if electric vehicles (evs) are charging us into the future, range anxiety could be hitting the brakes. according to jd power, ev sales grew last year at a 50% pace, reaching one million units. by 2025, electric vehicle sales could comprise almost 20% of new car sales. 

• range anxiety is the fear that an electric vehicle will not have enough battery charge to reach its destination, leaving occupants worried about being stranded. 

why it matters: carbon emitted from internal combustion engines account for 28% of greenhouse gases emitted annually, according to 2022 data. as contributors to climate change, many are arguing that motor companies have the responsibility to introduce innovative solutions such as evs and hybrid models to mitigate additional harm to the planet.

range anxiety is particularly threatening to the long term ev transition because consumers are hesitant about long distance travels along stretches of road where there may be fewer ev charging stations.

early this year, reports found that electric vehicle sales had slowed as more consumers turned to hybrid models as their primary means of transportation. however, while tesla continues to struggle, politico recently reported that ev sales by traditional auto manufacturers saw a 75% increase this april. with dynamic shifts happening in the industry, auto-manufacturers’ responses to range anxiety in consumers could make or break annual sales. 

the big picture: to ensure a smooth and steady transition to electric vehicles, motor companies must address range anxiety and quell consumer apprehension.

• even with more long-range options and increased charging stations, battery-powered cars are making some drivers anxious. a survey from aaa showed that about 75% of respondents were undecided or unlikely to purchase an ev due to concerns about charging infrastructure and range anxiety. however, survey results showed that younger generations were most open to purchasing an ev (31% of millennials).
• in a june 2022 survey by forbes magazine, americans were found to be worried about range regardless of their geographic location. however, drivers in the midwest were most stressed about charging on the go, despite efforts to increase fast-charging stations along major highways. 
• a reported 78% of ev owners report that feelings of range anxiety decrease with increased driving and vehicle knowledge. 
• auto manufacturers such as ford motor company have designed apps that help alleviate range anxiety and instill confidence in the consumer. their fordpass app, for example, provides ancillary equipment and technology that allows users to set their departure times, pre-heat/cool the battery, and prepare the vehicle for long distance travel. 

range confidence 

car manufacturers are working to instill range confidence, as opposed to range anxiety. according to jp helveston, assistant professor at george washington university in the department of engineering management and systems engineering, the key to range confidence is building higher-range evs. “while battery prices have fallen exponentially, oems (original equipment manufacturers) have decided to make longer-range evs instead of less expensive, and smaller range, evs. this has translated into an ev market in the us with longer-range, and very, very heavy, evs than anywhere else in the world, but at the expense of affordability,” helveston said. 

the primary focal point when it comes to range confidence is understanding how much people use the vehicle on a daily basis. ford’s research found that people are driving anywhere from 15 to 50 miles per day (which is well within what studies have found to be typical average of 26.4 minutes). 

several factors impact a car’s energy usage, including heating and cooling systems. in certain ford models, such as the mach-e suv and f-150 lightning, the console displays a chart mapping out how much energy is consumed. 

driving behaviors also impact a car’s range. a driver going at a rapid acceleration of 80 miles per hour on the highway will likely experience a rapid decline in energy compared to a driver going at a steady 30 miles per hour. 

according to whitney pineda, technology communications manager at ford motor company, the key to instilling range confidence lies in understanding how consumers are using their vehicle and helping them find the right vehicle for a great experience. 

while the consumer is responsible for choosing a vehicle that makes sense for their needs, pineda said that education about charging and how to condition their vehicle are crucial to easing the transition for ev drivers. 

“if you are getting ready to hit the road with the family, you are packing up your car and running around the house and may quickly want to check the vehicle and charge information,” pineda said. 

ford offers the fordpass app as the one stop shop for this type of information. owners of ford vehicles can download the app and link an account to their vehicle’s vin. using the interface, they can track their vehicle’s status and performance including fuel and charge levels, as well as vehicle health alerts.

the big transition

while jd power agreed that evs are still in the ‘early adopter phase’ at the end of 2023. sam trentin, a 75-year-old michigander and owner of a f-150 lightning, lives in escanaba and first became interested in purchasing the lightning after seeing television advertisements on electric vehicles. 

“i knew i wanted electric, but i wanted a pickup,” trentin said. “i bought it because of the environment.” trentin’s desire to help the climate may have been the motivation behind his purchase, but he loves the truck itself. beyond its strengths in sustainability, trentin said the car is much smoother than gas and boasts better acceleration. “i love it,” he said, firmly. but issues relating to weather and charging have posed threats to his adoration for the truck. 

as a resident of escanaba, michigan, where daily low temperatures often fall between 23°f to 15°f, and can drop below 0° during peak winter months, trentin relies on a car that can charge him through the cold weather. “the problem is the cold; i have issues when it gets into the 20s,” trentin said. “the cold impacts the mileage.” 

the phenomenon trentin is referring to is neither new nor surprising, and where battery preconditioning is helpful. the cold slows down the chemical process that electric vehicle batteries use to store and release energy. as a result, ev owners like trentin must deal with low battery performance and increased charging times, especially during long distance trips.

