US funds $28mn iron, steel decarbonization
The US Department of Energy (DOE) released plans to invest $28mn towards decarbonizing iron and steel production for 13 projects spanning nine states.
The DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) will manage the projects under the Revolutionizing Ore to Steel to Impact Emissions (ROSIE) program. The projects will focus on advance zero-process emission ironmaking and ultra-low life cycle emissions steelmaking.
Funding will be split between multiple universities and manufacturing companies.
States receiving funding include California ($4.01mn), Colorado ($2.87mn), Georgia ($2.84mn), Illinois ($3mn), Massachusetts ($6.16mn), Minnesota ($2.8mn), Nevada ($2.1mn), Pennsylvania ($760,000) and Utah ($3.48mn).
The iron and steel industry currently accounts for 7pc of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 11pc of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions with demand projected to rise 40pc by 2050, according to ARPA-E.
Following projected metrics by ROSIE, US CO2 emissions could decreased by 65mn tonnes (t), or 1pc. Global emissions could be cut as much as 2.9 gigatonnes, or 5.5pc.
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South Africa adopts climate change law
South Africa adopts climate change law
Cape Town, 25 July (Argus) — South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law the country's climate change bill, which sets out a national response to climate change for the first time. The new climate change act will enable the orderly reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the implementation of sectoral emission targets towards South Africa's commitment to reach net zero by 2050. Currently, the country is the 15th largest GHG emitter in the world, according to the World Resources Institute. The law provides policy guidelines to ensure South Africa reaches its nationally determined contribution (NDC) under the Paris climate agreement by assigning individual enterprises carbon budgets and facilitating public disclosure of their progress. In its updated 2021 NDC, the country has undertaken to cut its GHG emissions to 350mn-420mn t of CO2 equivalent (CO2e), equivalent to 19-32pc below 2010 levels, by 2030. The lower end of this range is in line with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C global warming threshold. To meet this, South Africa will have to achieve a steep decline in coal-fired electricity generation. A carbon tax is seen as a vital component of the country's mitigation strategy, according to the president. "By internalising the cost of carbon emissions, carbon tax incentivises companies to reduce their carbon footprint and invest in cleaner technologies, and also generates revenue for climate initiatives," Ramaphosa said. South Africa's carbon tax was introduced in a phased approach in June 2019 at a rate of 120 rands/t ($7/t) of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) and increased to R134/t of CO2e by the end of 2022. But tax-free allowances for energy-intensive sectors such as mining, and iron and steel, along with state-owned utility Eskom's exemption, implied an initial effective carbon tax rate as low as R6-48/t of CO2e. South Africa's National Treasury is targeting an increase to $30/t of CO2e by 2030. But the extension of phase one from the end of 2022 to the end of 2025, together with an uncertain future price trajectory and lack of clarity on future exemptions, means the effective carbon tax rate is likely to remain well below the IMF's recommended $50/t of CO2e by 2030 for emerging markets. The new climate change act seeks to align South Africa's climate change policies and strengthen co-ordination between different departments to ensure the country's transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy is not constrained by any policy contradictions. It outlines South Africa's planned mitigation and adaptation actions aimed at cutting GHG emissions over time, while reducing the risk of job losses and promoting new employment opportunities in the emerging green economy. The law also places a legal obligation on provinces and municipalities to ensure climate change risks and associated vulnerabilities are acted upon, while providing mechanisms for national government to offer additional financial support for these efforts. The new act formally establishes the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) as a statutory body tasked with providing advice on the country's climate change response. Among other things, the PCC is developing proposals for a just transition financing mechanism, for which a platform will be launched in the next few months. Over the last three years, South Africa has seen an increase in extreme weather events often with disastrous consequences for poor communities and vulnerable groups. To address the substantial gap between available disaster funds and the cost of disaster response, the government announced in February that it would establish a climate change response fund. At the time of the announcement, Ramaphosa reiterated that South Africa would undertake its just energy transition "at a pace, scale and cost that our country can afford and in a manner that ensures energy security". Elaine Mills Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU could launch 'other countries' HRC dumping probe
