Japanese firms develop hydrogen fuel cells for shipping
A Japanese group of private-sector and state firms are joining forces to study and develop hydrogen fuel cells for use in commercial shipping, as part of their strategy to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Utility Kansai Electric Power, energy firm Iwatani, shipbuilder Namura Shipbuilding, the state-owned Development Bank of Japan and the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology have agreed to start a feasibility study to develop a vessel powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The partners also plan to develop a fuelling station to supply hydrogen to a vessel.
The group is aiming to operate the hydrogen fuel cell vessel during the Osaka-Kansai Japan Expo in 2025. The 30m vessel is designed to carry around 100 people at around 20km/h.
Japanese firms are gearing up efforts to expand their hydrogen-related businesses, backed by the government's latest pledge for a carbon neutral society by 2050. Japan's trade and industry ministry is working on action plans covering areas such as hydrogen fuel, battery storage and carbon recycling.
Japanese engineering firm IHI, refiner Eneos, regional power firm Kitakyushu Power, industrial gas firm Fukuoka Oxygen and the Kitakyushu city and Fukuoka prefecture governments yesterday started a pilot project to produce, transport and consume CO2-free hydrogen at Hibikinada in Fukuoka prefecture. The partners aim to cut production costs through the demonstration project, while using surplus solar, wind and waste-driven power output. They target starting full-sale operations during the April 2022-March 2023 fiscal year.
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Singapore, Rotterdam advance 'green' shipping corridor
Singapore, Rotterdam advance 'green' shipping corridor
Singapore, 15 April (Argus) — The Singapore-Rotterdam Green and Digital Shipping Corridor (GDSC) is accelerating its decarbonisation efforts with new partners, and is advancing initiatives to encourage the uptake of sustainable marine fuels. The world's two largest marine fuel hubs established the Singapore-Rotterdam GDSC in August 2022, in a push for maritime decarbonisation and digitalisation between the ports. There are 26 global value-chain partners in the GDSC initiative including fuel suppliers, shipping lines, knowledge partners and financial entities. German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd is the latest partner in the Singapore-Rotterdam trade lane, committing to operate large container vessels on zero and near-zero carbon emission fuels. Hapag-Lloyd is the world's fifth-largest liner shipping firm with at least 260 ocean-going vessels, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). GDSC working groups will also pilot the uptake of sustainable marine fuels — like bio-methane, methanol, ammonia, and hydrogen — and test out commercial structures to reduce cost barriers in switching to alternative fuels. This includes a bio-methane working group that is studying regulations and standards to support adopting the fuel for marine bunkering on a commercial scale. GDSC partners also plan to carry out bio-LNG bunkering pilots over 2024-25, based on a mass balancing chain of custody principle. A methanol working group is working on fuel standards and knowledge exchange, in addition to addressing common challenges to carry out commercial methanol bunkering at Singapore and Rotterdam. And an ammonia working group is developing a framework to assess the lifecycle greenhouse gas intensity of green ammonia for bunkering, to be completed by 2025. Improvements to digitalisation have also been made as part of the GDSC initiative, with Singapore and Rotterdam successfully piloting an exchange of port-to-port data. Both ports will be able to exchange vessel arrival and departure times for port planning, and ships travelling between Singapore and Rotterdam can also optimise their port call voyage. The maritime sector is pushing towards a more resilient and efficient energy transition, and participants have pointed out that collaboration between countries and stakeholders would be key to green shipping corridors . The GDSC is a "very valuable collaboration in accelerating the twin transition: the integration of digital innovation in energy transition efforts," said chief executive officer of Port of Rotterdam Authority (PoR), Boudewijn Siemons. "Not only are we seeing the first results in standardization and data sharing for Port Call Optimization but also the first steps in moving towards operationalization of zero and low carbon fuels on this trade lane." Progress on the GDSC development also reflects that "public-private collaboration across global value chains can be achieved," said MPA chief executive Teo Eng Dih. By Cassia Teo Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Singapore consortium to form emissions registry
