Plus: The biggest climate bill ever passed in US; Auto makers scramble qualify for US EV subsidies; Germany and Japan pivot on nuclear; Lots more hydrogen stories
Hi Everyone,
Let me begin by apologizing for it being over a month since the last update from me without a word. In part, I figured – hey, it’s summertime (for most of us) so why not take a break. The passing of someone close to us was also a contributing factor.
Jump to my comments below for some highlights and scan the rest of the headlines at your leisure. I’m issuing this update today instead of Sunday, ahead of our long weekend.
Enjoy!
Peter
Quick Comments
The US Inflation Reduction Act has widely been hailed as the biggest legislation ever aimed at addressing climate change. Here, I offer a few articles that unpack some of the details relevant to specific topics:
- Homes: How new US tax credits, rebates will work for clean energy home upgrades | Electrek
- Carbon Capture: US Climate Bill’s Subsidy Bonanza Gives New Allure to Carbon Capture | BNN Bloomberg
- Solar: What’s in the Inflation Reduction Act for the solar industry? | pv magazine
- Impact: Inflation Reduction Act would spur 42% US carbon emissions cut by 2030: Princeton-led study | Utility Dive
You will also see salted in the various headlines below where it is already having impact – notably in the area of batteries for electric vehicles.
As for the rest, you will also see the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine with about-turns on nuclear policy by both Germany and Japan.
Lastly, some stories are actually “policy” stories – moves by governments. However, I’ve placed them in the relevant sections just so you won’t miss them.
Lastly, a remarkable story to call out is this one: Californians told not to charge their electric cars at times on Labor Day weekend | Auto Blog via Yahoo
California’s grid is basically ‘at capacity’ without yet electrifying its economy (100% EVs, furnaces, stoves, water heaters, etc) to lower emissions. It shows just how difficult that will be to do, along with zero emission power.
Finance & Sentiment
GFANZ: Investors outline proposals for net-zero framework and guidelines | edie
The world’s largest investor coalition of financial institutions committed to net-zero has unveiled new guidance proposals on how investors can better measure their investment activities in alignment with net-zero, including a new framework to assess corporate net-zero targets.
Technology
Hydrogen
Qatar To Establish World’s Biggest Blue Ammonia Facility Worth $1.2B, Reports Say | Forbes
QatarEnergy will establish the world’s largest blue ammonia plant at the cost of $1.2 billion, with an expected capacity of 1.2 million tons, according to media reports, citing the company’s CEO and state minister for energy Saad Al.
Fleet of 14 hydrogen passenger trains begins service in Germany | AP
German officials launched what they say is the world’s first fleet of hydrogen-powered passenger trains Wednesday, replacing 15 diesel trains that previously operated on nonelectrified tracks in the state of Lower Saxony.
Canada, Germany aim to start hydrogen shipments in 2025 | AP
The leaders of Germany and Canada said Tuesday a new hydrogen pact will kick-start a transatlantic hydrogen supply chain, with the first deliveries expected in just three years.
[Comment] Most commentators believe the timeline to be overly ambitious. I agree. Projects just don’t get built that fast, even with the urgency of getting Europe off Russian gas.
Avaada to invest $5 billion in green hydrogen, ammonia plant in India | pv magazine
Ravi Verma, senior executive vice president of Avaada, told pv magazine that the group will invest $5 billion in an integrated green hydrogen and ammonia plant with 6 GW of captive renewables capacity. The green ammonia facility will have a production capacity of 1 million tons per year.
ScottishPower plans 100MW green hydrogen hub at Port of Felixstowe | edie
ScottishPower has confirmed that it is working with Hutchinson Ports, the owners of the Port of Felixstowe, to deliver a hydrogen generation plant of at least 100MW there this decade.
ONGC and Greenko set to splash $6.2 billion on Indian green hydrogen and renewable projects | Upstream
India’s state-controlled Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and joint venture partner Greenko are poised to spend up to $6.2 billion on renewable energy and green hydrogen projects under the terms of an agreement signed Tuesday, Press Trust of India (PTI) has reported.
Hyundai rolls out 27 heavy-duty hydrogen trucks in Germany | The Driven
More hydrogen-powered trucks will take to the road in Europe this week thanks to funding from the German government, which will support the rollout of 27 heavy-duty Xcient Fuel Cell trucks by Hyundai to a group of seven German companies.
