Plus: Plus: Toyota invest in flying cars; Hydrogen buses in China; Blackrock drops coal
Hi Everyone,
With a bit of the feel of one upmanship, the Microsoft story was all over the news this week. Worth a quick read, but if you have time for only one, consider the McKinsey piece providing insights into how oil and gas companies can lower their emissions. Blockrock dropping coal might also be of interest, along with the 200 hydrogen fuel cell buses hitting the roads in China.
I’ve been seeing a number of headlines saying 2020 will see a lot more attention on flying cars. Frankly, I remain skeptical, though a US FAA official says flying cars are more than just hype. Toyota’s fairly sizable investment contributed to Joby Aviation raising nearly three quarters of a billion dollars in the latest round. OK, so worth keeping an eye on this.
I’ve got a busy schedule coming up, so watch for the next update on February 2. Please continue to forward on to colleagues, friends and family and encourage them to subscribe.
Have a great couple weeks!
Peter
Microsoft vows to be ‘carbon negative’ in 10 years and remove all historic emissions by 2050
Notable excerpts, including Microsoft’s additional goal of removing carbon from the atmosphere that the company has emitted since it was founded in 1975:
Microsoft makes ‘carbon negative’ pledge | BBC News
- “When it comes to carbon, neutrality is not enough,” said Microsoft president Brad Smith.
- The company also announced it was setting up a $1bn (£765m) climate innovation fund to develop carbon-tackling technologies.
Microsoft says it will go ‘carbon negative’ by 2030 | CNN
- “While the world will need to reach net zero, those of us who can afford to move faster and go further should do so,” Microsoft’s president Brad Smith said in a statement.
The future is now: How oil and gas companies can decarbonize | McKinsey
Adapted from McKinsey
Hydrogen trucks could beat EVs on cost, emissions — study | E&E News
Excerpt: Hydrogen fuel cells could be cheaper than batteries and diesel engines as a power source for commercial vehicles by 2027, according to a new analysis, but some experts say the technology may not be as environmentally friendly as electric trucks.
The white paper, published last week by consultancy Deloitte and fuel-cell producer Ballard Power Systems Inc., touted hydrogen’s prospects as an “emission-friendly” fuel for long haulers, logistics vans, forklifts, buses and other vehicles that serve businesses or transit agencies.
Comment: In Europe, the total cost of ownership (TCO) for hydrogen fuel cell buses could reach parity with battery electric vehicles (BEV) and internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV) as early as 2023 and 2024, respectively. In China, already 200 Hydrogen-Powered Buses Roll Off Assembly Line In Yunnan, likely driven by pollution challenges in many large cities there.
Source: Deloitte-Ballard
Toyota makes a big bet on secretive flying taxi startup Joby Aviation | The Verge
Excerpt: After all, the jury is still out on whether an electric vertical takeoff and landing-based air taxi system would make an appreciable contribution to a next-generation transportation system, or whether it would simply be an escape hatch for the super-rich to avoid street-level congestion.
2020 outlook: Natural gas faces regulatory, environmental scrutiny but still wants role in carbon-free grid | Utility Dive
Comment: a tad longer of a read, but relevant to those in the US.
Excerpt: There are $70 billion worth of planned natural gas plants in the pipeline through 2025 and 90% of those investments are more expensive than clean energy portfolios, which include a combination of demand response, energy efficiency, storage and renewables, according to a September 2019 report from the Rocky Mountain Institute. Seventy percent of those investments will be rendered uneconomic by 2035, posing a serious question for investors and utilities about the prudence of some of those buildouts, and that question will only grow more urgent in 2020, according to the report’s authors.
Breakthrough Graphene-Enhanced Battery Charges up in 20 minutes | Digital Trends
Comment: Would you pay 30% more for a phone battery that lasts 3-5 times as long and charges in a quarter of the time compared to a typical lithium ion battery? Apparently for a run of 100,000 units, this company claims it can fulfill that kind of demand right now.
FlashParking raises $60M to bring mobility hubs to 40% of US cities | Smart Cities Dive
Comment: interesting to note that the key leverage over competitors is a centralized database, pointing to the importance of software and analytics. Worth a read to see how they are adapting to changes that cities are looking for.
Excerpt: Mobility hubs could also help alleviate the fierce competition for curb space, an issue that cities are increasingly looking to resolve. Washington, DC’s Department of Transportation (DDOT), for example, recently completed a three-month pilot with curb space management company curbFlow. The pilot resulted in a 64% reduction in double parking and 15,000 reservations from commercial drivers for spaces.
Our 100% Clean Energy Vision | The Solutions Project
Excerpt: Explore our interactive map to see what 100% renewable energy could look like where you live in the year 2050.
Comment: A while back, Mark Jacobson at Stanford University proposed a pathway to 100% renewables by 2050. Granted it was controversial. This visualization tool helps to capture our imagination of what might be possible.
Other headlines of interest…
Energy Storage
- Ørsted to provide battery optimisation services in REMAP partnership | Current News
- Volvo battery plant signals EV surge in [US] Southeast | E&E News
- Li-Cycle: Recycled lithium battery materials sent to first commercial customer | Energy Storage News
- Monash University researchers unlock secret to 1000km plus EV battery range | The Driven [I’m always suspicious about innovations that are still in the lab, but in this case the team expects to trial the new batteries in cars this year with funding from government and industry]
Solar (& Battery)
- Netherlands plans 40-kilometre-long solar park along highway | RenewEconomy
- Tesla prepares massive solar roof expansion in many new markets | Electrek
Wind (& Battery)
- Work starts on world’s ‘largest offshore wind farm’ that could power 4.5 million homes | CNBC
Transport
- Toyota makes a big bet on secretive flying taxi startup Joby Aviation | The Verge
Transition
- US hit record $55.5B renewables investments in 2019 | Utility Dive
- Germany will pay billions to speed up coal-fired power plant shutdowns | The Guardian
- Here’s What It Costs To Run An Electric Car And Its True Environmental Impact In Five U.S. Cities | Forbes [plus downloadable spreadsheet for other cities]
- Canberra households reject gas as ACT moves to end mandatory connections | RenewEconomy
- 2020 outlook: Natural gas faces regulatory, environmental scrutiny but still wants role in carbon-free grid | Utility Dive
- Pozitive Energy signs five year agreement with Shell Energy Europe | Current News
- 2020 Outlook: 10 trends driving the US power sector | Utility Dive
- Bloomberg’s transportation plan envisions walkable, transit-rich neighborhoods | Curbed
Hydrogen
- Hydrogen trucks could beat EVs on cost, emissions — study | E&E News
- 200 Hydrogen-Powered Buses Roll Off Assembly Line In Yunnan | FuelCellsWorks
- Thousand-ton scale demonstration of solar fuel synthesis starts operation in Lanzhou, China | EurekAlert
Circular Economy
- Nestlé commits £1.6bn to food-grade recycled plastics, pledges to cut virgin plastics use by a third | edie
Finance
- BlackRock, world’s largest investment manager, drops coal | Electrek
- Sustainable Debt Sees Record Issuance At $465Bn in 2019, Up 78% From 2018 | BloombergNEF