Singapore consortium to form emissions registry
Singapore, 15 April (Argus) — A consortium of firms led by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) will set up a registry to help local businesses establish more accurate emission inventories, the SBF announced today. The SBP is partnering the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, consultancy PwC and telecommunications group Singtel to set up the Singapore Emission Factors Registry (SEFR). The first phase of the registry is targeted to be ready by the end of this year. The SEFR will consist of an emission factors (EFs) database that is reflective of local conditions, according to the SBF. The EFs will allow for the conversion of business activities into greenhouse gas emissions. More details on how this conversion will be carried out were not provided, although the SEFR "supports existing reporting tools and solutions in the ecosystem that help enterprises automate their sustainability reporting process," said the SBF. Singapore businesses are currently using EFs from international sources such as the US Environmental Protection Agency and UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in their carbon emissions reporting, especially for scope 3 emissions. The "localised" EFs will be developed in phases, and the initial base load for the first phase will be made up of data from various government agencies, in relation to transportation, water, general waste and energy. EFs for additional categories will be developed and released based on demand and after industry consultations. Three-quarters of local businesses have already implemented or plan to implement environmental, social and governance (EGS) practices into their operations, according to a survey by the SBF. But 60pc of businesses stated they require support in areas of funding, greater clarity on EGS reporting metrics and access to ESG tracking and measurement technology. "With the development of localised EFs, local businesses will be able to report their emissions more accurately," said SBF chief executive Kok Ping Soon. "The SEFR is part of a broader suite of programmes that SBF will progressively be rolling out to support businesses in their net zero transition," he added. This is the latest in a series of moves Singapore has taken to create a carbon market as part of its decarbonisation efforts. The country in June last year launched a spot trading platform for carbon credits . It subsequently in December published a list of eligible international carbon credits under the International Carbon Credit framework, which companies can use to offset up to 5pc of their carbon tax liability , in lieu of paying the carbon tax. Singapore's carbon tax has been set at S$25/t ($18/t) for 2024-25 and will subsequently be raised to S$45/t in 2026-27. The tax will be reviewed with a long-term view of increasing it to S$50-80/t by 2030. By Prethika Nair Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Gunvor set for buying spree after windfall: CEO
Gunvor set for buying spree after windfall: CEO
London, 12 April (Argus) — Trading firm Gunvor plans to use part of a massive earnings windfall over the past two years to build out its asset base, its chief executive Torbjörn Törnqvist told Argus . "Today, we are under-invested in assets so we will change that," Törnqvist said, adding that investments would be broad based and to some extent opportunistic. "We will employ quite a lot of capital in investments." Independent commodity trading companies are sitting on unprecedented piles of cash after two years of bumper earnings arising from supply chain disruptions and market volatility. While Geneva-based Gunvor is smaller than its peers Vitol, Trafigura and Mercuria, it is still a huge company by most metrics. It reported revenues of $127bn in 2023 and a profit of $1.25bn, following a record $2.36bn in 2022. It has kept most of its earnings in house and had an equity position of almost $6.16bn by the end of 2023 — its highest ever. Törnqvist is eyeing further growth. "We will definitely be a much bigger company, that I can say," he replied when asked where he saw Gunvor in 10 years' time. "I think we will grow in tune with the [energy] transition." Trading firms are looking for ways to keep their competitive advantage, particularly given the uncertainties associated with the energy transition. One emerging trend is an appetite for infrastructure. Vitol is in the process of buying a controlling stake in Italian refiner Saras, which operates the 300,000 b/d Sarroch refinery in Sardinia. Trafigura said this week that it is in talks to buy ExxonMobil's 133,000 b/d Fos refinery on the French Mediterranean coast. Part of the rationale behind these moves is to increase optionality and take advantage of the loss of Russian products to the European market, as well