The EU's green hydrogen revolution

Dear Sir or Madam,

The European Union’s efforts to establish hydrogen as a clean fuel have been criticised by the EU’s audit body in a recent report, which said the EU will not meet its “unrealistic” targets. The European Court of Auditors said the European Commission “failed to carry out robust analyses” before setting production and import targets totalling 20 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030. “The EU targets turned out to be too ambitious: based on the available information from Member States and industry, it is unlikely that the EU will be able to meet these targets by 2030,” the report states.

Notwithstanding the Brussels analyses, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection will participate in the financing of the “Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub” of Hamburger Energiewerke and its partner Luxcara, and Gasnetz Hamburg will receive funding for the construction of the first 40 kilometres of the Hamburg hydrogen industrial network HH-WIN.

The parent company of fast fashion giant Zara, has invested in Galy, which aims to replace conventional cotton cultivation with cotton grown in the laboratory using plant cells. Galy’s technology produces high-quality cotton without the need for soil, water or pesticides. By precisely controlling the growing conditions, the process is also able to optimise fibre quality. The investment supports the goal of halving emissions across its entire supply chain by 2030.

The new UK government has approved the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill proposed in the King’s Speech on Wednesday, which aims to boost domestic SAF production by providing a “revenue assurance mechanism”. Although much of the proposed 10% SAF blending mandate is expected to be met by imports, the country also wants to encourage domestic production. No timeline has been given for the implementation of the proposed mandate.

The Spanish Raven SR has received a grant of €1.44 million from the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO). The funds will be administered by the Institute for Diversification and Energy Conservation (IDAE) under the Economic Recovery and Transformation Strategic Projects Programme. The funding will support the development of a plant to produce hydrogen from organic waste in Zaragoza, Spain, using Raven’s combustion-free vapour/CO2 reforming technology. The project is the first in Europe to be carried out on an industrial scale. Raven Iberia was previously awarded a €1.7 million contract by the European Commission in 2022 as part of the European Hy2Market consortium. https://www.h2-view.com/story/raven-srs-spanish-waste-to-hydrogen-plant-backed-by-e1-4m-govt-grant/2112422.article/

The Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority has announced that applications can be submitted for the Biofuel Infrastructure Incentive Programme. This programme supports the expansion of biofuel distribution and use in the state of Missouri. Funding is available to fuel retailers, fuel distributors, service station operators or fleet operators that store or will soon store or dispense ethanol blends of E15 or higher or biodiesel blends of B6 or higher. https://agriculture.mo.gov/abd/financial/biofuelgrant.php

According to Boehringer Ingelheim, the new power plant will optimise its energy supply and protect the environment at the same time: around 50,000 tonnes of CO2 will be saved each year, according to the company. The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, Robert Habeck, said: “The decarbonisation of all areas of our economy is necessary in order to achieve global climate targets on the one hand and reduce energy imports on the other.” The company pointed out that the Ingelheim site is now able to cover 95% of its energy requirements from renewable sources. https://www.pharmaceuticalprocessingworld.com/boehringer-ingelheim-opens-new-power-plant/

BP is investing $48.54 million to acquire a 15 percent stake in China’s Lianyungang Jiaao New Energy, a producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with production capacity expected to be 100,000 tons per year, according to a report. The report noted that the International Air Transport Association predicted that global consumption of SAF is expected to reach 2.1 million barrels per day by 2050, accounting for nearly 24 percent of global aviation fuel demand. https://biofuels-news.com/news/bp-to-invest-in-china-based-saf-producer/

Researchers at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Science in Thailand are accelerating their technological development to increase the production of aviation biofuel from yeast. This is an extension of successful research that has found a yeast strain with high potential for producing fat for use in aviation fuel. https://www.chula.ac.th/en/highlight/154602/

South Korea’s refining industry is gaining momentum with the enforcement of the “Petroleum and Petroleum Alternative Fuel Business Act” from 7 August. According to a report, this law aims to promote the spread of environmentally friendly alternative fuels in South Korea. Currently, “co-processing” technology, in which domestic refineries are strong, and “hydrogenation of fats and oils” technology, which will soon be imported from abroad, are not able to meet the 2050 SAF target, so new research and development technologies are needed. https://bioenergytimes.com/south-korea-enforces-new-legislation-to-boost-sustainable-aviation-fuel-industry/

The $338 million biofuel plant planned by Australia’s Oceania Biofuels has come to a sudden halt. Last Friday, the project was withdrawn by the Australian Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Authority and the project’s website was taken offline, while the company’s managing director now claims to be the managing director of a waste and recycling company in the Northern Territory. https://reneweconomy.com.au/oceania-biofuels-pulls-500m-gladstone-project-as-another-bubble-bursts/

