Plus: 50,000 EV chargers by Shell coming to UK; 4.5 GW Indian solar park by ArcelorMittal; TotalEnergies to develop 1GW solar park in Iraq
Hi Everyone,
This latest version of my newsletter represents what I’ve accumulated since my last update and I figured I’d get this out to you. I know I said last week I’d be taking a break, but now I am definitely doing that.
Continue forwarding this on to others you think would appreciate getting this expertly curate set of news stories on the energy transition – and encourage them to subscribe.
Thanks,
Peter
Observations & Comments
Regular readers may recall a story from earlier this year where Israel-based StoreDot announced a 5 minute charge time for its puch-style format solid-state battery. Now it has announced a 10-minute charge time for the 4680 format battery – a larger cylindrical battery promoted by Tesla. StoreDot is not the only company pursuing solid-state batteries, so time will tell if they are able to win the race to commercialize this format at scale. See the first ‘Feature Story’ below.
The next feature story was interesting: pairing green roofs with solar panels makes the latter work better. Read the story to find out all the attributes that green roofs bring to making the PV panels work better. Cool.
The final feature story profiles an entirely different design for harnessing offshore wind. And its big. So big, it makes me wonder whether it will be able to withstand storm winds. Check out the story to learn how this new design has quite a number of plusses over the current turbine designs.
Feature Stories
StoreDot Announces 4680 Battery Cells Rechargeable In 10 Minutes | Inside EVs
StoreDot has announced today the world’s first 4680 cylindrical cell (format proposed by Tesla), which can be fully charged in 10 minutes. The prototypes are undergoing tests and EVE Energy – StoreDot’s manufacturing partner in China – is now ramping up the production lines for samples.
StoreDot 4680 format solid state battery
Green roofs may improve PV system performance by 8% | pv magazine
German solar company Polarstern sees many performance-enhancing effects when photovoltaic systems are combined with green roofs. These are provided by cooling, dust absorption and reflective behavior, which are favored by the plants on the roof.
Green roof atop NYC Javits Convention Center
This wildly reinvented wind turbine generates five times more energy than its competitors | Fast Company
Norwegian company Wind Catching Systems is developing a floating, multi-turbine technology for wind farms that could generate five times the annual energy of the world’s largest, single wind turbine.
Credit: Wind Catching Systems
Finance & Sentiment
Regulators Intensify ESG Scrutiny as Greenwashing Explodes | BNN Bloomberg
Pressure is increasing on managers of ESG-labeled investment funds to show they’re being truthful with customers about what they’re selling.
Global green bond market set to break records, surpassing $500bn in 2021 | edie
Global green bond issuance is likely to pass the half-a-trillion-dollar mark this year, the Climate Bonds Initiative is forecasting, following a strong first half of the year for the market.
Technology
Hydrogen
Australian researchers set new efficiency record in quest for low-cost solar hydrogen | RenewEconomy
A team of Australian researchers has set a new world efficiency record for the direct production of renewable hydrogen from solar energy using low-cost materials, combining Australian-grown innovations in next-generation solar cells and electrolysis.
Caterpillar to offer Gen-Sets that burn 100% hydrogen | pv magazine
US construction machinery giant Caterpillar announced it would begin offering generator sets capable of operating on 100% hydrogen, including fully renewable green hydrogen, on a designed-to-order basis in late 2021. “More immediately, the company will launch commercially available power generation solutions that can be configured to operate on natural gas blended with up to 25% hydrogen,” reads the note released by the company on Wednesday. The world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment said that some of its gas turbine generator sets have run on high hydrogen blends for decades and are already capable of operating on 100% hydrogen.
Carbon Capture
Canada pushes to build 2 new carbon capture hubs – gov’t document | Reuters
Canada is pushing to provide incentives for at least two new massive carbon capture projects by 2030, a federal government document showed, with nearly a dozen oil and gas companies already pursuing rights to store carbon dioxide in Alberta.
[Comment: a key quote to make note of and an assessment with which I agree: “It is not yet clear whether this elevated pricing signal, combined with other federal policies yet to be implemented, such as the CFR and the investment tax credit announced, will be sufficient to drive widespread CCUS adoption,”
Energy Storage
‘Game-changer’ for geothermal energy as UK plant unlocks vast supply of lithium | Euractiv
A geothermal power plant in the UK has discovered the highest concentration of lithium ever found in geothermal fluid, opening the door to a new business model for the renewable energy source.
Vanadium-manganese redox dual-flow battery to store power, generate hydrogen | pv magazine
Conceived by Swiss researchers, the battery shows good stability over 50 cycles, with an average energy efficiency of 68% and a water-splitting voltage efficiency of 64.1%. According to its creators, the device produces pure hydrogen that only needs to be dried and compressed for optimal storage.
