11 November 2021

Volvo Cars commits to zero emission declaration at COP26: Reveals internal carbon pricing mechanism

Volvo Cars’ chief executive, Håkan Samuelsson, joined industry and government leaders in signing a zero-emission road transport declaration at the COP26 summit to commit to phasing out fossil-fuel vehicles in leading markets by 2035, and globally by 2040. Additionally, to further accelerate its carbon footprint reduction, Volvo Cars announced the launch of an internal carbon pricing mechanism – a fixed cost of SEK 1,000 ($116.30) for every tonne of carbon emission from across its business chain. Hence, every new car will undergo a "sustainability sense-check", with an imposed carbon price on the vehicle’s life cycle. Both announcements signal Volvo’s commitment to zero-mission cars and are in line with its ambitions to be a completely climate-neutral company by 2040 (Press release, Reuters). 

Scania signs MoU at COP26: Commits to zero-emission vehicles by 2040

Scania also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during COP26’s Transport Day, committing to 100% emission-free trucks and buses by 2040. The initiative is driven by Calstart and Netherland’s government and aims to support the zero-emissions by 2050 target. By signing the MoU, leading countries have a joint coordination of how to completely replace the sale of new trucks and buses with emission-free vehicles by 2040 (DI). 

Ørsted and BASF sign 25-year CPPA for offshore wind power in Germany

Ørsted and BASF have signed a 25-year Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA), at a fixed price, where BASF is to purchase renewable energy from 186 MW of Ørsted’s planned wind park Borkum Riffgrund 3, in the German part of the North Sea. Borkum Riffgrund 3 has a total installed capacity of 900 MW and is expected to begin operation in 2025. With the signed CPPA, the partners will explore opportunities to reduce CO2e in the chemical industry by supplying BASF’s increasing energy demand from its low-emission technologies with renewable energy (Mynewsdesk).

Quantafuel reports losses during 3Q21

Quantafuel has presented its quarterly report for 3Q21 – reporting an EBITDA of NOK -41.7 million, compared to NOK -28.8 million in 3Q20. After several time-delays and cost-overruns of Quantafuel’s pilot facility in Skive, Denmark, it is finally expected to start production with full capacity by the end of 2021, writes Quantafuel in its report. The announced report also marks the first one for the Equinor-veteran and newly appointed CEO of Quantafuel, Lars Rosenløv (Dagens Næringsliv).

Vestas enters long-term strategic partnership with Maersk

Vestas has entered a long-term strategic partnership for all container transport with Maersk. The partnership includes door-to-door transport from Vestas’ suppliers to its factories and warehouses, all airfreight shipments, as well as containerised- and transport equipment used in wind turbines. However, non-containerised road-borne shipments are not included in the partnership and are still managed by DSV. The partnership is effective from 1 Jan 2022 (Transportnet).   

Shell and Norsk Hydro collaborate on green hydrogen

Shell signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Norsk Hydro for exploring the potential of joint hydrogen projects regarding the production of green hydrogen from renewable electricity. The aim is to contribute to the reduction of emissions from both of the companies’ own energy consumption and supplying transportation sectors and heavy industries with green hydrogen (Dagensmiljöteknik).

SENS concretises objective to expand presence in South Africa

SENS (Sustainable Energy Solutions Sweden Holding AB) announced its strategic decision to expand its presence in South Africa, with the objective of building a project portfolio comprising 8-12 large-scale projects, within a 12-month period. SENS has already completed pre-feasibility studies that confirm that South Africa is well-positioned to accommodate SENS’s energy storage systems due to the availability of deep mines and good conditions for solar- and wind power (Press release).  

Metacon receives purchase order for ethanol-to-hydrogen reformer system: Off-grid EV charging

Metacon has, through its subsidiary company Helbio, received its first purchase order from WattAnyWhere to develop an ethanol-to-hydrogen reformer system for use in off-grid EV charging systems. The order aims to bring an alternative way of fast EV-charging without needing to rebuild the existing fuelling infrastructure by converting ethanol into hydrogen for further processing in fuel cells and to ultimately create electricity for charging. The order value is EUR 58,000 (Press release).

Expansion of wind power risk violating Sámi rights

Wind power as a renewable energy source has seen a record interest at the COP26 summit in Glasgow as it is claimed to be imperative for mitigating the effects of climate change. However, the wind power plants risk violating the rights of the Sámi people, a people indigenous to Sweden, Norway, and Finland. With the expansion in wind power infrastructure, the Sámi people, who mainly live off of reindeer herding, have reported that their reindeer are disturbed by the noise of wind turbines. In a landmark ruling a month ago, the Norwegian Supreme Court stopped the construction of two wind power plants as they could violate Sámi rights (Sveriges Radio).

What we’re reading

• Coal on the chopping block as US and China agree to cooperate on climate action (RenewEconomy)
• U.S.-China Joint Glasgow Declaration on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s (US State Dept)
• EV startup Rivian stuns Nasdaq on debut to become sixth most valuable carmaker (TheDriven)
• Singapore to crack down on greenwashing via stress tests (Seneca ESG)
• PBOC launches lending tool to support emissions reductions (Seneca ESG)

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