⚡European Green Deal Open for Business, Only Zero-Emission Cars Allowed in Cali, and Generate Power from Your Walk
By: Jakub Rzeplinski
Tags: Energy, Renewable Energy, Technology News, Technology, Decarbonization

Today’s highlights include the launch of the European Green Deal call for projects, California’s executive order requiring all new passenger vehicles to be zero-emission by 2035, and a Chinese invention enabling you to generate your own wind power — from the breeze you make when you walk.

Estimated Total Reading Time: 5 mins

⛽ NEW FUELS

❄️ LNG & Natural Gas

1️⃣ LNG dual-fuel engine a ‘robust choice’ for shipping’s decarbonisation — “Gas is the best choice for one or two vessel generations,” said DNV GL Maritime chief executive Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, during a virtual press conference unveiling the study. “We talk about gas — it is not only about LNG, but also LPG.” By starting with a dual-fuel engine and fuelling system, shipowners have the possibility of transitioning to ‘drop-in’ lower carbon intensity future fuels. The study says that “picking the wrong solution can lead to significant competitive disadvantage. Planning for fuel flexibility could ease the transition and minimise the risk of investing in stranded assets.”

2️⃣ Volvo sees increased interest in liquefied natural gas for HGV operations — Hauliers and transport buyers are increasingly moving towards refrigerated liquefied natural gas as a cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative to diesel. “Today, LNG-fuelled trucks are the most commercially viable alternative to ordinary diesel for heavy long-haul operations. This fuel is available in sufficiently large quantities and at a competitive price. Using more gas trucks creates favourable conditions for making a transition to a larger share of liquefied biogas over time,” says Lars Mårtensson, Director of Environment and Innovation at Volvo Trucks.

🚘 Mobility — EVs, Batteries & Fuel Cells

1️⃣ As Nikola resets, Hyundai fuel cell trucks arriving in 2021 — Nikola Corp. is trying to regain its footing following the sudden departure of founder Trevor Milton. Meanwhile, South Korea’s Hyundai Motor plans to begin testing imported heavy-duty fuel cell trucks in California in 2021.

2️⃣ Universal Hydrogen Wants to Get Fuel-Cell Planes Ready to Fly by 2024 — Universal Hydrogen Co., founded by Airbus alumni, and Plug Power Inc. will work together to retrofit a regional airplane with hydrogen fuel cells to power its two propellers. Together the companies aim to have a plane ready and government-certified to fly by 2024.

🦠 Synthetic Fuels, Ammonia, Methanol & BioFuels

1️⃣ Call it by its name: Synthetic gas and oil from old plastics is not ‘recycling’, it’s ‘recovery’ — What’s in a name? Shakespeare wrote that changing what a rose is called does not change what it is in essence. The same logic goes for the term ‘chemical recycling’. The term “chemical recycling” should only be used for plastic waste reconverted into new plastics. If those plastics are transformed into fuels or petrochemical products, the process should be called “recovery” instead.

2️⃣ Neste and Shell sign agreement to increase supply of sustainable aviation fuel — Neste and Shell Aviation have entered into a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supply agreement in a move which anticipates increasing desire from airlines to reduce emissions. This agreement significantly increases the supply and availability of SAF for the aviation industry from next month.

☀️ RENEWABLE GENERATION & SUPPLY

☢️ Nuclear

1️⃣ ‘Cheaper and safer than wind or solar’: Dutch to consult on new nuclear power plants — The Dutch government is planning to launch a consultation on building new nuclear power plants after a study commissioned by the economics and climate ministry claimed atomic energy is as cheap as wind or solar power — and the safest way to produce electricity in the country.

🔆 Solar Power

1️⃣ Lightsource BP acquires 100MW Spanish solar farm — Solar developer Lightsource BP has acquired a 100MW solar portfolio in Teruel, Spain from renewables firm Forestalia for an undisclosed sum. Comprising two utility scale solar plants in Calamocha and Cuevas de Almudén, Lightsource BP has purchased the sites at late stage development.

