Polestar highlights climate impact of the Polestar 2 EV, aims for environmental transparency
Polestar publishes the carbon footprint details of its Polestar 2 model range, aiming to lead the industry in transparency and sustainability through Life Cycle Assessments.
Polestar has just published full details of the carbon footprint of its latest models, in a move to improve transparency around the auto manufacturing process, and drive an industry-wide shift to sustainable mobility.
Tesla leads the automotive world with its Impact Report, published annually to highlight the company’s own sustainable mobility and energy push, and provide data from all aspects of the business including commodities sourcing, materials recycling, greenhouse gas emissions, and company workforce diversity.
Polestar’s Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) consider a range of factors in a car’s life cycle, from supply to manufacture to recycling, and summarise this climate impact in a single number.
Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO, says: “Carmakers need to take full responsibility. Every week, we see a new announcement that an automaker is changing direction towards electrification. But going electric alone is not enough. Making cars electric is not the end game, it is a starting point. We need to be honest and transparent.”
Polestar wants to go further, and urges the industry to adopt greater transparency to rebuild consumer trust. Events like Volkswagen Group’s “Dieselgate” destroyed consumer trust in the group’s brands, and according to Polestar, recent research proves that only one in four consumers trust car manufacturers to be transparent and to operate in the best interests of society, and that over half of consumers demand more transparency and the ability to compare CO2 footprints between cars. Polestar says the adoption of an industry-wide standard could be the key.
The new LCA has found that the new Polestar 2 variants – Long range Single motor and Standard range Single motor – leave the factory with carbon footprints ranging between 24 and 25 tonnes of CO2e, a number that remains flat during the use phase if the car is charged with green energy. The existing Long range Dual motor’s footprint was previously declared to be 26,2 tonnes of CO2e in 2020.
“We are working towards net-zero production emissions, but our LCA shows that Polestar 2 is already a climate solution. EV technology provides a car with less than half the carbon impact of an equivalent petrol car if charged with green energy,” says Fredrika Klarén, Head of Sustainability at Polestar.
While the manufacturing of electric vehicles can result in emissions as high or even higher than internal combustion vehicles, we know that the life cycle emissions of EVs are a small fraction of internal combustion equivalents. The below graph from Polestar, showing the differences in the LCA score from renewable vs. non-renewable energy sources, demonstrate that the clean energy can effectively halve the score of each model.
View the LCA graphs supplied by Polestar below, and view the automaker’s sustainability goals and 2020 review here.
Zero interest loans for electric vehicles in Australian first: 2 years free registration and $15,000 interest free loans
From today, May 24, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) became the first jurisdiction in Australia to incentivise EV uptake, by offering a raft of measures it hopes will reduce the territory’s emissions, and provide great zero-emission vehicle choice to its residents.
From today, May 24 2021, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) became the first jurisdiction in Australia to incentivise EV uptake, by offering a raft of measures it hopes will reduce the territory’s emissions, and provide great zero-emission vehicle choice to its residents.
Already offering zero stamp duty for zero-emissions vehicles, the Labor-Greens government has added two years free registration (a saving of $317-573 per year depending on vehicle weight) and the ability to access an interest-free loan of up to $15,000 to assist with the purchase of an EV.
The ACT’s nation-leading incentives show a firm commitment to address emissions within the territory, and is part of a broader plan to support clean energy job-creation, decarbonise public transport, and roll out a fast-charging network. More information can be found on the ACT Government’s website.
Policy certainty is key to receiving investment from overseas manufacturers in Australia, and increasing consumer choice in the marketplace. “We already adopted a zero-emissions vehicle action plan in 2018, and it was first and foremost about transitioning our own government fleet.” according to Shane Rattenbury MLA, Attorney-General and Minister for Water, Energy, and Emissions Reduction, who spoke with us on a recent podcast. “We wanted to help create a more stable market so that the car companies would start bringing vehicles to Australia. We now want to move into encouraging more private uptake.”
The ACT should also be commended for recognising that cost is a huge barrier to entry into a zero-emissions vehicle for many Australians, and that by electrifying government fleets, they are creating a secondhand EV market in three or four years time.
