Green Markets - October 4, 2024

Oct 05, 2024

Green Markets is a daily series dedicated to highlighting events of interest that could impact investments within environmental markets.

The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed two key environmental regulations from the Biden administration to remain in place, aimed at reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry and limiting toxic mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants. A decision on a third rule targeting carbon pollution from power plants is still pending.
A.P. Moller-Maersk expects the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to approve a global carbon levy (carbon tax) on shipping emissions by 2025. The potential new rules would phase in reductions in greenhouse gas intensity and could result in substantial costs for the industry if emissions continue. The regulations are expected to take effect in 2027.

Rio Tinto is in talks to acquire lithium miner Arcadium for a potential $4 billion to $6 billion, potentially positioning Rio as the third-largest lithium producer. Arcadium, formed from the merger of Livent and Allkem, has assets across four continents, with major clients like Tesla and BMW.

Rivian has applied for a federal loan to restart construction of its $5 billion EV factory in Georgia. While the U.S. Department of Energy has not yet made a decision, the factory is expected to begin partial operations by the third quarter of 2027, with full operations for the first production block slated for 2028. Rivian had paused the Georgia project to focus on ramping up production of its R2 midsize SUV at its Illinois plant.

Shell has paused its Aukra blue hydrogen project in Norway, citing insufficient demand to justify the project's associated hydrogen pipeline to Germany. The Aukra Hydrogen Hub, a collaboration with Aker Horizons and CapeOmega, was planned to have a 2.5 GW capacity, producing 1,200 metric tons of hydrogen daily by 2030.

Related Stock List(s): Hydrogen Stocks

Tellurian shareholders have approved the company's proposed $1.2 billion acquisition by Australia's Woodside Energy Group. The deal gives Woodside more LNG exposure, acquiring Tellurian’s U.S. Gulf Coast Driftwood LNG export project.

Related Stock List(s): LNG Stocks

India's Jakson Green is nearing a $476 million fundraise to expand its renewable energy capacity by 1 GW by early 2026. The privately-held company, which currently has 250 MW of installed capacity, is in advanced discussions with green energy funds and aims to finalize the funding by November.

Green Investing