The seven âhardest to abateâ industries together account for 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. They are aviation, steel, shipping, cement, aluminium, trucking and chemicals. John Matson at RMI explains how a growing number of sector-leading corporates in aviation, steel and shipping are now openly backing net-zero pathways. He quotes CEOs and top executives (ArcelorMittal, United Airlines, Trafigura) on what they say they are determined to … [Read more...]
Green hydrogen-based fuels pivotal in decarbonising Shipping by 2050
The international shipping sectorâs emission levels are comparable to Germanyâs. Like aviation and heavy transport, reaching net-zero will need renewable fuels â direct electrification wonât be sufficient. Existing fossil fuel engines allow for biofuel blends of up to 20% without any modifications, and 100% methanol engines are a proven technology. Making sufficient quantities of clean fuels - without consuming food crops â is the challenge. … [Read more...]
Giving car manufacturers e-fuel credits will slow the rise of EVs
Transport & Environment (T&E) explains why e-fuel credits should not be included in the EUâs CO2 standards for new cars. If they are, it would give carmakers the option to claim an ICE vehicle as low- or zero-emission. But carmakers have no control over what fuel their customers put in their cars, making the regulation impossible to monitor. That opens the door to double-counting emission reductions with other existing regulations (Fuel … [Read more...]
Renewable Hydrogen: what policy instruments are needed to reach the new targets?
A comprehensive mix of policy instruments is needed to ensure that the EU meets its ambitious hydrogen targets. What should they look like? Pia Kerres, Matthias Schimmel and Corinna Klessmann at Guidehouse quote their study, done in collaboration with Agora Energiewende, for the answers. Industry and long-haul transport should be the main customers for hydrogen. The big challenge is to cut the cost of hydrogen production; itâs too expensive and … [Read more...]
Engineering yeast to create Biofuels from non-food crops (straw, grass, cellulosic waste)
Using ethanol can reduce the global consumption of fossil fuels. But, commercially, ethanol in the U.S. is produced from corn and not enough is grown to make a significant impact on U.S. fuel needs. Anne Trafton at MIT describes research that has engineered yeast to break down straw and woody plant material to create ethanol as efficiently as itâs done from corn. High yields of ethanol were extracted from five different types of cellulosic … [Read more...]
Where to start building Hydrogen pipelines? Near industrial hubs for steel, ammonia, and plastics
Converting gas pipelines to carry hydrogen is going to be expensive. We donât even know how much hydrogen weâll really need in 2050, given electrification â the cheaper and preferred option to replace fossil fuels â will always be the first option. But we do know that certain industries like steel, ammonia, and plastics will always need hydrogen as a feedstock. Writing for WEF, Kevin Tu, Matthias Deutsch and Gniewomir Flis at Agora Energiewende … [Read more...]
Aviation and Shipping emissions: will Biden take on the challenge?
William Todts at Transport & Environment is very worried about the Biden administrationâs approach to aviation and shipping emissions. The signals are that the U.S. wants to work through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). But they have neither the ability nor the means to spur technological breakthroughs. That matters, because itâs only the use of alternative fuels that can … [Read more...]
Bioenergy is the undervalued pillar of the clean energy transition
Bioenergy is already the worldâs largest source of renewable energy, responsible for 70% of the supply (and around 10% of total primary energy). Burning organic matter goes back to the invention of fire and is still commonplace around the globe. Yet it gets hardly any of the attention and policy support thatâs given to other clean energy technologies like solar, wind and now hydrogen. Bioenergy can and should play an even greater role, explain … [Read more...]
Biofuels vs Hydrogen: which can fuel aviation, shipping, trucks?
The positive signals coming from EV sales and charge points contrast with the lack of progress in finding alternative fuels for aviation, shipping and trucks. Cornelius Claeys runs through the prospects for biofuels and hydrogen to power long-haul transport. Biofuels are already used as a substitute for fossil fuels, and EV uptake will usefully free them for fuelling heavy transport. But as decarbonisation ambitions rise the pressure on scarce … [Read more...]
IEA: Without accelerating clean energy innovations we cannot hit net zero by 2050
The impressive rise of renewables and energy efficiency, alone, will not be sufficient to meet the worldâs 2050 emissions goal, says the IEA in its flagship Clean Energy Innovation report. New technologies, taken all the way through to widespread adoption by the market, must become an essential part of the net zero pathway. The stark warning is that existing policies to decarbonise shipping, trucks, aviation and heavy industry are not nearly … [Read more...]
An EU Hydrogen strategy: from industry feedstock to energy vector
The bravest recovery strategies will invest robustly in new yet-to-take-off clean energy technologies. If you are going to have to spend hundreds of billions to revive your economy isnât it better to replace the old with the new rather than prop up what youâll have to abandon soon anyway? In anticipation of that happening, new technologies are lining up. Here, CĂ©dric Philibert at the IFRI Centre for Energy & Climate summarises their detailed … [Read more...]
IRENAâs Global Renewables Outlook and how Europe can lead the way
If the coronavirus slump has knocked everything off track IRENAâs first ever Global Renewables Outlook is a timely reminder of what that track should look like. It can help policymakers design stimuli packages that will get us back onto it, and even accelerate the transition. IRENAâs Gayathri Prakash, Nicholas Wagner and Ricardo Gorini run through the comprehensive reportâs main recommendations. Annual investment, shares and GW targets to 2030 … [Read more...]
Defining green investments, ending greenwash: the EUâs new Taxonomy Regulation
When the EU Commissionâs new Taxonomy Regulation is approved, expected in March, it will provide the legal framework to define what is a truly âgreenâ investment. As Luca Bonaccorsi at Transport & Environment explains, right now asset managers and national authorities are free to define what is green, allowing some to greenwash investments in things like oil and pesticides. The Taxonomy's purpose is to reduce ambiguity and therefore increase … [Read more...]
Donât wait for international agreements. Sector-wide action can accelerate the Transition
Decemberâs COP25 in Madrid showed how difficult it is proving to get agreement between nations on how to ramp up the deep decarbonisation the world needs. David Victor at the University of California, San Diego, writing for Rocky Mountain Institute, accepts that international consensus is never going to be easy. Instead, he recommends that individual sectors take control of their destiny. His co-authored report âAccelerating The Low Carbon … [Read more...]
Biofuels: slump in investment and innovations must be reversed
IRENA is predicting the future of liquid biofuels by monitoring the number and technology-type of patents. Itâs not looking good. The first thing to note is that, after a promising rise, the total number of patents has slid from over 6,000 in 2011 to around 2,500 in 2017. Thatâs reflected in the dramatic fall in global biofuel investments, from $27bn in 2007 to $2bn in 2017. The likely main cause is a lack of stable regulation, say Alessandra … [Read more...]
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