this past christmas, trentin claimed he was unable to go to spend time with his son, who lives just 140 miles east of escanaba. “i can’t go to any place in that type of weather and there is no charging station between st. ignace and escanaba,” trentin said. the f-150 has a range of an epa-estimated 300 miles, but in below-freezing temperatures, the vehicle can lose 36% of its range according to research by ev reselling platform, recurrent.

to help counteract the effects of cold temperatures, drivers can use the fordpass app to check their battery charge and “precondition” or prepare their vehicle before a long-distance trip. users can plug in and set their departure times in addition to pre-heating and pre-cooling their batteries and cabins in preparation for a ride. 

according to the fordpass website, preconditioning the vehicle allows the battery to warm to optimum temperature before use, which positively affects the range and driving dynamics for longer distance driving. 

as the ev market evolves with rapid battery innovation, renata arsenault, technical expert for advanced battery recycling at ford, said that ford’s battery technology has “surpassed what people expected.” 

bridging the technology gap 

experts like helveston believe the solution to tech-related issues lies in expanding the charging infrastructure and creating more models. “workplace charging is increasingly important for people to be able to refuel during the day on solar energy that is increasingly in large supply on the grid. consumers also have very few options right now for an ev. we need way more different types of models and classes: ev suvs, pickups, minivans, etc.,” helveston said.

car manufacturers are pushing for consumers to purchase an ev in the first place. a survey conducted by recurrent revealed that ev range anxiety drastically diminished with the experience of owning an ev. according to the study, range anxiety is highest among potential ev buyers in the one-to-two years before their first purchase, but with prolonged ownership, the feelings decrease significantly. public education programs such as national drive electric week also provide opportunities for potential consumers to get acclimated with evs. 

the bottom line: for as long as humans drive, they will have personal preferences for how they use their vehicles. the solution to range anxiety and a smooth ev transition lies in satisfying individual customer needs, while bridging the gap between early adopters and the next generation of ev owners.

this story was originally published on the gw alliance for a sustainable future spotlight page.

electric vehicles (evs) have emerged as a major solution to combat climate change, offering a promising alternative to traditional gas-powered cars. with brands like ford, tesla, and rivian leading the charge, evs have gained significant traction in recent years, captivating the attention of environmentally conscious consumers worldwide. 

as someone accustomed to driving a gas car — or even a hybrid — the transition to a fully electric vehicle may seem like a leap into the unknown. questions inevitably arise: if i’m not using gas, what exactly is powering my vehicle? to demystify the inner-workings of ford’s ev technology specifically, we embarked on a journey to the ford rouge electric vehicle center, a hub of innovation and cutting-edge technology in the world of electric vehicles. 

the cell: building blocks of ev power

at the core of an ev battery lies the cell, said renata arsenault, technical expert at ford. “a single cell, (similar to) what’s in your phone or computer or in a battery,” arsenault said. the ford lithium ion cell is composed of the following materials:

• carbon black
• pvdf binder
• cmc binder
• sbr binder
• carbon-coated silicon/ silicon dioxide  
• spodumene (lithium)
• nickel briquettes
• ncm (cathode)
• graphite (anode) 

these materials are then mixed to create a slurry. this slurry is used to coat aluminum and copper foils. this coating extends to just before the end of the foil allowing for slitting and notching. these foil pieces are stacked, utilizing a separator to place them into an alternating pattern of aluminum and copper layers.

the notched tabs of each layer are then welded together before the jelly roll is packaged and filled with electrolyte. the last steps to its formation are introducing a charge, degassing and trimming the cell. once this is done, the singular cell is complete.

as mentioned in the formation of the cell there is an anode (positive side) and cathode (negative side) materials, with lithium ions shuttling back and forth between them during a charge and discharge cycle. as lithium ions migrate and move throughout the electrolyte, they release electrons, which flow through an external circuit, providing the necessary power for the vehicle’s operation. this is the electrical energy which powers the vehicle.  

a note on anodes and cathodes

the anode of a battery can be thought of as the sun in a solar system, radiating energy outward to power the surrounding planets. just as the sun emits light and heat, the anode facilitates chemical reactions within the battery, releasing electrons to generate electrical energy. it serves as the central source of power, supplying the necessary energy to drive devices or vehicles forward.

conversely, the cathode acts as the orbiting planets, absorbing and utilizing the energy emitted by the anode. like how planets orbit around the sun, the cathode balances the electrical flow, ensuring that the battery operates effectively and efficiently.

battery architecture: from cells to packs

in evs, multiple cell pouches are organized in a combination of series and parallel configurations, forming arrays that collectively make up the battery pack. each configuration adds its own respective advantage, with the series configuration allowing for increased voltage, and with the parallel configuration allowing for increased current capacity.

placing cells in parallel increases the total current capacity of the system because each cell contributes its current capacity to the overall output. in a parallel configuration, the total current is the sum of the currents produced by each cell. when cells are connected in parallel, the voltage remains the same as that of a single cell. however, the total current capacity increases because each cell adds its current output to the overall current.

on the other hand, connecting cells in series increases the total voltage of the system. in a series configuration, the voltage adds up across each cell, while the total current remains the same as that of a single cell.

within a ford vehicle, the amount of cells is generally contingent on the model of the vehicle and the amount of horsepower sought after. for example, the ford f-150 contains about 450 pouches in one battery pack.

