Plus: $8.6B in Portugal offshore wind; NY unlocks renewables with $4.4B grid upgrades; Model 3 now cheaper than average car; Germany bans gas heating
Hi everyone,
I’m light on comments for this issue, though encourage you to scan the headlines for the important signposts across all the key topic areas. Consider watching the linked video on urban design. You only get this because I ride transit and use my commute time to scan my news feeds. I likely wouldn’t have the time otherwise. We have to get better at retrofitting North American cities with designs that prioritize public transit, walking and biking. If you’ve seen great examples of this retrofitting in action, please send them to me.
Historically, I provided snippets for all stories. However, to slim up the length, I have opted to include just a few. For those that prefer the long form with snippets for every article – head to my website for this issue.
As always, encourage others to subscribe.
Thanks,
Peter
Finance & Sentiment
Morgan Stanley Doubles Down on ESG Despite the Politics | BNN Bloomberg
[Excerpt] To put Morgan Stanley’s investment in perspective, ESG-labeled ETFs in the US attracted a net $2.9 billion in total last year, down from a record $36 billion in 2021, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Wall Street Clashes With Green Bankers Fed Up With Oil Agenda | BNN Bloomberg
[Excerpt] The Net-Zero Banking Alliance, which is a sub-unit of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, faces a potentially embarrassing mutiny from some of the world’s most climate-conscious lenders after it decided against imposing binding restrictions on fossil-fuel financing.
ISSB to launch first two sustainability standards by June | edie
The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has confirmed that it will issue its first two finalised frameworks by the end of June, with an expectation that the first corporate reports aligned with these frameworks will be issued in 2025.
$900 Billion Asset Manager Ties Exec Compensation to Climate Goals | ESG Today
The compensation policy will apply to approximately 400 senior executives at the firm, and focus primarily on portfolio decarbonization, with 75% of the ESG portion of deferred compensation tied to targets to reduce carbon intensity in the corporate portfolio by 25% by 2025 for AXA IM Core employees. The remaining 25% of the ESG portion will be linked to AXA IM’s interim target to reduce its corporate operational CO2 footprint by 26% by 2025.
Technology
Hydrogen
World’s biggest green hydrogen project now under construction in China | Hydrogen Insight
Chinese refining giant Sinopec has broken ground on a massive green hydrogen project in Inner Mongolia that is now the biggest renewable H2 project under construction in the world.
Australian researchers develop low cost method to produce hydrogen from seawater | RenewEconomy
Researchers from RMIT University say they have developed a cheaper method of making hydrogen directly from seawater that erases the need for costly and energy intensive desalination and avoids draining precious freshwater reserves.
[Comment] This is the second research team from Australia to come up with a way to make hydrogen from seawater. Just two weeks ago, researchers from the University of Adelaide announced their results. they “similarly modified the catalyst, using a non-precious and cheaper catalyst in a commercial electrolyser.”
Exxon to use Honeywell carbon capture tech at hydrogen facility | Financial Post
[Excerpt] Honeywell said the technology would enable Exxon to capture about 7 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, equivalent to emissions from 1.5 million automobiles for one year, Honeywell said.
Finland wants green hydrogen-based e-fuels to make up 3% of all transport fuels by 2030 | Hydrogen Insight
Finland has set out plans to become “the European leader in the hydrogen economy [across] the entire value chain”, which include a target for e-fuels derived from green H2 to make up 3% of the country’s transport fuel by 2030.
Canadian company cleared to build $6B green hydrogen facility with 2 GW wind farm | Utility Dive
After receiving environmental approval, EverWind Fuels Co. is moving forward with plans to build a $6 billion facility in Point Tupper, Nova Scotia, that will be capable of producing up to 1.1 millions tons (1 million metric tons) of green hydrogen and clean ammonia per year.
Spain’s Cepsa in deal with Netherlands to scale-up green ammonia | Financial Post
Spain’s Cepsa signed a deal on Monday with three Dutch companies to supply green ammonia to a terminal in the port of Rotterdam, confirming an earlier Reuters report, in the latest boost to the nascent technology Europe is hoping can lower its emissions.
Proposal to build hydrogen-powered community east of Edmonton gains steam | Global News
A proposal to build a large hydrogen-powered residential neighbourhood east of Edmonton gained momentum on Tuesday as a provincial Crown corporation announced a funding grant to move the project forward.
Deutsche Bahn to receive 60 hydrogen buses from CaetanoBus | H2 View
[Excerpt] On one tank of hydrogen, the H2.City Gold fuel cell electric bus can travel between 350km in the winter and 550km in the summer.
German carrier orders 12 hydrogen buses, including 2 articulated | Green Car Congress
The German carrier Stadtwerke Aschaffenburg Verkehrs GmbH has opted for 12 Solaris hydrogen buses: 10 Urbino 12 hydrogen and 2 Urbino 18 hydrogen units. This is Solaris’s first order for the 18-meter hydrogen-powered buses that were launched in autumn last year.
