The Time Machine: Did you Just Sign an Agreement to Sign more Agreements?✒️
EU & China agree to agree more in the future, White House set on building lots of Data Centers, and it turns out lightning emits carbon. Who knew. Plus Shoutout to AssetCool
Happy Saturday! Welcome to the time machine, where we look at the past week and try to pretend things are normal.
Like most weeks, it has been muy busy. AI, Climate litigation, critical minerals - they are all a part of the weekly drama of the Reconfiguration. So buckle up and let’s take a trip through time with our barely-functioning time-traveling car.
The Bigger Things
International Court of Justice Finds Nations Must Protect from Climate Change👩⚖️:
What Happened? The International Court of Justice (ICJ) found on July 23rd that climate change is an “urgent and existential threat“, creating a binding legal obligation for nations to protect the climate from emissions (yes, the climate). The court ruled that the 1.5C target set in the Paris Agreement is a legally binding goal, and failure of governments to achieve is goal is a wrongful act. Which means they can get sued, I guess.
Why Care?🤷♂️ This is a historic ruling with many implications, but one that leaves many questions open (for example, how enforceable will the ruling be?). As far as the Reconfiguration goes, this ruling is perhaps the latest (and perhaps the most significant) evidence that the legal system is becoming one of the primary arenas for battles over the nature and degree of climate action, and signifying a reconfiguration of a major system due to climate change.
China + Europe = Climate Leadership 😎:
What Happened? Chinese Premier Li Qiang and EU Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen and Council President Antonio Costa signed this week an agreement to “demonstrate leadership together to drive a global just transition in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication” (what a mouthful…). The two parties essentially agreed to continue to collaborate on climate goals, further their “green partnership” and make progress ahead of COP30 in Brazil.
Why Care? 🤷♂️ While the agreement itself is not very actionable (I mean, c’mon, an agreement to agree in the future?), it is particularly important and interesting in light of (1) Europe’s emissions reduction plan, signaling that the continent recognizes China’s role in achieving this aggressive goal; and (2) the US’s withdrawal from the role it played as a climate leader in the Biden era. Once again, climate change is reconfiguring geopolitics, while countries leverage our changing climate to further their own geopolitical goals.
AI Action Plan🎬:
What Happened? The Trump Administration has released a 28-page action plan for AI, marking a radical shift away from Biden era AI policies. This landmark AI document contains three pillars: (1) Cut AI red tape and bureaucracy to accelerate innovation; (2) build US AI infrastructure; (3) lead international AI diplomacy. According to the document, the US plans on putting itself in the driver’s seat as it tries to win the global race for AI dominance, trying to balance global leadership with “America First” approach.
Why Care?🤷♂️ Putting aside much of the debate about red tape and “woke AI”, the second pillar effectively means that the US will do whatever it can to build more AI infrastructure, which usually means lots of new Data Centers. The implication of this infrastructure development boom is that emissions are really going to go up📈. In addition, expected demand for critical minerals will also likely skyrocket (along with overall dependence on China🐉). On the other hand, if these future Data Centers will be powered by renewables that will likely help out a bit to curb emission growth (though I wouldn’t hold my breath…).
The Smaller Things
China Places Further Export Controls over Rare Earth Minerals 🪙:
What Happened? In yet another attempt by China to flex its control over critical minerals, exports of Antimony and Germanium fell dramatically. These two are rare earth elements that are used for weapons, telecommunications and solar panels. This happened despite the US-China deal signed last month that was supposed to ease export controls over rare earth minerals. Guess it didn’t really help…
Why Care?🤷♂️ China currently dominates rare earth mineral mining and processing and is considered a de facto monopoly over these critical elements. China is using export controls to further its global ambitions and show rivals and partners alike that it is the boss. The current imposition of export controls is just another step in this direction. China’s export controls have serious implications on many countries’ ability to decarbonize their economies and provides China with a growing position on the world stage.
