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Energy Post

The best thinkers on energy

Hydrogen is heading up the European policy agenda

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Hydrogen’s momentum is building, as European ministers consider approving a new ‘Hydrogen Initiative’ this week that aims to “maximise the great potential of sustainable hydrogen technology.” With funding from the EU’s Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, a consortium of industrial heavyweights in the H2FUTURE project is already ramping up production of hydrogen from renewable sources. But, as the International Renewable Energy Agency notes … [Read more...]

Smart cities: not enough projects make the grade

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Despite the hype about smart cities, and the availability of EU funding, there are very few projects out there that qualify for funding, according to Lada Strelnikova, lead fund manager at the European Energy Efficiency Fund (EEEF). An exception: Belgian bank Belfius has, with the support of the European Investment Bank (EIB), provided €1 billion to smart city projects involving more than 100 municipalities in Belgium. According to Joost Declerck … [Read more...]

Interview Ditlev Engel, CEO DNV GL Energy: “We have to rethink the mechanisms of the electricity market”

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DNV GL’s new 2018 Energy Transition Outlook projects a massive investment shift from fossil fuels to renewables and grids – and this is based mainly on cost considerations. Yet,  notes Ditlev Engel, CEO of DNV GL Energy, in an interview with Energy Post, this won’t be enough to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. He says policymakers will have to take additional actions. “Doing just a little more won’t be enough.” (See here for main … [Read more...]

The celebrity couple: intermittent renewables and electric cars

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Even though storing intermittent wind and solar power in electric car batteries sounds attractive, this will be impractical and expensive in practice, writes Schalk Cloete. Electric cars have much clearer synergies with baseload power plants, while excess wind and solar power is better suited to H2/synfuel production.  … [Read more...]

Un-SAFE: Trump clean cars rollback could cost $450 billion, increase emissions 11%

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Trump’s fuel economy standard rollback will be a disaster for the United States, write Jeffrey Rissman and Robbie Orvis of California-based think tank Energy Innovation. It will harm American consumers and the transport sector and sharply drive up emissions. The only winners will be oil companies. … [Read more...]

Interview Sytse Zuidema, CEO EV charging leader NewMotion: “Charging at home and office will become the norm”

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Over the next five years the European mobility market – as well as the electricity market – will undergo a transformation, says Sytse Zuidema, CEO of NewMotion, Europe’s largest EV charging company, acquired last year by Shell. The Amsterdam-based company is already developing products that anticipate on the coming digitalization of the energy value chain, such as a highly advanced vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charger and apps that tell people at the … [Read more...]

The Electric Power Struggle

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The world is undergoing a dramatic electricity transition, and the global struggle for power over this transformed electric system is set to profoundly shape our future, argues Walt Patterson, Associate Fellow in the Energy, Environment and Resource Department of Chatham House in London. According to Patterson, politics, not economics, will determine the outcome of this struggle. Article courtesy Hoffmann Centre for Sustainable Resource Economy. … [Read more...]

How rapidly can we transition to 100% renewable electricity?

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Science tells us that, to avoid devastating climate change, we must rapidly cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero. How fast is possible, asks Mark Diesendorf  of the Cooperative Research Centre for Low Carbon at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia. He believes the sceptics may be wrong. … [Read more...]

The ice beneath the EU-China climate bonhomie

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When it comes to clean technology, German chancellor Angela Merkel views China no longer as a developing country but a competitor, writes Karl Mathiesen of Climate Home News. From a European perspective, China is joining the club of industrialised countries, competing for their markets, and should be treated as such. Courtesy Climate Home News. … [Read more...]

Exclusive interview Mark Gainsborough, head Shell New Energies: “We are further along than people realize”

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With a string of new investments and acquisitions in the past year (you can find a unique overview further on in this article!), Shell has quietly stepped up the pace of its transition from an oil and gas company into an energy company. “We are further along than people realize”, says Mark Gainsborough, Executive Vice-President of Shell New Energies, in an exclusive interview with Energy Post. According to Gainsborough, there is a “shift in … [Read more...]

Europe aims to have 300 smart cities by end of next year

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With the help of the Smart Cities and Communities European Innovation Partnership (EIP SCC), 78 cities in Europe have undertaken smart city development. The EIP-SCC aims at a critical mass of 300 smart cities by the end of 2019, according to Andreea Strachinescu of the European Commission. The most difficult part, she says, is not the renovation of individual buildings, but the systems integration. The next step: positive energy districts. … [Read more...]

Electric buses can save local governments billions – China’s showing how it’s done

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New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco - America's largest cities are switching their entire bus fleets from diesel to electric. They will save money in the long run, but how to overcome upfront financing hurdles? According to Silvio Marcacci of think tank Energy Innovation, Shenzhen in China, which has the world's first 100% all-electric bus fleet, provides useful lessons.   … [Read more...]

Why we will electrify trucking faster than you think (and it has nothing to do with Tesla)

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Many people still doubt that trucks will become electrified. But according to financial energy specialist Gerard Reid, the adoption of electric vehicle technology in the freight sector will take place faster than expected. He gives four reasons why he is positive about electric trucks. Courtesy Carbon and Energy blog. … [Read more...]

Big Oil pivots to electricity, Total leads the way

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Most big oil companies are considering how they can change their focus from oil to gas and renewables. Leading the way is French oil major Total, writes Fereidoon Sioshansi, publisher of newsletter EEnergy Informer.  … [Read more...]