Plus: GM announces 10 EVs at once; Big investment in carbon capture
Hi Everyone,
What a difference a couple weeks makes since my last update. While I’ve been reading how COVID-19 is expected to change the energy picture, it feels early to be attempting to say anything that conveys confidence. With all the reduced travel, demand for oil is surely less. Add to the picture the market share fight between Russia and the Saudi Arabia, pumping more oil at a time when the world needs less. Many are wondering if the lower oil price will slow the transition to cleaner energy. Yet $1.3 Trillion has been spent on renewables since the oil price last dropped in 2014, suggesting the competition is not what it used to be.
Check the main profiled stories and scan the usual listing. There is bound to be something in here for everyone.
I am finding the 2 week cadence to updates is really working better for me, so watch for the next update on March 29.
I hope you all come through COVID-19 unscathed. “Take care”… and you all know what I mean!
Peter
GM reveals 10 new production EVs all at once, with range up to 400 miles | Electrek
Comment: A remarkable example of the pressure felt by car makers to offer electric vehicles instead.
Oil and gas giants sign up to Teesside net-zero carbon capture project | edie
Excerpt: BP, Eni, Equinor, Shell and Total have all signed up to spearhead the development of the Net-Zero Teesside project that aims to develop the UK’s first decarbonised industrial cluster through the use of carbon capture, utilisation and storage technology (CCUS).
Comment: The UK budget released this week included US$1 billion for CCS with the Teesside project among those likely to benefit.
Blackstone Buys NRStor C&I for Industrial Battery Development in Ontario and Beyond | Greentech Media
Excerpt: Private equity fund Blackstone Energy Partners has bought its way into the commercial and industrial energy storage market by acquiring Toronto-based NRStor C&I.
The deal, announced Wednesday, gives Blackstone a portfolio of 200 megawatt-hours of customer-sited storage in operation, under construction or under contract. It marks a particular vote of confidence in the Ontario market, which has become one of the most dynamic regions in North America for large behind-the-meter storage.
Tesla sales surprise in China amid crisis, owns about a third of the EV market | Electrek
Comment: I thought this was a very smart innovation in the face of COVID-19. No wonder they’ve been able to keep us sales.
Excerpt: Tesla has also started offering “contactless test drives.” It consists of giving customers access to test drive vehicles by scheduling an appointment online or by phone and having the vehicle unlocked through Tesla’s mobile app. That way, they never have to be in direct contact with Tesla’s salespeople. Tesla even provides in-car video instructions on the center screen.
Carbon fibre from bitumen offers emissions benefits, multibillion-dollar value-add opportunity | JWN Energy
Comment: A very cool idea for leveraging Alberta’s resources in a way the benefits the economy and our climate.
Excerpt: The oilsands could be sitting on a multibillion-dollar non-combustion supply opportunity — one that could lower emissions while creating a whole new sector supplying the automotive and construction industries with a highly coveted material.
The opportunity would create value from one of the properties of bitumen that is most troublesome today — the heaviest end of the barrel. If the asphaltene that makes bitumen heavy could be converted to carbon fibre — and Alberta Innovates thinks it can, at a cost that would drastically undercut today’s prices — it could grow the market ten-fold while boosting the value of each barrel several times over.
Such is the opportunity targeted by the provincial government agency’s Carbon Fibre Grand Challenge, a $15-million contest launched in January to commercialize techniques to convert asphaltenes — the organic molecules found in bitumen commonly used in asphalt — into carbon fibre.
Other headlines of interest…
Energy Storage
- Total to Build $17 Million Battery to Help Balance French Grid | Bloomberg
- Compressed Air Can Compete and Thrive in Lithium Age: Q&A | BloombergNEF
- Approved: 5MWh vanadium batteries for Energy Superhub Oxford showcase in England | Energy Storage News
- Tesla deploys new Megapack in Canada, could save small utility $200,000 per year | Electrek
- New US housing complex to put Sonnen batteries inside all 600 apartments | One Step Off The Grid
Hydrogen
- L.A. Aims to be First to Power U.S. City With Renewable Hydrogen | Financial Post
- Billionaire LNG Chief Eyes Hydrogen for Net-Zero Emissions Goal | BNN Bloomberg
- Germany Moves Into Hydrogen With Lessons From OPEC and Russia | BNN Bloomberg
- Australian town to host hydrogen energy storage project | RenewEconomy
- Hydrogen still too expensive, says electrolyser developer Enapter | Energy Storage News
- Hydrogen and bioenergy alongside renewables offer cheaper route to net zero than nuclear, finds NIC | Current News
Solar (& Battery)
- [Australia] Rooftop solar unstoppable as market breaks “all previous records” in February | RenewEconomy
- Florida Approves Largest Community Solar Program In The US | CleanTechnica
- Spain goes from zero to hero on solar self-consumption | Greentech Media
- Making solar panels is awful for the environment. This new design may be the cure. | Inverse
- Floating Panels Buoy Predictions of Global Solar Growth Spurt | Scientific American
Wind (& Battery)
- UK government underscores net-zero commitment by unlocking onshore wind | RenewEconomy
Transport
- Waymo raises $2.25B to bolster AV tech | Smart Cities Dive
- Dutch EV expert debunks Murdoch-pedalled myth about electric car emissions | The Driven
- GM says its new low-cobalt EV battery cell has 60% more capacity | Electrek
- Renault brings its ultra-cheap K-ZE electric crossover to Europe under Dacia brand – Electrek
- Tesla registrations plunge in Musk’s top European markets | BNN Bloomberg
- VW says it will drop 30,000 ID.3 electric cars at once, will be cheaper than gas cars | Electrek
Transition
- Italian oil major Eni promises 55GW of renewables by 2050 | RenewEconomy
- Europe’s energy giants turn greener, but paths and targets diverge | Reuters
- Virginia Mandates 100% Clean Power by 2045 | Greentech Media
- Ameren Missouri’s $7.6B ‘Smart Energy Plan’ Includes Wind Power, Solar and Batteries | Greentech Media
- Honda hails ‘key milestone’ as it launches commercial energy management service for EVs | Current News
Carbon Capture
- Oil and gas giants sign up to Teesside net-zero carbon capture project | edie
Buildings
- NYC cracks down on building efficiency with new energy code | Smart Cities Dive
Circular Economy
- Iceland slashes plastics packaging by almost one-third in two years | edie