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https://europeansting.com/2019/11/20/we-need-a-new-approach-to-cutting-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-its-all-about-innovation/

Some examples of the strategic solutions that have been analysed through the Mission Innovation 1.5°C Compatible Solutions Framework are shown below: (The estimated GHG reduction potential is a comparison with the business-as-usual baseline and assumes global rollout of the solution.)

1. Redox flow battery for energy storage (Delectrik Systems Private Limited, India) – Energy storage products based on vanadium redox flow battery technology. Delectrik has also lowered the cost of its products to the extent that it says they are competitive on upfront capital expenditure even at low manufacturing volumes compared to other solid-state batteries. Estimated GHG reduction potential of 17 megatonnes CO2e per year by 2030.

2. Business model for hydrogen generation and supply (Phineal, Chile) – H2PV seeks to develop a business model for the generation and supply of hydrogen obtained from photovoltaic cells. Estimated GHG reduction potential of 27 megatonnes CO2e per year by 2030.

3. Electric three-wheeler city taxi (Bzzt, Sweden) – An app-based taxi service for urban areas using small electrically powered 3-wheel taxis at the price point of public transport and with zero local emissions. Estimated GHG reduction potential of 64 megatonnes CO2e per year by 2030.

4. Carbonlites – innovative biogas production (Carbon Masters India Pvt. Ltd, India) – Waste is collected and then treated anaerobically to produce methane gas and organic slurry. The gas is purified, compressed and used as a substitute to LPG for cooking and as fuel in vehicles, while the slurry is treated to produce organic manure used as a replacement to chemical fertilizers. Estimated GHG reduction potential of 45 megatonnes CO2e per year by 2030.

5. Producing climate-friendly food (Gigafood, Sweden) – A restaurant and catering service that serves low emissions products. All their dishes are certified with WWF’s label, One Planet Plate, which means they are climate-smart and have a climate impact within the limits of the planet. All its catering is delivered by cargo bike and its packaging materials are ecologically sustainable. Estimated GHG reduction potential of 152 megatonnes CO2e per year by 2030.

https://www.vanadiumprice.com/european-vanadium-pentoxide-flake-prices-increase/

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 20 Nov 19 – Currently, mainstream prices for European vanadium pentoxide flake 98%min stand at USD5.2-5.5/lb V2O5 in warehouse Rotterdam D/A 30 days, up by USD0.3/lb V2O5 from last week. Suppliers refuse to drop their quotation to accept orders and it’s hard to find low price level resources. Insiders believe prices of this material would edge up in the coming week.

A trader in Middle Europe quotes their vanadium pentoxide 98%min at USD5.5/lb V2O5 in warehouse Rotterdam D/A 30 days and can accept USD5.4/lb V2O5 for firm bids, up by USD0.3/lb V2O5 from last week. “I received an inquiry for 40t this Tuesday from China. The buyer wanted to make delivery at the port of China and their target price is no more than RMB97,000/t EXW D/P,” said the source. He added, “We closed the deal at RMB96,000/t CIF China at last.” Considering inquiries keep active at the moment, he believes prices of vanadium pentoxide flake 98%min would increase by USD0.2/lb V2O5 in the coming week.

With a regular trading volume of 80tpm, they sold 900t in 2018 and have sold about 800t this year. They expect to sell 80t in November, unchanged from October, holding 40t of stocks now, down by 40t from last month.

A trader in West Europe noted the lowest quotation for vanaidum pentoxide 98%min stands at USD5.3/lb V2O5 in warehouse Rotterdam D/A 30 days, up by USD0.2/lb V2O5 from last week. “Suppliers increase their quotation quickly, one of our suppliers has increased their quotation to USD5.5/lb V2O5 now. Though no consumers would like to buy at the moment, I believe dealing prices would touch this price level in the coming week,” said the source. Their last deal was made early last week, when they bought 20t at USD5.1/lb V2O5.

With a regular trading volume of 40tpm, they sold 440t last year and have sold 360t this year. They expect to sell 40t in November, unchanged from October. They have 40t of regular stocks in hand now, the same with last month.

https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/worlds-biggest-lithium-ion-battery-grow-larger-191119031117234.html

South Australia's Hornsdale Power Reserve, the world's largest lithium-ion battery, will have its storage and output expanded by 50 percent to help improve stability of the state's power grid, French power producer Neoen SA said on Tuesday.

