During Climate Week, Microsoft gave a briefing with several partners outlining compelling examples of how Microsoft-enabled digital technologies could accelerate the low-carbon energy transition. The first centered on a collaboration with Terra Praxis, focused on helping coal plant operators determine the best ways to retrofit their facilities to run on carbon-free energy. The idea is to create a replicable way for gathering data to help more than 2,400 coal plants be reconfigured to run nuclear power. The grid infrastructure surrounding these facilities can help developers add this carbon-free energy more quickly, by streamlining permitting, and it will leverage the skills and talents of coal plant workers into the future, said Eric Ingersoll, one of the managing partners and founder of TerraPraxis. "If we don’t have a climate strategy that includes these people, we don’t have a climate strategy," he said.

Microsoft unveiled its plans to launch the Global Renewables Watch yesterday at the 77th General Assembly of the United Nations. Launched in partnership with Planet Labs PBC and The Nature Conservancy, the platform uses artificial intelligence (AI) and satellite imagery to map renewable energy installations everywhere on Earth. In addition, the company is working with Terra Praxis to help facilitate the transition from coal to cleaner, more sustainable energy sources.

‍

This article highlights the recent signing between Microsoft and Terra Praxis to deliver a digital solution to support the repurposing of over 2,400 coal-fired power plants to run on carbon-free energy. “The global energy transition requires partnerships and technology innovation like this one led by Terra Praxis to repurpose coal-based power plants with carbon-free energy generation,” said Darryl Willis, corporate vice president of Energy & Resources, Microsoft. “We look forward to our role in enabling Terra Praxis to accelerate this transformational solution economically, securely and at scale.”

From September 21 through September 23 Pittsburgh hosted the first Global Clean Energy Action Forum. Kirsty Gogan, Terra Praxis Co-Founder and Managing Partner, was invited to participate in several side events tackling with the toughest decarbonization challenges such as how to repower coal-fired power fleets and hard-to-abate sectors including fuels.

Learn More »

‍

The Energy Disruptors Summit is a catalyst for bold, game-changing solutions to the world's biggest energy challenges. This year, Kirsty Gogan presented on Terra Praxis' work on REPOWER, an innovative solution which could put the world back on track to Net Zero by repurposing existing coal plant infrastructure with clean heat sources.

Non-profit sustainability group Terra Praxis will partner with Microsoft to deliver a digital solution to support the repurposing of over 2,400 coal-fired power plants to run on carbon-free energy. Terra Praxis is looking to combine its expertise in energy with Microsoft to build and deploy a set of tools to automate the design and regulatory approval needed to decarbonize coal facilities with nuclear power. The burning of coal causes more than 40% of global carbon emissions and more than 75% of emissions from electricity generation. As global carbon emissions rebounded in 2021 to their highest level in history, increased use of coal was the main driving factor, reaching an all-time high of 15.3 billion tonnes. According to the International Energy Agency, the world’s consumption of coal is set to rise yet again in 2022.

During this Climate Week briefing, Microsoft vice chairman and president Brad Smith emphasized their three-pronged agenda: advancing the sustainability of its business, providing the digital technology needed to build a sustainable world and supporting the societal infrastructure needed for a sustainable world. During the briefing, Microsoft and partners, including Terra Praxis, outlined compelling examples of how Microsoft-enabled digital technologies could accelerate the low-carbon energy transition. The first centered on its collaboration with TerraPraxis on REPOWER across the globe.

Terra Praxis is looking to combine its deep expertise in energy with Microsoft to build and deploy a set of tools to automate the design and regulatory approval needed to decarbonize coal facilities with nuclear power, helping transition one of the world’s largest sources of carbon to zero emissions. The relationship began during last year’s Microsoft Global Hackathon, where the team working with Terra Praxis won the Hack for Sustainability challenge sponsored by Microsoft President Brad Smith.

Climate Week started on September 19 in New York, in this article Forbes tells us what to expect and what to pay attention to during the week, including the Sustainability Deals Of The Week where the collaboration between Microsoft and Terra Praxis to repower coal plants is highlighted.

