BIDEN CANCELS KEYSTONE XL OIL PIPELINE

(Bloomberg) --Three million miles of natural gas pipelines criss-cross the U.S., and the fight against climate change could render them all obsolete.

The last two weeks alone illustrate the stakes. President Joe Biden canceled the permit for the $9 billion Keystone XL oil pipeline on his first day in office, a clear signal any new fossil fuel pipeline project in the U.S. will face long odds. 

His climate envoy, former Secretary of State John Kerry, warned that natural gas pipelines could become “stranded assets” within 30 years as the administration seeks to end carbon emissions from power plants. And NextEra Energy Inc. wrote off $1.2 billion of its investment in the Mountain Valley gas pipeline from West Virginia to Virginia, which has been tied up in regulatory and legal delays.

So pipeline owners are eyeing another, possibly future-proof fuel: hydrogen.

Unlike natural gas, hydrogen can be burned without pumping carbon dioxide into the air. Run it through a fuel cell to generate electricity and the only waste is water; produce hydrogen using electrolyzers powered by solar plants or wind farms and it becomes a way to store massive amounts of renewable energy—far more than any of today’s batteries can hold. And the best part for pipeline companies: getting it where it needs to be, in bulk, could require the same basic infrastructure that now carries natural gas - Link

SCANIA DITCHES HYDROGEN

Where will hydrogen fit in the clean transport mix? Not in trucking, says one of the world's largest heavy duty vehicle manufacturers, which is scaling back its fuel cell big-rig research and development operations in favor of battery-electric power.

Hydrogen is definitely happening. It's a convenient (if inefficient) way to store, transport and export clean energy, it offers huge energy density advantages for zero-emissions aviation and shipping, and many folk are expecting it to find a compelling use case in long-distance trucking, where its quick refilling ability can keep big rigs on the road longer than battery trucks that need to plug in and charge for long periods.

But Sweden's Scania, the world's tenth-largest trucking company, thinks otherwise. Having already launched both battery and fuel cell trucks, the company has announced it's committing to batteries, citing hydrogen's wastefully inefficient use of renewable energy, as well as additional system complexity, cost, safety and ongoing maintenance factors - Link - more like this (Sweden) - link

WORTHY OF NOTE (Scania is part of the VW Group) - link

SPAIN'S TALGO VITTAL-ONE

Spain’s first green hydrogen-powered prototype train which is expected to be ready in 2023 will feature Hexagon Purus technology.

Being developed by train manufacturer Talgo, and called Vittal-One, the train will serve as a blueprint for how hydrogen technologies could be implemented in the Iberian Southwest.

Hexagon Purus has been selected to supply high pressure cylinders for the prototype train.

“There are more than 10,000 diesel trains in operation across Europe that will need to be replaced over the next 15 years,” said Michael Kleschinski, Executive Vice-President of Hexagon Purus.

“For distances between 400-800 km, hydrogen-powered trains are a smart solution to reduce local emissions without incurring the high cost of electrifying the tracks.”

“We are excited to help develop the solutions needed for this ground-breaking move in public transit.” - Link - Joanna Sampson - link - more like this - link

ITM COMPLETES H2 GIGAFACTORY

ITM Power completes the world’s first hydrogen gigafactory.

Clean fuel firm ITM Power has completed the ITM Gigafactory at Bessemer Park and production has started in the world’s first hydrogen gigafactory.

The Sheffield-based energy storage firm is the world’s leading hydrogen electrolyser manufacturer. Hydrogen electrolysers convert water into liquid hydrogen, which is vital for the UK's renewable power infrastructure.

Elsewhere, ITM said its motive division has agreed a fuel contract with National Express for 20 buses in Birmingham.

The news came as ITM announced a 16 per cent increase in income to £4.4m in the six months to October 31 - Link

CHINA AIMS FOR 85 GW FROM SOLAR

China is the largest manufacturer and installer of solar photovoltaic power systems in the world, and the country appears ready to increase its solar installations based on information contained in the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan (FYP). 

The plan, covering the period 2021-2025, is being developed and expected to be implemented beginning in March 2021.

The policy priorities of the plan were revealed in late October 2020, when the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held its Fifth Plenary Sessions in Beijing. China has set a target to be carbon-neutral by 2060, and the latest plan’s outline for energy shows the country could increase annual installations of solar power generation capacity to as much as 85 GW, about double the country’s current rate. 

