Mundus Nordic Green News – 26 January, 2021

 

Scania says battery trucks will beat hydrogen fuel cells

With fossil-fuels evidently on the way out, there are divided opinions about which type of electric drive is best suited for trucks batteries or fuel cells. Despite the fact that Scania has invested in hydrogen fuel cell technologies it says that it considers the potential for fuel cells vehicles (FCVs) is "limited." Scania reckons that thanks to technology improvements (battery energy density, charging times) electric vehicles will "gradually overtake Scania’s industry-leading fossil and biofuel powered solutions in most transport applications". Scania cites that the main reason for this is that fuel life life-cycle energy efficiency is just a third of the battery electric vehicle. In Scania’s words, “the use of hydrogen for such applications will be limited since three times as much renewable electricity is needed to power a hydrogen truck compared to a battery electric truck. A great deal of energy is namely lost in the production, distribution, and conversion back to electricity.” Scania also says that FCVs are also more complex, require more maintenance and they cost more.

 

Lego amongst leaders in EU green consumption pledge

The European Commission has launched its Green Consumption Pledge initiative, inviting companies to accelerate their contribution to a green transition and build consumer trust in sustainable products. Colruyt Group, Decathlon, Lego Group, L'Oreal, and Renewd are the first companies participating in a pilot project. The companies are committing to five carbon pledges, including the calculation of their own CO2 footprints as well as that of their selected flagship products, and to increase the sale of sustainable products and services.

 

DNV GL sees the oil industry greening

DNV GL, an international certifier, headquartered in Norway, says that for the oil industry, decarbonization has gone from being peripheral, to being an immediate priority. According to a new study carried out by DNV GL the oil and gas industry is seeking to adapt to long-term development. Amongst the highlights of the report;

• Two thirds of leaders in the oil and gas industry report that their organisation is in the process of actively adapting to a less carbon-intensive energy system in 2021, an increase from only 44% in 2018.
• Around 57% plan to increase their investments in renewable energy, compared to 44% last year. Almost half expect to increase their investments in environmentally friendly or carbon-free gas.
• Only one in five expect increased investment in oil projects in 2021.

 

The Nordics seek greater granularity in climate data

In November 2020 the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Working Group on Climate and Air (NKL) arranged a digital workshop to get better granularity of local predictions of climate projections (downscaling), different user needs and the implications for climate adaptation. The aim of the workshop was to explore the user needs and enhance the science-policy interface with regard to climate modelling and climate adaptation in the Nordic countries. The participants concluded that Nordic co-operation on downscaling of climate models was essential, with a need for enhanced communication between producers of climate models and end users. 

 

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