(REU) GOOGLE SIGNS 12 YEAR PPA WITH ORSTED

COPENHAGEN, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Danish offshore wind developer Orsted (ORSTED.CO) on Tuesday said it has secured a 12-year power purchase agreement with Google (GOOGL.O), which aims to power all its data centres and offices using solely carbon-free electricity by 2030.

The U.S. tech giant will take 50 megawatt (MW) of output from Orsted's planned 900 MW Borkum Riffgrund 3 wind farm in the German North Sea.

While making it possible for big firms to source green power, such deals also provide a reliable revenue stream for asset owners like Orsted as subsidy schemes are being cut or closed by governments around the globe.

The Borkum Riffgrund 3 project was the first large-scale wind farm to be awarded without subsidies back in 2018, which at the time was thought to be high risk.

The Danish company said it aims to make a final investment decision for the wind farm at the end of 2021, with operation then scheduled for 2025.

Orsted has also signed power purchase agreements with other companies like polymer producer Covestro (1COV.DE), German food retailer REWE and Amazon (AMZN.O) for Borkum Riffgrund 3. Reuters - link - Stine Jacobsen - link - more like this - link

(ARS) NISSAN ANNOUNCES $17.6 BILLION EV FUND

As more and more automakers have turned their attention to electric vehicles, one-time leader Nissan finds itself playing a game of catch-up. 

In an attempt to make up for lost time, the company announced on Monday that it will invest $17.6 billion over the next five years “to accelerate the electrification of its vehicle lineup and rate of technology innovation.”

The plan, called “Nissan Ambition 2030,” is notable for its lack of ambition.

The company says it will introduce 15 new EVs, though it gave itself a generous deadline of 2030. Nissan also said that, by the end of the decade, 50 percent of Nissan and Infiniti sales will be “electrified,” which is industry-speak for adding electric motors, not necessarily supplanting internal combustion engines. Much of Nissan’s strategy relies on series hybrids, where a range-extending gas engine will recharge a small battery. It’s a strategy that looks good on paper but has largely been abandoned by other automakers either because of mediocre sales (Chevy Volt) or looming government regulations.

Nissan is also betting big on all-solid-state batteries, an encouraging but unproven technology. Solid-state batteries promise to bring down the cost and weight of EV batteries packs while also making them safer. Pretty much every major automaker has a plan to bring solid-state batteries to its lineup. 

Nissan says it is spending $1 billion toward developing its own solid-state chemistry, with a pilot factory planned for 2024 followed by a commercial introduction in 2028. Given the state of other companies’ solid-state efforts, those are both realistic timelines. ars - link - Tim De Chant - link - more like this - link

(SKY) BRAZIL INCREASES DEFORESTATION BY 22%

Brazil's foreign minister has said he is "surprised" that deforestation in the Amazon has increased, following last week's news it had jumped 22%.

The destruction of the rainforest has soared under President Jair Bolsonaro, who has encouraged agriculture and mining and emboldened loggers.

Brazil's foreign minister, Carlos Franca, said in a briefing yesterday that the latest data, which covers August 2020 to July 2021, was not what they'd expected.

"Given the recent - and for us - surprising announcement of an increase in deforestation in the Amazon, I make it a priority to right from the start make clear our total dedication to fulfilling the announced commitments [achieved at COP26]," he said. Sky News - link - Victoria Seabrook - link - more like this - link

(TNN) FEEL FREE TO PANIC

AI-designed (C-shaped) organisms push loose stem cells (white) into piles as they move through their environment. Credit: Douglas Blackiston and Sam Kriegman

Scientists who produced the first “living robots” say the life forms have found a way to reproduce.

The blob-like xenobots, which are less than a millimetre wide, were formed from the stem cells of the African clawed frog - xenopus laevis - from which they take their name.

They were first unveiled in 2020 after experiments showed they could move, work in groups and even heal themselves.

Now the US scientists who developed them say the xenobots have discovered an entirely new form of biological reproduction, different from any animal or plant known to science.

"I was astounded by it," said Michael Levin, a professor of biology and director of the Allen Discovery Centre at Tufts University, who was co-lead author of the new research.


"Frogs have a way of reproducing that they normally use but when you liberate (the cells) from the rest of the embryo and you give them a chance to figure out how to be in a new environment, not only do they figure out a new way to move, but they also figure out apparently a new way to reproduce." The National News - link - TNN muck rack - link - more like this - link

(GCC) 100% SAF TRIAL FLIGHT SUCCESS

Initial findings from a world-first study of the impact of 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on both engines of a commercial jet have provided promising early results, according to the participants.

The ECLIF3 study (Emission and Climate Impact of Alternative Fuels) (earlier post), involving Airbus, Rolls-Royce, German research center DLR and SAF producer Neste, marks the first time 100% SAF has been measured simultaneously on both engines of a commercial passenger aircraft—an Airbus A350 aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines.

In-flight emissions tests and associated ground testing on the ECLIF3 program began earlier this year and have recently resumed. The interdisciplinary team, which also includes researchers from the National Research Council of Canada and The University of Manchester, plans to publish its results in academic journals towards the end of next year and in 2023.

Findings from the study will support efforts currently underway at Airbus and Rolls-Royce to ensure the aviation sector is ready for the large-scale use of SAF as part of the wider initiative to decarbonise the industry. Aircraft are currently only allowed to operate on a 50% blend of SAF and conventional jet fuel, but both companies support the drive to certify 100% SAF use.

In April 2021, the A350 flew three flights over the Mediterranean Sea pursued by a DLR Falcon chaser plane to compare in-flight emissions of both kerosene and Neste’s hydro-processed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) sustainable fuel. The team also carried out compliance tests using 100% SAF and no operational issues were experienced during these initial test flights. Green Car Congress - link - GCC muck rack - link - more like this - link

(H2V) DHL TRIALS HYDROGEN

DHL Express will pilot its first hydrogen truck throughout its Deutsche Post DHL Group as it aims to transition away from fossil fuel reliance and decarbonise its operations with Apple to be the first to test the new solution.

