Thread: Fossil Fuel Alternatives

• Alberta pension manager launches C$1bn energy transition fund

Canadian pension manager the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) on Thursday launched a C$1bn ($745m) fund dedicated to investing in the global energy transition and decarbonisation sectors.

The initial C$1bn cash injection into the new Energy Transition Opportunities Pool represents fresh capital, AIMCo said in a press statement. It added that many of its clients have allocated funds to the pool, which will look to invest in industrial decarbonisation, carbon capture and sequestration, renewable fuels, low-carbon and renewable energy production, and related technologies such as electrification, battery storage and energy efficiency.

AIMCo executive managing director Ben Hawkins said: “We are gratified by our clients’ commitment both to the new pool and to our shared objective of supporting and benefitting from energy transition and decarbonisation opportunities.”

The company, which currently manages C$158bn in assets, joins other Canadian pension funds that have already established dedicated green funds.

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, one of the world’s biggest retirement schemes, announced plans in 2022 to invest around C$5bn in what it calls “high carbon transition assets”, although it did not specify a time frame for this investment. Canada Pension Plan Investments, Canada’s biggest pension fund, does not have a specific green fund but has allocated C$79bn to green transition assets and hopes to grow this to C$130bn.

_________

• Data reveals huge amount of renewable energy generated across Exeter

Exeter City Council is generating large amounts of electricity at sites across the city as it strives to become Net Zero by 2030.

As the amount of power generated continues to grow, the Council has pledged to release its data on how much renewable energy has been produced quarterly throughout the year.

A number of measures have been taken to maximise Exeter’s renewable energy potential, in line with the Carbon Reduction Plan: exeter.gov.uk/climate-emergency/carbon-footprint/carbon-reduction-plan/

The solar generation data for last quarter, October to December 2023, is:

Total Solar Array – 3.4 MWp

Total Energy Generated - 399,247 kWh

Carbon Savings – 84.64 tCO2e

Equivalent C02 Savings of 12,091 Trees*

__________

• Kellanova focuses on renewable energy

CHICAGO — Kellanova said it plans to achieve 90% renewable energy across its North America-based manufacturing units by the end of 2024.

The company plans to achieve this via a wind energy virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) 2021 for approximately 360 gigawatt hours of wind electricity annually in North America. Kellanova seeks to have 100% renewable energy across all its manufacturing units by the end of 2030.

“Today’s announcement is a big step toward achieving our ‘Better Days Promise goal’ of 100% renewable electricity across our global manufacturing facilities by the end of 2030,” said Janelle Meyers, chief sustainability officer, Kellanova. “As a global food company, we have a significant role to play in helping to reduce reliance on limited energy sources across our value chain and creating a positive impact for people and the planet.”

Kellanova’s wind farm in North Central Texas will add clean energy resources to the community’s local grid, equivalent to 90% of the electricity used across its North American manufacturing facilities.

The shift toward renewable energy reduces the company’s reliance on non-renewable energy sources and helps to mitigate the risks associated with volatile energy price, the company said.

Kellanova’s European manufacturing facilities have achieved 100% renewable electricity by purchasing RECs. The company has been purchasing RECs since 2016. Additionally, Kellanova is in the early stages of a research program partnership with the UK government to establish the potential use of green hydrogen as an alternative to natural gas for Kellanova manufacturing facilities in the country.

_________

• USDA Awards Over $800K to Gratiot Co. Dairy Farm for Cutting-Edge Renewable Energy Transformation

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has unveiled a significant investment of nearly $1 million in grants earmarked for the enhancement of renewable energy infrastructure within Michigan's rural agricultural sector and small enterprises. A substantial portion of this funding, amounting to over $800,000, has been allocated to a distinguished dairy farm located in Gratiot County.

Under the Rural Energy for America Program, the USDA is channeling $956,473 to four deserving recipients across Michigan, supplementing the $1.7 million already announced for the western part of the state last week.

Among the recipients is Milk Star LLC, a reputable dairy farm with a nine-year operational history in Gratiot County, as affirmed by the USDA. Milk Star LLC is set to leverage an impressive $823,219 grant to acquire and install a cutting-edge 1,036.80 kW solar photovoltaic system. The implementation of this innovative project is anticipated to yield annual savings of $133,492, replacing 1,376,202 kWh (equivalent to 41 percent) per year. This substantial energy production is ample to power 126 homes, marking a significant stride towards sustainability and resource conservation.

__________

• Solid-state batteries: inside the race to transform the science of electric vehicles

They promise more energy and a vastly improved range for EV drivers. But can they deliver on the hype?

Working in the dry room at Deakin University’s Battery Research and Innovation Hub is no day at the beach.

“[It’s] more desert than beach,” says its general manager, Dr Timothy Khoo. “At the beach, you at least still get the moisture coming in.”