the total weight of the battery pack can be upwards of 1500 pounds. this pack also includes structural components to hold the cells securely, along with thermal management systems to regulate temperature and ensure efficient performance, especially in extreme conditions. 

joshua styron, high voltage battery computer aided engineer (cae) and validation manager at ford, drew a connection between humans and batteries saying, “battery cells like to be about the same temperature that people do. so they don’t want to be too hot. they don’t want to be too cold.” historically, smaller batteries could be air cooled, but given the scale of use, all ford ev batteries utilize a liquid cooling system. 

safety measures: mitigating risks

given the substantial energy stored in ev batteries, safety is paramount. battery management systems monitor and regulate factors such as temperature, voltage, and current to prevent overheating or overcharging.

additionally, styron mentioned that built-in switches ensure that, “because there’s so much energy and power available in these batteries, [you can] turn off the access to that energy so that it is safe when you have stepped away from your vehicle.” that enhances safety during operation and when the vehicle is idle.

to withstand the wear and tear of everyday use and unexpected events like crashes, ev battery packs undergo rigorous testing. engineers intentionally subject them to stress tests, including overcharging and crash simulations, to understand their responses and implement features that ensure safety and durability. 

temperature testing involves subjecting ev batteries to a range of temperatures representative of real-world conditions, including extreme high and low temperatures as well as normal operating temperatures. 

moving forward

the evolution of ev batteries has been marked by significant headway in innovation and efficiency, driven by ongoing research and development efforts. from the early days characterized by bulky, complex battery packs to today’s streamlined and integrated designs, the journey of ev batteries reflects a continuous quest for improvement.

one notable trend in ev battery technology is the increasing integration of battery systems with vehicle structures. arsenault spoke to ford’s forward thinking mindset saying, “we’re not like just carving out a hole in the vehicle and, you know, taking an ice [internal combustion engine] vehicle and sticking in a battery. we’re really building the vehicle with the idea of the whole ev, you know, vehicle needs, and requirements.”

this proactive approach allows for more efficient design trade-offs, resulting in lighter, more compact battery systems that seamlessly blend with the vehicle’s architecture. 

past ev battery designs featured multiple layers of components, including cells, arrays, and trays, nested within one another. however, advancements in integrated structures have allowed manufacturers  to reduce unnecessary material and improve energy efficiency. “the cells are becoming more integrated into the battery trays and the trays are becoming more integrated into the vehicle structures… continually going on to ultimately make a lower cost and more efficient product for the customers,” styron said. 

as vehicles become lighter, they can travel further on a single charge, alleviating concerns related to range anxiety — an issue that has previously hindered widespread ev adoption. moreover, as charging infrastructure continues to improve, there is potential to further reduce battery size without sacrificing usability, catering to a broader range of consumer needs.

in the middle of a solar panel array in north carolina, the grass rustles with movement. a raccoon wanders between the panels. a fox wriggles through the permeable fencing and darts around the site. a cluster of turkeys stare accusingly into the wildlife camera. eventually, a curious bobcat prowls outside the fence, slinking inside and outside of the site boundary. 

the animal sightings were made possible by a carefully-placed camera trap used for conservation research. the project is part of efforts from the nature conservancy to investigate how solar development influences animal movement and work with solar developers to preserve the small corridors — or wildlife passageways — that allow for that movement. 

the sight of wildlife lingering at a solar facility between crystalline panels is an unusual one. but in north carolina, a state that ranks fourth in the nation for solar energy production and ninth for biodiversity, scientists and developers are realizing that the choice between renewables and biodiversity doesn’t have to be a trade-off.  

solar energy in the energy transition and climate crisis

amid national efforts to decarbonize the u.s. energy sector and achieve current emissions reductions goals, the u.s. is increasing its buildout of renewable energy. in the last decade, the solar industry saw an average annual growth rate of 24%, according to the solar energy industries association. 

as more and more renewables projects gain traction in states like north carolina, biologists have raised concerns over potential impacts on wildlife populations, especially amid overdevelopment and fragmentation. scientists have begun to research those impacts, but many studies have focused narrowly on bird deaths, habitat conversion,  pollinator habitat, or soil ecosystems, with fewer insights on migration and movement specifically. with climate change exacerbating the need and scale of future migrations, this research gap is a pressing one. 

while people often think of climate change as the biggest threat to biodiversity, the answer is actually habitat loss. liz kalies, the lead renewable energy scientist at the nature conservancy, spreads this message in her conservation work. “we can’t justify poor siting of renewable energy in the name of biodiversity,” said kalies. 

