Video: Portugal Tows Burning Tanker to Sea as Weather Front Approaches

Product tanker Greta K was towed out to sea as the fire continues to burn in the engine room (Portuguese Navy)

PUBLISHED MAR 22, 2023 5:00 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Portuguese authorities are reporting that the fire aboard the product tanker Greta K remains active, but they believe it is under control. They were able to move the vessel further offshore as they plan their next steps while the National Maritime Authority has issued a warning for worsening weather and sea conditions on the west coast of the mainland starting on Thursday morning.

“Everything remains the same as last night,” port commander Humberto da Silva Rocha said in a media briefing. The amount of smoke from the vessel was diminished but they continue to believe the fire is active in the stern section. So far, there has been no secondary ignition or oil spill. The 24,768 dwt product tanker is believed to be fully loaded with a cargo of jet fuel and diesel, in addition to the diesel and lubes for its own use. The vessel’s manager, K-Ships is reporting that they believe the fire has been contained within the engine room and possibly traveling up the funnel trunk.

 

Maritime Authority and Navy issued video (Click photo to play)

Overnight the teams from the ports and maritime authority were successful in attaching a tow line to the Greta K. When the fire broke out the vessel was less than two miles from shore with a pilot aboard as it was approaching the port of Leixões. The port commander reports they were able to move the tanker to a position 11 nautical miles from the coastline. A towline remains attached to one tug while a second tug continues to spray water to cool the exterior of the vessel. The Navy, a pilot boat, and others can be seen in the video released by the Navy and Maritime Authority standing by near the tanker.

Navy officials reported that one of their frigates, NRP Corte-Real, reached the stricken tanker. This morning they evacuated the last of the crew, the captain and two officers, who were taken to the frigate to advise a technical team that plans to inspect the tanker to determine if the fire is still burning and the extent of the damage. 

 

 

 

A decision on the next steps was planned for later today based on the weather warnings. The National Maritime Authority reports that a strong weather front will reach Portugal by Thursday morning with the swell coming from the northwest quadrant, with a significant height that can exceed 20 feet and a maximum height of just over 40 feet. Onshore, they are warning the public to reinforce mooring lines on boats, avoid beaches and recreation fishing until the storm subsides mid-day on Saturday.

After the fire began on the Greta K, they evacuated 12 of the 19 crewmembers aboard with the others remaining to aid in the firefight. Four additional crewmembers were later removed from the vessel and they are all in Leixões where they will be interviewed by the Maritime Police. One crewmember was reportedly treated at the hospital for burns to one hand, but otherwise, everyone escaped unharmed.

The hope was that the product tanker could still be brought into the port at Leixões where it was due to unload. 

Researchers Study Maersk Ships to Reduce Underwater Noise

Study focused on Maersk's G-class (115,000 dwt) before and after significant refits (Scripps)

PUBLISHED MAR 24, 2023 12:21 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Researchers working with Maersk published the results of a long-term study focusing on vessel designs that would reduce radiated noise levels and source levels from commercial ships sailing in the ocean. Produced in a collaboration between Maersk and researchers at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the report contains the first long-term data set measuring hundreds of trips both before and after a significant refit program undertaken by Maersk to its G-class containerships. The researchers hope the data will contribute to the efforts by the International Maritime Organization and others focusing on reducing noise radiating from shipping.

The effort focused on the Santa Barbara Channel, a heavily trafficked shipping route off Southern California where the Scripps team has been recording and measuring the marine soundscape for decades. They use instruments known as High-Frequency Acoustic Recording Packages, or HARPs, that have an underwater microphone, or hydrophone, sitting on the seafloor at a depth of 1,900 feet.

“This paper was a first step in assessing whether retrofitting had an impact on noise levels,” said Vanessa ZoBell, a Scripps Ph.D. student and lead author of the study which was published in the journal PLOS One. “It was an interdisciplinary effort involving marine scientists, industry, naval architects, and policy experts.”

The research collaboration started following Maersk’s completion of a $1 billion, five-year “Radical Retrofit” initiative focused on improving energy efficiency and fuel consumption to reduce emissions. During this effort, 12 of Maersk’s G-class containerships (115,700 dwt) were retrofitted from 2015 through 2018. The vessels had been built a decade earlier. The 1,200-foot ships underwent alterations including a redesign or replacing of the bulbous bow to reduce drag, derating the main engines for slow steaming, and installing more efficient, four-bladed propellers with propeller boss cap fins to reduce cavitation. The result also raised the vessels’ carry capacity by approximately 1,000 boxes with Maersk reporting they now have a nominal capacity of approximately 11,000 TEU.

