SUSTAINABILITY

Germany is fully committed to hydrogen, and the Netherlands should follow suit

How is our hydrogen society and economy faring? In the summer series 'The Netherlands, hydrogen land' we discuss the current state of affairs with technicians and scientists.

28 August 2021

Raffinaderij van BP in Lingen (Duitsland), zou in 2024 20 procent van waterstofvraag uit groene waterstof kunnen halen. (Credit: BP)

The Dutch government has great ambitions for hydrogen. The National Hydrogen Program demonstrates that the government wants to go all-out for hydrogen as the energy system of the future. But how is our hydrogen society and economy faring? In the summer series ‘The Netherlands, Hydrogen Land’, we discuss the current state of affairs with technicians and scientists on the basis of themes from the National Hydrogen Programme. In the fifth installment: The cooperation between the Netherlands and Germany. 

The National Hydrogen Program

At the beginning of July, the National Hydrogen Program (NWP) was presented to the Secretary of State by the cross-sectoral working group hydrogen (CSWW). CSWW is a collaboration between 19 organizations. The program stems from the government’s National Climate Agreement. The cabinet’s vision for hydrogen contains the policy agenda in which the central government’s commitment is laid out further. The period up to and including 2021 is the preparatory phase for the actual scaling up and roll-out of hydrogen from 2022 onwards. The second phase of the NWP – which is actually the real start – Is set to commence on 1 January 2022.

While the Netherlands announced its hydrogen strategy last month, Germany had already done so a year earlier. Our neighboring country has set aside nine billion euros to build a hydrogen infrastructure with a capacity of five gigawatts over the next ten years. To help paint a picture of this, that corresponds to the capacity of ten nuclear power plants. The hydrogen strategy of the industrial state of North Rhine-Westphalia specifies that the region plans to import half of its hydrogen from the Netherlands. Cooperation between the Netherlands and Germany in the field of hydrogen is therefore inevitable..

So far Germany is the only country that the Netherlands has entered into a concrete bilateral cooperation with. And that while the NWP is clear in stating that hydrogen is an international theme – the international strategy is part of the Dutch approach and the Netherlands is participating in a number of international projects. However, the NWP is not much more specific on this subject than ‘consultations are being held with other member states‘. Bilateral cooperation with countries such as Belgium, France and Norway is still in an ‘exploratory phase‘.

Bilateral cooperation

Hydrogen is a subject that can bring the Netherlands and Germany together. That is according to René Peters, Director of Gas Technology at the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO). “Both countries have a long history when it comes to fuel imports and transits. Think about coal, oil and natural gas. Hopefully we can add green hydrogen to that list soon.” In Peters’ view, it is important for both countries to make hydrogen a success, Along with the cooperation. The Netherlands as an import port for Germany and as an important transit and transport country. Plus, Germany needs to decarbonize its industry. Hydrogen is the best option for much of this heavy industry.

Richard van de Sanden, scientific director of Eindhoven Institute for Renewable Energy Systems (EIRES) and the Dutch Institute for Renawable Energy Systems (DIFFER), also sees cooperation between the Netherlands and Germany as a key aspect of our hydrogen strategy. “Germany is our big brother. They presented a nine billion euro hydrogen strategy last year and are aiming to be the world leader in hydrogen technology by 2050.”

On the one hand, German industry needs green hydrogen in order to meet its climate targets, but on the other hand, it also has the ambition to become the supplier of all the technology surrounding hydrogen. This ambition is also set out in the NWP. Yet according to Van de Sanden, the Netherlands needs to put a lot more effort into this. “In the Netherlands, the emphasis is mainly on becoming CO2 neutral. While a huge hydrogen industry is emerging now. Everything has to start with electricity in the future, and you should want to be a major player in that too. The Netherlands would do well to have the aspiration to become the ASML of the hydrogen industry.”

Exchanging knowledge

Earlier this year, Van de Sanden, as chair of the Platform ElectroChemical Conversion and Materials, issued Van ‘t Wout (former Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy) a ‘call to action’. Germany and the Netherlands are set to cooperate bilaterally with an innovative approach to green hydrogen and chemistry. According to Van de Sanden, the cooperation will bear fruit primarily in terms of knowledge. “Contrary to what you read in the news, we are still at the same level in the field of electrolysers as where we were twenty years ago with solar cells. The large-scale production of hydrogen and everything that comes with it, is something that we still have to learn an awful lot about. That’s why it’s good that we are working together and can learn from each other. Not just in the industry, but also on the knowledge side of things.”

