal and local communities to help build climate resilience. At the same time, we as a nation and global community must dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are driving these changes.”

“Arctic amplification” is a widely recognized phenomenon in which human-caused global warming is amplified at the poles, causing the Arctic to warm more quickly than the rest of the globe. Multiple factors enhance warming at high latitudes, but the main one is that warming reduces snow and ice, which would otherwise reflect incoming sunlight. Arctic temperatures have risen at least twice as fast as global temperatures, possibly even faster, since the year 2000.

The shallow seas around the margins of the Arctic Ocean have warmed dramatically in the past four decades. On average, these areas have warmed around 2° C (nearly 4 °F) over the satellite era, part of a feedback loop in which warming air and water temperatures shrink the sea ice cover, which exposes more of the ocean to direct sunlight, which drives more warming.

Places that were once snow-covered nearly year round are thawing out earlier in the spring. Winter 2022-23 actually brought above-average snow accumulations to the Arctic, but it disappeared much more quickly in the spring than it used to.

Highlights

The average surface air temperature in the Arctic this past year was the sixth warmest since 1900.
This year’s sea ice extent was the sixth lowest in the satellite record, which began in 1979. The 17 lowest Arctic sea ice extents on record occurred during the last 17 years.
Many Arctic Ocean regions continue to show increased ocean phytoplankton blooms.
The Greenland Ice Sheet continued to lose mass despite above-average winter snow accumulation.
Pan-Arctic precipitation was the sixth highest on record, continuing the trend toward a wetter Arctic.
Warming has had divergent impacts on different Alaska salmon runs: some have had record-high abundance and others record-low abundance.

Although the Arctic tundra is mostly too cold and dry for trees, it’s home to other plants that have evolved to survive the frigid winters and short growing seasons on the Arctic’s coastal plains and foothills. Sandwiched between the boreal forests and the ocean, this area of shrubs, mosses, lichens, grasses, and grass-like plants called sedges grow in the relatively thin layer of soil that thaws out briefly in the Arctic summer. As the Arctic has warmed over the past several decades, satellites have documented a significant “greening” of the tundra.

Source: WMO

Slovenia’s comprehensive approach to facilitating the growth of electromobility

23.12.2023

211123 elektro_polnilnice MM_mfras_010 — Photo: Ministry of Environment, Climate and Energy (MOPE)

Photo: Ministry of Environment, Climate and Energy (MOPE)

Size-wise, Slovenia is one of the smaller countries in Europe whose territory is more than half covered by forests, is recognizable by its beautiful landscapes and is often known as a country that takes care of and protects its natural wealth. Following the steps toward sustainable development, starting in 2011, this country classified electromobility as an important topic for preserving a healthy environment when it subsidized the purchase of the first three electric cars in the country. We spoke with Marija Lesjak, Secretary of the Directorate for Transport Policy at the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Energy (MOPE), about the development of electromobility and incentives for citizens to switch to alternative fuel vehicles.

By 2018, the purchase of 1,521 electric vehicles was gradually co-financed. In October 2017, the Slovenian government adopted the Market Development Strategy for setting up an appropriate transport infrastructure related to alternative fuels. Article 3 of Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of infrastructure for alternative fuels was hereby incorporated into the Slovenian legal system, which requires EU Member States to adopt national policy frameworks for market development, concerning alternative fuels in the transport sector and set up an appropriate infrastructure.

This strategy was a national framework for reducing greenhouse gases, especially CO2 emissions in the transport sector, by 2030, so the goal was to have at least 200,000 electric vehicles by that time. The strategy also includes a certain number of other alternative fuel vehicles. Speaking about the infrastructure for electric vehicles, the goal was to provide at least one charger for every 10 registered electric cars.

IN FOCUS:

In 2019, the Slovenian government adopted the Action Programme for Alternative Fuels in Transport, which included various measures to improve the alternative fuel market and establish the appropriate infrastructure for alternative fuels. Since that year, the purchase of an average of 1,000 electric vehicles per year has been co-financed.

