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
When all else in the world is failing, it is comforting to know that we now have fully recyclable crisp packets. UK NEWS Church of England Installs 438 Solar Panels on Kings College ChapelIn the BBC’s annual Christmas Carol TV broadcast, which has run regularly since 1963, the opening shot is an external view of … Read More
The campaigns aimed at discrediting anything to do with the energy transition seem to have stepped up a gear, which is disappointing. Our small contribution to the fightback starts with the lengthy list of corrections to the misinformation surrounding heat pumps. I realise that some people have had underwhelming experiences with them, but that does … Read More
It is disappointing that Shell have “adjusted” their energy transition goals, even if it really is just tinkering. The oil majors could help drive the transition in a major way, and are doing so to some extent, but announcements like this give the impression that their priorities are to maximise the revenues from their legacy … Read More
It requires a pretty deep dig to find any green bits in the budget: some extra cash for offshore wind in the CfD auction. Nothing on home insulation, nothing on VAT for public EV charging, nothing on the Carbon Border Mechanism. A nothing budget. COMPANY NEWS bp allies with thin-film solar supplier SolivusSolivus, a pioneering … Read More
Headlines this week that it is raining in Antarctica should re-affirm that what we talk about in this newsletter is relevant, if that was ever needed. UK NEWS Floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea could be worth up to £1.4 billionThe Crown Estate has released new research indicating that the floating offshore wind opportunity … Read More
Least surprising news of the week: Hinkley Point C nuclear project is behind schedule and over budget. Whilst UK tax payers won’t be on the hook for the cost over run, the delays do put a dent in the idea that nuclear is going to be a viable route to hitting climate targets. BlackRock commits … Read More
We truly live in the exponential age: I only heard of sodium-ion battery technology about this time last year and now the first car is being launched running on sodium and gigafactories are being built. I checked the Northvolt website relating to the first story below and it trumpets the arrival of sodium-ion technology too, … Read More
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
Looking at the selections this week, two kinds of innovation are featured: First are the “out of the box thinking” type such as the burying of biomass and the fracking energy storage. The second is the Government sponsoring the long term ambitions of the fusion industry, and trying to pick winners. COMPANY NEWS AstraZeneca Partners … Read More
