Clean tech takes off in Moses Lake
As a daylily-orange sky bloomed over Grant County International Airport one morning last September, a strange new fledgling taxied into position and throttled its twin propellers into acceleration. The craft roared, then soared, and made history.
The very first all-electric passenger aircraft had taken flight in Moses Lake, Wash.
In early March, the largest hydrogen-powered plane yet to fly took off from Moses Lake. In October, two manufacturers were awarded significant federal grants to help them scale operations to make batteries for electric cars in Moses Lake.
Moses Lake is growing as fast as any place in the United States, and so is its clean technology sector. Moses Lake, and Washington state, are taking flight as leaders in sustainable innovation.
The new Kitty Hawk
Orville and Wilbur Wright and their famous flyer took off from Kitty Hawk, N.C. in 1903. On December 14, the Flyer sailed, stalled, and crashed in just about three and a half seconds. The flight was the very first by a powered, heavier-than-air craft.
More than a century has passed, and the Federal Aviation Administration now monitors more than 45,000 daily flights across the United States. In Washington state, enormous Ch-47 Chinook helicopters and C-17 Globemasters and Boeing 777Xs roar overhead. The volume and variety of flight over Washington is incredible. But perhaps more incredible is that an entirely new frontier will soon open: sustainable flight.
The huge 777X, fuel-efficient as it is, would burn more than 8,000 pounds of fuel on just an intermediate flight from Seattle to Chicago. The latest craft taking flight over Washington state burn nary a drop.
The Eviation Alice was the all-electric passenger plane that first flew last September. Airborne far more than three and a half seconds, its first flight took it to three and a half thousand feet. Its 21,500 individual battery cells power a pair of propellers. A De Havilland Dash 8–300 was the hydrogen-powered plane that flew in March, running on a fuel cell generating 800kW.
Oregon and Washington state are collaborating to pitch the Pacific Northwest as a “hydrogen hub” with the help of federal grants. If successful, the region could quickly lead the world in producing technology and fuels that could decarbonize transportation and heavy industry.
In Kitty Hawk, the ocean breeze gave the Wright brothers favorable tailwinds for flight. Now, Washington state’s strong economy, ambitious climate policies, and penchant for innovation form a tailwind for innovation, pushing bright ideas forward.
Supercharging battery manufacture
While electric airplanes are brand new, electric cars have grown in popularity for years now. EVs accounted for 10% of new cars sold in America in 2022, and EV registration in Washington state has increased nearly fivefold in five years. Washington state, California, and the European Union share similar laws to require that new cars sold have zero tailpipe emissions after 2035.
To supply surging EV sales, the United States must ramp up its battery manufacturing capacity. State and federal governments are supporting that acceleration. In October, the federal Department of Energy awarded Group 14 Technologies, Inc. and Sila Nanotechnologies $200 million in grants to help them scale up to build batteries for electric cars in Moses Lake.
The two firms will churn out batteries and battery improvements that will revolutionize the electric vehicle.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Sila Nanotechnologies CEO Gene Berdichevsky described his firm’s work to replace graphite anodes with silicon anodes, improving vehicle range and reducing charging times. Silicon anode material is also easier to source within an ethical and sustainable supply chain.
“All of our materials are sourced from democratic countries. We do audits on our suppliers,” said Berdichevsky. “Our technology requires sand and energy. Those are really the key inputs for us, and so those can be sourced in quite a lot of places, and we have a lot more choice as opposed to graphite.”
Building a clean-tech workforce
Clean technology companies require skilled and educated workers. To design hydrogen-powered planes or anodes made from sand, innovative companies are going to need innovative workers in great numbers.
Washington state isn’t short on strong educational institutions, but the state keeps investing to ensure that young Washingtonians are in the best position to benefit from the state’s clean energy direction.
In December, Inslee announced his support for the Institute for Northwest Energy Futures at Washington State University Tri-Cities. The program would introduce students to promising clean energy careers, and it would connect researchers with policy-makers, companies, and consumers. Both the House and Senate have proposed budgets that support the program.
Another proposal with momentum this session is a bill to offer young Washingtonians climate-related service and work opportunities. Many young students have a keen and urgent interest in climate careers, and the bill would fund programs that would help them make real connections to begin their careers. The bill would direct the state to partner with business and labor to project clean energy job growth and ready the workforce. It would also mobilize students to become the climate innovators that the future is counting on them to be.
As clean tech takes off in Washington, so do the career prospects of ambitious Washingtonians.