“From 2011 to 2022, we co-financed the purchase of 5,687 electric vehicles. Since then, including 2019, subsidies for plug-in electric hybrids (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have been available. From 2020, subsidies are only available for BEVs. Subsidies for personal electric vehicles range from 4,500 to 6,500 euros per vehicle and 3,500 euros for light commercial vehicles,” said Marija Lesjak.

Given that the adopted strategy from 2017 was not sufficient for the accomplishment of ambitious goals set by the European Union as part of the European Green Deal and the Fit for 55 set of regulations, on May 25, 2023, Slovenia adopted a new systemic law on infrastructure for alternative fuels and promoting the transition to alternative fuels in transport (ZIAG). This law creates a legal framework for establishing, developing, expanding, and safely using an interoperable and user-friendly infrastructure for filling and supplying alternative fuels to road, air, and sea traffic and three types of energy sources – electricity, hydrogen, and natural gas.

The law also prescribes three basic levels of infrastructure development for alternative fuels. The first is strategic planning of the alternative fuel infrastructure, where, considering the current state and maturity of the existing technologies, the emphasis is on planning the infrastructure network for charging electricity for road vehicles. Then, there is the provision of a long-term dedicated resource for co-financing measures for switching to alternative fuels, which will contribute to accomplishing environmental and energy goals in the transport sector. The last level is forming an executive body to implement public tenders and calls for allocating dedicated funds for measures to accelerate the transition to alternative fuels in traffic, i.e. infrastructure and vehicles or a combination of both. Also, a centre is being established to promote the transition to alternative fuels.

Electrification of public passenger transport is also one of the goals of the new ZIAG. Speaking of which, urban and suburban public passenger transportation has the greatest potential for switching to electric vehicles. Intercity lines are currently not planned because they cover the greater mileage, that is, the inadequate power range of the available electric batteries.

Prepared by: Katarina Vuinac

Read the story in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine ELECTROMOBILITY

Electricity demand for e-vehicles will grow rapidly

22.12.2023

električni auto , punjač — Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Michael Fousert)

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (CHUTTERSNAP)

Munich (dpa) – In Europe, electricity consumption for electric cars and trucks will probably reach 355 terawatt hours per year by 2040, from the current 16 terawatt hours, according to the results of a study.

In relation to the total amount of electricity currently produced in the European Union, this is an increase in demand of 13 percent, the consulting company PwC announced on Thursday.

PwC made the calculations together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research.

It is expected that by 2040, all newly registered cars and trucks in the European Union will be electric – powered by batteries, hydrogen or fuel cells. Until then, it is assumed that 70 percent of cars and 65 percent of trucks will still run on gasoline or diesel.

“So it will be a long time before we see predominantly electric vehicles in operation and they displace the internal combustion engine,” said PwC expert Philipp Rose.

However, since older vehicles are used less than new ones, CO2 emissions directly on the road are likely to be halved by 2040.

Source: DPA

EU economy emissions in 2022: down 22 percent since 2008

21.12.2023

emisije , zagađenje — Photo-illustration: Freepik (frimufilms)

Foto-ilustracija: Unsplash (Emiel Molenaar)

In 2022, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by economic activities of EU resident units stood at 3.6 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents (CO₂-eq), indicating a 22 percent decrease compared with 2008.

The activities with the highest GHG emissions in 2022 were the manufacturing industry and the supply of electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning, both with 745 million tonnes of CO₂-eq, representing 21 percent of total greenhouse gases emitted. These were followed by households (718 million tonnes of CO₂-eq; 20 percent), which are emitters of greenhouse gases related to transportation, heating and other purposes.

Looking back, between 2008 (the first available year of data) and 2022, the largest relative decrease in GHG emissions was recorded in mining and quarrying (-40 percent), followed by the supply of electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning (-37 percent) and manufacturing (-28 percent).

These are estimates for the EU economy according to the air emissions accounts, which show the environmental impact of the whole economy, including international transport. Emitters are broken down by economic activity according to the classification NACE Rev. 2, as well as households, the same as in national accounts.