‘Solid hydrogen’ | World’s first vessel powered by an H2-storing salt gets construction green light | Recharge
The world’s first ship to be powered using a solid form of hydrogen — said to be far safer and easier to store than compressed or liquid H2 — is due to go into operational trials at the Port of Amsterdam next June.
Oracle Energy To Build 400 MW Green Hydrogen Project In Pakistan | Saur Energy
Oracle Power has revealed that the Sindh state government of Pakistan has accorded ‘comprehensive permission’ to Oracle Energy for the development of a 400 MW green hydrogen project. The green hydrogen facility will be powered by 1.2 GW of wind and solar energy.
BMW and Toyota partner to mass produce new fuel cell vehicles | Motor 1
The two will start mass-producing and selling jointly developed hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as soon as 2025.
[Comment] Toyota has long promoted hydrogen fuel cells for cars, notably with the Mirai with 400 miles of range. The issue is where to fill up anywhere outside of California. See also TechCrunch. It would appear Toyota is hedging its bets, with investments in both battery and fuel cell vehicles.
Carbon Capture
ExxonMobil gets BLM approval for Wyoming CCS project | Oil & Gas Journal
ExxonMobil Corp. has received US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approval to sequester carbon dioxide (CO2 )under federal land in Lincoln and Sweetwater counties, Wyoming. The project, capable of sequestering 60 MMcfd, will include a CO2 disposal well 18,000 ft underground in the water leg of the Madison formation and a pipeline connecting the disposal site to ExxonMobil’s Shute Creek natural gas plant near Kemmerer, Wyo.
Nuclear
Japan signals return to nuclear power to stabilise energy supply | Reuters
Japan will restart more idled nuclear plants and look at developing next-generation reactors, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday, setting the stage for a major policy shift on nuclear energy a decade after the Fukushima disaster.
Germany Plans to Keep Last Three Nuke Plants Open in Policy U-Turn | Bangkok Post
Germany plans to postpone the closure of the country’s last three nuclear power plants as it braces for a possible shortage of energy this winter after Russia throttled gas supplies to the country, said German government officials.
Bill Gates’ TerraPower Raises $750 Million for Cheaper Nuclear | BNN Bloomberg
Bill Gates-backed TerraPower LLC raised at least $750 million to advance efforts to develop small-scale nuclear reactors, including a major investment from South Korean conglomerate SK Group. TerraPower’s planned reactors are intended to be manufactured in factories and delivered to approved sites, cutting costs and avoiding potential construction delays. A first test plant is being developed at a shuttered coal site in Wyoming and set to go into service in 2028.
NRC to certify NuScale small modular reactor design for use in the US | Utility Dive
The first small modular nuclear reactor design to be approved in the U.S. is expected to go online at an Energy Department laboratory in Idaho in 2029.
Buildings
Germany’s €177bn climate budget to focus on building retrofit | edie
The German government has unveiled plans to spend €177.5bn of the federal budget on climate action and the transformation of the country’s economy between 2023 and 2026, with a focus on increasing the energy efficiency of buildings.
Siemens’ new home EV charger adapter ends need for electrical panel upgrades | Electrek
Siemens and Philadelphia-based ConnectDER have partnered to roll out a groundbreaking simple home EV charger connector. Previously, homeowners who wanted to install EV chargers might have had to spend thousands of dollars to modify their home’s electrical panel. This new proprietary plug-in adapter will eliminate that cost and allow installation and connection in minutes.
[Comment] Pretty cool workaround.
California governor sets goal of 3 million climate-ready homes, 6 million heat pumps by 2030 | pv magazine
The new targets for climate-resilient housing were announced as part of a letter to the California Air Resources Board, which focuses on the implementation and acceleration of California’s climate goals.
Energy Storage
CATL’s energy dense Qilin batteries one-up the 4680 cell [capable of 1000+ km range] | Electrek
[Excerpt] This past June, CATL unveiled its third-generation of CTP battery construction called “Qilin” which promises a record-breaking volume utilization efficiency of 72% and an energy density of up to 255 Wh/kg. That equates to a five minute hot start and ten minutes of fast charging to get from 10-80% SOC. Since June, the public has been wondering what automaker will be the first to utilize CATL’s cell-to-pack battery technology, capable of delivering over 1,000 km of range and turns out it will be Chinese automaker ZEEKR.