Researchers were able to isolate a total of 177 transits recorded between 2008 and 2018 aboard the G-class pre and post the renovations as they made their way to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. They assembled a dataset from 111 transits from these ships. They excluded 66 transits because of the presence of singing whales or other acoustic interference. 

The study identified retrofit-induced changes in the ships’ radiated noise levels and monopole source levels. Radiated noise measurements account for the distance between the recording device (such as the hydrophone) and the sound it is recording (the ship noise) by correcting for the distance in-between the ship and the recorder. Monopole source levels account for what you would hear if you were positioned one meter away from the source, which in commercial ships is predominantly the sound from propeller cavitation or pressure-related water cavities due to propeller motion.

The team identified a significant decrease in monopole source levels in the low-frequency band by over five decibels post-retrofitting. This noise reduction was likely due to the changes in the propeller and bow design, wrote the authors.

Post-retrofit, they also measured a slight increase in the radiated noise level from the ships, likely due to the increased number of containers stacked on top of the retrofitted vessels. The additional weight likely caused the vessels to sit deeper in the water, changing their draft. The authors note that while noise levels rose from one perspective, the increased cargo capacity will lead to fewer trips and thereby reduce ocean noise. The interaction between retrofit and speed in this study was also noteworthy, highlighting that the effect of retrofitting on the monopole source level was greatest at slower speeds.

“One of the goals of the vessel retrofit was to add more containers, allowing the ship to transport more cargo,” said John Hildebrand, principal investigator of the Scripps Whale Acoustics Lab and a co-author on the study. “This changed the draft of the ship which had an impact on the noise. It forced us to think about the noise relative to the number of containers transported, which was a new perspective.”

Because multiple design changes occurred at once in the retrofitted ships highlighted in this study, it was difficult for the authors to disentangle which changes were most effective in reducing sound levels, so further research in this area is needed.

“Underwater noise is increasingly recognized as an important environmental factor, and is starting to be addressed at the International Maritime Organization level,” said Lee Kindberg, head of Environment and Sustainability for Maersk North America and a study co-author who was instrumental in the collaboration. “The team at Scripps has unique expertise in this area. It is clear that we need additional info to design most effectively to both reduce underwater noise and greenhouse gas emissions. The best solution must address both of these issues.”

The new paper is the latest in a series of studies done from the dataset. The authors concluded by recommending that future studies further test the noise reductions found in this study with larger sample sizes, different ship types, and different design approaches to identify the most efficient methods for reducing underwater noise on an international level.

UK Sets Minimum Wage for International Seafarers

New UK law applies to all ships calling 120 or more times per year in UK ports (file photo)

PUBLISHED MAR 24, 2023 11:55 AM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

The United Kingdom finalized a new law on March 23 that compels shipping lines operating at UK ports to provide seafarers pay levels commensurate with the country’s minimum wage laws regardless of the nationality of the crew or operator. The Seafarers’ Wages Act received Royal Assent making it law as part of a government initiative to institute pay protections a year after P&O Ferries replaced its crews with lower-paid contract labor and as part of the broader initiative to crack down on unfair practices, end exploitation, and improve the working conditions for seafarers.

“Our maritime sector is world-leading. That’s down to the thousands of hardworking seafarers working tirelessly to maintain supply chains and transport passengers safely across our waters,” said Mark Harper, the UK’s Transport Secretary. “These workers deserve a fair wage and I’m therefore delighted to see our Seafarers’ Wages Act become law, helping improve pay and protect seafarers from exploitation.”

Seafarers working on ships that call at UK ports at least 120 times a year will now be entitled to a wage rate that is at least equivalent to the UK national minimum wage for their work in UK waters. The minimum wage in the UK is currently set at £6.83 ($8.40) for an individual between the ages of 18 to 20, £9.18 ($11.20) for those between 21 and 22, and for individuals age 23 and over the minimum wage is £9.50 ($11.60). With the new law, the UK has set a high bar in seafarers’ wages considering that as of July 1, 2022, the International Labor Organization’s recommended basic minimum wage for an able seaman is $648 (£550) per calendar month, an equivalent to an hourly rate of $3.20 (£2.66).

Before the law went into effect, seafarers working on international routes to or from UK ports were not entitled to the country’s minimum wage unless they were usually a resident of the UK, did work at least to some extent in the country, or worked on ships flagged outside the UK.

“Thousands of seafarers will now have extra security in respect to pay and working conditions following a year of turmoil after the mass sackings made by P&O Ferries,” said Stuart Rivers, Chief Executive of the UK’s Merchant Navy Welfare Board, a charity that provides welfare services for seafarers and fishermen. “Ensuring seafarers have the highest level of welfare support is imperative – and seeing this legislation given Royal Assent is a big step to achieving that.”