[Comment: this is really for the tech savvy types. Most of this was way over my head, but the ability to both store energy and produce hydrogen was unique. The article makes no mention of the incremental cost of drying and compressing of hydrogen]
SVOLT unveils cobalt-free battery, claiming first company to reach ‘series production’ | Electrek
Battery systems manufacturer SVOLT has unveiled a cobalt-free battery pack at the Chengdu Motor Show in China. The company now claims to be the first to create a cobalt-free battery that has reached series production, although other battery manufacturers have claimed similar production achievements.
Solar and Wind
TotalEnergies to build 1 GW solar park in Iraq | pv magazine
The Iraqi government has revealed that France’s TotalEnergies will build a 1 GW solar park in Artawi, near the southern port of Basra, Iraq. The two sides signed a $27 billion framework agreement on Sunday.
Households Could Soon Become Australia’s Biggest Power Source | BNN Bloomberg
Australia’s love of sunshine has seen the nation become a world leader in installing rooftop solar panels, but the pace of growth is surprising even the biggest electricity market operator.
Biggest wind farm in NSW reaches financial close, to feature Australia’s biggest turbines | RenewEconomy
The Rye Park project will feature 66 Vestas turbines rated at 6MW each – the biggest to be installed in Australia to date. It will be the largest operating wind farm in NSW when fully commissioned in 2024, and one of the five biggest in the country. More than half of the production from the Rye Park wind project (55 per cent) has been contracted to a mining company.
Shell forms JV to advance 1.4GW South Korean offshore wind project | Electrek
Shell Overseas Investment and CoensHexicon have established a joint venture to fund, develop, and operate MunmuBaram, a 1.4-gigawatt floating offshore wind farm for South Korea. MunmuBaram will be capable of powering over 1 million homes.
Vestas picks up 500MW of wind turbine orders in Australia | Wind Power Monthly
Vestas has received two turbine orders in Australia, for wind farms with a combined capacity of more than 500MW. It will supply its EnVentus turbines to Tilt Renewables’ 396MW Rye Park wind farm in New South Wales and its V150-4.2MW turbines to RES’ 181MW Dulacca wind farm in Queensland. In each case, Vestas will also provide service for 30 years.
ArcelorMittal plans 4.5 GW solar park in India | pv magazine
The Luxembourg-based steelmaker is considering setting up a 4.5 GW solar park in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It also plans to invest in the solar, wind, and hydrogen gas production sectors in the state of Gujarat.
Transportation
BMW orders up $24 billion of batteries as EV demand grows | Mining
BMW AG has boosted orders for battery cells to keep pace with accelerating demand for electric cars that made up more than 11% of deliveries during the half of the year.
Electric pickup startup Rivian files for public offering at $80 billion valuation | BNN Bloomberg
Rivian Automotive Inc., the maker of electric pickups backed by Amazon.com Inc., has filed for an initial public offering and is seeking a roughly $80 billion valuation, according to people familiar with the matter.
China builds mobile robots for charging electric cars | Tech Week
Envision Group, one of the largest wind turbine (wind turbine) manufacturers in China, plans to address the country’s chronic shortage of electric car charging stations for the foreseeable future. To do this, engineers have developed a project for mobile robots Mochi, which will deliver energy to the car without the need to place the vehicle in a specific location.
Shell to Install 50,000 On-Street EV Chargers in U.K. by 2025 | BNN Bloomberg
Royal Dutch Shell Plc is making a push to expand its network of electric vehicle chargers in the U.K. to drivers who don’t have private parking. Shell’s Ubitricity unit will install 50,000 on-street charging posts by 2025, according to a statement published Wednesday. It already has about 3,600 chargers in the country in existing infrastructure like street lamps.
Hyundai Motor commits to becoming globally carbon neutral by 2045 | Electrek
During IAA Mobility 2021 in Munich, Hyundai Motor Group has shared its goal to become completely carbon neutral by 2045. This will include its global product lineup and all company operations. Furthermore, Hyundai announced an end to all combustion engine vehicles in Europe beginning in 2035.
Policy
UK’s Ofgem pledges £450m for innovations to decarbonise energy networks | edie
Regulator Ofgem has launched a new £450m fund to help energy networks develop innovative technologies that will accelerate the transition to a low-carbon energy system in the UK.
South Korea passes bill to mandate carbon neutrality by 2050 | IHS Markit
South Korea passed a bill mandating national carbon neutrality by 2050, becoming the 14th country in the world to legislate a carbon target, the country’s environment ministry said in a statement 2 September.
EU approves France’s small scale solar FIT plans | pv magazine
The European Commission has determined France can offer the owners of building-mounted panels with a generation capacity of up to 500 kW a 20-year feed-in tariff without breaching the bloc’s state aid rules. The EU executive on Friday approved the proposed €5.7 billion incentive scheme after finding it was in line with the bloc’s state aid rules.