Trump 2.0 Set To Gut Biden's Energy and Climate Policies

By Tsvetana Paraskova - Feb 20, 2024, 

• Former officials in the Trump Administration and Republican policy consultants are already drafting blueprints of energy and climate policies for a second Trump term in office.
• 
  
• All indications are that if Trump wins, he will make yet another U-turn in America's energy and environmental policies.
• 
  
• The oil industry as a whole is looking at a second Trump term much more favorably than it does at the current Biden Administration.
• 
  

Donald Trump, the most likely Republican presidential nominee, is set to overturn or at least try to dismantle many of President Joe Biden's energy and climate policies if the former president wins the November election.

The Biden Administration's methane rules, LNG export pause, EV mandates, federal oil and gas leasing, and even the Inflation Reduction Act will be all on the chopping block in a second Trump term in office.   

Trump would look to boost oil, natural gas, and coal development in the United States and, once again, withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, Republican policy advisers tell Reuters.

As the Biden Administration is racing to finish environmental rules so that they cannot be unwound by either a Republican Congress or the White House, Trump's campaign and advisers are preparing to dismantle many of the energy and climate policies in the first days of a second Trump presidency.

Federal Agencies Race to Finish Biden Rules

Federal agencies are expediting unfinished rules on environmental protection to make sure they can't be gutted early next year via the Congressional Review Act, or CRA, an oversight tool Congress may use to overturn final rules issued by federal agencies, Politico reports.

The first Trump Administration used that act to gut several Obama-era federal agency rules. CRA allows Congress to overturn agency rules within 60 congressional session days of when a regulation is finalized and sent to the Capitol. This means that the deadline for finalizing the Biden Administration rules to keep them out of CRA reach could be as soon as May or June.

"It's pedal to the metal time," James Goodwin, a senior policy analyst at the liberal-leaning Center for Progressive Reform, told Politico.  

Advisers Line Up Trump Energy Agenda

Former officials in the Trump Administration and Republican policy consultants are already drafting blueprints of energy and climate policies for a second Trump term in office. All indications are that if Trump wins, he will make yet another U-turn in America's energy and environmental policies.Related: Gold Hydrogen Could Be A Game-Changer for Energy Markets

Shale tycoon Harold Hamm, Trump's former National Economic Council Director, Larry Kudlow, former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and former senior adviser Kevin Hassett are some of the people with whom Trump is directly discussing energy policy issues, according to Reuters' sources.

The oil industry as a whole is looking at a second Trump term much more favorably than it does at the current Biden Administration, which, U.S. oil and gas associations say, has waged war on America's oil and gas sector and risks to undermine national security.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) and other organizations have heavily criticized the Biden Administration for reducing oil and gas lease sales on federal lands to a historical low, new methane rules, and the freeze on permitting new U.S. LNG export facilities.

Although U.S. oil and gas production has been setting records under Biden, the industry acknowledges it is doing that despite – not thanks to – the current Administration.

The sector associations have frequently criticized Biden's energy policies as "hostile" to the oil and gas industry and undermining the American economy and jobs.

In the latest Dallas Fed Energy Survey, an executive at an E&P firm said: "The administration's continued war on the petroleum industry has an effect for sure, but we're seeing that the real world needs our industry, and the public is trumping the downward pressure the administration is trying to maintain."  

What Will Trump Change?

If Trump wins the presidential election, he is sure to support the oil and gas industry by introducing more lease sales – after all, "drill, baby, drill" is a frequent campaign talking point, as is Biden's EV mandate.

"On day one, I will end Crooked Joe Biden's insane electric vehicle mandate," Trump said at a rally last month. 

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is also under scrutiny for possible scrapping of tax breaks if Trump wins in November. However, this would first need a Republican-controlled Congress with both House and Senate. And even then, it could be difficult to scale back or scrap the incentives, as they mostly benefit projects and jobs in Republican states, analysts say.

The current pause on new permits for LNG export plants could also be undone by a Trump administration.  

