How Can Technology Help the Environment?

Technology can help the environment in various ways. The increased investments and adoption of clean energy technologies have helped bring costs down, as well as stimulate technology advancements that improve their efficiency and scalability. According to S&P Global, the average cost of adding clean energy technologies to the world’s power grids will drop another 15-20% by 2030. As a result, the world will continue breaking records in deploying all types of clean technologies – from solar and wind power to battery storage, grids and EVs. And with that, we can expect more clean technology breakthroughs in the upcoming years.

Solar Technology Is Becoming More Efficient and Affordable

The first solar cell was invented in 1883 by New York-based inventor Charles Fritts. Since then, solar technology has come a long way. However, it was in the past 40 years that solar leapt from one of the most expensive power sources to the cheapest in many countries worldwide, with their costs falling by around 20% every time the global cumulative capacity doubled – something known as “Wright’s law.”

China, responsible for up to 80% of the global solar panel supply today, has been the main reason why the technology has become more affordable. In the past year alone, Chinese manufacturers have flooded the market with new supply, causing solar panel prices to drop by half – from USD 0.21 per watt in April 2023 to USD 0.11 per watt in April 2024. 

Importantly, the ever-declining prices of solar panels are accompanied by continuous improvements in their efficiency. For example, over the past three years, the China-based Longi, the world’s biggest solar panel manufacturer, broke solar cell efficiency records 16 times. 

In June this year, the company announced that after successfully blending traditional silicon solar cells with perovskite, a natural mineral hailed as a miracle material, it achieved a 34.6% power conversion efficiency and a theoretical maximum efficiency of up to 43%. For reference, the current best technology, solar cells made from silicon crystallized into monocrystalline cells, have an efficiency rate between 15% and 24%. The improved results bring solar power closer to the 36% global average efficiency for electricity production from fossil fuels. It has also already surpassed the efficiency of coal and can soon do so for all fossil fuels. 

Interestingly, earlier this year, scientists at Oxford University’s physics department developed a revolutionary approach for generating solar electricity without silicon-based solar panels. Instead, they used a special power-generating material on everyday objects, such as rucksacks, cars and mobile phones. Since the material is thin, flexible and capable of harnessing a wider range of the light spectrum, it can be applied to the surface of almost any building or everyday object, allowing more power to be generated from the same amount of sunlight.

Environmental Technology Advancements to Streamline Wind Power

Most installed turbines today extract up to 50% of the energy from the wind that passes through the rotor area. For reference, before 1998, the average was 22%. As a result, wind turbines today are more effective than all fossil fuels used for power generation.

Efficiency improvements aside, wind power is becoming more affordable, too. According to a report by the US Department of Energy, new energy science and technological breakthroughs could cut the cost of wind energy in half by 2030.

The momentum behind more complex wind power projects, including floating offshore wind farms, is also rapidly accelerating. This year, Ørsted finalised the two largest offshore wind farms in Taiwan and the Asia-Pacific region. Due to being located further away from the coast, such wind farms ensure more consistent high wind speeds – up to two times higher from the same rotor size – and reduce fluctuations in electricity generation.

Scientists are also progressing in developing alternative wind-powered solutions. For example, in the UK, there are already rooftops with more compact, motionless wind turbines. They can potentially complement solar installations and step up when solar power conditions weaken in the evenings and during winter. More importantly, the turbines promise high scalability to potentially unlock deployment on rooftops all over the world.

Technology advancements are also helping improve the recyclability of wind turbines. While 85 and 95% of a turbine’s materials, such as steel, aluminium and copper, can be easily recycled today, the rest, usually the blades, pose a challenge. However, companies are working to give a second life to the unrecyclable parts, including by turning them into fibre boards for walls and flooring. There are also efforts to make wind blades entirely from plant-based materials, such as inedible sugar extracted from wood, plant remains, used cooking oil and agricultural waste.

Innovations in EVs and Battery Storage Technology Are Accelerating

Battery technology innovations are progressing, along with recent advancements in addressing technical and scalability challenges. As a result, batteries are becoming more efficient and affordable and have improved capacities. Besides lithium-ion, other types of batteries, including iron air, sulphur-based, metal-free and flow batteries, are emerging as promising technologies.

