Small modular reactors (SMRs) could play a key role in plans to replace the heart of coal-fired power plants with a low - or zero-emission heat source.

Spotted: The Paris Agreement states that emissions need to be reduced by 45 per cent by 2030 and reach Net Zero by 2050 in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Although many now consider that this target is beyond reach, it is still possible to stall warming at 2 degrees Celsius. One key to reaching this is to eliminate the use of fossil fuels as soon as possible, but current industry and deployment models for advanced heat sources cannot deliver fast enough or at the scale required. Startup TerraPraxis is aiming to change this.

This article is part of a series examining the recent shifts in nuclear power. Climate, conflicts prompt new look at old nuclear. Nuclear rebirth buoys uranium sector, but new mines not on horizon.

As the dirtiest of the fossil fuels, ending the use of coal-fired power stations is imperative for achieving net zero. TerraPraxis' co-founders and Managing Partners, Kirsty Gogan believe they have a solution to accelerate this process whilst meeting energy needs.

In this episode of The Stand, Eamon Dunphy, host, presenter and editor is joined by Kirsty Gogan, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of TerraPraxis from COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, to talk about the climate challenges ahead for global populations.

On November 7, 2022, TerraPraxis made available for the first time its new EVALUATE application at COP27. This app enables coal plant owners and investors around the world to evaluate hundreds of coal plants for fast, low-cost, and repeatable conversion to emissions-free power generation sources.

UK-based non-profit TerraPraxis has announced that its new Evaluate application is live and available for coal plant owners and investors to assess coal plants for conversion to emissions-free power generation sources.

To avoid catastrophic climate impacts to people and our planet we must apply our most innovative strategies to the toughest-to-decarbonise parts of the economy, which include aviation, shipping and the single largest emitter of carbon emissions, coal-fired power plants. Coal’s virtues, ironically, make it a historically neglected area of the climate challenge and now the single biggest problem we face – but flip it around and tackling coal-fired generation could present the single biggest decarbonization opportunity on the planet.

In this CNN interview, Microsoft's Vice Chair and President Brad Smith and host Julia Chatterley shine a light on TerraPraxis #repoweringcoal initiative with Microsoft, Bryden Wood, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University at Buffalo.

During the Climate Week briefing, Microsoft vice chairman and president Brad Smith emphasized Microsoft’s three-pronged agenda: getting its own house in order on carbon emissions and other climate-related concerns, including water use; promoting digital technology that the world needs to build a more sustainable future; and support efforts to promote societal changes – skills, markets and laws – that support the just transition to a clean economy. During the briefing, Microsoft outlined two compelling examples of how Microsoft-enabled digital technologies could accelerate the low-carbon energy transition. The first centered on a collaboration with TerraPraxis to repower coal plants, “If we don’t have a climate strategy that includes these people, we don’t have a climate strategy,” Eric Ingersoll, TerraPraxis Co-Founder and Manager Partner said.

Kirsty Gogan speaking about the Rebirth of US Nuclear Power was among the highlights RTO selected for this brief about the Global Clean Energy Action Forum (GCEAF), where more than 6,000 people from 34 countries participated. This forum provided a preview of the national and international climate commitments that will be brought forward at the 27th UN Climate Conference of the Parties (COP27) set for Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, in November.

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 TerraPraxis, 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.

This article highlights the recent signing between Microsoft and TerraPraxis 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 TerraPraxis 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 TerraPraxis to accelerate this transformational solution economically, securely and at scale.”

Non-profit sustainability group TerraPraxis 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. TerraPraxis 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 decarbonise 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.

TerraPraxis 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 TerraPraxis won the Hack for Sustainability challenge sponsored by Microsoft President Brad Smith.