Energy Post

As the Paris Olympics begins, Mark Charlton at De Montfort University tells us how sport is being affected by climate change. Rising temperatures and weather events like flooding and droughts are impacting sports including athletics, football, cricket, golf, skiing and more. And it’s not just about the direct effect on the athletes. Kit design is moving away from pure streamlining to creating garments that wick sweat away and keep body heat down. Drought-affected cricket pitches are degrading.

The Biden administration has reintroduced Trump’s tariffs on e-bikes from China. That’s 25% tariffs on imported e-bikes and bike components made in China. An additional 25% tariff on Chinese-made battery packs used by e-bikes comes into effect in 2026. Nearly 100% of bicycles sold in the U.S. are manufactured abroad, with the vast majority coming from China. It’s all part of the U.S. policy to counteract unfair subsidies in China and develop domestic supply chains.

Producing sustainable e-fuels like ethanol and butanol requires the processing of biofeedstocks. Using microbes to chew their way through them is well known. Justin Rickard at NREL describes research there that has found a much more efficient way, using electron-bifurcating enzymes. Flavin-based bifurcating enzymes are biocatalysts that have evolved to perform efficient metabolic reactions in harsh environments with low nutrients.

The world needs a large supply of renewable carbon to replace fossil feedstocks for hard-to-abate sectors like aviation, shipping, chemicals, food and beverage. Arno van den Bos, Karan Kochhar, Luis Janeiro and Francisco Boshell at IRENA present the results of their study to estimate demand, and whether supply can match it through to 2050. The main sources of supply come from alcoholic fermentation, biogas, pulp & paper, and biomass.

The new EU Emissions Trading System, ETS 2, covers emissions from buildings, road transport, and additional sectors such as fuel use in small industrial installations. It’s designed to reduce emissions by 42% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. Florian Schlenner, Simon Göss and Hendrik Schuldt at carboneer describe how it works, and what firms must do to comply.

There are three big reasons why Europe’s auto industry should be given binding targets to increase the green steel content of their cars through to 2040. First, conventional steel production is a high-emissions activity, and both users and producers are struggling to bring it down. Second, emerging green steel producers need to secure major guaranteed users (the auto industry is steel’s second biggest customer) as this is their greatest bottleneck for investment.

The main purpose of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is to put a price on emissions and generate revenues from companies buying allowances for creating those emissions. Right now energy, manufacturing and aviation are covered. From 2027, maritime transport will be added to the existing EU ETS, while buildings and road transport will be regulated in the upcoming ETS2. From then, nearly 80% of total EU emissions will be under the ETS and ETS2.

Biofuel producers are always looking for low carbon intensity feedstocks. Corn stover (the waste from harvested corn) is typical, but harvesting is seasonal. Jeffrey Wolf at NREL explains how research has led to the development of XanoGrass. It is a perennial, so can be harvested all year round. It can be grown on marginal or even “unfarmable” lands, so existing food crops won’t be displaced. No special farming equipment is needed, so existing farmers can easily take up a new revenue stream.

To reach the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, the world needs to triple renewable power capacity by 2030. Here, the IEA summarises its report “COP28 Tripling Renewable Capacity Pledge: Tracking countries’ ambitions and identifying policies to bridge the gap”. The report looks at almost 150 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) which set out each country’s plans, and also looks at actual progress (which in many countries exceed their stated plans).

The newly elected Labour government in the UK is promising to create a state-owned entity, GB Energy, to drive forward its energy transition. Robert Johnston at CGEP explains what it is, and how it could be a model for other nations. Up until now, the policy toolkit of high-income OECD countries has primarily been the use of subsidies, tax credits, government procurement, R&D grants, trade policy and the like. GB Energy will directly invest in companies operating in key areas.