"A Trump administration could be expected to be more supportive of developers, allowing more export projects and ultimately boosting international sales of US gas," Ed Crooks, Vice-Chair, Americas, at Wood Mackenzie, wrote in an analysis last month.

"A more active leasing programme could potentially boost production, but only in the longer term. It would be unrealistic to expect a change of administration to make a large and rapid difference to the supply side for US oil and gas," Crooks noted.

Trump could actually influence U.S. fossil fuel demand more than supply, according to WoodMac.  

A combination of scrapping the EV mandate and supporting domestic demand for fuels and natural gas "could make a material difference to US demand for oil and gas over time," WoodMac Crooks says. 

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

Europe Grapples with Balancing Free Trade Principles and Clean Energy Ambitions

By Haley Zaremba - Feb 20, 2024

• Protectionist policies driven by the US and China's dominance in clean energy markets are prompting a shift away from free trade towards subsidy-driven industrial strategies worldwide.
• 
  
• Europe faces a dilemma between upholding principles of free trade and competing in the increasingly subsidized clean energy sector, with fears of falling behind if it doesn't join the subsidy race.
• 
  
• While some European policymakers advocate for cautious subsidy approaches to avoid wasteful spending, others warn that failing to participate in the subsidy push could jeopardize Europe's clean energy ambitions and economic competitiveness.

Global policy around clean energy is shifting rapidly away from free trade and toward an era of protectionism as nations around the world race to gain a foothold in the burgeoning decarbonization sector. Anxiety about being left behind and rendered unable to compete on the global clean energy market has kicked off a global subsidy push. And as a result, it seems like Europe might be in trouble.

After decades of global emphasis on liberalizing trade, we’re seeing a sea change in industrial policy across the world as “nations are offering a mosaic of favorable regulations and public subsidies to try to attract green industries like electric vehicles and storage, solar and hydrogen” according to recent reporting from the New York Times. 

This transition phase was largely kicked off by the one-two punch of the Trump and Biden administrations in the United States. President Trump bucked global trade agreements by introducing a slew of heavy tariffs on a wide range of products and countries, including a number of European allies. Then President Biden introduced the subsidizing juggernaut that is the Inflation Reduction Act. While the Act does nothing to reduce inflation, it introduced a whopping $500 billion in new spending and tax breaks, much of which is designed to boost the domestic clean energy sector. 

The move has caused much hand-wringing over in Europe, where free and open trade is seen as “critical to its project of European integration,” in the words of the New York Times. The massive scale of the Inflation Reduction Act flies in the face of this approach, and has kicked off reactionary tax credit policy measures in many other countries (such as Canada and India) that feel that they have no choice but to follow suit or be locked out of the clean energy market. 

While the global policy shift can be traced back to the United States, however, the Inflation Reduction Act itself came in response to China’s aggressive expansion of its own clean energy manufacturing and production capacities. China holds no qualms about open, free, and fair trade, and has employed every strategy in its arsenal to command global clean energy supply chains. And it’s been massively successful. 

China alone was responsible for nearly half of global spending in the renewable energy sector in 2022 at a whopping $546 billion, according to analysis from BloombergNEF. That’s nearly quadruple the $141 billion that the U.S. spent, and triple the European Union’s $180 billion. Beijing has also been busily establishing its presence in clean energy supply chains around the world. As a result, China has near-monopolies on a number of key clean energy supply chains. China produces approximately 80% of the world’s solar panels, 60% of electric vehicles, and over 80% of EV batteries. It also produces 60% and processes nearly 90% of the world’s rare earth minerals, which are key components in clean energy manufacturing.

That’s why countries like the U.S. have decided to respond to China’s dominance in clean energy markets by adopting protectionist policies. Many see it as the only viable option for getting a foot in the door at this late stage when China has already blown away the competition and chances for competition are increasingly slim. This puts Europe in an extremely tough position, choosing between abandoning their political principles – which have been adopted for very good reasons – and getting left behind.

