Germany, Austria and Luxembourg will provide up to €2.12bn through a joint eSAF funding scheme, using a double-sided auction to bridge the price gap between buyers and sellers of electricity-based aviation fuel. Germany, Austria and Luxembourg announced on 21 September a joint eSAF funding scheme worth up to €2.12 billion.…
Mesabi Metallics has announced an $18bn plan, including a $15bn Iowa steel complex that will pair hot direct-reduced iron with electric arc furnaces and use ore from its new Minnesota mine. Mesabi Metallics announced on 28 September an $18 billion investment to build a fully integrated steel company. The plan…
The Commission has published final terms for its second industrial heat auction, releasing €1 billion from EU Emissions Trading System revenues to cut fossil fuel use in process heat, with bidding expected from December. The European Commission published the final terms and conditions on 24 September for its second Europe-wide…
NSG Group has completed a float glass recycling trial at its Chiba Plant, reprocessing end-of-life laminated glass from a University of Tokyo building into new glass products. NSG Group has completed a float glass recycling trial at its Chiba Plant in Ichihara City, in what it calls horizontal recycling, feeding…
INEOS Energy has brought the Greensand offshore carbon storage site off Esbjerg into full operation, the European Union’s first full-scale facility, with capacity to store up to 8 million tonnes a year. INEOS Energy, with partners Harbour Energy and Denmark’s Nordsøfonden, has brought the Greensand offshore carbon storage site off…
Sanofi, UCB and Opella Healthcare have joined AstraZeneca as founding members of the Clean Heat Program, targeting industrial heat as the largest remaining source of pharmaceutical manufacturing emissions. Multinational pharmaceutical companies Sanofi, UCB and Opella Healthcare Group have joined AstraZeneca as founding members of the Clean Heat Program, an initiative…
Bulgaria’s glass packaging industry has launched a national Close the Glass Loop platform to raise collection for glass recycling, aiming to help meet the EU’s 90% target by 2030. Bulgaria’s glass packaging value chain has united to launch a new national platform for glass collection and recycling, joining a Europe-wide…
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Calgary-based Cura has closed a $10 million USD funding round to expand its electrochemical low-carbon cement pilot with Grand Forks Concrete, a step toward commercial-scale production in Alberta. Calgary-based cleantech company Cura has closed a $10 million USD ($14 million CAD) funding round on 17 September, its second tranche, to accelerate commercial development of its low-carbon cement technology near Taber, Alberta. The round was led by Zacua Ventures, with Sandpiper Ventures, Vantage Futures, Amplify Capital, the University of Calgary’s UCEED fund, the Mount Rundle Club and Sebastian Becker also participating. Zacua’s Juan Nieto joins Cura’s board of directors. Cement is…
The Hydrogen Council’s latest Hydrogen Compass report puts the global low-carbon hydrogen pipeline at $130 billion and 6.9 million tonnes a year, with ammonia the leading offtake. The Hydrogen Council said in its latest annual Hydrogen Compass report that the global low-carbon hydrogen project pipeline has grown to $130 billion and 6.9 million tonnes a year of capacity across 570 projects, with 90% of that capacity under construction or already operational. The figures mark a maturing pipeline, with a growing share of projects moving past the announcement stage into construction and operation. Ammonia remains the dominant offtake for the pipeline,…
EU member states agreed to expand free ETS allowances for energy-intensive industries from 2026 to 2030, aiming to protect steel, cement and chemicals producers from carbon leakage. EU member states have agreed to expand free ETS allowances for energy-intensive industries between 2026 and 2030, a move the Council of the European Union says will protect steel, cement and chemicals producers from carbon leakage during a sensitive stretch of the transition. Ambassadors representing member states agreed on 16 September to release around 88 million allowances that had been set aside for free allocation to sectors covered by heat and fuel benchmarks…
CAC Engineering’s pilot plant in Freiberg, Germany has produced 300,000 litres of synthetic gasoline, showing its power-to-liquids process can run reliably over a sustained period. A pilot plant in Freiberg, Germany has produced 300,000 litres of synthetic gasoline, a threshold its developer says demonstrates that its power-to-liquids process can run reliably over a sustained period rather than only in short bursts. The facility, run by CAC Engineering at TU Bergakademie Freiberg, uses the company’s METHAFUEL technology to convert e-methanol into synthetic gasoline through the DeCarTrans research programme. Reaching 300,000 litres of cumulative output matters because continuous, reliable operation, rather than…