The UK government and union leaders were enraged last year by P&O Ferries's decision to dismiss 786 officers and ratings without prior notice or consultations with the unions. The company, owned by Dubai’s DP World and operating a fleet of more than 20 vessels, announced the dismissals in a videotaped message while saying it would replace the crews with lower-cost agency workers. 

Unable to prosecute the company for labor law violations, the government responded with a nine-point plan for seafarers, eight of which are legislations to grant British ports powers to refuse access to ships that do not pay their crew at least an equivalent to the UK’s minimum wage. 

Under the new law, authorities will have the power to charge operators of vessels who do not provide evidence they’re paying their seafarers the equivalent of the minimum wage and to refuse harbor access to shipping lines that continue to fail to comply.

The UK government is also advocating for European Union nations to follow suit and set minimum wages. The UK and France have already pledged to continue working together to improve conditions for seafarers working in the English Channel to protect crews from exploitation.

The government is also taking action against what it calls rogue employers using controversial “fire and rehire” practices. Consultations on a statutory code of practice have been initiated as the first step toward promulgating a new law addressing these practices. The code sets out employers’ responsibilities when seeking to change employment terms and conditions if there is the prospect of dismissal and re-engagement thus requiring them to consult staff and explore alternative options without using the threat of dismissal to pressure employees to agree to new terms.

Nautilus International, the UK union that represent 20,000 maritime professionals, recognized the passage of the wages act as a first step. The union however believes more is required to prevent a repeat of the P&O Ferries situation in March 2022. They are calling for implementing a mandatory seafarers charter, backed up by bilateral agreements with neighboring countries.

Earlier this week, the House of Commons Transport Select Committee also recommended the creation of a mandatory seafarers' welfare charter. The government's current plan calls for asking operators to sign up voluntarily but the committee believes that it will not give the assurances and protections that seafarers want and deserve. Transport Committee chair Iain Stewart expressed concern that the UK minimum wage equivalent for seafarers will not be sufficient to ensure proper treatment of seafarers.

Denmark Locates “Object” Near Nord Stream as Norway Steps Up Patrols

Unidentified object seen next to the Nord Stream pipeline (Danish Defence)

PUBLISHED MAR 24, 2023 5:08 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Danish Defense and the Danish Energy Agency are reporting that they have located an unidentified object alongside an undamaged section of the Nord Stream pipeline that they want to examine. This comes as the investigations continue while elsewhere in Scandinavia they continue to report an increased level of Russian activity around sensitive infrastructure elements. Russia, on Friday, however, indicated that it welcomed the Danish efforts repeating its claims that additional unexploded devices might be near the pipelines.

“The object is cylindrical and is about 40 cm (approximately 16 inches) tall and 10 cm (4 inches) in diameter,” the Danish Energy Agency said in a statement released on March 23. “With a view to further clarifying the nature of the object, Danish authorities have decided to salvage the object with assistance from the Danish Defence.”

This latest development comes as Denmark continues to work on the ongoing investigation as two of the damaged sections of the gas pipeline are within Danish territory. They said that they do not believe there is any immediate danger from the object. Relevant Danish authorities have reportedly examined the images of the object observed by the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic. They are speculating that it might be a maritime smoke buoy, normally used as a warning device to send distress signals. 

The owners and operators of the pipeline, Nord Stream 2 AG, indicated that they would cooperate with the Danish agencies in their efforts to lift the device from the seafloor.  

Russian news agency Tass, also reported on the development saying that Russia also welcomed the efforts. The reiterated claims made by President Vladimir Putin. Last week during an interview he said that Gazprom had received permission to survey the sections of the pipeline and believed that its ship found evidence that could mean there’s another explosive device on a Nord Stream pipeline approximately 18 miles from the site of the damage. Tass quotes Putin as saying “it appears that several explosive devices were planted," and that "Some of them went off, and some didn’t.”

 

 

Denmark’s announcement came as the U.S.’s NBC News outlet was reporting that Norway is increasing the number of naval patrols near vital undersea assets including the pipelines and data and telecommunication lines. NBC embedded reports with the Norwegian Navy and released video showing Russian submarines and images of airplanes which the Norwegian say have increased their presence in the region and are acting “more unpredictably.” 

Earlier this year, both the Netherlands and Belgium accused Russian vessels of spying on their offshore assets including their wind farms. Both countries said they had detected what they called “spy ships” near their assets but that the vessels had moved away when detected. 

The UK Prime Minister who has long advocated for increased surveillance of critical undersea assets late last year accelerated a project to increase his country’s efforts. The UK recently acquired two commercial offshore vessels that are being repurposed for the Royal Navy to monitor undersea pipelines and cables and to provide a capability to handle potential threats such as mines.