Jumping into the subsidies race comes with its own risks. While U.S. subsidies provide as much as 200% of a company’s investment costs, in Europe, that figure is more like 20-40%. Many European politicians and economists would like to keep it that way, lest they wastefully throw money at fledgling companies that are never able to function profitably on their own. “The market decides which of the projects that will make it, our ambition as a government is to mobilize as much private capital as possible,” Anne Marit Bjornflaten, the Norwegian state secretary to the minister of trade and industry, was quoted by the New York Times. 

Others feel that failing to join the global subsidies push could be a fatal error for Europe. The stakes are high for countries like Norway, which had previously hoped to be a clean energy world power. Instead, they’re watching their investors move westward and looking at the very real possibility that they will continue to be dependent on domestic oil and gas instead. 

By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com 

The U.S. Has Slashed Carbon Emissions by 879 Million Metric Tons

By Robert Rapier - Feb 20, 2024

• The U.S. leads the world in reducing carbon emissions, with a 14% decline over 15 years, attributed to factors including the displacement of coal by natural gas.
• 
  
• While the reduction is significant, the U.S. still maintains higher carbon emissions compared to many other nations.
• 
  
• Natural gas emerges as a crucial transitional energy source, contributing significantly to the reduction in carbon emissions alongside renewables.

Following my previous story on the pause in U.S. liquefied natural gas exports, some readers had a hard time believing that the U.S. leads the world in reducing carbon emissions. Some suggested this was only true for per capita emissions, or that it isn’t true if you consider methane leaks. But, neither of those comments are accurate.

Per the 2023 Statistical Review of World Energy, over the past 15 years, the U.S. has experienced the largest decline in carbon dioxide equivalent emissions of any country. From the report, this reflects “the sum of carbon dioxide emissions from energy, carbon dioxide emissions from flaring, methane emissions, in carbon dioxide equivalent, associated with the production, transportation and distribution of fossil fuels, and carbon dioxide emissions from industrial processes.” Thus, this includes leak estimates, as explicitly noted in the report.

The U.S. reduced carbon emissions by 879 million metric tons, or 14%. Here’s how that compares to the ten countries with the greatest carbon emission reductions over that timeframe. The numbers are in million metric tons per year.

Largest Declines in Carbon Emissions 2007-2022. ROBERT RAPIER

To be fair, U.S. carbon emissions are higher than any other country’s emissions in that table, so the 14% cut in emissions should be put in context of the UK’s 40% decline or Spain’s 33% decline over the same time period.

On the other end of the scale, here were the countries with the largest gains in carbon emissions over the same time period.

Largest Increases in Carbon Emissions 2007-2022. ROBERT RAPIER

Note that the increase in China’s emissions was 60% higher than the sum of the decreases from the ten countries in the previous table. This is the main driver behind growing global carbon emissions.

The focus on 15 years was primarily because that’s when fracking began to substantially boost U.S. oil and gas production. In addition to seeing the largest decline in carbon emissions over the past 15 years, the U.S. also saw the largest growth in energy production. That may seem counter-intuitive, but there is a simple explanation.

Coal produces more than double the amount of carbon dioxide per unit of power production than natural gas (source). The displacement of coal by natural gas in power production enabled the huge decrease in U.S. carbon emissions.

Renewables played a part, but the renewable contribution trailed that of natural gas. We can see that in the following graphic.

U.S. Coal, Natural Gas, and Renewables Consumption 2007 to 2022. ROBERT RAPIER

Coal could not have been quickly displaced by renewables alone, due to reasons of scale and reliability. This is why natural gas is often discussed as an important bridge fuel. That’s not just a theory. We can see the results in practice.

In 2007, coal had more than a 40% share of all power production, while natural gas held only a 20% share. By 2022, coal’s share had fallen to 20%, and the natural gas share had increased to 40%.

I recently saw a news story with a graphic showing the decline in U.S. coal consumption versus the increase in U.S. renewable consumption. The graphic made it seem like renewables are the reason for coal’s decline in consumption. But the graphic was misleading, because it left off the significant contribution of natural gas displacing coal in power production.