Van de Sanden sees hydrogen as an intermediary rather than an end station for a lot of applications. “Looking ahead to 2030, I see that we will soon be able to make better, more selective electrochemical processes, where we skip the hydrogen step. Then you can make ammonia directly from water and some other feedstock. In other processes, such as synthetic fuels, hydrogen will continue to be needed, but not everywhere.”

In that respect, Van de Sanden believes that the Netherlands and Germany are a perfect match. “Both Germany and the Netherlands have an enormous amount of knowledge in house. We can carry out very interesting research together.”

The German hydrogen strategy: a summary

Develop national electrolysis capacity for green hydrogen to 5 GW by 2030 and 10 GW by 2040.

Funding for the strategy is €9 billion, of which €7 billion is reserved for national measures, and the remaining amount for international collaborations.

The German government is appointing a ‘Waterstoffrat‘: an advisory committee for departments that are involved and a special representative for hydrogen innovation.

The strategy clearly indicates European ambitions. Agreements are made on sustainability criteria and quality standards for hydrogen, the establishment of hydrogen as an IPCEI (Important Project of Common European interest) and the creation of a European hydrogen agency.

HY3 project

Another concrete example of bilateral cooperation is the HY3 project. This is where the Netherlands and Germany are jointly investigating the feasibility of a transnational value chain for green hydrogen. That chain extends to the industrial clusters located in the border area of the Netherlands and North Rhine-Westphalia. The research is a trilateral task of the Netherlands, Germany and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

TNO is representing the Netherlands within this project and René Peters, Director of Gas Technology at TNO, is the initiator. “North Rhine-Westphalia anticipates needing between 70 and 160 terrawatt hours of hydrogen annually by 2050. If half of that has to come from the Netherlands, then that is where a huge demand is created.” The difference between 70 and 160 terrawatts is considerable – which, according to Peters, is also where a great deal of uncertainty immediately arises. It depends on how the use of hydrogen is picked up in the largest markets: Heavy transport and industry. “If it’s not picked up there, demand is more likely to be at the lower end of that range.”

Three important conclusions

For HY3, TNO looked at smart ways of reusing existing gas pipeline infrastructure and storing hydrogen in salt caverns. The official report has yet to appear, but Peters can already share three important conclusions. First of all, if the Netherlands wants to be able to meet demand, it will have to rely on imports. We cannot meet the demand from Germany with wind energy alone. A second conclusion is that, for the time being, the existing infrastructure of pipelines has enough capacity to transport the hydrogen to the German (and Dutch) industrial clusters. “But, if you look beyond 2030, the capacity is not adequate. The direct pipeline between Rotterdam and North Rhine-Westphalia is not strong enough, so in time that could become a bottleneck.”

Salt caverns

In order to guarantee a constant supply of hydrogen, it is important to be able to store it safely. Salt caverns are a solution, a cavity in a thick layer of salt that prevents the hydrogen from leaking through. “In one salt cavern, you could store up to 250 gigawatt hours of energy. That’s a huge amount. A third conclusion from the research we did for HY3 is that with salt caverns, we can facilitate enough storage to balance out the system.” But those X number of salt caverns still need to be built.

Peters is mostly positive. The conversion of infrastructure, the capacity, the storage – that’s not where the problems lie. The biggest uncertainty, he says, is in the costs. “Hydrogen really needs to become cheaper. There eventually has to be a company that is willing to pay for green hydrogen. That will still be more expensive than grey hydrogen for some time to come.”

Got interested? Read the whole series here.

Or check our hydrogen dossier

https://innovationorigins.com/en/germany-is-fully-committed-to-hydrogen-and-the-netherlands-sho

Green hydrogen production at sea to be demonstrated



August 26, 2021

Image: Project Management Jülich (PtJ) on behalf of the BMBF

Germany’s H2Mare project is developing technologies for offshore green hydrogen production powered by wind turbines.

The project, supported with more than €100 million ($117 million) funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), aims to integrate a hydrogen electrolyser to an offshore wind farm for the direct conversion of electricity and elimination of the grid connection costs.

The four-year initiative comprises four individual component projects with a total of 35 partners.

OffgridWind is pursuing the implementation of a concept that realises electrolysis directly in the offshore wind turbine.

Have you read?
Study launched on offshore production of green hydrogen
Energy giants plan first offshore hydrogen park in German North Sea
EU’s Hydrogen Strategy: How Can We Achieve the 2030 Green Hydrogen Production Target?

H2Wind is focused on the development of a PEM (proton exchange membrane) electrolysis system optimally adapted to the offshore environment and tuned to the wind turbine. In addition to the durability of the turbines and the challenge of processing seawater, the maximum yield of wind energy is one of the project’s goals.