The 71 million Australian dollars ($48m) project will enlarge the 100-megawatt battery, which is owned and operated by Neoen, and was built two years ago in conjunction with United States-based Tesla Inc.

The move comes as energy storage becomes increasingly essential to managing power supplies in Australia. Coal-fired plants are being shut down and alternatives are needed to back up intermittent solar and wind power.

The Hornsdale project stemmed from a promise by Tesla's chief executive Elon Musk to help keep the lights on in South Australia following a string of blackouts by building a battery within 100 days or giving it to the state for free.

South Australian Energy and Mining Minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan said the expansion was designed to reduce volatility in the price of electricity and protect the grid from network disturbances.

The project will receive 15 million Australian dollars ($10.2m) from the South Australian government, up to 50 million Australian dollars ($34m) in cheap loans through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and 8 million Australian dollars ($5.4m) from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

"Large-scale batteries are playing an important role in providing short term, large-scale energy storage to help firm and balance the grid," ARENA CEO Darren Miller said in a statement.

US minerals deal signed
The announcement was made as Australia's minerals agency announced a deal with its United States counterpart on Tuesday to jointly develop a better understanding of both countries' critical mineral reserves.

Geoscience Australia and the US Geological Survey (USGS) signed the agreement, which did not mention any specific funding, that will also look at better quantifying the global supply potential of critical minerals such as rare earths, Australia's Resources Minister Matt Canavan said in a statement.

Critical minerals are a suite of elements such as lithium, cobalt and neodymium used in hi-tech applications like renewable energy, electric vehicle batteries and defence.

US and European governments are trying to broaden the supply chain of critical minerals including rare earths, which China dominates. But developers say the governments are too slow to make funds available.

“The US has a need for critical minerals and Australia’s abundant supplies makes us a reliable and secure international supplier of a wide range of those, including rare earth elements," Canavan said.

There are expectations that the US may finance some critical mineral projects

I believe Juwi have previously been involved with V batteries.

https://www.miningreview.com/international/siemens-and-partner-to-develop-microgrids-for-mining-companies/

Siemens and German renewable energy developer juwi have entered into a strategic technology partnership to focus on microgrids in the mining industry.

The signed agreement between the two companies aim to roll-out and continually develop the advanced microgrid control system that enables the seamless integration of power from renewable energy to a mine's off-grid power supply.

The Siemens Sicam based microgrid control platform is a proven and tested technology which is the basis for juwi's Hybrid IQ microgrid controller. juwi, on the other hand, brings industry-specific domain know-how and an excellent track record of planning and executing renewable energy projects at mine sites.

The solution adapts to changing ore bodies, processing and power requirements whilst providing detailed reporting and analysis to operations teams and management.

Together, the strategic partners create a unique, standardized solution for the mining market. This will simplify the use of renewable energy for mines and help provide a cost-effective and reliable power supply, especially for mine sites that operate off the grid.

"Microgrids can bring high levels of reliability and improved energy quality to energy-intensive industries such as mining; and are an attractive alternative when autonomous power supply is needed," said Robert Klaffus, CEO Digital Grid at Siemens Smart Infrastructure.

"We are looking forward to the technology cooperation with juwi on microgrids and believe it will boost the commercial appeal of renewable energy to the mining industry."

COO of the juwi Group, Stephan Hansen, added: "Renewable energy will not only future proof mining operations but reduce cash operating costs today.

The centrepiece to this is the juwi Hybrid IQ system. It enables us to provide hybrid power that goes far beyond what has been industry practice until now. I am looking forward to the technology partnership with Siemens."

Cooperation between juwi and Siemens has already resulted in the successful delivery of the solar power plant at Agnew Gold in Australia. The partnership also provides hybrid power to Australia's largest and oldest marine research station on the Great Barrier Reef. Heron Island now uses juwi Hybrid IQ to combine solar with a redox flow battery to replace Diesel fuel.

https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/metals/111519-strong-china-housing-data-indicates-support-for-construction-steel

Singapore — Stronger than expected floor space starts in China in October indicates demand for steel from the property construction sector could be stronger than anticipted in early 2020.

In October, floor space starts increased 23% year on year and took January-October starts to 1.85 billion sq m, which was 10% higher year on year, according to National Bureau of Statistics data released Thursday.

Property construction accounts for roughly one-third of China's steel consumption and floor space starts is an important indicator of demand for rebar and other construction steels.

