Mundus Nordic Green News – 9 February, 2021

Finnish National Hydrogen Cluster to promote hydrogen transition

A corporate-led national hydrogen cluster has been established to boost the hydrogen economy and develop the export of hydrogen-related solutions, by promoting investment and an operating environment favorable to the development. Initially the cluster will include about 30 companies, with Neste, ABB, Aurelia Turbines, SSAB, UPM, Gasgrid Finland, Fortum and Wärtsilä on the cluster's steering group. According to Outi Ervasti, Chairman of the National Hydrogen Cluster, the goal is new business, exports and new jobs in Finland. “Demonstration projects should be launched in Finland as a matter of urgency to test and scale products and services to the international market. Finland's EU recovery package, which is currently being prepared, should also be used as a leap towards a sustainable economy by supporting the transition to a hydrogen economy.” Mundus subscribers may see our overview of the hydrogen economy in the February 2020 edition of the Monthly Policy Review.

 

Nordic Member States back statement for EU Sustainable Aviation Fuel

The European Commission needs to further incentivise the uptake of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) in the EU, following robust sustainability criteria, said a joint statement signed today by governments of Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden. These EU nations "see the use of SAF as one of the most achievable and effective pathways to reduce the climate effects of the aviation sector in the short term." The Commission was due to present its initiative RefuelEU Aviation to stimulate supply and demand for SAFs in Q4 2020, but it's been pushed back to end Q1 2021.

 

Yara fertilisers announces new green ammonia division

As part of its quarterly reporting Yara announced that it was to establish a new green unit called Yara Clean Ammonia for use as a fuel on ships or in cleaner production of fertilizers. Yara has several pilot projects underway including in the Netherlands where it will use offshore wind from Ørsted to produce green hydrogen and green ammonia. And in December Yara also put forward a proposal for a huge project at the ammonia factory in Porsgrunn that can cut the company's and Norway's annual CO2 emissions by 800000 tonnes from 2026 by producing hydrogen from electricity instead of natural gas. Not only would this will require 4TWh of energy around 3% of Norway’s total demand it would also require state aid as the process is unprofitable today. 

 

Enviro and Michelin sign partnership agreement

Scandinavian Enviro Systems (Enviro) and the French global tyre manufacturer, Michelin, have signed three final agreements that form the basis of the companies' strategic partnership. The agreements regulate the conditions for the establishment of a jointly owned facility for the recycling of used tyres in Chile, the conditions for how Michelin may use Enviro's patented technology, the compensation for this and the conditions for how Enviro is to be reimbursed for deliveries of technology and services to the jointly owned facility in Chile. The companies will have a JV in which Michelin will own 90% and Enviro 10%. Enviro says that with the strategic partnership in place, Enviro has established 3 of its 4 key strategic cornerstones and thus created crucial conditions for an offensive expansion phase. Alf Blomqvist, Chairman of the Board of Enviro remarked, “Through the partnership with Michelin, we will create our first full-scale recycling plant, which is crucial to be able to scale up and commercialize our technology. The partnership with a leading tyre manufacturer also gives us unmatched opportunities to improve both our recycled carbon black and pyrolysis oil, which of course further strengthens our position in the market.”

 

Wind power in Sweden to equal nuclear energy within four years

Swedish wind power is expected to be as large an electricity producer as nuclear power in Sweden, as more wind turbines are being built and nuclear power is phased out. Last year, wind power accounted for 17% of Sweden's electricity production, corresponding to about 28TWh. According to Swedish Wind Energy's new forecast this will grow to 35TWh. However, more electricity supply will push prices down, which risks impacting the industry. “It will be difficult to get profitability in the Swedish energy market in the future,” said Daniel Kulin, an analyst at Svensk Vindenergi.

 

Statkraft buys into Bee

Statkraft continues with investments into electric car charging, entering into partnerships with the regional energy companies that currently own Bee Charging Solutions AB. Bee will be part of the company's commitment to electric car charging in Europe, under the Mer brand. Statkraft acquires 51% of Bee through a new share issue, while Öresundskraft, Jämtkraft and Tekniska verken in Linköping retain 49%. 

 

Vinod Khosla to give seminar on geothermal energy

On 16 February, the climate investment company, Baseload Capital is arranging a digital seminar on how to extract renewable energy from heat stored in the earth's crust. What are the trends and what can investors, industry and authorities do to drive development? The main speaker is Vinod Khosla, founder of Sun Microsystems and Khosla Ventures.

 

Ikea foundation bets $250m on green investment fund

A foundation backed by Ikea, the Swedish furniture retail giant, has committed $250m to seed a sustainable equity fund designed by Osmosis, a specialist investment boutique.

 

Proposed high altitude experiment in Sweden risks opening Pandora’s Box

A Harvard University-backed proposed scientific balloon flight to test the potential for experiments on radiation-reflecting particles in northern Sweden has attracted opposition from environmental groups over fears it could lead to the use of solar geoengineering to cool the Earth and combat the climate crisis by mimicking the effect of a large volcanic eruption. The organisations said that the balloon flight could be the first step towards the adoption of a potentially “dangerous, unpredictable, and unmanageable” technology.

 

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