“but similarly, if we ignore climate change, that will also have severe consequences for biodiversity. so, we just really need to keep the two in our mind simultaneously, and not sacrifice one for the other,” she said.

strategies for building wildlife-friendly solar

fortunately, solar developers haves several options to avoid making those sacrifices: selecting sites responsibly (including repurposed mine land), building in wildlife passageways (small corridors to allow animals to pass through)—which could mean splitting a site down the middle—and letting nature reclaim parts of the facility by growing wildflowers, planting native species, or building pollinator habitats. a simple change, such as mowing the lawn in september or october instead of august, after breeding season, can make a difference, according to a research team in new york. 

one of the most promising strategies so far is permeable fencing: swapping out traditional chain-link fencing for larger-holed fencing, which is meshy enough to allow small-to-medium sized mammals to slip through. animal monitoring reports show the early promise of this fencing, as camera traps capture foxes, birds, and coyotes navigating around the fencing. in one study, wildlife-permeable fencing increased the probability that ungulates (hoofed mammals) successfully crossed through the fence by 33% — and they were able to do so in 54% less time.

camera trapping and bobcat tracking: the research behind wildlife-friendly solar

kalies and her team have launched several projects to study solar-wildlife interactions, including the camera trap project, direct site visits with developers, and even a bobcat-specific project. kalies and her team are currently working on the latter, which involves locating, sedating, radio collaring, and tracking bobcats to generate visual maps of their meanderings. bobcats are secretive, elusive animals who prefer uninterrupted vegetation, making them good candidates to study the challenges that animals may face in in solar landscapes. 

surprisingly, bobcats are interacting with the solar facilities. from the videos kalies played, it appears some of them are even drawn to the facilities for unknown reasons. in their preliminary data, one bobcat appeared to cut through a solar facility that didn’t even have a permeable fence. the team hopes to increase their sample size of bobcats in order to predict impacts of solar buildout on their populations through simulation alone.

do developers really want foxes and bobcats roaming through their facilities?

sometimes, the answer is yes, according to developers. medium-sized predators may help quell rodent populations, and rodents have been known to gnaw through the panels’ wiring, breaking the solar array.  

wildlife passageways offer other benefits to developers. at face value, building wildlife-friendly infrastructure is great for a company’s brand image and public relations — especially when local opposition to renewable projects is so prevalent, and sometimes stems from animal conservation concerns. additionally, installing wildlife-friendly fencing is economical, according to kalies. it costs roughly the same as a chain-link fence and holds up just as well structurally, based on her reports from developers. 

“i love the idea of wildlife friendly fencing,”  said scott starr, co-founder of highline renewables. 

“you’re going to be a partner with the community for 30 plus years. so, you want to do things like screen it with evergreens or use wildlife friendly fencing […] and even if it’s a small upcharge, you are looking for things to make the project work that don’t just show up in the pro forma but are also a benefit to the community.” 

as a developer who specializes in small-scale distributed generation,  starr notes that it’s common to screen for endangered species early on as part of choosing a site. “we are very careful as developers towards critical species, critical habitat, wetlands, things like that. that is part of the process.” 

but, when it comes to sharing land with wildlife, the territory is more unfamiliar. starr elaborates on the policy gaps in how governments incentivize wildlife-friendly buildout. 

“the only things that i’ve really seen are ‘we’ll give you adders to put it on this rooftop!’ and ‘we’ll give you adders if  you put it on a brownfield or co-locate with some kind of agricultural operations!’ said starr. “there never is really anything about wildlife corridors—we just don’t know.” 

while developers can’t claim that solar sites are equivalent to wildlife refuges, they do share some compelling similarities: they’re quiet, isolated, fenced off, and relatively low-disturbance on the landscape. whether or not a site is wildlife-friendly often comes down to what’s adjacent to the facility, says kalies, meaning rural sites typically have better luck than urban, overdeveloped, already-degraded plots of land. 

challenges and limitations of building wildlife passageways

some of the biggest research-specific challenges for kalies’s team include accessing sites in the first place, finding partners willing to collaborate, and hours of challenging fieldwork. another difficulty lies in data interpretation. even with data from camera traps, for example, seeing an animal onsite doesn’t mean it’s necessarily benefitting. the animal could be migrating, breeding or nesting, foraging, lost, or simply hanging out. 

starr adds that, from a developer’s perspective, even if you support wildlife-friendly fencing,  you may get a ‘no’ from the county, from financiers, or from any long-term owners of the project who might consider wildlife a risk to their multi-million dollar asset. (some developers are even concerned about bird droppings reducing the efficiency of their solar panels.)

overall, the solar industry’s ability to become “wildlife-friendly” may depend on the level of discussion happening in government. “we need clear guidance and policymaking that incentivizes these kinds of considerations,” said starr.

the future of wildlife-friendly solar 

despite these challenges, pursuing wildlife-friendly solar in north carolina may be a promising step toward preserving biodiversity. the state ranks the 13th highest in the nation for risk of species loss. while wildlife movement patterns are being studied in the western u.s. (such as pronghorn migration), more research is needed on patterns in eastern states.

the first step to preserving biodiverse populations is ensuring that animals can continue to move freely across landscapes. through siting adjustments, permeable fencing, planting wildflower pollinator habitat, and actively collaborating with scientists, the solar industry has a chance to protect wildlife. energy developers and biologists alike can take part in this initiative, giving a new meaning to “energy conservation.” 

the students convened at the ford rouge complex with myself and planet forward multimedia editor aaron dye after traveling from across the country. among the students, duke university, george washington university, howard university, middlebury college, suny-esf, tuskegee university, and university of arizona, were represented.

during an intensive day with engineers, plant managers, and members of ford’s esg team, students got to see the production of ford vehicles on the assembly line as well as explore various testing facilities like ford’s wind tunnel.

starting in march, the students will be publishing their stories from this trip which will cover a range of topics. from water conservation in ev production to ev consumer reluctance and range anxiety, the stories will explore the challenges of the current moment in actuating the just transition to evs, as well as the solutions that ford is bringing to the table.

