6 February 2023
Swedish business demands government accelerate new clean energy construction
Swedish business leaders came head to head with cabinet ministers on SVT Agenda to discuss the ongoing energy crisis’ impact on the industrial shift towards green energy. The Swedish Energy Agency (Energimyndigheten) warns that authorities need to expand the construction of more wind power parks in order to keep up with industrial capacity, which is growing faster than expected and future electricity shortages are forecast by 2027. The state mining company, LKAB confirms these concerns, as it needs more electricity in Gällivare by 2026 and a total of 55 TWh per year in the long-term - more than Denmark’s total consumption and over a third of what Sweden uses today.
The CEO of LKAB, Jan Moström, believes that politicians do not understand how wind power can be utilised when they talk about the problems of this energy source when there is no wind. Moström then says that LKAB will not need electricity 24/7, as they will use hydrogen storage and buy electricity only on cheap days and balance the entire electricity system.
Steel manufacturer SSAB indicates Sweden should look towards Finland for inspiration, while battery manufacturer Northvolt argues that access to cheap energy would give them a competitive edge over Chinese competitors. Business leaders said on SVT Agenda that offshore wind power would, in the short-run, be the easiest way to address the rising demands of industry. This diverges from the Energy Agency which says that only onshore wind power can be built quickly enough.
The Minister for Energy, Business and Industry, Ebba Busch (KD), responded that she has full understanding that wind power needs expanding and pointed out that other means of energy production are needed. Busch repeated a pledge of cutting waiting times for the permits needed to roll out more offshore wind power mills, having separately outlined government plans to expand offshore wind power.
Nel ASA receives 40 MW alkaline electrolyser order
Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser AS, a subsidiary of Nel ASA, has signed a contract for 40 MW of alkaline electrolyser for about EUR 12 million with the Hydrogen Chemistry Company (HyCC) for its H2eron project in Delfzijl in the Netherlands. The hydrogen produced from the electrolyser will be used by SkyNRG, a Dutch SAF producer, to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). “Reliable supplies of green hydrogen are key to decarbonizing sectors such as the aviation industry," says Marcel Galjee, Managing Director of HyCC.
Norwegian Hydrogen acquires Hydre for hydrogen development in Finland
Norwegian Hydrogen, a company focused on building hydrogen fueling stations, has acquired Hydre to expand its operations to Finland. Norwegian Hydrogen believes hydrogen fuel has great potential for heavy transport. The company will need government support initially as there is currently limited demand for hydrogen fueling stations. The CEO of Norwegian Hydrogen, Per Øivind Voie, says the company has high hopes for Finland and believes it will play an important role in the hydrogen development in the Nordics. Their end goal is to establish a network of hydrogen filling stations in the Nordics.
PowerCell develops hydrogen fuel cells for aviation
Sweden’s PowerCell has joined in the Newborn project, which is part of the EU’s Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking and aims to develop sustainable aviation by building a flight-certified multi-megawatt fuel cell system powered by hydrogen. PowerCell will contribute its technical know-how and fuel cell technology to the undertaking, which has 20 projects and a total budget of EUR 700 million.
Danish PtX project aims for cost breakthroughs
The Danish Technological Institute (DTI) is leading an international consortium in the EU project DARE2X, which aims to produce decentralised ammonia using renewable energy. DTI will develop technology to produce fossil-free ammonia with hydrogen and nitrogen, using wind and solar energy. "DARE2X differs from other green ammonia projects in that we must develop a process where fossil-free ammonia can be produced at lower pressure and temperature. Lower temperature and pressure are expected to make it profitable to make smaller plants that can be placed locally at wind and solar cell plants and produce ammonia from the excess energy", says section leader Christoffer Mølleskov Pedersen at DTI.
What we’re reading
- Options for the EU as it competes for clean tech sovereignty (Rystad Energy)
- A Record $495 Billion Invested in Renewable Energy in 2022 (Bloomberg New Energy Finance)
- France and Germany set to push back against US green tech poaching (Financial Times)
- US companies say EU climate goals are deterring new gas deals (Financial Times)
- Huge chunk of plants, animals in U.S. at risk of extinction (Reuters)
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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