Together with its customer Apple, pilot hydrogen vehicles will be used between Breda, the Netherlands, and Brussels, Belgium, as part of the Interreg NW Europe programme H2-Share.

The programme’s goal is to facilitate the development of low-carbon heavy-duty vehicles on hydrogen for logistic applications and gain practical experience in different regions.

It creates a transnational living lab and basis for development of the zero-emission heavy-duty vehicle industry.

The truck, operated by Dutch Nassau Sneltransport, covers a daily distance of around 200 km, running the cross-border route between the Netherlands and Belgium.

The truck refuels on a daily basis in Breda at a mobile fuel station from Wystrach as part of the project. It transports deliveries of DHL Express’ customer Apple.

During the piloting phase, up to 350 tonnes of CO2 can be saved with the new technology. H2 View - link - George Heynes - link - more like this - link

(FUT) AUTOFLIGHT AIMING FOR 2024

Chinese eVTOL aircraft developer AutoFlight says it has raised a further $100 million through a Series A investment round. The company, which so far has been primarily focused on bringing cargo-carrying vehicles to market, received most of the fresh backing from European technology investor Lukasz Gadowski and his company, Team Global.

In a November 22 announcement, the Shanghai-based AutoFlight reported that in October it achieved the first flight with its V1500M proof-of-concept passenger aircraft. It said it is now stepping up certification work in China, with plans to also seek EASA approval.

The company aims to have the all-electric vehicle certified in 2024 and claims to have logged more than 10,000 flights with various iterations of its lift-and-cruise designs. It said that it is developing the flight control system in-house, but declined to provide any further details about this or other key aircraft systems.

“We are very proud and excited to partner with such an amazing company as AutoFlight, its fantastic team, and its founder, Tian Yu,” said Gadowski. “The world doesn’t need to build more roads; it needs to preserve resources and nature. Autonomous air mobility is an emerging industry ready to grow, and I am convinced that AutoFlight will be one of its big players.”

The V1500M will be AutoFlight’s largest eVTOL vehicle to date, with a maximum takeoff weight of 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) and a range of just over 250 km (156 miles). The company has released few details about the V1500M's propulsion system and flight controls.

AutoFlight is also developing smaller cargo-only, fully autonomous vehicles, including the V400 Albatross with a 100-kg payload and 210-km range, and the V50 with a 20-kg payload and a range of up to 500 km. In July, the Civil Aviation Administration of China accepted AutoFlight’s application to certify the V400. In 2019 it unveiled a design for what appeared to be a two-seat V600 model that now seems to have been replaced by the larger V1500M. Future Flight - link - Charles Alcock - link - more like this (China) - link - more like this - link

(H2V) EMEC HYDROGEN CHOOSES GENEVOS FUEL CELL

As part of a £2.2m ($2.93) deal revealed today (Nov 25), Genevos will provide a marine-based hydrogen fuel cell to power a zero-emission RoRo ferry based in Orkney, Scotland.

Being led by EMEC Hydrogen, the seven-month project will include a range of different applications within the sphere of hydrogen such as storage, the supply of on-board auxiliary power using hydrogen fuel cells, and also the use of hydrogen in a conventional ferry propulsion engine.

Genevos had been chosen by EMEC Hydrogen to supply one of the company’s recently launched Hydrogen Power Modules (HPMs), which will be installed for demonstration purposes on the deck of an Orkney Ferries RoRo ferry, the MV Shapinsay.

The HPM was selected primarily due to its ‘plug and play’ marinised concept, integrating both fuel cell systems and power management.

Phil Sharp, CTO of Genevos, said, “It is an exciting opportunity to be working with EMEC, one of the world’s renowned clean-energy R&D centres, to demonstrate the potential of hydrogen fuel cells as a zero emissions solution for ferries.

“Hydrogen has been identified as a vital clean fuel for decarbonising vessels and HIMET is a valuable project that is taking immediate action to help address net-zero solutions and accelerate this vital clean energy transition.”

James Walker, EMEC’s Hydrogen Development Manager, said, “We are pleased to be working with Genevos as it is important that we demonstrate green hydrogen innovations that are coming forward to provide solutions for hard to decarbonise sectors. H2View - link - George Heynes - link - more like this (Scotland) - link - more like this - link

(GUL) FIRST CPEC HYDRO PROJECT BEGINS STORING WATER

Aerial view of the Karot Hydropower Station in Pakistan.Image Credit: China Three Gorges Corporation

Islamabad: The Karot Hydropower Project, the first hydroelectricity project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), is close to completion as it began storing water in its reservoir for future use.

Pakistani officials described the development as a “big milestone” as the hydropower project successfully closed the gates of diversion tunnels on Saturday to start reservoir impoundment, the accumulation of water in its reservoir. Around 95 per cent of the project has been completed. The four units of the station are expected to generate electricity in the first half of 2022.

The Karot Hydropower Project is located on the Jhelum River in north eastern Pakistan, some 65 kilometres from the capital Islamabad. It is the fourth of five cascade hydropower stations planned for the Jhelum River. The 720MW project will enable Pakistan to access cheaper and greener power, help resolve the power crisis while creating job opportunities.

Built at an estimated cost of $1.7 billion, it is a landmark Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project as it is the first to be funded by China’s $40 billion Silk Road Fund. The project is managed by Pakistan’s Karot Power Company and the major investment comes from China Three Gorges Corporation, which is among the world’s largest producers of hydroelectric power. The project has been developed on a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis.

Karot Power Company will run and maintain the project for 30 years at a tariff of 7.57 cents per unit after which it will be transferred to the Punjab government at a notional price of Rs1.00. The project provided over 4,000 jobs for the locals during the peak time of its construction. The project also expects “to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 3.5 million tons per year” by tapping renewable energy. Gulf News - link - Sana Jamal - link - more like this - link

(REC) MOOLAWATANA RENEWABLE H2 PROJECT

A massive 6GW green hydrogen project has been announced in South Australia at a site with “one of the best combinations of wind and solar resources in Australia”.

