According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the amount of renewable capacity added to energy systems around the world grew by 50% in 2023, reaching almost 510 gigawatts (GW), with solar/photovoltaic accounting for three-quarters of additions worldwide.
The IEA forecasts that U.S. solar power generation will grow 75% from 163 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) in 2023 to 286 billion kWh in 2025. The agency also expects wind power generation to grow 11% from 430 billion kWh in 2023 to 476 billion kWh in 2025. Hydrogen power and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) are also poised for growth.
The economic opportunities the generation of alternative energy provides—requiring new facilities, new materials and a wide range of feedstocks—could likewise fuel the growth of innovative technical textiles. Seen and unseen, these critical components include unique polymers, composites, membranes and filters as well as performance textiles for wind and solar that are lighter, stronger and often recyclable.
From solar cells to solar fabric
Recent developments in lightweight, super-thin, flexible photovoltaics have enabled the solarization of fabrics, expanding the potential range of energy-producing form factors. Brooklyn, N.Y.-based company Pvilion laminates its solar cells to various textiles to create a range of canopies, tents, curtains, building facades, backpacks and clothing. “Once you have the panel, you can turn it into anything,” says Colin Touhey, company co-founder and CEO.
Pvilion’s advantage is in its systems that provide both shelter and power in one structure to partners such as Carnegie Hall, Bloomberg, Tishman Speyer, New York City, Yale University, the U.S. Air Force, the Florida Department of Transportation and the city of Miami.
“Solar fabrics are getting better and better,” Touhey says. He explains that the company is agnostic regarding substrates, focusing instead on durability and longevity. Pvilion creates solar fabrics from ripstop nylon, PVC-coated polyester, polytetrafluoroethylene-coated fiberglass, Dyneema®, and sometimes stretch substrates.
“We are more and more trying to build a line of finished products, as mass production is the goal for price,” says Touhey. “But we are happy to work with people who have a small volume. Being a solar power company doesn’t mean anything if it doesn’t fit into the customer’s requirements.”
From sails to wind turbines
Scottish startup ACT Blade is working with an innovative fabric and specialized modular manufacturing system for turbine blades. The new blades are longer without increased weight and comprise fewer materials and simpler, streamlined production methods. They feature a slender supporting structure made from a composite material that the technical textile completely covers.
Concordia Textiles Group, based in Waregem, Belgium, manufactures the protective outer shell for the wind turbine blades. The fabric is reparable and is composed of elements that can be easily separated for recycling at end of life.
“We developed a laminate that is the common denominator of more than 20 technical requirements by combining the strength and elasticity of a fabric with a protective layer,” says Rik Gekiere, Concordia’s sales and product manager. “Rain-erosion resistance and durability over time were the most challenging to achieve.”
Enel Green Power, an Italian multinational renewable-energy corporation, is partnering with ACT Blade to develop the project. A wind technology called OceanWings®, patented by VPLP Design in France, is said to enable a 45% savings in fuel consumption and a subsequent reduction in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions for sailing vessels. The vertical windsails provide aerodynamic lift and feature automated positioning to maximize thrust.
OceanWings are made from eco-composites that include linen fiber and recycled thermoplastic resins. The outer bag is 1,000-denier nylon with a layer of urethane to protect against punctures and abrasion.
The sails were first trialed in 2019 on the Energy Observer, an experimental vessel designed to test alternative energy sources in maritime conditions. In 2022, a commercial wind-powered cargo ship, the Canopeé, launched with four OceanWings that reduce
fuel consumption by up to 42% in good weather conditions.
Green hydrogen: Fuel of the future?
The World Economic Forum defines green hydrogen as hydrogen produced through electrolysis, using renewable electricity from solar or wind to split water into two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. Green hydrogen can be used to decarbonize transportation, including heavy trucks, aviation and shipping, as well as in the manufacturing of steel, cement and other hard-to-abate industries.