Eurobattery Minerals ups stake in Hautalampi nickel-cobalt-copper project in Finland

Staff Writer | March 21, 2023 | 

Hautalampi nickel–cobalt–copper project in Finland. Image from Eurobattery Minerals.

Eurobattery Minerals announced Tuesday that the company is acquiring another 30% of shares in FinnCobalt Oy, the owner of the ground and mining rights to the Hautalampi nickel-cobalt-copper project in Finland in a €1 million ($1.8m) cash and shares deal, upping its stake to 70%.


The company has the right to acquire 100% of the shares in FinnCobalt in a staged process until May 2024.

The announcement comes a day after Eurobattery Minerals released the results of a pre-feasibility study, reporting strong economics for the project.

The 280-hectare Hautalampi project is located in the Outokumpu mining camp, the same area as the famous Keretti copper mine, which was active between 1912 and 1989. According to Eurobattery Minerals, the orebody is parallel to and above the exploited copper deposit. A historical resource estimate for the project shows 3.2 million tonnes at 0.43% nickel, 0.35% copper and 0.12% cobalt.

In 2021, an updated resource estimate released for Hautalampi showed that the total tonnage in the measured, indicated and inferred resource categories increased approximately 100%, while contained metal approximately 50% in the mine lease area.

In the measured category, the resource has been estimated at 2.58 million tonnes grading 0.38% nickel, 0.28% copper and 0.08% cobalt. In the indicated category, the estimation is at 2.70 million tonnes grading 0.31% nickel, 0.20% copper and 0.08% cobalt. Contained metals have been estimated at 18,289 tonnes of nickel, 12,783 tonnes of copper and 4,337 tonnes of cobalt.

“We are very pleased to continue to deliver on our strategy to provide battery minerals from Europe to Europe, now as the majority owner of the Hautalampi mine project,” Eurobattery Minerals CEO Roberto García said in a news release.

“With the pre-feasibility study just announced we know that the economic outlook for the battery mineral mine in Finland is strong,” said Martínez.

According to the pre-feasibility study, with a conservative metal price, and a total capital expenditure of €65.1 million euro excluding contingency the payback period is 4.6 years. Mining will commence after a one-year construction period including rehabilitation of the underground mine, construction of the surface crushing and processing plants, and a new tailings storage facility, the company said.

Total metal production during the anticipated 12 years mining operations will be 11,400 tonnes of nickel and 2,900 tonnes of cobalt in concentrate and 9,600 tonnes of copper in concentrate.

Latitude 66 confirms another cobalt-gold discovery in Finland
Staff Writer | March 21, 2023 |

Drilling in Kuusamo, Finland. Credit: Latitude 66 Cobalt

Finland-focused Latitude 66 Cobalt (Lat66) has reported excellent drilling results from its projects in the Kuusamo schist belt, which the company believes provides “further optionality” for its proposed cobalt and gold development at the existing K Camp project.


During June to November 2022, Lat66 drill tested a newly identified target (K10) and followed up on two previously identified targets (K9 and K8) at its project area K Camp South, and a fourth project (H1) in the nearby H Camp.

Significant new cobalt and gold intersections were identified as part of the 32-hole diamond drilling program (3,335 metres) completed at the K Camp South and H Camp areas in Kuusamo, including 4.8 metres at 4.14 g/t gold and 0.12% cobalt from K10, now confirmed to be a new discovery area.

Drilling results at the K8 and K9 areas also achieved significant intersections, including 10.25 metres at 4.84 g/t gold and 0.04% cobalt; 9.3 metres at 4.32 g/t gold and 0.03% cobalt; 13.45 metres at 6.25 g/t gold and 0.18% cobalt; and 13.8 metres at 3.56 g/t gold and 0.04% cobalt.

At H1, an area prospective for copper and cobalt, the following results were returned: 11.35 metres at 0.20% cobalt and 0.69% copper; and 6.2 metres at 0.29% cobalt and 0.38% copper.

Given these new drilling results, in particular within the K South Camp, Lat66 intends to undertake further drilling across numerous defined targets during the summer.

“We had set two main goals for the 2022 drill program. Firstly, to confirm the exploration potential of the Kuusamo schist belt beyond the advanced K North Camp, and secondly, to test the efficiency of our exploration process and model which we have developed with our team of experts,” Lat66’s managing director Thomas Hoyer stated in a media release.

“These excellent results give us strong evidence of the cobalt-gold-copper potential we have in the Kuusamo schist belt and demonstrate that our exploration model works. With these results, we today consider the K South Camp to be a significant and self-standing cobalt-gold-copper project,” he added.

