Mundus Nordic Green News – 11 February, 2021

LFV and Vattenfall collaborate on the “fossil-free airport”

LFV, a leading player in air traffic control, and Vattenfall are initiating a research collaboration that involves further steps towards a fossil-free transport sector. The starting point will be the new research arena LARC (LFV Aviation Research Center) at the airport in Örnsköldsvik, where solutions for fossil-free airports will be developed and be able to function as a template for other airports.

 

LFV's and Vattenfall will investigate new solutions for:

1. Refueling of vehicles (charging with electricity and / or battery replacement).
2. Transport within the airport area (buses, cars, aircraft, tugs, tractors and other ground transport vehicles).
3. Micro-producing infrastructure such as photovoltaic systems.
4. Uninterrupted power through, for example, redundant systems and their ancillary services.

 

Orsted makes a move into Poland

Orsted and Poland's PGE have signed an agreement to form a 50-50 joint venture for the development, construction, and operation of two offshore wind projects in the Baltic Sea with a total potential capacity of up to 2.5 GW. The subscription price for the newly issued shares in the wind farms Baltica 2 and 3 will amount to a total of PLN 657 mln (€146 mln).

 

Norway approves 90 projects for green support

Of 400 projects applying for Norwegian government support, around 90 have been approved to advance to the next phase. Among the project ideas in the preliminary projects are innovation around developing sustainable feed for salmon and production animals, biologically recyclable packaging from wood, biogas, use of biocarbon in the Norwegian process industry, carbon capture using microalgae, use of solid wood recycled wood as raw material for the wood industry, recycling of waste for feed and use of fish sludge from the aquaculture industry for fertilizer in agriculture, to name a few.

 

Funding under the Green Platform is carried out in two steps: In the first, awards of NOK 300,000 each are given for preliminary projects to prepare the ground for major main projects. In step 2, projects may apply for support for large three-year main projects, with support needs of more than NOK 50 million per project. The main announcement will take place before the summer. 

 

Norway needs an electrification strategy

10 of Norway’s largest grid companies have challenged Norway to develop a comprehensive electrification strategy to achieve the goals of reducing emissions and developing new green industries, According to them, by 2050, the main rule will be that transport by road, at sea and in the air takes place using emission-free energy. There are enormous opportunities in this. In the areas of renewable energy and electrification, Norway is currently wearing the international leader jersey. It is already one of the most electrified countries in the world, and with a power supply almost exclusively based on renewable sources. And Norway has some special advantages for succeeding in increased value creation and exports for new industries such as batteries, hydrogen, the maritime sector and optimization of the power system.

 

But the power supply must keep pace with developments. The 10 grid companies are now experiencing a large influx of customers who want to electrify and use more grid capacity. At the same time, they are witness to a number of examples of a lack of supply capacity being an obstacle to the desired electrification, social and business development.

 

While building a local distribution network to meet the needs of ordinary customers is normally not very time and process consuming, for larger establishments and electrification of transport hubs with large power needs, it can take up to 5 years before the grid capacity is in place. If there are restrictions in the main grid the lead time can be 10 years and more. The 10 grid companies argue that a successful solution can only be developed if there is a common national strategy to resolve a number of key questions.

 

Everfuel racks up another deficit

The hydrogen company Everfuel posted a 4Q20 loss of €242,000, a deterioration from a deficit of €173,000 the year before. Revenue growth continues at the same time. In 4Q revenues rose to €271,000, up from €97,000 the year before. In total for the year, the deficit ended at €587,000 on revenues of €1.05 million.

 

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