28 November 2022
Over 600 Swedish children and young people sue Swedish Government for lack of climate policy
“Sweden's climate policy is illegal” – this is the opinion of the organisation Aurora, which filed a lawsuit against the Swedish Government on 25 November. The lawsuit, which takes the form of a class action, involves a total of 636 children and young people, the youngest of whom is seven years old, and Greta Thunberg is one of the initiators. They are asking the court to declare the Swedish state's climate policy inadequate. It is therefore not a question of the court drafting a climate policy, but of assessing whether the policy being pursued is contrary to the law. Legally speaking, the case relied heavily on the European Convention on Human Rights, which has been used by other countries in several similar proceedings. Aurora says that Sweden had failed in several ways:
- The state failed to investigate how large Sweden's share of the global climate effort should be.
- The lack of a viable and comprehensive emissions reduction programme.
- The country has also failed in its implementation.
Norway and Switzerland to strengthen cooperation on carbon capture, storage and carbon dioxide removal
Ministers from Norway and Switzerland recently held a virtual meeting to announce increased cooperation on CCS (carbon capture and storage) and CDR (carbon dioxide removal) to reduce and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, respectively. One objective of the enhanced cooperation is to promote mutually beneficial cooperation in the development and deployment of CCS and CDR, and to further explore other relevant green transition topics bilaterally. As part of the dialogue, the two governments are discussing how to enable the development of a cross-border market for CCS and CDR.
Swedish energy politics hotly contested
The future direction of Sweden’s energy policy was a major issue at the recent election. The incoming government has a pro-nuclear policy, and is equivocal about the role of wind power, trying to avoid getting into fights with municipalities and also avoid major capital expenditures in Sweden’s energy grid.
Last week, the Government decided to add a new directive to an investigation "To strengthen incentives for the expansion of wind power," begun by the previous government. The new directive means that the investigator can only propose municipal incentives funded by a developer. But perhaps unsurprisingly, Svensk Vindenergi (an industry lobby group) believes that municipalities need a technology-neutral incentive to participate in electrification, and that the investigation should take into account the protection of ownership and the competitive nature of electricity production. Svensk Vindenergi argues that the climate and energy transition of Swedish industry will be driven by the production of low-cost electricity. Therefore, all measures that increase costs should be avoided. If developers are forced to pay compensation to municipalities, new electricity production will become more expensive and the necessary conversions will be delayed.
Meanwhile, major newspapers and debaters have taken a position against the government. In a further debate article today, CEOs of energy companies argued that the Government’s policies under its agreement with its support parties were inadequate and needed major revisions to make energy policy more effective.
This puts Swedish industry - which is hugely dependent on a successful transition - in a difficult position. Not only does it want effective policy, it needs a stable policy that will not change with the next government. Today, the CEO of LKAB, Sweden’s state owned iron ore miner said that in addition to wind power reform, he wanted to see cross-block and technology-neutral energy agreements.
Meanwhile, other journalists favourable to the Government try to defend its policy, arguing that wind power also has obvious drawbacks. It has the potential to create an unhealthy dependence on China, create an unstable power system, and disrupt local people and wildlife. These aspects also need to be properly examined.
Svensk Vindenergi, SvD, PS, Expressen
EUR 89 million grants for a just climate transition in Denmark
Denmark will receive EUR 89 million to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. The grants are part of the Just Transition Fund (JTF) programme adopted by the European Commission, to help small and medium businesses in the green transition while reskilling workers of the polluting industries. The main beneficiaries will be the regions of North Jutland, home to the cement industry, and South Jutland, facing the consequences of phasing out fossil fuel production in the North Sea.
Eurazeo announces closure of its Transformational Infrastructure Fund to support the transition to a low carbon economy
French investment company Eurazeo has raised EUR 210 million in the first close of its transition infrastructure fund, which will be used to support projects in energy transition, digital transition, clean transport, and circular economy. The fund’s focus is Europe, and it has already invested in three projects: Ikaros Solar, A Belgian rooftop solar provider; Resource, a joint venture with Quantafuel for a plastic waste sorting plant in Denmark; and Electra, a French company specialising in fast charging of electric vehicles. The European Investment Fund made a cornerstone investment of EUR 75 million, Eurazeo added EUR 100 millionn, and the remaining EUR 35 million came from several institutional investors.
Azelio receives conditional order in Australia
Azelio has signed a conditional order in Australia to provide Energy-as-a-Service based on five Tes.Pod units and solar energy. Under the order, Azelio will install solar panels and its long-term energy storage system for low-cost clean energy through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed for this purpose. MPG Built, a subsidiary of Molnar Property Group, a private property development and construction company, will act as an electricity trader to sell electricity to the grid. The agreement, which will be in place for more than 20 years, is expected to generate positive returns for SPV and Azelio. Revenues for the first year are expected to be in the range of €300,000-400,000. The agreement is estimated to require an investment of €3-4 million, provided that Azelio arranges financing for SPV. The solar cell part of the system is expected to be installed and operational in 2023. The energy storage system is expected to be delivered and the entire energy system operational in 2024.