PtX-Wind is addressing the conversion to more easily transportable synthetic energy carriers and fuels, such as methane, methanol and ammonia. Power-to-X products are produced via high-temperature electrolysis and CO2 extraction from the air or sea. Direct saltwater electrolysis is also being tested.

TransferWind is intended to address the transfer of knowledge to the public as well as the exchange of expertise across the projects. In addition, it considers safety and environmental issues as well as infrastructure requirements.

“Together with our partners, we want to establish the production of green hydrogen offshore with H2Mare,” says Christian Bruch, Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Energy AG, the project coordinator.

“H2Mare unites the strengths of research and industry for sustainable decarbonisation of the economy and to the benefit of the environment. We need the support of politics to drive forward innovative solutions for a green hydrogen economy.”

An important element of the initiative is the integration of individual processes into complete systems. For example, the efficiency of the overall process can be increased by the heat integration of high-temperature electrolysis in the power-to-X processes. It also includes concepts for storing and transporting the hydrogen and other power-to-X products back to land by ship and pipeline.

A challenge facing the initiative is the use of existing technologies in an offshore environment and the research and development of new materials and components for offshore use. The development of digital twins for the different system components and the technical and economic analyses based on them also forms part of the four components.

H2Mare is one of three flagship projects being conducted by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research to support the country’s entry into the hydrogen economy. The others are H2Giga focussed on the production of large-scale water electrolysers and TransHyDE addressing the development of technologies for the transport of hydrogen.

H2Mare is one of a number of initiatives pursuing the offshore production of green hydrogen and significant developments are likely to take place in the next three to four years.

Heating your home with hydrogen is not a foregone conclusion

How is our hydrogen society and economy faring? In the summer series 'The Netherlands, hydrogen land’, we discuss the current state of affairs with technicians and scientists.

26 August 2021

CORINE SPAANS

© Pixabay

   

The Dutch government has great ambitions for hydrogen. The National Hydrogen Program demonstrates that the government wants to go all-out for hydrogen as the energy system of the future. But how are our hydrogen society and economy faring? In the summer series The ‘The Netherlands, Hydrogen Land’, we discuss the current state of affairs with technicians and scientists on the basis of themes from the National Hydrogen Programme. In the fourth installment: heating houses and buildings. Read the whole series here

The National Hydrogen Program

At the beginning of July, the National Hydrogen Program (NWP) was presented to the Secretary of State by the cross-sectoral working group hydrogen (CSWW). CSWW is a collaboration between 19 organizations. The program stems from the government’s National Climate Agreement. The cabinet’s vision for hydrogen contains the policy agenda in which the central government’s commitment is laid out further. The period up to and including 2021 is the preparatory phase for the actual scaling up and roll-out of hydrogen from 2022 onwards. The second phase of the NWP – which is actually the real start – Is set to commence on 1 January 2022.

Reservations

In the Netherlands, newly built homes have no longer been connected to natural gas since July 1, 2018. But what do you do with the already existing homes that also have to be climate neutral by 2050? Hydrogen seems like it could be a solution. But environmental organizations such as Natuur & Milieu (Nature and Environment) are expressing reservations about it.

Michelle Prins, program manager for sustainable industry at Natuur & Milieu, sat at the ‘industry’ round table during the climate agreement. She negotiated on behalf of the environmental movement and also collaborated on the NWP. “We see it happening more and more often that hydrogen is presented as the solution to all sustainability issues. That is not how we see it. For us, green hydrogen primarily has a priority in making the industry more sustainable. Because that is where CO2 emissions are highest and there are no other alternatives.”

In its own publication, the environmental organization debunks five myths about hydrogen and has created a hydrogen ladder that prioritizes where hydrogen should be used. “Our message is that we definitely need hydrogen. However, it is not the solution for everything.”

Stad aan ‘t Haringvliet

The NWP spells out its ambition that there should be a clear idea by 2030 of how hydrogen can help make homes and buildings climate-neutral by 2050. It states that hydrogen can make a significant contribution to heating our homes over the longer term. According to various studies, there is definitely potential for this, but there are still important issues around applicability, safety, availability, sustainability, and affordability. According to the NWP, the first task is to get the preconditions right for the safe application of hydrogen in built-up environments.

One of the projects contributing to these preconditions is Stad aan ‘t Haringvliet. This project aims to supply green electricity made with green wind power, to around 600 homes by mid-2025. “Provided that the residents opt to do it,” emphasizes Silvan de Boer, Business developer New Energy Development at the Eneco energy company.