2️⃣ Software to streamline commercial, distributed solar and storage deployment launched in the US — A “proprietary origination-to-operations software integration platform” for C&I customers called REenergyze has been launched by Colorado-headquartered developer and independent power producer (IPP) Catalyze.

💨 Wind Power

1️⃣ Nordex receives 227MW of new orders in Europe — Nordex Group has announced that in the current quarter it has received further new orders totalling 227MW in Europe. The main sales market was Germany with 86MW, followed by the Netherlands with approximately 70MW. France contributed 42MW and Belgium accounted for 29MW.

2️⃣ Germans, Scots agree offshore wind pact — German offshore wind cluster WAB has signed a three-year cooperation agreement with Scottish counterpart DeepWind. The partners said the pact will see them work more closely on joint initiatives for the expansion of offshore wind the green hydrogen sector.

3️⃣ GE hails biggest onshore wind order of 2020 with huge US deal — Manufacturer to supply 576MW to three projects under development by Invenergy in new boost to US market share.

♻️ CARBON CAPTURE & CIRCULAR TECH

💎 Carbon Capture

1️⃣ Carbon capture to play greater role in oil and gas as ‘peak demand’ timeline moves up — Governments around the world, including in North America, must incentivize and invest more in carbon dioxide pipelines and storage hubs to enable the large-scale carbon emission reductions that are necessary to prevent worsening global warming, according to a new report from the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy presented Sept. 22 during Climate Week NYC.

2️⃣ Californian carbon capture technology backed by Mitsubishi — The Japanese chemicals company today said it will provide funding to Blue Planet and also announced the formation of a new industry partnership which will work to commercialise the company’s technologies.

3️⃣ Pale Blue Dot forms partnership to capture CO2 from air in the UK — The partners aim for their collaboration to remove 1m t/y of CO2 from the atmosphere. One of the locations being considered to deploy direct air capture technology is North East Scotland, close to the Acorn CCS project being developed by Pale Blue Dot. In 2018, the Acorn project became the first project in the UK granted a licence by the UK’s Oil and Gas Authority to appraise transport and storage of CO2 offshore.

🌳 Nature Based Solutions & Offsets

1️⃣ ‘Wasted’ land earning millions with carbon — Previously “wasted” land is earning a NSW farmer millions with its ability to store carbon to reduce Australia’s emissions. Peter Yench of Cobar’s Bulgoo Station has received nearly $1 million a year over the past three years from carbon farming. Some 9300ha of his 21,000ha property is set aside for carbon storage under the avoid deforestation method.

2️⃣ Simply letting forests regrow naturally could suck up 8.9 billion tons of CO2 a year — As countries and companies pour money into planting trees as part of the fight against climate change, there’s another way to regrow forests that gets less attention: when humans simply get out of the way and do nothing, the process can also happen naturally on land that has been deforested. The potential for natural forest regrowth globally could capture as much as 8.9 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide every year, the equivalent of a quarter of the world’s human-made emissions.

🔄 Recycling, Waste & Circular Tech

1️⃣ For a climate-friendly industry: Using carbon dioxide and hydrogen as raw materials for sustainable chemicals — Evonik and Siemens Energy commissioned a pilot plant sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) that uses carbon dioxide and water to produce chemicals. The necessary energy is supplied by electricity from renewable sources. The pilot plant is located in Marl, in the northern Ruhr area, and its innovative technology of artificial photosynthesis should contribute to the success of the energy revolution. It is an essential part of the Rheticus I and II research projects, which are sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with a total of 6.3 million euros.

🏦 POLICY & INVESTMENTS

📜 Policy

1️⃣ Old green power plants seek to regenerate as Germany turns off subsidies — After the scheme begins to wind down at the start of next year, Germany in the worst case scenario would lose wind and solar energy equivalent to four nuclear power plants in 2021 alone, industry figures show. For now, it is unclear how any gap will be filled.

2️⃣ Netherlands is well prepared to reduce CO2 emissions, IEA policy review says — To drive this ambitious shift, the Netherlands has focused its energy and climate policy on cutting greenhouse emissions, with targets to reduce emissions by 49% by 2030 and by 95% by 2050 from 1990 levels. In June 2019, it adopted a national Climate Agreement that was developed through a process involving diverse groups from across Dutch society that worked together to define policies and measures aimed at achieving these targets.