Source: Eurostat

Halting biodiversity loss: EU outlines achievements one year after adoption of global plan for nature and people

20.12.2023

mountain-planina-šuma-drveće — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Mathew Schwartz)

Yesterday marked one year since 196 countries agreed the Kunming–Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) at the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP15) as an action plan to protect, restore, sustainably use, manage and finance ecosystems. Full implementation of both the GBF and the Paris Agreement will result in a truly sustainable economy and help to achieve the sustainable development goals. One year on, the EU has made progress in implementing the deal but more needs to be done ahead of COP16 in October 2024.

Building on the European Green Deal and its strategies, the EU is on track in the implementation of the GBF. The EU has proposed and adopted many new laws this year including:

A law on deforestation-free products to ensure European consumption does not cause deforestation in other parts of the world, that will apply at the end of 2024.
A provisional agreement on a nature restoration law to restore Europe’s degraded ecosystems. Once adopted and applied in the EU Member States, the law will be key to reaching climate neutrality by 2050 and increasing Europe’s preparedness and resilience to the effects of climate change. The law will help the EU and its Member States meet the restoration target they committed to under the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Strengthened monitoring and measuring: a proposal for a soil monitoring law to protect and restore soils and ensure that they are used sustainably, and a proposal for a monitoring framework for resilient European forests to plug existing gaps in the information on European forests and create a comprehensive forest knowledge base.
New rules for companies to respect environment in global value chains: a proposal for a Directive on corporate sustainability due diligence will oblige companies to identify and prevent, end or mitigate adverse impacts of their activities on human rights and on the environment, for example pollution and biodiversity.

In addition, the EU along with its Member States continues to mobilise resources to support the implementation of the agreement. The EU and its Member States are the main provider of international biodiversity funding and he Commission already announced a doubling of its international biodiversity financing to seven billion euros for the 2021-2027 period. The European sustainable financing initiative will help to direct finance to support investments in biodiversity. The new EU budget provides for 10 percent to be used for biodiversity-relevant activities as of 2026.

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Luca Bravo)

In addition, this year saw the signature of the Treaty of the High Seas, enabling large-scale marine protected areas in the high seas, facilitating the achievement of the GBF target to effectively conserve and manage 30 percent of land and sea by 2030. The EU has committed to support the High Seas Treaty’s ratification and early implementation through the EU Global Ocean Programme of 40 million euros and is at the moment working towards its own speedy ratification.

The EU also continues to maximise synergies between climate and biodiversity action, especially by making sure nature-based solutions inform the implementation of both the GBF and the Paris Agreement. The Commission is funding and providing technical support to at least 74 projects on nature-based solutions, with a total contribution of EUR 654 million. The involvement of cities, municipalities and a wide variety of stakeholders, in agriculture, finance and insurance, navigation and water management is facilitating the consideration of nature-based solutions across all sectors of the economy.

The Commission is working with UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre to set up a Global Knowledge Support Service for Biodiversity, in particular to support Parties in the monitoring of implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework. As part of the new biodiversity knowledge governance framework, the Commission has put in place a comprehensive indicator-based monitoring mechanism – EU Biodiversity dashboard and action tracker. The tool will be used for tracking EU and MS progress on global targets, facilitating the exchanges needed to fill some common knowledge gaps in the most cost-efficient way.

Finally, the EU will continue working with partners, including as part of the Team Europe Initiative on deforestation-free supply chains launched at COP28, NaturAfrica and the Sustainable Cocoa Initiative.

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (
Fabian Quintero)

Further actions needed

The CAP Strategic Plans have the potential to contribute to halting and reversing biodiversity loss, however the scale of biodiversity-related needs calls for greater coverage of more promising schemes. Major challenges also remain in terms of the status of farmland biodiversity. Effective implementation pf GBF requires the active engagement of all government, all society and all economy, mobilisation of resources from all sources and will need continued effort and leadership. The EU is currently analysing whether anything needs to be added or strengthened to effectively implement the GBF and is working together with other Parties and stakeholders to enable the full and swift implementation of GBF at global level.

Next steps

As agreed at CBD COP15, the EU will communicate its targets to the CBD ahead of CBD COP16 early in 2024, including an assessment of whether EU existing goals and targets are aligned with the GBF. All Parties are expected to do the same. This should allow to assess at COP16 whether the sum of all national targets suffice for achieving the global goals and targets.