Chain

As part of the H2GO program, the municipality, Eneco, grid manager Stedin, Deltawind, Hygro, Gasunie, the Oost West housing cooperation, and the filling station operator Greenpoint are working together to produce hydrogen and use it to heat homes. A village council is representing the residents. De Boer: “We want to be able to supply hydrogen to local residents. The project demonstrates how the entire chain works.”

According to De Boer, “you only do this in neighborhoods where you are unable to offer other sustainable solutions.” Insulation, electrification and hybrid solutions such as a hydrogen boiler combined with a heat pump are the first options De Boer mentions. “But some houses are too old or are historic monuments and then often green hydrogen or green gas is the only affordable solution to get rid of natural gas.”

Eneco, as a major natural gas supplier, is a proponent of offering hydrogen as an alternative to natural gas in those old houses or monumental buildings. “It is often said that you have to use green hydrogen first as a raw material for industry, agriculture, shipping and aviation. We have a different view on that. In many existing neighborhoods, you do not have any other choice when it comes to making them more sustainable.”

The Green Village

Within The Green Village (the living lab for sustainable innovation in our neighborhoods and located on the Delft University of Technology campus), researchers and companies are looking at what hydrogen can do for the energy system of neighborhood districts. In one of the larger projects, network operators are investigating together how the existing natural gas network can be adapted to hydrogen. This has resulted in a small gas network for hydrogen at The Green Village: the Hydrogen Street. There are also inhabited houses on this testing ground.

For example, the company gAvilar, a specialist in regulatory equipment for gas distribution, is working on products such as a gas pressure regulation systems and safety systems. The company, alongside Flamco, Het Internet Huis, PIA Automation, Beutech, Breman, and Empuls, is a partner in the H2@Home project, This is subsidized by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency. “As gAvilar, we like to really show how an indoor hydrogen facility can work safely and reliably in an existing environment,” says Lianne Mostert, project manager at gAvilar. For instance, the company will soon be testing a sensor that can detect a hydrogen leak and trigger the supply of hydrogen to stop.

Learning from each other

“That’s the beauty of The Green Village,” says Arnoud van der Zee, program manager for energy transition at The Green Village. “This is not only the perfect place to test your innovation but also for sharing knowledge. We bring people together in the built-up environment so that they can learn from each other. Not only about the subject of hydrogen. There are also tests taking place with heat network innovations and direct current systems.” For the time being, it is mainly policymakers from The Hague or from municipalities who drop by to take a look, Van der Zee informs us. His colleague Lidewij van Trigt is in charge of the hydrogen-related projects.

Feed-in facility for the hydrogen network at the Green Village © Green Village

“If you are talking about climate neutrality in 2050, then we believe that you cannot avoid doing something with hydrogen in the built-up environment as well,” Van der Zee contends. “It will not be the most important thing, but the fact that we are going to do something with it is abundantly clear.” According to van der Zee, all sources of renewable energy will be needed in order to become climate-neutral. “And even then we won’t have enough energy and will have to import it from Africa or Spain, for example.”

Energy loss

For the time being, it is the cost of such a hydrogen system that means hydrogen will not be able to play a major role in heating our homes as yet, Van der Zee goes on to say. “The cost of the equipment that is needed is high. Plus you have to deal with enormous energy losses when producing green hydrogen. But if we can get these aspects better under control, then hydrogen can definitely play a role in the built-up environment.”

Despite the fact that the use of hydrogen as a solution for heating our homes is not a top priority, Michelle Prins, of Milieu & Natuur, predicts that hydrogen will play a limited role. In this regard, she is especially concerned that people are going to wait around for hydrogen. “There are people who do not want solar fields or windmills, for instance. And they are not keen on heat pumps either. They reassure themselves with the thought that hydrogen will soon be flowing through the existing network of gas pipelines. But that is just not true. Green hydrogen does not exist yet and it will also need solar parks and wind turbines. That’s why we need to get to work on heat pumps and heat networks now.”

Not sitting around waiting

Knowledge is also needed on what hydrogen can mean in the built-up environment, says Prins. So that by 2030, that clear idea of what hydrogen can signify in terms of climate neutrality of homes will emerge. “It also depends on how the alternatives develop. If heat pumps and heat networks take off, hydrogen will be less of an issue. And what are we going to produce ourselves in the Netherlands and what are we going to import?” By doing this, we need to gain experience of what can and cannot be done. As is being done in The Green Village. “Government, industry, and civic organizations must work together to create a vision that makes it clear where we are going to put most of our hydrogen to use. And where we are going to promote it.”