this trip would not have been possible without the support of the ford motor company, their partnership with planet forward, or their hospitality during the trip. we look forward to publishing the stories from this trip and can’t wait for you to read them!

editor’s note: ford motor company made this series possible by providing students with an experiential learning opportunity at their facilities in dearborn, michigan. all editorial content is created independently. we thank ford motor company for their support of our project.

the cajón del maipo is an arid, once snowcapped region of the chilean andes, 40 miles north of chile’s capital city of santiago. there, a series of hamlets tucked around the mountains and valleys are home to a lively community of small-scale agricultural and ecotourism businesses. in recent years, the effects of melting glaciers in the region have exacerbated a historical drought and threatened local water security.

in 2013, a new hydroelectric project, named alto maipo, began construction along the río maipo, a large glacier-fed river in the cajón del maipo valley. while the valley is already home to a long-standing network of hydroelectric plants, the company, aes gener, promised to produce over four times the current energy supply by diverting rivers through 43.5 miles of tunnels dug beneath the mountains.

after being announced, the project was met with swift backlash from community and environmental leaders. now, years after protests have died down, the project remains internationally controversial and plagued by operational problems, such as glacial retreat reducing the water flow needed to provide the energy for the project.

the greater regional hydroelectric system generates energy through a broad series of underground tunnels that divert water from naturally occurring rivers before being returned to the surface. alto maipo’s tunnels span over 41 miles and source millions of gallons of water from three rivers: the río volcán, the río yeso, and the río colorado.

water travels through the tunnels before being deposited into the larger río maipo, several miles downstream of where the water would naturally flow. the energy produced across the cajón del maipo is sent to the santiago metropolitan region

translation: fundamentally, the olivares glacier field is one of the principle glacier reserves of uncovered glaciers in the region. but we have to understand that in the whole maipo basin, there are over 900 glaciers. of those, many are rock glaciers. and all of them are an important part of the water reserves for the region of santiago.

francisco ferrado, glaciologist at the university of chile

the water, which consists largely of glacier melt, is contaminated from mining and sediment from the hydroelectric diversion process, according to researchers. by redirecting surface water to skip roughly 100 km (about 62 miles) of the cajón del maipo, where communities depend on rivers for water security, the impacts of climate-change-fueled drought in the region are exacerbated. this effects not only households and agriculture, but also the surrounding nature.

translation: it’s what you call a sacrifice zone. the truth is, in the end, it’s a territory that has been sacked by international corporations whose activities have very harmful impacts on the environment and communities. mining is one of the greatest threats – in the end, it’s like the saying, “bread for today, hunger for tomorrow.” that leaves very significant damage. they take the water out of the rivers, they take the resources, and they leave. that’s the reality.

benjamín busto, local environmentalist

locals say the construction of alto maipo came at a cost to local groundwater and marred the landscape of nearby townships el alfalfal and los maitenes permanently. the maipo basin provides 70% of the santiago metropolitan region’s drinkable water, and 90% of its irrigation water. this is increasingly critical as a historic megadrought has swept through chile in the last decade, threatening national food and water security.

resistance to alto maipo turned the region into the center of a battle over water rights. between the project’s announcement in 2013 and 2018, “no alto maipo” activists came to the cajón del maipo from across chile to protest, saying that the project compromised an already fragile water supply. international groups, such as the outdoor gear company patagonia, supported the movement and coined slogans such as “salvemos el maipo, or “save the maipo.”

translation: at the beginning, the meetings were huge. a hundred people, eighty, or more in the beginning. this conflict is turning 16 years old. we live in a society that wants immediate results, and environmental conflicts are long. we don’t always – we almost never win. so, maintaining energy and the hope of winning – beating the state, beating the corporation – was very complicated. and in the end, four or five of us ended up sustaining a tremendous campaign.

marcela mella, local activist

initially, “no alto maipo” meetings and protests drew hundreds. at the height of the public campaign, mella was invited to speak at united nations. but eventually, mella said, only a handful of people would show up. sometimes, the protesters were harassed. “my daughters got scared. they would cry because the [alto maipo] workers would shout things at me,” she said.  

translation: it’s also not convenient that such a big responsibility, like leading a movement, falls on two to three people – it requires more backing. it’s difficult in a capitalist system like the one in chile for people to have the confidence to continue the movement.

marcela mella

during protests, journalists uncovered cyber-espionage on mella’s social media accounts by aes gener, the company behind alto maipo; no charges were ever filed. in 2021, she ran for local office but lost. a year later, her appointment as a provincial presidential delegate for president boric was cut short, a consequence, she says, of disagreeing with her colleagues and the president himself. now, she says she has not found work for five months and has been left in poverty.

in one town at the center of the alto maipo construction, el alfalfal, the controversy is fueled by the tangled history of the region. in 1962, chile entered a period of agricultural reform, which granted the community titles to the land, but this didn’t last long. in 1973, augusto pinochet began his military dictatorship with a u.s.-backed coup. during the pinochet takeover, land ownership was stripped from the community.

today, decades after the end of the dictatorship, the resident’s land titles have not been restored. according to el alfalfal residents, aes gener promised that if the township supported the development of alto maipo, the company would support them in regaining their land titles.