Bioextrax AB signs agreement to expand its facility
During the spring and summer of 2022, Bioextrax evaluated various opportunities to gain access to expanded capacity and production, including through acquisitions. This work concluded that the best solution for the company would be to acquire a facility that would not only be able to demonstrate the company's technology to accelerate its licence sales, but also produce small quantities of PHA (microbiologically synthesized polyesters) of a few tonnes/year for marketing and trials. Today, the company announced that it has signed an agreement with an equipment supplier and expects the facility to be delivered by the end of the first quarter of 2023. During the first quarter, the company will also move to a new, cheaper and larger facility to secure the conditions for the installation of the scale-up facility.
World's first cellulose-based screw cap plant opens
Every day 6.5 billion plastic corks are consumed and Blue Ocean Closures wants to reduce this number by providing the world with a renewable alternative based on cellulose fibers. Blue Ocean Closures, a member of the Paper Province business cluster, recently inaugurated its first production unit in Säffle in northern Sweden. The company has developed a screw cap solution that can make a big difference worldwide as they are based on cellulose fibers and are biodegradable and recyclable. These products target a huge market, as operators around the world are looking for renewable packaging alternatives. Globally, 6.5 billion plastic corks and caps are consumed every day. This equates to 2,500 billion per year.
Metacon signs MOU for demonstration of green hydrogen from biogas
Metacon has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Abwasserverband Kempten, a company based in Kempten, Germany, to collaborate on local off-grid green hydrogen production from biogas using wastewater as a source of methane. The plant will construct a hydrogen centre to which Metacon will supply a medium-sized HHG hydrogen generator, which, upon approval, will be commissioned in the summer of 2023 to produce non-fossil hydrogen from biogas. The generator will be commissioned in summer 2023 to produce non-fossil hydrogen from biogas. The aim of the partnership is to establish a demonstration plant and a "focus project" in the field of local, grid-independent green hydrogen production. In addition to hydrogen production, the fuel cell test laboratory of the Kempten University of Applied Sciences will also explore various hydrogen applications at the new hydrogen centre. The project office is currently under construction.
TECO 2030 ASA receives NOK 100 million investment offer from SunHydrogen
U.S.-based SunHydrogen is currently developing a technology to make renewable hydrogen from sunlight and any water source. The technology is based on a nanoparticle-based approach in which billions of microscopic nanoparticles break down water into oxygen and green hydrogen at the molecular level. Because SunHydrogen's technology directly harnesses the electrical charge generated by sunlight to produce hydrogen, the company's nanoparticle technology does not rely on utility power or expensive power electronics. In addition, SunHydrogen's scalable technology is planned to provide energy stability in areas with insufficient grid capacity. Through its partnership with SunHydrogen, from which TECO 2030 ASA has received a NOK 100 million investment, it will seek to strengthen its international visibility, particularly in the United States, and promote its zero-emission fuel cell program globally. Upon completion of the investment, SunHydrogen will be invited to hold a directorship on TECO 2030's Board of Directors. As part of the investment, the parties agreed to further discuss their mutual intentions, look for opportunities for potential corporate mergers and explore opportunities for investors to list on U.S. stock exchanges.
Chinese shipbuilding firm starts construction of liquefied carbon dioxide carriers for Northern Sweden
A Chinese shipbuilding firm has started building two 7,500-cubic meter liquefied CO2 carriers for Northern Lights, a Norwegian carbon capture and storage project. Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Ltd, has independently designed and developed the vessels for liquefied CO2 shipping. Each ship is about 130 metres long and 21.2 metres wide. The first ship is scheduled to be delivered in the first quarter of 2024. The ships – designed to run on dual-fuel consisting of LNG and light diesel oil – are commissioned to be used for the European CO2 capture and storage programme. They will collect CO2 produced by industries in Europe and transport it to the CO2-receiving terminal on the west coast of Norway for processing, before injecting it into the seabed for permanent storage at 2,600 metres deep.
Korkia is expanding to Greece
Korkia plans to build several solar parks with a total capacity of more than 1 GW in mainland Greece and Crete. The new projects are large in scale compared to the current solar parks in the region. Korkia's partners are GH Energy in Thessaly and AA Sunshine in Crete, a great location in terms of solar radiation. The goal is that through a submarine cable, Crete will become a solar power hub for the export of climate-friendly electricity to mainland Greece. The first cable is already in operation, and the second is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2023.
What we're reading
- EU Rushes to Safeguard Domestic Firms From US Climate Law (Bloomberg)
- Europe faces an enduring crisis of energy and geopolitics (The Economist)
- EU demands rapid response to Joe Biden’s $369bn green subsidy package (Financial Times)
- Late-night fossil fuel fight leaves bitter taste after Cop27 (Climate Home News)
- Global floods and droughts will intensify sooner than expected, studies show (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.
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