EU could launch 'other countries' HRC dumping probe
London, 25 July (Argus) — The European Commission soon could initiate a dumping investigation on some exporters selling into the 'other countries' quota for hot-rolled coil (HRC), according to multiple market sources. The 'other countries' quota in recent quarters has consistently filled rapidly upon resetting, and this pressure has been intensified by rising Chinese exports since August of last year. Some key 'other countries' sellers have seen the volumes they take from China balloon as a result. Vietnam bought more than 4.2mn t from China in the first six months of this year, compared with about 6mn t in the whole of 2023. China's increased exports has sparked talk that both India and Vietnam may start anti-dumping duty investigations. When announcing its 15pc cap on countries selling into the 'other countries' quota, the commission specifically alluded to the increase in Chinese exports affecting trade flows. Vietnam, Egypt, Japan and Taiwan are by far the largest sellers into the 'other countries' quota, and all of the countries initially exceeded their 141,849t cap quickly when the new quotas took force on 1 July. In April, before the cap was implemented, these four countries amounted for more than half of the 1.4mn t imported by the EU. The 'other countries' quota has essentially been reduced from 940,000 t/quarter to less than 600,000 t/quarter given the new cap. Sources suggested duties could be applied retroactively if the commission finds that material has been dumped. They also suggested it could be difficult to show dumping in some countries, such as Vietnam and Egypt, where domestic prices are often below export levels. A leading producer was gathering information on Egyptian cargoes arriving at EU ports in recent months, a trading firm said. The commission refused to comment on any potential investigation. By Colin Richardson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
China raises EV, ICE vehicles trade-in subsidies
China raises EV, ICE vehicles trade-in subsidies
Beijing, 25 July (Argus) — The Chinese government has raised subsidies to boost trade-in of old internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles with new energy vehicles (NEV). The subsidy for consumers who trade in an old NEV registered before 30 April 2018 or an ICE vehicle that meets or is below China's national 3 emission standard for a new NEV has doubled to 20,000 yuan from a previous subsidy announced in May . Electric vehicles cost anywhere between Yn50,000 to Yn1mn, with consumers mostly purchasing those in the Yn100,000-200,000 range, according to industry participants. The government is also offering a Yn15,000 subsidy for consumers who trade in an old NEV registered before 30 April 2018 or an ICE vehicle that meets or is below China's national 3 emission standard, and purchase a new ICE vehicle with the displacement below 2.0 litre. Beijing in early March announced a plan to promote the replacement of industrial equipment and consumer goods through large-scale trade-ins, with NEVs making up the main part of the scheme, as part of Beijing's efforts to meet its annual economic growth target of 5pc. China's ministry of finance announced on 3 June that it will allocate Yn6.44bn to local governments to pay the subsidies for vehicle trade-ins in 2024, including Yn107mn to Tianjin, Yn90.81mn to Shanghai, Yn74.61mn to Beijing and Yn66.49mn to Chongqing. The central government announced on 29 May that it will remove purchase restrictions for NEVs during 2024-25, with the capital city Beijing allocating 20,000 additional purchase quotas for NEVs to families without a car. China produced 1.003mn NEVs in June, up by 28pc from the previous year and by 6.7pc from May, with sales increasing by 30pc from a year earlier and by 9.8pc from the previous month to 1.049mn, partly driven by the country's supportive measures, especially the trade-in subsidies. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Feedstock imports shake up US biofuel production
Feedstock imports shake up US biofuel production
New York, 24 July (Argus) — Waste from around the world is increasingly being diverted to the US for biofuel production, helping decarbonize hard-to-electrify sectors like trucking and aviation. But as refiners turn away from conventional crop-based feedstocks, farm groups fear missing out on the biofuels boom. Driven by low-carbon fuel standards (LCFS) in states like California, US renewable diesel production capacity has more than doubled over the last two years to hit a record high of 4.1bn USG/yr in April according to the Energy Information Administration. Soybean and canola processors have invested in expanding crush capacity, expecting future biofuels growth to lift vegetable oil demand. But policymakers' growing focus on carbon intensity, a departure from the long-running federal renewable fuel standard (RFS) that sets volume mandates for broad types of fuel, primarily benefits waste feedstocks, which generate larger LCFS credits because they are assessed as producing fewer