Energy Shift: The best green innovations; 2021 in review

Plus: Multiple ’10 GW green hydrogen’ projects; carbon capture gains traction; NYC bans gas in buildings; $5B EV factory in Georgia

Hi Everyone,

This is my final update for 2021. I can’t say for certain when I’ll get back to sending these as I’ll be taking a break over the holidays.

Merry Christmas and warm wishes for a prosperous 2022!

Peter

Observations & Comments

Check out the three feature stories, including the nine minute video to learn about the non-combustion uses that leverage the unique attributes of Alberta’s oil sands. Maybe even peak at the Circular Economy story as well as it has a nice 2021 recap.

Skim the headlines to understand the sweep of signposts – most that accelerate the transition, but not all.

Feature Stories

Hydrogen for heavy industry and autonomous transport ‘pods’: The best green innovations of 2021 | edie

As we approach the end of 2021, edie has rounded up some of the best breakthrough technologies and carbon-cutting solutions which could accelerate climate action, in an article powered by our innovation partner Spingwise.

The Year In Review: Ten Charts | Nathanial Bullard Bloomberg

At the end of every year, I like to look back on my work and see which themes and findings are as striking now as they were months ago. I’ve chosen ten ideas – and the ten charts to go with them – that I believe capture where we are right now in our efforts to deeply decarbonize the global economy. The ten range from capital formation to corporate boardroom composition to back-testing electricity demand outlooks from seven decades ago. This week we’ve got the first five; tune in next Thursday, December 23, for the 2nd half of the list. Subscribe to Bloomberg Green Daily here.

Energi Media’s Markam Hislop interviews Laura Kilcrease on oil sands’ incredible value opportunity

Finance & Sentiment

Citi CEO Says Bank Will Ask Clients to Measure Emissions, Climate Impact May Determine Which Clients to Serve | ESG Today
Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser said on Tuesday that the bank will be expecting its clients to measure and communicate their emissions, and that climate impact may determine which clients it chooses to serve in the future.

World’s largest brewer targets net-zero value chain by 2040 | edie
Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), the world’s largest brewer, has outlined plans to deliver five net-zero breweries in Europe by 2028 and to reach net-zero for its global value chain by 2040.

Amundi Launches 2025 ESG Strategy, Ties Exec Pay to ESG Goals | ESG Today
[Excerpt] Starting in 2022, Amundi will exclude companies from its portfolio that generate over 30% of their activity from unconventional oil and gas production, the firm has also committed to reduce its own emissions by 30% per employee by 2025. Additionally, Amundi said that the achievement of its ESG objectives will constitute a 20% weight in the KPIs calculation of performance shares for its 200 senior executives, and the company will set ESG targets for all portfolio managers and sales representatives. [Comment] Amundi is a European asset manager with $400B in assets under management.

Technology

Hydrogen

ThyssenKrupp to install world’s first gigawatt-scale green hydrogen electrolyser at Saudi mega-city | RECHARGE
Thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers has won a contract by industrial gases firm Air Products to supply and install a more than 2GW electrolysis plant for one of the world’s largest green hydrogen projects at Saudi Arabia’s future city NEOM.

Solar to bloom in Australian desert thanks to new green hydrogen project | pv magazine
A new green hydrogen project that uses solar-powered “water-from-air” technology has secured “Major Project Status” from the government in Australia’s Northern Territory. The project is set to begin commercial production by 2023. The Northern Territory government has granted “Major Project Status” to “water-from-air” technology company Aqua Aerem to develop its AUD 15 billion ($10.7 billion), 10 GW Desert Bloom Hydrogen project in Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, with ambitious plans for commercial production by 2023.

Total Eren to tap ‘world’s best onshore wind’ for 10GW Chile green hydrogen plant | Upstream Online
Total Eren – the renewable developer part-owned by supermajor TotalEnergies – unveiled plans for a 10-gigawatt wind project to power green hydrogen and ammonia production in Chile.

Australian firm signs off on designs for $10.7bn green hydrogen project in Pilbara | RenewEconomy
Designs for a $10.7 billion green hydrogen and ammonia facility in Western Australia’s Pilbara region have been finalised, with proponents Sun Brilliance now looking to secure investors and federal government backing to build the plant.

Norway grants $111 million to clean hydrogen, ammonia projects | Reuters
Norway on Friday granted 1 billion Norwegian crowns ($111 million) in support for three projects to produce emissions-free hydrogen and ammonia, aiding a transition to a low-carbon economy, the government said. The funding will be allocated to projects led by Yara, Tizir Titanium & Iron (TTI) and Horisont Energi, government agency Enova said in a statement.