Autonomous train in Finland: the goal is to double railway transport

2 August 2021

PRESS RELEASE

(c) Proxion

   

A ground-breaking global autonomous train development project in Finland is moving on to its test phase. The aim of the initiative is to create completely new railway transportation services and to even double the amount of railway transport. The initiative, led by Finnish Proxion in conjunction with around 20 other tech organisations, innovates an agile, low-emission transportation concept for large industrial enterprises. In the future, aim is to also bring autonomous passenger traffic to the rails.

The autonomous train initiative is moving on towards the pilot phase where the software and equipment of the autonomous train will be tested, simulated and test-driven. The project is a significant leap towards the transportation of the future, and Proxion is leading the way in developing the usability and agility of all rail transport.

“The strict environmental targets set by the EU are in favour of developing the electric modes of transport, and railway transport is the most energy efficient way to transport goods by land. The innovative development of rail transport is therefore in key position, as the goals are to develop transportation that is lower in emissions and to achieve better rail utilization,” says Reijo Viinonen, the Project Manager of Proxion’s autonomous train initiative. The piloting of Proxion’s autonomous train will begin already later this year. The autonomous train is expected to be operational in 2023.

Rail safety

Autonomy in transportation is a global trend, and its execution is being innovated constantly. While the development is well under way on roads, in the air and in maritime transport, the progress on railways has been slower.

The autonomous train unit in development is intended to be a low-emission and more cost-effective solution for short-distance industrial transport that is currently handled mainly by road transport.  An increasingly important feature of the train is safety. Technical Research Centre of Finland VTT, the innovation partner of the development project, is involved in enabling safe automation on the rails.

Problem of available drivers

“It is important to ensure that the autonomous train operates reliably in all conditions and on a wide range of track connections. It is a leap towards safer railway transport. For example, sensor interpretation technology for the train unit is being developed as is combining a thermal camera and radar observations in order to be able to react correctly and in time to any obstacles or situations ahead,” says Pertti Peussa, Principal Scientist at VTT.

The advantages of an autonomous train unit also include agility and the longevity of the invested infrastructure. In addition, it offers a solution to the problem of available drivers, because, as the name implies, an autonomous train runs independently without a driver.

Read also: Inland shipping of the future will soon have a helmsman ashore

https://innovationorigins.com/en/selected/autonomous-train-in-finland-the-goal-is-to-double-railway-transport/

Hydrogen sulfide set off town's alarms just before explosion. What is it?

Author of the article: Dave Waddell • Windsor Star
Publishing date:Aug 27, 2021 • 

Wreckage is shown from an explosion in Wheatley, a Chatham-Kent town of about 3,000 that's been hit recently with toxic-gas leaks. Photo taken on Friday Aug. 27, 2021, about 15 hours after the blast. Dax Melmer/Postmedia

WHEATLEY – The gas that set off detectors in this Chatham-area town shortly before a massive explosion rocked its main street is familiar to most Canadians for its rotten-egg smell, associated with leaking natural gas.

Hydrogen sulfide is used by natural gas companies specifically for its noxious aroma as a safety measure, but is dangerous on its own for its flammable and explosive properties.

“It’s very nasty stuff,” Western University chemistry professor Jamie Noel said. “It’s pretty common, but for people it’s deadly. It only takes 1000 parts per million to kill you instantly.

“It’s also very combustible. It explodes at about 41/2 per cent per volume in air.”

Chatham-Kent officials confirmed gas detectors in the demolished buildings – put in place by government officials after two recent toxic-gas leaks – recorded the presence of hydrogen sulfide prior to the explosion.

“We’re talking the most probable cause is an abandoned (gas) well,” said Chatham-Kent’s top administrator, Don Shropshire. “This area has hundreds of abandoned wells from Niagara to Windsor.”


In Southwestern Ontario, hydrogen sulfide is commonly associated with such wells. Traces can also give well water that sulphur taste.

PHOTOS: A town and its residents reel after massive explosion

Hydrogen sulfide is soluble in water, most organic liquids and oil, but when agitated or in increasing temperatures solubility decreases and higher concentrations can build up.

Discovered by Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele in 1771 and commonly nicknamed swamp gas, hydrogen sulfide forms as the result of the bacterial action of breaking down decaying materials. That process also gives the colourless gas its rotten egg smell.

“It takes less than one part per million to smell it,” said Noel. “That’s its warning system. The warning doesn’t last long because it eventually destroys your sense of smell.”

Its health impacts are many and range from eye irritation and respiratory issues in lower dosages to death from higher exposures. The gas is found in the oil and gas, manufacturing, pulp and paper, agriculture, food processing, mining and sewage treatment industries.