At CBD COP16, governments and stakeholders should demonstrate significant progress on all fronts, announcing strategies and action plans, as well as proving progress on resource mobilization, capacity building, access and benefit-sharing and monitoring.

Source: European Commission

SOLAR ENERGY —SECURE SUPPLY

20.12.2023

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (
Mariana Proença)

Serbia, like the whole of Europe, is working intensively to become energy independent and wants to achieve this with the help of renewable energy sources (RES). To meet the set goals, it is necessary to increase the share of RES to about 40 per cent in the overall energy consumption by 2030. For these reasons, the state passed the Law on the Use of RES in 2021, which was revised this year.

Serbia’s solar potential is greater than Northern Europe’s, which means that if we consider Germany, the leader in producing electricity from photovoltaic systems, our country has 30-40 per cent more solar potential.

The adoption of the Law on the Use of Renewable Energy Sources and the energy crisis in which we found ourselves encouraged citizens and industry to ensure a safe and stable supply by installing solar power plants. As in any business, trusted partners with many years of experience are key to a safe and successful business.

MT-KOMEX, which celebrates 30 years of business this year, is a pioneer in constructing solar power plants in Serbia. Over many years of work, they have built and delivered equipment for more than 180 solar power plants on the ground and on roofs, with a total installed power of more than 60 MW.

IN FOCUS:

The hard workers of this company, 130 engineers and installers, oversee introducing new areas of business on the domestic market, and the company’s employees regularly attend specially prepared trainings and have all the necessary certificates.

The quality and dedication of the company are best evidenced by the fact that during the unprecedented storm that hit Serbia in July, not a single solar power plant built by MT-KOMEX was damaged.

The company’s leaders saw that they could help develop projects in the field of renewable energy sources in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is why, in April of this year, the decision was made to open the company MT-KOMEX BiH.

The company’s professional team is ready to always provide clients with full support in all project phases, from the development stage to the preparation of documentation for technical acceptance and obtaining a use permit, on a turnkey basis.

Prepared by: Milica Radičević

Read the story in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine ELECTROMOBILITY

Member States set IFAD on track to largest replenishment ever to tackle poverty, hunger and the climate crisis

19.12.2023

watering-poljporivreda-hrana — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Zoe Schaeffer)

At a time when climate change and conflict are fuelling greater food insecurity in many developing countries, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) received record-breaking pledges in support of its largest replenishment ever, putting the organization on track to positively impact the lives of millions of rural people across the globe.

Many of the pledges were made during a fourth replenishment session hosted in Paris over the last two days by Angola and France.

To date 48 Member States have pledged USD 1.076 billion to replenish its core resources. Ten countries have increased by more than 50 per cent from their previous contribution, and 31 countries have committed to their highest contribution ever, marking a record level of financing achieved for IFAD’s 2025-2027 programme of work.

“This is a clear sign of the confidence Member States have in IFAD, and the importance they place on our ability to deliver results and impact through targeted investments that transform agriculture, rural economies and food systems,” said Alvaro Lario, President of IFAD, following the pledging session in Paris. “They understand that investing in rural people and small-scale producers, who produce one third of the world’s food and up to 70 per cent of the food in low and middle-income countries, is the only path to a food secure future.”

IFAD launched its 13th replenishment in February 2023, calling for increased investments in small-scale farmers and rural people across developing countries. IFAD’s resources are replenished every three years by Member States. The consultation culminated in a pledging session in Paris. Fundraising will then continue during 2024. Typically, over 100 countries contribute to IFAD’s replenishments, making it the most widely supported of all the major IFI replenishments.

“I am humbled by the positive momentum from today’s session and confident that IFAD’s ambitious call to mobilize USD 2 billion in new funding to support a USD 10 billion programme of work and impacting over 100 million rural people will be achieved in the coming months,” said Lario.

IFAD’s Member States have demonstrated their record-breaking support and IFAD’s pivotal role in revitalizing the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development Goals through investing in rural people.