Microsoft and Terra Praxis, a nonprofit headquartered in the U.K., have joined forces to develop a software application that will help existing coal plants determine the best avenue for decarbonization. “The global energy transition requires partnerships and technology innovation like this one led by Terra Praxis to repurpose coal-based power plants with carbon-free energy generation,” Darryl Willis, corporate vice president of Energy & Resources at Microsoft, said in a statement. “We look forward to our role in enabling Terra Praxis to accelerate this transformational solution economically, securely and at scale.”

Terra Praxis, a non-profit organization focused on actionable solutions for climate and prosperity, has announced a collaboration with Microsoft to deliver a digital solution that will tackle a significant decarbonization challenge—repurposing more than 2,400 coal-fired power plants worldwide to run on carbon-free energy. "The global energy transition requires partnerships and technology innovation like this one led by Terra Praxis to repurpose coal-based power plants with carbon-free energy generation,” said Darryl Willis, corporate vice president of Energy & Resources, Microsoft. "We look forward to our role in enabling Terra Praxis to accelerate this transformational solution economically, securely and at scale."

Terra Praxis and Microsoft enter a strategic collaboration to repower coal-fired power plants with advanced heat sources across the globe. “Microsoft can help Terra Praxis accelerate the benefits that repowering can bring to each community, whilst simultaneously initiating hundreds of projects by leveraging your unparalleled digital capability, and the scale of your global market presence” said Kirsty Gogan, Terra Praxis Founder.

The NICE Future initiative published a digest which showcases examples of leading nuclear produced hydrogen initiatives which can be used to power hard-to-electrify sectors such as transport and heavy industry. Eric Ingersoll and Kirsty Gogan, Founders of Terra Praxis, were honoured to contribute both a Foreword and a chapter: "While it sounds daunting to achieve the scale of production needed, the scalability and power density of advanced heat sources are a major benefit. By moving to a manufacturing model with modular designs, it is possible to deliver hundreds of units in multiple markets around the world each year to produce abundant clean hydrogen-based synthetic fuels. To achieve global market penetration at the speed and scale required by the climate emergency, these drop-in substitute fuels must be delivered at prices that can outcompete fossil fuels within 10 years, and at a scale that can displace the 100 million barrels of oil that are currently consumed around the world each day." 

Terra Praxis will deploy a set of tools to automate the design and regulatory approval needed to decarbonize coal facilities with nuclear power, helping transition one of the world's largest sources of carbon to zero emissions. To do this, Terra Praxis intends to develop a software application with Microsoft that will analyze the existing coal fleet to determine the best avenue to retrofit the plants, saving coal plant owners time and money while giving their assets and the communities around them a new lease on life for decades to come.

A digital solution will tackle a significant decarbonization challenge—decarbonizing a global fleet of 2,400 coal plants to run on clean energy. Terra Praxis, a non-profit focused on actionable solutions for climate and prosperity, is collaborating with Microsoft to deliver a digital solution to tackle a significant decarbonization challenge—repurposing over 2,400 coal-fired power plants worldwide to run on carbon-free energy. The relationship began during last year's Microsoft Global Hackathon, where the team working with Terra Praxis won the Hack for Sustainability challenge sponsored by Microsoft President Brad Smith.

Terra Praxis and Microsoft enter a strategic collaboration to tackle the world’s biggest problem: repowering coal-fired power plants with advanced heat sources. The signing ceremony was featured by Brad Smith, Microsoft President, Kirsty Gogan and Eric Ingersoll, Co-Founders of Terra Praxis. "This is just the beginning of our shared mission - to develop these tools and bring them to market. We are really honored to be working with Microsoft, and to make repowering coal a reality with you at the speed and at the scale demanded by the climate emergency”, said Kirsty Gogan. Terra Praxis is looking to combine its deep expertise in energy with Microsoft to build and deploy a set of tools to automate the design and regulatory approval needed to decarbonize coal facilities with nuclear power, helping transition one of the world’s largest sources of carbon to zero emissions.