Hydrogen Sulfide will spontaneously ignite at 270 C (518 F).

In addition to gas wells, hydrogen sulfide occurs naturally in sewers, volcanoes, hot springs and manure pits.

It collects in low-lying areas because it’s heavier than air.

Noel said the gas is relatively stable, but it’s capable of moving through fissures and cracks in the ground.

“It’ll collect in pockets and, when enough pressure builds up, it’ll burp to the surface,” Noel said. “It’s dangerous when enough of it accumulates.

“The other concern about it is the gas is also corrosive to metal underground.”

Seven people were hospitalized after the explosion, though none of the injuries are life-threatening. The downtown gas detectors went off at about 4:30 p.m. and municipal officials and emergency crews starting clearing out residents – the explosion happened at about 6 p.m.

Officials have said that 90-minute warning almost certainly saved lives.

dwaddell@postmedia.com

Mix of toxic pollutants left behind in ash after wildfires scorch communities: expert

VANCOUVER — Wildfires that race through communities, incinerating ingredients that make up modern-day life, can leave behind a trail of toxic metal, says an expert.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Michael Brauer, a professor at the University of British Columbia's school of public health, said some of the hazardous materials found in ash and soil after a wildfire include asbestos, arsenic, lead and mercury.

Most of the metals come from household items such as paint, treated wood, thermometers, cars and electronic goods.

"And it also depends on the age of the structures and the communities," Brauer said in an interview. "So, for example, lead is often found in pipes and paint in some older homes, and newer homes don't have that."

The fires that burn "very, very hot" are good because they break down most of the plastics and metals into relatively harmless compounds, he said.

Crews who mop up following a wildfire don't just clear away the ash and rubble, but typically will test the soil and water for toxic metals, he said.

A report on toxicity and pollutants found in ash and air samples after the fire that destroyed most of the village of Lytton is expected soon, said Pader Brach, Emergency Management BC's executive director of regional operations.

This will be the first time such a report will be written in B.C. following a wildfire.

The fire in Lytton began the afternoon of June 30. Brisk winds and tinder-dry conditions fuelled the flames and within hours much of the village was destroyed.

The Transportation Safety Board joined the RCMP and BC Wildfire Service in an investigation of the cause days after the fire, saying there was some indication a passing train may have sparked the blaze.

No cause has yet been determined.

About 90 per cent of the village was wiped out, including homes, businesses, the RCMP detachment, the ambulance station, the Lytton Hotel and the Chinese History Museum. A tour of the place showed rubble, twisted metal, skeletons of cars and charred remnants of life.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada reported the value of damage caused by the wildfire was an estimated $78 million for insured properties. It said in a statement earlier this month that about 300 claims had been made to that date.

Brach said the report will identify the pollutants of most concern.

"It's a long process to recover from a significant event like a wildfire that impacts the community," he said.

On May 3, 2016, the wildfire that spread through Fort McMurray, Alta., forced 90,000 people to escape and destroyed thousands of buildings.

Two years later, a study by Alberta Health found elevated concentrations of metals, including asbestos, mercury, arsenic, chromium, copper and zinc in ash samples. High amounts of hydrocarbons from burned plastic was also found. Most of the arsenic discovered came from treated woods, the report said.

"The combustion of urban structures and their contents led to the release of a diverse array of contaminants of potential concern associated with the ash and debris," it said.

Pollutants varied by location and residential density. Exposure to such leftover acidic ash and rubble caused skin irritation, burns and breathing problems, the study found.

Brauer noted that while every community would have different levels of metal concentrations in soils and air depending on the age and composition of structures, it is important to let crews finish thorough testing and cleanup of areas damaged by wildfires before moving back.

In some areas, he said a few centimetres of topsoil is removed before people can return because the metals make a permanent home in the dirt.

"You don't want children crawling around on soil with, you know, high levels of metals," he said.

"They may be crawling around on the dirt and put their hands in their mouth. Or, for example, if you're gardening, you don't want high levels of the metals in your garden."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2021.

Hina Alam, The Canadian Press

Shellfish and algae facilities form China’s new carbon sink strategy

by The Fish Site
27 August 2021, 

China plans to expand aquaculture activities in its territorial waters

China’s coastal province of Zhejiang plans to open more shellfish and algae breeding facilities, taking advantage of the species’ ability to trap and store environmental carbon. The expansion of sustainable aquaculture activities is part of China’s ambition to increase its ocean “carbon sink” and improve its climate resilience.