Due to robust property construction and retreating iron ore costs, China's average rebar and hot-rolled coil sales margins have increased to $64.03/mt and $19.89/mt so far in November, up from $43.08/mt and $5.96/mt in October, according to S&P Global Platts data.

Chinese traders said strong end-user demand for construction steel has continued into November, and would probably last into December. Construction activity has speeded up in the past month or so as China's Lunar New Year holidays start early next year on January 24. This is the time when migrant workers, who largely make up China's construction industry workforce, return to their home towns, causing work on building sites to stop for 2-3 weeks.

China's apparent steel consumption over January-October increased by 8.1% year on year to 770 million mt, 0.7 percentage points higher than crude steel output growth over the same period, Platts estimates.

For January-October, floor space under construction went up 9% year on year to nearly 8.54 billion sq m, the NBS data showed.

China's fixed asset investment rose by 5.2% year on year in the first ten months of 2019, which was 0.2 percentage points lower than the growth recorded for first nine months.

Investment in infrastructure construction rose by 4.2% year on year in the first ten months, 0.3 percentage lower compared with previous nine months, the NBS data showed.

Property market investment increased by 10.3% to Yuan 10.9 trillion ($1.55 trillion) over January-October. The growth was 0.2% lower compared with January-September. Funding for residential property projects contributed 73.6% of the total, up 14.6% year on year to Yuan 8.06 trillion.

On safety in particular, Exxaro Resources CEO Mxolisi Mgojo will be part of 4IR-focused panel discussions and will likely speak about Exxaro’s ‘digital twin’ approach. Through the use of this technology, Exxaro is able to replicate, through a virtual copy, a mine’s physical assets, which can then be used to analyse data and monitor systems.

The 2020 Indaba will also see resource nationalism and investor risk as a main stage topic where sector leaders will be analysing and assessing exposure in current African markets and possible strategies to mitigate risk.

Additionally, climate change and the industry’s role in decarbonisation, considered a frontline issue for investors, will be discussed during main stage sessions and on the dedicated sustainable development day.

The February event will also boast a strong representation from the US, Quinn said, adding that it “ties into the Africa programme that the US administration is driving”.

Export-Import Bank of the United States (Exim) president and chairperson Kimberly Reed will be attending the Indaba and delivering a keynote address, he added.

Exim recently authorised a direct loan of up to $5-billion to support the export of US goods and services for the development and construction of an integrated liquefied natural gas project, in Mozambique.

On this basis, Quinn is hopeful that a delegation from the Africa Export-Import Bank will be attending, especially as the African Continental Free Trade Agreement is set to boost both the South African and the African economies.

Turning towards numbers, next year’s Indaba is expected to attract about 7 000 delegates, and an increased global ministry presentation, increasing from 37 this year, to 39 in 2020.

Owing to popular demand, the Battery Metals Investment Day will be returning in 2020 and will touch on subjects including the electrification of society, the energy transition and the lowering of the global economy’s carbon footprint.

Quinn and Ford also acknowledged South Africa’s growing concerns surrounding the stable supply of electricity, owing to embattled State-owned power utility Eskom’s own set of challenges.

Once the new Eskom CEO has been appointed, the individual will be invited to speak at the Indaba.

In September this year, Indaba organisers ITE Group rebranded to Hyve Group to reflect the evolution of the group's business resulting from its transformation and growth programme, which was announced in May 2017 and is now nearing completion.

Quinn and Ford both joined the Hyve team in July and said their focus for the Indaba was to “transition away from the trade show view” and take the Indaba “back to its investment roots” through creating a platform that brings value to small investments, and drives a return on larger investments.

https://www.miningweekly.com/article/organisers-see-increased-appetite-for-engagement-for-upcoming-indaba-2019-11-12/rep_id:3650

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Media company Hyve Group content head Tom Quinn on Tuesday told the media that the organising team of the 2020 iteration of the Investing in Africa Mining Indaba has seen an increased appetite for engagement within the African mining sector, particularly for discussions touching on sustainability.

This drive toward conversations on sustainability, he added, “shows that mining companies want to sustain communities and provide employment”.

It is for this reason that the twenty-sixth edition of the Indaba, which runs over four days in February next year, intends to continue offering high-quality and carefully researched content to “meet the sector’s needs, generate new ideas and address current challenges”.

Quinn explained that next year’s Indaba would build on the success of this year’s event in terms of high-level government participation, while also displaying a focus on investment in the digital economy of mining and offering numerous new additions to the programme.

