Saman wants to save the climate – with flexible energy storage
50 percent of the world's final energy is used in cooling and heating. Yet little attention is paid to the technologies behind it, the role thermal energy storage plays in it, and its connection to electric power. As a new assistant professor at KTH’s department of Energy Technology, Saman wants to change that.
Global warming is about to exceed the 1.5-degree target, while technological progress is constantly advancing. Why so little action in society? I sit down with newly appointed assistant professor Saman Nimali Gunasekara to talk sustainability and energy. We meet in the lab where she proudly shows off a newly installed experimental set-up for thermal energy storage.
"When I say energy storage, what do you think of?" she asks when we sit down to talk.
Batteries, I reply, pointing to the mobile phone in my hand.
"You're not alone," Saman says. “The vast majority see electrification and electricity storage as key strategies to meet climate targets. However, to succeed in the climate battle, we must see beyond, and address the elephant in the room – heating and cooling”.