Ocean-based carbon dioxide removal makes a lot of sense. The oceans are already carbon sinks that absorb about 30% of global carbon emissions. And the concentration of CO2 is higher in water than in air. Caitlin McDermott-Murphy at NREL looks at a new study of the technologies under development, and the opportunities for offshore wind and wave energy to power it. There are nature-based solutions like vast seaweed or algae farms. There are also … [Read more...]
What’s holding up EV adoption? European carmakers are focussing on more profitable SUVs, not affordable cars
European car manufacturers are focussing on more profitable SUV and premium EVs, and this is slowing down the adoption of EVs overall, according to an analysis by T&E. It also means consumers are paying far more than they should be for mass-market compact EVs. To make the point, T&E reveals that the average price of a battery electric car sold in Europe has increased by 39% (+€18,000) since 2015 while in China it has fallen by 53%. If car … [Read more...]
Two years on, how is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine driving energy security and decarbonisation?
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has boosted anxiety and therefore action on energy security and dependence on oil and gas. Sanctioning Russian oil and gas imports is an opportunity to replace fossil fuels with low or no carbon alternatives, an opportunity that is being taken. And renewables like wind and solar are by their nature local and therefore good for energy security (though with notable exceptions). Charles Hendry, Ellen Wald, Olga Khakova, … [Read more...]
Gulf States are investing in Carbon Capture to maintain Hydrocarbon business
The Gulf region wants to maintain their substantial revenues from hydrocarbons in a decarbonising world. One way to do that is to invest in carbon capture, to make cleaner and more marketable fossil fuel products. Megren Almutairi and Karen Young at CGEP look at their current plans and future prospects. Right now, about 10% of CO2 captured globally is in the industrial facilities of the Gulf States. Their national oil companies boast some of the … [Read more...]
Deadly loophole: third countries are refining Russian oil and exporting it to EU and G7 perfectly legally
There is a loophole in the sanctions imposed by EU/G7 countries that prohibit the importation of Russian crude oil and oil products. Third countries not imposing sanctions can import Russian crude, refine it into oil products and legally export them to price cap coalition countries (PCC). An analysis by CREA reveals that €8.5bn of PCC imports of oil products in the 13 months to the end of 2023 were made from Russian crude. Also, in 2023, there … [Read more...]
Research into how electrons and protons couple at an electrode can create more efficient fuel cells, electrolysers
Every efficiency gain discovered in the lab feeds through to the final cost of electricity. Anne Trafton at MIT describes new research looking at how electrons and protons couple at an electrode surface, which drives electric current. It’s a critical step in many energy technologies, including fuel cells, hydrogen electrolysers, batteries, and CO2 conversion into chemical fuels. The first step was to develop a way to design electrode surfaces … [Read more...]
Hydrogen: most nations’ plans to export to Europe don’t match reality. The EU should make it itself
The EU’s RePowerEU plan, quickly made in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, aims to produce 20m tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030, with half coming from imports. Here, T&E summarise their report that concludes this is unrealistic. The report looks at six key countries with plans to export hydrogen to the EU: Norway, Chile, Egypt, Morocco, Namibia and Oman. T&E says these countries combined would only be able to deliver a quarter … [Read more...]
Batteries are still getting exponentially cheaper, more efficient: ready to displace half of global fossil fuel demand by 2045?
A new report by RMI says batteries are on the path to replace 175 EJ of fossil fuel demand in the power sector, 86 EJ of fossil fuels from road transport and can put at risk another 23 EJ from shipping and aviation. That equates to a phaseout of half of global fossil fuel demand in the next two decades. Daan Walter, Sam Butler-Sloss and Kingsmill Bond at RMI summarise the findings in six graphs with explanations. Battery sales are growing … [Read more...]
90% of Euro-area Banks’ corporate lending is vulnerable to EU climate goals, says ECB
A new European Central Bank (ECB) analysis reveals that the corporate loan portfolios of 90% of Euro-area banks are significantly misaligned with EU climate goals. The report examines loans to six sectors chosen because of their exposure to a decarbonising world: power, automotive, oil & gas, steel, coal and cement. Everything from new decarbonisation rules through to changing consumer behaviour is altering the risk profile of loans, which … [Read more...]
Eleclink: what can be learned from this innovative private European interconnector?
Europe has put in place a specific regime to incentivise private investors to build, own and operate new interconnectors. Jean-Baptiste Vaujour at the Emlyon Business School looks at Eleclink, a private interconnector built to connect the UK with France. It uses the existing Channel Tunnel infrastructure. But the most disruptive side of Eleclink is not its smart use of the tunnel but its innovate business and regulatory model. The 1,000 MW DC … [Read more...]
Electrostatic Generator fabrics can capture energy from cars depressing roads, swaying buildings + more
Literally anything that moves is using energy that can be harnessed. Not just waves rolling toward shore but cars depressing roads, buildings swaying in the wind, and much more. One way to harness it is to create a material that can be woven into the fabric of roads and buildings so that it captures the energy and converts it into electricity. Caitlin McDermott-Murphy at NREL describes research into Hexagonal Distributed Embedded Energy … [Read more...]
Iron Ore miners try different multi-billion strategies to lower emissions for Steel producers
2024 should see a further acceleration in steel’s transition away from coal, with increasing pressure on companies in the value chain to act on their Scope 3 (indirect) emissions, explains Simon Nicholas at IEEFA. Old coal-fired blast furnaces that use low-grade iron ore are already being replaced with the direct reduced iron (DRI) process in Europe and China. That means the “big four” iron ore miners have to ramp up production of high-grade iron … [Read more...]
The link between global GDP growth and CO2 emissions is weakening rapidly. Will emissions peak well before 2030?
Economic growth has been closely tied to rising greenhouse gas emissions since the industrial age. But data now clearly shows that that GDP growth and CO2 emissions are diverging. Siddharth Singh at the IEA presents the numbers. In advanced economies that divergence now seems locked in, with 2007 marking the moment of peak emissions (and not simply because of offshoring manufacturing). Even in developing economies GDP growth is far outpacing … [Read more...]
Will EU decarbonisation policies shift the Fertiliser industry into making Ammonia for energy (but outside the EU)?
The EU’s fertiliser industry must face up to the region’s ambitious decarbonisation rules, making its carbon-intensive processes much more costly. But a door of opportunity is also being opened: the industry already produces ammonia which is increasingly being seen as an alternative clean fuel, explains Hyung-Ja de Zeeuw at Rabobank. The problem for EU nations is that it will be cheaper for the industry to relocate and make that ammonia somewhere … [Read more...]
Italy: Capacity Auctions for 71 GWh of additional Grid Storage
Italy needs 71 GWh of new utility-scale electricity storage capacity by 2030 to meet EU targets to cut emissions by at least 55% by 2030, according to Terna which manages Italy’s transmission grid. ***STOP PRESS*** This Tuesday at 11:00 CET, Energy Post is exclusive media partner to a dedicated webinar (organised by ATA Insights/RENMAD) on Capacity Market Auctions REGISTER FREE HERE. In this article, Sara Stefanini summarises the Terna study, … [Read more...]
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