Mundus Nordic Green News – 15 December, 2020

Volvo and Scania amongst group of 7 truck manufacturers pledging to phase out diesel sales decade earlier than planned

The Financial Times writes that an alliance including 7 truck makers - Daimler, Scania, Man, Volvo, Daf, Iveco and Ford has signed a pledge to phase out traditional combustion engines and focus on hydrogen, battery technology and clean fuels. Scania chief executive Henrik Henriksson told the Financial Times, that the industry will spend about €50bn-€100bn on new technologies

 

The truck makers, under the umbrella of EU carmaker association ACEA, are working with the German funded Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research to consider the best technologies and approaches. The pledge signed by the chief executives of the truck and van businesses also calls for widespread investment in energy grids and a higher tax on carbon across Europe to help drive the change. Mr Henriksson said: “There is no silver bullet; it won’t be that one technology will rule everything, there will be parallel technologies over time… They will come in different paces, but if we sit and wait for the perfect technology to emerge we will burn the planet.”

 

In a press release about H2Accelerate, also including Shell and OMV, the companies announced the collaboration under which the participants will work together to:

• seek public support to fund early pre-commercial projects to activate the market on the path towards a mass market roll-out;
• communicate around the technical and commercial viability of hydrogen fueled trucking at scale; and
• hold discussions with policy makers and regulators to encourage policies which can support a sustainable and speedy activation of the zero emissions long haul trucking market.

But Mr Henriksson added “If politicians continue to subsidise fossil fuels, it will be very difficult for us, we need to change behaviour of our customers, and of our customers’ customers … There are pretty hardcore commitments in this, we are sticking out our neck and saying quite a few things we haven’t in the past.”

 

Volvo to develop a hydrogen internal-combustion engine

Volvo also said that it was to develop a truck engine powered by internal combustion of hydrogen, rather than a fuel call. However, no decision has been made to industrialize the engine yet.

 

Growing Swedish coalition against EU taxonomy

More signs are appearing of a broad-based coalition against the EU’s proposed climate taxonomy. A group, including Chairman of the Swedish Confederation of Agriculture, the Chairman of Södra, a large forestry company and the Chairman of the Swedish Bioenergy Association penned an impassioned debate article calling for Sweden’s Minister of Financial Markets to stand-up against ill-thought through proposals emanating from Brussels. Their main critique is that the EU proposal for climate criteria seems to have been created by actors who miss the fundamental difference between activities that are based on utilizing the sun's energy in different ways, and those that are stuck in a dependence on oil, coal and other finite raw materials. 

 

Another debate article said that Swedish housing was being penalised by the EU's proposal on which investments should be considered sustainable, the so-called taxonomy of sustainable housing, writes the Swedish Bankers’ Association. They write that in practice, the EU’s proposal would see Sweden punished for applying stricter energy requirements than most other countries, which risks the positive trend towards further sustainable housing investments. The bankers suggest that the definitions of a so-called “green building,” which the EU taxonomy serves to identify, be adjusted to fit the contextualise of the EU’s multiple national markets. But in order for that to happen, the bankers conclude that pressure from the Swedish Government was urgently required.

 

ABB signs MoU on Kiruna graphite project

ABB and Talga Group have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop Talga's battery anode project in Vittangi and Luleå, which has the potential to become the world's largest production outside China. According to the MoU, ABB will contribute its expertise in industrial automation and electrification, and coordinate production and process solutions from mine to finished battery anode. ABB will now support Talga in the final phase of the feasibility study expected in March 2021.

Talga claims the graphite deposits in Nunasvaara and Niska in the Vittangi area are among the world's best in size and high-quality graphite ore. A new report states that the Niska deposit contains 5.1 million tonnes of graphite ore, which enables mining of 400,000 tonnes per year for 14 years in that mine. It can start mining in 2025. In the mine in Nunasvaara, the company plans to start mining in 2023.

 

Greenbyte appoints CFO to accelerate global growth

Greenbyte, a software partner for global renewable energy portfolios, has hired Jenny Rexed as CFO, with the firm looks to capitalize on recent commercial momentum and accelerate its growth in 2021 and beyond.

 

Scandinavian Biogas completes investment round of SEK 586m in dark green shares 

Scandinavian Biogas Fuels International AB (Scandinavian Biogas) is a leading producer of biogas in the Nordic region. The company announced that it had successfully completed a placement of “dark green shares”. Scandinavian Biogas expects to be the first company to list “dark green shares” on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market. 

 

Finland’s Government wants to electrify public vehicle procurement – draft law issued for comment

Finland’s Government wants to increase the share of low- and zero-emission vehicles in public sector vehicle procurement. A draft law implements the requirements of the EU Directive on clean public vehicle procurement. A draft law has been issued for comment by the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The law would apply to vehicles and services purchased as public procurement, such as school transport, waste collection, purchases of local bus services. The law would not apply to long-distance buses, nor, for example, to agricultural and forestry vehicles or two- or three-wheeled vehicles.

 

Norwegian Capital Fund buys a significant part of the Danish real estate and solar developer

The Norwegian private equity fund, FSN Capital has bought 45% of the Danish company Obton Group, the 9th largest administrator of solar parks in Europe. Obton has delivered solid financial results by investing in solar parks and properties on behalf of High Net Worth Danes and institutional investors. Anders Marcus, founder and CEO of Obton Group commented, “We have long had a desire to bring some stronger competencies into the company in the form of a larger investor who can take even more international knowledge and experience into the boardroom. We now get that with FSN Capital's entry into the company. We are both proud and happy to be able to attract such a competent investor.” FSN Capital Partner Lars Denkov said that the share purchase takes place because the private equity fund sees enormous potential in Obton Group, which has more than 1,000 solar parks worldwide.

 

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