In focus: Accelerating the energy transition

The global energy transition continues to be a strategic priority for many industry players including those involved in the maritime and offshore energy sectors.

The main goal of the transition is to transform the global energy sector by switching from using fossil fuels to renewable energy sources and eliminating carbon dioxide and other harmful emissions.

In order to accomplish this, more and more companies are forming strategic partnerships to accelerate the energy transition.

One of these partnerships was announced this week with French engineering company Technip Energies teaming up with India’s renewable energy company Greenko to accelerate green hydrogen development in India.

The two parties signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore green hydrogen project development opportunities across industries. These specifically cover refining, petrochemicals, chemical, and power plant sectors in India to accelerate the energy transition in the country.

“We strongly believe in collaboration to realize our energy transition objectives. Our strategic partnership with Greenko reinforces our commitment to deliver a low carbon future,” said Davendra Kumar from Technip Energies.

Green hydrogen was also a hot topic in Egypt this week where international energy services provider Petrofac has won its first new energies project. There, the company will assess the feasibility of new green hydrogen to ammonia facility.

Petrofac won this project in Egypt with an in-country subsidiary of Egypt-focused Mediterranean Energy Partners (MEP).

The project is an early-stage study assessing the feasibility of new green hydrogen to ammonia facility. The facility will specifically target the production of 125,000 tonnes of green ammonia a year for export. It will do so by using a mix of solar and wind energy.

According to Alex Haynes from Petrofac, this builds on the company’s growing track record in the new energy space. It also adds to its recent green hydrogen projects in Australia, the UK, and other global locations.

Continuing with green hydrogen, we move to Denmark where Danish government has launched a €161 million subsidy scheme to support the Power-to-X projects towards the goal of reaching between 4 and 6 GW of electrolysis capacity by 2030.

The government launched the strategy for the development of the Power-to-X-technology and capacity in December 2021.

The strategy will push for the production and use of green hydrogen in hard-to-abate sectors like shipping and aviation, as well as heavy road transport and industry.

Another interesting announcement came from the Dutch offshore contractor Heerema Marine Contractors this Thursday, revealing that its largest crane vessels, Sleipnir and Thialf, officially switched from using their engines to using shore power.

As explained by the company, the successful commissioning of the Shore Power project is the result of a partnership between Eneco, the Port of Rotterdam Authority, and Heerema with the support of the Gemeente Rotterdam.

The project initiative, which started in 2017, was driven by a global demand to reduce the impact on the planet with the partners involved all dedicated to supporting the energy transition.

Meanwhile in UK a new independent commission has been announced to explore the potential for tidal energy generation from the Severn Estuary, a large body of water located between England and Wales.

The commission, to be set up by the Western Gateway Partnership – a pan-regional partnership for south Wales and western England – will have an open remit to explore a range of options including looking at what energy technology exists, which areas would be appropriate and how environmental impacts can be minimized.

It will be made up of a range of experts working together to understand whether there is now a viable option for using the tidal power of the Severn to create energy for the UK.

On the other hand, environmental law charity ClientEarth announced that will be taking legal action against the board of directors of oil and gas giant Shell over what it describes as “mismanaging climate risk.”

ClientEarth on Tuesday took the first step in legal action against the board of directors of Shell, seeking to hold it liable for failing to properly prepare for the energy transition, claiming it to be the first-ever case of its kind.

The organisation is arguing that the board’s failure to properly manage climate risk to Shell means that it is breaching its legal duties. The board has failed to adopt and implement a climate strategy that truly aligns with the Paris Agreement goal to keep the global temperature rise to below 1.5°C by 2050, the organisation said in a statement on Tuesday.