3️⃣ German cabinet passes 65% renewables target for 2030 — Germany’s federal cabinet today passed an amendment to the Renewable Energy Sources Act that sets out steps to generate 65% of the nation’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The so-called EEG Amendment 2021, introduced by Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (pictured), also sets a goal of greenhouse gas neutrality before 2050 for the electricity generated and consumed in Germany.

4️⃣ RenewableUK calls for hydrogen strategy backing 5 GW electrolysis by 2030 — The UK government should set a target of 5 GW of renewable electrolyzer capacity by 2030 and 10 GW by 2035, along with a cost reduction target of GBP2 ($2.55) a kilogram of green hydrogen by 2030 down from GBP8/kg now, renewable energy association RenewableUK said Sept. 23 in a new report.

5️⃣ California will require all passenger vehicles sold in the state be zero-emission by 2035 — California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on Wednesday requiring sales of all new passenger vehicles be zero-emission by 2035. The new order would be a huge boost for electric vehicles, and vehicles using alternative fuels like hydrogen, and could boost a sector that’s already surging in California.

💰 Investments & Funding

1️⃣ European Green Deal Call is launched — Clean, affordable and secure energy is one of the top priorities. To decarbonise Europe, clean renewable power must become the main source of energy. According to the European Commission’s Long-term Decarbonisation Strategy, Europe will need 1,200 GW of wind capacity in 2050 up from 190 GW in 2019. This requires significant investments in wind energy R&I.

2️⃣ Goldman Sachs Says So-Called ‘Green Hydrogen’ Will Become a $12 Trillion Market. Here’s How to Play It. — Analysts at Goldman Sachs are bullish on the long-term prospects for so-called green hydrogen, which is when renewable energy powers the electrolysis of water. Calling it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Goldman Sachs estimates the addressable market could be worth €10 trillion ($11.7 trillion) by 2050, split between Asia, the U.S. and Europe.

⚙️ OTHERS

🧭 General

1️⃣ It’s time for states that grew rich from oil, gas and coal to figure out what’s next — These are very challenging times for U.S. fossil fuel-producing states, such as Wyoming, Alaska and North Dakota. The COVID-19 economic downturn has reduced energy demand, with uncertain prospects for the extent of its recovery. Meanwhile, rising concern about climate change and the declining cost of renewable energy are precipitating a sharp decline in demand for coal in particular.

🏭 Emissions

1️⃣ Shell to fuel Microsoft with renewable power in net-zero ‘alliance’ deal — Collaboration agreement aims to help oil supermajor curb emissions and IT titan reach 2025 100% clean-energy goal.

2️⃣ Public cloud migrations can slash CO2 by 60 million tons per year — Accenture — Migration to the public cloud can achieve carbon reductions equivalent to taking 22 million cars off the road.

3️⃣ How London could achieve net zero carbon by 2050 — A city historically known for its lethal 20th-Century smogs has committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 — how will London get there?

4️⃣ NYSE-listed JLL commits to net zero carbon emissions by 2030 — JLL will minimise the purchase of offsets by shifting to renewable energy sources to improve energy efficiency of its portfolio.

5️⃣ Lufthansa Cuts CO2 Emissions With More Efficient Approaches — German flag carrier Lufthansa has managed to cut CO2 emissions by working with the Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS). In April and May, the airline tested more efficient approach procedures to cut down on unnecessary CO2 emissions.

🧩 Tech and R&D

1️⃣ ZEBRA Consortium to Develop Fully Recyclable Wind Turbine Blade — A consortium including Engie and LM Wind Power has launched a project to design and manufacture the wind industry’s first 100 per cent recyclable turbine blade.

2️⃣ This tiny device can scavenge wind energy from the breeze you make when you walk — Most of the wind available on land is too gentle to push commercial wind turbine blades, but now researchers in China have designed a kind of “tiny wind turbine” that can scavenge wind energy from breezes as little as those created by a brisk walk. The method, presented September 23 in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science, is a low-cost and efficient way of collecting light breezes as a micro-energy source.