News

Shell Doubles Renewables Investment

Shell plans to increase the annual amount of money it invests in renewable energy to US$4 billion, the supermajor’s head of gas and new energy, Maarten Wetselaar told The Guardian in an interview.

The figure is double the maximum current annual investment Shell has allocated for cleaner energy initiatives but the increase will only materialize if these initial investments prove to make financial sense.

“I would like my current business to be financially credible enough for not only the company, but shareholders, to want to double it and look at more,” Wetselaar told The Guardian.

Shell has pledged to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent over the next five decades as it shifts to more renewable energy, including biofuels, and boosts operational efficiencies, in the latest sign that one of the world’s top Big Oil players is determined to move away from its principal business.

"Our view is if society needs to ...

Dec. 23, 2018


Qatar Petroleum to invest $20 billion in U.S. in major expansion

Qatar Petroleum (QP) is looking to invest at least $20 billion in the United States over the coming few years, its chief executive told Reuters, after the Gulf Arab state unexpectedly quit OPEC this month.

Saad al-Kaabi, who holds the energy portfolio of the world’s top liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplier, also said on Sunday the company aimed to announce foreign partners for new LNG trains needed for an ambitious domestic scale-up by the middle of next year, but was keeping open the possibility of going it alone.

Qatar, a tiny but wealthy country is one of the most influential players in the LNG market due to its annual production of 77 million tonnes. It plans to boost capacity 43 percent by 2023-2024 and will be building four liquefaction trains for the LNG expansion.

As part of its more than $20 billion investment push ...

Dec. 17, 2018


Hyundai investes $ 9.3 bln in the development of hydrogen fuel

Hyundai Motor Group, together with its suppliers, plans to spend $ 7.6 trillion ($ 9.3 billion) on the development and modernization of the production of hydrogen fuel cells.

As part of its FCEV Vision 2030, announced overnight, the company intends to build 700,000 fuel cell systems per year by 2030.

About 500,000 of them will be used in passenger and commercial vehicles on fuel cells, and the rest in electric generators and other modes of transport, including drones, boats, trains and forklifts.

"We will expand our role outside the automotive transport sector and play a key role in the transition of global society to clean energy, helping to make hydrogen an economically viable source of energy."

/Source: Caradvice/

Dec. 11, 2018


Audi to invest 14 billion euros in e-mobility, self-driving cars

Volkswagen's premium auto brand Audi said on Tuesday it would invest 14 billion euros ($15.9 billion) through 2023 in electric mobility, digitalisation and autonomous driving.

Overall, the company's total projected expenditure for the next five years amounts to 40 billion euros, the company said in a statement. It also plans restructuring measures that will generate 1 billion in earnings uplift already in 2018.

"This planning round bears a clear signature: We are taking a very systematic approach to electric mobility and will be much more focused in future," said Audi's interim management board chairman Bram Schot.

/Source: TheEconomic times/

Dec. 4, 2018


Orsted outlines plans for $30 billion investment in green energy

Danish energy firm Orsted has unveiled an "extensive investment program" that will see it invest around 200 billion Danish krone ($30.26 billion) in green energy between 2019 and 2025.

Breaking the figures down, Orsted said that investments in offshore wind farms were expected to make up 75 to 85 percent of the program, with onshore investments accounting for 15 to 20 percent. Bioenergy and customer solutions were expected to represent 0 to 5 percent of the spending.

"Today, our portfolio consists of 11.9 GW (gigawatts) of offshore and onshore wind farms and biomass-fired combined heat and power plants that are either in production, under construction or have been given final investment decision," Henrik Poulsen, Orsted's CEO and president.

"Towards 2030, it's our strategic ambition to reach an installed capacity of more than 30GW, provided that the build-out creates value for our shareholders," Poulsen added. 

Orsted is a world leader in offshore wind. In September, ...

Nov. 28, 2018


France’s schneider electric inaugurates $565 mln vc funding unit

French energy management and automation solutions provider Schneider Electric has inaugurated its own dedicated venture capital (VC) funding unit, Schneider Electric Ventures.