Carbon Capture
Carbon Capture Investment Hits Record High of $6.4 Billion | BNEF
The US led the pack, with 45% of global investment, but the regional split is far more even than in previous years. APAC investment surged to $1.2 billion off the back of projects in Australia and Malaysia. China has commissioned a pilot project to capture 0.2 million tons of CO2 per year at a petrochemical complex, although it still lags behind its neighbors in terms of CCS development.
Alberta offers to work with Canadian govt on carbon capture incentives | Reuters via The Star
Canada’s Alberta province on Thursday offered to collaborate with the federal government to incentivize carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) investments, as long as Ottawa refrains from introducing climate policies that impact the oil and gas sector without Alberta’s consent.
Biden releases $2.5 billion for carbon capture projects | Energy.gov
[Excerpt] The two funding opportunity announcements released are:
- Carbon Capture Large-Scale Pilots: funding up to $820 million for up to 10 projects focused on de-risking transformational carbon capture technologies.
Carbon Capture Demonstration Projects Program: funding up to $1.7 billion for approximately six projects to demonstrate commercial-scale carbon capture technologies integrated with CO2 transportation and geologic storage infrastructure.
Small Modular Reactors
Westinghouse Electric to submit key nuclear microreactor licensing reports for US-Canadian review | Utility Dive
[Excerpt] The eVinci microreactor is designed to provide about 5 MWe for eight years or longer without refueling and is factory built and assembled before shipping.
Urban Design & Buildings
Sydney to accelerate uptake of EVs, but will prioritise walking, cycling and public transport | The Driven
[Excerpt] But it also stresses that vehicle electrification is only part of the solution and that “the city’s anticipated growth requires a shift away from private vehicles, which have high emissions and require significant space for movement and for parking when not in use.” The plan states “The biggest impact we can have to reduce transport emissions is to facilitate a shift to walking, cycling and public transport.”
[Comment] I encourage you to watch this 10 minute video to learn how Dutch cities evolved from car-biased city centers in the 1970s to ones that prioritize walking, biking and public transit, making cities more livable and attractive to families.
Dutch Heat Pump Association reports surge in residential installations in 2022 | pv magazine
The Dutch heat pump market grew by 57% in 2022, with 70,000 heat pumps installed in new buildings and 40,000 in existing homes.
Energy Storage
Storing heat in blocks made of aluminum, graphite | pv magazine
Image: MGA Thermal
[Excerpt] MGA’s patented thermal energy storage blocks, about the size of a large house brick, consist of small alloy particles embedded within graphite-based blocks enclosed in a fully insulated system. Once heated, the alloy particles can store heat for days with minimal energy loss. Heat exchangers are used a transfer gas to absorb heat from the blocks, with the heated gas or fluid suitable for industrial heat applications or to drive a steam turbine to generate electricity.
Government backing, key agreements in place for 250MW/1,000MWh Ontario BESS | Energy Storage News
[Excerpt] Oneida will be a 250MW/1,000MWh battery energy storage system (BESS), built on land belonging to the First Nations community, Six Nations of the Grand River, in southwestern Ontario. It is being co-developed in a joint venture (JV) between the Six Nations of the Grand River and energy storage developer NRSTor, which have been working together on it since 2019. It would be Canada’s biggest BESS by some distance and a rare example of a 4-hour duration asset in the country.
[Comment] Note that the Federal government contributed $50 million to the project and the Ontario government is supporting the project through a 20 year contract with the Ontario Independent System Operator.
TransAlta to buy interest in pumped hydro energy storage development for $8M | BNN Bloomberg
TransAlta Corp. says it will acquire a 50 per cent interest in an early-stage pumped hydro energy storage development project in southwest Alberta.
The Biggest Source of Cobalt Outside Africa is Now Indonesia | BNN Bloomberg
[Excerpt] Production of the battery material in the Southeast Asian country surged past others including Russia and Australia to grab the No. 2 spot last year, according to US government data.
Solar and Wind
NY PSC authorizes $4.4B in transmission upgrades | Utility Dive
The upgrades are intended to reduce congestion as called for in the state’s 2019 Climate Act. With additions to the transmission and distribution systems, the improvements will integrate large-scale renewable energy projects.
AES Chile proposes hybrid plant with over 3,000MWh of battery energy storage | Energy Storage News
The project will involve the construction of a 140MW wind farm, two solar PV parks with a combined power of 252MWp and a lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS). The BESS will have a power rating of 623.5MW with a duration of ‘up to five hours’, the company’s submission stated, with a total energy capacity of around 3,100MWh.
Landinfra Energy and Taaleri Energia to Jointly Develop 1.9 GW of Renewables in Sweden | World Energy
Landinfra Energy AB and Taaleri Energia have entered into an agreement to jointly develop a pipeline of up to 1900 MW of renewable energy projects in Sweden consisting of hybrid solar/wind farms and energy storage facilities.
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) set to invest $8.6 billion in offshore wind in Portugal | EVWIND
[Excerpt] CIP said it was aiming to create 2 gigawatt installed capacity at a wind farm called Nortada off the Atlantic coast of central Portugal, which would equal 20% of the country’s 2030 target for offshore wind power.
