January 2024

Volkswagen has been unmasked as the automaker involved in successful tests of solid-state automotive battery cells. The solid-state lithium metal battery technology, supplied by the U.S. company QuantumScape, claims to have significantly exceeded the requirements in the A-sample test and successfully completed more than 1,000 charging cycles.

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Solid-state technology is being tipped as the best way to get automotive powertrains switched to hydrogen power. Automotive supplier Denso claims it is on the cusp of cracking the challenges to mass adoption of hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles using locally produced and consumed “green” hydrogen.

The major themes that will drive the global oil market in 2024 will coalesce around the ability of oil producers to find a sustainable balance between energy supply and demand.

In the Netherlands, Offshore Energy reported that Norwegian energy company Equinor and global industrial gases and engineering company Linde have signed a project development agreement to work as partners on the H2M Eemshaven low-carbon hydrogen project in the Netherlands.

As demand for EV and base metals is expected to slow along with global growth in 2024, two very different metals are likely to stand out from the commodity pack: gold and uranium. Gold, prized throughout human history, is virtually indestructible. That means most of the over 6.7 billion oz. of the metal the World Gold Council estimates has ever been mined is kicking around somewhere, whether as a wedding ring or in a 400-troy-oz.

An international team of researchers has developed a two-dimensional supercrystal that generates hydrogen from formic acid with the help of sunlight. In a paper published in the journal Nature Catalysis, the scientists explain that the goal of their plasmonic nanostructures is to concentrate solar energy, as it is mostly diluted when it reaches the earth.

Simple op changes can pave way for more sustainable business landscape. In today’s business world, technology is like the engine pushing companies into a future where everything is about digital advancements and improvements. However, this also results in a formidable challenge — the staggering accumulation of 420.3 million tonnes of e-waste globally, which primarily comes from the disposal of obsolete IT equipment.

While renewable energy (RE) is widely touted as the future of energy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere, nuclear power is increasingly being discussed as a necessary part of the energy mix.

In China, Macau Business reported that Chinese scientists have developed new technology allowing the manufacture of biodiesel fuel with higher biomass content, which could reach over 40% compared with the global average content of less than 10%. Shen Jian, a professor at Nanjing Normal University’s School of Chemistry and Materials Science, and his team improved the manufacturing process, using biofats (triglycerides) and crude oil refinery components to produce automotive biodiesel fuel without .

In Thailand, Bangkok Post reported that energy officials are drafting a new national oil plan to cover the development of sustainable aviation fuel, aiming to support the aviation industry’s goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. “We are working on factors that can make SAF another mainstream fuel as well as support domestic production of this biofuel,” said Patteera Saipratumtip, deputy director-general of the Department of Energy Business.

In China, Xinhua reported that ethanol production equipment with an annual output of 600,000 tons went into trial last week in Huaibei City, in east China’s Anhui Province. The equipment can convert coke oven gas into ethanol, according to the report. The equipment was jointly developed by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum (Group) Co. and was constructed by Tanxin Technology Co., LTD.

In Thailand, the Nation newspaper reports that only B7 and B20 diesel will be available at the pump from May 1, 2024 as the government discontinues the sale of B10 in an effort to simplify purchase choices and reduce confusion amongst customers while still enabling it to achieve biodiesel consumption goals.

In Malaysia, Platts reports that palm oil prices are expected to recover next year thanks to increased demand following increases in biodiesel blending worldwide, while palm oil production is likely to remain stagnant in Indonesia and Malaysia. By the third quarter of 2024, analysts expect palm oil futures prices to reach beyond $850 per metric ton, well above prices seen in 2023 that were 23% lower than in 2022, while physical trade is seen at closer to $900/ton.

In Maryland. Power Magazine reported that state-run media in China reported that a facility there has begun testing production of ethanol through the use of coal, rather than using crops such as corn or sugar cane to make the fuel. The plant in southeastern China, with an annual production capacity of 600,000 metric tons, is said to be the world’s largest ethanol-producing plant.

Valeura drilled three production-oriented development wells and one appraisal well at the Thailand field.

In Indonesia, Bloomberg Technoz reports the Indonesian Biofuel Producers Association (Aprobi) said that the high demand for crude palm oil (CPO) as raw material for biodiesel will shift the need for food, especially after B40 is tested in 2024. However, Aprobi Chairman Paulus Tjakrawan said that entrepreneurs are not worried that the high demand for biodiesel will erode the supply of CPO in the country.

In Finland, Neste reported that Thai Airways operated its first flight using Neste MY SAF on December 13, 2023. A Thai Airways Boeing 777 was refueled with blended sustainable aviation fuel at Phuket Airport in Thailand for the return flight to Bangkok International Airport. The blended SAF was supplied by PTT, a Thai oil and gas company, in collaboration with Petco Trading Labuan Company Ltd, the marketing and trading arm of Petronas, a Malaysian energy group, said Neste.

The value of Myanmar’s natural gas exports totalled over US$2 billion in the current financial year 2023-2024, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

In Indonesia, Reuters reports that state-owned PalmCo has announced an investment in a 443,000 metric ton-per-year biodiesel facility while delaying the launch of its IPO. Having chosen the technology and being close to deciding on a contractor, it expects the biodiesel plant to come online in 2026. The IPO, however, doesn’t have a new date after being postponed due to unfavorable market conditions. The planned IPO was expected last summer to raise around $500 million.

In Cambodia, the Phnom Penh Post reported that six Chinese companies have expressed interest in establishing cashew processing plants in Cambodia, with one specializing in producing Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL), according to the Cashew Nut Association of Cambodia (CAC). According to the report, CNSL can be transformed into a cost-effective biofuel.