China in October 2020 brought a 2.2-GW solar farm (Figure 1) online—it is currently the world’s second-largest in terms of generation capacity—in the northwest province of Qinghai - Link

UBITRICITY BOUGHT BY SHELL

Royal Dutch Shell is to buy the owner of the UK's largest electric vehicle charging network as it moves to cover the shift away from fuel-powered cars.

The company said that ubitricity has more than 2,700 on-street charge points.

Shell did not reveal how much it was to pay but said it expected to complete the transaction later this year.

The move follows fierce fuel rival BP, which bought Chargemaster in 2018 for £130m as the industry eyes an electric vehicle future amid efforts to combat climate change - Link

RENEXIA CHOOSES MINGYANG TURBINES

MingYang Smart Energy has received an order from Renexia to supply turbines for the first offshore wind project in the Mediterranean Sea.

MingYang will deliver 10 MySE3.0-135 turbines with a 25-year full O&M service contract for the Beleolico project located in the Apulia Region off Taranto harbor of Italy.

Deliveries are expected to begin in the summer, with the wind farm set to be commissioned by the end of the year.

MingYang stated that the project is a key milestone for the company to enter the European offshore wind market, and will be executed by Ming Yang European Business & Engineering Center in Hamburg, founded in May 2020.

Renexia reached a final investment decision for the Beleolico project in February 2019.

The 30 MW wind farm was initially supposed to feature ten Senvion 3.0M122 turbines in water depths ranging from 3 to 18 meters. Haizea is in charge of manufacturing the ten monopiles - Link

STELLANTIS TO ROLL OUT EV & HYBRIDS

Stellantis — the product of a $52 billion merger between automakers Fiat Chrysler and Groupe PSA — plans to offer an array of all-electric or hybrid vehicles through 2025, including 10 new models in 2021, according to CEO Carlos Tavares.

From Dodge to Maserati, every new model the company launches from now until 2025 will offer an “electrified” variant. He did not specify how many would be all-electric, plug-in hybrids or traditional hybrids that don’t need to be plugged in.

The new models and merger, which was completed Saturday, come as legacy automakers are struggling to convince Wall Street that they can compete against Tesla and a host of new EV start-ups - Link

HAMBURG MEGA ELECTROLYSER

Four major firms signed a letter of intent Friday to develop a “mega-electrolyser” in the German city of Hamburg that would produce so-called “green” hydrogen.

An announcement from the city’s press service said the prospective 100 megawatt (MW) facility would be located on the site of the Moorburg coal-fired power plant, which is currently in the process of being shut down.

In December 2020, it was announced that Germany’s Federal Network Agency would compensate Vattenfall, which operates the plant and is one of the companies involved in the new plans, for the phase-out of the Moorburg plant - Link

SNOW WHITE

 

EV SALES SURGE IN SWEDEN

Sweden has just hit a massive 49.4% plugin electric vehicle share in December 2020, over 4× the share of December 2019 (11%). 

The Volkswagen ID.3 sold 2,564 units in December, and also took the year’s top spot for full electrics.

The combined 49.4% plugin share in December comprised 19.2% full battery electrics (BEVs) and 30.1% plugin hybrids (PHEVs). This was a rise in the relative weighting of BEVs compared to recent months. The full year figures were 9.6% BEV and 22.6% PHEV, for a combined plugin result of 32.2% market share. That’s a big jump over the 11.4% plugin share of full year 2019.

Overall, auto sales totalled 291,554 in 2020, down some 18.1% from 2019’s total of 356,036. Plugin volume however grew strongly, from 2019’s 40,406 sales to 93,938 sales in 2020. That’s a jump of 2.3× in volume, despite the pandemic - Link

ORSTED INVESTS IN H2RES

Orsted has taken final investment decision on the Danish demonstration project H2RES, which will use offshore wind energy to produce renewable hydrogen.

The project is expected to produce its first hydrogen in late 2021 and will be Orsted's first renewable hydrogen project in operation.

The demonstration project at Avedøre Holme in Copenhagen (pictured) will have a capacity of 2MW.

