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"The transition to a more decentralised and intelligent energy system will continue in 2017, driven by the continued regulatory support for renewable energy in a number of key markets. The 3 Ds of energy are driving future investment - increased decentralisation, the need to decarbonise electricity generation, and digitisation to boost the sector's operational efficiency and open up new market opportunities. The highest growth rates will be for solar PV, with investment forecast to increase by 11.5% to €141.6 billion in 2017. China continues to be the largest market in terms of revenue investment, but the fastest growth will come from India, which will see double-digit growth in investment to 2020. New business models that incentivise smarter consumption patterns, and the growth of energy storage technologies, will increasingly reduce the need for peak capacity investment in mature energy markets."

"Donald Sadoway: The missing link to renewable energy Tweet this talk! (we'll add the headline and the URL) Post to: Share on Twitter Email This Favorite Download inShare Share on StumbleUpon Share on Reddit Share on Facebook TED Conversations Got an idea, question, or debate inspired by this talk? Start a TED Conversation, or join one of these: Green Home Energy=Hydrogen Generators-alternative sources Started by Kathleen Gilligan-Smith 1 Comment What is the real missing link in renewable energy? Started by Enrico Petrucco 8 Comments Comment on this Talk 60 total comments Sign in to add comments or Join (It's free and fast!) Sort By: smily raichel 0 Reply Less than 5 minutes ago: Nice smily raichel 0 Reply Less than 5 minutes ago: Good David Mackey 0 Reply 3 hours ago: Superb invention, but I would suggest one more standard mantra that they should move on from and that is the idea of power being supplied by a centralised grid. This technology seems to me to be much more beneficial on a local scale, what if every home had its own battery, then home power generation becomes economically more viable for everyone. If you could show that a system like this could pay for itself in say 5 years then every home would want one. Plus for this to be implemented on a large scale requires massive investment that could be decades away. Share the technology and lets get it in homes by next year. Great ted talk. Jon Senior 0 Reply 1 hour ago: I agree 100%. Localised energy production would also make energy consumers more conscious of their consumption and encourage efforts to reduce it. We can invent and invent all we want, but the fast solution to allowing renewable energies to take centre stage is to reduce the base energy draw. With lower baseline consumption, smaller "always on" generators are required to keep the grid operational. Town and house-l

KME Group, a European producer of copper rolled products and tubes, announced that company revenues (excluding the cost of raw materials) declined by 11% y-o-y to reach €376M. KME mainly attributes the decline to weak macroeconomic conditions caused by the European sovereign debt crisis which began in H2 2011. Copper price volatility has also led to cautious buying of copper products. The company said that it experienced a continued downturn in sales within the industrial sector (approximately 75% of revenue) in Italy and Spain in H1 2012, while France held-up better. Sales contracted period-on-period and year-on-year in the brass rods segment and in rolled products for the construction market. In addition, shipments to domestic appliance and air conditioner manufacturers were stagnant y-o-y in H1. A bright spot was seen in sales of automotive and mechanical components as well as products associated with the electrical industry.

"In terms of cooling, although traditional cooling methods still dominate market revenues, advanced cooling solutions are fast making in-roads into the market."

"Wireless charging manufacturers are expected to reach economies of scale to offer the technology at a competitive price by 2016 or 2017. The perceived value also may improve with time. The smartphone market is the earliest adopter of wireless power charging technology, and is the largest revenue contributor to the global market. Other potential applications include consumer electronics (e.g., tools, lights, phones, headsets, and laptops), electric vehicles, and industrial uses. Wireless charging technology is expected to expand into these markets during the forecast period."

Draka published its H1 2010 sales figures and commented that the company saw signs of cautious recovery in several cable market segments. Revenues amounted to 1.1 billion euro in H1 2010, a 12% y-o-y increase from the same period in the previous year. Draka attributed the rise in revenues mainly to higher copper prices. It was reported that volumes fell by 0.6% y-o-y in H1 2010 whilst they rose by 0.9% y-o-y in Q2 2010. The company posted EBITDA, excluding non-recurring items, of 34 million euro in H1 2010, down by 17% from H1 2009. Demand was stabilised in most of end-use markets, however, there was no relief from highly competitive pressures.

Monday, 28 July 2008 \nGuangdong Chigo Air Conditioner, a large-sized modern enterprise integrating the development, production and sales of household and commercial air conditioners, recently announced its agent in Egypt successfully won the contract for the Huawei correspondence station in Egypt after seven hardworking months.\n\n Huawei is said to have already achieved 12.56 billion dollars sales revenue, becoming one of the top five global telecommunications equipment producer, now with primacy globally, especially in Africa. Contracts for the correspondence station of Huawei in Egypt were mainly in the hands of Carrier for a long time, which means other brands could not compete with it and usually did not pass the test phase. Because the equipment for each station was valued at over 300 thousand yuan, the AC units could not run for a long time without a reliable capability guarantee. Right now the first set of Chigo splits is already installed in the station.\n\nThe vice president of Chigo Overseas Marketing Department , Mr. Peter Liao, said :"The success of this project means a lot for us. The intergrated ability of Chigo is already at new stage, being the supplier of a globally famous communication company. The cooperation with Huawei is meaningful for Chigo's development in the North African and African markets." For the success of the Huawei project, Huawei's subsidiaries in Libya and Sudan have also started to cooperate with Chigo, reveals the company's press release. \n\n\n

