RMI

The future will be defined not only by how we produce energy, but also by how intelligently we use it.

Today, much of the energy conversation fixates on how quickly supply can expand to meet demand. But through energy efficiency, flexibility, digitalization, and innovation at the point of use, we have increased the ability to shape demand itself — reducing peaks, shifting load, and delivering the same or better outcomes with fewer inputs.

As electricity demand grows from AI, data centers, advanced manufacturing, cooling, and electrification, this perspective is more important than ever.

RMI is operationalizing this trifecta of energy efficiency, security, and electrification through Energy by Design — a system-wide approach to building durable and prosperous energy systems that persist despite disruption.

To learn more about where efficiency fits into this approach, you can explore the resources found on this page: https://ow.ly/1XGy50ZPuIE

As more electric vehicles hit the road, the United States will need a lot more places to charge them. Building that infrastructure is a major investment, and proper planning can help keep costs down.

New RMI analysis finds that better information about where and when drivers are likely to charge can help planners build networks that are both convenient and more cost effective. Greater coordination can make the most of investments through higher charger utilization and more shared infrastructure.

With better use of mobility and charging data, planners understand where chargers are most needed, while pricing and other incentives can encourage drivers to use charging infrastructure more efficiently.

We’re going to need more charging infrastructure as EV adoption grows. Planning it as a network, rather than a collection of individual sites, can help meet drivers’ needs while keeping costs down.

Learn more: https://ow.ly/kFkP50ZPhls

Copper is essential to electrification and digital infrastructure, found in everything from power cables and circuit boards to cooling systems and heat exchangers. But for companies that rely on these components and want to address the greenhouse gas emissions associated with copper in their supply chains, influencing production upstream can be difficult.

RMI, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and BHP set out to address this challenge through book and claim — a system that separates the environmental attributes from the physical flow of a material. The pilot project tested how a book-and-claim mechanism could connect downstream demand with the environmental attributes of eligible lower-emissions copper production.

Our new report, Turning Buyer Demand into Lower-Emissions Copper Production, shares observations from that pilot, including practical considerations around eligibility, issuance, transfer, retirement, claims, and reporting. But this is just a starting point.

We hope industry stakeholders across the copper value chain will join the conversation and help explore the key questions that need to be addressed to make book and claim work at scale.

🔗 Read the report to get started: https://ow.ly/uYKH50ZOpVg

The carbon-credit buying process is inconsistent and opaque. RMI and the Beyond Alliance built an open-source template to make it better.

Built on the procurement and due diligence practices of leading buyers, the Template for Carbon Credit Procurement (TCCP) provides a common application structure that carbon credit buyers can adopt and adapt across project types, geographies, portfolio strategies, and levels of market experience.

By making this tool open-source and publicly available, we are reducing duplication and making the carbon credit procurement process faster, more transparent, and more effective.

Learn more about how and why we built the TCCP 👉 https://ow.ly/F7IN50ZOpG2

What happens when carbon that was supposed to stay stored gets released again?

It’s an important question for carbon markets. Forest fires, changing land use, and other events can undo carbon storage projects, sometimes years after credits have been issued.

Carbon markets have ways to prepare for that risk, but no single tool can cover every situation.

In a new Carbon Pulse op-ed, RMI’s Kyle Clark-Sutton and Yale’s Savannah Gupton look at how a mix of approaches, including insurance, reserve pools, and long-term funding mechanisms, could provide stronger protection when stored carbon is lost.

As countries develop the rules for carbon trading under the Paris Agreement, getting this right will be important for building a market that can deliver credible climate benefits over the long term.

Read more: https://ow.ly/aNtv50ZOt3S

With Climate Week just around the corner, one question will be top of mind: How can companies turn climate commitments into action across their supply chains?

For food and beverage companies, emissions don’t start at the factory door. Manufacturers with agricultural supply chains have to look upstream to tackle emissions, often at an unexpected culprit: fertilizer.

Nitrogen fertilizer supports much of the world’s food production, but its production is emissions intensive. A major reason is ammonia, the key building block in nitrogen fertilizer, which today is typically produced using fossil fuels.

Green ammonia offers a lower-emissions alternative, using renewable electricity and water instead. Scaling green ammonia could help tackle a significant source of emissions embedded in the ingredients and commodities food producers buy.

But building a new market for this technology will require confidence that there is demand. That’s why RMI, the Center for Green Market Activation, and 3Degrees are launching the Green Ammonia Buyers Alliance (GABA), to bring food and beverage companies together to help accelerate investment in green ammonia production.

RMI has applied similar market-based approaches to support climate solutions in sectors including energy, aviation, cement and concrete, and steel. Now, we’re bringing that experience to fertilizer — connecting corporate climate ambition with the producers and projects needed to build a lower-emissions fertilizer market.

As companies and climate leaders gather for Climate Week, GABA offers one example of how corporate climate goals can translate into action. By working together, buyers can send a stronger demand signal, help unlock investment, and accelerate a market for lower-emissions fertilizer.

Learn more about the Green Ammonia Buyers Alliance and how RMI is working to cultivate a lower-carbon food supply chain: https://ow.ly/e2Wt50ZO1PQ

What does energy security look like today?

For decades, improving energy security often meant deprioritizing economic and climate concerns in favor of increasing energy supply. Increasingly, it means efficiency, resilience, and harnessing abundant domestic resources that no one can embargo, blockade, or monopolize.

Energy security strategies that focus on the efficient use of existing energy assets just make good business sense. For example, mitigating methane emissions and flaring in the oil and gas product lifecycle will improve energy security, reduce costs, and brings meaningful climate co-benefits.

Ahead of Climate Week NYC, explore RMI’s latest work on how countries and communities around the world are strengthening energy security: https://ow.ly/Y1eg50ZNBuC

Customer outages are a symptom of underlying grid reliability issues that can arise from any part of the power system.

Instead of automatically reaching for familiar remedies like more power plants or underground distribution lines, RMI’s new guide can help US policymakers evaluate the root cause of reliability issues to decide on solutions that meet the grid’s actual needs. https://ow.ly/2Lmv50ZNu9j

One week from today, Climate Week NYC begins.

As home to millions, including some of the largest corporations, major capital markets, and global decision-making bodies, New York City offers a unique crossroads for conversations and connections.

Throughout the week, RMI will be creating common ground and advancing market-based solutions for an energy system that leads to more security, prosperity, and health for all.

Our experts will be focused on solutions that can make energy more affordable, strengthen security and resilience, improve health, and create opportunities for more people to participate in and benefit from the clean energy transition.

See where to find RMI from September 20–25, meet our experts, and explore the issues we’ll be focused on: https://ow.ly/coiR50ZMJQc