A Finnish firm thinks it can cut industrial carbon emissions by a third
Running a turbine backwards can produce green heat
Fossil fUELLED power stations can be replaced by solar panels or nuclear reactors. Petrol-powered cars can be replaced with ones that use zero-carbon electricity to charge batteries. But not every part of an economy is so easy to decarbonise, even in principle. Three heavy industries—cement, chemicals and steelmaking—are particularly tricky to clean up. One reason is that all rely on chemical processes that need very high temperatures.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Some like it hot”
Science & technology June 10th 2023
From the June 10th 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Science & technology
Does melatonin work for jet lag?
It can help. But it depends where you’re going
Training AI models might not need enormous data centres
Eventually, models could be trained without any dedicated hardware at all
How the Gulf’s rulers want to harness the power of science
A stronger R&D base, they hope, will transform their countries’ economies. Will their plan work?
Cancer vaccines are showing promise at last
Trials are under way against skin, brain and lung tumours
New firefighting tech is being trialled in Sardinia’s ancient forests
It could sniff out blazes long before they spread out of control
Can Jeff Bezos match Elon Musk in space?
After 25 years, Blue Origin finally heads to orbit, and hopes to become a contender in the private space race