The Moolawatana Renewable Hydrogen Project will combine about 3GW of wind and 3GW of solar with electrolysers, a desalination plant, and a dedicated H2 pipeline around 500km long to a local port, where the hydrogen will be used to produce green ammonia for export — with Japan and South Korea mentioned as possible destinations.

The project, 570km north of Adelaide, is still at the pre-feasibility stage, and preliminary consultation with stakeholders is now under way.

It is one of several gigawatt-scale green hydrogen projects proposed in Australia with an eye on exports to Asia, including the 28GW Western Green Energy Hub, 14GW Asian Renewable Energy Hub, 8GW HyEnergy Zero Carbon Hydrogen and the 5GW Murchison Renewable Hydrogen Project (see below), all in Western Australia; the 3.6GW Pacific Solar Hydrogen and 3GW H2-Hub Gladstone projects in Queensland, and the 2.8GW Tiwi Hydrogen Project in the Northern Territory.

The Moolatanawa developer is a local special-purpose project company called Kallis Energy Investments, owned by the Kallis Family Trust and chaired by Terry Kallis, who developed the state’s first wind farm, the 33MW Starfish Hill, back in 2003.

Kallis is also a co-founder of Australia’s first offshore wind farm project, the 2GW Star of the South, and the 5GW Murchison H2 project. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, the €16bn ($18bn) Danish renewables infrastructure fund, is investing in both these projects. RECHARGE - link - Leigh Collins - link - more like this - link - more like this (Australia) - link

(WMW) DFW RECEIVES FIRST SAF LOAD

Dallas Fort Worth Airport, the second busiest airport in the world, became the first airport in the United States to test a collaborative circular economy project in the aviation sector.

Upon receiving its first delivery of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), in collaboration with Avfuel Corporation and Neste, became the first airport in the United States to test a collaborative circular economy project in the aviation sector.

The successful SAF delivery is part of this pilot project at DFW—the second busiest airport in the world—demonstrating the commercial and technical viability of SAF, while showcasing the potential to close the circularity loop at the airport by providing raw material for the production of renewable fuels.

“The introduction of sustainable aviation fuel to DFW Airport marks a major milestone in our effort to reduce our sector’s overall carbon footprint,” said Robert Horton, vice president of environmental affairs at DFW Airport. “We recognize our future success depends on our ability to protect our natural resources, and we are committed to continuing to serve as an industry leader in sustainable practices.”

The circularity project is a great example of cooperation to upcycle and reuse valuable waste materials across the value chain. It begins at the airport, where Neste, via its subsidiary Mahoney Environmental, collects used cooking oil from more than 200 concessionaires who prepare and serve food to airport customers. Neste converts this waste material into renewable fuels, which replace fossil fuel use in the global transport system.

To complete the circle, Avfuel safely supplied a demonstrative load of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ to DFW Corporate Aviation, the airport’s full-service fixed-base operator (FBO), for its business aviation customers. The 8,000-gallon (approx. 24 metric tons) demonstrative load of SAF reduces carbon emissions by 19 metric tons—a reduction that could grow significantly if more SAF enters the airport's fuel pool. Neste’s SAF, in neat form and over the life cycle reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% compared to fossil jet fuel. Waste Management World - link - WMW muck rack - link - more like this - link

(CLE) YARA LOOKING AT ELECTRIC AND AMMONIA

Yara drew the media spotlight for its new electric container ship, but the company's behind-the-scenes green ammonia ventures could be far more consequential (photo courtesy of Yara).

The Intertubes have been aflame all weekend with news of a new zero emission, all-electric cargo vessel introduced by the leading firm Yara. 

The new container ship is also autonomous, which is also of interest considering that labor shortages have taken part of the blame for the global shipping and supply chain crisis. Even more interesting is Yara’s interest in the green ammonia field, but that hasn’t gotten nearly as much press — yet.

The new electric container ship, dubbed Yara Birkeland, set out on her maiden voyage in the fjord of Oslo, Norway, last Friday, with the aim of ferrying fertilizer from Yara’s production facility at Porsgrunn to a port at Brevik for export overseas.

CleanTechnica first caught wind of design plans for the all-electric ship back in 2017, so this has been a long time coming.

Though Yara Birkeland is relatively small in size, it could have a big impact on regional carbon emissions. Yara anticipates that it will replace 40,000 diesel truck trips annually, which adds up to about 1,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.

Of course, the diesel emissions angle will be a moot point whenever electrification hits the global truck manufacturing industry in full force, but that will take some time.

On the other hand, electrifying the container ship industry will also take some time. Yara anticipates that it will be two years before the Yara Birkland achieves fully certified status as a zero emission, autonomous container ship. CleanTechnica - link - Tina Casey - link - more like this - link

(BLI) ALSTOM SIGNS MOU WITH EVERSHOLT

Train-maker Alstom has signed a deal to share their knowledge so that they can build the UK’s first hydrogen train fleet.

The Derby manufacturer has signed a memorandum of understanding with rail operator and financier Eversholt Rail to design, build, commission and support a fleet of 10 hydrogen powered trains. Each would have three units.

The two companies would share the technical and commercial information necessary for Alstom to develop the new fleet in the UK which would be based on the Aventra loco currently built in Derby.

Alstom hopes final contracts for the fleet can be signed early next year.

The two businesses said they were committed to taking a leading role in supporting the UK and Scotland Government ambitions to decarbonise its rail sector by 2040 – and the Scottish Government’s objective of doing so by 2035.

Nick Crossfield, Alstom’s managing director for the UK and Ireland, said: “COP26 is a reminder of just how urgent the need to decarbonise our world is.

“Rail is already the lowest emission transport mode, but we can do even more, and I am delighted that we have concluded this agreement with our friends at Eversholt Rail which will lead to Britain’s first ever fleet of new hydrogen trains.”