In 2024, innovations in solid-state batteries brought them a step closer to commercialisation and mass production. The technology promises to ensure higher energy density, faster charging times and enhanced safety by replacing the liquid electrolyte with solid materials.

This year, scientists have also made findings that can prove potential breakthroughs in addressing batteries’ loss of capacity over time. As a result, they are hopeful of improving performance and increasing the range of electric cars by up to 60%.

Battery recycling is also improving. This is crucial, considering that the supply of the metals used for battery production is already stretched thin. According to forecasts, the demand for lithium could increase 20 times by 2050. While recycling facilities can currently recover nearly all the cobalt and nickel used in battery cells, recent scientific breakthroughs promise to recover up to 100% of aluminium and 98% of lithium as well.

Global automakers are also in an arms race to provide more affordable and efficient EVs. However, China strongly dominates the market. This year, its share of the global electric car market rose to 76%, up from 60% in 2023.

Progress in charging infrastructure and technologies has also been substantial in 2024. For example, the Chinese Zeekr announced that its upgraded ultra-fast charging EV batteries now allow vehicles to charge from 10% to 80% in just 10.5 minutes. Paired with the rapid expansion of ultra-fast charging networks, these advancements potentially bring down a major barrier to the widespread adoption of EVs.

Toward Smarter Grids

Technological advancements such as artificial intelligence are making grids smarter, increasing their capacity and efficiency in various ways. For example, AI helps optimize energy production and distribution, predict energy demand and even manage renewable energy storage.

As a result, today, grid operators can effectively implement dynamic transmission line rating improvements, enabling the real-time calculation of power-carrying capacity based on local conditions. Through advanced power flow control, they can also redirect power from overloaded lines to those with available capacity. This helps ensure the grid’s stability and an uninterrupted power supply.

Furthermore, through employing topology optimisation software, grid developers are becoming better at identifying the optimal system design for more efficient operation.

As grids become smarter, operators will be better positioned to balance supply and demand effectively. This will help reduce energy losses and ensure that renewable energy is used to its fullest potential. As a result, the grid will become more resilient and environmentally friendly. Grids will no longer hinder periods of increased clean energy deployment, as was the case in Vietnam, for example.

Digital Technology Empowers Environmental Conservation and Nature Restoration

Technological advancements like AI and machine learning also empower many nature preservation and restoration projects.

The problem of deforestation, paired with the lack of available professional tree planters on a European level, for example, inspired the Seedpods team to invent Leonardo – a 3D-printed drone made from carbon fibres. The drone can drop one-year-old trees in biodegradable capsules through so-called gravity-assisted implantation. According to the SeedPods team, three drones operating for a day can plant around 10,000 young seedlings.

However, the planting process isn’t random. Instead, it follows a custom proprietary navigation system based on patterns spotted in nature. The team uses software and satellite data to ensure detailed insights into tree health, growth and carbon sequestration. The approach employs mathematical models to analyse the ecological impact of newly planted forests, ensuring each tree contributes to the restoration of the environment.

Aside from bird-view mapping projects, machine learning algorithms empower teams such as SPUN to map underground biodiversity and carbon storage by focusing on mycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhizal fungi are a group of network-forming soil fungi that form symbiotic associations with nearly all plants. The underground mapping efforts help compose a highly detailed picture of the biodiversity and carbon present in the world’s ecosystems. As a result, scientists can adopt more efficient measures for reversing nature loss and mitigating climate change.

Some projects have also successfully applied technology to identify species in environmental DNA samples from water, sediment or soil. This analysis helps design a comprehensive assessment of biological diversity and improve nature conservation efforts. As a result, ecosystems and wildlife can be better preserved or restored within their natural habitat.

Scaling Up Investments Crucial For a 1.5°C Scenario

Scientists and researchers have already given us the solutions to tame the climate crisis and avoid breaching the 1.5°C target. In fact, thanks to the continuous technological breakthroughs we witness every year, these solutions are becoming more efficient and affordable by the day.

However, scaling up investments is crucial for making the most of them. While global energy investment is on the rise, it remains insufficient. According to the IEA, to limit warming to 1.5°C, the world needs USD 4.5 trillion annually by 2030. In 2024, for the first time in history, it will exceed USD 3 trillion, with USD 2 trillion going to clean energy technologies and infrastructure. In that sense, without doubling investments, technology and science alone can only do so much.