“We rely on IFAD to ensure the resilience we seek to build, taking into account climate change and all other factors that hinder our development,” said Carmen do Sacramento Neto, Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Angola, at the opening of the session. “There has been an improvement in the living conditions of rural and fishing populations where the IFAD project [was implemented] and it has had a significant impact. We announce that Angola will maintain its contribution and increase it in the coming years as a clear sign of our commitment.”

“Developing countries don’t need external support, but agricultural and food independence. This is where IFAD must play a key role in reversing the trend. IFAD is a decisive player. It enables the development of the most vulnerable countries, and above all it supports what is at the heart of our ambition: structural transformations in agriculture,” said Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, France, at the high-level session. “You can count on our commitment, and you can count on our determination to make a lasting difference.”

“By stepping up for IFAD13, the global community has a priceless opportunity to turn the tide on poverty and hunger. Rural people are the best investment we can make in a sustainable future, and IFAD, no surprise, is best placed to make this happen,” said Sabrina Elba, IFAD Goodwill Ambassador addressing Member States at the pledging session.

Collaborating with Member States, IFAD invests in rural development and across food systems to help small-scale farmers produce more food and in greater variety, access markets, apply new technologies and adapt to climate change. IFAD ensures that Member State contributions reach those who need it the most, with 45 per cent in total concessional financing going to low-income countries and at least 30 per cent of core resources dedicated to fragile situations.

IFAD’s work achieves measurable impact. Between 2019 – 2021, IFAD’s investments improved the incomes of 77.4 million rural people, while 62 million rural people increased their production, and 64 million rural people improved their access to markets, enabling them to sell their production. In addition, IFAD helped 38 million people bolster their resilience, as measured by their ability to recover from climatic and non-climatic shocks, thanks to improved agricultural practices, access to technical assistance and credit, as well as the diversification of their income sources.

“Today, IFAD Member States have collectively sent a bold message to the world on the strategic importance to invest in rural populations, to ensure food security, to end rural poverty and to act on climate adaptation, building a more stable world for us all,” said President Lario.

IFAD’s unique ability to leverage contributions across the 100 countries it works in, turns every dollar of core contributions into up to six dollars of investment on the ground. Building on its AA+ credit rating, IFAD has been able to mobilize further funds through private borrowing and connecting with global capital markets, the first UN specialized agency to do so.

IFAD seeks to step up its engagement with the private sector. The Fund maintains its strong commitments related to gender equality and women’s empowerment, indigenous peoples, youth, and nutrition as the main axis guiding its work with the most disenfranchised and vulnerable people in rural areas, where 80 per cent of extreme poverty is concentrated.

Source: IFAD

HOW TO PROPERLY MANAGE ENERGY CONSUMPTION

17.12.2023

Andrey Metelev unsplash — Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Andrey Metelev)

The fifteenth consecutive international conference IEEE PES PowerTech Belgrade 2023, held in Belgrade in late June, gathered around 600 participants—academic lecturers, well-known researchers in the field of power engineering, managers, and leaders of research activities in corporations, professors and young people and students from close to 50 countries. This was the largest conference organized in the last 30 years by the Power & Energy Society, the power engineering section of the American Association of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE) outside the United States, in cooperation with local organizers, which this year took place in cooperation with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade. IEEE PES PowerTech is considered one of the most important global meetings in Europe’s energy segment. IEEE PES PowerTech Belgrade 2023 is the largest and most significant international power engineering conference ever held in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. The main topics of the conference included power supply security, changes in the power system caused by the increased connection of renewable energy sources (RES) to power grids, the need to boost the system’s resistance to major climate changes, the transition to a power system that will not emit harmful greenhouse gases, the integration of electric cars and the management of energy consumption, that is, how to get small and large consumers to plan their consumption with the view of reducing energy use. Over 400 scientific and professional papers were presented at the conference. In an interview for our magazine, Professor Jovica Milanović, Dean of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics at the University of Manchester in Great Britain, foreign member of the Serbian Academy of Engineering Sciences and honorary co-chairman of the conference, pointed out that the greatest benefit of the meeting in Belgrade for our country was that Europe and the world could see that Belgrade is still mindful of power engineering and that the results accomplished by our teachers, researchers, engineers and students in this field deserve in every way the greater involvement of our universities and research institutions in international research and projects funded by EU and other international organizations.

