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First charging point for ships at sea is now operational: Belgian renewables company Parkwind – a subsidiary of Japanese power company Jera – has successfully installed and tested a new boat charging station system in the Belgian North Sea, according to a statement published last week. The charging station, powered by locally sourced renewable energy, allows vessels to connect to the charging cable and stay in place while charging despite sea currents. The trial proved the system could transfer electricity from a wind farm to the vessels safely without any disruption to the farm’s operations.
The details: The charging system — developed by UK-based MJR — supports both CTV and SOV charging, significantly cutting emissions from diesel generators. This initiative is partly funded by The Offshore Wind Growth Partnership and supported by the UK Department of Transport. Parkwind and MJR plan to incorporate lessons from the trial into the first commercial offshore charging system, scheduled for delivery in 1Q 2025.
Toyota to build EV battery plant in Kyushu: Global auto giant Toyota Motor plans to build an EV battery plant in Fukuoka in a bid to establish an export base for the rest of Asia, Nikkei Asia reports. Toyota’s battery manufacturing subsidiary Primearth EV Energy will operate the new factory, which will be built in an industrial park in northern Kyushu via governmental subsidies. Details related to investments or the construction schedule are yet to be announced.
A focus on Lexus: The industrial park is close to Toyota’s Miyata plant, which assembles Lexus vehicles. It is set to be the main battery supplier to the plant, which has an annual capacity of 430k vehicles, the news outlet writes, with 90% of the annual production pegged for export to other countries in Asia.
OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-
- Heliene + Premier Energies to build solar factory in the US: Canadian and Indian solar firms Heliene and Premier Energies will establish a 1 GW solar cell factory in the US by the second quarter of 2026. The factory will support Heliene’s existing module factories in Minnesota and help meet the growing demand for US-made solar energy equipment, driven by a new 10% tax credit for projects using American-made panels. (Reuters)
- China’s climate monitoring satellites now operational: Two Chinese remote-sensing satellites became operational on Thursday with the first satellite — named the Atmospheric Environmental Surveyor — detecting carbon dioxide and possibly being used to prevent and control air pollution. The second satellite — dubbed the Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Inventory Satellite measures forest volume, and provides geographic surveying and agricultural and disaster assessment. (CGTN)
- Malaysia completes first domestic carbon credits auction on voluntary market: The Bursa Carbon Exchange (BCX) successfully conducted its first auction of renewable energy certificates (RECs), selling 268.8k Hydropower Renewable Energy Certificates from vintage year 2024 (HRECv24) contracts at RM 4.50 each. The contracts were generated from the Murum Hydroelectric Plant in Sarawak, and the auction saw participation from 15 buyers, including financial institutions and traders. (Statement)