This DOE report find hundreds of retiring coal plant sites could convert to nuclear, adding new jobs, increasing economic benefit, and significantly improving environmental conditions. This coal-to-nuclear transition could add a substantial amount of clean electricity to the grid, helping the U.S. reach its net-zero emissions goals by 2050.

The solution to the world’s energy problem could be simple — even elegant. So much so that we could look back and wonder why it took us so long to finally realize it. According to the world’s foremost experts on advanced nuclear technology and policy, the choice is up to us.

‍

We know that climate change is an energy problem. Now we have 28 years to replace fossil fuels and double our overall energy supply. As you reflect on our first  2021 Annual Review, we hope you will be as energized as we are by our success in mobilizing a broad coalition of public and private sector leaders and building momentum for innovative climate solutions (for coal plant conversion, flexible co-generation, clean hydrogen, and synthetic fuels production). Our programs could accelerate the reduction of global carbon emissions by repurposing trillions of dollars of existing infrastructure to supply clean, affordable, and reliable energy to billions of people.

PEI’s Pamela Largue spoke to Rudy Koenig, independent energy advisor and Kirsty Gogan, co-founder of Terra Praxis about the current energy crisis in Europe, the rising appetite for nuclear energy and strategies that can mitigate some of the risks associated with nuclear. Both Gogan and Koenig agreed there is a need for clear strategic, political recognition, and commitment to understand the role of nuclear. Despite nuclear power’s controversial beginnings, perceptions and political positions are rapidly changing. By COP26 in Glasgow, said Kirsty Gogan, there was much more appetite for nuclear as politicians had a mandate to address the gas crisis.

In this episode of the Energy Transitions Podcast Kirsty Gogan, co-founder and managing partner of Terra Praxis and Ruediger Koenig, independent energy advisor, are interviewed by Pamela Largue discuss how the current need to ensure energy security in Europe has put nuclear energy's potential contribution in the energy crisis into perspective. As the experts talk about the overreliance on gas and the risks it entails when there is a supply shortage, Kirsty said: "When you start looking at your previous position about nuclear energy as being too risky, we don't like it, it is because -really- you didn't see any benefits that would make it worthwhile".

Kirsty Gogan participated at the Aspen Energy Week on August 2, Session 5: "New Energy Symbiosis and Systems Thinking", where she presented on Terra Praxis REPOWER. Aspen Energy Week has served as a pivotal forum for candid conversations among a diverse group of leading energy system actors. The forum’s discussions focused on the future of the domestic energy system broadly, and in particular encourages leaders to devise, design, and deploy solutions to the climate crisis. It convened energy entrepreneurs, industry executives, regulators, policymakers, and thought leaders in a set of moderated discussions that draw upon the full range of perspectives in the room in pursuit of breakthrough ideas and action.

“We are encouraged by the EU parliament’s recognition of nuclear as a necessary solution to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050. This will enable investment in the lowest cost decarbonization - which is long term operation of existing nuclear plants - as well as grow investment in new advanced nuclear technologies, which have the potential to dramatically accelerate decarbonization across power, heat, industry and transport, while protecting our planet, and growing human prosperity.” Kirsty Gogan, Terra Praxis Co-Founder.

The IAEA held the 2nd IAEA Workshop on Fusion Enterprises from 11 to 12 July 2022. This workshop discussed the commercialization paths for fusion by bringing together the pioneering actors in private enterprises. Professionals from relevant fields to provided their views on the market demands for fusion, and whether the private sector could deliver what the market is demanding. Kirsty Gogan, Co-Founder of Terra Praxis, was invited as an expert speaker to talk about "Fusion in the Future Energy Market".