translation: that was our biggest dream, our land titles.

victoria ortega, resident of el alfalfal and community spokesperson

in 1983, ortega’s mother was one of 29 people that died in a devastating mudslide that sent the side of a mountain hurtling downward, destroying everything in its path and marking the region as high-risk for landslides and flash floods. ortega says that bienes nacionales, a land ministry of the chilean government, prevents development in areas with high risks of landslides.

these regulations would require aes gener to fortify the mountainside around their home. locals say this was part of the company’s promise to the town. ortega says that although the construction has since finished, no such action ever materialized. for now, the residents of el alfalfal do not own the land they live on and in their view, alto maipo betrayed their trust.

translation: that’s nature. and there, my mother died on the 29th of november in ‘87.

victoria ortega

at the height of community backlash to the plant, media often showed the town of el alfalfal surrounded by walls. aes gener was ordered by the chilean ministry of the environment to build these around el alfalfal’s main town to shield the residents from sound and dust. “no alto maipo” activists cited these walls as an example of human rights violations. today, the residents themselves say they don’t mind – the walls alleviated fears that the children would fall down the steep banks of the nearby río colorado, or be hurt by heavy machinery. although the walls are currently being removed, the town is opting to keep a chain link fence around the perimeter.

translation: the first thing, as residents, that we asked of alto maipo was to get help with our land titles. they signed a thousand papers and made promises to the people. but in the end, for a company, what matters least is the people. 

jeni gonzales, resident of el alfalfal

in addition to the broken promises of restoring their land titles, residents like jeni gonzales say they have “not relished living in a construction zone” and mourn the loss of their soccer field, replaced by a water retention tank for the plant. but despite a decade of conflict, el alfalfal residents say they are now largely at peace with alto maipo. today, many el alfalfal families are now employed by the aes gener company as traditional ranching businesses have become less profitable due to the drought and glacial retreat. 

beginning in 2017, alto maipo began a financial and operational nosedive due to rapidly decreasing energy prices, increasing construction costs, and decreased energy productivity due to drought and reduced glacier melt.

in december 2021, construction on the alto maipo plant was completed. in the same year, they filed for bankruptcy in u.s. courts. banks and lenders began leaving the project, writing off the hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. strabag, a european construction company contracted to do the majority of tunneling for the alto maipo project, restructured its financial agreement to become a shareholder and guarantor of the project. in 2023, a chilean environmental regulator charged aes with failure to build sufficient infrastructure, and for skirting ecological due diligence.

as of july 2023, when this story was reported, alto maipo was not yet operational.

the reporting for this story was done in conjunction with a related story on mining and glaciers in the region, published in atmos magazine.

on aug. 25, the embassy of the united arab emirates (uae) in washington, d.c., collaborated with the mohammed bin rashid space centre (mbrsc) and the national aeronautics and space administration (nasa) to host a live video call and an audience q&a session featuring uae and u.s. astronauts currently aboard the international space station (iss).

the event, hosted in the jack morton auditorium by uae ambassador to the u.s. yousef al otaiba, and attended by senior officials from mbrsc and nasa, underscored the significance of space exploration and research in advancing climate science.

in recent years, the partnership between the uae and the united states in aeronautics research has grown stronger. uae astronauts are actively training at nasa’s johnson space center in houston, texas, and participating in iss missions.

during the event, uae astronaut sultan alneyadi and nasa astronaut warren ‘woody’ hoburg shared their reflections on their experiences aboard the iss as part of nasa’s spacex crew-6 mission, nearing the end of their sixth month in the orbital laboratory.

alneyadi’s recent accomplishments, including becoming the longest-serving arab astronaut in space and conducting the historic first arab spacewalk in april, have earned international recognition. the uae is among only nine other countries that have conducted a spacewalk from the iss.

prior to the video call, a panel discussion was moderated by american comedian and tv personality steve harvey, delving into the collaborative efforts between the uae and the u.s. in the field of space exploration. the panel featured insights from salem almarri, director general of mbrsc; karen feldstein, associate administrator for international and interagency relations at nasa; and hazzaa almansoori, the uae’s inaugural astronaut.

this event marked the conclusion of the mbrsc’s ‘a call from space’ series, which engaged diverse audiences across the uae and the united states throughout alneyadi’s mission aboard the iss.

following the event, emirati engineer and the uae’s first female astronaut, nora al matrooshi, and adnan al rais, the program manager of mars 2117 at mbrsc, discussed their thoughts on climate change and space exploration, which can be viewed below:

the höegh esperanza, sprawling the length of three football fields, is what’s known as a floating storage and regasification unit, or fsru. it’s a modified tanker ship that sails to different countries where it converts liquefied natural gas, or lng, from transport ships back into a gaseous state. this gas can then be injected into natural gas pipelines. 

in an effort to get by without russian pipeline gas, cut off after russia’s invasion of ukraine, germany is turning to lng imported from countries like the united states. to some climate advocates, however, this amounts to investing in fossil fuel infrastructure when germany is trying to move toward a carbon-free future. 

german leaders say new lng terminals will be used to bring in green hydrogen

the worry is that this could further bind germany to fossil fuels and the greenhouse gas emissions that are accelerating climate change. europe’s largest energy consumer, germany has made a commitment to becoming greenhouse gas neutral by 2045.

german leaders have promised that the new infrastructure will eventually be used to import hydrogen fuel, which does not emit greenhouse gasses, as part of a transition to a decarbonized energy sector. but some clean energy experts question the feasibility of such a conversion.

germany plans to rent at least six floating terminals. the esperanza, the first, arrived in wilhelmshaven in december. the german government has leased it for 10 years, according to a statement from höegh lng, the company that owns the ship.