emissions. Argonne National Laboratory's GREET emissions model, which has been modified by federal and California regulators for clean fuels programs, factors in emissions sources like fertilizers and diesel use on farms for virgin vegetable oils but not for used oils sourced from cooking operations. Refiners trying to maximize government subsidies are thus sourcing waste-based feedstocks from wherever they can find them. Through May this year, imports to the US under the tariff code that includes used cooking oil (UCO) and yellow grease rose 90pc from year-prior levels to more than 1.8bn lb (844,000t). While China represents most of that, sources are diverse, with significant sums coming from Canada, the UK, and Indonesia. Imports of inedible and technical tallow, waste beef fat that can be turned into biofuels, have also risen 50pc so far this year to 800,000lb on ample supply from Brazil. While soybean oil was responsible for nearly half of biomass-based diesel production in 2021, that share has declined to around a third over the first four months this year as imports surge (see graph). "Every pound of imported feedstock that comes in displaces one pound of domestically sourced soybean oil or five pounds of soybeans," said Kailee Tkacz Buller, chief executive of the National Oilseed Processors Association. Even as LCFS and RFS credit prices have fallen over the last year, hurting biofuel production margins and threatening capacity additions , imports have not slowed. Feedstock suppliers, many from countries with less mature biofuel incentives and limited biorefining capacity, might have few options domestically. And exporting to the US means they can avoid the EU's more prescriptive feedstock limits and mounting scrutiny of biofuel imports. More ambitious targets in future years, particularly for sustainable aviation fuel, "will create a lot of competition for UCO in the global market," said Jane O'Malley, a researcher at the International Council on Clean Transportation. But for now, "the US has created the most lucrative market for waste-based biofuel pathways." Incentives for US refiners to use waste-based feedstocks will only become stronger next year when expiring tax credits are replaced by the Inflation Reduction Act's 45Z credit, structured as a sliding scale so that fuels generate more of a subsidy as they produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions. While essentially all fuel will receive less of a benefit than in past years since the maximum credit is reserved for carbon-neutral fuels, the drop in benefits will be most pronounced for fuels from vegetable oils. Granted, President Joe Biden's administration wants the 45Z credit to account for the benefits of "climate-smart" agriculture, potentially helping close some of the assessed emissions gap between crop and waste feedstocks. But the administration's timeline for issuing guidance is unclear, leaving the market with little clarity about which practices farmers should start deploying and documenting. "While a tax credit can be retroactive, you can't retroactively farm," said Alexa Combelic, director of government affairs at the American Soybean Association. Squeaky wheel gets the soybean oil The concerns of agricultural groups have not gone unnoticed in Washington, DC, where lawmakers from both parties have recently called for higher biofuel blending obligations, prompt 45Z guidance, and more transparency around how federal agencies scrutinize UCO imports. There are also lobbying opportunities in California, where regulators are weighing LCFS updates ahead of a planned hearing in November. At minimum, agricultural groups are likely to continue pushing for more visibility into the UCO supply chain, which could take the form of upping already-burdensome recordkeeping requirements for clean fuels incentives and setting a larger role for auditors. Fraud would be hard to prove, but two external groups told Argus that the Biden administration has indicated that it is looking into UCO collection rates in some countries, which could at least point to potential discrepancies with expected supply. More muscular interventions, including trade disincentives, are also possible. Multiple farm associations, including corn interests frustrated that the country's first alcohol-to-jet facility is using Brazilian sugarcane ethanol , have asked the Biden administration to prevent fuels derived from foreign feedstocks from qualifying for 45Z. The possible return of former president Donald Trump to the White House next year would likely mean sharply higher tariffs on China too, potentially stemming the flow of feedstocks from that country — if not from the many others shipping waste-based feedstocks to the US. Protectionism has obvious risks, since leaving refiners with fewer feedstock options could jeopardize planned biofuel capacity additions that ultimately benefit farmers. But at least some US agriculture companies, insistent that they can sustainably increase feedstock production if incentives allow, see major changes to current policy as necessary. By Cole Martin Waste imports crowd out soybean oil Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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