Legislations has been passed in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) that allows to feed blends of hydrogen and biomethane into the natural gas pipeline network. The aim is to have a 10% hydrogen blend in the gas grid by 2030, and export substantial amounts of green hydrogen to power producers in Japan and wider Asia.
The government of South Korea is working towards turning hydrogen into the country’s biggest energy source by 2050 by expanding H2-based power generation, and replacing all fossil fuel used by the steel and chemical industries with blue or green hydrogen. To tackle transport emissions, over 2,000 hydrogen charging stations will be installed nationwide.
World leaders have reached a historic deal at the COP26 Climate Summit: At least 23 countries – excluding China and India – committed to phase out coal-fired power generation, while international banks will end public financing of new unabated coal power by the end of 2021. Germany’s incoming government hence needs to exit coal earlier than planned.
An unexpected climate declaration between China and the US has sparked cautious optimism that "1.5°C remains within reach." Addressing issues like cutting CO2 and methane emissions and reigning in illegal deforestation, the two sides declared they will "expand individual and combined efforts to accelerate the transition to a global net zero economy."
German chancellor Angela Merkel has made a plea for more widespread carbon pricing, targeting hard-to-abate sectors, at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. Progress made so far is “insufficient,” she said, noting Germany just tightened targets and now aims to cut emissions by 65% by 2030 from 1990-levels, and reach Net Zero by 2045.
Britain’s new Net Zero Strategy claims up to £80 billion of additional private green investment needs to be raised to reach the government’s 2030 emission target. “Renewables, particularly offshore wind deployment already reached £100 billion in 2020,” the UK energy minister Kwasi Kwarteng told the BBC this morning, saying it would be “realistic” to raise sufficient funds to meet targets.
Germany’s Free Democratic Party (FDP) has given consent for the new coalition government to instate a climate ministry, to be led by the Green Party, while the Social Democrats (SPD) will propose the new Chancellor. The new ministry could centralise competencies currently spread out over several other ministries to ensure Germany will meet its CO2-reduction targets.
German election winner Social Democrats (SPD) wants to fast-track coalition talks with the Green Party and the Liberals (FDP). Though FDP leader Christian Linder said there would be “no parallel talks with the Conservatives,” negotiations could take months and are hard-fought on climate action; so Angela Merkel might still be in office by Christmas.
A tight-fought general election in Germany has resulted in a thin victory for the Social Democrats while the long-ruling Conservatives suffered a historic loss. Both parties now strive to form a coalition with the Green Party, which recorded its best result ever and the pro-business Free Democrats. A hot topic of the novelty three-party government will be the energy transition and climate change.
The cost of shielding customers of failing UK energy providers could lead to a substantial rise in power and gas bills, energy regulator Ofgem warns. The Government is preparing to offer loans to larger utilities to make them take on stranded customers from bankrupt firms like Bulb, Arvro and Octopus.
Fast-rising gas prices at the UK National Balancing Point (NBP) are causing a wave of bankruptcies. Bulb, Britain's sixth largest energy company, is seeking a bailout and Government promised to intervene by offering state-backed loans to surviving energy firms to ensure stable supply to end-customers this winter.
News in Brief
Ms Mulliez new chair of Siemens Energy’s audit committee
Dec 6 – Laurence Mulliez (55) has been appointed as new Chairwoman of the audit committee at Siemens Energy. Consisting of eight members, the audit committee is part of the company’s supervisory board and tasked with monitoring the accounting process, the internal control system, and audit of the company’s financial statements.
INEOS digitalises Grangemonth terminal
Dec 3 – INEOS Forties Pipeline System (FPS) has announced plans to digitalise operations at Kinneil Terminal in Grangemouth. The AI-driven optimisations software will help lower emissions and streamline operations of the oil and gas receiving terminal in Scottish waters. The decision follows INEOS’ commitment to curb emissions from its operation at Grangemouth by more than 60% by 2030 as it targets Net Zero by 2045.
Yokogawa, CCC launch new control system
Dec 2 – Tokyo-based Yokogawa Electric has entered a commercial agreement with Compressor Controls (CCC) to sell a new jointly developed solution. Named ‘CCC Inside for CENTUM VP’ and released on November 2, the device can control processes and turbomachinery at the same time. Under the deal, Yokogawa will supply hardware and software for the system while CCC will leverage its control algorithms, global engineering and technical support for turbomachinery.
Rolls-Royce extends runtimes for MTU engines
Dec 1 – Rolls-Royce has managed to significantly extend engine running times of up to 96,000 hours between overhauls (TBO) for the latest generation of its mtu Series 4000 engines. These engines can now run for up to 25 years before they need a major overhaul, depending on the duration and intensity of use.
SLNG and Linde Gas to develop CO2 liquefaction unit
Nov 30 – Singapore LNG (SLNG) and Linde Gas have teamed up to develop a carbon dioxide liquefaction and storage facility. A feasibility study is underway to build a CO2 liquefaction unit next to the SLNG Terminal on Jurong Island. SLNG chief executive Tan Soo Koong said the company’s objective is cold energy recovery with high efficiency, as well as effective liquefaction and storage to reduce CO2 emissions.