“today we are making a very important step towards energy security in germany,” robert habeck, the german vice chancellor and minister for economic affairs and climate action, declared when the esperanza arrived. “this shows how much germany can get done within only a few months when it is necessary.”

the leased terminals can sail elsewhere once they are no longer needed. the crux of concern is that germany also plans to build several permanent onshore lng terminals. these could become prematurely obsolete if germany stops using them in favor of renewable energy, said rainer quitzow, a political scientist at the research institute for sustainability in potsdam. 

the alternative, he said, is that “the powers that be put so much pressure on the government that rather than creating a stranded asset and devaluing that asset for the owners, they just continue using it [to process lng] anyway,” quitzow said.

if that happens, he warned, it could cause germany to remain dependent on fossil fuel longer than planned, in a so-called “lock in” effect.

katharina grave, a spokeswoman for germany’s ministry for economic affairs and climate action, said the permanent terminals are necessary because the government believes the floating terminals alone will not make up for the cutoff of russian gas.

“there are not endless amounts of them, and they are quite expensive to hire,” grave said. “so for the future, those fsru ships will be step by step replaced by lng ships that feed into fixed terminals, and then these terminals will also be used to get hydrogen into the system.”

hydrogen fuel can be used to store and transport energy. there are multiple ways of producing it, including by partially combusting fossil fuels. but under germany’s national hydrogen strategy, adopted in 2020, the government regards only “green hydrogen,” generated with renewable energy, to be sustainable in the long term. 

green hydrogen is created by using renewably generated electricity to split water molecules in a process known as electrolysis. this hydrogen can then be combined with oxygen in a fuel cell to generate electricity, which produces only harmless water vapor as a byproduct. 

germany ultimately plans to use hydrogen to power industries that are otherwise difficult to decarbonize, including shipping, aviation and emission-intensive industrial processes. 

“hydrogen is such a precious thing,” said franziska müller, a professor of political science at the university of hamburg who studies the social and environmental risks of hydrogen production. “in germany, it’s sometimes called the champagne of the energy transition because it’s so difficult to produce, and so expensive also.” 

the authors of the national hydrogen strategy note that germany will likely have to import much of the hydrogen it will need from abroad.

grave said the permanent lng terminals would be constructed to be “hydrogen ready,” but when asked what percentage of the facilities’ components would need to be adjusted, she said she was unsure. she did not give a target date for the switch to hydrogen, saying that germany was still working on that part of its strategy.

simon den haak, a spokesman for the dutch energy company gasunie, said that lng terminals can easily be converted if they are built with hydrogen in mind. gasunie is a partial owner of a planned onshore lng terminal in brunsbüttel, germany. “some valves may need to be replaced, but the basic construction of the terminal can be easily adapted,” den haak said in an email.

green energy experts have doubts about plan’s feasibility 

a study published last year by the fraunhofer institute for systems and innovation research in karlsruhe highlights several major barriers to converting lng terminals to hydrogen terminals. 

liquefied hydrogen is extremely difficult to transport. it must be kept at minus 253 degrees celsius to remain a liquid, and to date only one prototype liquid hydrogen import terminal has been built, in kobe, japan. the study found that many parts of an lng terminal would have to be replaced for it to be capable of handling liquid hydrogen. even if its storage tank, the most expensive part of the terminal, were built from hydrogen-compatible steel, the study found, components comprising only 50 percent of the initial investment in an lng terminal could be reused in the conversion.

another option is to import synthetic natural gas, or sng, which is made by combining hydrogen with carbon dioxide. because sng is chemically identical to conventional natural gas, lng terminals can be used to import it without any significant alterations. the synthetic fuel can then be used the same way natural gas is or turned back into hydrogen. 

but to be carbon-neutral, the carbon dioxide used to produce the sng must come from a non-fossil fuel source like organic waste or be captured from the air. the fraunhofer study says that carbon-neutral sng is currently “entirely hypothetical” because of the high costs associated with those processes.

a third option is to import a hydrogen derivative like ammonia, which is produced by adding nitrogen to hydrogen. the ammonia can then be turned back into hydrogen, used to make fertilizer or burned as its own carbon-free source of power.

the fraunhofer researchers found this to be a realistic option for importing hydrogen through the lng terminals. liquid ammonia is much easier to transport than liquid hydrogen. although some parts of an lng terminal would still need to be replaced, the study estimates that if the terminal’s storage tank were made from ammonia-compatible material, around 70 percent of the investment in the terminal could be reused.

