Morrow Batteries and industrial growth company Siva are establishing a joint real estate company to build the Batterifabrikk 1 building at Eyde Energipark in Arendal. Siva is a key player in the joint venture, contributing 67% of the NOK 480 million real estate investment. Morrow is playing a central role in the establishment of the industrial ecosystem along the "Battery Coast." The project has created significant synergies in a number of areas, from industrialisation and employment to accelerating the green transformation of the region and the country. The site has been completed and planning permission has been granted. The plant is the first of four construction phases and will be able to produce more than 1 GWh of batteries per year. The entire project is expected to be completed in 2028. It is estimated that the project will create a total of around 2,500 new jobs over the next six years.
As part of its investment in sustainable and renewable energy, OKQ8 now launches SunDay, focusing on solar cells, electric vehicle charging and energy storage. Solar energy only accounted for 1% of Sweden's electricity production in 2021, but is growing at a very fast rate, which is necessary for Sweden to meet its climate targets. SunDay is aimed at homeowners, industries and housing associations who recognise that solar PV is one of the keys to a sustainable energy supply today and in the future, as well as the need to charge in more locations due to the rapid growth of electric vehicles. The project helps to reduce the climate footprint and has the opportunity to set and achieve ambitious climate targets.
Solarspring, a subsidiary of solar and water purification company Clean Industry Solutions, has been awarded a grant from the European Union for the Superclean project. Solarspring will receive a grant of EUR 364 thousand to test modified membrane materials and apply them to full-size membrane distillation modules for pilot trials with different wastewaters. The project is expected to start in early 2023 and will take three years to complete. The Superclean project has a total of EUR 2.97 million in funding to implement and expand proposals for surface treatment methods to create superhydrophobic membranes.
Rec Silicon, which produces silicon products for products such as solar cells and batteries, will report its second quarter results on 17 August. Prior to the data release, Pareto Securities analysts Gard Aarvik and Kari Eide Hardtvedt increased their target price on Rec shares from NOK 33 to NOK 36 in a new report entitled "Political push supports business case". At today's exchange rate of NOK 24, this represents an increase of around 50%. The Pareto analysts expect turnover for the second quarter to be NOK 35 million and total operating result (EBITDA) to be NOK 2 million. The analysts believe that the main concern is not the performance figures but the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that was recently approved by the US Congress. The act includes a USD 369 billion investment in various initiatives targeting renewable energy, including solar energy. This will benefit the entire PV value chain in the US and make domestic investment and growth more likely. So far this year, the company's shares have risen by more than 30%. Analysts repeated their recommendation to buy shares in the company, but Robert Næss, Investment Director at Nordea, said that this is a company he is not very bullish on. “They have lost money every year since 2015 and are expected to make losses this year and next,” noted Næss.
The fuel reserve facility at Karlshamnsverket in southern Sweden has been running from morning to night for a week. Due to the lack of electricity production in southern Sweden, they need to burn approximately 70,000 litres of oil per hour. The oil comes from Preem's refinery in Lysekil. The burning of oil has been a source of political conflict, which the Moderate party says is a direct result of the Government's failed energy policy. Electricity prices in southern Sweden are expected to reach another record high today. The latest record was reached last week at SEK 4.47 per kWh. Today it is expected to reach SEK 5.70 per kWh. In sharp contrast to the prices in the north, tomorrow the price of electricity in northern Norrland will be SEK 0.50 per kWh. Sweden is thus facing a serious energy problem, especially during the coming winter. Swedish authorities are negotiating a policy solution with other European leaders.
Yesterday, the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with the Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson (S). When it came to the energy crisis and the question of whether Sweden should save energy and share it with Germany, Scholz replied that cooperation is necessary. Andersson also said that saving energy is essential, both for Sweden and for lower prices in Europe as a whole. Both Heads of State emphasised that the security situation in Europe underlines the importance of a rapid green transition to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
Europaportalen, Aftonbladet, DN
Earlier today, it was announced that Nel ASA’s share capital increase pertaining to the issuance of the 4,452,000 new shares has officially been registered with the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises. In total, Nel ASA’s newly updated share capital lands at 312,658,220.80, divided into 1,563,291,104 shares, with a par value of NOK 0.20 per share. At the same time, the company has sold all of its 1,106,520 shares in Nikola, corresponding to approximately USD 7.5 million.
The Nordic countries are some of the most dynamic and successful economies in the world. They are also leaders in sustainability, from renewable energy, biofuels, carbon capture and storage and the hydrogen economy, circular economy business models and battery development, the Nordics are pioneers in policy design, technology development and consumer uptake. Mundus Nordic Green News is covering this transition for the international community. Every day we curate the stories of most relevance to international businesspeople and policy experts from the flow of news. Mundus Nordic Green Indices summarise the meta-data from our daily coverage to enable easy tracking of trends. We supplement these with our own opinion pieces and commentary.