K Camp South is located at the southern extent of a regional Käylä-Konttiaho-Antiformal structure in the Kuusamo schist belt, which also hosts Lat66’s existing Juomasuo mineral resources (K1 to K3) of 650,000 oz. gold and 16,490 tonnes cobalt.

According to Lat66, this is an emerging corridor containing several historical cobalt-gold occurrences where the company has recently identified two new targets, namely K9 and K10.

Since 2017, Lat66 has been exploring the potential of the Kuusamo schist belt, resulting in several new discoveries and a sizeable increase in the cobalt-gold mineral resource inventory. Beyond Kuusamo, it is also conducting regional exploration activities in the Peräpohja and Kainuu schist belts of Finland.

To date, the unlisted cobalt-gold miner has secured more than 1,400 sqkm of tenements within the eastern extensions of the Central Lapland greenstone belt, which hosts two of the largest mineral deposits and operating mines in Europe.

ES G;IS FOR GOVERNANCE

Due diligence systems fall short of robust risk management in extractive sector – report

MINING.com Editor | March 21, 2023 |



Two Swiss-based independent research organisations have reported a few trading companies active in the extractive sector are disclosing financial data that others in the industry still claim needs to be kept confidential.


This is one finding from the 2023 edition of the Extractive Commodity Trading Report, which assesses ESG policies and practices of a sample of companies trading oil, gas, minerals or metals.

The new report, produced by the World Resources Forum (WRF) and the Responsible Mining Foundation (RMF), uses public data to assess 25 companies’ public disclosure and due diligence on corporate governance and risks of human rights abuses, illicit financial flows and environmental damage in their supply chains.

The report finds that while there has been no marked shift towards more responsible practices since the previous assessment in 2021, most companies show some improvement.

Key findings of the report are: 

Most due diligence systems fall far short of robust risk management;

 little effort has been made to improve effectiveness of due diligence systems; 

some companies are debunking the myth that public disclosure harms competitiveness and anti-bribery and corruption systems rarely supported by practical measures.

The report found weak progress overall, with some individual improvements, calling into question whether companies are ready to respond to the likely increased regulation of this traditionally opaque sector.

The report reveals that while most companies choose not to publicly disclose financial information such as their annual turnover, the taxes they pay, or their purchases from governments or state-owned enterprises, on each of these issues few companies, both private and public, show strong and voluntary disclosure.

“This report shows that trading companies can follow the examples of their more transparent peers to meet society expectations on public disclosure without compromising their own competitiveness,” Dr. Mathias Schluep, Managing Director of WRF said in a media statement.

According to the report, most companies’ due diligence systems are very limited, often stopping at the initial step of setting expectations for their suppliers.

Few systems extend to the critical stages of assessing supplier compliance, engaging with suppliers, and taking action to address any non-compliance.

Without these elements, the due diligence systems will never contribute to the prevention of critical supply chain risks, WRF noted, adding that there is little sign that companies are making efforts to review and improve the effectiveness of their due diligence systems.

About two-thirds of the companies show no evidence of tracking their performance on managing human rights risks in their supply chain.

The report’s findings are set in the context of ongoing commodity flow disruption and price volatility linked to recovering economies and sanctions imposed by some countries in response to the war in Ukraine.

Companies in the commodity trading sector are expected to come under greater scrutiny as banks and regulators demand more transparency and more evidence of responsible practices, WRF pointed out.

Alongside the detailed assessment of companies’ ESG measures, the Report shows that over the last five years, more than half of the assessed companies (or employees of these companies) are known to have faced investigations or court cases related to illegal practices such as bribery, price manipulation, fraudulent transactions, money laundering and tax evasion. Incidents are reported to have involved over a dozen countries including all regions of the world.

The full report is here.

Chile open to modifying copper royalty bill on miners objections

Cecilia Jamasmie | March 22, 2023 | 

Near the tailings facility for Los Bronces copper mine in Chile.

 (Image courtesy of Anglo American | Flickr.)

Chile’s government said it is open to further amend a controversial mining royalty bill expected to enter into force next year, following mounting criticism of its impact on the industry’s competitiveness.


Finance Minister Mario Marcel said after the bill’s approval by the mining commission of the Senate, miners have requested certain modifications that do not alter the proposed law, but which could be included during the legislative stage.

As it stands, the proposed royalty has a hybrid nature as it combines an ad valorem component that would be applied to annual sales of copper and a variable element linked to the mining operating margin.

Amid several potential adjustments, Marcel highlighted one that would set a limit to the potential tax burden for the combination of various taxes. This, he noted in a statement, would give “greater security or predictability to collection”.

