May 26 2026 I thank the Africa Solar Industry Association for organising an online conference on energy storage technologies to meet Africa’s growing demand in the renewable energy sector. For the last 6 months I have been intensely networking with stakeholders in the African energy sector. In January I engaged with Damilola Ogunbiyi, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (UN SRSG) for Sustainable Energy for All, and Co-Chair of UN-Energy , Selwin Hart, Assistant Secretary General and Senior Advisor for Climate to the United Nations Secretary-General and the former president of Maldives Mr Mohamed Nasheed [1] Later in February, at the Bharat Electricity summit, I had a chance once more to engage with representatives from African states seeking partners to help meet Africa's energy demand. Following this I attended several online discussions on making energy storage cheaper. [2-4] I have also written about the geopolitics of energy t...
Update on the ASM committee meeting on the State of the Art in Material Upcycling for Additive Manufacturing
May 15 2026 I thank ASM sustainable manufacturing committee for organising a highly informative talk by Dr Sweta Baruah on the topic of Materials Upcycling in Additive manufacturing. As it stands AM is far more material efficient than traditional manufacturing processes— producing less waste than subtractive manufacturing techniques (milling/turning/drilling/grinding). Yet feedstock cost in AM remains high due to energy intensive processes used in its manufacturing. Typical powderisation techniques using gas or water atomisation consume much energy as do wire extrusion processes. The desire to cut down the input energy serves as a powerful motivator to develop processes that can lower the cost and make AM more sustainable. Traditional melt processing technologies for making powder or wire help with the reusability of waste streams and reduce energy input because compared to fresh feedstock there is no need for crushing ,chemical treatment,reduction etc. Yet...