Issue highlights:

• Future Energy Sources to Power Cities

• Join City/School and Expand Your Impact

• Cities in the News

Dear friends,

With a new year comes new ideas. And, with vacation comes some serious YouTube scrolling. That’s how I ended up taking an impromptu class on fusion and fuel cells.

Yep- that’s what this issue is all about: future energy sources. Because, let’s face it, we have some real challenges with renewable energy. To start with, the sun isn’t always shining and the wind isn’t always blowing.

Unlocking new sustainable energy sources will define the future of our cities and our planet. So, let’s spend some time understanding what that means for building better cities. 

Happy New Year friends!
Kate

Future Energy Sources

Fuel Cells

Cities, just like cars, are electrifying and shifting away from fossil fuels. While many car companies are working on battery electric vehicles, others have bet on hydrogen fuel cells. So can we do the same with cities?

• Fuel cells generate electricity by taking hydrogen atoms within hydrogen fuel, biofuels, natural gas, water electrolysis, propane, or methanol and separating them [DOE]

• Fuel cell efficiency rates are 70-85%, as compared to 33-35% for fossil fuels [WBDG]

• Because fuel cells don’t use combustion, they emit 50% less carbon emissions than the grid [Bloom Energy]

• Many Fortune 500 companies are using fuel cells to power their facilities [FCHEA]

• South Korea is planning to build 3 hydrogen cities by 2022 [Fuel Cell Works]

Fusion Power

Nuclear fusion, which powers the sun, will be a major game changer. But, fusion power on Earth isn’t a reality… yet. Scientists and engineers are testing and developing viable fusion power with ZERO emissions. When will it be ready? Experts think fusion power could connect to the grid by 2030. 

• Unlike fuel cells, fusion power is generated when hydrogen atoms slam into each other and fuse, creating a helium atom

• High temperatures convert atoms into plasma which is contained in magnetic chamber, called a Tokamak

• Magnetic forces accelerate the plasma, forcing atoms to collide and fuse, producing energy [MIT]

• Fusion can create 4 million times more energy than fossil fuels [CNBC]

• ITER, a 35-country initiative, is constructing the world’s largest Tokamak to prove fusion power and generate 500 MW of fusion power from 50 MW of heating power [ITER]

City/School: the urbanist’s virtual porch

Cities Reimagined is branching out. They have created the ultimate urbanist’s virtual back porch, a free (with add-ons) platform to empower and equip urbanists to build better cities. Thinking about starting a podcast? Pilot an episode on City/School. Just started writing a newsletter? Share it on City/School. Always wanted to give a TED Talk but never had the opportunity? Try it on City/School. Need help solving a problem? Post about it and Cities Reimagined will tag 3 people who can help you. The more content you create for one another, the richer the community becomes.

Cities in the News

• 20 states have banned bans on gas, halting the race to electrify cities [NYTimes]

• Toronto removes parking minimums [Planetizen]

• Cities your way: can you stay elected while eliminating emissions? [CityLab]

• Lagos is creating more land by dredging sand… and destroying ecosystems [Scientific American]

• Saudi’s new sustainable city partners with Volocopter for urban air transport [Electrek]

• Global Ecosystem Product is a better metric for sustainable success [The Conversation]

Share Your Work

I would love to hear from you and learn more about your work. Don’t hesitate to reach out for a conversation. In the meantime, please forward this email, subscribe your friends, and follow @KateGasparro to stay in touch.