IN FOCUS:

Q. How would you rate the conference?

A. This kind of conference has never been held on the ex-Yugoslavia territory, neither in size nor importance. It is one of the most important professional meetings in the field of energy in the world, which is not industrially oriented. My foreign colleagues and I were surprised by the quality of the participants. PES has around 40,000 members worldwide. The highest global professional recognition in electrical engineering and electronics is to be a Fellow IEEE, roughly translated as a regular member of the IEEE. Fellow IEEE comprise 0.1 per cent of the total number of IEEE members. At this conference, out of the total number of participants (about 600), there were more than 26 researchers with the Fellow IEEE title, which is more than four per cent, that is, 40 times more top experts compared to the number of conference participants, than there are in the entire association. It is an unusually large number of experts gathered in one place.

Q. How can consumers adjust their energy consumption?

A. If we could reduce the consumption of electricity and reach an agreement with the consumers that they should not turn on the devices at the same time during the day but that different groups of consumers do so at different times during the day and night, then there would be no need, to put it simply, for all fossil fuel power plants work at the same time, which, in turn, would reduce the emission of harmful gases. Great research is being done in the world and our country on optimally coordinating and motivating consumers to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by adjusting their consumption to periods of the day when there are the best conditions for energy to be produced from renewable sources. If during the day, for example, the sun is shining, or the wind is blowing and have a lot of solar power plants and wind power plants, the produced electricity does not contribute to environmental pollution, and if at that moment, people turn on their electrical devices to use the produced energy, this energy will not be dispersed. But, if we don’t have such power plants, but rather fossil fuel ones, which pollute the environment much more, reducing consumption would require less electricity production and thus a reduction in the emission of harmful greenhouse gases from these power plants.

Q. What to do with energy when there is no consumption?

A. In addition to producing energy from the sun and wind, at the confe rence, we also discussed what to do with energy if there is no consumption. If we generate electricity using solar plants or wind farms when there is enough sun and wind and all consumers turn on electrical appliances when this energy is available, it will be largely consumed. The rest of the available energy will be lost if we cannot store it. To prevent this from happening, we need to build and optimally distribute a sufficient number of energy storages (accumulation sources), i.e. batteries and/or storage lakes for hydroelectric power plants, so that on the one hand, these energy storages can be filled when there is an excess of energy produced by RES and that this stored energy, on the other hand, could be used instead of the one produced from conventional power plants that pollute the environment more, when there is no production of energy from RES. The coordination of production and consumption was one of the main topics of discussion related to the management of consumption and energy storage. The other topic was how to make batteries efficient and large enough and where to place them so that this renewable energy is stored and then returned to the system when there is enough of it.

Interviewed by: Mirjana Vujadinović Tomevski

Read the story in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine ELECTROMOBILITY

ABB and Gravitricity to collaborate on energy storage systems using end-of-life mine shafts and hoist technology

16.12.2023

ABB_provides_complete_mine_hoist_systems_to_customers_worldwide._Image_ABB — Photo: ABB

ABB has signed an agreement with UK-based gravity energy storage firm Gravitricity to explore how hoist expertise and technologies can accelerate the development and implementation of gravity energy storage systems in former mines.

Gravitricity has developed GraviStore, an innovative gravity energy storage system that raises and lowers heavy weights in underground shafts – to offer some of the best characteristics of lithium-ion batteries and pumped hydro storage. Future GraviStores will store more than 20MWh, providing long-duration storage and rapid power delivery to network-constrained users and operators, distribution networks and major power users.

Unlike batteries, the Gravitricity system can operate for decades without any reduction in performance. Gravitricity has already proven the system with a scale demonstrator and is exploring the potential to deploy their groundbreaking technology in decommissioned mines worldwide.

As a market leader for mine hoists with a large installed base of more than 1,000 hoist solutions worldwide, ABB will collaborate by providing research and development, product development and engineering teams specializing in the design, engineering and operations of mine hoists and mechanical, electrical and control technologies for hoisting.

