[Press release, KLM LINK] KLM has purchased sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for flights out of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Sustainable fuel is produced by Neste from used cooking oil and will reduce CO2 emissions by up to 80 % compared to fossil kerosene. This purchase is the next step in the use of sustainable fuel, as it is the first time the fuel will be supplied using the existing infrastructure at Schiphol. Furthermore, Neste is joining KLM’s Corporate BioFuel Programme. In doing so, Neste will reduce the CO2 emissions of its own business travel on KLM flights by 100%.
[BloombergNEF, December 3, 2019] Battery prices, which were above $1,100 per kilowatt-hour in 2010, have fallen 87% in real terms to $156/kWh in 2019. By 2023, average prices will be close to $100/kWh, according to the latest forecast from research company BloombergNEF (BNEF).
BNEF’s 2019 Battery Price Survey, published today at the BNEF
Summit in Shanghai, predicts that as cumulative demand passes 2TWh in
2024, prices will fall below $100/kWh. This price is seen as the point
around which EVs will start to reach price parity with internal
combustion engine vehicles.
General Motors has announced a new ($2.3B) joint-venture with LG Chem to build their own battery giga-factory, which will have 30 GWh of annual capacity, in Lordstown, Ohio. GM is going to make the packs, and LG Chem will be in charge of battery cell production.
The companies claimed that they were on track to eventually be below the $100/kWh barrier, which is often cited as the point at which it becomes cheaper to produce a BEV than the equivalent internal combustion vehicle. BEVs already usually have a lower total cost of ownership.
The 30GWh number will represent 30% of the expected 100GWh capacity that LG expects to have online by the end of 2020. That’s enough to build 2 million 50kWh electric vehicle battery packs.
“With this investment, Ohio and its highly capable workforce will play a key role in our journey toward a world with zero emissions,” said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra. “Combining our manufacturing expertise with LG Chem’s leading battery-cell technology will help accelerate our pursuit of an all-electric future. We look forward to collaborating with LG Chem on future cell technologies that will continue to improve the value we deliver to our customers.”
SaltX Technology (LINK) is a Swedish innovation company that has developed and patented a thermal energy storage technology. Any type of energy is stored chemically in nano-coated salts and released as hot water or steam.
SaltX Technology has developed a selection of salts for applications in numerous industries. The salts deliver temperatures in a range from -30°C to 550°C. In combination with different matrix technologies, the salts can be used equally efficiently in quantities ranging from a teaspoon to hundreds of thousands of tons.
SaltX technologies are used in solar collectors such as SunCool. Powered by the sun, SaltX nano-coated salts store heat energy, and release it in the form of heat and cooling when needed.
One of the early adopters is Löfbergs coffee roasting facility in Karlstad. The coffee maker can boast of having the world’s largest SunCool installation, covering 180 m2 of their roof. Each square meter saves up to 100 EUR per year.
Manufacturers who include the SaltX SunCool Development Kits in their systems aim to offer their customers tremendous yearly savings and an easy transition to a circular economy.
Please check out here for more application cases: LINK
Many are looking for new green coal or bio-coal or biomass briquette. The market is predicted to grow exponentially over the next ten years. Since bio-coal is produced from biomass, it does not give rise to fossil carbon dioxide. The industry, therefore, sees this as a possible solution where fossil coal is to be phased out.
As an example, today, a number of companies in India have switched from furnace oil, fire-wood, and coal to biomass briquettes to save costs on boiler fuels. Many companies are using biomass briquettes as fuel to earn Carbon Credits, which is an indirect advantage.
The basic principle for the production of bio-coal is based on old-time coal mills, where charcoal was produced. Biomass is heated in an oxygen-poor environment to at most 700 degrees, called pyrolysis. But today's manufacturing is much more efficient. Unlike charcoal, which is only made from wood, several types of bio-based materials can be used as raw material for bio-coal. For example, leaves, food waste, or animal waste. Today's production processes of bio-coal take place in equipment with advanced process control and the opportunity to capture and utilize gas and oil formed in the process. These can then be used to produce various chemicals and biofuels, according to Maria Lundgren at The Metal Research Institute Swerim in Sweden. The interest in bio-coal has recently exploded. To date, ten Swedish plants have received state subsidies to start bio-coal production.
Carbon dioxide emissions continue to increase - but the 2019 increase is not as great as last year. This is according to a report from the Global Carbon Project research project presented at the Madrid climate summit.
2018 increase was 2.1 percent, while 2019 increase is expected to land at 0.6 percent and emissions for the year are expected to be 37 billion tonnes.
Explanations of the decline are that the US and Europe use coal power to a lesser extent and that China's economy has slowed down.
Renewable energy is growing exponentially, but this growth has so far
been too low to offset the growth in fossil energy consumption.
Global fossil CO2 emissions are projected to rise by
0.6% in 2019 [range: -0.2% to +1.5%] The global growth is driven by the
underlying changes at the country level.
Share of global fossil CO2 emissions in 2018: coal (40%), oil (34%), gas (20%), cement (4%), flaring (1%, not shown)
Renewable energy is growing exponentially, but this growth has so far
been too low to offset the growth in fossil energy consumption.
Sion is an announced solar powered, full electric car, currently being developed by the German start-up Sono Motors. Its battery can be charged using the electric grid or its own solar cells.
According to a recent press release (Munich, December 2, 2019) – The German mobility provider Sono Motors launched one of the biggest community funding campaigns in Europe yesterday. The company’s campaign target is to generate 50 million euros between now and December 30, 2019, with preorders from existing and new supporters. The capital will then primarily be invested in production facilities for prototypes of the first solar electric vehicle (SEV): the Sion. This broad-based public campaign follows a strategic reorganization of the company’s finances. Long-term realization of the vision, an unreserved focus on the objectives of Sono Motors as well as the production and delivery of the Sion are to be safeguarded in ways other than with conventional financing rounds. The idea is for the follow-up financing to likewise be borne by the growing Sono Motors community, complemented by long-term investors who share and support the company’s value system and vision.