NEDO and four Japanese partners achieved 85% ammonia co-firing in a full-scale naphtha cracking furnace, a step towards decarbonising petrochemical production without a full plant redesign. A Japanese consortium has achieved an 85% ammonia co-firing rate across a full-scale naphtha cracking furnace, a milestone the group says clears one of the toughest technical barriers to decarbonising petrochemical production. NEDO, Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, ran the demonstration together with Mitsui Chemicals, Maruzen Petrochemical, Toyo Engineering and Sojitz Machinery, testing a furnace fitted with a newly developed ammonia-fired burner. The 85% figure covers the entire furnace on a…
China’s CESTRI has opened a demonstration plant that turns coal fly ash into fly ash geopolymer concrete, a cement-free binder the institute says cuts emissions and costs against Portland cement. The CHN Energy Science and Technology Research Institute (CESTRI) has opened a demonstration base in China that converts coal fly…
Rohrdorfer has co-fired hydrogen on the clinker kiln at its Gmunden works in Austria, the first trial of its kind at an Austrian cement plant, though the producer says the fuel still costs far too much. Austrian cement producer Rohrdorfer has run the first large-scale hydrogen combustion test at an…
Holcim Germany has commissioned a membrane-based carbon capture demonstration at its Höver cement plant in Lower Saxony, capturing up to 10,000 tonnes a year and targeting 90% of site emissions after expansion. Holcim Germany has commissioned a membrane-based carbon dioxide capture demonstration plant at its Höver cement works in Lower…
Aircapture and NGK have commissioned a direct air capture unit at AIZAWA Concrete’s Fukushima site, testing NGK ceramic substrates in commercial conditions and looking at concrete mineralisation as an outlet for the captured gas. Aircapture and NGK Corporation have started a joint direct air capture demonstration at AIZAWA Concrete Corporation’s…
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BMW’s Car2Car consortium has shown that additional sorting can strip copper from end-of-life vehicle scrap well enough to make flat steel for cars, with more than 100,000 series parts already built and installed. High-quality material loops are technically feasible in the automotive industry, and copper-bearing impurities in steel scrap can be reduced notably, BMW said after completing its Car2Car research project with partners, EUROMETAL reported on 27 August. The project focused on steel, aluminium and copper, and also considered other materials including glass. BMW’s consortium included Scholz Recycling, thyssenkrupp Steel Europe and Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung, alongside academic partners such as…
UNEP says copper demand will rise more than 40% by 2040 while mined output peaks around 2030, leaving a projected shortfall of 6.5 million tonnes within the next five years. Demand for copper will rise more than 40% by 2040 while mined production is expected to peak around 2030 and then flatten or decline, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. The projection appears in a UNEP article published on 27 August on securing the materials the energy transition needs. Copper carries electrification. Electric vehicles use up to four times as much of it as traditional combustion engines, and it…
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Industry advocates highlight the commercial viability of wind-assisted propulsion systems like OceanWings, which are delivering significant fuel savings and emissions reductions, paving the way for mass adoption amidst regulatory and operational developments. Wind-assisted propulsion has moved from experimental concept to commercially validated technology and is emerging as a pragmatic lever for decarbonising deep-sea shipping, industry participants say. According to a commentary by Dr. Lee Kindberg, formerly head of environment and sustainability for AP Moller‑Maersk in North America and now a board member at wingsail manufacturer OceanWings, rigid wingsails and other wind‑assisted propulsion systems (WAPS) are ready for scale and can…
Despite strategic commitments, the European Union is falling short on hydrogen production goals for 2030, prompting calls for policy reform to ensure industrial decarbonisation and reduce import reliance. Industry groups and government data show the European Union is falling short of the hydrogen roll-out it says is central to decarbonising heavy industry, and stakeholders are urging a fundamental reset of policy if the bloc is to meet its 2030 ambitions. According to Hydrogen Europe, current trajectories leave the EU “way off” the target of 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen per year by 2030, with domestic production projections covering only…
Finnish initiatives are transforming crypto mining waste heat into a reliable district heating source, offering a sustainable model that could expand across Europe and redefine industry roles in urban energy systems. Excess heat from cryptocurrency mining is being captured and fed into Finland’s district heating networks, delivering winter warmth to tens of thousands of households while reframing an energy‑intensive industry as a municipal energy partner. According to reporting by Crypto Economy, operators including Hashlabs, Terahash, MARA (Marathon Digital) and MinersLoop now link water‑cooled ASIC miners to municipal pipelines, a circular model that turns compute load into useful low‑enthalpy heat. Crypto…