Another adjustment would allow companies to include start-up expenses as a cost for the calculation of the adjusted mining operational taxable income, Marcel said.

Companies with operating losses as well as those with very low or near negative profitability would be exempt from the ad valorem component.

Since President Gabriel Boric first introduced the idea of a new royalty, the mining industry has been up in arms. It argues that, as they stand, the reforms would add uncertainty to investment decisions needed to help fill a global copper supply gap as demand rises in the clean energy transition.

The potential changes, the government says, would protect inversions, particularly from small and medium-sized miners, as the royalty would have a fixed “ad valorem” component of 1% on copper sales.

Between 8% and 26% of the total to pay would depend on the mining company’s operating margin.

Chile, the world’s largest copper producer, hosts major miners including BHP, Anglo American, Rio Tinto, Antofagasta, Glencore and state-run Codelco.

Next decade to see green hydrogen market grow but challenges need to be addressed – report
Staff Writer | March 22, 2023 | 

Toyota Mirai, hydrogen-powered car. 

(Reference image by Province of British Columbia, Flickr).

The water electrolyzer market for green hydrogen production is expected to grow to over $120 billion by 2033, a new report by IDTechEx forecasts.


Green hydrogen refers to the splitting of water via electrolyzers powered by renewable power sources. Its counterpart is blue hydrogen, which is produced from natural gas or coal but with carbon emissions captured.

Grey hydrogen, on the other hand, is created from natural gas or methane using steam methane reformation but without capturing the greenhouse gases made in the process. Black and brown hydrogen is produced using black or brown coal in a gasification process.

The key challenge for green and electrolytic hydrogen, however, is cost. Green hydrogen is generally more expensive than grey, black, or even blue hydrogen due to the relatively low cost of natural gas and low energy use for hydrogen production.

The Russia-Ukraine war led to increased natural gas prices across many regions of the world, leading Europe, in particular, to look at reducing its reliance on gas imports.

“While this pushed the economic case for green hydrogen in the short term, the long-term cost competitiveness of green hydrogen is still debatable,” IDTechEx’s report reads. “The high electricity consumption and cost limit the widespread adoption of green or electrolytic hydrogen.”

Capital costs

According to the market analyst, a reduction in the capital cost of electrolyzer systems, primarily for the electrolyzer stack itself, but also the balance of plant (such as the transformers, rectifiers, compressors, pumps, etc.) as well, will help to bring down the cost of hydrogen.

“The industry expects capex to come down as manufacturing capacity increases and capabilities improve through greater levels of automation,” the report notes. “Performance also has a significant impact. For example, the more efficient a system is, the lower the energy consumption. Solid-oxide electrolyzers are the most efficient type and can be improved further if waste heat can be utilized. Other key performance metrics for electrolyzer systems include operating lifetime, output pressure and purity, current and power density, start-up times, dynamic range, and minimum load levels.”

In the view of the experts at IDTechEx, electricity prices also need to drop for green hydrogen to get a boost.

They believe that at an electricity price of around $0.05/kWh, green hydrogen can start to become competitive with grey hydrogen on cost, given reasonable assumptions about electrolyzer capital cost and other operating costs.

“Levellized cost of energy for solar and onshore wind are starting to hit this price point, though this will not be everywhere, and further cost reductions would help strengthen the case for green hydrogen,” the document points out. “However, this also highlights the need to utilize variable power sources, necessitating additional energy storage systems to smooth out the power supply or an electrolyzer system capable of operational flexibility.”

The report explains that currently, electrolyzer systems are better suited to operating at a steady state. This is particularly true for solid-oxide and, to a lesser extent, alkaline systems too. Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) systems are the best suited to dynamic operation and, as such, are starting to gain popularity over the more developed and lower-cost alkaline electrolyzer as a result.

“For example, new electrolyzer cell designs that separate gas directly in the cell, as being developed by Next Hydrogen Solutions, could help improve the dynamic operability of alkaline systems,” the dossier reads. “Having an electrolyzer system capable and safe to operate at partial and variable loads will likely be key to the widespread success of green hydrogen.”

For the market research firm, although there are still a number of challenges in the development of economically competitive green hydrogen production, none of them are insurmountable. Yet, its experts believe that in the short-medium term, green hydrogen growth will likely remain reliant on government subsidies and incentives.

“Ultimately, green hydrogen can become cost-competitive, and the argument for electrolytic hydrogen, from a purely economic standpoint, will become stronger over the next ten years as electrolyzer systems become cheaper, their performance improves, and the cost of electricity comes down,” the report concludes.

Bolivia pushes for Latin America-wide lithium policy
Cecilia Jamasmie | March 24, 2023 |

Most lithium is produced in South America, Australia and China.