Mary Kenny, chief executive of Eversholt Rail, said: “It is important that we start sooner rather than later to decarbonise UK Rail if we are to meet the 2050 ‘net-zero’ target. Business Live - link - Tom Pegden - link - more like this - link

(OSE) SVITZER TO SWITCH LONDON TUGS TO BIOFUEL

Towage operator Svitzer, part of A.P. Moller – Maersk revealed plans to convert its whole fleet of 10 tugs in London and Medway to be powered by marine biofuel, following a successful pilot.

As explained, replacing marine fuel oil with carbon-neutral biofuel enables Svitzer to offer a new towage solution – Ecotow – to its customers, unlocking about 90% CO2 reduction in Scope 3 emissions from their towage operations.

The company is offering Ecotow both directly in London for customers whose vessels require towage services on the Thames, and for global customers by giving them the opportunity to inset fossil-fuelled towage elsewhere in their value chain. Svitzer achieves this by calculating the emissions impact of towage operations for Ecotow customers and matching this impact with a volume of biofuel to be delivered to the London-based fleet.

Initially, Svitzer’s five tugs serving the Isle of Grain LNG terminal in the Medway had been running entirely on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) biofuel since 15 November 2021. The move confirms the operational viability as well as the commercial and environmental value of using biofuel in the towage sector.

“We are delighted that the Svitzer fleet servicing the terminal will be running on biofuel. Grain LNG is proud to be working with a partner committed to making the necessary investments to reduce emissions. This is an important step towards achieving carbon neutrality in the sector,” Nicola Duffin, Commercial Director at Grain LNG, commented.

By January 2022, all 10 of Svitzer’s tugs in London will operate using HVO biofuel, expanding the Ecotow offering even further. The decision to scale up biofuel use across the London fleet follows the successful completion of the industry-first biofuel trial onboard Svitzer Intrepid, which has been running on biofuel since September 2021. Offshore Energy - link - Naida Hakirevic Prevljak - link - more like this - link

(WIR) NORWAY RUNNING OUT OF CARS TO TAX

Automobiles produced by Tesla Inc. sit dockside after arriving on the Glovis Courage vehicles carrier vessel at the Port of Oslo in Oslo, Norway, in March 2019.PHOTOGRAPH: BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES

When it comes to sales of electric cars, Norway is in a league of its own. In September, battery-powered electric vehicles accounted for 77.5 percent of all new cars sold. 

That figure makes Norway a world leader by a long way—leapfrogging over the UK, where 15 percent of new car sales were electric as of October, and the US, where that number is just 2.6 percent.

Norway’s electric dream has been credited to a series of tax breaks and other financial carrots that mean brands like Tesla can compete on price with combustion engines. But these incentives—and their success—have created a unique predicament: Norway is running out of dirty cars to tax.

It’s quite a big problem. The previous government—a center-right coalition that was replaced by a center-left minority government in October—estimated that the popularity of EVs was creating a 19.2 billion Norwegian krone ($2.32 billion) hole in the country’s annual revenue. While EVs might be great news for the environment, their rapid success in Norway is now forcing some serious fiscal consternation.

The road to this point has been long—and offers lessons to other countries racing to ditch gas-guzzling combustion engines. In Norway, the most progressive electric vehicle policies in the world started with a pop group, an environmentalist, and a small red Fiat Panda. It was 1988 when activist Frederic Hauge, along with fellow green campaigners from the band A-ha, traveled to the Swiss city of Bern, where they found the red Fiat. A previous owner had converted the car to run off a lead battery, and the group planned to use the vehicle to persuade the Norwegian government to encourage electric vehicle uptake.

The Fiat became the centerpiece of a nine-year campaign in which Hauge and members of A-ha drove the car on Norway’s toll roads without paying. The fines racked up, and when they remained unpaid, the vehicle would be impounded and sold at auction, where Hauge would buy it back and repeat the cycle of toll dodging. 

A-ha’s celebrity members added glitz to the crusade against toll fees for EVs and Hauge—who has led an environmental group called Bellona since 1986—courted press attention to demand incentives for electric cars. “By being a positive vigilante, he made the media and also the politicians aware of the electric car,” says Øyvind Solberg Thorsen, director of Norway’s Road Traffic Information Council, which publishes statistics about the country’s roads and vehicles. Wired - link - Morgan Meaker - link - more like this - link

(ERV) MANDATORY EV CHARGING IN ALL UK NEW BUILDS

All new build homes, supermarkets and workplaces in England will soon be required to provide EV charging points.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the proposed new law at the Confederation of British Industry’s annual conference, where he noted that developers will be key in speeding up the roll-out of EV chargers.

The UK Government hopes that by requiring the installation of EV chargers by law, there will be an additional 145,000 chargers installed across England each year.

While the law is aimed at workplaces, supermarkets and new build homes, any building undergoing major renovations will be required to install EV chargers. That should lead to an explosion of new installations, although many of those new chargers will be concentrated in areas where there tends to be more development – such as in London and the South East.

This has prompted Labour to slam the new plans, noting that it does not address the geographical divide in available charging points.

“London and the South East have more public car charging points than the rest of England and Wales combined. Yet there is nothing here to help address this,” a spokesman for the party noted.

The geographical divide is not the only issue with the Government’s new law, with no word on whether there will be any conditions attached to the installation of chargers. Without any conditions, developers would be free to provide just a solitary 3 kW electric vehicle charger with any new development, which wouldn’t help satiate demand for EV chargers.

However, the Government did note that it was hoping to make using chargers easier than ever. It wants to make contactless payments the standard payment method at all new fast and rapid chargepoints, although how this will impact businesses such as Tesla, which handles payments directly through the car, is yet to be seen. Electrical Review - link - ER muck rack - link - more like this - link

(FOR) BEHOLD - THE CANDELA P-7

Up on hydrofoils, Candela's speedboats can reach 30 knots - CANDELA

A speedboat comes into view in the Autumn sunshine, but it doesn’t look anything like most of the electric boats I’ve seen. The Candela P-7 has the long sleek contours of a conventional powerboat and I’m about to fly it. This is, the Swedish company claims, the world’s first electric hydrofoil speedboat.

