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