THE SALT WE LOVE & DON’T KNOW

ESSENTIAL FOR TECH AND CLIMATE?

Humans have an interesting relationship with salt. My spouse recently made the shift ... from plain ol’ table salt to the fancy Himalayan type.  I’ve been the laggard, but now suddenly salt is top-of-mind for me too. 

It sometimes takes a narrative like this for one to realize what’s essential. We often fail to inquire on our own about the essential ingredients that make up the dishes we want to consume. And some also overlook what’s critical to avoid tasteless outcomes ... like climate change, for instance.  

The air is thick with optimism about our climate, however. 

Please humor me ... most days, I’d leave the educating you all about salt to the World Health Organization (WHO) – which serves as a resource for health insights including those that help reduce salt intake and improve health. But today, while scanning for technology, AI, energy and climate news, I found myself reading about reducing emissions (of greenhouse gasses) through better transport and energy use choices from the WHO itself.  I also stumbled on a post by the World Economic Forum (WEF) about predicting the effects of climate change by determining the level of salt in our oceans.  

One statement in particular stood out: 

“Unraveling the complicated relationship between ocean surface salinity, rainfall and sea and air temperatures uses complex models of the ocean and atmosphere, [which] run on the biggest computers. We can be certain that global temperatures will continue to rise with the continued emission of greenhouse gasses.”

It dawned on me that there may be an interconnection between salt, big computing, and climate matters that I hadn’t previously thought about. And I suddenly found myself consumed with curiosity about how salt could aid in mitigating climate change. 

 Salt enhances technologies that produce energy supply and improve our climate. Take for instance sodium-ion batteries: salt-infused technologies that are revolutionizing renewables. As far back as I know, sodium-ion batteries have been pitched as contenders to lithium-ion batteries.  Now I know much more: they’re a viable and cost-effective alternative that powers electric and hybrid-electric vehicles, which helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

 These batteries contain sodium, a substance found in common sodium chloride, an essential nutrient used as a seasoning to enhance flavor. And did you know that sodium conducts electricity? So, in essence, what we’re talking about here is using salt to power clean energy technologies. 

Now that’s thoughtful technology. 

Imagine for a second what we might uncover if we were to further unpack this concept of applying salt to address energy matters using AI-powered supercomputers running predictive models to help solve the climate change issue too.  Can you taste it, yet?

It turns out that there are scientists doing just that … trying to create the next generation of batteries needed to power the world with renewable energy using AI. What more? Some of them are materials scientists - such as the ones exploring how to equip EV batteries with sodium chloride. They're now capable of simulating these molecules and their applications by using quantum computers, now enhanced by recent advancements in AI. 

Now that’s deep learning.  Some experts refer to this as molecular design with automated quantum computing-based deep learning and optimization – a “proposed probabilistic energy-based deep learning model trained in a generative manner facilitated by QC [quantum computing] that yields robust latent representations of molecules” more specifically.

Interestingly, Nature.com describes the potential of quantum computing for automated molecular design, its prominence and its usefulness. To our contentment, it states:  

“Technological and societal progress can be further fueled by the discovery of novel molecules for applications ranging from drug design for treating diseases to efficient energy storage devices for combating climate issues.”

Novel approaches to addressing climate issues in the lab can indeed lead to breakthroughs in clean energy technologies. 

Yes, some wonder will the energy sector boldly go quantum?  Will AI and high-performance computing revolutionize it all? Can the same technology scientists are using to unpack molecules be leveraged to slow climate change, reduce its impacts and help communities cope with an ever-evolving world?

Indeed. If AI is already helping researchers crack salt water’s curious electrical properties - “analyzing the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen along the surface of a titanium dioxide catalyst, one potential way to generate hydrogen for fuel” per Science magazine, imagine what more it might achieve for clean energy by leveraging AI at scale. 

Our focus at Owl Voices is to find thoughtful and visionary technological assets that achieve goals like these. Essentially, this is the stuff, the tech that keeps us from having to eat salty goulash. 

And while we may sometimes write narratives about the audacious tech that we want the masses to put into action, we invite you to engage with us about the practical tech that energizes and inspires climate action, and delivers incremental value too.

 For related articles in our Essential Energy series see here.