India 2024-25 budget waives duties on critical minerals
India will reduce or remove custom duties for 25 critical minerals and blister copper but the government is maintaining its tax on copper scrap.
A full list of the 25 critical minerals was not announced but India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her 2024-25 fiscal year budget speech today that lithium, copper, cobalt and rare earths are crucial for sectors like nuclear energy, renewable energy, space, defence, telecommunications and high-tech electronics. Out of the 25 critical minerals to be exempt from the custom duties, 23 will be fully exempt and two will have their duty cut.
The Indian government is also launching a critical mineral mission aimed at strengthening the supply chain for essential minerals. This is to encourage the private and public sectors to boost their long-term competitiveness.
Customs duties on precious metals like gold and silver have been reduced to 6pc, while platinum is cut to 6.4pc.
India has waived the 2.5pc basic customs duty on ferro-nickel to enhance the domestic production cost efficiency of stainless steel, with it currently import dependent to meet domestic demand.
The concessional customs duty on copper scrap remains at 2.5pc, while the duty on blister copper has been reduced to zero from its previous 2.5pc. This adjustment aims to support the copper industry by reducing imports.
The government has continued the zero custom duty on ferrous scrap and nickel cathode in a bid to support to achieving net-zero carbon emissions.
A carbon market will be set up for India's hard-to-abate steel and cement sector, Sitharaman said. The government is working towards launching a domestic compliance carbon market by the end of this year to ensure firms keep to their greenhouse emissions intensity targets, the Carbon Markets Association of India told Argus in May.
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Fulcrum Bioenergy files for Chapter 11 relief
Fulcrum Bioenergy files for Chapter 11 relief
New York, 13 September (Argus) — A US company that had set ambitious plans to convert garbage into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and attracted investments from major airlines and energy companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week. Fulcrum Bioenergy and subsidiaries filed for relief before the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on Monday, estimating outstanding obligations to over 200 creditors at more than $456mn. A lawyer representing Fulcrum, Robert Dehney, said at a Thursday hearing that the company was on the verge of declaring Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which typically involves liquidation of assets, before a late-breaking bid from an interested company prompted a change in plans. Fulcrum chief restructuring officer Mark Smith said in a declaration to the court that the company wants to initiate the sales process and move through the chapter 11 process on an "expeditious timeline." Judge Thomas Horan on Thursday preliminarily approved various first-day motions, including a request to continue paying Fulcrum's handful of remaining employees. Fulcrum began initial operations at its flagship Nevada facility in 2022, becoming the first company to commercialize a clean fuels pathway based on gasifying garbage and signing offtake agreements with BP, United Airlines, and others. The process at the Nevada site involved receiving and sorting landfill waste, converting that to a synthetic crude oil through a gasification process, and then sending that feedstock to a Marathon Petroleum refinery to be processed into a usable low-carbon fuel. Fulcrum eventually wanted to be able to upgrade the synthetic crude into SAF on site. An archived version of the Fulcrum website, which is no longer online, also set plans for eventual biorefineries and feedstock processing facilities in Indiana, along the US Gulf coast, and in the UK and said its suite of facilities could ultimately support 400mn USG/yr of production capacity. But Fulcrum has reported few updates on its progress more recently, and there were signs of financial struggles. Multiple contractors have filed lawsuits alleging missed payments, while UMB Bank indicated in October last year that Fulcrum had defaulted on debt obligations. The Nevada site ceased operations in May and plans for other US facilities are apparently on hold, though filings indicate that Fulcrum has not yet determined whether to begin restructuring proceedings for any subsidiaries outside the US. Fulcrum's business "represents a revolutionary idea," Smith said in his declaration, but "as with all cutting-edge businesses, the cost of innovation has been born through delays in operations and the inability to anticipate issues based on prior ventures and experiences." There were necessary equipment changes after initial operations begun, but these were expensive and affected by supply chain delays, he said. It is unclear how much feedstock was successfully delivered to Marathon, which declined to comment. The Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific, which had signed an offtake agreement with Fulcrum, told Argus that it never received any SAF. Other companies that had signed offtake agreements did not immediately respond to requests for comment or declined to comment. Fulcrum had been soliciting interest from potential buyers for months and finalized an agreement with a company called Switch LTD, which agreed this month to offer a "stalking horse" bid to purchase Fulcrum's assets for $15mn and issue a loan of up to $5mn to fund Fulcrum's bankruptcy cases. A stalking horse bidding method is a way to arrive at a minimum bid price that other prospective buyers then must exceed. Filings before the court this week did not elaborate on the nature of Switch's business or its reasons for wanting to acquire Fulcrum's assets. Dehney described Switch as a "disinterested third party" and said that Fulcrum has received other interest from prospective buyers, some eyeing all of Fulcrum's assets and some just looking at physical property, intellectual property, or the UK subsidiary specifically. Failure to launch The idea of gasifying waste to produce fuel has long been attractive, since feedstock costs would be low and the Fischer-Tropsch chemical process to convert synthetic gas to liquids has been known for decades. Demand for low-carbon alternatives to jet fuel is high among major airlines, some of which have government mandates to meet or voluntary goals to rapidly scale up SAF consumption by 2030. While Fulcrum's Chapter 11 filing "was not really a surprise" given its recent financial troubles, it could give investors pause about future projects aiming to use similar technology, according to BloombergNEF renewable fuels senior associate Jade Patterson. The large majority of SAF capacity currently and the bulk of planned capacity additions through 2030 come from the more established method of hydroprocessing non-petroleum feedstocks like fats, oils, and greases, Patterson said. Efforts to build gas-to-liquids facilities, by comparison, have faced delays and financial challenges. Red Rock Biofuels had aimed for a refinery converting forest waste to begin operations in 2020 , but the company that later acquired the Oregon site at auction is now targeting a 2026 launch for its clean fuels facility. And Fulcrum's plans for converting waste into fuel go back more than a decade, having inked its first deal with a municipal solid waste supplier in 2008. Kickstarting a market for a novel fuel pathway has also not been helped by a dip over the last year for prices of US federal and state environmental credits, which function as a crucial source of revenue for biofuel producers. There is also uncertainty about how much federal subsidy certain fuels will earn when an Inflation Reduction Act tax credit for low-carbon fuels kicks off next year. But other gas-to-liquids companies are marching on — including DG Fuels, whose president told Argus last month that the company plans to reach a final investment decision by the first quarter next year on a potentially 178mn USG/yr SAF plant in Louisiana that will gasify biomass. The company has earlier-stage plans for similar facilities in Maine and Nebraska. By Cole Martin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