 (Image of Bolivia’s Salar Uyuni: Flickr.)

Bolivia’s government is calling on its lithium-producing neighbours to forge ahead with the idea of setting a Latin America-wide policy on the exploitation of the coveted battery metal.


The idea, part of a broader initiative involving Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Chile to form an OPEC-like cartel, seeks to collectively boost the bargaining power of these countries, President Luis Arce said in a speech in La Paz.

“We must be united in the market, in a sovereign manner, with prices that benefit our economies, and one of the ways, already proposed by (Mexico’s) President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is to think of a kind of lithium OPEC,” Arce said, local paper La Razon reported.

Bolivia holds the world’s largest lithium resources at 21 million tonnes, according to the US Geological Survey. The area of sprawling salt flats known as the “lithium triangle”, which includes northern Chile and Argentina, has about 65% of the globe’s known resources of the white metal.

If Peruvian, Mexican and Brazilian potential reserves were added, the region would hold nearly 70% of the world’s lithium reserves. This would translate into a restructuring of the world economic scenario around the energy transition and a provide a new, sound source of income for Latin American economies, according to the Latin American Strategy Centre for Geopolitics (CELAG).

Bolivia, which has almost no industrial production or commercially viable reserves, inked in January a deal with a consortium that includes Chinese battery giant CAT to jointly extract lithium from its Uyuni and Oruro salt flats.

The partnership would give the group of companies, which also includes mining giant CMOC, rights to develop two lithium plants.

Arce, who wants to industrialize Bolivia’s lithium before the end of his term in 2025, expressed concern about foreign meddling in the lithium business, particularly from the United States.

“We don’t want our lithium to be in the Southern Command’s crosshairs, nor do we want it to be a reason for destabilizing democratically elected governments or foreign harassment,” he said.

Chile, Argentina and Bolivia have been talking about creating a lithium cartel since July last year. They now seek to integrate other Latin American nations with an incipient lithium industry, including Brazil and Mexico.

Analysts, including Geopolitical Monitor’s Arman Sidhu, believe that bringing the idea to fruition is likely to spark opposition from environmentalists and indigenous groups that contributed to left-wing victories in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil.

He also warned of additional obstacles, including China’s monopolist position in the industry, investors’ fears and the long-term political viability of such an idea.

Latin America’s Bid To Challenge China’s Dominance In The Lithium Market

By Michael Kern - Mar 24, 2023

• Bolivia is spearheading a plan to establish a Latin America-wide policy on lithium exploitation and create an OPEC-like cartel with Argentina, Brazil, and Chile.
• 
  
• The region contains the world's largest lithium reserves and could hold almost 70% of the global reserves if potential reserves in Brazil, Mexico, and Peru were included, providing a new source of income for Latin American economies.
• 
  
• The plan is likely to face opposition from environmental and indigenous groups, while China's dominant position in the industry and investors' fears pose additional obstacles.

The government of Bolivia has called on its neighbors, Argentina, Brazil and Chile, to work on setting a Latin America-wide policy on the exploitation of lithium. The idea is part of a broader initiative to form an OPEC-like cartel to collectively boost these countries' bargaining power. 

President Luis Are spoke in La Paz, saying, "We must be united in the market, in a sovereign manner, with prices that benefit our economies, and one of the ways, already proposed by (Mexico's) President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is to think of a kind of lithium OPEC."

Bolivia has the world's largest lithium resources at 21 million tonnes, according to the US Geological Survey. The "lithium triangle" area of northern Chile and Argentina, which includes sprawling salt flats, has about 65% of the globe's known resources of the metal.

The region could hold nearly 70% of the world's lithium reserves if Peruvian, Mexican and Brazilian potential reserves were added, providing a new source of income for Latin American economies and a restructuring of the world economic scenario around the energy transition, according to the Latin American Strategy Centre for Geopolitics (CELAG).

Bolivia inked a deal with a consortium that includes Chinese battery giant CAT to jointly extract lithium from its Uyuni and Oruro salt flats in January. The partnership would give the group of companies, including mining giant CMOC, rights to developing two lithium plants. 

President Are wants to industrialize Bolivia's lithium before the end of his term in 2025 but remains cautious of the potential geopolitical implications that it may bring. 

President Are explained, "We don't want our lithium to be in the Southern Command's crosshairs, nor do we want it to be a reason for destabilizing democratically elected governments or foreign harassment." 

Chile, Argentina and Bolivia have been discussing creating a lithium cartel since July last year. They aim to integrate other Latin American nations with a nascent lithium industry, including Brazil and Mexico. 

Analysts, including Geopolitical Monitor's Arman Sidhu, believe the plan will likely face opposition from environmental and indigenous groups that contributed to left-wing victories in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. He also warned of additional obstacles, including China's potential unwillingness to have its dominance in the industry undermined.