Oseberg upstream shifts from oil to gas
Nov 29 – Equinor has announced plans to invest 10 billion Norwegian crowns ($995M) to change the Oseberg field from primarily being an oil field to becoming a substantial natural gas producer with large remaining gas resources. Oseberg is the third-largest oil producing filed on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, and the operator has submitted and amended development plan to the energy ministry.
ABB, Metacon and Wärtsilä partner on hydrogen
Nov 26 – ABB, Wärtsilä, Metacon affiliate Helbio, and the classification society RINA are jointly working on delivering a power solution for marine application that is fuelled by hydrogen. The aim is to have a scalable solution that will exceed the IMO 2050 target for a 70% reduction in carbon intensity without the need for extensive investment in new infrastructure. Wärtsilä gas engines can already run on a mix of hydrogen and LNG, and the company strives run them 100% on hydrogen fuel in the near future.
Wärtsilä enters Belgian energy storage market
Nov 25 – Wärtsilä has been contracted to supply a 25 MW / 100 MWh energy storage system to a Belgium customer, marking its entry into the Belgian energy storage market. The order was booked to Wärtsilä’s order intake in October 2021, and the system is scheduled to start operating in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Triveni agrees with GEAE Tech to manufacture LM2500 turbine in India
Nov 25 – Triveni Engineering & Industries has signed a 10-year accord with GEAE Technology USA to produce the LM2500 gas turbine base and enclosure locally in India. The turbine is the chosen propulsion equipment for many surface combatant vessels of the Indian Navy.
Wärtsilä launches lighter IQ-Series scrubber
Nov 24 – Wärtsilä has launched a new IQ Series exhaust gas treatment system, designed by its Exhaust Treatment business unit in Moss, Norway. Designed with a smaller footprint, the new scrubber takes up 25% less space, is 30% lighter, and has 35% less volume which makes it particularly adapt for use on container ships, but also for stationary engines.
Afreximbank signs loan for Aba IPP in Nigeria
Nov 23 – African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has signed a $50 million term loan facility for the Aba Integrated Power Project (IPP) in Nigeria, which comprises of a 141 MW gas-fired power plant and a 27-kilometer feeder pipeline and a distribution utility. Before greenlighting the loan, the bank advised projects sponsor Geometric Power on restructuring sol-called “gap capital” in the $332 million recapitalisation funds for the Aba IPP.
SiGreen tracks products’ emissions data
Nov 22 – Siemens has developed an ecosystem-based approach to calculate Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) with a with a view to track and reduce emissions. SiGreen helps exchange emission data along the supply-chain and combine it with data from a company’s own value creation to obtain a product’s true carbon footprint.
ELGi expands oil-free compressor series
Nov 19 – Belgium-based ELGi Compressors Europe has marketed introduced four new air compressors, the AB11, AB15, AB18 and AB22 that expand the company’s AB Series portfolio, ranging from 11KW to 110KW. The new the AB11-22 range helps customers optimize moisture separation, cooling and capacity control which directly translates into savings on electricity use.
Double-digit growth seen for GT market
Nov 18 – The market for gas turbines (GT) is forecast to witness a double-digit growth between 2021 and 2028, according to Global Market Vision projections. Leading manufacturers surveyed in the consultancy’s latest report include Doosan, Mitsubishi, MJB International, Siemens, GE, PW Power Systems, Solar Turbines, Dresser-Rand, Kawasaki, MAN Diesel & Turbo, OPRA Technologies, MTU Aero Engines, Wood Group and Chromalloy Gas Turbine.
Gazprom aims to increase contractual supply to VNG
Nov 17 – Russia’s Gazprom is in negotiations with VNG, one of Germany’s largest gas importers, to extending long-term gas supply contracts and “increase the supply volume thereunder.” Leipzig-based VNG imports and stores Russian gas in Germany’s eastern states and Berlin, and together with Gazprom it is building the Katharina underground gas storage (UGS) project with a design capacity of 650 million cubic meters (mmcm) of working gas volume and 26 mmcm daily withdrawal rate. The Katharina UGS is due completed in 2025.
Eaton offers IFPM73 fluid purifier with higher flow rate
Nov 15 – The Filtration Division of energy management company Eaton has added a higher volume flow rate system to its IFPM series of PLC-controlled, mobile, off-line fluid purifiers. Complementing the IFPM 33, which has a flow rate of 8 gpm (30 l/min), the new IFPM 73 has over double the flow rate of 20 gpm (70 l/min) for purifying oils and gas liquids stored in large tanks and reservoirs.
General Fusion sets up new base in Tennessee
Nov 12 – General Fusion has set up a new operations base in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as it seeks to commercialize fuson technology in collaboration with national laboratories, universities, and the U.S. government. This expansion will create up to 50 technical jobs.
