In focus: ‘Energy transition, step up your game’

The phrase energy transition is becoming a household name. The two words pop up in countless news articles, studies, and policies. There is a reason why we speak of energy transition instead of energy revolution as it is a process in which we gradually phase out fossil energy and replace it with renewable or low carbon energy.

The word revolution implies a sudden shift with disruptive consequences. So, transition it is. But to reach a tipping point, more action is needed. That is why several voices from the industry say: ‘go big or go home’.

“Fossil fuels cannot keep being cheaper than green fuels. Action is required now. It is vital to consider all greenhouse gases, not just CO2, on a full life cycle analysis, otherwise we will not be able to truly decarbonize shipping by 2050 in line with the Paris Agreement”, Søren Skou, CEO of A.P. Moller Maersk, said.

That is why the world’s largest container shipping company has proposed a carbon tax on ship fuel of at least $450 per ton of fuel as a way for the shipping industry to bridge the gap between fossil fuels and more expensive green fuels.

In this light of urgency, Cerulean Winds, a green infrastructure developer, has revealed a $14.2 billion plan to accelerate the decarbonisation of oil and gas assets through an integrated 200-turbine floating wind and hydrogen development that would shift the dial on emissions targets and create significant jobs.

Dan Jackson, founding director of Cerulean Winds, said: “The UK is progressing the energy transition, but a sense of urgency and joined-up approach is required to enable rapid decarbonisation of oil and gas assets or there is a risk of earlier decommissioning and significant job losses”.

News about another clean energy and energy infrastructure plan came from Finland this week. The Finnish government plans to support offshore wind and other new energy technologies with €161 million, and the development of its energy transmission and distribution infrastructure with €155 million. The plan includes a 6 GW offshore wind farm that will incorporate a Power-to-X solution.

When it comes to sustainable infrastructure, Uniper, Siemens Energy, Toyota Tsusho, and Associated British Ports have submitted a joint bid to develop a low carbon hydrogen supply to the Port of Immingham, the UK’s largest port by tonnage. The port is ideally placed to use the existing infrastructure in the region.

There is the potential for green hydrogen to be produced by electrolysis, using a renewable energy supply such as offshore wind. The hydrogen could then be used as a direct replacement to diesel and heavy fuel oil, or for the production of clean shipping fuels.

Marine energy chipped in with the news that Swedish wave energy company Seabased has unveiled plans to build a 10MW wave power park at Audierne Bay, located in the French region of Brittany.

Seabased’s patented technology harnesses the power of ocean waves using wave energy converters comprised of buoys on the surface connected with linear generators resting on the seabed. With this, the Brittany region in France may plant a flag as home to Europe’s first utility-scale commercial wave energy park.

But in every process, it is the little things that count. Damen delivered two electrical booster stations for German dredging contractor Johann Bunte this week. The identical boosters have been designed and built by Damen Dredging Equipment (DDE). Damen has developed a number of solutions for improved environmental efficiency, including a fully electric cutter suction dredger, capable of zero-emission dredging projects.

To conclude this week’s In focus, a world record from the subsea industry. Blue Abyss is bringing what is said to be the world’s biggest and deepest pool to Cornwall, UK, for testing the latest underwater technology and advancing subsea robotics.

The centrepiece of the facility will be the aquatic centre featuring a 50 by 40 meter stepped pool with a 50-meter deep shaft, which will hold over 42,000 cubic meters of water, the equivalent of 17 Olympic size swimming pools. It will be a huge research asset for aerospace, offshore energy, underwater robotics, human physiology, defence, leisure and marine industries.