At the heart of the green hydrogen process are proton exchange membranes, or PEMs. These membranes play a vital role in hydrogen production, fuel cells and flow batteries for energy storage. The company Chemours™, based in Wilmington, Del., dominates this market with its Nafion™ brand portfolio of membranes, dispersions and resins.
Nafion is a synthetic polymer with unique ionic properties, created by incorporating perfluorovinyl ether groups terminated with sulfonate groups onto a PTFE backbone. The resulting product is a thermoplastic that can be extruded or solution-cast into films for composite membranes.
In response to a request for information, Nafion portfolio’s product manager referred to a paper published by Chemours’ technical team: “Advancements in Thin, Reinforced Proton Exchange Membranes for Water Electrolysis” by Ryan Gebhardt and others.
“Employing a thinner and mechanically supported membrane can enhance both the electrochemical performance and mechanical properties. With the demand for cheaper hydrogen, these new membrane designs are needed to achieve advanced performance metrics,” the paper states.
While the green hydrogen economy is still in its infancy, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced $750 million, funded by the 2022 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, for 52 projects across 24 states to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen. According to the DOE, clean hydrogen is set to play a vital role in reducing emissions from the most energy-intensive and polluting sectors of the economy.
For example, Airbus is testing the use of hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity to power aircraft that fly with almost zero emissions. Airbus’ ZEROe project hopes to bring the world’s first hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft to market by 2035. Flight testing of the fuel-cell propulsion system on an Airbus 380 is scheduled for 2026.
Decarbonizing aviation with sustainable aviation fuel
The airline industry uses about 20 billion gallons of jet fuel every year, and globally, aviation accounts for 2% of all CO2e and 12% of CO2e from transportation, according to the DOE. Sustainable aviation fuel reduces emissions from air transportation, and when blended with conventional aviation fuel, is compatible with today’s aircraft and infrastructure. Depending on the feedstock and blend, SAF can reduce aviation’s CO2e by up to 80%.
There are several pathways to making SAF, based on various feedstocks. These include sustainably sourced renewable waste such as cooking oil and animal fat; biomass such as agricultural and forest wastes and solid municipal wastes; and power-to-liquid SAF made from captured CO2.
“Sustainable Energy Generation From Textile Biowaste and Its Challenges,” a paper published in 2022 by Shahjalal Khandaker, Ph.D., and others reports that waste from the textile industry could also be a significant source of biomass for fuel.
LanzaJet, a sustainable-fuels technology company spun out of LanzaTech in 2020, converts ethanol to SAF from any source of low-carbon ethanol, including biomass, industrial waste, municipal solid waste and CO2. The company’s recently opened Freedom Pines facility in Soperton, Ga., supported by the DOE’s Bioenergy Technology Office, will produce 9 million gallons of SAF and 1 million gallons of renewable diesel in its first year of operation.
LanzaJet and Tadweer (Abu Dhabi Waste Management Company) are cooperating on a feasibility study to initiate SAF production from municipal and commercial solid waste. The hope is that up to 350,000 metric tons (385,809 U.S. tons) of hard-to-recycle municipal and commercial solid waste can be transformed into 200,000 metric tons (220,462 U.S. tons) of ethanol per year.
Renewable energy is a growth industry, accounting for 90% of all new electricity installed worldwide each year. While it’s the early days, there are opportunities for the textile industry to be involved.
A battery in a balloon
A company called Energy Dome, based in Milan, Italy, has developed a thermodynamic method of long-duration energy storage in a “battery” that uses CO2 stored in a huge fabric dome, like a balloon, made of PVC-coated polyester. Energy from a local grid or nearby solar farm compresses the CO2 into a liquid during the day. At night, the liquid CO2 expands back into gas, driving a turbine that produces electricity and sends it back to the grid.
Energy Dome has its first U.S. installation planned for 2026 in Columbia County, Wisc., with Alliant Energy, and it has recently opened an office in Boston with a “growing ambition to decarbonize the world with our CO2 Battery™ technology.”
Debra Cobb is a freelance writer with expertise in the textiles industry. She is based in North Carolina.
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