“As the world generates more electricity from intermittent renewable energy sources, there is a growing need for technologies which can capture and store energy during periods of low demand and release it rapidly when required,” said Martin Wright, Gravitricity’s co-founder and Executive Chairman. “Our GraviStore underground gravity energy storage uses the force of gravity to offer some of the best characteristics of lithium-ion batteries and pumped hydro storage – at low cost, and without the need for any rare earth metals.

“We are already seeing significant interest from mine operators in Europe, India and Australia and this partnership with ABB – with decades of electrification and mine hoist system expertise – will help us accelerate our ambitious commercialization plans. I am delighted we are working in tandem.”

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement is an important step in ABB’s ambition to further develop its lifecycle service business by collaborating with companies providing adjacent and value-adding technologies.

“ABB has 130 years of history with mine hoists, since we first electrified one in Sweden in the 1890s, but this collaboration with Gravitricity shows how we can continue to diversify and adapt our technologies,” said Charles Bennett, Global Service Manager, Business Line Hoisting, ABB Process Industries. “We are eager to progress with our collaboration and explore the possibilities as we become part of the next generation of renewable energy storage systems and make use of mine shafts that are no longer in service.”

Gravitricity will bring specialist expertise in grid compliance and control systems and the teams will work together on feasibility studies to understand the application of existing hoisting technology in gravity energy stores. ABB will also offer mining industry consultation and work to identify suitable sites and shafts for the deployment of GraviStore.

The decommissioning of mine shafts is a costly and time-consuming process for mining companies. By repurposing disused mine shafts for energy storage, mine shafts can fill a productive function for up to 50 years beyond their original lifetime, and can mitigate decommissioning costs, while simultaneously creating new job opportunities and contributing to the green energy transition.

ABB is a leader in developing world-class hoisting solutions. As a supplier of complete mine hoist systems, customers can benefit from low lifecycle cost, high reliability and system availability, short project execution time, and a single source of supply for complete systems, including service and spare parts.

Source: ABB

Global coal demand expected to decline in coming years

15.12.2023

ugalj - coal — Foto-ilustracija: Unsplash (Bence Balla-Schottner)

Foto-ilustracija: Unsplash (Dominik Vanyi)

After reaching an all-time high this year, global coal demand is expected to decline to 2026, according to the latest edition of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) annual coal market report – the first time that the report has predicted a drop in global coal consumption over its forecast period.

Coal 2023 sees global demand for coal rising by 1.4 percent in 2023, surpassing 8.5 billion tonnes for the first time. The global increase masks stark differences among regions. Consumption is on course to decline sharply in most advanced economies in 2023, including record drops in the European Union and United States of around 20 percent each. Demand in emerging and developing economies, meanwhile, remains very strong, increasing by 8 percent in India and by 5 percent in China in 2023 due to rising demand for electricity and weak hydropower output.

However, the report expects global coal demand to fall by 2.3 percent by 2026 compared with 2023 levels, even in the absence of governments announcing and implementing stronger clean energy and climate policies. This decline is set to be driven by the major expansion of renewable energy capacity coming online in the three years to 2026.

More than half of this global renewable capacity expansion is set to occur in China, which currently accounts for over half of the world’s demand for coal. As a result, Chinese coal demand is expected to fall in 2024 and plateau through 2026. That said, the outlook for coal in China will be significantly affected in the coming years by the pace of clean energy deployment, weather conditions, and structural shifts in the Chinese economy.

The projected decline in global demand for coal – which is currently the largest energy source for electricity generation, steelmaking and cement production, but also the largest source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from human activity – could mark a historic turning point. However, global consumption is forecast to remain well over 8 billion tonnes through 2026, according to the market report. To drive down emissions at a rate consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement, the use of unabated coal would need to fall significantly faster.

‘’We have seen declines in global coal demand a few times, but they were brief and caused by extraordinary events such as the collapse of the Soviet Union or the Covid-19 crisis. This time appears different, as the decline is more structural, driven by the formidable and sustained expansion of clean energy technologies,” said Keisuke Sadamori, IEA Director of Energy Markets and Security. “A turning point for coal is clearly on the horizon – though the pace at which renewables expand in key Asian economies will dictate what happens next, and much greater efforts are needed to meet international climate targets.”