The facility is expected to produce up to around 1000kg of renewable hydrogen daily, which will be used to fuel road transport in Greater Copenhagen and on Zealand - Link

RIVIAN RAISES $2.65 BILLION

Rivian has raised $2.65 billion as it prepares to begin production this summer of its all-electric pickup truck.

The round, which was led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates Inc., also included Fidelity Management and Research Company, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Coatue and D1 Capital Partners as well as several other existing and new investors.

Rivian is now valued at $27.6 billion, according to a person familiar with the investment round.

The capital comes at a critical time for Rivian, which is undertaking the design, development, production and delivery of two consumer vehicles — the R1T pickup truck the R1S SUV — build out of its electric vehicle charging network as well as fulfilling an order for 100,000 commercial delivery vans for Amazon - Link

INEOS DONATES £100M TO UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

The University of Oxford has been given £100m - one of the largest donations in its history - for a new institute focusing on resistance to antibiotics.

The gift from chemicals giant Ineos will be used to fund antimicrobial research at the institution, which played a key role in the origin of antibiotics after its academics developed the use of penicillin in the 1940s.

Researchers will seek to develop new drugs for animals and humans, as well as promote more responsible use of the antibiotics we have, following a rise in antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" - Link - more like this (UOX) - link

HALIADE X CHOSEN FOR NEW JERSEY - OCEAN WIND

 

GE Renewable Energy has signed supply and service contracts for the 1.1 GW Ocean Wind offshore wind farm in New Jersey, which will use the company’s Haliade-X offshore wind turbines.

The contracts, subject to final notice to proceed, cover the GE Haliade-X 12 MW wind turbine with an option for Ocean Wind to utilise the 13 MW variant and include a five-year Service & Warranty agreement to provide operational support for the wind turbines - Link

LARGEST ELECTRIC BUS FLEET IN EUROPE

Moscow, Russia has launched its 500th electric bus—a KAMAZ 6282 electric bus. The KAMAZ 6282 uses lithium-titanate batteries, and has a range of 70 km on one charge. 

The electric bus is charged in 6-12 minutes with ultrafast charging stations using a half-pantograph. In addition, an on-board charger allows charging the drive from a three-phase 380 V alternating current (“night charge”).

Charging of the electric bus is possible at a temperature range from +45 to -40 ° C. Thus, the electric bus can transport passengers all year round. The maximum speed is 75 km/h.

The first electric buses took to the streets of the city in autumn 2018. Under the terms of contracts in 2018-2019, domestic manufacturers GAZ and KAMAZ supplied 300 electric buses to Moscow. This year will see another 300 electric buses put into service, of which more than 200 have already come on line - link - more like this - link - more like this (Russia) - link

AUSTRALASIAN BUS AND COACH H2 PARTNERSHIP

Foton Bus Australia and True Green Mobility have formed a partnership and plan to manufacture hydrogen-powered buses in NSW by Q1 2022.

Australasian Bus and Coach reports that the new joint venture is Foton Mobility Pty Ltd, and “will introduce a range of hydrogen bus products in the coming years, commencing in early 2021 with the first 12.5-metre low-floor city bus, powered by Toyota Fuel cells”.

The report also mentions Gemiland Australia as the engineering, after-sales service and tech support partner for the new company.

The new company’s first four buses are being made in China, and it plans to begin local production by Q2 next year at Moss Vale - link - more like this - link - more like this (buses) link

VESTAS V150 COLLAPSE

Vestas has temporarily taken around 150 of its V150 machines out of service “in an abundance of caution” after identifying a blade fault as the cause of a turbine collapse in Sweden late last year.

A investigation into the V150 4.2MW collapse at the Aldermyrberget wind farm found a bonding failure on blade-root inserts due to a manufacturing issue at a single supplier, confirmed a spokesman for the Danish wind giant - Link

ALIBABA SAIC

HONG KONG/TAIPEI -- Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba Group Holding has stepped up its involvement in China's electric vehicle sector, launching a sedan with wireless charging under a new brand formed together with SAIC Motor, the country's largest car company.

In another sign of the scramble for alliances in the fast-moving sector, Taiwanese iPhone assembler Foxconn Technology Group on Wednesday announced its own joint venture with Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, China's largest privately owned auto group.

The moves underscore the growing ambition of Asia's largest tech groups in the automobile industry as they rush to team up with established carmakers to accelerate market entry and compete with U.S. rival Tesla in the world's biggest vehicle market.