The 150m2 dry room is, as far as Khoo knows, the largest in Australia for research purposes and essential to work prototyping and testing the next generation of batteries.

“It’s very difficult working in there for extended periods,” Khoo says. “It’s not dangerous but your eyes starting getting dry, your skin starts getting dry and it feels like you’ve been outside in the sun all summer.”

The room must be dry because water, moisture and humidity is lethal to a battery during production. Contamination, Khoo says, means it might not work or its performance will be compromised.

Depending on the materials, the worst-case scenario can also be dangerous.

“Lithium reacts poorly with water,” Khoo says. “I don’t know if you ever did high school science but it’s in the same sort of chemical category as sodium, potassium – if you’ve ever thrown sodium into water, it explodes. It’s a similar reaction in the context of lithium metal.”

The centre is doing a brisk business, as companies race to develop the next generation of battery technology.

Most will be familiar with the lithium-ion battery, first commercialised by Sony in the 1990s to power its portable music players. From these humble beginnings, the rechargeable lithium-ion battery is now king, powering mobile phones, laptops and – in their most high-performance application – electric cars.

One McKinsey analysis suggests the global lithium-ion battery market will grow into a $400bn industry by 2030. But with lithium-ion technology well-understood, those seeking transformative change are increasingly looking to solid-state batteries.

Hype and hope

Dr Rory McNulty, a senior analyst with Benchmark Minerals Intelligence, says the hype around solid-state batteries has been building since the first commercial solid-state battery was introduced by French company Blue Solutions in 2015.

Their battery was designed for use in e-buses but had design limitations and a charging time of four or more hours – an illustration of how difficult the development process can be, even for a company such as Toyota.

Last July, the global car giant announced a breakthrough in the development of solid-state batteries that it claimed would halve the size, weight and cost of their manufacture.

This was greeted with both excitement and scepticism, owing in part to Toyota having poured money into the development of solid-state batteries since 2006 and reluctance to commit to producing fully electric vehicles over the past decade.

This development was soon followed by another in October: Toyota and Japanese petroleum company Idemitsu said they were aiming to develop and manufacture a solid-state electrolyte and bring it to market by 2028.

Toyota isn’t the only company working in the area. In January, Volkswagen announced successful testing on a solid-state battery developed by QuantumScape achieved more than 1,000 charging cycles and maintained 95% of its capacity.

Meanwhile, Chinese companies such as WeLion and Nio EV have partnered to rush out a solid-state battery – albeit one with less ambitious chemistry – by 2024 but McNulty says those in western countries will have to wait until the end of the decade.

“Toyota has pushed back its solid-state delivery timeline a few times over the years, which I think is a testament to how difficult some of the technical challenges that underpin development of a novel technology can be,” he says.

Much more in the link

__________

• Toyota to invest $1.3 bil. to make EVs at its Kentucky plant

Toyota Motor says it will invest 1.3 billion dollars in its flagship US plant in Kentucky to start producing electric vehicles in 2025.

Toyota's North American unit plans to start producing a new three-row electric SUV at the Kentucky facility and add a battery pack assembly line. The batteries will be supplied by another plant in North Carolina.

The auto giant had already announced last year that it would start producing EVs at its Kentucky facility. It said Tuesday the new funding raises the total investment in the plant to nearly 10 billion dollars.

Toyota's Japanese rivals are also expanding EV production in the United States. Nissan is producing EVs in Tennessee.

Honda will start selling EVs jointly developed with General Motors in the US market this year. It also plans to start producing its in-house developed EVs at its Ohio plant in 2025.

__________

• Volvo EM90 electric minivan goes into production

If you’ve been eagerly waiting for Volvo's first electric minivan, then we have some good news for you. The first units of the EM90 have already rolled off the production line, with deliveries scheduled to begin next month. Although the 7-seat Volvo goes on sale initially in China only, there’s a sliver of hope that it will reach other markets as well.

Volvo EM90 came as a bit of a surprise when it was announced last year. It’s a completely new market for the Swedish company, but its Chinese owners (Geely) felt an electric minivan with a Volvo badge would sell well in the Middle Kingdom.

It wasn’t a very demanding project either, since EM90 and Zeekr 009 are essentially twins. Both share the same SAE EV platfrom which underpins so many other vehicles owned by the Geely Group. Both Smart #1 and Smart #3 are built on it, the latest Zeekr 007 and the oldest in the lineup Zeekr 001 are built on it, and Lotus Eletre and Emeya both share it as well. Heck - Polestar 4 is the latest addition to be built on this highly flexible platform.