Building Energy Expected to Grow Significantly🏗️:
What Happened? Data Centers are not the only power-hungry entities out there. It turns out, according to a new International Energy Agency update, that buildings in general are set to require more energy than before. With global floorspace set to double by 2030 (compared to 2020 levels), building are probably going to account for nearly half of global energy growth.
Why Care? 🤷♂️ This update just shows the varied sources of growth in energy demand. We often think of Data Centers as the main culprit behind rise in energy demand. However, it is possible to see that the picture is much more complicated. Growth in energy demand comes not only from the AI boom, but from the increasing urbanization of human societies.
Europe’s Extreme Right Moves to Reject Emissions Target🚫:
What Happened? Recall the EU’s 2040 Emissions Targets? The Far-right is mobilizing to reject the measure. The Far-right MEP in charge of shaping this measure in parliament has filed a motion to reject it altogether. But, have no fear, the motion is unlikely to succeed, as centrist MEPs are working to curtail the move made by Patriots for Europe.
Why Care? 🤷♂️Well, hate to say I told you so… but I called it. The Far-right in Europe is not going without a fight, and we should expect battles like this to continue to happen in parliament, but perhaps on the streets as well (using peaceful protests, of course). Europe’s climate policies have the support of a large portion of Europeans, but there are large pockets of resistance, which may balloon as climate policies take effect. Climate change is what led to this measure, and its impacts will reverberate throughout the continent, as we’ve seen previously.
The Cooler Things / Something Odd
Lightning Kills Trees. With Climate Change It’s Going to Get Worse: Ok, not cool per se, but definitely odd piece of news. A new study published revealed lightning hits roughly 320 million trees worldwide, each year. This figure is set to rise thanks to growing temperatures (meaning, climate change). What this means is that more CO2 is likely to be emitted. Today, lightning-induced emissions equate one billion tons of CO2 per year. Which is a lot. Like, a lot. A warming planet will only make this worse.
Oh great. Just what we needed.
AI-ify the News
As always, here’s an AI-generated picture that should somehow summarize the news. Whether it’s successful or not is up to you to decide.
AssetCool
You're running a utility company. You have customers. Many of them power hungry data centers, others charge their EV all night long. Just when you think they’ve had enough, they yell at you: “more power!”. You need that extra capacity, but how? You don’t have $600,000 per mile to spare, and definitely don’t have 3-7 years to wait.
Normally, you'd bite the bullet and spend millions that you don’t have on new lines, try dynamic line rating (which only works when the weather cooperates), or just pray your picture won’t appear underneath the headline “grid goes bust” on tomorrow’s headlines.
But don’t you worry. We got your back. Meet AssetCool.
AssetCool has engineered a breakthrough photonic coating that cools power lines by reflecting solar radiation and has high emissivity properties. Applied by autonomous robots crawling along existing power lines, their technology physically upgrades grid capacity without rebuilding anything.
AssetCool helps you, the utility, unlock hidden capacity by providing...
Up to 30% capacity increase on existing power lines without touching tower structures or rights-of-way 🚀
20x cost reduction per MW added, compared to traditional reconductoring, deployable in Weeks, not years 🥳
Static line uprating that works continuously regardless of weather conditions, unlike dynamic line rating that needs winds to blow 💪
Cool, autonomous robots that can upgrade several transmission spans per day with minimal service interruptions🤖
AssetCool couldn't be more timely, with electricity demand surging from data centers, transport electrification, and renewable integration creating unprecedented grid congestion. By transforming aging infrastructure into high-capacity assets, they're addressing several major bottlenecks in the energy transition.
To me, AssetCool is the kind of solution born for the Reconfiguration. As climate change puts pressure on the grid, along with increased demand from the AI surge, utilities are reconfiguring their assets and are looking for more capacity. Since infrastructure build is a costly and lengthy process rife with bureaucratic challenges, utilities are likely to go to great lengths to maximize their ability to generate power with what they have. AssetCool is offering exactly that, and stands to benefit from the Reconfiguration.
That’s it for this edition of News Reconfigured.
Stay tuned for my new hot take on Tuesday, and see you soon next week!
…oh, and don’t forget to subscribe - it would mean a lot! 🔽