Once onboard, a short distance out from the jetty, the demonstrator instructs me to fasten my seat belt. “Ready for take-off?” he asks, pushing the throttle forward, just like an aircraft. As if on cue, there is a whirring sound, two red hydrofoils move down through the boat and onto the water, and up we go.

As we move out towards the Stockholm archipelago, we aim for the back of a passenger ferry and ride the wake. There are no thumps, no bumps. The Candela C-7 just glides.

I take over the throttle and steering wheel. As we accelerate, the boat feels momentarily unstable but then we go up on hydrofoils come up and it’s smooth and quiet. At first it feels as if we are skating on two blades, albeit in a surprisingly stable way, but this wears off as I become more used to flying.

Three days later, I have the chance to fly the boat again in different weather conditions - driving rain. I am more confident; the novelty of being up on a hydrofoil is wearing off. Although the cockpit is open, I remain surprisingly dry, protected by the splash screen in front of the steering wheel.

At 20 nautical knots an hour, the optimum speed for energy efficiency, the Candela handles easily and stays balanced, thanks to the fighter-jet technology behind the boat’s software and electronics.


The hydrofoils ensure that drag is reduced, and Candela claims energy consumption slashed by as much as 80% compared with other traditional - hulled electric speedboats. The C-7's 40kWh battery is relatively light, and with a lightweight carbon fibre hull, it's easy to reach 30 knots. Forbes - link - Heather Farmbrough - link - more like this - link

(PHY) AMMONIA - THE CARBON FUEL ALTERNATIVE

A research team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has identified a new way to convert ammonia to nitrogen gas through a process that could be a step toward ammonia replacing carbon-based fuels.

The discovery of this technique, which uses a metal catalyst and releases—rather than requires—energy, was reported Nov. 8 in Nature Chemistry and has received a provisional patent from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

"The world currently runs on a carbon fuel economy," explains Christian Wallen, an author of the paper and a former postdoctoral researcher in the lab of UW-Madison chemist John Berry. "It's not a great economy because we burn hydrocarbons, which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. We don't have a way to close the loop for a true carbon cycle, where we could transform carbon dioxide back into a useful fuel."

To move toward the United Nations' goal for the world to become carbon-neutral by 2050, scientists must consider environmentally responsible ways to create energy from elements other than carbon, and the UW-Madison team is proposing a nitrogen energy economy based on interconversions of nitrogen and ammonia.

The scientists were excited to find that the addition of ammonia to a metal catalyst containing the platinum-like element ruthenium spontaneously produced nitrogen, which means that no added energy was required. Instead, this process can be harnessed to produce electricity, with protons and nitrogen gas as byproducts. In addition, the metal complex can be recycled through exposure to oxygen and used repeatedly, all a much cleaner process than using carbon-based fuels.

"We figured out that, not only are we making nitrogen, we are making it under conditions that are completely unprecedented," says Berry, who is the Lester McNall Professor of Chemistry and focuses his research efforts on transition metal chemistry. "To be able to complete the ammonia-to-nitrogen reaction under ambient conditions—and get energy—is a pretty big deal."

Ammonia has been burned as a fuel source for many years. During World War II, it was used in automobiles, and scientists today are considering ways to burn it in engines as a replacement for gasoline, particularly in the maritime industry. However, burning ammonia releases toxic nitrogen oxide gases. Phys.Org - link - Tatum Lyles Flick - link - more like this - link

(REC) SOUTH AUSTRALIA NEARS 100% RENEWABLE ENERGY

Lincoln Gap wind farm, contracted to ERM.

The rapid transition of the South Australia grid towards a world-first target of net 100 per cent wind and solar has taken another stunning leap forward, with the amount of gas generation slashed by half, allowing wind energy to set a new record of its own.

South Australia regularly reaches levels of more than 100 per cent wind and solar – in fact it has done that for all but three days since the start of October.

But often the amount of wind and solar that is generated has to be constrained to ensure that a certain amount of gas generation can supply “system strength” and keep the grid stable. The excess capacity is usually exported to Victoria, although small amounts are also stored in the state’s three big batteries.

However, four new machines known as “synchronous condensers” that deliver the same system strength as fossil fuel generators, without actually burning any fossil fuels, have now completed their testing, and on Thursday for the first time market authorities appeared to dial back the minimum amount of gas by half.

Market observers say that at least 220MW of gas generation has been required to keep the system stable till now, but on Thursday it was dialled back to just 120MW. In turn, this allowed wind output to be increased to a record 128.6 per cent share of local demand at 4.15am. Renew Economy - link - Giles Parkinson - link - more like this - link - more like this (Australia) - link

(INS) CANADIAN ECOSIDE

FORT MCMURRAY, Canada—The first mine opened when Jean L’Hommecourt was a young girl, an open pit where an oil company had begun digging in the sandy soil for a black, viscous form of crude called bitumen.

She and her family would pass the mine in their boat when they traveled up the Athabasca River, and the fumes from its processing plant would sting their eyes and burn their throats, despite the wet cloths their mother would drape over the children’s faces.

By the time L’Hommecourt was in her 30s, oil companies had leased most of the land where she and her mother went to gather berries from the forest on long summer days or hunt moose when the leaves turned yellow and the air crisp.

Today, that same land, near her Indigenous community of Fort McKay, is surrounded by mines that have swallowed an area larger than New York City, stripping away boreal forest and muskeg and rerouting waterways.

Oil and gas companies like ExxonMobil and the Canadian giant Suncor have transformed Alberta’s tar sands—also called oil sands—into one of the world’s largest industrial developments. They have built sprawling waste ponds that leach heavy metals into groundwater, and processing plants that spew nitrogen and sulfur oxides into the air, sending a sour stench for miles.

