⚡Daimler and Volvo invest €1.2b into H2 for trucks, Gigantic Salt Caverns being build for H2 Storage, and Amazon boxes can get 2nd life as Biofuel
By: Jakub Rzeplinski
Tags: Daimler, Renewable Energy, Hydrogen, Amazon, Biofuels

⚡Daimler and Volvo invest €1.2b into H2 for trucks, Gigantic Salt Caverns being build for H2 Storage, and Amazon boxes can get 2nd life as Biofuel Jakub Rzeplinski Follow Dec 2, 2020 · 12 min read

Good evening The Carbon Cut Readers! Today’s highlights include:

⛽ NEW FUELS

💧 Hydrogen

1️⃣ “Wind Hunter Project” Starts -Zero-Emission Project with Wind Propulsion and Hydrogen — The Wind Hunter Project is the ultimate zero emission driving project, which combines wind propulsion sailing technology and wind energy converted to generate a stable supply of hydrogen. The project team aims to give a new and first step to realize a decarbonized and hydrogen society.

2️⃣ Scaling up hydrogen — why patience is a virtue — Long-heralded as a game-changing fuel for the energy transition, there are now global ambitions to ramp up green hydrogen production, with the EU targeting 40GW of installed electrolysis capacity by 2040. But, if electrolyser technologies are pushed too fast, too soon, the fuel’s large-scale decarbonisation applications could fail to be realised, risking yet another ‘false dawn’.

3️⃣ Green Hydrogen in Natural Gas Pipelines: Decarbonization Solution or Pipe Dream? — Hydrogen blending projects across the world must contend with engineering, energy-density and supply challenges.

4️⃣ Tenaris partners with Nel Hydrogen — Tenaris has agreed a partnership with Nel Hydrogen for the development of a hydrogen truck refuelling network in California, US. Tenaris, a manufacturer of pipes and related services with US headquarters in Houston, and Nel Hydrogen, a Norwegian company dedicated to the development of hydrogen technologies, will supply high pressure solutions for hydrogen storage to be installed by Shell at Long Beach.

5️⃣ Hydrogen-based decarbonisation of industrial furnaces — Tenova is ready to supply megawatt-size flameless combustion system burning any mixture of natural gas and hydrogen, up to 100 % hydrogen, integrated with Tenova’s advanced digital solutions.

❄️ LNG & Natural Gas

1️⃣ LPG’s Role in Shipping’s Decarbonization Could Be Important — According to Katerina Restis with Intermodal’s Tanker Chartering department, “the current demanding environmental regulations and large capital investment required to set up new facilities, have restrained the market growth. Advancements in technologies, such as new alternative fuel propulsion engine technologies, are expected to boost market growth. LPG as a propulsion fuel is today almost absent from the shipping sector and especially from commercial vessels, where the vast majority of engines are diesel, and alternative fuels solutions such as LNG continue their growth”.

2️⃣ BHP seals deal with Shell to fuel LNG-powered ship fleet — Mining giant BHP has awarded Shell a landmark contract to supply fuel for the world’s first fleet of liquefied natural gas-powered Newcastlemax bulk carriers as it seeks to lower shipping emissions. As part of the company’s pledge to slash emissions across its supply chain, BHP this year said it would charter five vessels from Eastern Pacific Shipping, powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) instead of bunker fuel, to carry 10 million tonnes of iron ore a year from Australia to China from 2022.

3️⃣ Glencore takes over Orsted’s LNG supply contracts following acquisition — Glencore said on Tuesday it has taken over a number of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply contracts from Danish energy group Orsted following an acquisition of the company by its oil division. The deal involves the trading firm taking over a number of contracts, including the right to use 3 billion cubic metres of annual LNG regasification capacity at the Gate terminal in Rotterdam until 2031, as well as a few LNG supply contracts, Glencore said.

4️⃣ Novatek commenced LNG sales of ISO containers to China — PAO NOVATEK announced today that Novatek Gas & Power Asia Pte. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary, and Saibu Gas Co., Ltd. of Japan have successfully completed their first joint trial delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in ISO containers to China’s Tiger Gas for subsequent sales of LNG in China. The LNG was delivered by sea in Tiger Gas-owned ISO containers from the Japanese Hibiki container terminal to Shanghai, China under a spot contract.

