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Linde to build Singapore green hydrogen plant: Update

  • Spanish Market: Hydrogen
  • 21/04/23

Adds planned output in paragraph 2, other details throughout

Industrial gas firm Linde plans to build a 9MW alkaline electrolyser on Singapore's Jurong island as part of a long-term green hydrogen supply deal with German chemicals firm Evonik.

"The new plant is expected to come on stream in 2024 and will be the largest electrolyser ever installed in Singapore," Linde said on 20 April without disclosing further details of the deal. The plant should be able to produce around 200 kg/hour of green hydrogen.

Linde will also own and operate the plant. Evonik plans to use the green hydrogen from the plant to manufacture methionine, a key component in animal feed. The deal with Linde is to support Evonik's planned expansion in Singapore by helping to limit its greenhouse gas emissions.

Evonik last month announced that it plans to expand its methionine capacity on Jurong island by 40,000t to around 340,000 t/yr by the third quarter of 2024.

Linde currently supplies hydrogen, as well as methane and CO2, to the methionine plants from two steam methane reformer-based integrated gas facilities on Jurong island that it built as part of earlier agreements with Evonik in 2014 and 2019.

"The electrolyser investment marks a significant supply concept shift away from Linde's earlier investments for Evonik," Lawrence Koh, Linde's director of business development and head of China hydrogen business, said. "Companies are making greener decisions for their new investments and so is Linde."

The planned Jurong island electrolyser will also supply the domestic merchant market to meet rising demand for green hydrogen, Linde said. Singapore sees the development and use of low-carbon hydrogen as a major decarbonisation pathway, having set a goal to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

Linde is separately studying the use of hydrogen as an aviation fuel with Singapore's Civil Aviation Authority, Changi Airport and aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

Singapore so far has plans to import hydrogen from Malaysia and Japan, although supplies could also come from Indonesia.


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19/03/25

UK wealth fund to prioritise ‘clean energy’ investment

UK wealth fund to prioritise ‘clean energy’ investment

London, 19 March (Argus) — The UK government has set "clean energy" as a priority investment sector for its new national wealth fund, and set out a plan for the fund to interact with newly-formed Great British Energy to drive decarbonisation. The two organisations will interact to provide a "strong end-to-end clean energy development and finance offer" and help the country hit its net zero targets, the government said. Great British Energy — staffed by specialists in the sector — will provide "development expertise", while the wealth fund will deliver finance, the government said. Great British Energy "will develop, invest in, build and operate clean energy projects across the UK", including owning stakes in the projects it develops itself, the government said. The organisation will develop "clean energy assets from inception", as well as co-develop and invest in more advanced projects. The national wealth fund "will unlock over £70bn ($90.7bn) in private investment to help deliver economic growth, make Britain a clean energy superpower, and strengthen the defence sector", the government said. The fund will prioritise investment in "clean energy, advanced manufacturing, digital technologies, and transport", and flagged likely spending on carbon capture and green hydrogen projects, as well as gigafactories and "green steel". The government has made commitments to "clean power" deployment and hitting the UK's legally-binding net zero by 2050 target central to its approach, sticking to pledges made ahead of last July's election . The government is targeting 95pc "clean power" by 2030 and consulted on a "clean energy future" for the North Sea earlier this month . By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EU mulls competitive metals decarbonisation