The sands pump out more than 3 million barrels of oil per day, helping make Canada the world’s fourth-largest oil producer and the top exporter of crude to the United States. Their economic benefits are significant: Oil is the nation’s top export, and the mining and energy sector as a whole accounts for nearly a quarter of Alberta’s provincial economy. But the companies’ energy-hungry extraction has also made the oil and gas sector Canada’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. And despite the extreme environmental costs, and the growing need for countries to shift away from fossil fuels, the mines continue to expand, digging up nearly 500 Olympic swimming pools-worth of earth every day.

COP26, the global climate conference in Glasgow earlier this month, highlighted the persistent gap between what countries say they will do to cut emissions and what is actually needed to avoid dangerous warming. Inside Climate News - link - Nicholas Kusnetz - link - Undark - link - more like this - link

(H2V) KAWASAKI & YAMAHA TO EXPLORE H2 ICE

Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Yamaha Motor will jointly research the potential development of a hydrogen-fuelled internal combustion engine for two-wheeled vehicles.

The new hydrogen engine could support the creation of zero-emission motorbikes providing a new avenue to decarbonise and expand hydrogen mobility.

With the two automotive giants set to explore the development of hydrogen engines, the clean energy carrier could become a key vector in the motorbike industry providing a zero-emission power source.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries is already developing hydrogen-fuelled engines for land, sea, and air mobility applications and, with this new expansion, the types of applications for the engine have been revealed.

To support this development, Yamaha is creating a hydrogen engine suitable for two-wheeled vehicles and thus compliments Kawasaki’s developments.

To accelerate this technology development, Yamaha is preparing to introduce new equipment and is strengthening its in-house development structure. h2 view - link - the excellent George Heynes - link - more like this - link

(TEL) SPIRIT OF INNOVATION HITS 387 MPH

A 400kw (500 horsepower) motor powers the plane, hailed as a shining example of British innovation CREDIT: JOHN M DIBBS

Rolls-Royce’s battery-powered plane reached a top speed of 387 miles per hour in tests, which may make it the world’s fastest all-electric vehicle.

The Spirit of Innovation averaged 345mph over three kilometres, beating the existing record by 132mph, and managed 330mph over a 15km distance.

The results will need to be rubber stamped by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the global body that certifies records for flight.

Warren East, Rolls-Royce chief executive, said: “Staking the claim for the all-electric world-speed record is a fantastic achievement.”

The plane was powered by a 400kw (500 horsepower) motor with a battery pack that Rolls-Royce says has the best power density of any used in aviation.

The main obstacle to using batteries as a power source in planes is their weight. The power system weighs 700kg, while the airframe is another 300kg. However, every year progress is being made to squeeze more power in per pound.

Rolls-Royce hopes to use the technology in smaller aircraft that can be used as air taxis, ferrying a handful of passengers distances of about 100 miles with no emissions and very little noise.

The previous record was set by a Siemens eAircraft-powered Extra 330 LE Aerobatic aircraft in 2017. The Telegraph - link - Howard Mustoe - link - John Dibbs photography - link - more like this - link

(UPS) OMP SIGNS MOU TO SCALE UP

UK-based engineering giant TechnipFMC announced Wednesday it signed a memorandum of understanding with Orbital Marine Power to invest in tidal energy technology.

The partnership aims to accelerate the commercialisation of Orbital’s floating turbine technology and deliver the first commercial scale floating tidal field.

Orbital’s 2-gigawatt O2 turbine, which TechnipFMC said is the most powerful in the world so far, started producing power in Scotland in July of this year. It uses predictable tidal energy to produce reliable energy and export it to shore.

“This TechnipFMC investment is a major endorsement of the tidal energy solution we have developed at Orbital Marine Power, and we are hugely excited to be working with such a leading company in the global offshore energy sector on the commercial roll out of our vision for tidal energy,” Orbital chief executive officer Andrew Scott said.

TechnipFMC will contribute its integrated approach, industrialisation capabilities and project management, the companies said. This should help Orbital’s technology be scaled up and lower its cost and meet increasing demand for renewable energy in Europe.

“We are very excited to collaborate with Orbital in the tidal energy market. By combining our system integration capabilities with their technical expertise and differentiated turbine technology, we will scale-up our combined offering to deliver more renewable energy to the market,” said Luana Duffé, executive vice president of TechnipFMC’s New Energy Ventures.

The project also intends to use the produced electricity to power a green hydrogen electrolyser on shore. upstreamonline - link - Naomi Klinge - link - picture - link - more like this (Scotland) - link - more like this - link

(SOL) H2 MYTHS DEBUNKED

Hydrogen emerged from that primordial furnace in far larger quantities than any other element, and even today it dominates the cosmos. 

Hydrogen is the main ingredient of stars, including over 90 per cent of our Sun, and a thin mist of it is scattered through space. 

About 60 per cent of the atoms in our bodies are hydrogen, and of course it is one of the two key ingredients in water.

Hydrogen is the simplest atom: just a single proton orbited by a single electron. It is odourless, colourless and very energetic.

Hydrogen makes an excellent fuel. You can heat your home or cook a meal by burning hydrogen, the same way many homes burn natural gas. One kilogram of hydrogen can release enough energy to drive a typical car for 130km or provide two days of heating for an average household. And of course, when hydrogen is burned in air, the only emission is water.

Or you can convert its energy into electricity, in what’s called a fuel cell. It performs essentially the same chemistry as a flame: combining hydrogen with oxygen to make water and release energy; except that in a fuel cell the energy goes into electricity instead of heat.

A big bonus for fuel cells is that they are typically very efficient. About 60 per cent of the energy in hydrogen can be converted to electricity to drive a car, compared to only 20 per cent of the energy in petrol. So, hydrogen vehicles can be three times more efficient.

