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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An assessment by the World Benchmarking Alliance reveals that while over a trillion dollars could be mobilised from the world’s most influential companies for low-carbon investments, significant gaps remain in corporate action on climate, nature, and social responsibilities, posing a challenge to meeting global decarbonisation targets. The World Benchmarking Alliance’s (WBA) assessment of the planet’s 2,000 most influential companies argues that a substantial slice of the finance needed for the net zero transition sits squarely within corporate balance sheets. According to WBA, at least $1.3 trillion could be mobilised into low‑carbon investments if these firms shifted capital away from high‑emission…
The Middle East and North Africa region enters a new phase of rapid energy growth in 2025, driven by record solar, wind, and storage capacity additions, signalling a shift towards large-scale, market-driven clean energy development and regional integration. The MENA energy transition moved decisively into a new, higher-growth phase in 2025 as the region deployed nearly 15 gigawatts of new solar, wind and storage capacity and accelerated development of hydrogen and grid-scale batteries, according to the Dii Desert Energy outlook presented during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. The report and complementary market data show a faster-than-expected shift from pilot projects to…
Indian Railways is rapidly transforming its locomotive fleet by integrating battery and hydrogen-powered trains, signalling a major step forward in its clean-energy modernisation and decarbonisation strategy amid infrastructure and industrial transitions. Indian Railways is accelerating a strategic shift away from diesel power, moving rapidly to integrate battery propulsion and low‑carbon fuels such as hydrogen into its locomotive fleet as part of a wider decarbonisation and clean‑energy modernisation drive. According to The Economic Times, the rail operator has stepped up plans to adopt battery and green‑fuel engines to lower greenhouse‑gas emissions, reduce dependence on fossil fuels and cut operating costs through…
As Australia shifts focus from traditional biofuels to chemically engineered drop-in fuels like renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, government and industry are investing heavily to cut emissions, support domestic supply chains, and maintain existing energy infrastructure amidst the push for net-zero emissions across sectors where electrification remains challenging. For many Australians, “biofuels” still conjure images of ethanol blends such as E10, limited compatibility, modest emissions benefits and a technology that never scaled. That legacy helps explain why ethanol faded from policy attention as solar and wind surged. What is now drawing serious investment and government backing, however, is a…
Researchers at the University of Stuttgart have created ‘Biobeton’, a load‑bearing material made from biomineralisation and human urine, offering a low‑carbon alternative to traditional Portland cement for prefabricated building components. Researchers at the University of Stuttgart have demonstrated a significant step towards a low‑carbon alternative to Portland cement by producing a load‑bearing “Biobeton” using biomineralisation and human urine as a feedstock. According to the university, the material is formed when urease‑active microbes precipitate calcium carbonate that binds packed sand grains into a stone‑like matrix without the high‑temperature kiln firing typical of conventional cement production. The Stuttgart team combined several process…
Telamon has entered a strategic partnership with Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies to prioritise low‑carbon, clinker‑free cement in its real estate projects, marking a significant step towards reducing the environmental impact of construction across France. Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies and Telamon have signed a strategic partnership aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of Telamon’s real estate and logistics developments, according to World Cement and Hoffmann Green’s announcement. Under the agreement, Telamon, a B Corp certified developer and investor, will prioritise Hoffmann Green’s low‑carbon cement in future projects, reinforcing its stated strategy of delivering high‑performance, sustainable assets with measurable environmental, social and…
A detailed sectoral assessment reveals that India’s transition to low-carbon “green steel” will be gradual and contested by economic constraints and resource limitations, with significant policy and technological challenges ahead. India’s shift towards low‑carbon “green steel” will be gradual and contested by economics and resource constraints, according to a detailed sectoral assessment by rating agency ICRA, with corroborating analysis from government and independent research organisations. ICRA’s report, “Decarbonising Indian steel sector: Green steel remains a long‑term aspiration”, finds that Indian primary steelmakers currently emit on average around 2.5 tonnes of CO₂ per tonne of steel (Scope 1 and 2), roughly…
A new report by Siemens and Latinometrics reveals Latin American manufacturers are rapidly transitioning from pilot projects to operational AI, driven by environmental and efficiency goals, with notable energy savings and CO2 reductions, but face challenges in scaling and talent acquisition. Latin American industry is shifting from experimental trials to operationalised artificial intelligence, driven as much by survival in a carbon-constrained economy as by efficiency imperatives, according to a new report by Siemens and Latinometrics. The Industrial Perspectives findings argue that “Industrial AI acts as a stabilizer that allows the pace of change to accelerate without compromising operational and strategic…
Research suggests that combining explicit carbon pricing with reformed VAT structures on food could significantly reduce Europe’s environmental footprint, encouraging shifts towards plant-based diets while safeguarding low-income households. A team of researchers led by C. Plinke, M. Sureth and M. Kalkuhl argues in Nature Food that the environmental footprint of European food consumption could be materially reduced through two complementary economic levers: explicit carbon pricing on food-related emissions and a reformed, progressive value‑added tax (VAT) that better aligns prices with environmental impact. The paper’s quantitative modelling shows that raising the price of carbon‑intensive goods and adjusting VAT rates across food…
A new study underscores how targeted deployment of wind, solar, electrification, and green hydrogen can significantly cut EU natural gas consumption by 2050, boosting both climate goals and energy resilience amid geopolitical tensions. The war in Ukraine exposed a structural vulnerability in Europe’s energy system: heavy reliance on imported natural gas that can be weaponised by geopolitics. A new modelling study led by researchers at Cornell University argues that targeted deployment of wind, solar, electrification and green hydrogen could cut more than half of the European Union’s natural gas consumption by 2050, while advancing climate goals and strengthening energy security.…