🚘 Mobility — EVs, Batteries & Fuel Cells

1️⃣ GM Signs MoU With Nikola To Supply Hydrotec Fuel Cell Systems — General Motors Co. has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Nikola Corp. for a global supply agreement to provide its Hydrotec fuel cell system for Nikola’s Class 7/8 semi-trucks. The MoU replaces the previous transaction announced Sept. 8, 2020.

2️⃣ UK hydrogen car maker unveils first production car — The UK has unveiled plans to ban the production of new petrol and diesel cars beyond 2030 and challenged manufacturers to come up with new ways of fueling their vehicles. Just days after the announcement of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plans, the UK’s sole hydrogen car maker Riversimple has unveiled its first production car.

3️⃣ Toyota’s All-New Mirai Redefines The Fuel Cell Car Genre — First things first. The new Toyota Mirai hydrogen-powered fuel cell car looks a lot better than its predecessor. It’s bigger and more luxurious. It’s more fun to drive now because it has switched to rear-wheel-drive. The Mirai also gets longer range, more safety features and a sticker price hovering around that of the outgoing model.

4️⃣ Duke Energy EV Charging Pilot Program Approved in North Carolina — The North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) last week approved an electric vehicle pilot program for Duke Energy in North Carolina, the largest such program approved in the state. “This pilot will support electric vehicle adoption in North Carolina, which can drive economic and environmental benefits in the state. It also allows Duke Energy to move forward to expand access to charging infrastructure that will benefit all customers,” said the company’s Lang Reynolds, director, Electrification Strategy.

🦠 Synthetic Fuels, Ammonia, Methanol & BioFuels

1️⃣ Shipping Industry To Welcome New, Lower Emission, Methanol Dual-Fuel Vessels — Waterfront Shipping Company Ltd. (WFS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Methanex Corporation, is pleased to announce the addition of eight new methanol dual-fuel vessels to its fleet. These vessels are part of the company’s fleet renewal program which continually replaces older vessels with newer more efficient ones strengthening its commitment to safe, responsible and reliable transport of cargo.

2️⃣ Samsung Engineering Lands US$1.07 Bil. Methanol Plant Project in Malaysia — The Korean contractor will build a plant that produces 5,000 tons of methanol per day. The value of the order stood at US$1.07 billion.

3️⃣ Airlines can start refuelling with Neste SAF at Schiphol — Through its share in AFS, one of the world’s leading provider of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel will be able to offer to airlines operating at Schiphol supply of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel with immediate effect. Neste’s SAF is made from sustainably sourced, renewable waste and residue raw materials.

4️⃣ New Black & Veatch eBook Explores Hybrid LNG and Ammonia Infrastructure — Best known for its traditional role in fertilizer production, ammonia is rapidly gaining attention in other applications. Easily liquified for storage and transport in the same fashion as liquefied natural gas (LNG), ammonia can be used across energy-intensive industries in several ways: it can be burned directly as a carbon emissions-free energy source or cracked to produce hydrogen.

5️⃣ Producing ammonia with a much smaller carbon footprint — Researchers describe a new process to produce ammonia with a potentially much lower carbon footprint.

☀️ RENEWABLE GENERATION & SUPPLY

🔋 Energy Storage

1️⃣ Bill Gates’ net zero VC fund continues investment in long-duration startup Form Energy — Long-duration energy storage startup Form Energy has confirmed details of its recently reported Series C investment round, with Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures among continuing investors.

☢️ Nuclear

1️⃣ Parliamentary committee of Australia’s Victoria reports on nuclear power — The Environment and Planning Committee of the Parliament of Australia’s Victoria Legislative Council on 25 November released its final report following an enquiry into whether Victoria could contribute to global low emission energy production by enabling the exploitation of uranium and thorium resources and participation in the nuclear fuel cycle.

🔆 Solar Power

1️⃣ DSD Acquires 17 MW Community Solar Portfolio in New York from Source Renewables — Distributed Solar Development (DSD) has acquired a three-project, 17 MW community solar portfolio from Source Renewables, a New York State developer focused on community solar assets. The three projects, one of which includes solar and storage, were developed by Source Renewables from greenfield, and are expected to reach commercial operation next summer.

2️⃣ Solar-plus-storage poised to become more financially attractive, but seasonal solutions remain key — Renewable energy and battery storage could one day represent 70–80% of generation in most markets, but for 100% renewable energy, a new solution for seasonal energy storage will need to become cost competitive, according to Yiyi Zhou, a clean energy specialist at BNEF.