BNSF, Caterpillar, Chevron to Pilot Hydrogen-Powered Locomotive | Railway Age
BNSF, Caterpillar, Inc. and Chevron U.S.A., Inc. have teamed on a locomotive pilot to “confirm the feasibility and performance of hydrogen fuel for use as a viable alternative to traditional fuels for line-haul rail.”

Cadent and Equinor plot hydrogen town in Lincolnshire | edie
Gas grid operator Cadent and energy giant Equinor are exploring the feasibility of creating hydrogen towns within the Humber region, to assist with the UK’s Ten Point Plan for a green industrial revolution. Cadent and Equinor have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop the technical assessments and concepts for hydrogen production, storage, demand and distribution for heat.

Carbon Capture

Norwegian energy trio joins in on Polaris CCS project | Offshore Energy
Horisont Energi, Equinor, and Vår Energi are collaborating on developing the Polaris carbon storage. The project will have a total carbon storage capacity in excess of 100 million tonnes. This is the equivalent of twice Norway’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. This offshore CCS is a key part of the planned Barents Blue project in Finnmark; the one that will be Europe’s first world-scale carbon-neutral ammonia production plant.

Santos awards Baker Hughes CCS deal in Australia | Energy Voice
US-based Baker Hughes will supply Santos’ Moomba carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Australia with turbo machinery equipment. The project will serve a gas processing plant and permanently store 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually in depleted natural gas reservoirs in the onshore Cooper Basin in South Australia. Baker Hughes will provide gas turbine, compressor, and heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) technologies to compress the carbon dioxide (CO2).

Accelerating the world’s best engineered carbon removal solutions | Third Derivative
Climate tech accelerator Third Derivative and the Grantham Environmental Trust are teaming up to create a new innovation ecosystem. Called First Gigaton Captured, the track will open applications next year and focus on approaches with gigaton potential.

Navigator makes pipeline pitch to Wapello County residents | Ottumwa Courier.
Officials from the Iowa Utilities Board and Navigator CO2 were on hand for a public information meeting at Bridge View Center Friday to point out a carbon-capture pipeline that will carry liquified carbon dioxide from ethanol and fertilize plants to storage wells in an underground rock formation in central Illinois.

Western Otter Tail County eyed for piece of massive pipeline | Perham Focus
A pipeline that developers say would be “the largest carbon capture and storage project in the world” is being proposed for ethanol plants in five states, including Minnesota, and a leg would run through part of Otter Tail County.

Other CCS News – courtesy of the Global CCS Institute

Buildings

[UK] Building regulation changes to see 30% reduction in carbon emissions of new build homes | Current±
Heat pumps and solar thermal are among technologies suggested by the government to help meet new carbon reduction goals. Under the new regulations, announced by the government yesterday (15 December), CO2 emissions from new build homes from 15 June 2022 must be around 30% lower than current standards and emissions from other new buildings, including offices and shops, must be reduced by 27%.

What New York City’s gas ban in buildings means for stoves and furnaces | Vox
On Wednesday, New York became the largest city in the country to agree to phase out fossil fuels in all new building construction after the city council passed a bill that bans those buildings from hooking up to gas. The “breakthrough moment,” according to council member Alicka Ampry-Samuel, spells the beginning of the end to gas-powered appliances used by default in construction.

Energy Storage

Utrecht wants to be the first city to use its electric car fleet as a giant battery | Fast Company
On a sprawling sunroof over a parking lot next to an office building in the Dutch city of Utrecht, there are now more than 2,000 solar panels. Underneath, there are 250 “bidirectional” chargers for electric cars, so that in the future, cars parked in the lot can help store that solar power for the grid.

The city aims to be the first in the world to be fully bidirectional, using electric car batteries to help solve one of the challenges of renewable energy: Solar and wind power aren’t always available, and building large batteries for storage is still expensive. As more people shift to EVs, the cars can double as grid infrastructure.

Europe’s biggest battery to be built in UK industrial hub | RenewEconomy
Sembcorp Energy UK announced this week that it intends to build Europe’s largest battery energy storage system, a 360MW facility, designed to help the United Kingdom achieve its 2050 net zero target.

World’s largest solar-powered battery – 900MWh – unveiled in Florida | RenewEconomy
The Florida Power and Light Company has this week completed work on the world’s largest solar-powered battery, the 409MW/900MWh Manatee Solar Energy Center which will be charged by the nearby FPL solar plant.

Solar and Wind

Octopus Energy expanding Kraken platform thanks to £227m investment from CPP Investments | Current±
Octopus Energy is looking to grow its Kraken platform, thanks to a £227 million (US$300 million) investment from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments).

Shell buys US solar and storage company Savion | pv magazine
The transaction, for which Shell did not reveal the purchase price, will see the energy company pick up a U.S. project development pipeline which reportedly runs to more than 18 GW of solar generation and energy storage capacity across 26 states.