In addition to the VIP Investor Lounge, the junior mining showcase, and the Investment Battlefield, Indaba attendees will have the added benefit of a general counsel forum, which will bring together legal minds from across Africa to debate and share knowledge on Africa’s resources sector.

The rationale behind establishing the forum, Quinn explained, was a scarcity of legal representation at the Indaba until now, despite legal professionals moderating panel sessions and having participated in previous Indabas.

Through the forum, delegates and attendees, made up of general councils of mining companies, will be able to navigate the opportunities and challenges in the sector by “discussing new jurisdictions, new content innovation and have a platform to create new content innovation, or create new and valuable connections”.

According to the Indaba’s website, strengthening portfolio management, examining falling productivity against increasing costs, and even discussing merger and acquisition updates in the market, will also take place during the forum.

The forum will be held on February 6, 2020, in partnership with Africa Legal.

Next year’s Indaba will also boast an extended Mining 2050 programme, which will be discussed over two days instead of one, Hyve portfolio director Simon Ford mentioned on Tuesday.

The programme will be discussed under the theme ‘Optimising growth in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)’, with key topics including green and sustainable technology, waterless mines, artificial intelligence, robots and job creation, using blockchain technology for sustainability, and mitigating digital risk.

This, he explained, was as a result of the digitised economy “speaking to the core themes and values in sustainability and mining, [as well as] an increased need to use technology

Until now, the willingness of governments to take steps to halt climate change has been open to question, given the potential implications for inflation, government debt and employment. But we see several reasons why change may come over the next 12 months. Significantly, awareness and concern about climate change among the general population are growing, driven by more frequent extreme weather, media coverage and actions by protest groups.
Regarding political appetite for change, we see notable shifts in tone across the world. The EC’s incoming president, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced the intention to create a climate plan. This includes legislation to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the introduction of a green border tax and the creation of a fund to advance a "just transition". In the US, the current administration has formally notified the UN that it intends to withdraw from the Paris Agreement the day after the 2020 presidential election. However, the majority of Democratic candidates have made climate change a key item in their policy agendas.

Climate and carbon could also become drivers of QE. Christine Lagarde has made it abundantly clear that climate change will be a priority during her tenure as ECB president, suggesting that the central bank might use monetary policy to support a climate-friendly stance.

As with many market drivers, it’s hard to pinpoint the moment when a risk will become a reality. But to us, the direction of travel for the carbon price is clear. Challenges still lie ahead, but if the next 12 months don’t bring a material response from the world’s leaders, we see an increasing likelihood that carbon will impact asset prices through other channels. Between 2016-18, climate-related disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes have caused over US$650 billion worth of economic damage worldwide (or 28bp of global GDP).

Whichever trajectory we end up following, it seems clear that climate will be a key driver of asset prices in the months and years ahead.

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-Real-Cost-Of-A-50-Trillion-Climate-Change-Push.html

In three weeks, the world's leaders will begin to gather in Madrid for the 25th United Nations Climate Change Conference. The intensity of the global climate strikes this year suggests that the proceedings will be scrutinized as never before. But the decisions made, or not made, will also have repercussions for global markets.
We’re transitioning towards a lower carbon economy, albeit at a slower pace than needed to stay within a two degrees Celsius climate scenario (2DS). For companies that can build offshore wind installations, develop electric vehicles and manufacture renewable diesels, we see potential for material earnings growth. In Decarbonisation: The Race to Net Zero, we estimated that more than US$50 trillion of capital will need to be deployed into renewables, EVs, hydrogen, biofuels and carbon capture and storage over the next 30 years, putting US$3-10 trillion of EBIT up for grabs.
Decarbonising electricity is the largest opportunity to reduce carbon emissions, with the power sector responsible for a quarter of global emissions. Strong renewables growth should be achievable given the significant improvements we've seen in solar and wind economics. But costs continue to constrain many other clean technologies, including battery storage, green hydrogen, CCS and biofuels.
If governments are serious about halting climate change, some form of stimulus will be needed.
Subsidies have already been key in industries like renewables. In the US, federal subsidies have helped to drive the transition to renewable energy, which rose from 14% of total power generation capacity in 2000 to 24% in 2018.
One alternative is to make high-carbon incumbents prohibitively expensive. European regulation on CO2 emissions, together with city bans on diesel, has catalyzed investment by global OEMs into electric vehicles. While the transition will be costly for the autos industry, it’s hard to see another path towards achieving aggressive targets.
Taxes should be another means of incentivizing investment in low-carbon technologies, but they remain ineffective. Even in Europe, where the carbon price has increased three-fold since the end of 2017, it remains far below the US$75 per tonne estimated by the IMF as necessary by 2030 to achieve a 2DS.
Even if the price of carbon rises to that level, a global tax is needed, through either a multilateral agreement or a carbon border adjustment. Domestic carbon taxes are unlikely to succeed in a world where many industries can move to regions with less punitive environmental regimes.

