Dear reader,
The European Commission has published the Draghi report in which it warns of the risks to European competitiveness, including the risk of falling behind in the transport sector. It calls for an annual investment of 40 billion euros by 2031 to support the transition to alternative fuels. The report ‘The future of European competitiveness’ is attached.
Volvo Cars has abandoned its goal of selling only electric vehicles by 2030 as demand for battery-powered vehicles falls. Volvo blamed changing market conditions for the change to a target it had announced just three years earlier, BBC News reported. The industry is facing a slowdown and uncertainty caused by trade tariffs on electric vehicles made in China. Ford and General Motors have also scaled back their EV plans. The carmaker said factors such as the removal of consumer incentives had changed the business climate for electric cars. ‘Some of the subsidies that were put in place by governments to encourage the purchase of electric cars have expired, and also there’s just a continued lack of demand because consumers are worried about charging,’ Anna McDonald, an independent equity analyst McDonald noted that electric cars are still much more expensive than conventional cars. An earlier target set by Volvo was for at least half of its vehicles to be fully electric by next year, with the remainder being hybrid models. Registrations of electric cars in the European Union fell by almost 11 per cent in July, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, BBC News reports.
If Germany had stuck with nuclear energy instead of relying on renewable energies, it would have saved 600 billion euros and produced more CO₂-free electricity, an analysis shows. Even a completely CO₂-free electricity supply would have been possible. Following the expiry of a 10 billion euro subsidy for the purchase of e-cars, more than 100,000 e-cars have already been stockpiled in Germany. Last week, Volvo announced that it will produce more plug-in hybrids in the face of declining sales of electric vehicles.
Enclosed you will find a report provided to me by UFOP from the EU Commission’s JRC Institute on the current global status of greenhouse gas emissions. The countries are presented systematically by greenhouse gas emissions and by sector.
At the recent ‘Cultivando Energía’ conference in Costa Rica, the U.S. Grains Council stepped up its efforts to promote ethanol blending throughout Central America. The event, which brought together more than 80 industry leaders and policy makers from countries such as Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama, emphasised the critical role of ethanol in reducing transport emissions and promoting agro-industrial growth in the region. The USGC, whose mission is to develop export markets for U.S. agricultural products such as ethanol, is at the forefront of this effort by providing technical expertise and fostering collaboration between governments and the private sector. Ethanol helps countries meet their carbon reduction goals while increasing energy security. https://www.feedandgrain.com/grain-supply-chain/grain-trade-export/news/15683392/usgc-leads-push-for-ethanol-blending-in-central-america
Infinium has received a $1.1 billion investment from Brookfield Asset Management to increase its production of low-carbon eFuels. The company intends to use this to meet the growing global demand for sustainable aviation fuel. The financing includes USD 200 million for Infinium’s Roadrunner project in West Texas and up to USD 850 million for future eFuels projects worldwide. https://www.esgtoday.com/brookfield-to-invest-up-to-1-1-billion-in-synthetic-sustainable-aviation-fuel-startup-infinium/
Blue Biofuels announced that it has been awarded a $1.15 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 2 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The company stated that this funding will support the final stages of scaling the company’s patented Cellulose-to-Sugar process, a technology that efficiently converts plant cellulose into sugar that is fermented into ethanol to be used as a sustainable biofuel. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/09/04/2940358/0/en/Blue-Biofuels-Receives-1-15-Million-Department-of-Energy-Phase-2-Grant.html
Canada’s Methanex announced the acquisition of OCI Global’s international methanol assets for $2.05 billion. The acquisition includes two large methanol plants in Beaumont, Texas, with a combined annual production capacity of 1.76 million tonnes of methanol. One plant also produces 340,000 tonnes of ammonia per year, marking Methanex’s entry into ammonia production. The acquisition also includes OCI’s low-carbon methanol business, OCI HyFuels, and a currently idled plant in Delfzijl, the Netherlands, which has the potential to produce one million tonnes of methanol annually when market conditions improve. https://www.channelchek.com/news-channel/methanex-acquires-oci-globals-methanol-business-for-2-05-billion-in-strategic-growth-move
SFC Energy AG celebrates the next milestone in its international expansion with the official opening of its largest production facility to date in Cluj, Romania. Total area of over 4,600 m2. Highly professional production environment for up to 30,000 fuel cells and electronic assemblies per year. Sustainable energy supply for the entire site. https://www.sfc.com/de/investoren/sfc-energy-feiert-offiziellen-eroffnung-bis-dato-grosten-produktionsstatte-rumanischen-cluj-nachsten-meilenstein-ihrer-internationalen-expansion-newsid2843081/
Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has announced plans to process coconut waste – waste from coconut processing – into Bioavtur, a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), to support green energy initiatives. The move is part of a broader strategy to promote the use of renewable energy and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and is in line with President Joko Widodo’s call for the downstreaming of coconut products. https://voi.id/en/economy/415160