The ACT government has also committed to electrifying their entire bus fleet, and has recently acquired 20 hydrogen fuel cell Hyundai Nexo vehicles — the first hydrogen vehicles to be registered in Australia — which it will lease from the Korean manufacturer.
You can view our full interview with Shana Rattenbury MLA below.
Energy Renaissance announces start of construction for Australia's first lithium-ion battery factory
Australia will soon be producing lithium-ion batteries onshore, thanks to start-up Energy Renaissance. With funding raised exclusively from private investors, Energy Renaissance has committed to manufacturing batteries at a site in Tomago, NSW, only a few kilometres from the Port of Newcastle.
Australia will soon be producing lithium-ion batteries onshore, thanks to start-up Energy Renaissance. With funding raised exclusively from private investors, Energy Renaissance has committed to manufacturing batteries at a site in Tomago, NSW, only a few kilometres from the Port of Newcastle.
Energy Renaissance’s 4,500 sqm purpose-built facility will manufacture Australian made batteries that are, according to the company “safe, secure, affordable and optimised to perform in hot climates.” Energy Renaissance will be manufacturing energy storage systems for the transport industry including busses and light commercial vehicles, as well as batteries for grid-scale, mining industry and community storage uses.
Energy Renaissance will have an initial battery production capacity of 48MWh per year and the capacity to expand to 180MWh per year in 2022. Energy Renaissance’s long-term plans are to develop a 1GWh battery manufacturing facility, and potentially grow to 5.3GWh over the next decade.
Construction of the facility will commence in April 2021 with a small-scale production trial run of batteries to start by July 2021, ramping up to full-scale production in October 2021.
CIS Solutions recently undertook an independent economic impact analysis, and concluded that an Australian advanced manufacturing industry supplying and exporting battery-grade chemicals and materials would create over 100,000 construction and 80,000 operational jobs and add AUD$7.3 trillion in export revenue. (Note that we haven’t been able to find a link to this study online)
There has been a dramatic decline in appetite for Australian iron ore and coal both domestically and internationally, and the Australian Government has been rather slow in realising that lithium—a metal found in abundance in Australia—has the potential to not only generate serious export dollars as global demand for batteries rises over the next decade, but to also shore up skilled manufacturing jobs locally, assisting the transition and retraining of mining sector workers.
Energy Renaissance is perfectly placed to take advantage of this; it’s investment to process raw materials locally in a region already known for mining means that the company should have a captive employment market available, as well as access to global markets via the nearby port.
With the New South Wales committing to purchase over 8,000 electric buses, this should present a great opportunity for Energy Renaissance to find local customers.
The government’s Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews and the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison were also present at Energy Renaissance’s manufacturing facility launch, and were keen to jump in with their own announcement, releasing the Resources Technology and Critical Minerals Processing road map in the Commonwealth Government’s Modern Manufacturing Strategy.
The Strategy has the following goals:
2 years: Improved capability to bring products quickly to market, through improved market development activities and investment made in critical enablers.
5 years: Foster increased collaboration with relevant sectors and international supply chains, increase exports and grow private sector investment.
10 years: Australia seen as a regional hub for resources technology and critical minerals processing, with significant R&D advancements, retention in intellectual capital for SMEs and significant volume and value of exports.
We’ll keep you updated as Energy Renaissance’s facility comes together.
Read more about the government’s strategy here: https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/resources-technology-and-critical-minerals-processing-national-manufacturing-priority-road-map
500MW Battery Storage Project by Neoen Planned for Australia
Following the success of Neoen’s first battery storage project in Australia, as well as plans for battery storage combined with renewables projects in the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria, the company has submitted a scoping report with the appropriate NSW Government agency, outlining the importance of this large battery project as part of the Central-Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ)
Following the success of Neoen’s first battery storage project in Australia, the Hornsdale Power Reserve, as well as plans for battery storage combined with renewables projects in the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria, the company has submitted a scoping report with the appropriate NSW Government agency, outlining the importance of this large battery project as part of the Central-Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) located about 100km west of Sydney, the first of the NSW government’s Renewable Energy Zones planned to drive the state towards zero emissions power generation.
