Climate change

Commercially Viable Nuclear Fusion Is Closer Than Ever

Engineering 3D model of a TOKAMAK thermal nuclear fusion engine

The Goal of Reducing Climate Change The OECD advisory on climate change (Green Grown Studies) states that a multi-pronged approach is required to reduce, stop, or reverse climate change. The critical stages in the energy lifecycle that need to be addressed include: Energy generation Transportation Conversion Storage Consumption Smart-grid technology Smart-homes Smart Manufacturing Smart circuits and computer chips Of all the green / renewable sources of power, nuclear fusion has the biggest potential impact. Nuclear fusion is the holy grail of renewable green energy sources and has the potential to drastically reduce CO2 output by replacing other fossil fuels such as coal-fired electricity plants. Other potential sources of renewable power such as solar, wind, geothermal, and hydro offer benefits over non-renewable power such as coal, and oil and gas, but none have the potential to output as much clean energy as realizing commercial of nuclear fusion.  However, a future global…

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Climate Change Patents

Climate Change

Global Patent Activity for Climate Change Related Patents The Cooperative Patent Class (CPC) Scheme includes a class specifically dedicated to climate change inventions.  This CPC patent class is Y/02. The earliest patents granted with the CPC class Y/02 are in 2013. The two charts below show there is little difference between overall patenting activity and patenting in the CPC class Y/02 with an almost identical group of countries and rate of activity in the top 12 for each set of data. See WIPO ST.3 to translate two-letter country codes. See WIPO ST.3 to translate two-letter country codes. [wpdatatable id=1] Transportation and Greenhouse Gas Capture Leads the Way Breaking down the overall climate change patenting activity in to sub-categories shows that transportation and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) are leading the way with the most patenting activity. Furthermore, a breakdown of climate change patents by transportation sub-classes shows that the road…

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