The Week in Cleantech: 26 Feb 2023

Last week, we analysed 1690 cleantech-related news articles from 194 sources. Here are the top stories we found.

Projects

US Gulf Coast could become ‘true energy hub’ with proposed offshore wind auction

• US President Joe Biden’s administration plans to offer 300,000 acres of offshore wind energy leases in the Gulf of Mexico.
• The administration has set a goal to deploy ca. 30 GW of wind capacity offshore the US by 2030.

Covered in: Upstream and 18 other sources.

Ecobat to build its first North American lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Arizona

• Ecobat is building a new lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Casa Grande, Arizona.
• It will be located one mile from the existing Ecobat Resources Arizona facility.

Covered in: Recycling Product News and 6 other sources.

Waitrose launches soft plastic recycling at 295 stores

• Waitrose has launched soft plastic recycling at 295 of its stores in a bid to offer customers more ways to recycle.
• This follows on from similar initiatives at other UK supermarkets, including at Aldi and Southern Co-op.

Covered in: Grocery Gazette and 2 other sources.

Products

Risen claims 23.89% efficiency with heterojunction solar modules

• Risen Energy has improved the power conversion efficiency of its solar modules from 23.65% to 23.89%.
• TÜV SUD has confirmed the results and noted that the modules have a maximum power rating of 741.456 W.

Covered in: pv magazine and 4 other sources.

Oishii introduces new “Koyo Berry” variety

• Oishii, an operator of state-of-the-art vertical farms, has launched The Koyo Berry, a Japanese cultivar grown outside Tokyo during winter.
• The Koyo Berry is now available for $15 for a tray via FreshDirect in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Covered in: iGrow News and 2 other sources

Upcycling food waste to grow ‘highly nutritious’ mycelium protein

• Israeli foodtech startup Mush Foods has developed a mushroom-derived protein ingredient that reduces the animal protein content in meat products by 50%.
• The product is made up of three edible mushroom mycelium species.

Covered in: FoodNavigator and 1 other source.

Deals and Partnerships

Wizz Air announces deal for 36,000 tons of sustainable aviation fuel

• Wizz Air will buy 36,000 tons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from Neste.
• This purchase is part of the company’s environmental strategy, which includes goals to reduce carbon emissions by 25% by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050.

Covered in: ESG Today and 8 other sources.

Krensen, ACUA and Trident announce partnership to develop new marine hydrogen powertrain solutions

• Krensen, ACUA Ocean and Trident Marine Electrical are working on a project to develop a fuel cell and a hydrogen-powered unmanned surface vehicle (USV).
• The project is supported by £14M from the UK Department for Transport.

Covered in: Fuel Cells Works and 6 other sources.

Cepsa and ACE Terminal partner to create green hydrogen supply chain

• Compañía Española de Petróleos (Cepsa) is developing two green hydrogen plants in Andalusia as part of its 2030 Positive Motion strategy.
• Cepsa will start exporting green hydrogen from Spain in 2027.
• The Netherlands-based ACE Terminal will be an open-access hub terminal for green hydrogen and ammonia imports.

Covered in: Bioenergy International and 5 other sources.

Investments

United Airlines launches $100 million fund dedicated to sustainable aviation fuel investment

• The United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund has been launched with more than $100 million in investments from Boeing, GE Aerospace, Honeywell, and JP Morgan Chase.
• United Airlines wants to produce 3 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by 2050.
• The airline has already invested in 11 companies that produce SAF.

Covered in: Green Air News and 8 other sourrces.

Astanor Ventures leads Source.ag’s $23M funding for sustainable greenhouse AI

• Source.ag, a technology company that provides AI-powered solutions to greenhouse growers, has raised a new $23 million Series A funding round.
• The funds will be used to introduce two new AI products, Source Cultivate and Source Control.
• Source.ag’s new funding round was led by Astanor Ventures and Acre Venture Partners.

Covered in: iGrow News and 1 other source.

PackBenefit secures €13m EIB debt financing to drive internationalisation

• PackBenefit has developed and patented an innovative technology to convert virgin pulp into recyclable and compostable food trays.
• The company has now secured a €13m loan from the European Investment Bank to expand manufacturing capacity and meet growing global demand for recyclable, compostable and sustainable food tray solutions.

Covered in: Circularity Capital and 1 other source.

Research and Development

A new sustainable plastic upcycling process

• An international team of scientists has developed a new method to convert low-density plastic waste to fuel and raw materials.
• Findings from this work have been published in the recent issue of Science.

Covered in: AZO Cleantech and 2 other sources.

AIMPLAS develops a new method for converting marine plastic waste into aquaculture products

• Coordinated by AIMPLAS, the ÑCostas Project aims to convert plastic waste from the marine environment into new recyclable and sustainable materials for use in products for aquaculture.
• The project is sponsored by a consortium of companies made up of Acteco, Dura Plastics, Eurocell (formerly known as Ecoplas), Plastire, Rotogal and Solteco.

Covered in: AZO Cleantech and 2 other sources.

UK farmers to breed ‘ultra-low-emission’ sheep

• A project to breed ultra-low-emission sheep is about to start on Romney rams in Hertfordshire.
• It aims to reduce their methane emissions by up to 25%.

Covered in: Agriland and 1 other source.

Environmental, social, and governance

Greenhouse Gas Protocol revisions could rattle environmental markets

• The Greenhouse Gas Protocol is updating its rules on how companies report their carbon emissions.
• The organization's guidance is used by almost all entities that report emissions.
• There is a heated debate about the effectiveness of environmental certificates and the industry is fighting back against proposed changes to their use.

Covered in: S&P Global and 1 other source.

Newcastle Airport continues journey towards 100% renewables

• Newcastle Airport has signed a renewable energy agreement with Melbourne-based Flow Power.
• Under the agreement, Flow Power will prepare an energy plan that will see the airport hit its renewable energy target seven years ahead of schedule.

Covered in: pv magazine

Corporations push "insetting" as new offsetting but report claims it is even worse

There is growing concern about the credibility and transparency of so-called "insetting", a controversial practice used by some of the world’s biggest companies to offset their carbon emissions.

Covered in: Climate Home News and 1 other source.

People

Smith Mordak announced as new Chief Executive of UKGBC

• Smith Mordak will succeed Julie Hirigoyen as the new Chief Executive of the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) on 1 June 2023.
• Smith Mordak is an award-winning architect, engineer, curator, and writer.

Covered in: UK GBC and 1 other source.

Search is over: Former ExxonMobil executive chosen to lead Suncor

• Richard Kruger will become the new chief executive of Suncor Energy on 3 April.
• Kris Smith will take over as interim chief executive. Alister Cowen will step down as chief financial officer.

Covered in: Upstream and 1 other source.

Robert Bernard joins CBRE as Chief Sustainability Officer

• CBRE Group, Inc. announced that Robert Bernard has joined the company as Chief Sustainability Officer and Senior Vice President, client sustainability solutions.
• Robert Bernard will drive enterprise-wide strategies that strengthen the suite of sustainability services the company delivers for clients.

Legislation and regulation

Retailers urge PM to overhaul government’s waste strategy

The British Retail Consortium is writing to the Prime Minister to express concerns over the implementation and operation of Deposit Return Scheme and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

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