According to Neoen’s scoping report, “The large-scale Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) that would be delivered by the project would operate unlike any other device currently connected to the NSW network, and would provide a range of services with extremely fast response times to support a stable network and security of supply. The energy storage capacity provided by the project would allow for increased installation of renewable energy sources while maintaining network stability and security,”
The battery could be operational by 2023, and would be built near the site of the 1,000MW Wallerawang coal power station that was mothballed in 2014. Neoen says that the new battery would provide additional energy system support services including frequency control, and would utilise some of the infrastructure that was used by the former coal plant.
Up to 14 Megawatts of Power From One Wind Turbine: Meet the GE Haliade-X
The Haliade-X generates almost 30 times more electricity than the first offshore machines installed off Denmark in 1991. Although this prototype is currently located on land at Rotterdam Harbour, it will ultimately be manufactured to withstand deep sea conditions.
The New York Times recently visited a test site for the world’s largest wind turbine in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Operated by GE, the turbine is 260 m or 853 ft tall, 220 m in diameter, and comes in three variants with a choice of 12, 13 or 14 megawatt outputs, enough to light up a town of roughly 12,000 homes. In fact, GE claims one rotation could power a single home for two days.
The Haliade-X generates almost 30 times more electricity than the first offshore machines installed off Denmark in 1991. Although this prototype is currently located on land at Rotterdam Harbour, it will ultimately be manufactured to withstand deep sea conditions.
GE came up with the Haliade-X with the knowledge that turbine size will be crucial in future auctions for wind power generation sites. According to GE, the Haliade-X offers many benefits: larger turbines mean more electricity, fewer individual turbines per wind farm, more profit and reduced operating and maintenance costs. These factors will be crucial to GE’s customers in providing the maximum power output at the lowest price.
Danish Company Orsted has already placed a preliminary Order with GE for 90 units of the Haliade-X, to be a part of the Ocean Wind Project, off the coast of Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Sources: The New York Times , GE
British Columbia Leading Canada's Green Transition, COVID-19 Brings Economic Opportunity
B.C. also set new 2025 emissions targets earlier this month. George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy said in a press conference “Across the province, people are working every day to tackle climate change and make our economy cleaner and stronger.
Clean Energy Canada brings us a story that demonstrates the importance of climate action to British Columbians. According to a poll in July by Clean Energy Canada, 79 percent of British Columbians agree that COVID-19 has brought about economic change that presents opportunities to mitigate climate change.
B.C. also set new 2025 emissions targets earlier this month. George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy said in a press conference “Across the province, people are working every day to tackle climate change and make our economy cleaner and stronger. It’s clear we still have much more to do in order to meet our CleanBC targets – and I won’t be satisfied until we see a significant and steady decline in emissions. To make sure we stay on track to build a cleaner and stronger future, we’re putting in place a new near-term emission target that is both ambitious and achievable. This is another key step on the path to reaching our climate targets for 2030 and beyond.’
The new emission target requires greenhouse gases in B.C. to be 16% below 2007 levels by 2025. and also provides a benchmark on the road to B.C.’s legislated emission targets for 2030, 2040 and 2050 of 40%, 60% and 80% below 2007 levels, respectively. The Province will also set sectoral targets, which are yet to be established, but shoud be finalised before March 31, 2021, and will develop legislation to help B.C. reach net zero by 2050 targets.
The 2020 Climate Change Accountability Report provides new estimates for provincial emissions for the next four reporting years (2019-22) and modelling of the estimated impacts of CleanBC actions by 2030, as well as data on progress made through CleanBC in sectors like transportation, industry, buildings and communities and the public service.
Merran Smith, executive director at Clean Energy Canada, made the following statement in response to the above report:
“B.C. has emerged as not only a Canadian leader but a world leader when it comes to climate action. It was the first government in North American to price pollution, the first to legislate a ban on the sale of gas-powered vehicles, and it was among the first to make its emissions targets legally binding.
“B.C.’s climate leadership hinges on a new, rigorous system of climate reporting and accountability, which means celebrating our successes while also acknowledging—and acting—when more needs to be done. Climate policies are only as successful as the results they accomplish.