Carbon sinks are natural or artificial reservoirs that can store carbon that has been removed from the atmosphere. Restoring forests and grasslands can extract atmospheric carbon, but marine ecosystems have “blue sink” potential as well.

China is planning to increase its forest sink capacity but is facing pressure from its urban expansion. As a result, the country is hoping to tap into its territorial waters to achieve its climate goals.


Maintaining ocean blue sink and steadily improving ocean carbon sink capacity are important tasks to facilitate our climate goals.

ZHANG ZHIFENG, DEPARTMENT OF MARINE ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT

“Maintaining ocean blue sink and steadily improving ocean carbon sink capacity are important tasks to facilitate our climate goals,” said Zhang Zhifeng, vice director at the Department of Marine Ecology and Environment, a unit of the environment ministry, during a press conference on 26 August.

Zhang told journalists that the ministry is urging local governments to accelerate marine ecological restoration and implement carbon monitoring schemes. Improving coastal water quality by planting seagrass beds and restoring mangroves and coral reefs is being encouraged.

The initiatives form part of China’s 2021-2025 marine ecological environment protection plan, which is currently in its draft stage.

PAYWALL
Read more about this story in Reuters.

Strengthening Europe's seaweed farming sector

Results from an innovative European seaweed research project have laid the foundations to strengthen Europe's seaweed cultivation and biorefining industry.

by The Fish Site
24 August 2021

Funded by the EU Horizon 2020 program, GENIALG has developed innovative solutions to help production of seaweed biomass in Europe to become more economically and environmentally sustainable.

Drying seaweed© Dr Javier Cremades


“GENIALG has approached all legal, financial, environmental, socio-economic and technical aspects to facilitate the development of the European seaweed sector, from seaweed farming to the production of molecules of interest to the seaweed industry. By combining a trans-sector partnership with an integrated and sustainable approach, GENIALG aimed to meet the market needs in the fields of health, nutrition, cosmetics and agriculture. New technologies, methods and tools (genomics and post-genomics) have been developed – eg for seeding, harvesting, rearing, cultivating and storing seaweed, as well as for pre-processing, fractionation, extraction and purification of the biomolecules within the seaweeds,” Philippe Potin, project coordinator, reflects.

GENIALG has tackled key challenges facing the industry, including how to reduce costs, scale-up production and improve the quality and refinement of seaweed biomass into multiple value-added products.

Since its initiation in 2017, GENIALG has made significant contributions to the European seaweed research and industry landscape. Key outputs include:

Demonstrating the techno-economic feasibility of cultivating land-based sea lettuce and of cultivating sugar kelp in the open sea.
Applying the first genome-wide approaches and a customised phenotyping platform for seaweed strain selection and improvement to improve understanding of seaweed genetics and physiological traits.
Creating new approaches for valorising new and existing products from seaweed compounds that have pharmaceutical applications. These include fucoxanthin from Saccharina and various fractions from Ulva which are used in animal and plant care and, in the near future, expected to have applications in human healthcare.
Developing novel marine enzymes and enzyme cocktails for seaweed fractionation.

Another key element of the project has been to improve access to reliable information about seaweed farming best practices and the innovations of seaweed biorefinery. It has done this though the creation of:
The GENIALG E-Learning Course on sustainable seaweed farming practices, which is freely available to students, current practitioners within the seaweed industry or anyone interested in entering the seaweed industry.
The GENIALG Manual on Best Practices for Seaweed Farming, which contains information on biocontainment and management of pests and pathogens.
The GENIALG Biorefinery Manual, which explains the benefits and sustainability of seaweed biorefinery processes.

Our promise:
Circular & Restorative
Through innovation and sustainable sourcing we will collaborate with industry partners and redefine traditional aquaculture feed ingredients. By 2030 50% of our raw materials will be Circular & Restorative

READ OUR SUSTAINABILITY REPORTGiant Kelp Forest,
Tasmania, Australia

Cod farmer reports first commercial harvest

Norwegian cod farming startup Norcod has begun it first commercial harvest, generating its first sales revenue in the process.

by The Fish Site
27 August 2021, 

Norcod aims to harvest 5,000 tonnes of cod before the end of the winter
© Norcod

Chief executive Christian Riber hailed the initial harvest as a “huge milestone” for the Trondheim-based company, following an intensive four-year effort to start production.

Norcod expects to produce more than 5,000 tonnes of cod by continuous harvesting between now and February, according to Riber.

“We have had to start harvesting the fish a bit earlier than planned due to great biological performance. The fish are in fantastic condition and initial deliveries earlier this month have yielded highly positive customer feedback,” he said.

