The “threat” posed to the west by Chinese EV’s and other new energy products seems to be a recurring theme at the moment. Politicians are ranting, but are caught in a classic catch 22: they need EV’s to be cheaper but the Chinese are so far ahead now in the race to make affordable EV’s. … Read More
biofuels
Wave & tidal power/SMR reactors/calcium looping/green ammonia & focus on e-fuels
COMPANY NEWS Brookfield raises $10B for latest energy transition fundBrookfield Asset Management announced this week it had secured $10 billion for its latest energy transition fund in its first close. The firm said it will continue to raise money for the fund until Q3 of this year.The clean energy investor — which has over $850 … Read More
Heat pumps/nuclear/interconnectors/electrolyzer/magma chambers
Welcome to Titbits 2024. To use a corny football commentators expression “this one could go either way”. The energy transition is now into territory where a draw doesn’t cut it any more. One thing that can be guaranteed, however, is that most weeks Titbits will continue to provide carefully curated news in bite-size chunks UK … Read More
Offshore wind/carbon capture/CfD’s/biodiesel/flow batteries & focus on heat pumps in the UK
One aspect of doing this that I particularly like is when different stories create links with each other. An example this week is the announcement of the increase in auction prices for the next round of CfD auctions, which links with Octopus Energy’s announcement of a new offshore wind fund. Maybe Octopus’ timing is good … Read More
Inductive charging/batteries/biomass strategy/electric trucks
There is something so dysfunctional at work. Surely any sane government would be proclaiming loudly that, according to its own research, by 2025 gas power will be three times the price of solar or wind. Not here it doesn’t. COMPANY NEWS Enerkem and Technip Energies sign MOU to promote waste to biofuels techA new partnership … Read More
Rooftop solar/heat pumps/hydrogen/biofuels/mushrooms & focus on flow batteries
There is a place in the Net Zero world for each of these three: CCS, Nuclear (large and small) and hydrogen, but one must be realistic and not saddle them with the expectation that they can solve the problem. I have covered CCS and nuclear recently. This week we have a good summary of the … Read More
Solar thermal/rooftop solar/HVO/methane/volcano/perovskite solar
COMPANY NEWS UK solar innovator Naked Energy continues European expansion with new partnershipsBritish solar thermal design and engineering company Naked Energy has announced further international expansion after partnering with two leading European engineering-led firms.Portuguese business Tech4Food will now offer Naked Energy’s cutting-edge solar thermal and photovoltaic thermal (PVT) products as part of its engineering solutions … Read More
private wire/BECCS/landfills/the Arctic & focus on nuclear fusion
Will the real Kwasi Karteng please stand up: this week our Energy Secretary has bemoaned the use of imported biomass at Drax saying that it is not sustainable and “makes no sense to me”. The next day he announces a new consultation from the govenment to encourage Bioenergy with carbon capture (see below). His stance … Read More
Heat networks/price spikes/E10/green bonds/small nuclear & focus on the Budget
Politicians tend to get derided for making “U turns”, but when you are reversing the dismal legislation of your predecessors it should be applauded: welcome back onshore wind and solar in the UK! Company news Ikea slashes global emissions as business growth continues The world’s largest furniture retailer revealed in its latest sustainability report that … Read More
Grid stability / cement / plastic recycling / flow battery & focus on Concetrated Solar Power
Theme for this week is how the energy transition juxtaposes traditional connections: jet fuel made from water, roads and schools made from plastics, even American muscle cars turning into electric SUV’s Company news Ørsted posts bumper earnings, eyes hydrogen investments Ørsted earnings for 2019 “exceeded expectations” with operating profit up 17 per cent to £1.99bn … Read More