Hello!
As I write this ENRGY.tech email, the entire energy sector is in turmoil thanks to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The impact will be enormous - we just don’t know how, yet.
That said, there is still a lot going on in the world of clean energy. This email is styled a bit differently, with stories grouped by topics rather than individual stories. Just experimenting.
If you like this email, please do share it! Thanks
Wind and Solar power
China’s enormous wind ambitions keep growing. MingYang Smart Energy (MySE) plans to deploy – ahead of schedule – two offshore wind turbines with a capacity of 16.6 MW. One turbine alone can generate enough to power more than 20,000 households for a year. Just four years ago, the maximum capacity of an offshore turbine was 8MW. At 866 feet, the MingYang turbine is even taller than the Haliade-X (below).
Australian coal sees the writing on the wall. Australia’s biggest coal plant – the Eraring power station in NSW – will shut down 7 years earlier than planned. The announcement came a week after another company made similar plans. Though fossil fuels enjoy support from the Australian federal government, demand has nose-dived as Aussies have bought rooftop solar in record numbers. Coal's share of Australia’s power mix has fallen by 15 points in last decade.
The United States added 28 gigawatts of new power capacity in 2021, with wind (41%) and solar (36%) dominating that number. The country now has over 200 gigawatts of solar, wind and storage capacity. BUT… that’s only 45% of what’s needed every year to get to an emissions-free grid.
Israel has unveiled plans to to get 40% of its power from renewables by 2030.
UK energy company Octopus Group will partner with Aboriginal Australian communities for renewable energy projects, with the aim to clean energy to countries like Singapore and Japan.
Those storms we were complaining about last week? They helped Europe generate the most amount of wind energy ever, reducing reliance on Russian gas. Germany has produced more power from wind this year than from fossil fuels.
Battery storage
China now accounts for almost 70% of the world’s solar production capacity and 50% for wind turbines. It also has 90% of the world’s capacity in lithium-ion production, according to a new report. That gives it a huge edge in clean energy.
Tesla is switching back to lithium-iron-phosphate batteries for some cars - despite the lower range they offer - because they are cheaper. Could others follow?
Redwood Materials, a California startup, is launching an electric vehicle battery recycling program with Ford and Volvo.
US-based Georgia Power is trying out new iron-air battery technology from Form Energy for long-duration energy storage.
Financial Markets
Hy2gen AG, a green hydrogen investment platform, completed a €200 million investment round, with plans to invest the money into green hydrogen fuels for transport, aviation and industry. Industry is a big challenge for decarbonisation, in China and the US.
London-based startup Bramble Energy has secured £35m in funding to expand its deployment of green hydrogen tech, led by investors HydrogenOne Capital Growth.
A UN-backed green investment fund – the MSCI Global Climate Select ETF – is already on the brink of failure after being launched at COP26 due to a lack of funding.
Gravity storage startup Energy Vault will get a NYSE listing after a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Some are unconvinced its technology works.
Antora Energy, a start-up looking to decarbonise industrial processes, raised $50 million from investors including Bill Gates.
Quaise Energy, a geothermal startup, says it has found a way to unleash the earth’s hardest-to-reach heat resources: by drilling down using high-frequency beams to melt and vaporise rocks.
Fossil Fuels
Canada's highly polluting oil sands industry wants the government to cough up 2-3rds of an estimated C$75 billion for capturing their carbon emissions. Would be way cheaper for the Canadian government to just subsidise clean energy.
China’s National Offshore Oil Corp. struck $13 billion worth of deals to boost the country’s oil and gas output. China is simultaneously the world’s biggest impediment to cutting carbon emissions, and the biggest investor in clean energy.
That’s it this week!