In conclusion, the data unequivocally supports the fact that the United States has achieved the most substantial reduction in carbon dioxide equivalent emissions over the past 15 years. Despite skepticism raised by some readers, the comprehensive evaluation encompasses various factors, including per capita emissions and methane leaks, confirming the accuracy of the claim.

However, it is crucial to contextualize this accomplishment, acknowledging that U.S. carbon emissions, though significantly reduced, still surpass those of many other nations. The pivotal role of natural gas in displacing coal emerges as a key driver behind this achievement, emphasizing the importance of a transitional energy source in the pursuit of sustainable practices.

By Robert Rapier

U.S. Aluminum Market Roiled by Closure of Major Smelter

By Metal Miner - Feb 21, 2024,

Closure of the New Madrid smelter in the U.S. disrupts aluminum market dynamics, leading to further price declines.

Factors such as high energy prices and robust output from China contribute to the smelter closure and subsequent market impact.

Alcoa reports a decline in global aluminum shipments amid balanced to slightly surplus market conditions, signaling muted demand.

Following a 4.7% month-over-month decline during January, aluminum prices fell an additional 1.9% throughout the first half of February. Despite these declines, aluminum prices continued to trade in their long-term sideways range. Meanwhile, the Midwest Premium also remains consolidated, with prices retracing to the downside following a short-lived bounce at the end of January.

Overall, the Aluminum Monthly Metals Index (MMI) moved sideways, with a modest 1.8% decline from January to February.


Aluminum Prices, Premium Market Shakes Off Smelter Closure

Headlines were abuzz with news that the U.S. would lose nearly a third of its primary aluminum smelting capacity with the closure of New Madrid in Missouri. The smelter was the second largest in the U.S., accounting for around 30% of domestic primary aluminum production and boasting an annual capacity of 263,000 tons. While the curtailment of New Madrid saw the Midwest Premium jump over 6% during the final week of January, the premium retraced almost immediately


Source: MetalMiner, Insights

Energy Prices, Chinese Output Caused New Madrid Closure

While New Madrid had long reported struggles with profitability, its owner, Magnitude 7 metals, attributed the smelter’s closure to the combined effects of high energy prices and robust output from China.



Although tariffs continue to block Chinese aluminum from markets like the U.S., the material still impacts the global supply balance. This, in turn, significantly impacts prices. According to data from the International Aluminum Institute, Chinese production rose over 3% from 2022 to 2023, repeatedly setting new monthly record highs throughout the year.

While markets appeared concerned that the beginning of the dry season in China’s hydro-rich Yunnan Province would curb the country’s output and offer support to prices, that has yet to occur. The final two months of 2023 saw Chinese production levels trend up from the same months of 2022, albeit down slightly from their all-time high in October 2023.

Although energy prices sit below their previous highs, New Madrid’s closure suggests they remain too high to offset current demand levels. Although the Midwest Premium, a proxy for U.S. demand, appeared largely flat throughout Q4, it continued to edge lower. Indeed, by the second half of February, it reached its lowest level since March 2021.
Demand Remains Muted as Alcoa Reports 2023 Decline in Aluminum Shipments

While the U.S. loses capacity, global producer Alcoa’s financial results appeared emblematic of muted demand conditions. According to the company, the global aluminum market appeared “balanced to slight surplus” by the end of 2023, with aluminum shipments falling 3% from 2022. However, shipments saw a slight pickup during Q4, with a 1% quarterly rise. Aluminum production also increased during the quarter with a 2% rise from “the third quarter’s strong output,” which likely offset the impact of increased shipments.