Hydrogen is now set to play a crucial role helping us to tackle the climate crisis and wean the world off greenhouse gas emissions. In a net-zero CO2 world, studies estimate that hydrogen could account for up to a quarter of our overall energy needs. Yet, despite its central role in our carbon-free future, a number of myths about hydrogen persist.

Dangerous and dirty: 7 myths about hydrogen power debunked - Science Focus - link

Marco Alvera - link - picture - orfonline.org - link - more like this - link

(OFF) ORSTED'S TSS PIONEER LAUNCHED

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Ta Tong Marine have launched the first-ever Taiwan-flagged service operations vessel (SOV), chartered by Ørsted for its Greater Changhua offshore wind farms.

The vessel, informally named TSS Pioneer, is being built by Vard at its Vung Tau shipyard in Vietnam, from where it will be delivered early next year to Ta San Shang Marine, a joint company owned by MOL and Ta Tong Marine.

The 84.4-metre vessel has a beam of 19.5 metres and can accommodate 87 people in single cabins. It features a motion-compensated gangway, dynamic positioning system, and a 3D motion-compensated crane.

Propulsion is hybrid with a diesel-electric solution, which allows for reductions in fuel consumption, maintenance and emissions, as well as improved responsiveness, Vard said last year as it signed the shipbuilding contract.

Under a 15-year charter contract with Ta San Shang Marine, Ørsted will deploy the SOV for operation and maintenance (O&M) at its Greater Changhua 1 & 2a offshore wind farms, currently under construction some 35 to 50 kilometres off the coast of Changhua County.

The 900 MW project will comprise two offshore substations and 111 Siemens Gamesa 8 MW wind turbines, scheduled to be fully operational by the end of 2022, when it will become Taiwan’s first far shore and large-scale offshore wind project. offshoreWIND.biz - link - Adrijana Buljan - link - more like this - link

(FOR) CUMMINS BACKING H2 & ELECTRIC

Cummins is developing battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell electric power trains for trucks, commercial vehicles, rail and potentially aircraft. CUMMINS INC.

Cummins Inc., a century-old maker of truck engines powered by diesel and other fossil fuels, may not seem like the most likely attendee at the UN Climate Conference COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, but CEO Tom Linebarger was there last week telling industrial partners and customers the company is working to help them shift to low- and no-carbon vehicles powered by batteries and hydrogen.

As battery-electric passenger models gain market share in the U.S., Europe and China, attention is shifting to electrifying larger, dirtier commercial vehicles including semi-trucks, construction and mining vehicles, as well as trains, ships and aircraft. Currently, no single type of electric power train can easily scale to handle light and heavy-duty vehicle categories, so it’s necessary to use both, Linebarger tells Forbes.

“If you’re flogging one thing and you trash the other, it's not a good plan for meeting the challenge of climate change,” he said from Glasgow. “Climate change is the existential crisis of our time. It’s just not a good idea to argue about whether batteries are better than fuel cells.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose company has become synonymous with electric cars, is among the most vocal critics of using hydrogen as a transportation fuel, citing its inefficiency relative to batteries and the high cost of the fuel cell stacks that make electric power from hydrogen and oxygen. Yet makers of trucks and commercial vehicles that need to travel long distances aren’t convinced that multi-ton, lithium-ion battery packs that need relatively long recharge times are the best option. (Notably, Musk also doesn’t launch his SpaceX rockets with batteries, but instead a blend of kerosene and liquid oxygen that spew climate-warming black carbon, or soot.)

Shifting away from carbon-based fuels was a key topic for negotiators at COP26 and appeared to have made a historic breakthrough with a first-draft agreement calling for the phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies. But a second draft appeared to soften the wording as major oil and gas producers fight to save subsidies. Forbes - link - Alan Ohnsman - link - more like this - link

(MAR) NAVALTAGUS TO BUILD PORTUGAL'S FIRST E-FERRY

Set for delivery next year, 37-meter vessel could be first all-electric ferry to enter service in Portugal.

The municipality of Aveiro, Portugal, is to put its first fully-electric ferry into service next year. It could be Portugal’s first e-ferry and will replace a diesel powered boat on the one-mile crossing between Forte da Barra, in Ilhavo, and São Jacinto, in Aveiro.

At 37 meters long, the twin-deck vessel will be able to carry up to 260 passengers and 19 vehicles—up 90% and 30% respectively on the existing boat. Despite its increased capacity and change in power source, the new ferry will be able to maintain the 15-minute crossing time and five-knot speed schedule on the route, with the possibility of reaching nine knots.

The vessel will be built by the Navaltagus shipyard and has a fully-electric Danfoss Editron drivetrain solution. To select the solution, the shipyard turned to its engineering and installation partner Nave de Luz Lda and to electrification integrator Technology Venture Middle East Marine Services and Marine Electrical Ptv Lda.

They opted for a Danfoss Danfoss Editron drivetrain and a battery system supplied by Sterling Plan B (which has recently rebranded as Shift). MarineLog - link - Nick Blenkey - link - more like this - link

(OFF) AQUAVENTUS MEMBERSHIP EXPANDS

The AquaVentus consortium, which is developing a 10 GW offshore wind-to-hydrogen project in Germany, has informed that another eight companies have joined the project, including the oil and gas production company Neptune Energy, Saipem, Ramboll, and Heerema Marine Contractors.

This increases the membership network of the AquaVentus initiative to 79, with a lot of big names from the offshore energy industry joining the project since the beginning of this year.

Earlier this year, offshore wind developers Ørsted, Equinor, and WindMW, and the offshore construction company Boskalis got on board the massive offshore wind-to-hydrogen development, followed by new members from outside of Europe, including the Japanese utility J-Power and the Japanese-Swiss joint venture Hitachi ABB Power, and the US offshore engineering and construction services player McDermott.

The AquaVentus project revolves around green hydrogen production powered by 10 GW of offshore wind from the North Sea, and comprises numerous sub-projects along the value chain from the offshore production of hydrogen to transport to customers on the mainland.

