By Ek! Northvolt raises $600m
The European battery manufacturer has raised the funds with a private shares placement which included the co-founder and CEO of music streaming service Spotify.
EDF buys 29% stake in French microgrid specialist Ecosun
Alsace start-up Ecosun is developing innovative microgrid solutions to provide electricity in isolated areas.
Georgia explores green hydrogen
The Caucasian nation could use its hydropower resources to generate the sustainable fuel for transport in its gas pipeline network. An agreement to cost the development of such an industry formed part of a deal which will see the EBRD lend the Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation €217 million to help it through a Covid-19-related cash crisis.
South African renewables jobs should be in coal regions
A study into the potential pitfalls of the shift to clean power in the nation’s coal-dependent energy mix, pointed out almost all of South Africa’s solar farms are far to the south and west of the coal regions likely to bear the brunt of job losses in a country which already has 29% unemployment.
UK battery specialist considers lithium-ion cell fab in Australia
‘Lithium Valley’, south of Perth, is set for two new faces after U.K. battery manufacturer Amte Power and Perth-based infrastructure firm Infranomics signed an agreement to explore the possibility of establishing lithium-ion cell manufacturing facilities in the state of Western Australia.
Portuguese green hydrogen for the Port of Rotterdam
The Portuguese and Dutch governments want to connect the hydrogen project of Sines to the Port of Rotterdam and to develop a strategic export-import value chain to ensure the production and transport of green hydrogen to the Netherlands and its hinterland.
‘European cobalt supply hinges on circular economy’
Amid an uptake in EV sales, researchers are examining battery material supply chains. A report has indicated policy-driven circular economy strategies must be introduced in Europe if the bloc is to strengthen its resilience to volatility in the cobalt market.
Iberdrola sets up green hydrogen unit
The Spanish energy company, which has hydrogen projects under way in its homeland and the United Kingdom, says it will allocate new resources to position itself at the forefront of the supply of renewables-powered hydrogen.
How does the US retire 236 GW of coal and 1,000 gas peaker plants?
Victory in the economic realm (increasingly the case with solar, solar-plus-storage and wind) is no guarantee of market victory if the regulations are stacked against renewables.
Power-to-hydrogen for multi-energy systems
Scientists in Switzerland say power-to-hydrogen is particularly promising for coupling electricity and heating and offsetting seasonal variation in renewables generation in sector-coupled energy networks. Their analysis indicated the technology may be especially useful in areas with a high ratio of seasonal thermal-to-electric demand.