The report finds that the shift in coal demand and production to Asia is accelerating. This year, China, India and Southeast Asia are set to account for three-quarters of global consumption, up from only about one-quarter in 1990. Consumption in Southeast Asia is expected to exceed for the first time that of the United States and that of the European Union in 2023. Through 2026, India and Southeast Asia are the only regions where coal consumption is poised to grow significantly. In advanced economies, the expansion of renewables amid weak electricity demand growth is set to continue driving the structural decline of coal consumption.

Meanwhile, China, India and Indonesia – the three largest coal producers globally – are expected to break output records in 2023, pushing global production to a new high in 2023. These three countries now account for more than 70 percent of the world’s coal production.

Global coal trade is expected to contract as demand declines in the years ahead. However, trade will reach a new high in 2023, driven by strong growth in Asia. Chinese imports are on track to reach 450 million tonnes, which is more than 100 million tonnes above the previous global record set by the country in 2013, while Indonesia’s exports in 2023 will be close to 500 million tonnes – also a global record.

Source: IEA

CHARGE&GO CONTINUES TO BUILD A NETWORK OF CHARGER

13.12.2023

Driving an electric car is becoming an increasingly popular choice, especially among people living in cities. However, electric vehicles require a good network of chargers for longer journeys so drivers can prepare and organize their journeys in advance. If there is a widespread charging infrastructure strategically located along highways and in cities—EV drivers will have less trouble.

In Serbia, a country that is increasingly following the development of green technology and renewable energy sources, there was a growth in tourism at the beginning of the summer. According to the latest data from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, in June, there was an increase in the number of tourists by 4.7 per cent compared to the same month of the previous year. Also, in the first five months of the current year, 1.4 million foreigners visited the country, representing an increase of 16.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2022. There is certainly a certain number of e-car drivers among the tourists, further emphasizing the need to develop good infrastructure. They need to be instilled with enough confidence that they can easily fill up their vehicles in any part of Serbia. Therefore, we see the indirect importance that a good network of chargers can have in areas that we might not initially think of, such as, in this case, tourism.

IN FOCUS:

The company Charge&GO, dedicated to the vision of sustainable transport, continues to expand its network of chargers. A 240 kW electric charger is installed at the OMV—Metro filling station in Zemun. This charger, which was produced by Siemens, will be able to connect two electric vehicles that need fast charging simultaneously because it has two CCS sockets. If a certain premium model of an electric car, such as the Porsche Taycan, is connected to the charger of this power, charging at full power, within half an hour to an hour, the car will have a range of over 800 kilometers, which is an extraordinary calculation.

The infrastructure is already in place, the charger is ready to use and will be online in a few days.

Charge&GO continuously works on its mission, and among the last projects was the installation of chargers at the OMV filling station in Borska Street in Banjica. Its power is 120 kW, and it is also a Siemens model with two CCS connections. On the other hand, the company is waiting for the EPS’s approval to put the installed ABB charger into operation, with a power of 50 kW, within the OMV filling station on Ada Ciganlija. In this case, it will be possible to charge vehicles with European and Japanese connectors quickly. Apart from the chargers located on the territory of Belgrade, a 120 kW charger, a model produced by Siemens and which will soon be put into operation, is installed at the OMV filling station in Zaječar.

With the help of the first digital platform, finding available chargers and organizing trips certainly become simpler. Charge&GO enabled drivers to make a payment in one place, in addition to viewing the charger map. Users also have electric chargers available across the continent, given the partner network they are part of. After registration with the application, certain benefits can be obtained.

With electric cars and the infrastructure being developed by the company, drivers could reduce their expenses without sacrificing vehicle performance. Electromobility is an important topic for ecology, tourism, and traffic, as well as for individuals and countries. Expanding the network is an opportunity to participate in creating a world where roads are not only a means of connecting places but also the people, ideas and values that shape our future. Charge&GO can be proud of its contribution to this dynamic time of change and everything it does to make traveling by electric vehicles economical and tireless.

Prepared by: Milica Vučković

Read the story in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine ELECTROMOBILITY

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