💨 Wind Power

1️⃣ DEME Offshore installs final SeaMade turbine — DEME Offshore has completed the installation of all 58 turbines at the 487MW SeaMade offshore wind project off Belgium. DP2 installation vessel Apollo installed the final 8.4MW Siemens Gamesa turbine on its monopile foundation on 30 November.

2️⃣ Energy Island Could Power All Ships and Aircraft in Denmark — The artificial island in the North Sea will start at a capacity of 3 GW, which will later be expanded to at least 10 GW of offshore wind capacity, according to the Danish government. The first phase of the project is scheduled to be completed by 2030.

3️⃣ Fostering a blue economy: Offshore renewable energy — This report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) considers the status and prospects of offshore renewable sources and recommends key actions to accelerate their uptake.

4️⃣ MingYang scoops 100MW offshore turbine order — MingYang Smart Energy has received an order from China Datang Corporation to supply turbines for the 100MW Zhuanghe offshore wind project off the coast of Dalian City, China. MingYang will deliver 19 MySE5.2–166 turbines for the project beginning in April 2021.

5️⃣ UK unveils £70m offshore port hub competition — The UK Government has issued a call for formal applications for port redevelopment projects to support offshore wind. The call for applications is being issued with a view to offering a letter in principle to a single large port hub developer in early 2021. It follows on from the Government’s Ten Point Plan and the Prime Minister’s 6 October announcement of £160m of funding being provided to support the offshore wind supply chain.

6️⃣ UK and Belgian ministers discuss connected offshore wind farms — Ministers discussed opportunities for North Sea interconnection, panel hears, as momentum for ‘hybrid’ projects grows.

7️⃣ UPDATE: Vineyard confirms 800MW turbine deal with GE — Vineyard Wind has confirmed the selection of GE Renewable Energy as the preferred turbine supplier for its 800MW offshore wind project off Massachusetts in the US. Around 60 turbines are expected to feature at the wind farm, which is being developed by the Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid Renewables joint venture.

♻️ CARBON CAPTURE & CIRCULAR TECH

💎 Carbon Capture

1️⃣ The Carbon Negative Solutions That Remove CO2 From The Atmosphere — The IEA has consistently said that the global energy transition requires a portfolio of technologies and measures. Those for carbon removal can be grouped into three broad categories: nature-based ‘carbon sink’ solutions, the enhancement of natural processes, and new technologies. Within these categories individual approaches are interlinked in many ways and provide benefits beyond CO2 removal.

🔄 Recycling, Waste & Circular Tech

1️⃣ How to defuse the human waste time bomb in low-income countries — Poor sanitation, including a lack of access to safe toilets, costs the global economy an estimated $223 billion a year through disease, deaths and lost productivity, which is to say nothing of the environmental costs from pollution and overflowing pit latrines. And it also comes with a social cost, entrenching prejudices such as the stigmatisation of the Dalit caste in India as the country’s “toilet emptiers”. If the world is to achieve the UN’s goal of providing adequate sanitation and ending open defecation worldwide in the next 10 years, the faecal waste crisis must be addressed in a systematic way using fresh thinking.

2️⃣ Protos Energy Recovery Facility achieves Financial Close and moves into construction — (UK) State-of-the-art facility to provide thermal treatment for 400,000 tonnes of residual waste per year and generate up to 49 megawatts of low carbon electricity.

🏦 POLICY & INVESTMENTS

📜 Policy

1️⃣ Crown Estate seeks input to ‘accelerate floating wind’ — The Crown Estate is requesting views from the industry on how to drive forward floating wind projects by 2030 to meet the UK Government’s 1GW target. The seabed licensing agency has invited views from the market to obtain an understanding of the scale of the opportunity for floating wind in the UK and the likely pipeline of projects between now and 2030.

2️⃣ German energy regulator awards permits to close hard coal-to-power plants — Separate offset schemes for shutdowns in the separate brown coal-to-power industry, which encompasses domestic mining and burning of lignite, are still under review by the European Commission.

3️⃣ Russia sees big role for hydrogen in energy plans — Russia aims to utilise its vast fossil fuel resources, nuclear technologies and scientific expertise to become “one of the world’s leaders in production and exports of hydrogen” by 2035, deputy prime minister Alexander Novak said.

