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NEWS UPDATES
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GLOBAL
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SHELL PLANS TO DOUBLE DOWN ON RETAILER STRENGTHS IN NEW NET-ZERO WORLD
HYUNDAI REVEALS ULTRA-FAST EV CHARGING
RUSSIA PIPELINE PIVOTS TO HYDROGEN
Royal Dutch Shell unveiled its plan to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
The plan focuses heavily on selling low-carbon electricity, biofuels and hydrogen directly to households and electric vehicle owners.
South Korean auto group Hyundai is set to roll out an electric vehicle charging service platform called E-pit that will become part of the carmaker’s future ecosystem of clean energy vehicles.
The new platform will charge 80 percent of a vehicle’s battery in just 18 minutes.
While the future of Russia’s NordStream 2 pipeline is still uncertain, sources are reporting that Moscow has been investing in the production of hydrogen, potentially aiming to make it flow through the pipeline.
This pivot could be in response to the European Commission putting hydrogen at the forefront of its recovery agenda.
The two companies announced they intend to extend and speed up the deployment of ultra-fast electric vehicle charging facilities at BP retail sites across the UK, Germany, and elsewhere in Europe.
Ballard Power Systems announced that its FCmove® fuel cell module is powering the first-ever Fuel Cell Electric Bus (FCEB), manufactured in New Zealand.
BALLARD NOW POWERING NEW ZEALAND’S FIRST FUEL CELL ELECTRIC BUS
SHELL SEARCHING FOR AUSTRALIAN EV CHARGING AND HYDROGEN OPPORTUNITIES
Shell has announced it is actively looking for the ‘right opportunities’ to expand its EV charging services in Australian electric vehicle charging and hydrogen production.
TESLA WANTS AUSTRALIA TO CHANGE ROAD LAWS FOR ELECTRIC SEMI-TRUCK
Tesla Inc. has called on Australia to ease vehicle-size limits so the company’s electric truck can legally fit on the country’s roads.
Local laws cap a vehicle’s width at 2.5 metres, and the company’s first generation of electric heavy trucks tend to be wider by 34 millimetres, meaning its electric trucks cannot legally fit on Australian roads.
UNITED STATES
CARBON TAXES WIN ANOTHER ENDORSEMENT FROM THE U.S. OIL LOBBY
The same day as Canada’s Supreme Court decision, the American oil lobby came out in favour of carbon pricing. The country’s main oil-industry group, the American Petroleum Institute, endorsed carbon pricing as part of its 13-page list of proposals for climate action. FLORIDA SENATE COMMITTEE OKS FLAT FEE FOR EVS, HYBRIDS The Florida Senate Committee on Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development passed a new fee on electric and hybrid vehicles, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. The committee also approved a proposal to create a network of electric vehicle charging stations throughout the state.
If adopted, the tax would pay for road maintenance and fund grants for charging stations.
THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY IS TALKING ABOUT ESG
A Bloomberg analysis of conference calls involving some of the largest oil and gas companies in the U.S. showed Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) was a significant part of their discussions.
Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., and Kinder Morgan Inc. were some of the companies on the calls.
OHIO LAWMAKERS REGISTER SUPPORT FOR THE ENBRIDGE PIPELINE
Ohio state lawmakers are urging the governor of Michigan to stop plans to shut off the flow of crude oil through the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline in light of the threat of job loss.
MIDWEST ENERGY JOINS EV CHARGING NETWORK
Midwest Energy announced it has entered into a collaboration with nine investor-owned utilities, promoting the construction of a multi-state network of electric vehicle charging stations throughout the Midwestern U.S.
HOW LONG UNTIL ELECTRIC CARS RULE THE ROAD?
According to a New York Times article, slow fleet turnover is a significant challenge for climate policy.
To meet the goal of net-zero emissions with a fully electric fleet by 2050, sales of gasoline-powered vehicles would likely have to end altogether by around 2035.
Right now, fewer than 1 percent of vehicles on America’s roads are electric. Automakers are shifting to electric cars, which analysts predict will make up one-quarter of new sales by 2035.
Futures in New York climbed above $65 a barrel, while the U.S. dollar was trading lower. Gasoline inventories have declined by more than 25 million barrels in the last two weeks, while a measure for consumption expanded last week to its highest level since November.
MEDIATOR APPOINTED IN LINE 5 DISPUTE
A retired United States federal judge will now act as a mediator in the dispute between Enbridge and the State of Michigan over the continued operation of the Line 5 pipeline.
