18 January 2023
Bill Gates supports CemVision’s green cement
Bill Gates’ climate organisation Breakthrough Energy has decided to loan money to Swedish company CemVision. The loaned money will allow the company to finance their research and development for two years, recruit employees and open an office in Stockholm. CemVision still does not own a factory, but hopes that production opportunities will come within three years. At the beginning of 2023, CemVision will conduct a demo project.
CemVision wants to develop green cement from upcycled industry waste (slag from steel plants), which contains limestone that already has been calcified, meaning less thermal energy is needed and therefore less greenhouse gasses are emitted. Moreover, the company will also reduce emissions by electrifying heating. Marcus Olsson, the co-founder of the company, believes that cement is the only material that can meet future infrastructure demands worldwide and therefore it is vital to make cement production more sustainable.
Yara signs agreement to supply ammonia to JERA
JERA, a Japanese power generation company, aims to replace coal with ammonia at their power plants in order to reduce CO2 emission by the 2040s. In the short term, JERA aims to use a 20% ammonia fuel mix at all its coal-fired power plants by 2035. Norwegian company Yara now agrees to explore the possibility to supply JERA with 500,000 tonnes of clean ammonia per year. Moreover, the agreement entails considering a joint venture with US company CF Industries to make a greenfield clean ammonia facility in Louisiana as a supply solution.
Ground vehicles and machinery to operate on Neste’s MY Renewable Diesel at Schiphol airport
Amsterdam’s airport Schiphol intends to reach a zero-emission ground operation by 2030. While 40% of the airport's motorised equipment is powered with electricity, the remaining equipment pose technical challenges to electrification. Neste’s MY Renewable Diesel or HVO100, which is produced entirely with renewable raw materials, offers an alternative sustainable solution that moves Schiphol closer towards their goal. Using HVO100 will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 75-95 %. The emission reduction varies due to differing calculation methods and raw material mix used in different countries. HVO100 can also be used in ground vehicles which currently do not have a hydrogen or electric powered alternative.
DNV acquires Proxima Solutions to strengthen renewable energy portfolio
Proxima Solutions is going to be merged with DNV's Green Power Monitor (GPM), which is a management and maintenance system that DNV offers to renewable energy plants. The artificial-intelligence based capabilities of Proxima Solutions’ digital platform will allow renewable energy plant owners to assess, optimise and maximise energy production. The platform will also allow earlier detection of errors, which means preventive measures can be started earlier and be less expensive. Proxima Solutions is headquartered in Germany but the system operates from Madrid.
Zephyr’s latest project: 24 wind turbines in Sør Odal
The Norwegian company Zephyr already has several ongoing wind farm projects in Sweden, Iceland and Norway. The latest project Zephyr is taking on includes building 24 wind turbines in Sør Odal with an investment of NOK 2 billion. The new project is still at an early stage, but Zephyr have begun talks with the municipality and landowners.
Metso:Outotec signs letter of intent with Ma’aden
Finnish company Metso:Outotec has signed a letter of intent with Saudi Arabian mining company Ma’aden to reduce emissions of Ma’aden’s phosphate operations, as well as make the production more circular. They aim to do this by finding a way to process the waste by-product phosphogypsum.
Eindride invests in charging infrastructure for heavy duty road freight
Swedish transport company Einride plans to open a charging station for heavy duty road freight in Rosersberg in January 2023. Einride means to open 15 charging stations in Sweden in 2023 and 100 stations globally in 3 years. The stations will be built in collaboration with Polar Structure. The locations of the charging stations are based on current transport data and future demand.
Digital speed limit control being tested by Swedish Transport Administration
According to Johannes Berg, who works with digitalization at the Swedish Transport Administration (Sw. Trafikverket), there are several ongoing projects across Sweden testing digital speed control using geofencing. Geofencing uses GPS technology to know road information, like speed limits, and is present in all new car models. The car uses this information to prevent the driver from going over the speed limit by depressing the gas pedal, if the driver is driving over the speed limit. The control can be deactivated in case of emergency by stepping on the gas pedal hard.
Demand for digital speed control mainly comes from the heavy duty freight market, like forestry transport, because the customers for transport companies want assurance that the goods are being delivered safely. A speed control also results in a lower fuel usage, which is beneficial towards the environment. Berg says it is uncertain whether the speed control is as relevant for private cars, but could be applicable in self-driving cars, which still need to follow the traffic rules.
What we're reading
- Davos forum: EU unveils clean tech plan amid competition from US and China (France24)
- EU makes green pitch to rival US subsidy splurge (Financial Times)
- Britishvolt collapses into administration as rescue talks fail (Financial Times)
About Nordic Green News
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.
Powered by Notified