4️⃣ Should biomass subsidies continue in the UK? — Biomass plants enjoy government subsidies even though their environmental credentials are increasingly being questioned. But amending the terms would be open to legal challenge.

💰 Investments & Funding

1️⃣ Impact-focused fintech launches CO2 avoidance ETF — Impact-focused fintech firm iClima Earth has launched what it claims to be the world’s first decarbonisation-focused ETF. The iClima Global Decarbonisation Enablers Ucits ETF, known as the CLMA ETF, will launch via the HANetf platform and will list on the London Stock Exchange later this month. The CLMA ETF will focus on companies reducing their own emissions to companies offering products and services that directly enable CO2 avoidance, which is while supporting companies which help drive innovation around climate change innovation.

2️⃣ Cleantech deals set for big shifts under Biden, investors say — President-elect Joe Biden’s agenda has big ambitions to combat climate change, including $400 billion to invest in clean energy technology for the next 10 years. But investors say Biden’s chief impact in the area of cleantech startups could come from policies that shift incentives rather than direct spending. Such carrot-and-stick measures, which reward low-carbon solutions and punish carbon emitters with fees, would both curb greenhouse gases and foster innovation, venture capitalists say.

📈Pricing & Trading

1️⃣ Orsted inks 325MW Dutch wind trading deal — Orsted has entered into an agreement with Greenchoice in the Netherlands to trade and balance power from 325MW of Dutch onshore wind. The route-to-market agreement with Greenchoice is for two years and covers the entirety of the Dutch renewable operator’s onshore wind portfolio.

⚙️ OTHERS

🧭 General

1️⃣ How can the shipping sector unlock the ‘first wave’ of net zero emission shipping? — Shipping faces one of the toughest voyages to net-zero of any industry. While there is broad consensus that zero-emission deep-sea trade vessels must be commercialized by the end of this decade if the sector is to stand any chance of reaching its 2050 climate goal of halving emissions compared to 2008, the low carbon fuels and technology solutions required for shipping decarbonization remain in their infancy.

2️⃣ ‘Seconds not months’: permitting studies can be sped up with greater use of technology, says EDPR boss — The permitting of projects remains a “major issue” that is slowing down the pace at which wind and solar projects can be built in Europe, but technology could enable some processes to take seconds, rather than months, according to the chief executive of Portuguese developer EDP Renewables.

3️⃣ New research reveals ‘megatrends’ that will affect forests in the next decade — A group of experts from academic, governmental and international organisations have identified five large-scale ‘megatrends’ affecting forests and forest communities, published today in Nature Plants. These are likely to have major consequences — both positively and negatively — over the coming decade.

4️⃣ Scientists warn of the social and environmental risks tied to the energy transition — A new international study by the ICTA-UAB and the McGill University (Canada) maps resistance movements’ associated with green energy and fossil fuel projects.

5️⃣ Spain’s renewables produce 40.6% of power in Nov — Power plants in Spain produced 40.6% of the nation’s electricity from renewable energy sources n November, Spanish grid operator Red Electrica de Espana (REE) said in the latest estimates report.

🏭 Emissions

1️⃣ Total greenhouse gas emission trends and projections in Europe — Greenhouse gas emissions in the EU-27 decreased by 24 % between 1990 and 2019, exceeding the target of a 20 % reduction from 1990 levels by 2020. By 2030, the projections based on current and planned measures of the EU-27 show an emission reduction of 36 %, which is a rather conservative outlook in the absence of new measures. Further effort will certainly be necessary with a view to achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and the proposed increased milestone target of a 55 % reduction by 2030 (compared with 1990 and including removals).

🧩 Tech and R&D

1️⃣ Sony goes open source with tech that regulates renewable energy — Sony will make software code for regulating microgrids freely available, hoping to popularize the use of renewable energy in these small local power networks. On Tuesday, research unit Sony Computer Science Laboratories will publish software code for control system technologies as open-source on GitHub, a code-hosting platform. Other companies such as power generation startups will be able to use the code to build their own systems.

2️⃣ New electrolyzer could make hydrogen and oxygen out of salty Mars water — Weight is a premium on space launches, so the less we have to take with us, the better. Now, engineers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a new electrolysis device that may be able to convert very salty Martian water into breathable oxygen and hydrogen for fuel.