The IEA released this new report that will look at how nuclear energy could help address two major crises – energy and climate – facing the world today. The study team acknowledges having benefitted from meetings from Terra Praxis and highlights our repowering coal project: “Various initiatives can facilitate the replacement of coal-fired plants with SMRs, such as that of Terra Praxis which aims to prepare standardized and pre- licensed designs supported by automated project development and design tools.” “In today’s context of the global energy crisis, skyrocketing fossil fuel prices, energy security challenges, and ambitious climate commitments, I believe nuclear power has a unique opportunity to stage a comeback,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol.

As part of the Nuclear Innovation: Clean Energy Future (NICE Future) initiative, Eric Ingersoll - Co-Founder of Terra Praxis, moderated a webinar on clean synthetic fuels. The webinar included experts across several industries and organizations about the prospects for nuclear-derived zero-carbon fuels. Participants learnt about innovative ways nuclear power can be utilized to efficiently produce hydrogen for use in synthetic fuels, which in turn can decarbonize transportation and industrial sectors. Eric was joined by Jason Marcinkoski, Program Manager, Office of Nuclear Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, on behalf of the CEM NICE Future initiative and Jose Bermudez, Energy Analyst, International Energy Agency, on behalf of the CEM Hydrogen Initiative who gave introductory remarks. Speakers included: Elina Teplinsky, Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP; Carlos Leipner, Director, Global Nuclear Energy Strategy, Clean Air Task Force (CATF); Thibault Cantat, Research Scientist, French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA); Troels Schonfeldt, Co-founder and CEO, Seaborg Technologies; Chad Richards, Director, Nuclear Innovation Institute (NII)

Kirsty Gogan spoke at the first edition of the WiNx Special Event, held on June 28-29, 2022 in Provence, south of France. The event was co-hosted by the GWNET, and focused on the topic "Women & Energy Transition". During the event, an Expert Panel provided the audience with key insights from the latest global energy trends and policy decisions, focusing on clean energy sources. It featured high-level speakers from different women-led networks and energy industries and provided an opportunity to support technology development and show the diversity in Energy Transition goals.

This article by David Dalton describes REPOWER. Terra Praxis has assembled a consortium of partners including Bryden Wood, Microsoft, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and University at Buffalo, along with a consortium of global utilities, to launch the ‘Repowering Coal’ initiative. The aim is to provide standardized, pre-licensed designs supported by automated project development and design tools to enable customers to be ready to start construction on their SMR projects in the late 2020s. “The result of this repowering will be carbon-free power plants that are cheaper to operate than before, and to ensure continuity for communities reliant on these plants for energy, jobs, and continued economic development,” Eric Ingersoll, co-founder and managing partner of Terra Praxis said. “The challenge is not only to build enough clean electricity generation to power the world, but to do so quickly while building the infrastructure required to decarbonize end-use sectors such as heat, industry, and transport” Kirsty Gogan said at the Nuclear Innovation Conference in Amsterdam.

This discussion addressed marginalized communities that are potentially interested in new nuclear power projects, evaluate resource needs for a just transition, survey and prioritize approaches to mitigate disproportionate impacts from the transition away from fossil fuels and towards clean energy, and discuss potential approaches and momentum to increase the diversity of talent in the nuclear energy sector. The session was moderated by Jessica Lovering, Good Energy Collective and Fastest Path to Zero Institute and included discussants: Lee Anderson - Utility Workers Union of America, Kirsty Gogan - Terra Praxis, Jake Kincer - Energy for Growth Hub and Trevor McDonald - Duke Energy Corporation.

As a growing number of states and the federal government show interest in and support for advanced nuclear technologies, there is a need to understand the financial risks associated with bringing these technologies to commercialization. During this webinar, experts in the nuclear industry shared how risks to ratepayers can be mitigated in the construction of new nuclear plants with a focus on federal-state coordination, risk mitigation through reactor design, and market development considerations. Moderator: Hon. Eric Skrmetta, Louisiana. Panelists: Jeffrey Brown, Managing Director, Energy Futures Financing Forum and Adjunct Professor, Stanford School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences; Judi Greenwald, Executive Director, Nuclear Innovation Alliance; Kirsty Gogan, Co-Founder, Terra Praxis and Managing Partner, LucidCatalyst