19/03/25
19/03/25

EU mulls competitive metals decarbonisation

Brussels, 19 March (Argus) — The European Commission today presented its steel and metals action plan, setting out actions to boost the sector's decarbonisation while countering unfair competition from outside the bloc. The plan has a strong focus on combatting global market distortion, whether in terms of trade or combined with circumvention of the bloc's emissions trading system (ETS) and carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM). "We will strengthen the current safeguard clause. We aim for a reduction of up to 15pc in [steel] imports," said industry commissioner Stephane Sejourne. Aside from revised steel safeguard measures , trade actions include a ferro-alloys safeguards investigation "expeditiously" by 18 November. And the commission promises to assess whether the bloc's use of the lesser duty rule regime requires changes. In addition to a CBAM scheme for exported goods , the measures also cover energy prices, decarbonisation through electrification and more flexible rules for low-carbon hydrogen. The commission promises revised rules to enable more EU states to provide indirect cost compensation for steel and aluminium firms for carbon costs passed on through electricity bills. And Brussels wants EU states to lower costs for energy-intensive industries through network tariffs, facilitating power purchase agreements (PPAs) and lowering electricity taxation to zero. With direct electrification not always possible or cost-effective, the commission points to hydrogen as a key enabler of decarbonisation in the steel and metals industries. Some measures have been toned down from drafts. The commission's plan no longer mentions implementing a melt and pour clause , "effective immediately". The commission will now "assess" whether it should adapt its practice by introducing a melted and poured rule, regardless of the place of subsequent transformation and origins. But the commission now promises that the delegated act on low-carbon hydrogen will provide rules that are "as flexible as possible" to achieve greenhouse gas emission-reduction goals for low-carbon fuels in a "technology neutral way". Industry association Hydrogen Europe welcomed the commission's direct acknowledgment of hydrogen as the best route to decarbonisation for primary steel production. "Labelling schemes, sustainability criteria, and dedicated funding mechanisms are necessary first steps to incentivise the offtake of green products," said Hydrogen Europe's industrial policy director Laurent Donceel. The commission's paper sends a clear message that "a strong European Union needs a strong European steel industry", said Henrik Adam, president of European steel association Eurofer. But the association also called on the EU to implement "meaningful solutions through ambitious measures". By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

UK study sets out Grangemouth's post-refining future


19/03/25
19/03/25

UK study sets out Grangemouth's post-refining future

Edinburgh, 19 March (Argus) — A government-funded study has identified nine potential low-carbon and renewable options for the Grangemouth site in Scotland following the planned closure of its 150,000 b/d refinery in the second quarter this year. The nine possible projects outlined in the Project Willow study centre around waste, bio-feedstocks and industries supporting the development of offshore wind. They could benefit each other through synergies and create up to 800 direct jobs, but their success "will require significant contributions from both the public and private sector", with an initial £3.5bn ($4.5bn) in capital investments needed, the study said. The £1.5mn report, paid for by the UK and Scottish governments, was commissioned by Grangemouth refinery operator Petroineos, which announced in November 2023 that it was going to close the plant and convert it into a fuel import terminal. The UK and Scottish governments have since set aside £25mn and £200mn for Grangemouth, along with other initiatives such as Scotland's £100mn Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal package. The study's 'waste' pathway comprises a hydrothermal plastic recycling project, a dissolution plastic recycling facility and a bio-refining project relying on bacterial fermentation (ABE). Under the 'bio-feedstock' pathway, the study envisages a second-generation bioethanol plant on Scottish timber feedstock and an anaerobic digestion facility using organic waste to produce biomethane. Second-generation bioethanol refers to ethanol made from non-edible resources such as biomass. This pathway also suggests a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant, with production made from hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA). UK trade union Unite has been supportive of this option , but Petroineos deemed it unviable "under current regulatory conditions". The third pathway — called conduit for offshore wind — is mostly focused on hydrogen. It includes fuel switching, producing jet from e-methanol and methanol as well as producing low-carbon ammonia for the shipping and chemicals industry. The second-generation ethanol plant and the HEFA facility, as well as the e-methanol and e-ammonia projects, would have a longer 2030-40 timeline, against a 2028-30 timeline for the other projects. The projects would benefit from existing infrastructure such as Grangemouth's port, which includes container, bulk and liquid fuel terminals. "There are also opportunities to reuse existing tank storage, ethanol facilities, and other ancillary assets at the site," the study said. Unite has criticised the study's project timelines, pointing out most would start years after the refinery had closed, by which time jobs would have been lost. Many of the projects "could be fast tracked and implemented now", including converting the refinery to SAF production, the union said. "Project Willow was created by Petroineos as a fig leaf to justify its act of industrial vandalism of shutting the refinery and axing jobs. It asked the wrong questions and then failed to provide the answers that Grangemouth refinery workers need," Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said. "There are projects like SAF production which can be swiftly enacted to protect jobs and those opportunities must not be lost. This would pave the way for the UK to become a world leader in green aviation." By Caroline Varin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US H2 hype gives way to more practical prospects