Despite Q4’s increase, Alcoa does not expect a sharp market turnaround in 2024. Rather, the company anticipates global shipments to remain “consistent” with 2023. While the restart of some smelters will help boost supply, this will likely be “offset by lower trading volumes” amid current demand conditions.
Aluminum Price Outlook

Although New Madrid remains closed, a letter from owner Magnitude 7 stated that the company would continue to pursue investments to eventually restart the smelter. While the company might find some momentum from the ongoing reshoring movement, it remains an uphill battle amid current demand conditions. As Reuters noted, the combination of supply from Canada and rising domestic secondary supply appears enough to offset the loss of the smelter.

With the market shrugging off the at least temporary loss of New Madrid, the outlook for aluminum prices appears more likely to hinge upon U.S. demand and Chinese production. Interestingly, the correlation between the Midwest Premium and LME prices rose over recent years, suggesting that U.S. demand now plays an more important role in market direction. Between 2015 to the present, the correlation between the two price points stood at just under 84%. However, between 2020 and the present, the correlation jumped to over 92%.




Source: MetalMiner Insights, Chart & Correlation Analysis Tool

The Midwest Premium currently remains consolidated with a slight downside bias. This suggests that aluminum prices will likely follow a similar trend until demand begins to experience a turnaround. From a supply perspective, Chinese production levels still have the opportunity to upset the current market balance. Meanwhile, a sharp decline from China remains a possibility, although it has yet to occur.

By Nichole Bastin

SCI-FI-TEK

Prototype fusion reactor planned for TVA site

23 February 2024

US fusion energy developer Type One Energy Group has announced plans to build Infinity One - its stellarator fusion prototype machine - at Tennessee Valley Authority's Bull Run Fossil Plant in Clinton, Tennessee.

The Bull Run Fossil Plant in Tennessee (Image: TVA)

The company - currently based in Madison, Wisconsin - will establish its headquarters in East Tennessee as part of Project Infinity. The project is the result of a tri-party memorandum of understanding signed in 2023 between Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Type One Energy and the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), in which the partners expressed an interest in the successful development and commercialisation of economic and practical fusion energy technologies.

Type One Energy said the construction of Infinity One at Bull Run "aligns with Tennessee Governor Bill Lee's vision to position the state as a national leader in clean energy, and Project Infinity is the first recipient of funds from the Governor's Nuclear Energy Fund".

The company will begin engaging and collaborating with local communities in East Tennessee during the upcoming months.

The construction of Infinity One could begin in 2025, following the completion of necessary environmental reviews, partnership agreements, required permits, and operating licenses, Type One Energy noted. It will allow the company to verify important design features of its high field stellarator fusion pilot plant, particularly those related to operating efficiency, reliability, maintainability, and affordability.

In partnership with TVA and ORNL, Type One Energy will explore subsequent opportunities to further advance commercial deployment of fusion energy in the East Tennessee region.

Type One Energy will establish its headquarters in East Tennessee, creating over 300 high-paying jobs within the next five years. Project Infinity, which includes the deployment of Infinity One and Type One Energy's new headquarters, is expected to bolster economic growth and energy technological leadership in the region.

Type One Energy's concept for a stellarator fusion reactor (Image: Type One Energy)

"Successful deployment of Infinity One in East Tennessee, with our partners TVA and ORNL, is a critical milestone in our FusionDirect commercialisation programme," said Type One Energy CEO Christofer Mowry. "It is also a watershed moment toward the commercialisation of fusion, linking for the first time leaders in the technology, utility, and national laboratory sectors on an actual deployment project. Project Infinity will create the world's highest performance stellarator, offering an excellent platform for a potential long-term fusion research facility."

Bull Run Fossil Plant is located on the north bank of Bull Run Creek, directly across the Clinch River from Oak Ridge. The 865 MW coal-fired power plant entered operation in 1967 and was retired on 1 December 2023. TVA says it is "currently evaluating the future use of the Bull Run site, including potential opportunities to maintain grid stability based on its strategic geographic location in the TVA service territory".

"TVA is working with our partners to pursue new ideas and innovative solutions that meet growing energy demand in real-world conditions," said TVA President and CEO Jeff Lyash. "We appreciate this partnership between Type One Energy, ORNL, our local power companies and elected and economic development officials as we work together to identify energy technologies for the future."