Opponents argue that lithium mining, which can involve vast amounts of water, can cause significant environmental damage, particularly to local communities. 

There have also been concerns about the rights of indigenous people in the region who may be affected by mining the metal. 

Supporters argue that developing a lithium industry in Latin America could boost the region's economies, particularly as demand for electric vehicles and renewable energy grows.

In recent years, China has been the dominant player in the lithium market, controlling a significant proportion of the world's supply of the metal. 

China's position has led to concerns about the security of supply, particularly as demand for lithium is likely to increase due to the ongoing renewable energy and electric vehicle boom.

Developing a lithium cartel in Latin America could help counterbalance China's position in the market and provide greater security of supply for the rest of the world.

The idea of a lithium cartel is still in its early stages, and it remains to be seen whether it will come to fruition. 

It could represent a significant shift in the global lithium market and provide a new source of income for Latin American economies. 

Whether this will be achieved without significant opposition remains to be seen, but the potential benefits of a lithium cartel may be too substantial to ignore.

By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com 

Albemarle to build $1.3 billion lithium plant in South Carolina
Reuters | March 22, 2023 | 

South Carolina. Credit: Adobe Stock

Albemarle Corp said on Wednesday it had chosen Chester County, South Carolina, as the location for a $1.3 billion lithium processing plant it hopes will cement its status as a cornerstone of the rapidly growing US electric vehicle industry.


The facility, which was first announced last year without a specific location, will double the company’s lithium processing capacity and thus its ability to supply key customers – including Tesla Inc – who are hungry for more North American supplies of the battery metal.
Already the world’s largest lithium producer with major facilities in Chile, China and Australia, Albemarle has moved aggressively to expand in the United States, which it sees as its next major area of growth thanks to tax credits and other incentives offered by the US Inflation Reduction Act.

The South Carolina plant will be able to process 50,000 tonnes of lithium each year from rock Albemarle plans to mine in North Carolina as well as from recycled batteries. That’s roughly enough of the white metal to make 2.4 EVs annually.

“This facility will help increase the production of US-based lithium resources to fuel the clean energy revolution while bringing us closer to our customers as the supply chain is built out in North America,” Albemarle chief executive Kent Masters said in a statement.

Construction of the 800-acre project is expected to begin late next year, though the company did not provide a timeline for when the site will open. The plant should employ 300 workers with an average annual pay of $93,000.

The company received a lithium processing grant last year from the White House. Despite the recent softening in lithium prices, Albemarle has said it expects demand to continue to rise.

Shares of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company fell 1.6% to $219.33 in afternoon trading.

(By Sourasis Bose, Arunima Kumar and Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Anil D’Silva, Vinay Dwivedi and Diane Craft)

Chile pushes new lithium extraction method in risk to future supply

Bloomberg News | March 22, 2023 

Salting the lithium fields (Stock image by jobi_pro.)

Chile’s government plans to require all new lithium projects to tap a production technique that’s barely used commercially anywhere in a bid to reduce water losses.


The requirement — mentioned by Mining Minister Marcela Hernando in a presentation Wednesday — may constrain future production in a country with the world’s biggest reserves of the key ingredient in electric-vehicle batteries at a time of growing demand.


Chile, the world’s No. 2 lithium supplier, has been losing market share, with output restricted to just two companies — SQM and Albemarle Corp. — from a single salt-flat in the Atacama desert. The two firms currently pump up vast amounts of brine, storing it in giant evaporation ponds for a year or more before processing it and shipping it off to Chinese and Korean battery makers.

As simple as it is profitable, the process uses far less fresh water, chemicals and energy than hard-rock mining. But it means billions of liters of salty water is vaporized in one of the most arid places on Earth, which some say is a threat to wildlife.

As the Chilean government prepares to unveil a policy to develop new deposits, it will require projects to use a more selective or direct process that would mean far less evaporation — and probably less output and profit. Both SQM and Albemarle are investigating such techniques, which are relatively untested commercially.

“For us, any future development has to done with direct extraction,” Minister Hernando said.

With direct lithium extraction, or DLE, brine can be reinjected back into salt flats, reducing the environmental impact and accelerating production. But it has to be adapted to the particular conditions of each salt flat.

The administration of Chile’s left-leaning President Gabriel Boric is creating a bigger role for the state in lithium. Its new policy will include the creation of a state lithium company, with which private firms would partner to develop projects in unexplored brine deposits.

Last year, contracts awarded to private companies under the previous government were rescinded amid growing resource nationalism and a push to introduce less polluting production techniques.

(By James Attwood)