 The roads to carbon neutral presented by Tatao Energies. How can we make renewable energy more sustainable and efficient to help achieve a decarbonised future? Transitioning to renewable energy sources is one of the key solutions to reach net zero by 2050. To achieve this global goal, it's important we use renewable energy more efficiently and tackle the sustainability of its entire supply chain. One way to make renewables more sustainable is to improve the storage and distribution of the energy it produces. Whether it's not sunny for weeks on end and maybe it's not windy for weeks on end, that storage is going to be critical in terms of how we manage the grid. It's vital that the entire renewable energy supply chain from the raw materials used in manufacturing through to their eventual disposal is recyclable and sustainably produced. IRENA estimates waste from solar panels could increase from 4 million tonnes in 2030 to 200 million tonnes in 2050. That's equivalent to the weight of 20,000 Eiffel Towers. We need a lot of wind turbines, we need a lot of solar panels and that means we also need to very systematically address the potential waste from these technologies. What's really lacking today is a business model for this. Renewable energy solutions such as wind, solar, biomass and hydro all take up space. We must therefore be mindful of the environmental and ecological impact renewable infrastructure can have on its surrounding landscapes. It is very important to take steps in order to manage the risk that these projects can bring to the biodiversity. For onshore wind farms we use image analysis to detect bird migration to stop the power generation in order to avoid any damage to the bird population. Renewable technologies can really coexist in a very balanced way with the natural surroundings. We can create a really forward-looking, truly integrated perspective on how we deploy renewable energy. As we look to secure a decarbonized future, government policies, investment and innovation will help develop new solutions to make renewable energy even more sustainable. Myth. Manufacturing solar panels consumes too much energy to make it sustainable. In fact, while the manufacture of solar panels requires substantial amounts of energy, studies have found that they offset the energy consumed in production within approximately two years of operation. On our journey to a green energy future, what solutions are set to make renewables even more sustainable and efficient? The lifespan of most solar panels is approximately 30 years and as installations increase, so do the concerns around their waste. Materials from panels such as silicon and glass need to be recycled and this process is improving. Increasingly, manufacturers are providing panel recycling to their consumers free of charge. Likewise, recycling within the wind sector is critical. Up to 90% of a wind turbine can now be recycled, but the blades remain a problem. They are not easily recyclable and the technology to do so is relatively new. General Electric in collaboration with Viola are launching the first wind blade recycling program in the US. Nearly 90% of the blade material consisting of fiberglass will be repurposed for cement production. We need to go right back to the design stage and really think about how we can build that ability to recycle right up front as wind turbines or solar panels as lithium-ion batteries are being designed. That's where we can make a difference. Total energy is pledged to double the circularity of its businesses over the next 10 years. It comes from the procurement, the supply chain, execution of the projects, operation or the end of life of the assets. Hard to recycle materials can also be reused for other purposes. In the Danish port city of Alborg, where nine out of ten Danes own a bike, old wind blades have been turned into bike shelters for the city's cyclists. Innovators are also looking to repurpose blades to build objects such as footbridges, street lights and even sports equipment. Efficient operations and maintenance of renewable energy technologies is key to reducing waste. Downtime and inefficiency cost money and loss of energy. Dirty solar panels affect their performance as this can obstruct sunlight from reaching the solar cells. Ecopier autonomous robots operate at night. They move back and forth cleaning solar panels keeping them spotless to ensure they maintain peak operational performance. These robots even have their own onboard solar module for recharging. The efficient storage of renewable energy is vital if we are to achieve our net zero goals. TotalEnergies recently launched the largest battery-based energy storage facility in France located at the Flanders Centre in Dunkirk. This site has a 61 megawatt hour storage capacity assembled by SAFT to TotalEnergies battery affiliate. SAFT specializes in advanced technology battery solutions. For SAFT it's very important to make more reliable and efficient batteries. We are also looking to increase the number of cycles the battery can deploy using IoT, artificial intelligence, machine learning to maximize the life expectancy. The entire battery value chain is getting ready for the challenge of recycling bigger volumes of batteries especially with the rise of electric mobility. Recycling helps reduce environmental impact of mining of precious metals required to manufacture new batteries. When it comes to recycling the battery setting of life after 20 years, we proved being able to reach as much as 85% of nickel can batteries recycling. And we also create an ecosystem of partners for recycling all over the world. New ideas will be key in unlocking the future of large-scale renewable energy storage. Swiss-based company EnergyVote have developed an innovative energy storage and management system that utilizes gravity to store and release renewable energy when required. EnergyVote's solution stores power by using energy to raise 35 tonne bricks to an elevated position when renewable energy generation is high. When energy is needed it is released as kinetic energy back to the grid via controlled lowering of the brick. We wanted to provide something that when combined with wind and solar cost you could have a total solution that would be competitive with fossil fuel. So we take excess wind and solar when it's not needed. It powers motors, it lifts the composite blocks up at height. At height those blocks are all potential energy. And then we use very sophisticated software to essentially lower those blocks when the grid needs the electricity. We focused on sustainability very early so we avoid for example the use of concrete and can use replacement materials like soil for example for the composite blocks. We're going to be deploying across all five continents of the world starting in Australia, China and the United States. Fundamentally replacing fossil fuel sources in multi-gigawatt capabilities for our customers. It's clear that we can make renewable energy even more sustainable by preventing waste, improving maintenance and innovating to make renewables and energy storage more efficient. More sustainable energy production will mean a more sustainable future for us all. To find out more visit roadstocarbonutual.com