Alibaba, already a major investor in domestic EV startup Xpeng Motors, is increasing its bet on the future of smart vehicles at a time when investors are sending shares of Tesla and Chinese rivals soaring - Link

LINDE LINKS WITH ITM

ITM Power has announced the sale of a 24 megawatt electrolyser for use at Linde’s Leuna Chemical Complex in Germany.

The electrolyser will be used to produce green hydrogen to supply the Dublin-headquartered company’s industrial customers through the company’s existing pipeline network.

In addition, Linde will distribute liquefied green hydrogen to refuelling stations and other industrial customers in the region.

It’s claimed the Leuna facility, which will be built, owned and operated by Linde, will be the world’s largest proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser plant.

The electrolyzer will be built by ITM Linde Electrolysis GmbH, a joint venture between Linde and ITM Power.

The plant is due to start production in the second half of 2022 - Link

GEELY STARTS SNIFFING AROUND MUSK

China’s search engine Baidu has announced it will partner with carmaker Geely to make smart electric vehicles (EVs).

Baidu will provide “intelligent driving capabilities”, while Geely will offer design and manufacturing expertise.

Geely is one of China’s largest carmakers, and also owns Volvo and a stake in Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler.

The two companies will be competing not just with Elon Musk's Tesla, but also with several Chinese competitors - Link

HEROES - HIGHLINE SESSIONS

INSTRUCTIONS:- 

1. Cast this to your TV/soundbar/woofers - 2. Play very loudly

MITSUI & BOMBORA WAVE POWER

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) is to partner with a company specializing in marine energy to scope for potential project sites in Japan and surrounding regions. 

The collaboration between the Tokyo-headquartered shipping giant and a firm called Bombora Wave Power will center on finding possible locations for the latter's mWave system, as well as hybrid projects which combine mWave and wind energy - Link

SIEMENS GAMESA IN ETHIOPIA

Siemens Gamesa has landed its first wind turbine order in Ethiopia, in a deal to supply 29 3.4MW turbines to state-owned electricity company Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP).

They will be used to build the 100MW Assela wind farm, which will be located around 150 kilometres to the south of capital Addis Ababa and is expected to be commissioned by the start of 2023.

Once completed, it will generate about 300,000MWh of clean electricity per year.

Ethiopia aims to supply all of its domestic energy demand with renewable energy by 2030 - Link

IF WE ALL BECAME VEGAN TOMORROW

If everyone became vegan tomorrow, between 14.5 to 15.6 per cent of anthropogenic (human-made) global greenhouse gas emissions would be wiped out. 

That is huge. 

You would be forgiven if you thought it was higher, as a recent viral Guardian article, based on a new study (June 2018) out from the University of Oxford, sensationally reported that meat and dairy accounted for 60 per cent of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, without stating the proportion of global anthropogenic emissions attributable to agriculture specifically - list

06/06/2018 - worth reading again

1.5 BILLION COWS

The world is home to about 1.5 billion cows, most of them bred and raised for the meat and dairy industry. Each of them has a quadripartite stomach, whose largest section is called rumen. 

An adult cow’s rumen can hold about 150 to 200 litres, and is populated by a staggering collection of microorganisms (25 billion bacteria per gram of volume), tasked with breaking down vegetal fibres through fermentation. 

A by-product of rumen fermentation is hydrogen; a specific bunch of rumen-dwelling microbes, called methanogens, convert that hydrogen into methane. 

Methane is subsequently expelled through the cow’s front end – through burping – or through the cow’s backdoor – via farting. A cow burps and farts between 160 to 320 litres of methane per day. That is bad news for the environment.

While much of the climate change debate (rightly) focuses on slashing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, methane still makes up 16 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to 2015 figures from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - link

VESTAS CLOSES COLUMBIAN DEAL

Vestas has secured a 504MW order for an undisclosed project in Columbia, its first for EnVentus machines in Latin America.

The Danish manufacturer said the deal covers 90 V162-5.6MW units and a 15-year service agreement.

Delivery and commissioning details have been withheld at the customer’s request, the company said.

“The EnVentus platform establishes a new benchmark in competitiveness, and we expect it to make a huge contribution to the energy transition both in Colombia and in Latin America over the coming years”, said Vestas Vice President for LATAM North Agustín Sánchez Tembleque- Link