Indonesia’s Pertamina New & Renewable Energy has announced a partnership to build a bioethanol plant in East Java that will produce 30,000,000 litres annually from molasses, a by-product of sugar processing. The move is part of Pertamina’s broader strategy to promote renewable energy and help Indonesia achieve its net-zero emissions target by 2060. The bioethanol initiative will also support regional development by creating jobs and improving agricultural productivity through the inclusion of crops such as corn and cassava in East Nusa Tenggara. https://www.pertamina.com/en/news-room/news-release/pertamina-nre-ready-to-build-bioethanol-plant-optimizing-domestic-resources
Two US Congressmen and 39 other colleagues have called on the US Treasury Department to prioritise domestic fuel producers when implementing the Clean Fuel Production Credit. The bipartisan letter calls for the credit to be limited to biofuels produced from US feedstocks before the 1 January 2025 deadline. Lawmakers argue that limiting the credit to domestic producers will strengthen U.S. energy independence and protect American farmers and processors from being undercut by foreign feedstocks. The 45Z credit is intended to encourage the production of renewable fuels while reducing dependence on fossil fuels. https://kaptur.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/kaptur-mann-colleagues-demand-us-treasury-prioritize-domestic-feedstock
Rubicon’s Infrastructure and Energy Transition Debt Fund committed £15 million to finance an anaerobic digestion plant in Wales, marking the fund’s first transaction. The project, developed by abrdn Global Sustainable Infrastructure Partners and Circular Economy Developments, will convert 120,000 tonnes of food waste annually into 180 MWh of biomethane, with a portion used to generate 5 MW of green electricity. https://www.realfin.com/intelligence/the-rubicon-infrastructure-and-energy-transition-debt-fund-closes-maiden-transaction-by-providing-financing-to-a-greenfield-anaerobic-digestion-plant-in-the-uk
Sekisui Chemical has signed a licence agreement with LanzaTech Global for the use of a jointly developed platform to convert synthesis gas from municipal and industrial waste into ethanol on a commercial scale. https://www.wastetodaymagazine.com/news/lanzatech-sekisui-japan-contract-waste-to-fuels-materials-landfill-diversion/
Indian company Thermax announced a partnership with UK-based Ceres Power to manufacture and commercialise solid oxide electrolysis technology in India. This collaboration aims to accelerate the production of green hydrogen through highly efficient electrolysis systems on a large scale. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/renewables/thermax-inks-pact-with-ceres-power-to-provide-green-hydrogen-solutions/articleshow/113295614.cms?from=mdr
The US Department of Energy, in partnership with the Department of Agriculture and the Federal Aviation Administration, has announced $12 million in new funding to support biorefinery technologies and published a progress report on the sustainable production of aviation fuel. The report, which was presented at the North American SAF Conference on 11 September 2024. https://www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/articles/just-announced-federal-interagency-sustainable-aviation-fuel-progress#
Spanish energy company Cepsa announced that it has started trading biomethane certified by ISCC to reduce emissions across its operations. The first purchase of 25 GWh of renewable gas from the Valdemingómez waste-to-energy plant in Madrid will be used to decarbonise Cespa’s chemicals business. Supplies from this first purchase will continue until January 2025. https://www.naturalgasworld.com/spains-cepsa-begins-trading-as-certified-biomethane-trader-118120
Gevo will acquire Red Trail Energy’s ethanol and carbon capture facilities in North Dakota for $210 million. The acquisition strengthens Gevo’s commitment to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and low-carbon products and adds a major one million tonne carbon capture facility. The acquisition of the 65-million-gallon ethanol plant is a strategic move to increase Gevo’s SAF production and achieve synergies with the Net Zero 1 project in South Dakota. Gevo plans to integrate its cutting-edge technology to increase efficiency, reduce carbon intensity and create a path to profitability by 2025. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/09/12/2945038/0/en/Gevo-to-Acquire-Red-Trail-Energy-Assets-in-North-Dakota-Including-Operating-Low-Carbon-Ethanol-Production-and-Carbon-Sequestration-Facilities-Expanding-Platform-for-Sustainable-Avi.html
United Arab Emirates announced that Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) will acquire a 35% stake in Exxon Mobil’s planned low-carbon hydrogen facility in Baytown, Texas. Subject to government policy support and the necessary regulatory approvals, the plant is expected to be the largest of its kind in the world when operational, producing up to 1 billion cubic feet of low-carbon hydrogen per day. A final investment decision is expected in 2025, with commissioning scheduled for 2029, the company added. https://www.offshore-technology.com/news/adnoc-exxonmobils-hydrogen-facility-stake/
The hydrogen refuelling company HRS has announced the installation of seven new hydrogen refuelling stations to expand its network and meet the growing demand for hydrogen as a fuel in the transport sector. These stations include the company’s first large-scale HRS40 refuelling station at the Champagnier site near Grenoble, which can dispense one tonne of hydrogen per day. This station is part of HRS’s ongoing efforts to increase the availability of hydrogen for low-carbon mobility. https://www.actusnews.com/en/hydrogen-refueling-solutions/pr/2024/03/28/seven-and-hrs-announce-partnership-to-install-up-to-5-hrs40-stations-of-1-tonne-day