Canadian Solar shipped 1GWh of battery storage in H1 2022, up 85% | Energy Storage News
Canadian Solar manufacturing subsidiary CSI Solar’s battery storage shipments exceeded the 1GWh mark in the first half of 2022 while the parent company’s battery project pipeline stands at 31GWh.
sonnen and ES Solar VPP programme to reach 35MWh of home batteries by end-2022 | Energy Storage News
German home energy storage and virtual power plant (VPP) company sonnen and solar contractor ES Solar are expanding a Utah and Idaho VPP programme to include up to 35MWh of residential batteries by the end of the year.over 2,000 batteries enrolled already. It is on track to reach an estimated 1,500 additional customers by the end of 2022 and more than 5,000 in 2023.
[Comment] Another example of leveraging software to create a virtual power plant out of distributed home batteries. A reminder: sonnen is owned by Shell, a strategic purchase made in 2019.
Small Vermont utility quietly builds fleet of 4,000 Tesla Powerwalls | Electrek
Green Mountain Power (GMP), a Vermont electric utility, has quietly built a fleet of 4,000 Tesla Powerwalls, and it is saving them a lot of money.
[Comment] Another example of leveraging software to create a virtual power plant out of distributed home batteries. GMP uses Tesla’s Autobidder software, “a real-time trading and control platform for energy assets…optimized through machine learning to better use and more directly monetize the assets.”
CATL’s energy dense Qilin batteries one-up the 4680 cell [capable of 1000+ km range] | Electrek
[Excerpt] This past June, CATL unveiled its third-generation of CTP battery construction called “Qilin” which promises a record-breaking volume utilization efficiency of 72% and an energy density of up to 255 Wh/kg. That equates to a five minute hot start and ten minutes of fast charging to get from 10-80% SOC. Since June, the public has been wondering what automaker will be the first to utilize CATL’s cell-to-pack battery technology, capable of delivering over 1,000 km of range and turns out it will be Chinese automaker ZEEKR.
US government launches US$335 million battery recycling program | Energy Storage News
[Excerpt]The DOE has issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking input to help guide the program, which aims to foster and support battery recycling capabilities within the US.
Solar and Wind
German-Danish Wind Hub in Baltic Will Help Replace Russian Gas | BNN Bloomberg
A 9 billion-euro ($9 billion) offshore wind power hub planned in the Baltic Sea will mark a significant step in the process of weaning Europe off its reliance on Russian gas, according to the German and Danish governments.
Renewables and storage developers bid to offer new power in Ontario | pv magazine
The Canadian province needs to commission 5 GW of newly-built electricity generation capacity to cope with demand driven in part by electric vehicles and nuclear energy retirements.
Artificial intelligence model to forecast entire region’s solar output using real-time satellite data | pv magazine
Combining satellite images of Australian rooftops with those of real-time cloud cover to create accurate forecasts of distributed solar output for suburbs and perhaps even whole regions and states is the focus of a new Australian startup, Solstice AI.
Nova Scotia selects five wind projects to produce 372 MW of electricity from renewable sources | CBC
Nova Scotia has selected five wind projects in its largest ever procurement for low-cost renewable energy, each majority-owned by one or more Mi’kmaw communities. When the projects are complete in 2025, the province will be generating 70 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources, the release said.
World’s biggest offshore wind farm company sets 100% renewable target for all suppliers | RenewEconomy
Denmark’s Ørsted – the world’s biggest developer of offshore wind projects – has set “a clear expectation” for all its suppliers to use 100% renewable electricity by 2025, marking them as the first company in the world to do so.
[Comment] This is an important marker for companies using their buying power to extend their commitments up through their supply chains. I expect “supply chain sustainability” to gain lots of momentum in the coming years.
Danish group unveils second 3GW offshore wind project in WA, with 385 metre turbines | RenewEconomy
Copenhagen Energy, an aspiring Danish renewable energy developer, has unveiled a second massive 3GW offshore wind project off the coast of Western Australia, this time off the coast of Kalbarri, some 500kms north of Perth.