Solar Shares Tumble After California Proposes Incentive Cuts | BNN Bloomberg
U.S. solar stocks led by residential installer Sunrun Inc. tumbled after California proposed new rules for rooftop power systems that threaten to slow installations. California regulators proposed sharply lowering subsidies and adding new fees for home solar users on Monday.

Swiss Solar to build 1.5 GW PV module fab in Turkey | pv magazine
Swiss Solar AG has announced that its new solar PV module production facility is located in Turkey. When complete, it says there will be three production lines with an annual capacity of 1.5 GW. By 2027, it aims to have “at least” 5 GW of manufacturing capacity available.

Transportation

Chevron pledges to cut maritime emissions in half by 2050 | Offshore Technology
Chevron has this week announced its latest emissions reduction commitment, joining the Sea Cargo Charter to reduce emissions from its California-based maritime arm. The group’s transport fleet comprises more than 30 tankers including 10 LNG carriers.

Cities’ accelerating shift to zero-emission transportation keeps Canada’s climate goals in sight | Electric Autonomy
From Halifax to Coquitlam, cities and mayors on the front lines in the fight against climate change are putting electric vehicles and zero-emission transit at the heart of their campaigns.

Toyota to Plow $35 Billion Into Accelerating Electric Car Shift | BNN Bloomberg
The world’s biggest carmaker is planning to invest 4 trillion yen ($35.2 billion) to supercharge its EV push, with a target to sell 3.5 million units annually by the end of the decade, Chief Executive Officer Akio Toyoda said at a briefing Tuesday. Toyota will roll out 30 electric models by 2030, a step up from a prior plan to introduce 15 EVs globally by 2025.

Rivian announces a new $5 billion electric vehicle factory in Georgia | Electrek
Rivian announced a new $5 billion electric vehicle factory just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. The electric automaker plans to start production at the new plant in 2024. Rivian has just started production of its first electric vehicles – the R1T electric pickup truck and R1S electric SUV, at its factory in Illinois – and it still has a long way to ramp up production.

Volvo, Daimler, and Traton invest €500 million to build out high-power electric truck network in Europe | Electrek
Volvo Group, Daimler Truck, and Volkswagen’s AG heavy-truck business the Traton Group announced the official signing of a joint venture to install and operate a high-performance public charging network for electric, heavy-duty, long-haul trucks and buses across Europe. The manufacturers say they’ll invest €500 million (around $593 million USD) with a plan to install and operate at least 1,700 brand-agnostic charging points on and close to highways and strategic destinations within five years.

FedEx takes delivery of first electric delivery vans from GM’s BrightDrop | Electrek
FedEx confirmed today that it has taken delivery of the first electric delivery vans from GM’s BrightDrop division. The first 5 EVs of the 500 that the logistic giant ordered.

Ford caps F-150 Lightning orders at 200,000 | Reuters
Ford Motor has stopped taking reservations for the upcoming F-150 Lightning electric pickup, Chief Executive Jim Farley told CNBC host Jim Cramer on Thursday. Farley said F-150 Lightning orders were capped at 200,000: “We had to stop taking reservations because we had so many.”

Circular Economy

The 3 most impactful circularity trends in 2021 | Suzie Okie at GreenBiz
Over the last year, I’ve had the distinct pleasure of rounding up the week’s most influential and eye-catching circular headlines. From single-use plastics bans to an upcycled food certification, it’s been a momentous year for the circular economy, supply chain shenanigans and safety concerns notwithstanding.

Policy

Canada looks to retool EV rebate program to include more expensive SUVs, pickups | National Post
The federal government wants to overhaul the rebate program for electric vehicles so that it more closely aligns with the kinds of cars Canadians want to buy, says Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.

California proposes reducing incentives for rooftop solar | ABC News
California regulators proposed major changes to the state’s booming residential solar industry Monday, including reducing the discounts homeowners with rooftop solar and storage systems get on their electric bills when they sell extra energy back to the power companies. The CPUC’s proposal would reduce the incentives for going solar and roughly double, to 10 years, how long it takes Californians to make back what they paid to install the systems. SEE ALSO: Solar Shares Tumble After California Proposes Incentive Cuts | BNN Bloomberg

Nebraska aims to decarbonize its power sector by 2050 | The Hill
The state’s largest electric utility voted in favor of adopting a nonbinding plan of achieving a net-zero emissions electricity sector by 2050. Nebraska has become the first Republican state in the nation to set a target to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in the coming decades.

UK cuts grants for electric vehicles for second time in a year | The Guardian
The UK government has cut grants for electric vehicles for the second time in a year, provoking the anger of the car industry and prompting a call for car tax to be redesigned. The grant available for electric cars will fall from £2,500 to £1,500 – half the sum available to buyers at the start of the year.