“While the B.C. government’s new goal of reducing emissions by 16% below 2007 levels by 2025 is a commendable start, it’s also a reminder of how far the province has to go to reach its 2030 goal of 40%. Emissions have been heading in the wrong direction, and we certainly hope we don’t have to say that again next year. We look forward to seeing the province’s updated plan, due next year, for how it will reach these targets.
“Polling shows that the vast majority of British Columbians want to see B.C. put fighting climate change at the centre of COVID recovery plans. And with a Biden presidency kicking off the new year and game-changing clean stimulus plans from countries like Germany, the U.K., and South Korea, it’s clear that B.C. must compete on climate if it’s to compete economically into the future. The province’s climate plan, CleanBC, provides an excellent platform on which to do so. Now is the time to increase its ambition—and there is no time to waste.”
Electric Vehicles
B.C. has had a Zero-Emission Vehicles Act since 2019, which sets phased-in annual targets and other compliance requirements, ensuring automakers increase the number of EVs that they sell in B.C. to meet consumer demand. Automakers will be required to achieve 10% provincial ZEV sales by 2025, 30% by 2030, and 100% by 2040 (for light-duty vehicles).
From the above report:
The province is backing Battery Electric Vehicles with clear and simple goals including:
making electric cars more affordable
shifting to renewable fuels
investing in charging and hydrogen refuelling stations, active transportation and public transit”
B.C., together with a range of partners, has made good progress in setting a path for lower emissions, particularly for passenger vehicles. ¡ In 2019, electric light-duty vehicle sales more than doubled compared to the previous year to over 17,000, making up nearly 9% of all light-duty vehicles sold in B.C. This brings us close to our 2025 target of 10% ZEV sales for new vehicles five years early.
To help expand availability of ZEVs, B.C. also completed regulations that mandate 100% of new lightduty vehicles sold to be ZEVs by 2040. ZEV compliance requirements start for the model year 2020.
Supported by the CleanBC Public Charger and Hydrogen Fuelling Programs, there are currently more than 2,000 public Level 2 charging stations, 190 public fast charging sites,6 and three public hydrogen fuelling stations. Since 2018, the number of fast charging sites across B.C. has increased by 55%. Another 1,900 charging stations were installed in homes and workplaces with the Go Electric Charger Rebates. Work is underway to continue expanding these networks.
To help reduce emissions from heavier vehicles, B.C. launched a Go Electric Commercial Vehicle Pilot Program. The government increased funding for its Go Electric Specialty-Use Vehicle Incentive in Budget 2020, which is available for eligible medium- and heavy-duty transport trucks, delivery vans, electric cargo bicycles, passenger buses, and low-speed utility trucks.
Together with the BC Trucking Association, the Heavy-Duty Vehicle Efficiency Program completed its first year, exceeded training goals and providing over $1 million for equipment.
Singapore Begins Research on Floating Energy Storage Solution
The floating lab batteries will stacked vertically-a first for Singapore-reducing the footprint by an estimated 40%. A seawater liquid cooling setup will also be implemented, to reduce the batteries’ operating temperature and improve performance in the humid climate of Singapore.
Space is precious in Singapore; with a population of close to 6 million and a land area of 725km2, creative thinking is required for large scale transport and energy projects. The Maritime Executive writes that Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) and Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M) plan to install a floating energy storage system with 7.5MWh of lithium ion batteries on Keppel O&M’s Floating Living Lab.
The EMA’s Chief Executive, Ngiam Shih Chun said“Energy storage and smart energy management systems support the deployment of more renewable energy in Singapore. This project will pave the way to overcome our land constraints, and set the blueprint for similar deployments in the future.”
The floating lab batteries will be stacked vertically-a first for Singapore-reducing the footprint by an estimated 40%. A seawater liquid cooling setup will also be implemented, to reduce the batteries’ operating temperature and improve performance in the humid climate of Singapore.
Due for completion in 2023, the 7.5MWh capacity should be enough to supply power to 600 4-room HDB units, which are around 90m2 or 970ft2.
Find out more below:
Source: The Maritime Executive