Mundus Nordic Green News – 12 October, 2020

With valuations going stratospheric, another Norwegian cleantech aims for listing

Aker Carbon Capture has risen 104% since its listing on Norway’s Merkur Market last month, and now has a market value of NOK 5.2 billion. The fuel company Quantafuel, which converts plastic into fuel, has increased by 162% in the last three months, to a value of of NOK 8.3 billion. Now, Norwegian solar power company Ocean Sun, whose solar energy technology floats on water, also aims to list on the Merkur Market, pricing itself at between NOK 700 and 800 million. Founder and CEO Børge Bjørneklett of Ocean Sun says that the time has come for this type of investment. “We are quite different from other types of green stocks, this is a segment within solar energy that is not so well known in this country. But there is a great demand abroad - especially in Asia.” Ocean Sun had received a lucrative agreement with South Korean EN Technologies, which has purchase a license to use the company's technology in the development of a pilot project on the west coast of the Korean Peninsula. 

 

Swedbank Robur launches fund focusing on the energy transition

As part of Swedbank Robur’s ongoing implementation of its climate strategy, the company is now launching a new fund, Transition Energy. The fund will invest globally with a focus on solar, wind and solutions for a sustainable energy system. The holdings will be a mix of established companies with proven business ideas and new faster growing companies.

 

Statkraft's new wind project in Brazil ready for construction

Statkraft's construction of the Ventos de Santa Eugenia wind project in Brazil can start, after a contract for turbine deliveriy was recently agreed with Germany’s Nordex. The 519 MWh project with 91 turbines is Statkraft's largest in South America and will double the company's production capacity for renewable energy in Brazil, the company states in a press release. The total investment amount is approximately NOK 4.2 billion, and the project will be completed in June 2023. Construction is scheduled to start in January 2021, and the first wind turbines are expected to deliver renewable power from September 2022.

 

Political agreement extends Denmark’s temporary blending requirement for biofuels

The Danish Government and 7 other parties have agreed to extend a temporarily increase in the requirement for blending biofuels in petrol and diesel, which applies in 2020, to 2021. According to current legislation, the current blending requirement in 2021 should have fallen from the temporarily increased requirement of 7.6% to the previous level of 5.75%, meaning that emissions from the transport sector would have increased by 2021. The parties also agreed that the Minister of Climate is authorized to ban biofuels produced from palm oil.

 

New patented Swedish method for fossil-free iron

Swedish company GreenIron has four patents for a cheap, scalable oven that creates pure iron without emissions. The furnace makes it possible to recycle residual products and waste from the steel and mining industry without carbon dioxide emissions. CEO, Edward Murray say “Our goal is to take care of embers and smoke dust from steel mills, abrasive waste from the manufacturing industry and to become a producer of fossil-free iron for foundries. The furnace is small and can be placed where residual products and waste are produced, which means that companies can save on transport, further reducing costs and CO2 emissions. In addition, the furnace can produce alternatives to the scrap that today goes into the steelworks.

 

Handelsbanken promotes green home mortgage, with lower interest rate

Customers who  live in sustainable housing can apply for a green mortgage with Handelsbanken and receive a 0.10% lower mortgage rate.

 

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