In February, both sides of the dispute were ordered by the U.S. District Court to jointly propose a mediator.
ARGUMENTS MADE IN APPEALS COURT OVER ENBRIDGE’S LINE 3 PROJECT
The Minnesota Court of Appeals heard arguments over Enbridge’s Line 3 replacement project in northern Minnesota. Construction on the replacement pipeline started in December of 2020 after a construction stormwater permit was granted by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
The Minnesota Department of Commerce, along with the Red Lake Band of Chippewa, the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and several Indigenous and environmental groups, argued before the three-judge panel that Enbridge failed to show long-term need for the Line 3 project.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals is expected to issue a decision by June.
NATIONAL
PIPELINE REGULATORS IN CANADA TO COMMIT TO RECONCILIATION WITH INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES
The federal body which reviews pipelines, cross-border power lines, and some oil and gas activity in Canada’s North, the Canada Energy Regulator (CER), now says it’s committed to systemic change. Indigenous communities have long accused the CER and other energy-sector review bodies of prioritizing the interests of the fossil fuel industry over those of First Nations. Conservative leader Erin O’Toole has reaffirmed his stance that a federal carbon price is not the way to tackle climate change.
O’Toole said his approach would focus on partnering with the provinces.
WESTERN REGION
BRITISH COLUMBIA, PIPELINE FIGHTS TO RAMP UP WITH SPRING
The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and Coastal GasLink face resurging opposition across the province as urgency around the future of the pipelines in Ottawa grows following the Keystone cancelation and the Trudeau and Biden climate summit planned for next month.
Indigenous leaders announced they are beginning a new wave of action against the projects this month.
WESTPORT FUEL SYSTEMS ACHIEVES SUCCESSFUL TESTING ON HYDROGEN-FUELED INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE
Westport Fuel Systems Inc., a global leader in alternative fuel, low-emissions transportation technologies, announced a successful start-up and initial trials of a heavy-duty internal combustion engine running on hydrogen (H2) fuel.
The company has its headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia.
BRITISH COLUMBIA GOLF CART COMPANY EXPANDS INTO THE ELECTRIC CAR MARKET
The Okanagan company Vernon’s SC Carts is tapping into the low-speed electric car market. Its NXT City electric car has a top speed of 40 km per hour and is to be used in designated communities.
ALBERTA ASKS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO COMMIT $30B TO ADVANCE CARBON CAPTURE TECHNOLOGIES
OILPATCH SET TO SHED MORE JOBS, WITH LABOUR SHORTAGE ON THE HORIZON
COVENANT ENERGY PREPARES TO MEET THE COMING DEMAND FOR RENEWABLE DIESEL CROSS-CANADA PIPELINE TO REPLACE LINE 5 WOULD BE A CHALLENGE
IRVING OIL DROPS ITS APPLICATION FOR PRICE HIKE
Alberta is asking the federal government for $30 billion in funding to explore carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies. News of the request was first reported on Monday morning by the Globe and Mail, who said it was outlined in a “discussion document” obtained by the publication ahead of the next federal budget.
The Edmonton-based clean-tech company Innovative Fuel Systems Ltd. announced its technology rollout with Westcan Bulk Transport Ltd.
The Multi Fuel Technology Platform, which allows diesel-burning heavy-duty engines to utilize a substantive amount of cheaper, cleaner-burning natural gas, is to be implemented on some of Westcan’s Edmonton-based and interprovincial routes as part of the rollout.
A new report indicates employment in the oil and gas sector will shrink again in 2021, following a 2020 decrease of more than 20,000 jobs in Canada’s oil and gas sector due to the pandemic.
However, the industry is expected to add jobs in the following two years, and there are already concerns about labour shortages popping up in some key areas this year.
Covenant Energy, a Saskatchewan-based renewable fuel innovator, provided an updated plan on its renewable diesel facility.
The facility will be constructed in Southern Saskatchewan to produce 6,500 barrels a day, or 300-325 million litres per year.
This is in response to the Government of Canada’s draft Clean Fuel Regulations and commitments to attain net-zero emissions. A senior executive from Enbridge Inc. told MPs they must prioritize fighting to keep Line 5 as building a cross-Canada pipeline to replace it would be even harder to achieve.
The senior executive was speaking to the special House of Commons Committee on the Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States, which is studying the governor of Michigan’s order to shut down Line 5.
Irving Oil has notified the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board it is dropping its application for an increase in petroleum wholesale margins four days before it was scheduled to answer dozens of questions about the request.