Schneider Electric said the dedicated VC funding unit will boost its innovation ecosystem and nurture the future’s transformational and disruptive innovations.

The unit will have up to 500 million euros ($565 million) of cash to inject in incubation projects, partnerships with entrepreneurs, and specialized funds, and would welcome ideas from innovators and entrepreneurs eager to turn their concepts into reality.

The company said that Schneider Electric Ventures is its way of helping innovators turn their vision into reality. It demonstrates the company’s commitment to innovation, helping innovators and entrepreneurs who share Schneider’s values develop their ideas and gain access to markets.

/Source: InvestSize/

Nov. 14, 2018


View Announces $1.1 Billion Investment from the SoftBank Vision Fund to Meet Accelerating Demand

View, the leader in dynamic glass, today announced a $1.1 billion investment from the SoftBank Vision Fund. Demand for View’s intelligent windows is rapidly growing as companies increasingly recognize the benefits of modernizing their work environments to improve the health and productivity of their employees.

View makes the entire skin of buildings intelligent for the first time. This improves human health and wellness by preserving unobstructed views, automatically letting in the optimum amount of natural light, and greatly reducing heat and glare. It also cuts the building energy consumption by up to 20 percent.

View Dynamic Glass is installed in 35 million square feet of buildings and is growing rapidly. There is compelling evidence that View helps improve the health and wellness of occupants. Harvard Business Review published a study identifying natural light as the #1 desired office perk. Another recent study found significant health benefits associated with View Dynamic Glass over ...

Nov. 2, 2018


Lab-grown meat could be in restaurants by 2021

A Dutch company that presented the world's first lab-grown beef burger five years ago has received funding to pursue its plans to make and sell artificially grown meat to restaurants from 2021. Mosa Meat said it raised 7.5 million euros ($8.8 million), mainly from M Ventures and Bell Food Group. M Ventures is an investment vehicle for German pharmaceuticals company Merck KGaA. Bell Food is a European meat processing company based in Switzerland.

Smaller investors include Glass Wall Syndicate, which supports several companies looking into cultured meat or meat substitute products aimed at consumers concerned about the environmental and ethical impact of raising and slaughtering animals.

Maastricht-based Mosa Meat, which has in the past also received 1 million euros from Google co-founder Sergey Brin, said it hopes to sell its first products -- most likely ground beef for burgers -- in 2021. The aim is to achieve industrial-scale production 2-3 years later, ...

Oct. 25, 2018


Dutch battery company to build 1.6 billion euro plant in China

Lithium Werks BV, a startup founded by Dutch entrepreneur Kees Koolen, said on Tuesday it had signed a 1.6 billion euro ($1.85 billion) deal to build a new storage battery plant in China.

Koolen told Reuters the agreement included project financing of 15-30 percent by Chinese or regional financing sources, 50 percent from development banks, and the remainder by Lithium Werks and its equity investors.

The factory will be able to produce batteries with 500 GWh storage capacity per year by 2030.

"There's a big appetite from investors for such projects and such companies, so we have a lot of people interested to make sure we have enough equity," Koolen said in a telephone interview.

The agreement is one of several commercial deals announced as Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met on Tuesday in the Hague. 

Koolen has invested 41 million euros into Lithium Werks and currently holds a 50 ...

Oct. 17, 2018


Bioenergy set to grow fast in next five years

About 40% of the global energy consumption growth in the next five years will be met by renewables and it will account for almost one-third of the global electricity generation by 2023, the market forecast said. India, after China and the US, is the third largest growth market for solar PV capacity addition.

“Modern bioenergy’s “share in the world’s total renewables consumption is about 50% today, in other words as much as hydro, wind, solar and all other renewables combined,” said Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director. “We expect modern bioenergy will continue to lead the field, and has huge prospects for further growth. But right policies and rigorous sustainability regulations will be essential to meet its full potential,” he said.

Untapped potential of bioenergy in cement, sugar and ethanol industries is significant. Bioenergy growth in the industry, transport and electricity sectors combined could be as considerable as that of other renewables ...

Oct. 13, 2018