23 February 2023
Today's Top Nordic Green News:
- Swedish airport investigator calls for more intellectual aviation sustainability debate
- New Swedish project investigates green hydrogen potential in shipping industry
- Ørsted raises EUR 2 billion green bond
Swedish airport investigator calls for more intellectual aviation sustainability debate
Peter Norman, an airport investigator, who was formerly Minister of Financial Markets and is currently Chairman of the Stockholm Stock Exchange called for a “more intellectually honest debate” on the climate impact of flying as a mode of communication. Norman suggested that electric aviation may be the most climate-friendly mode of communication, even including trains. “If the energy used is produced in an environmentally friendly way and the customer is willing to pay for it, then that journey is more climate-smart than the alternatives,” said Norman.
But he acknowledged that there are no hydrogen or electric flights yet, and it doesn't solve problems with long-haul flights. Long-haul flights instead require biofuels, due to the amount of energy that must be loaded onboard to cover the distances. But there is a lack of availability of biofuels. In order to remedy this, Norman suggested that a fuel commission be appointed to stimulate increased production in Sweden and Finland in particular. Investments need to start, says Norman. Proposals in this particular area are expected to come from Lena Ek's bioeconomy investigation.
Altinget
New Swedish project investigates green hydrogen potential in shipping industry
A new Swedish research project aims to investigate green hydrogen’s potential as an enabler for sustainable transition and decarbonisation in the maritime industry. The project is led by IVL Swedish Environmental Institute, which participates in the EU project Blue Supply Chains, and has the support of a consortium of partners, including Umeå Energy, the port of Umeå (Umeå Hamn AB) and the Umeå municipality.
The project will explore the feasibility of producing green hydrogen through the use of renewable electricity and electrolysis, which would then be used to power ships - which could potentially lead to a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emission in the maritime industry, and help achieve Sweden’s ambition to become the world’s first fossil-free welfare state.
The study will also investigate the economic and logistical feasibility of using green hydrogen in the industry and the potential for scaling up its production. Achieving fossil independence in the maritime industry will be challenging, but Mikael Isaksson, the CEO of Umeå Hamn AB, believes this project will allow for the development of infrastructure and business opportunities that will give the port of Umeå a competitive advantage.
Sasol and Topsoe sign MoU to establish joint venture for sustainable aviation fuel production
Sasol, a global chemicals and energy company, and Topsoe, a Danish decarbonisation company have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a 50/50 Joint Venture in 2023 to produce sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). The Joint Venture will develop, build, own, and operate ventures producing SAF based on Sasol's Fischer Tropsch technology and Topsoe's relevant SAF technologies.
Ørsted raises EUR 2 billion green bond
The Danish energy company Ørsted has raised two billion EUR through the issuance of green bonds to finance the company's global expansion of renewable energy and support its goal of reaching an installed capacity of around 50 GW by 2030.
Denmark's Climate Minister plans to offer more than 9 GW of offshore wind this year
Lars Aagaard, Denmark's Climate, Energy, and Supply Minister, aims to offer more than the agreed 9 GW of offshore wind in a massive expansion of green electricity production towards 2030. The projects must be put out to tender before the end of the year, and negotiations will begin in a few weeks. This move comes after a climate agreement in June 2022 that was supported by a majority in the Folketing.
Swedish Government sends 2 offshore wind farms forward to county administrations
The Swedish Government commissions the county administrations in Västra Götaland and Kalmar to prepare for the Poseidon and Södra Victoria offshore wind farms. Together the wind farms should be able to produce approx. 12-14 TWh of electricity per year, corresponding to 8-11% of Sweden's current electricity use.
The Government now has a total of eight offshore wind farms under preparation. According to Climate and Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari, “Sweden needs all the fossil-free electricity we can get.”
Conference: The path to a bio-based European economy
The Living in the Bioeconomy conference will be held under the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU on 27–28 February. Around twenty speakers will gather to discuss the measures needed for a sustainable bio-based society with resource-efficient value chains.
What we’re reading
- Eskom chief ousted after TV broadside against S Africa politics (Financial Times, YouTube)
- Eskom crisis: What does South Africa’s state of disaster mean? (BBC)
- South Africa expands public borrowing to relieve Eskom debt (Financial Times)
- Iberdrola to fight Spanish windfall tax in courts (Financial Times)
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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.
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