ORNL Director Stephen Streiffer added: "It's exciting to see a project in Oak Ridge with such great potential to advance fusion energy. The laboratory has been a pioneer in fusion science and technology dating back to the early 1950s. We look forward to applying our institutional expertise and capabilities in working with Type One Energy on the engineering challenges they will be tackling at this new test facility."

"Our administration created the Nuclear Energy Fund in partnership with the Tennessee General Assembly to recruit companies like Type One Energy," said Tennessee Governor Bill Lee. "Tennessee is ready to secure its place as the top state for energy independence, and we are proud to partner with Type One Energy to further that mission and bring hundreds of high-quality jobs and more reliable energy to Tennesseans."

Type One Energy's Infinity One is a stellarator fusion reactor - different to a tokamak fusion reactor such as the Joint European Torus in the UK or the Iter device under construction in France. A tokamak is based on a uniform toroid shape, whereas a stellarator twists that shape in a figure-8. This gets round the problems tokamaks face when magnetic coils confining the plasma are necessarily less dense on the outside of the toroidal ring.

Type One Energy said it "applies proven advanced manufacturing methods, modern computational physics, and high-field superconducting magnets to develop its optimised stellarator fusion energy system".

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

France Misses Its Renewables Capacity Installation Target

By Tsvetana Paraskova - Feb 23, 2024

France missed its target of adding new solar and wind power capacity last year, despite adding more than 5 gigawatts (GW) to its renewable energy fleet, according to data from the French Energy Transition Ministry reported by Montel.

France installed a total of 3.1 GW of solar power in 2023, including a quarterly record-high of 0.9 GW in the last quarter of the year, as well as 1.1 GW of onshore wind and 1 GW of offshore wind.  

But its capacity additions missed the solar installation target by 830 megawatts (MW) and the combined onshore and offshore wind target by 3.1 GW, according to the government data.

France’s onshore wind capacity increased by 1.1 GW last year to 21.9 GW, with growth 394 MW lower compared to 2022, and 2.2 GW below the 2023 target. Offshore wind capacity rose by 1 GW in 2023 after the connection of two 500 MW capacity wind farms off the Normandy coast, the data showed.

In recent months, France has focused on its nuclear fleet, which provides around 70% of its electricity and which – typically – allows one of Europe’s biggest economies to export electricity to its European neighbors and partners.

Early this year, France’s Ministry of Energy Transition introduced a bill on energy sovereignty, which highlights the importance the country will attach to nuclear power generation in the future.

The bill includes targets for the construction of at least six and up to 14 new reactors, as France will be heavily relying on nuclear to meet its net-zero and emission reduction goals. The bill, however, doesn’t have any targets for expanding renewable energy capacity including wind and solar, while previous energy laws had such targets.                   

The Solar Impulse Foundation, which took part in the consultation process for the draft bill, called on the French government “to include a quantified target for the production of energy from renewable sources, and to include a quantitative target in terms of increased energy efficiency.”  

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

 

AECL, AtkinsRéalis to collaborate on advanced Candu design

22 February 2024

A memorandum of understanding will see the two companies collaborate on the deployment of Candu reactors in Canada and internationally and expand their intellectual property licensing agreement, and is to be followed by further agreements to accelerate the development of the Candu Monark reactor technology.

AtkinsRéalis' vision of a Candu Monark plant (Image: AtkinsRéalis)

AtkinsRéalis unveiled its plans for the 1000 MW Candu Monark, a Generation III+ reactor with the highest output of any Candu technology, last November, saying the new design would build on the commercial success of currently operating Candu units and decades of design development to offer amongst other things a higher output, improved cost per megawatt-hour, a longer operating life of 70 years.

The intellectual property licensing agreement dates back to 2011, when federal Crown corporation Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL) sold its reactor division to SNC-Lavalin's Candu Energy subsidiary with the Canadian government retained the intellectual property rights for the Candu reactors. At that time, transitioning to a low-carbon world was not a consideration, the companies said today. The expanded agreement "will reflect the changing priorities and the organisations' belief in the role that Candu technology will play in decarbonising Canada and the world".

