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Swedish engineering consultancy Sweco has been selected to design Europe’s largest 700 MW battery energy storage system in Belgium, Reuters reports. Commissioned by green energy supplier GIGA Storage Belgium, the battery park aims to provide stored renewable energy during periods of low solar and wind production, reducing the country’s reliance on gas power plants. It also aligns with Europe’s goal of sourcing 42.5% of its energy from renewables by 2030.
What we know: The Green Turtle battery park will have a storage capacity of 2.8k MWh, enough to power 385k households annually. Construction is set to begin in 2025, with completion expected by 2028.
Thyssenkrupp may hit the brakes on decarbonization project: The German industrial engineering giant Thyssenkrupp is considering halting plans for the hydrogen-based steel plant project that reportedly constitutes the core of its decarbonization strategy, Reuters reports, citing a company statement. The company is evaluating the “most economically viable” solutions to achieve climate-neutral steel production, the statement notes. The company is also considering exploring alternative technology after it found that the project’s cost may very well exceed the earmarked EUR 3 bn, German newspaper Handelsblatt reports, citing internal documents it has seen. Shares dropped by 4% after the announcement.
The German government may clap back: The project constitutes the core of the company’s decarbonization strategy in steel manufacturing, which received financial support worth EUR 2 bn from the German authorities. The funds are tied to achieving the “necessary commitments” and the government would work to ensure they are met, said the country’s Economy Ministry after the news.
The world needs to abandon the “proven fantasy” of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and adopt a “real zero” by 2040, Australia’s Fortescue Metals Chairman Andrew Forrest told CNBC last week.
What is “real zero”? A “real zero” target by 2040 gives the world “a 50:50 chance of avoiding the worst ravages of global warming,” Forrest says. A complete cessation of fossil fuel use by 2040 is possible using existing technologies that are rapidly advancing, pointing out that Fortescue is pursuing the goal aggressively, he added. Earlier in September, Fortescue laid out a plan to fully decommission fossils in its iron ore production by the end of the decade.
But the company has been feeling the brunt of costs: Similar to counterparts struggling with their decarbonization targets due to prices and supply chain pressures, Fortescue slowed down its 2030 target to replace three-thirds of its fossil consumption with 15 mn tons of green hydrogen per year and cut 700 jobs last summer. The firm said it would still aim to produce 15 mn tons, but not within the initial 2030 deadline. It is not clear how the company plans to reconcile its slowed-down 2030 targets with its 2040 target of full decarbonization.
Fortescue is active in the region: The green energy firm recently signed an agreement with Moroccan fertilizer giant OCP Group to form a JV to develop green hydrogen and ammonia projects in Morocco. The pair will collaborate to supply fertilizers, hydrogen, and ammonia domestically in the kingdom and export to European and global markets. Fortescue also signed an MoU with Egypt’s sovereign wealth fund in 2022 to begin conducting feasibility studies on its planned USD 10 bn 9.2 GW green hydrogen project. Oman’s Sohar International bank also inked an MoU with the firm in 2022 for green energy projects in Oman.
OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-
- Kazakhstan’s voters support plan for first nuclear power plant: A Kazakh plan to build the country’s first nuclear power plant was backed by 71.12% of voters in a recent popular referendum. Despite being the largest Uranium producer in the world, the country had phased out nuclear power in the 90s and has recently been facing a steep energy shortage largely caused by the growing energy-intensive crypto industry. Official results of the referendum are expected within a week. (Wam)
