New Ways to Get Electricity

Most current forecasts and studies agree that, especially in countries with a higher share of renewables, advances in electromobility could see electricity supply fluctuate. That is why it is important to come up with a solution, as quickly as possible, for the large-scale storage of electricity from renewable sources and to find a way of backing them up with other low-emission sources when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing. At present, this job is primarily in the hands of nuclear power plants. This is perhaps why the European Commission, in its latest documents, is projecting that, in 2050, the European energy mix will consist of 80% energy from renewable sources and the remaining 20% from nuclear power plants.

The most successful country in terms of producing energy from renewable resources is Sweden: The country covers more than half (54.5%) of its overall consumption through renewable resources (in the Czech Republic, the figure is about 15%) and is increasingly relying on wind farms. Sweden’s inspiration has been Denmark, the European country where wind farms account for the biggest share of total energy production. Germany is fourth, behind Ireland and Portugal, while the Czech Republic is 14th, just ahead of Hungary.

The ability of bacteria to convert organic substances such as human or animal urine into electrical energy is being explored by researchers at the University of Bath in the UK. The key benefits of the new cells that they have developed using this principle include low-cost production and spatial efficiency. Experts call them microbial fuel cells (MFC) and say that MFCs could be used as “mini power plants” connected to home toilets to produce energy for homes, including for electric car charging.