California adopts 25 GW planning goal for offshore wind by 2045 | Utility Dive
The California Energy Commission on Wednesday voted to adopt offshore wind energy preliminary planning goals ranging from 2,000 MW to 5,000 MW by 2030, and 25,000 MW by 2045 — up from an initial proposed goal of 10,000 MW to 15,000 MW goal by 2045 — as part of the state’s broader push to decarbonize its electric grid.
Octopus Energy looks to repower 1,000 onshore wind turbines | Current±
[Comment] 11% of UK onshore wind turbines are being retrofitted for more power and tech, so called “repowering”. This is also happening elsewhere in the world, including North America.
Norway oil giant buys into 6GW of Australian floating offshore wind | RenewEconomy
Norwegian oil and gas giant Equinor has bought into three proposed offshore wind farms in New South Wales as part of its plans to shift to renewables and become a net zero energy company by 2050.
Transportation
Autonomy places giant EV order from Tesla, GM, VW, Ford, Rivian, and more | Electrek
Autonomy, an EV subscription service, has now officially placed its giant order for 23,000 electric vehicles from Tesla, GM, VW, Ford, Rivian, and more.
[Comment] At $1.2B, this order shows how traditional car ownership model is giving way to the subscription service model. Sticker shock of EV prices likely has something to do with it, but is also shows how attitudes are changing.
Baidu to operate fully driverless commercial robotaxi in Wuhan and Chongqing | Tech Crunch
Chinese internet giant Baidu has secured permits to offer a fully driverless commercial robotaxi service, with no human driver present, in Chongqing and Wuhan via the company’s autonomous ride-hailing unit, Apollo Go.
CATL announces giant new $7.4B 100 GWh battery plant in Hungary | Electrek
CATL, the worlds largest battery manufacturer, has announced a plan to build a giant new battery plant in Hungary to supply automakers like Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
B.C. hikes zero-emission vehicle rebates to $4,000 | Electric Autonomy
[Excerpt] Rebates for passenger ZEVs costing $55,000 or less in B.C. are being increased to a maximum of $4,000. But to be eligible for that rebate, an individual purchaser’s income must be below $80,000 or they must have a combined total household income of no more than $125,000.
Toyota changes tune on EV demand, triples funding for US battery plant; commits another $2.5B | Electrek
Last year, Toyota partnered with Toyota Tsusho, the automaker’s sales network and trading sub-division, to build a battery plant in Liberty, NC, investing $1.29 billion at the time. Toyota is announcing today it will be tripling its funding for the NC battery plant, bringing the total to $3.8 billion.
[Comment] This is driven by the Inflation Reduction Act passed earlier this month provides tax incentives for EV buyers. Automakers must source materials from US free trade partners and complete final assembly in North America in order for vehicles to be eligible.
Honda, LG Will Build $4.4 Billion EV Battery Plant in US | BNN Bloomberg
Honda Motor Co. and South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd. will spend $4.4 billion to build a new battery plant in the US as the Japanese carmaker seeks to phase out fossil-fuel vehicles completely by 2040. Carmakers around the world are scrambling to build electric car or EV battery plants in North America by partnering with Asian battery makers.
[Comment] This too is thought to have been triggered by the US Inflation Reduction Act.
VW, Mercedes sign MOUs with Canada to secure battery minerals supply | Electric Autonomy
The twin Memorandums of Understanding signed in Toronto cement the status of Volkswagen’s newly created battery company PowerCo as a force to watch on the market, while Mercedes indicates unprecedented interest in its Canadian activities.
[Comment] This too is thought to have been triggered by the US Inflation Reduction Act.
Mercedes-Benz to source 10K tons of lithium from Rock Tech in Canada | Electrek
In its latest bold move to lock up raw materials for electric vehicles, Mercedes-Benz is announcing a new deal with Rock Tech Lithium for 10,000 tons of battery-grade lithium annually.
[Comment] This too is thought to have been triggered by the US Inflation Reduction Act.
Policy
Australia passes landmark climate bill to cut emissions by 43% by 2030 | Axios
The landmark bill enshrines into law the Labor government’s election pledge. The bill was the first to be introduced into the Australian Parliament after it returned last week following the center-left Labor Party’s election win in May.
Massachusetts Passes New Climate & Clean Energy Bill | National Law Review
[Excerpt] Specifically, the bill allows up to $35,000,000 for an offshore wind tax incentive program; the bill also increases offshore wind procurement to 5,600 MW.