GE’s Mistral 14 MVA power transformers have been ordered to grid-integrate Dogger Bank – Europe’s largest offshore wind farm – built in three 1.2 GW phases off the coast of northeast England. In addition, the German TSO Amprion bought two 340 MVA transformers for a synchronous condenser to deliver reactive power and grid inertia.
S&P Platts sees Europe’s gas demand fall amid shift to greener fuels
Aramco splashes out on CCS from 2026, aims to export hydrogen
Denham Capital helps Nexif to divest energy assets to RATCH Group
German gov’ imposes gas price surcharge to support importers
Norway pledges to deliver “maximum possible” gas
Whitetail Clean Energy selected as one of UK’s three Power CCS projects
HydrogenOne invests €10 million in Dutch H2 pipeline firm Strohm
Loop Energy to open H2 fuel cell factory in Essex this month
Aug 19 – Gas consumption in Germany has fallen by nearly 15% in the first six month of this year. According to preliminary figures released by the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), gas use fell by 14.7% to 497 billion kilowatt hours, a drop of around 8 %. This can be partly explained by a warmer spring, analysts said, but is most likely a consequence of the soaring prices, inflationary pressures and the economic uncertainty which made consumers limit their energy uses since the middle of 2021 already, BDEW figures show.
Aug 18 – Brenmiller Energy, an Israeli provider of energy storage, has made a $1.4 million equipment order linked to the expansion of its automated production facility, currently under construction in Dimona, Israel. The equipment is expected to be delivered in November. The order follows a recent drawdown on the company’s credit facility with the European Investment Bank (EIB), with CEO Avi Brenmiller saying: “It keeps us on track to reach full production capacity of up to 4,000 MWh per year of bGen thermal storage modules, at our newly upgraded facility in Dimona, Israel by the end of 2023.”
Aug 17 – Japan’s largest LNG importer and power producer JERA has started commercial operations of Unit-5 at its Taketoyo thermal power plant, following an upgrade to co-fired the plant with biomass fuel. With a capacity of 1,070 MW, the coal-fired power plant is vital to providing stable baseload and mid-merit power supply to the Taketoyo-cho region, Chita County. Co-firing the plant with biomass substantially reduces emission and helps JERA decarbonise its thermal power plant fleet.
Aug 16 – Dallas-based Grey Rock Investment Partners has made a controlling investment in Conduit Power through a capital commitment of up to $100 million. Conduit said it intends to use the proceeds to help commercial and industrial customers reach their decarbonization goals while lowering power procurement costs and improving the uptime and reliability of delivered electric power supply. The company’s initial focus has been on energy companies in Texas.
Aug 15 – One Equity Partners, a mid-market private equity firm, has agreed to sell the Power Generation business of BRUSH Group to energy technology company Baker Hughes. The acquisition will allow of OEP’s power gen assets will support’s Baker Hughes’s strategy in providing decarbonisation solutions for the gas industry and hard-to-abate sectors. It will also extend its manufacturing capabilities in electromechanics and broaden its customer reach.
Aug 5 – US engine maker Cummins has completed its acquisition of Meritor, a supplier of electric powertrains against the backdrop of accelerating demand for decarbonised solutions. ePowertrains will integrate hybrid and electric drivetrains to help Cummins provide advanced clean mobility products for customers. With the merger, the Columbus-based company aims to scale-up its offering within its New Power business.
Aug 4 – In the face of dwindling gas supply, the German government has expressed interest in a BP-led project off the coast of Senegal as well as Mauritania. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said “intensive” talks had begun with the Senegalese government on cooperation on gas extraction and LNG production. BP is leading upstream gas exploration of a large gas field off the Senegalese coast, with first gas expected in early 2023.
Aug 3 – Four European oil and gas majors, BP, Eni, Shell and TotalEnergies should achieve very strong financial results in 2022, Fitch Ratings says. This will be driven by elevated prices for oil, natural gas and electricity and “abnormally high refining margins.” Key things to watch in the second quarter will be capital allocation, cost inflation, and potential demand destruction due to high prices and lower economic growth, analysts cautioned.
Aug 1 – GenCell Energy has entered a strategic partnership with the ONEC Group, a mid-sized Canadian project delivery company, to grow GenCell's presence for backup and off-grid power solutions across North America. In Canada’s region of Alberta investment in hydrogen infrastructure is rapidly expanding as the government aims to set up a H2 Hub, and in line with this policy ONEC Group just bought three GenCell BOX backup power solutions to jumpstart the collaboration in Alberta and beyond.
July 29 – Rolls-Royce has designed and launched sustainable alternative propulsion systems via MTU. The new solution enables diesel engines (with exhaust gas aftertreatment) and gas engines to run on biofuels or synthetic methanol, as well as combined with fuel cell systems. These mtu NautIQ products will be showcased at SMM in Hamburg, running from September 6-9.
July 28 – Angola, Africa’s largest oil producer, seeks to extract more value from hydrocarbon. Africa Finance Corp is hence helping the government in Luanda on a series of potential projects – worth almost $1 billion combined – across the upstream, transport and power generation sector.
July 27 – The market for ultrasonic testing equipment is forecast to reach $274.21 million this year and could reach to $424.62 million 2027, rising at a rate of 9.14%. Main growth drivers are the need for portable, non-destructive testing techniques for fiberglass and carbon fiber composites, especially in the oil & gas, automotive and power generation sector.
July 22 – Engineers at Ethos Energy reduce the environmental impact of Israeli power stations by refurbishing them in a sustainable manner while reusing equipment. “We extend the life of the equipment and enable its maximum utilization, which contributes to meeting the organization's goals, increasing productivity, saving expenses and reducing the negative effects on the environment,” explained Massimo Valsania, VP of Engineering at EthosEnergy.
July 20 – Renewable energy sources (RES) have increased their electricity output in Germany to 49% in the first half of 2022, according to estimates by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA). Electricity produced from wind and solar grew 14% compared to the same period the year before. In the heating sector, significantly warmer weather lowered need for heat while fossil fuelled heat generation was increasingly replaced with renewable energy, due to rising prices for oil and gas.
July 19 – Gas shortages and soaring prices in the European Union have turned the UK into a net electricity exporter for the first time in the second quarter of this year. A new report by energy data provider EnAppSys shows Britain saw net exports of 3.6 TWh over Q4-2022, compared with net imports of 5.2 TWh in the previous quarter.
July 18 – 3t EnerMech has agreed with the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) to become the sole provider of its licenced training in Angola and Guyana. The alliance between 3t Energy Group and EnerMech will deliver ECITB-accredited skills programmes in each region and is set to run through to 2026.
July 15 – OptiFuel, a Beaufort-based provider of decarbonization solutions for rail, marine and power generation, has agreed to work with the Argentinean transport ministry to repower trains and put into service 400 switcher and line haul freight locomotives. These new trains will be 100% powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) and/or renewable natural gas (RNG), with low or zero emissions.
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