Cargill has passed the 50 per cent completion milestone for its new canola facility at the Global Transportation Hub in Sasketechwan, Canada. Cargill broke ground on the facility in July 2022 and expects it to open in 2025. The new facility will have a capacity of 1 million tonnes of canola per year and will produce canola oil for the food and biofuel markets as well as canola meal for animal feed. https://www.cargill.com/2024/cargill-surpasses-50-percent-completion-milestone-for-regina

On 7 July, a decree and an order establishing the procedures for the surrender of biogas production certificates were published in the French Official Gazette. This important measure of the Climate and Resilience Act aims to accelerate the development of biomethane production in France and contribute to achieving the energy transition objectives. Natural gas suppliers must now ensure CPBs in proportion to their natural gas supplies to residential and commercial customers. This obligation applies from 1 January 2026 and is to be gradually increased to 100% green gas in the networks by 2050. https://www.eex.com/de/services/registry-services/french-biogas-guarantees-of-origin-registry

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science’s (IISc) Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry (IPC) have developed an enzymatic platform that can efficiently convert abundant and inexpensive fatty acids into valuable hydrocarbons known as 1-alkenes, which are promising biofuels. https://bioenergytimes.com/researchers-at-ipc-and-iisc-develop-engineered-biocatalyst-for-making-drop-in-biofuels/

UK-based Essar Energy Transition announced the launch of EET Hydrogen Power, Europe’s first hydrogen-ready CHP plant, to be built at its Stanlow refinery and due for completion by 2027. The investment supports EET Fuels’ ambition to become the world’s lowest carbon process refinery and EET Hydrogen’s ambition to become the UK’s leading producer of low carbon hydrogen. https://www.essar.com/inthenews/essarenergy-transition-launches-eet-hydrogen-power/

The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, Spinneys and Circa Biotech have extended a strategic partnership to reduce food waste and promote sustainable agriculture by converting surplus food into agricultural feed using black soldier fly larvae. During a six-month trial in selected shops in Abu Dhabi, Spinneys managed to reduce food waste going to landfill by 54 per cent. The organic waste is converted into nutritious, protein-rich animal feed, organic fertiliser and sustainable biofuel. https://www.feedstrategy.com/sustainability-in-feed-production/circularity-upcycling/news/15679740/food-waste-reduction-project-uses-bsf-to-make-feed

Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), a member of the SATS Group, is starting a three-month trial using HVO biofuel in its airside transport fleet at London’s Heathrow Airport in support of SATS’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) group priorities and Heathrow’s goal for all airport vehicles to be zero-emission or using biofuels by 2030. https://www.wfs.aero/sustainability-wfs-signs-up-airside-transport-fleet-for-hvo-trial-at-heathrow-airport/

The Danish Energy Agency has pre-approved a certification scheme that will allow PtX producers in Denmark to certify green fuels. PtX, also known as green hydrogen or electrofuels, utilises electricity to produce hydrogen. EU legislation stipulates that these fuels must be certified in order to be labelled “green”. The Danish Energy Agency stated that its certification scheme should resolve this uncertainty and allow production to begin this year, according to the report. https://energywatch.com/article17263666.ece

Researchers at the Institute for Solar Fuels at Helmholtz Centre Berlin have now investigated the influence of electrolytes on the efficiency of the glycerol oxidation reaction. The results can help to develop more efficient and environmentally friendly production processes. The role of photocatalysts in PEC electrolysers has already been investigated in many studies, while the role of the electrolyte has not yet been systematically analysed. The team has now demonstrated the influence of the electrolyte composition on the efficiency and stability of glycerol oxidation. https://www.helmholtz-berlin.de/pubbin/news_seite?nid=27226&sprache=en&seitenid=74699

Sustainable Fuel Plant Group has received USD 131.2 million for the construction of two 20 MW biomethane plants in the country, increasing the company’s total production capacity to 800 MWh per year. ABN Amro Bank and ING, together with Zencap Asset Management, provided the green loan to SWEN Capital Partners for the project development. SFP is owned by SWEN. The company currently operates SFP Zeeland, but hopes to build up to 10 biomethane plants in several European countries by 2030. https://renewablesnow.com/news/sfp-secures-eur-120m-to-build-dutch-biomethane-plants-863741/

BIOTECH ENERGY provides a technology that addresses the global challenges of environmental protection, climate protection and food security in one. The biotech company extracts renewable energy from biotechnological processes, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, it promotes sustainable food production and processing in order to meet the global demand for food.

BIOTECH ENERGY liefert eine Technologie, die die globalen Herausforderungen Umweltschutz, Klimaschonung und Ernährungssicherheit in hilft zulösen. Das Biotech-Unternehmen extrahiert erneuerbare Energie aus biotechnologischen Prozessen und reduziert damit Treibhausgasemissionen. Gleichzeitig fördert sie nachhaltige Lebensmittelproduktion und -verarbeitung, um die weltweite Nachfrage nach Nahrungsmitteln zu decken.

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