Green Markets is a daily series dedicated to highlighting events of interest that could impact investments within environmental markets.
Government/Regulatory
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has allocated $63.5M through the Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential (SCALEUP) program to support four transformative technologies, which include:
AeroShield Materials: Developing a pilot manufacturing facility for aerogels aimed at high-efficiency insulated glass units. Award amount: $14.5M.
Antora Energy: Scaling up production of thermal batteries that convert low-cost renewable energy into reliable heat and power for industrial facilities. Award amount: $14.5M.
Ion Storage Systems: Supporting domestic manufacturing of solid-state lithium-metal batteries for electric vehicles. Award amount: $20M.
Queens Carbon: Establishing an on-site pilot facility for producing carbon-neutral supplemental cementitious materials to support decarbonization in cement production. Award amount: $14.5M.
Battery Metals
Albemarle, the world's largest lithium producer, recently expressed concerns about short-term lithium pricing, while remaining optimistic about long-term demand. The company had to cut staff and paused expansion projects in January after a significant price drop of over 81% in 2023.
Exxon Mobil plans to focus on extracting lithium from salty brines rather than expanding into hard rock lithium mining. Patrick Howarth, head of Exxon’s lithium business, emphasized that the company is leveraging its expertise in subsurface fluids and is in the process of deciding which direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology to license for lithium production.
ExxonMobil and SK On have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a potential multiyear agreement to supply up to 100,000 metric tons of lithium from ExxonMobil's Arkansas project to SK On's U.S. EV battery manufacturing operations.
Carbon Capture
The developers of Project Tundra, a major carbon capture initiative aimed at capturing up to 4M metric tons of CO2 annually from the coal-fired Milton R. Young Station in North Dakota, have postponed their final investment decision (FID) until the end of the year. These firms cited challenges including uncertainty surrounding the EPA's final power plant rule. Originally planned for mid-2024, the delay comes alongside an increase in the project's estimated cost from $1.4B to $2B.
Compliance Carbon Markets (CCMs)
The Innovation Fund, financed by the EU Emissions Trading System, has granted €173M in funds to support 15 small-scale and 3 large-scale projects in renewable energy, energy storage, and energy-intensive industries.
Electric Vehicles
Nissan Motor plans to start producing Dongfeng Motors’ Zhiyin EV at its Wuhan factory by the end of the year. Nissan's joint venture with Dongfeng currently produces the Ariya EV and X-Trail SUV at the Wuhan plant, which has a capacity of 260,000 vehicles annually.
Liquified Natural Gas (LNG)
Siemens Energy will provide equipment for Taiba 2 and Qassim 2 in Saudi Arabia, two large combined-cycle power plants set to generate nearly 4 GW of electricity. This $1.5B, 25-year maintenance agreement is scheduled to begin in 2026 with full combined-cycle capability online by 2027.
Gasum, the Finnish energy company, has announced it will cease purchasing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia starting July 26th, due to EU sanctions. While the company is legally bound by existing agreements with Gazprom export, the EU sanctions constitute force majeure for importing Russian LNG to off-grid terminals.
Pembina Pipeline and the Haisla Nation have jointly decided to proceed with the Cedar LNG project on Canada's West Coast, marking a final investment decision (FID). The $4B project entails constructing a floating LNG (FLNG) plant in Kitimat, BC, situated within the Haisla Nation's traditional territory. Cedar LNG plans to process 3.3M tonnes per year.