“The majority of the harvest volumes have been sold well above budgeted levels. As customers come to further appreciate Norcod and its many advantages it is expected that this price will increase. The market is looking very promising for the coming months,” he added.

Norcod’s fish have an 8 percent higher yield than wild-caught cod and provide a thicker, meatier fillet

The initial harvest marks a significant leap towards Norcod’s ambition to become the world’s first producer of high-quality farmed cod on an industrial scale from its three farm sites in mid-Norway.

These fish were harvested from the first batch of juvenile cod that was transferred from growth tanks into the sea in January 2020.
Upscaling production

The next batch of 2.4 million fish was transferred to the sea earlier this summer and is set to be harvested in the third quarter of 2022, with the goal of increasing annual production to 9,000 tonnes in 2022 and 25,000 tonnes by 2025.

A further batch of juveniles is scheduled to go into the sea phase in spring 2022 after they start their growth phase in December this year.

“This schedule puts us on track to increase production significantly over the next few years. Both the high quality and volume of fish produced so far gives us confidence that we can exceed our sales ambition by meeting market demand,” Riber said.

Norcod has secured buyers in advance for the fish as part of its marketing strategy to provide customers with stable year-round deliveries, compared with seasonal wild cod, through its exclusive marketing company Sirena Group.

“It’s only the second time since I started working here that I experience a product where customers are calling back, giving praise and actually sign up on a waiting list for next delivery,” said Magnus Gehlin from Fisk Idag, a leading seafood distributor in Sweden.

Jesper Hansen from Danish seafood customer Fiskerikajen said: “We buy the vast majority of our cod from low-impact fisheries. In the summer, it is sometimes difficult to get enough cod from sustainable fisheries. Therefore, we are pleased that we can now launch Norcod and are really excited about the great quality of this fish.”

Norcod’s produced cod is differentiated in price as the fish have an 8 percent higher yield than wild-caught cod and provide a thicker, meatier fillet, according to Riber.

Whole fish are initially being marketed in Spain, Scandinavia and the UK, with value-added cod fillets destined for France, Germany and the US.

Atlantic Sapphire turns to trout as losses deepen

Atlantic Sapphire, the world’s flagship land-based salmon farming company, is considering diversifying into rainbow trout production, after reporting losses of $55 million in the first six months of the year.

by Rob Fletcher
27 August 2021, 

Trout can tolerate higher stocking densities and grow faster than Atlantic salmon, according to Atlantic Sapphire


The company, which has secured permits to produce 90,000 tonnes of salmon from a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility near Miami, reported the losses in its most recent financial statement, which covered the six months up to 30 June 2021.

The loss, which was deeper than the $33.8 million it lost in the same period the previous year, was in part due to an incident on 23 March, which resulted in the loss of approximately 500 tonnes of fish lost with an average weight of approximately 1kg, equivalent of around 5 percent of annualized USA Phase 1 harvest volumes and has now been attributed to an “identified design weakness from its RAS supplier”, which “resulted in elevated turbidity and possibly gasses that caused abnormal fish behavior”.

It did not, however, include the impact of an incident on 9 July in which approximately 400 tonnes of salmon were lost from its Danish RAS facility – the equivalent of around 17 percent of its annual harvest volume, which led to the loss of a further $3 million, after insurance proceeds. “The Group’s preliminary analysis, which remains subject to change, indicates that maintenance work performed in the filtration system caused water quality to quickly deteriorate, resulting in elevated mortality”.

Intriguingly, Atlantic Sapphire is now looking towards the production of rainbow trout as well as Atlantic salmon and revealed that it has been trialling trout production at its "Bluehouse" RAS facility in Denmark. According to the presentation accompanying its H1 report, rainbow trout ova are now available from bio-secure, land-based sources and the species has strong potential to be produced in RAS due to their faster growth rates as well as their tolerance of higher temperatures and stocking densities compared to Atlantic salmon. These factors could shorten the production cycle, reduce risk and lower the cost per kilo.

“Trout may be an ideal species for Bluehouse farming in the future,” the company concludes.

An experimental nuclear fusion power plant features in today's Dezeen Weekly newsletter

Frankie Entwistle | 5 August 2021 

The latest edition of our Dezeen Weekly newsletter features a prototype power plant designed by AL_A to test the viability of nuclear fusion technology as a carbon-free energy source.

Set to be built in the UK county of Oxfordshire and completed in 2025, the nuclear power plant will be the first of its kind according to A_LA.

Readers are sceptical of the science behind the technology, with one commenter stating: "Seems to be jumping the gun somewhat. The technology does not yet exist."