Africa holds vast reserves of key minerals vital for the global shift to low-carbon energy, but unlocking their full economic and strategic potential hinges on overcoming structural barriers and investing in local processing capabilities amid rising demand. The African mining sector stands at a pivotal juncture where the economics of extraction must be rapidly retooled for the energy transition. The continent’s abundant deposits of lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel, copper and rare earths present a commercial opportunity that could reshape national balance sheets and global supply chains if African producers move beyond raw exports to capture processing and manufacturing value. According…
The UK’s rapid expansion of renewable generation is creating a significant transmission capacity gap, leading to soared curtailment costs, delayed grid upgrades, and implications for industrial decarbonisation and economic competitiveness. The United Kingdom’s rapid build‑out of renewable generation has outpaced the growth of transmission capacity, producing a costly bottleneck that is redistributing value from consumers to asset owners and threatening the economics of decarbonisation projects. According to reporting by Energy News, grid constraints forced operators to pay generators £2.3 billion in the year through March to curtail output when transmission could not carry power from high‑wind regions in Scotland to…
Advancements in agentic AI, modular networks, and operational sustainability are transforming industrial supply chains, offering new pathways to reduce emissions and enhance resilience in the face of escalating environmental and geopolitical challenges. As 2026 progresses, supply chains are moving from reactive, labour-intensive networks to systems that combine autonomous decision-making, modular resilience and measurable sustainability, shifts that carry direct implications for industrial decarbonisation strategies. Agentic AI moving from pilot to production Artificial intelligence is no longer confined to forecasting or descriptive analytics; it is increasingly agentic, capable of identifying issues, making decisions and executing actions across procurement, logistics and demand planning.…
Despite a surge in offshore wind construction and record-breaking years, industry experts warn that political headwinds, supply chain constraints, and uncertain revenue models threaten the sector’s future stability into 2026 and beyond. The offshore wind industry enters 2026 in a paradoxical state: beset by a weaker investment case and political headwinds, yet physically busier than at any recent moment. Data from Clarksons Research shows 53 GW of offshore wind capacity currently under construction or post-final investment decision, and an unusually large pipeline of projects due to reach start-up over the next two years. According to Clarksons, an average of 19…
With widespread public concern over AI’s energy demands and employment impact, industry is exploring self-sufficient, colocated energy systems to mitigate community resistance and promote sustainable industrial growth. Artificial intelligence promises large productivity gains for industry, but public scepticism over its energy demands and employment effects risks undermining deployment unless policy and planning address those concerns. Public anxiety is tangible. According to a recent survey by the AI governance nonprofit Fathom, nearly 70% of Americans have used AI, yet roughly half expect “significant job losses” and fewer than half trust federal regulators to police the technology effectively. Gallup finds three in…
As Europe gears up for 2026, automakers navigate a transformed strategic landscape, balancing decarbonisation with industrial competitiveness amid rising Chinese competition and new policy reforms. The European auto industry enters 2026 confronted by a transformed strategic landscape that few executives recognise from previous transition cycles. What had been a largely one‑directional push towards battery electric vehicles is now intersecting with a renewed policy emphasis on flexibility, mounting competition from Chinese manufacturers and an urgent industrial agenda from Brussels that reframes the rules of the game. According to the European Commission, the Automotive Package presented on 16 December 2025 seeks to…
UKFT warns that 2026 will be a critical year as Europe transitions from consultation to enforcement of stringent sustainability rules, affecting chemicals, green claims, and product traceability in the fashion and textile sector. The UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT) warns that 2026 will be a decisive year for the fashion and textiles sector as Europe moves from consultation to enforcement on multiple fronts of sustainability regulation. According to the report by Textalks, regulators will advance rules that tighten controls on chemicals, product information and green claims while accelerating work on traceability and circularity through Digital Product Passports and ecodesign…