UK High Court rules Cumbria coal mine permit unlawful
UK High Court rules Cumbria coal mine permit unlawful
London, 13 September (Argus) — The UK's High Court has quashed planning permission granted in 2022 for a coal mine in Cumbria, northwest England, ruling the approval was unlawful. The court judgment found the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that would result if the coal was burned — known as scope 3 emissions — were not properly considered during the planning process. The proposed mine's developer, West Cumbria Mining, said it would produce a "net zero coal product", using methane capture and abatement, renewable power, "tree planting… and offset of minor residual emissions". But the judgment found the secretary of state at the time, Michael Gove, acted unlawfully in accepting that claim. The UK's Climate Change Act does not allow reliance on international offsets to meet the country's legally-binding carbon budgets. The then-Conservative UK government granted permission for the mine — set to produce metallurgical coal, used in steel production — in December 2022 to West Cumbria Mining. Environmental groups Friends of the Earth and South Lakes Action on Climate Change sought a judicial review, a challenge to the way in which a decision has been made by a public body, focusing on the procedures followed rather than the conclusion reached. The UK's Labour government, elected in July, said it would not defend the planning decision in court. The government will now have to reconsider the planning application, taking into account the "full climate impact", Friends of the Earth said. "West Cumbria Mining will consider the implications of the High Court judgement and has no comment to make at this time", the company told Argus . Today's ruling referenced a landmark June judgment from the UK's Supreme Court, which found that Surrey County Council's decision to permit an oil development was "unlawful because the end use atmospheric emissions from burning the extracted oil were not assessed as part of the environmental impact assessment". The outcome has prompted the UK government to develop new environmental guidance for oil and gas firms . By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
British Steel Scunthorpe rolling may stop if BF closes
British Steel Scunthorpe rolling may stop if BF closes
London, 13 September (Argus) — British Steel's Scunthorpe rolling mills may not be able to continue operating if the last blast furnace (BF) closes. The rolling lines are powered by gas captured from the BF process. Recent furnace stability problems and the subsequent lack of gas mean the company has been intermittently operating some lines. It is currently running one BF, which it has fed with stocked raw materials. "If they shut the last blast furnace and import semis they would have to put some liquid gas solution in place and modify the reheat furnaces to be able to run on this different gas supply," a source said. The move to one furnace and reduction in gas supply has already affected availability of some products, and service centres expect tight universal channel supply in the coming months as the company opts for heavier, less lossmaking products. Production at Skinningrove and Teesside could continue, as both sites already have gas supply. But rail production at Scunthorpe would cease without any investment in gas supply. Rail is one of the more profitable businesses in the group, and also important for the wider UK as it is a major supplier to Network Rail. Some market participants are gearing up for Jingye, the Chinese owner of British Steel, to walk away. Executives from British Steel, and local politicians, are visiting China for discussions with Jingye, sources suggest. A spokesperson for British Steel refused to comment on "hypotheticals". "We are in ongoing discussions with the government about our decarbonisation plans and the future operations of our UK business. While progress continues, no final decisions have been made," the spokesperson said. A decision on the BFs could be made in the next few weeks, with them both potentially closing before Christmas, sources suggest. Speaking in Parliament earlier this week, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he was "heavily constrained" in his options for British Steel and operating on a shorter time window than the previous administration. The Chinese market has weakened considerably in recent months, which will have affected Jingye financially, along with all other mills, sources said. By Colin Richardson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Tokyo silent on Nippon-US Steel deal to avoid meddling
Tokyo silent on Nippon-US Steel deal to avoid meddling
Tokyo, 13 September (Argus) — The Japanese government is withholding any comment on the politically fraught acquisition of US Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel because it will create meddling, the country's trade and industry (Meti) minister said. Since Nippon Steel announced its $15bn deal to acquire US Steel in December 2023, Tokyo has remained silent despite it evoking bitter political and industrial debate. This is because any governmental comment will cause "interference in the internal affairs", Meti minister Ken Saito said on 13 September. The acquisition is facing stiff resistance from US vice-president and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris who said on 2 September in Pittsburgh that "US Steel should remain US-owned and US-operated".Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump criticised the deal in February, vowing to block the sale . Criticism from both candidates is seen as an attempt to gain the support of US labour unions for their presidential election ambitions. The deal is currently under review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), with US President Biden possibly considering vetoing the deal. The Japanese business federation Keidanren responded with an open letter to US treasury secretary Janet Yellen, who chairs the CFIUS, expressing concern about "political pressure being brought to bear" on the committee. "We fear that the CFIUS process is being used to further political agendas that are outside the committee's purview and putting the US economy and workers at risk", the letter said. "It is critical that CFIUS remain solely focused on defending US national security while championing economic openness. That was the standard set when Congress codified CFIUS in the 1980s". Meti minister Saito did not make any further direct comment on the deal, only to reiterate that each and every transaction by US and Japanese companies are the building blocks for astrong and resilient bilateral economy. By Yusuke Maekawa Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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