https://www.energy-storage.news/news/pivot-power-keeping-watching-brief-on-changing-uk-energy-storage-planning-r

Pivot Power is to keep a watching brief on changing planning regulations pertaining to energy storage in the UK, opening up the developer to increasing the capacity of some projects within its portfolio.

Last week EDF confirmed its acquisition of Pivot Power in a move designed to cement its position in the UK’s utility-scale storage market. It will now help push Pivot’s pipeline, which comprises some 40 prospective battery storage facilities with a cumulative capacity of around 2GW.

The first two of those sites are due to be commissioned before the end of next year. A further eight hold planning consent, with plans progressing on the remaining 30.

However those plans could yet be amended, Pivot chief executive Matt Allen told this publication, courtesy of a change in planning regulations that holds the potential to free the shackles on larger-scale storage sites in the UK.

Last month the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy revealed that it intends to lift a restriction on battery storage sites that had previously meant that any prospective site with a capacity greater than 50MW would need to progress through the nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) process, one which ultimately requires final approval from the secretary of state.

That process is costly and time consuming. Proceeding through the NSIP, instead of the usual local planning route, is said to add months in time and tens of thousands of pounds in various planning and legal fees, sums which could ultimately render a project uneconomical.

The change in planning will remove this requirement and place planning for such projects solely into the hands of local councils.

Allen said that Pivot would be keeping a watching brief on the change before assessing the “viability and overall opportunity” for grid connections within Pivot’s portfolio, indicating it is “definitely something we will be looking at in the near future”.

Pivot’s immediate post-acquisition considerations are, however, progressing its pipeline and scaling up its resource needed to pursue those projects. In an interview with sister publication Current±, Allen said the company would be looking to leverage EDF’s development experience and growing its team.

“I think looking at the team we have in place right now of 15 people, absolutely there will be a requirement for more resource as we grow that,” Allen said, posing that resource could be seconded from EDF into Pivot as a wholly owned subsidiary of the French energy major.

https://www.mining-journal.com/energy-minerals-news/news/1375263/bushveld-on-track-for-fy-guidance-as-vanchem-deal-completes

London-listed vanadium producer Bushveld Minerals saw production levels dwindle in the third quarter, but record output in September means the South-Africa-focused player remains on track to hit its full year target of 2,800-2,900 tonnes.

Planned maintenance at the company's Vametco processing plant saw production fall 24% quarter on quarter in Q3 to 561t. The summer maintenance programme, completed two days ahead of schedule, was designed to increase crusher and mill availability as well as boosting throughput rates. It also aimed to increase kiln availability and hourly feed rate, lift recoveries and improve leach plant recoveries.

"Thanks to the recent efforts from our team on the ground, the maintenance programme was successfully implemented ahead of schedule. Following this work, Vametco was soon running at improved levels, achieving record production of more than 300tV from magnetite concentrate during the month of September.

These sustainable operational achievements keep us on track to achieve our stated guidance for the year at both the cost and production levels," Fortune Mojapelo, CEO of Bushveld Minerals, said in a statement.

Mojapelo also hailed the completion of Bushveld's acquisition of the Vanchem processing facility - a deal first unveiled in May.
"We are also excited to have secured operational control of Vanchem, with Bushveld now owning two of the four operating primary processing facilities globally. Alongside the Mokopane mining right application granted recently, the completion of the Vanchem acquisition, gives us a scalable platform that will allow us to grow our production base towards the 8,400tV per annum target we have communicated," said Mojapelo.

Investment firm SP Angel said in a note on Thursday that Bushveld was "well set to repeat this success at Vanchem following confirmation of its acquisition today".

"We are looking forward to new demand for vanadium from new VRFB instillations and for Bushveld Energy's strategic positioning within this new technology sector to enable the Bushveld to grow with the sector as it develops."

Low vanadium prices have seen shares in Bushveld trend downwards so far in 2019. Shares were trading at 22.6p on Thursday, down from nearly 50p at this point in 2018.

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