All of Canada's operating commercial nuclear reactors are Candu units. The pressurised heavy water reactor design was developed by AECL, in cooperation with Canadian industry, from the late 1950s onwards and the first commercial unit began operation in 1971. According to World Nuclear Association information, today there are some 27 Candu power reactors operating in seven countries.

AtkinsRéalis is the original equipment manufacturer of CANDU technology (SNC-Lavalin Group Inc rebranded to AtkinsRéalis in 2023) with a Canadian supply chain of more than 250 companies providing Candu fuel, components, services and tooling. Joe St Julian, AtkinsRéalis president, nuclear, said it will collaborate with AECL, the Canadian nuclear supply chain partners and its customers to complete the Candu Monark design for domestic and international deployment.

"Candu technology is the only home-grown Canadian power reactor technology; it competes on a global stage, providing energy security, creating export opportunities and thousands of well-paying, highly skilled jobs, while also supporting the local supply chain and creating economic value to Canada," St Julian said. "The deployment of the Candu Monark will provide safe, carbon free, base load power to the country and the world."

The government of Ontario last year announced the start of pre-development work to build up to 4800 MWe of new nuclear capacity at Bruce Power's existing site, in what would be Canada's first large-scale nuclear build in more than 30 years. This is in addition to plans for the deployment of small modular reactors in Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Alberta.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

 

BHP considers nuclear-powered cargo ships

23 February 2024

Dutch nuclear energy development and consultancy company ULC-Energy BV has completed a study - commissioned by global mining company BHP - to investigate the potential use of civil nuclear technologies to power commercial maritime vessels.

A concept for a nuclear-powered cargo ship (Image: Core Power)

The study compared key characteristics of various civil reactor designs against the requirements for the potential use in commercial maritime shipping and evaluated a range of regulatory, operational and commercial challenges, such as port access, licensing and vessel classification, capital costs, and crew training and certification.

The shipping industry consumes some 350 million tonnes of fossil fuel annually and accounts for about 3% of total worldwide carbon emissions. In July last year, the shipping industry, via the International Maritime Organization, approved new targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions, aiming to reach net-zero emissions by, or around, 2050.

"Decarbonising the shipping industry is a formidable challenge in the pursuit of more sustainable transportation," according to ULC-Energy. "Some of the methods employed to date have focused on energy efficiency by using larger ships, improved hull designs, and streamlined operations. In addition, parts of the maritime industry have explored the adoption of alternative fuels such as LNG, methanol, and ammonia."

It noted that nuclear energy emerges as a promising alternative to be considered in the mix, offering the potential for longer range, faster transits, and the reduction of refueling requirements, all while maintaining near-zero greenhouse gas emissions for the voyage.

"At the same time, such a civil nuclear vision would require material changes, including overcoming technical challenges, updating regulatory frameworks to ensure compliance with international regulations, and restructuring operations," ULC-Energy added.

"Cost effective and reliable international shipping services are a crucial component of global economic activity," said ULC-Energy CEO Dirk Rabelink. "Civil nuclear solutions have the potential to be a reliable and cost-effective alternative to other marine fuel options. However, it's not straightforward nor easy - and it will require a range of stakeholders to cooperate to make civil nuclear marine solutions possible."

BHP is a leading global resources company with approximately 80,000 employees and contractors, primarily in Australia and the Americas. The company's products are sold worldwide, and it is among the world's top producers of major commodities, including iron ore, copper, nickel, and metallurgical coal. As such, it is a major shipping charterer.

"BHP values the importance of partnerships in identifying a range of pathways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the maritime sector," said Rashpal Bhatti, Vice President of Maritime and Supply Chain Excellence at BHP. "We welcomed the opportunity to support this study by ULC-Energy to explore yet another potential alternative."

Researched and written by World Nuclear News