Talking Climate Tech 022 redux

💸 Big Energy Investments | 🤯 Trump Photoshop | 🟢 Biogas Pharma | 🍄 Tree x Fungi Party

Issued to subscribers 2nd May 2025.

Some big-ticket energy investment news for you instead this week, as a change from our usual programming.

💸 Investment News

Chinese Nuclear ☢️

Everyone is always moaning about China's coal plants, so they just blitzed on Nuclear. The GLOBAL LEADERS of the transition:

China announced it would build 10 new nuclear reactors, located in its coastal regions, at US$27 billion. It currently has 57 operating nuclear reactors, with a total capacity of 56.9 GW.

We are still battling on valiantly trying to get Hinkley C live, for 3.2 GW, just 5 years late and up from £18bn to a projected £46bn. 🤯

They expect to be carbon neutral by 2060, so just 10 years behind the UK Net Zero target. You can expect all those coal plants to close, or never even fire up, once the Nuclear is online.

Kazakhstan Wind + Battery 👏

Even Borat's homeland is getting in on the action - another big project here:

$1.4 billion deal with UAE-based Masdar to build a 1 GW wind farm and 300 MW energy storage system. Expected to generate 3,400 GWh annually, 1,000 jobs, and save an estimated 2million/t/CO2

UAE Again 🇦🇪

This one from a few weeks back, but it's epic and scale and shows where we are heading - Solar and BESS at scale in some regions will mitigate the need for expensive new nuclear entirely.

The project will feature the largest combined solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) in the world, with a 5.2 GW Solar (PV) plant and a 19 GWh BESS. It will deliver 1 GW of baseload power daily from renewable energy sources.

UAE and Masdar are making big moves, all that Oil money is coming in handy. As is the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund. Shame we blew all our North Sea Oil & Gas money by not retaining a national investment interest.

Battery Trend 📈

Why we will continue to see grid-scale battery storage projects in Europe as LCOS falls and market conditions suit more flexible assets, more here.

Market analyst Rystad Energy expects battery installations to accelerate as project developers with falling solar capture prices and increasing frequency of negative price events

🔎 Deeper Dive

Trump Watch 💥

Here we go, another week in Paradise:

100 days is up, it feels like 1000. He's done more damage to the climate and environment in this short space than he managed in 4 years in Trump 1.0. The Guardian.

Donald Trump has launched an unprecedented assault upon the environment, instigating 145 actions to undo rules protecting clean air, water and a livable climate in this administration’s first 100 days – more rollbacks than were completed in Trump’s entire first term as US president.

Still deleting science and the scientists, data and congressional-mandated reporting of climate change via the National Climate Assessment, CNN:

The Trump administration has dismissed all the scientists and other authors working on the next authoritative look at how climate change is affecting the United States.

And in the meantime, the challenge to democracy, the rule of law, the constitution, the free press, lawyers, universities and all that good stuff continues to be ripped to pieces and crushed.

A remarkable interview this week, where DJT attempted to coerce a well-respected journalist, Terry Morran [who held the line very well] to accept a photoshopped image as fact.

Incredible that DJT either doesn't know what Photoshop is, or is very ill informed, is lying, or is simply unintelligent, or all of the above. 🤯

More here.

Spain and Portugal Power Out ⚫

I'm not writing about that yet, as the investigation isn't done and no one knows what happened yet. That doesn't stop the right-wing elements of the UK Press blaming it on Net Zero and Renewables. 🙄

Some of the more sensible commentary so far, here:

Why did the lights go out in Spain and Portugal?

And what does it mean for Europe, its power grids and its electricity?

POLITICOGabriel Gavin

Tony, Tony, Tony 🚫

Unhelpful misdirection, misinformation and Fossil Fuel lobbying from Tony Blair this week and the TB Institute. How disappointing. More here.

How is the TBI funded...Tony's last trip to the 🇸🇦 KSA was in February. 🤔

Green Seas ⛴️⚡

You might have seen my Part 1 recently and Part 2 follow-up in the next couple of days, on the Maritime UK conference I recently attended, and the transition to electricification and low-emission fuels.

Positive news from the Mediterranean - Spain - Morocco route will get x2 new ferries running solely on battery systems:

€45m investment / 11,500 kWh battery system / Spain 5 MW + Morocco 8 MW charging infrastructure / 20,000t CO2 saving per year / 804 passenegrs + 225 vehicles each trip

Who said battery power can't cut the mustard on weight and big payloads? Take note, UK ferry operators...although to be fair, they can't get grid connections, a moot point for now. 🙄

AstraZeneca Biogas 🟢

Another interesting investment, this time in the life sciences and pharma sector. The 100GWh biogas facility developed with Future Biogas, is backed with a $130m 15-year offtake agreement. Read more here.

Interesting stats on the wider sector - the scale of the sector challenge was news to me:

According to a 2019 study, pharma companies generate over 48T CO2e per $1m of revenue — around 55% more than the emissions intensity of the automotive sector.

Approximately 4.5 percent of global emissions are attributed to the healthcare sector, with the bulk associated to pharmaceutical procurement, production and use.

🏡 Konfab News

Innovation Zero ⭕

A great day up in London on Tuesday of this week, very hectic - will bring you a few selected show notes next week.

In the meantime, here is the view from the top, quite busy!

Interviews 🎙️

Remarkable news, sessions 2,3,4,5 are now all recorded! It's a miracle, best crack on with some edits and getting them out there! 🤣

😃 Good Stuff

State of a State 🇺🇸

Positive news out of the US, amidst all the carnage. State power still gets stuff done - Maryland has delivered its 30 x 30 pledge 6 years early! Protecting 30% of land by 2030.

Maryland has permanently protected nearly 1.9 million acres of land from development, including forests, farms, and coastal areas vital for wildlife, carbon storage, and clean water.

The downer, they just lost $100m of funding as they attempt to go for 40 x 40.

Forest x Fungi Party 🍄

Those magic mushrooms seem to be the key to everything nowadays - the other week in 019 it was as batteries, now they are helping reforestation efforts.

Fungi develop underground networks of microscopic threads, mycelium, around tree roots, helping trees absorb water and nutrients. Trees, in return, share up to 30% of the sugars they make through photosynthesis with their fungal partners.

More from innovators Funga here.

Pylon of the Month ⚡

Talking Climate Tech has subscribers from many countries around the world, so nice to check out pylons from far and wide - last week the fallen giant in 🇺🇸 and this week...a punchy looking fella from France. 🇫🇷

Quite an aggressive-looking stance with its clenched fists - weighted for line stability? Not sure.

Not much poetic accompaniment on this from Pylon HQ back in August 2024. I can tell you it's located in central France, and that Gargilesse Dampierre is officially one of the most beautiful villages in France.

So add that to your Tower of Power bucket list. 🗒️

On that bombshell....

Thanks as always, let's keep pushing forward with all things climate tech and the real-world solutions that meet our climate challenges.

Remember, the momentum is unstoppable despite everything you might see and hear! 🌍

Stay warm, cool and safe wherever you are 🙏

Kane

Talking Climate Tech is free to its subscribers, but it does take a lot of time, energy and a fair bit of coffee to make it happen! 🥺

If you would like to support me, I could always use an extra cup... ☕ ⬇️