the closure of large chunks of local refining capacity. Gunvor owns the landlocked 100,000 b/d Ingolstadt refinery in Germany and a 75,000 b/d refinery in Rotterdam, where it plans to shift away from fossil fuel use. "Many oil refineries have been up for sale and still are," Törnqvist said. Asked if Gunvor was looking for something similar, he said the company is interested in the "right opportunity" whether in upstream, downstream, midstream or shipping. "It all feeds into what we are doing and all supports our underlying trading," he said. But Törnqvist suspects a lot of Gunvor's growth will come from gas and power — areas where trading companies are already seeing rising profits. The company made its first investment in a power generation asset late in 2023, when it agreed to buy BP's 75pc stake in the 785MW Bahia de Bizkaia combined-cycle gas turbine plant in Bilbao, Spain. It has signed a slew of LNG offtake agreements in the past year and continues to grow its LNG tanker fleet . "We're building logistical capabilities in LNG," Törnqvist said. "Oil is here to stay" Törnqvist said Gunvor is well placed to navigate the energy transition, and is stepping up investments in renewables and biofuels and expanding into carbon and metals trading. "There will be disruptions, there will be different paths to the transition in different parts of the world which go at different paces and have different priorities and ways to deal with it," he said. "This will create opportunities." But Törnqvist is clear that oil and gas will remain an integral part of Gunvor's business. "We feel that oil is here to stay," he said. "And it will grow for several years." By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Strong climate plans will boost economies: UN’s Stiell
Strong climate plans will boost economies: UN’s Stiell
London, 11 April (Argus) — New, robust national climate plans will act as an "economic springboard" for countries, Simon Stiell — executive secretary of UN climate body the UNFCCC — said this week. "We are at the start of a race which will determine the biggest winners in a new clean energy economy," Stiell said at London's Chatham House on 10 April. "The next generation of national climate plans must be investment plans for sustainable and strong economies", he added. Cutting emissions and pollution from fossil fuel combustion "will mean better health and huge savings for governments and households", Stiell said. The 198 parties to the UNFCCC — comprised of 197 states and the EU — must submit new national climate plans, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), in 2025. The plans must be in line with the 1.5°C temperature limit set by the Paris climate agreement and should "clearly articulate how finance is unlocked", Stiell said. He called for them to be submitted early next year. But many countries will only be able to implement NDCs if there is "a quantum leap in climate finance this year", he warned. Finance will be "absolutely critical", at the UN Cop 29 climate summit, set for November in Baku, Azerbaijan, Stiell said. Countries must decide on a new climate finance goal at Cop 29 — the next step from the $100bn/yr that developed countries agreed to deliver to developing nations in 2020-25. That deal should include more concessional finance, "new sources of international climate finance" and debt relief for the poorest and most vulnerable countries, Stiell said. He also called for the reform of multilateral development banks (MDBs) and "a financial system fit for the twenty-first century". The World Bank and IMF should build on some steps already taken — such as the former's work on climate resilient debt clauses — and take more action, including revising capital requirements, Stiell said. The institutions meet next week in Washington. The G7 and G20 groups of countries must also lead the charge, Stiell said. "G20 leadership must be at the core of the solution", particularly as the group's emissions equal around 80pc of global emissions, he added. Geopolitical challenges "cannot be an excuse for timidity, amidst this worsening crisis… Sidelining climate isn't a solution to a crisis that will decimate every G20 economy", he said. The Cop climate summit is typically the UN's biggest event each year, but Stiell said that he would like to see "future Cops reduce in size". He is in discussions with a "very very active" Brazilian Cop 30 presidency around reducing the size of that Cop, set for November 2025 in Belem. He also noted agenda alignment across the three UN Cops this year — other than the climate-focussed Cop 29 in Baku, a biodiversity Cop and a desertification Cop will take place late this year, in Colombia and Saudi Arabia, respectively. Finance is "central to addressing all three", he said. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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