Newmont Mining Corp. posted a sharply higher second-quarter profit Thursday, with record-high gold prices and production gains pumping revenue past most analysts' expectations. Newmont (NEM:Newmont Mining Corporation News, chart, profile, more Last: 49.02+0.25+0.51% 2:30pm 07/25/2008 Delayed quote dataAdd to portfolio Analyst Create alertInsider Discuss Financials Sponsored by: NEM 49.02, +0.25, +0.5%) shares rose $1.82, or 3.9%, to close at $48.77. The stock is up 12% over the past 12 months. Newmont reported net income for the three months ended June 30 swung to $277 million, or 61 cents a share, from a year-ago loss of $2.06 billion, or $4.57 a share. The year-ago numbers were heavily skewed by a $1.67 billion write-down tied to the company's exit from merchant banking and a $460 million charge for settling price-capped forwards contracts. Adjusted earnings from ongoing operations more than doubled to $230 million, or 51 cents a share, from $103 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier. Gold sales during the quarter totaled 1.27 million equity ounces, fetching on average $900 an ounce, as the precious metal rode a huge spike in commodity prices. Gold prices were averaging about $600 an ounce a year ago. Costs per ounce rose, however, to $440 an ounce from $417 a year ago. Copper sales accounted for $183 million during the quarter, down from $340 million a year earlier. Newmont stood by its earlier 2008 production forecast of 5.1 million to 5.4 million ounces of gold, with production cost expected to range from $425 to $450 per ounce.

BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. conglomerate General Electric Co (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Abu Dhabi investment agency Mubadala Development Co said on Tuesday they have entered into an $8 billion joint venture with an initial focus on providing commercial finance in the Middle East and Africa.The two companies also plan to work together in the clean energy and water, aviation, and oil and gas sectors, they said."This partnership is consistent with our global growth initiatives and builds on our long-term relationships in a high-growth region like the Middle East," said Jeff Immelt, chief executive of GE, the second-largest U.S. company by market value.The companies said Mubadala "plans over time" to become one of the Fairfield, Connecticut-based company's ten largest shareholders, by acquiring shares in the open market.They also aim to establish a clean energy technology center in Masdar City, a new city in Abu Dhabi that aims to be carbon neutral. GE plans to commit up to $50 million for Masdar's second clean-tech fund.Growth in the Middle East has been a major thrust for GE in recent years. Last year the company generated $5 billion in revenue in the region, up 50 percent from the prior year.

African Eagle Resources (AIM: AFE; AltX: AEA) today announced a 20% resource increase at its first copper project, Mkushi in Zambia, that will extend the life of the mine by two years. The project is the company's most advanced project and will generate first revenue for African Eagle over the next three to five years. Mark Parker, managing director of African Eagle, told Mineweb today the Mkushi project's feasibility study was scheduled to be completed by the fourth quarter of this year and the company plans to be in open pit production here by 2010. A full mining licence for the project has also been approved. The project's larger resource of 18.5mt at a grade of 0.83% copper has been upgraded to the indicated category which gives the company and investors greater confidence in it. The bigger resource has extended the life of the mine from six to about eight years, while its profitability level will still be further refined. Parker said the feasibility study has not produced any unwanted surprises at this stage and the company has covered any "unknown unknowns" around the project. Mkushi will produce about 30,000t of contained copper annually once the project is up and running.

On 6th August, Xstrata reported H1 profits were down 6.7% versus the same period in 2007. Revenues were 13% higher at $16.092 billion, after record first-half production in coking and semi-soft coal, ferrochrome, refined nickel, platinum, zinc concentrate and lead concentrate. The company expects second-half production to be even stronger, reflected in their decision to raise the interim dividend by 13% to 18c. per share. Xstrata remains bullish over demand prospects in China, with ongoing infrastructure development and urbanisation underpinning growth, adding "the Group is well positioned to enjoy margin expansion and improved profitability from the second half of 2008 and into 2009".

Crane Group, an Australian non-ferrous metals and plastic products manufacturer and distributor, announced revenue for the year ended 30th June 2008 of AUD$2,352m, a year-on-year increase of 7.6%. Net profit after tax before significant items rose to AUD$63.8m, an improvement of 18.2% on last year, thanks to strong results from the firm's plastic piping and distribution arms, Pipelines and Tradelink. Crane Copper Tube, the Group's non-ferrous metals division, reported EBIT of AUD$4.0m compared with a loss of AUD$2.5m last year. Revenue was up 2% to AUD$142m as stronger export sales helped offset subdued demand from the domestic plumbing market, according to Crane Group. "The lean manufacturing programme progressively introduced at CCT over the past two years continues to provide benefits in both productivity and working capital efficiency," said the company.