The projects include the development of offshore wind farms with integrated hydrogen generation (AquaPrimus), a large-scale offshore hydrogen park (AquaSector), a central supply pipeline (AquaDuctus), port infrastructures (AquaPortus), a research platform (AquaCampus), and hydrogen-based maritime applications (AquaNavis).

Under the first sub-project, AquaPrimus, the consortium plans to install two 14 MW wind turbines, each with an electrolyser plant on its foundation platform. The wind turbines would be installed off the coast of Heligoland by 2025. offshoreWIND.biz - link - Adrijana Buljan - link - more like this - link

(AST) HELIUM 3 MINING

A brewing war to set a mining base in space is likely to see China and Russia joining forces to keep the US increasing attempts to dominate extra-terrestrial commerce at bay, experts warn. Credit: Handout.

We’ve all heard of the arms race, the space race, and even the peace race.

But there’s one race that’s completely off the general public’s radar: who will be the first to mine Helium-3 in space in significant quantities in order to try to develop nuclear fusion reactors that do not create hazardous nuclear waste and other pollutants.

“Outer space holds virtually limitless amounts of energy and raw materials, from Helium-3 fuel on the Moon for clean fusion reactors to heavy metals and volatile gases from asteroids, which can be harvested for use on Earth and in space,” says former CIA space analyst Tim Chrisman.

"China will almost certainly use any resources it is able to acquire to the detriment of its adversaries, competitors and bystanders alike,” Chrisman told the Jerusalem Post, in an interview.

Chrisman also served in army intelligence and is a co-founder of Foundation for the Future, a scientific education and public works advocacy group dedicated to creating infrastructure to be able to live and work in space.

Beijing is charging forward toward potential revolutions in extracting energy in space and mining space materials and could leave the US behind, Chrisman said.

China has an upfront advantage because its military and economic components are virtually inseparable.

America faces a greater challenge rallying and uniting different aspects of national power to pursue a single challenging long-term mission.

“Getting there first may be more like launching the first satellite – like the Russia and US space races,” he said of the race for Helium-3.

“It would be a big political and diplomatic win. A lot depends on how that can be exploited on the back end, if it is able to be rapidly used for power and energy or brought back to Earth en masse reliably. It opens up possibilities for dramatic changes.” Asia Times - link - Dave Makichuk - link - more like this (China) - link - more like this - link

(ARS) UNDERSEA EV - CHARGE YEARLY

With extra-wide tracks and a bunch of other clever features, the Benthic Rover II can roam the seafloor for years at a time.

The Benthic Rover II is the size of a compact car, although it rocks fat treads, making it more like a scientific tank. That, along with the two googly-eye-like flotation devices on its front, gives it a sort of WALL-E vibe.

Only instead of exploring a garbage-strewn landscape, BR-II roams the Pacific seafloor, 13,000 feet deep. The robot’s mission: to prowl the squishy terrain in search of clues about how the deep ocean processes carbon.

That mission begins with a wild ride, 180 miles off the coast of Southern California. Scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute lower BR-II into the water and then … drop it. Completely untethered, the robot free-falls for two and a half hours, landing on the abyssal plains—great stretches of what you might generously call muck.

“It's mushy and dusty at the same time,” says MBARI electrical engineer Alana Sherman, coauthor on a new paper in Science Robotics describing findings from the robot’s adventures. “Which is part of the reason it’s a tracked vehicle, and it has these really wide treads.” That extra surface area distributes the robot’s weight so it doesn’t sink into the sand.

If you wanted to devise the perfect way to torture a robot, the deep sea would be it. At these depths the water is cold, salty (and therefore corrosive), and highly pressurized; there’s a whole lot of liquid pushing down on the robot. ars technica - link - Matt Simon - link - more like this - link

(STU) RERENGO HIKO

ElectricAir pilot and instructor Andrew Vialoux brought New Zealand's only electric aircraft in to land at Palmerston North Airport.

A tiny two-seater aircraft parked up on the tarmac at Palmerston North Airport has offered a glimpse of an aviation future without fumes and noise.

The ElectricAir Pipistrel Alpha Electro called “Rerengo Hiko”, which two weeks ago flew across Cook Strait, is skipping its way north after most recently offering demonstrations at Kāpiti.

The only electric aircraft in New Zealand is being used to showcase the fact the technology exists, at least in miniature, to develop airline fleets that will operate with electricity as their only source of power.

Pilot and flight instructor Andrew Vialoux said it would take time to move from one showpiece to a national fleet, but the technology was now proven, and the pace would pick up.

Blenheim-based Sounds Air has placed orders with Swedish company Heart Aerospace for at least three 19-seater aircraft, set for take-off by 2026, with a goal of converting to an all-electric fleet.

They would focus on the short flights between Nelson, Blenheim and Wellington.

The Pipstrel is a carbon-fibre craft that weighs in at 384 kilograms complete with two batteries. With a maximum take-off capacity of 560kg, that leaves about 176kg for the pilot and passenger.

It can be charged within an hour, currently with its own bespoke charger that has to follow it to the next airport separately, and is then good for a one-hour flight, with up to 30 minutes in reserve.

It travels at a speed of about 150kmh. Stuff - link - Janine Rankin - link - more like this - link

(TIM) GETECH INVESTS IN BRITAIN

AIM-listed Getech will set up a hydrogen plant in West Sussex under a deal with the Port of Shoreham.

The company, which is expected to announce the project today, will also set up a storage facility.

And it will build new solar panels and wind turbines to power the hydrogen site.

Because it will use renewable electricity, it means Getech will be producing 'green' hydrogen – which is the most environmentally-friendly kind.

The Port of Shoreham will use the hydrogen in its 39 forklift trucks and 12 heavy goods vehicles initially. It will later provide fuel to port and coastal marine vessels.

Getech will do the project via its H2 Green subsidiary, which it bought in April. This is Money - link - TIM - link - more like this - link