Chinese company to spend $580 million on distributed home solar | YiCai
[Excerpt] Besides solar parks, market players are building distributed PV projects, usually installed on rooftops. TBEA said that in the first three quarters of 2022, nearly 16.6 GW of residential PV solutions was installed, up by 42 percent from a year ago.
Transportation
Tesla Undercuts Average US Car by Almost $5,000 in EV Shakeout | BNN Bloomberg
After a hopscotch of price cuts over the past month, Tesla’s Model 3 sedan now sells for $4,930 less than the average new vehicle sold in the US. That’s the cheapest price Tesla has ever had relative to the typical US vehicle, according to a new Bloomberg analysis.
Texas EV drivers who charge at home can now get a discount on their entire electric bill with this retailer | Electrek
[Excerpt] Here’s how it works: From today, Octopus Energy customers will be able to register and connect their EVs via Octopus Energy’s mobile app, which responds to various grid signals. By letting Octopus Energy smart charge the vehicle, customers will get a discount off their standard electricity rate for their entire household consumption. Customers set their own preferences, and Intelligent Octopus handles the rest.
Electric Vehicle Sales Top $1 Trillion in Wake-Up Call for Carmakers | BNN Bloomberg
According a new report published by BloombergNEF on investment in the energy transition, annual spending on passenger EVs hit $388 billion in 2022, up 53% from the year before. With the 2022 tally included, the total value of electric vehicles sold to date in the passenger vehicle segment has now crossed $1 trillion.
Toyota finally admits ‘timing is right’ for an EV-first mindset amid business reshuffle | Electrek
Amid new leadership changes, Toyota is reshuffling its business structure, claiming the “time is right” to accelerate battery electric vehicle (BEV) development. Toyota says it will take a new EV-first approach, starting with its luxury brand Lexus.
Ford announces $3.5B Michigan LFP battery factory with China’s CATL in 2026 | Electrek
Ford announced a significant move to LFP batteries for its electric vehicle line. The Dearborn company is tapping China’s CATL first for Chinese LFP batteries and then technology licensing for the previously rumored factory Ford plans to build in Michigan.
Tesla agrees to open parts of its charging network to everyone | Washington Post
[Excerpt] After intense lobbying from the Biden administration, which is pushing to build a national network of 500,000 EV chargers across the country, Tesla will make 7,500 chargers available for all electric vehicles by the end of 2024.
Mercedes Expands Autonomous Driving Program with Luminar | AutoWeek
After solidifying its partnerships with Volvo and Polestar, Luminar is now joining forces with Mercedes-Benz to provide lidar technology for nearly its entire fleet.
Ola Plans to Build World’s Largest Electric Vehicle Hub in India | BNN Bloomberg
The hub, spanning 2,000 acres (809 hectares) in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, will be used for manufacturing electric two-wheelers, cars and battery cells, in addition to housing vendor and supplier parks, Ola said in a statement Friday. The Indian startup will begin mass production of cells from the hub later this year, it said.
Magna pouring $471 million into EV supply chain in Ontario | Electric Autonomy
The Aurora, Ont.-based company announced today it is investing $471 million into six facilities across the province. The majority of the money — $265 million — will go towards a new battery enclosure facility in Brampton. The remaining $206 million will go towards expanding Magna’s existing Guelph, Belleville, Newmarket, Windsor and Penetanguishene factories.
Toyota to begin producing electric SUVs in the US in 2025 as EV demand climbs | Electrek
With buyers’ preference for zero-emission electric vehicles soaring, Toyota looks to (finally) join the movement. Toyota is expected to begin producing electric SUVs in the US in 2025 as it aims to capture a piece of the booming market.
Chinese companies spending billions to expand EV battery production | ReTHINK Energy
- EVE Energy has announced it plans to build a 20GWh battery plant in Chengdu, China with an initial investment of nearly $1.5 billion.
- Zhengzhou Fodi Battery Co. a directly owned subsidiary of BYD, will spend 8 billion yuan ($1.15 billion) to build a 40GWh battery plant
Policy
Germany to Ban Oil and Gas Heating for New Houses From Next Year | Bloomberg
Germany will ban gas and oil heating in new or renovated buildings from next year and likely increase subsidies to support their phaseout as Europe’s largest economy steps up efforts to meet climate targets.
Biden administration announces first-ever wind energy lease sale in Gulf of Mexico | CNN
The White House and US Department of Interior said they are proposing to open up more than 300,000 acres of offshore waters for offshore wind development – one area off the coast of Lake Charles, Louisiana, and two off the coast of Galveston, Texas.
In support of the Sjors van Duren video on Nijmegen: The city that tamed cars so …., also check out the ‘Not Just Bikes” YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/notjustbikes. He provides insights on some the technicalities behind the Dutch transformation as well as the challenges we face in NA.
Both reaffirm that the low lying fruit is getting people out of personal vehicles and converting urban environments to be pedestrian, cycling and public transit friendly. All switching to BEVs is not going to solve the problem, assuming that’s even possible particularly when living with Canadian winters (the > the cold, the < the range).
Thanks for the comments, Jos. I’ve enjoyed many videos from Not Just Bikes. You’ll see that I already pointed readers to his channel (and some others) in the March 13 issue.