The Chinese MPV market is quite busy and electric minivans are a new category - all fighting for the upmarket customer. Volvo EM90 comes at the high end of that market with a price starting at €107,200 - not cheap by any means, but it comes well equipped. Standard layout offers 6 individual seats in 3 rows, Bowers & Wilkins 21-speaker audio system comes as standard. There’s a 15.6” screen for the middle and rear rows that descends from the headliner and provides a cinematic experience.

The 5,206 mm long EM90 is marketed as a luxury MPV and as such the company opted for a rather underwhelming powertrain. The 200 kW (268 hp) electric motor powers only rear wheels, and it offers a “royal” performance - 0 to 100 km/h takes a leisurely 8.3 seconds. On the other hand, the 116 kWh battery pack promises uninterrupted travel up to 738 km, which for a vehicle of this size is commendable.

Despite being pretty much identical to the Zeekr 009, Volvo is aimed at completely different customers. Even the AWD 536 hp version of the Zeekr 009 equipped with 140 kWh Qilin battery is €37,000 cheaper than the Volvo. Clearly, Geely believes that the Volvo badge offers a premium experience and is more than happy to charge for it.

Volvo EM90 is heading out to showrooms soon, with the first Chinese customers scheduled to take delivery in March. There is no word yet whether Volvo will make it to other markets, while Zeekr made some of its vehicles available in Europe, it is keeping the 009 for the Chinese market only. It suggests, hopefully, that Geely is making a strategic decision and is in fact planning to bring Volvo at least to Europe. Although, an electric MPV with a decent range would feel most at home in the good old US of A.

__________

• Hydrogen vehicles could finally have their moment

The outlook for hydrogen-powered vehicles is improving after decades of unfulfilled hype, thanks to unprecedented federal support and increased private investment.

Why it matters: Hydrogen fuel cells produce electricity by mixing hydrogen and air, with water vapor as the only byproduct. That makes them a promising climate solution — especially as a replacement for noisy, soot-spewing diesel trucks and industrial equipment.

• They offer a longer driving range than electric vehicle batteries, and refueling is much faster than recharging, so they could be appealing in passenger cars too.

Catch up quick: Despite its reputation as an abundant and pollution-free energy source, hydrogen has failed to take off as a fuel for many practical reasons.

• For starters, it's currently derived mostly from natural gas, which undermines its environmental benefits.
• Cleaner hydrogen, made from renewables, is expensive to produce. Plus, there's no nationwide distribution network.

What's happening: Two recent U.S. policy moves to boost hydrogen are resurrecting optimism for fuel cell vehicles.

• In October 2023, the Biden administration awarded $7 billion from the 2021 infrastructure law to establish seven regional hubs for hydrogen production.
• In December 2023, the U.S. Treasury Department proposed rules for companies to claim lucrative tax credits for clean hydrogen production under 2022's Inflation Reduction Act. The IRA also includes tax incentives for fuel cell vehicles, hydrogen infrastructure and energy storage.
• The Biden administration expects all that government spending to spur tens of billions more in private hydrogen investment.

The latest: General Motors and Honda have started producing fuel cells at a factory near Detroit, to power a new plug-in hybrid fuel cell version of Honda's CR-V crossover utility coming this spring.

• They'll also go into a line of hydrogen-powered cement mixers, dump trucks, garbage trucks and more that GM is developing with Autocar Industries, a heavy truck manufacturer.
• And GM has a new joint venture with Komatsu to develop fuel cell-powered mining trucks.

Other truck manufacturers are also bringing fuel cell trucks to market, including Toyota, Hyundai and the startup Nikola.

• Cummins has its own twist: It's developing hydrogen combustion engines, which burn hydrogen instead of diesel fuel — unlike fuel cells, which generate electricity to power a motor.
• And rivals Daimler Truck and Volvo Group teamed up on a new fuel cell venture called Cellcentric that aims to crank up large-scale production by 2025.

Be smart: Hydrogen can make sense for long-haul trucking and round-the-clock freight logistics operations, where time is money.

• But fuel cell passenger cars remain a tiny niche. Fewer than 18,000 have been sold in the U.S. since 2012, and the country has just 55 publicly available hydrogen fueling stations — all in California, where zero-emissions rules are strictest.
• Still, it's worth noting that none of the early players, including Toyota, Hyundai and BMW, have given up.

What to watch: There's still a lot of fighting over the hydrogen production tax incentive rollout, as Jael Holzman explains in Axios Pro: Energy Policy.

• Without enough guardrails, environmentalists worry the credit could wind up increasing U.S. carbon emissions.

The bottom line: Fuel cell vehicles have a long way to go — but they may finally have the energy to get there.

• "Up until two years ago, I knew we were in an uphill battle and I didn't see a wave that would change anything," says Bill Elrick, executive director of the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Partnership, a joint effort between industry and government to expand the fuel cell vehicle market.
• "I think something has shifted."