“at least for some of the onshore lng terminals currently planned in germany, a conversion to ammonia seem(s) realistic and likely,” jakob wachsmuth, one of the study’s authors, said in an email.

however, the researchers found significant challenges to importing ammonia. one is how to transport this corrosive and toxic substance from the terminal. there is currently no ammonia pipeline network in germany, and road transport is heavily regulated. 

another option is to turn the ammonia back into hydrogen at the terminal by using so-called ammonia “crackers,” which decompose the ammonia back into hydrogen using high temperatures in the presence of a metal catalyst. but these are costly and energy-intensive and don’t yet exist on an industrial scale.

for these reasons, the natural resources defense council, a u.s.-based environmental group, is skeptical about the feasibility of making lng terminals “hydrogen ready.”

“the speed and scale at which countries are beginning to lean into shaky and expensive, supposedly ‘hydrogen-ready’ lng transport methods are cause for concern,” ade samuel and rachel fakhry, two policy experts with the group, wrote in a blog post. “policymakers should instead lean into tried-and-true solutions such as renewable energy, energy efficiency and electrification while prioritizing locally produced green hydrogen for targeted sectors.”

andrzej ancygier, a senior policy analyst for the international think tank climate analytics, said that germany should not build onshore terminals at all and just rely on the floating terminals.

ancygier predicts the country will be able to get by with the floating facilities until it can fully switch to renewable energy. he says there is no point in building permanent lng terminals if, as he believes, there will soon be little demand for natural gas in europe. 

the energy crisis set off by the war in ukraine has made people reluctant to depend on natural gas, which was once seen as a bridge to renewable energy, he notes. 

“this perception is gone,”  ancygier said. “people are scared of gas now.”

it might seem hard to believe, but how to deal with plastic problem may lie in prickly pear cactuses. researchers in mexico are making plastic out of cactus. the plastic made out of prickly-pear juice breaks down in weeks rather than centuries. several companies are interested in collaborating with the researcher, who has applied for a patent for this technology. it means prickly pear plastic bags could make it to grocery stores in just a matter of years. 

but the 279-acre area is more than just a park.

officially the willow waterhole stormwater detention basin, it’s actually a nature-based flood damage reduction facility that can hold up to 600 million gallons of stormwater. channels slowly drain the water away, which would otherwise have moved downstream, flooding homes and businesses.

the site is part of the brays bayou flood damage reduction project, a massive collaboration between the harris county flood control district and the army corps of engineers. project brays’ 75 elements primarily include widened and deepened channels, which will be able to hold more stormwater, alterations to the bridges crossing those channels and the construction of four stormwater detention basins. willow is one of them.

stephen benigno, an environmental quality section leader at the flood control district’s environmental services department, said that most park-goers have no idea that spaces like willow are multi-purpose. it’s an example of hybrid infrastructure, which combines both nature-based and traditional solutions to problems like flooding.

sarah murdock, director of u.s. climate resilience and water policy at the nature conservancy, said, “when you invest in nature, you can lessen the impact that you’re trying to address, but you also get a host of other benefits.”

not only does willow manage flood risk and provide a recreational space for houston residents, it also helps conserve wildlife and restore the endangered coastal prairie ecosystem upon which houston was built.

willow’s trees will grow into forest, so workers don’t have mow as much grass. plants within the waterhole help filter the stormwater, which otherwise would be carried, along with its contaminants, into the brays bayou and eventually to the gulf of mexico.

“when [hybrid infrastructure] is applicable, the district uses it every chance they get,” said benigno.

and in august 2017, project brays prevented over 10,000 homes from being flooded by hurricane harvey, which dumped about a trillion gallons of water on harris county alone. all of the county’s channels and its four detention basins, which can hold a combined 3.5 billion gallons of stormwater, were at full capacity sometime during the storm.

traditional gray infrastructure – like pumping stations and pipes – alone would have resulted in greater damage.

norma jean mattei, the american society of civil engineers’ 2017 president, said that typical structures like pumping stations are designed to collect water and actively move it out of the area as quickly as possible, but have finite capabilities.

in addition, she said, any hazards that take the systems offline during extreme weather events, even temporarily, will lead to flooding.

“that’s what the problem is with gray infrastructure,” said mattei. “big rainstorms [like hurricane harvey] are a lot of water.”

climate change could make weather events more intense, putting traditional projects under more stress. a 2017 national oceanic and air administration study projected more severe rainfall and hurricanes for texas as the climate warms.

the fourth national climate change assessment, released in 2018 by the u.s. global change research program, found that sea level rise along the texas gulf coast is twice as high as the national average. a storm surge in galveston bay could put the entire country’s petroleum and natural gas refining ability at risk. during harvey, surges in the area measured from one to four feet high.

nature-based elements could be part of a comprehensive approach toward these developing challenges. that’s something the army corps of engineers’ dedicated engineering with nature initiative is taking to heart. in the organization’s galveston bay district, located right by houston, it’s using a strategy called “multiple lines of defense” to take some of the strain off engineered features.

edmond russo, deputy district engineer for programs and project management at the corps.’ galveston district said, “in the case we only had engineered solutions, the system is more brittle and prone to failure.”

russo described an example in which using miles of wetlands in front of an earthen levee would reduce the daily battering the structure would take from the waves. the project would remain effective for longer.

more engineers are recognizing the potential advantages that nature can bring to infrastructure.

“[engineers] would try to control nature, but we know we can’t,” he said. “there’s always a bigger disaster than what you design for.”