19/03/25
19/03/25

US H2 hype gives way to more practical prospects

Houston, 19 March (Argus) — Hydrogen's one-time promise as a wonder fuel has been replaced in 2025 with a more practical understanding of its limitations, a momentum shift welcomed by industry proponents gathered in Houston, Texas, last week at the CERAWeek by S&P Global energy conference. It has been a roller coast ride for the sector since the administration of President Joe Biden zeroed in on hydrogen as a means of reducing emissions and creating jobs, unveiling lucrative tax incentives in 2022's Inflation Reduction Act. A frenzy of project proposals soon followed. That excitement dissolved into a frustrating wait as the administration embarked on a years-long review process that only concluded in January with the release of finalized rules for the 45V production tax credits, leading some to conclude the hydrogen dream crashed before takeoff. The truth is more nuanced. "The death of hydrogen has been greatly exaggerated," said Chevron's vice president of hydrogen, Austin Knight, while speaking at CERAWeek. "There are real projects actually happening," he said, pointing to the company's ACES Delta joint venture with Mitsubishi Power. The Utah project is forecast to initially convert 220MW of renewable power into 100 metric tonnes hydrogen, which will be stored in underground salt caverns. The site will begin operations this year, said Knight. Whittling the sector down to its most realistic prospects is a welcome development from previous years when hydrogen was viewed as the "Swiss knife" of fuels, or one that could be used to solve almost any problem, said Oleksiy Tatarenko, senior principal at Rocky Mountain Institute. "Swiss knives are very expensive and not used very often," he said. Instead, hydrogen is now being viewed as a more precise tool for specific applications in "hard-to-abate" industries like steel and chemicals, said Tatarenko. Hydrogen's shifting role in the clean energy landscape could even be seen in the CERAWeek conference's floor plan this year. In a space dedicated to showcasing new technologies and ideas, the so-called Hydrogen Hub from previous years had disappeared. In its place stood the "New Energies Hub" under which hydrogen was but one of multiple clean-energy solutions on display, along with biofuels, nuclear power and other renewables. "That is a positive thing for this space writ large," said Zane McDonald, executive director of GTI Energy's Open Hydrogen Initiative. "We are starting to get very practical. We want to focus on projects that are going to make money, that have an offtaker and can materialize in the next two years." Among the projects expected to take off the most rapidly are those that can tap into demand for lower-carbon fuels in Europe and Asia or more modestly sized domestic producers located near specialty industries that are seeking to curb emissions. "The quality of the projects we're seeing in our pipeline is better," said Bryan Mandelbaum, director of hydrogen and ammonia at Black & Veatch, who sees a growing niche for projects between 10MW to 200MW that target heavy industries like chemical processors. This week, the global engineering, procurement and construction company secured a deal with Verdagy to provide FEED services for a 60MW renewable hydrogen plant near the Texas Gulf coast. Mandelbaum favorably contrasted the current scenario with the flurry of clients that appeared shortly after the 45V hydrogen production tax was first announced. "It was good for business in the short term but at the same time you knew 80pc of those were never going to develop beyond that first phase of work," he said. By Jasmina Kelemen Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EU prepares CBAM export scheme


17/03/25
17/03/25

EU prepares CBAM export scheme

Brussels, 17 March (Argus) — The European Commission is preparing a "solution" for exported goods under the bloc's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), to be presented before the end of the year. The commission will also expand the scope of the CBAM to "certain" steel and aluminium-intensive downstream products. The changes to the CBAM will be announced as part of a European steel and metals plan. In a draft of the plan to be formally presented on 19 March, the commission points to the need to address the problem of carbon leakage for CBAM goods exported from the EU to non-EU countries. The draft also notes that the commission is currently "quantifying" risks, before proposing an extension of the CBAM to "certain" steel and aluminium-intensive downstream products, so as to address the risk of European producers relocating outside the bloc to avoid higher carbon costs. The metals plan also announces an anti-circumvention strategy for the CBAM to be presented in the second half of 2025. The commission points to the risk of goods from low-carbon production facilities in non-EU countries being redirected to European customers, while carbon-intensive production continues for other markets. The metals plan also points to the risk of "greenwashing" carbon accounting practices, with "electro-intensive metals production benefiting from market-based instruments to appear low-carbon". The commission put forward proposals last month to simplify the CBAM, exempting some 90pc of the firms currently covered by the mechanism. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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