Trump has called President Joe Biden’s climate change policies a “green new scam” and is expected to try to undo much of the present administration’s work, including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which gives tax breaks and subsidies to American and foreign companies investing in sustainable energy.

The 2022 law has encouraged European sector companies to grow or establish a US presence, but a second Trump presidency is causing them to pause.

“With Donald Trump who A) is very opportunistic, B) is highly controversial, and C) is very unexpected, you have to ask yourself whether it makes sense to take such a risk,” H2Apex CEO Peter Roessner told Reuters.

The corporation could have developed a hydrogen tank production unit in the United States for a third of USD 15 million under the IRA. Though the company had begun conversations with possible consumers, Roessner cancelled the idea in February 2024 due to concerns that Trump could be reelected.

Trump’s shooting at an election rally and Republican Party nomination days later increased market predictions that he would take back the White House in November this year.

Trump and Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic nominee with Biden-like climate beliefs, are closing the survey gap (in terms of who is ahead in the Presidential race). However, Roessner’s statements show Europe’s clean tech corporations’ concern about a Trump presidency and their preparations.

It might jeopardise USD 1 trillion in low-carbon energy investments by 2050, according to Wood Mackenzie.

Consultancy Roland Berger warned that while a full IRA repeal was unlikely, a Trump administration might threaten electric car, electric vehicle charging, solar power, and energy efficiency subsidies.

SMA Solar, a German solar company, warned of a possible government change in the United States, the world’s second-largest solar market after China, recently. While investigating sites in many states, the world’s top solar inverter maker hopes to locate a place for a planned production in the US by June 2024.

Boardroom Headaches

SMA told Reuters that it “is noting that the undetermined conclusion of the presidential elections in the USA is currently leading to certain hesitancy to invest in renewable energies locally.” Because of that hesitation, clean tech shares have underperformed global stocks since the assassination attempt. The RENIXX index measures the world’s 30 largest renewable enterprises.

Trump stated in May 2024 that he would attack the sector on his first day in office if reelected, hurting Orsted, the world’s largest offshore wind farm developer. Some renewable energy companies, however, seem unfazed by uncertainties.

German wind turbine company Nordex has already announced restarting production at a mothballed Iowa plant “regardless of political changes” because the United States will remain a major market for the venture.

However, some others claim delays as possible co-funding partners back out. Hydrogen producer Thyssenkrupp Nucera lowered its alkaline water electrolysis unit projection earlier in 2024 due to delays in US project investment choices.

The corporation stated it would be crucial to how the IRA programme will appear following the election while focusing on the world’s largest economy. It stated that strategic investors with a long-term emphasis on cleantech were more likely to resume projects earlier than opportunistic investors during uncertainties.

Norwegian rival Nel said it had yet to decide whether to invest in a Michigan production site, depending on US demand for its products. Election uncertainty in the world’s largest democracy is also affecting businesses outside of cleantech. German machinery giant Trumpf recently reported a 12% reduction in US sales for its 2023–24 fiscal year, citing “geopolitical uncertainty” that made industrial clients apprehensive.

Marcus Berret, global managing director at Roland Berger, while uttering these few words, “boardroom headaches have increased significantly,” said rising global complexity might cause “analytical paralysis” in investment decisions.

The post European clean energy companies face uncertainty ahead of US elections appeared first on International Finance.

Led by Claudio Spadacini, Dario Rizzi, and Francesco Oppici (veterans of over 15 years, with experience in developing, designing, and building more than 500 MW of geothermal, heat recovery, CSP, biogas, and biomass power plants based on proprietary innovative technologies), Energy Dome has become a scale-up company, making solar and wind power dispatchable using the proprietary CO2 Battery.

In today’s episode of the “Start-up of the Week,” International Finance will talk about the venture, which has only one mission: Start decarbonising the world on a priority basis, rather than “dreaming about tomorrow”.

Knowing The Start-Up In Detail

Energy Dome’s operational vision is simple: to rapidly decarbonise the grid with long-duration energy storage, in a cheaper, faster and efficient manner.

Energy Dome solves the problem of long-duration energy storage with a technology that is made with off-the-shelf components. The technology is scalable to the users’ needs, apart from being maintenance-friendly, while using sustainable materials such as steel and CO2.

“Energy Dome’s technology operates through a thermodynamic cycle, charging by drawing carbon dioxide from a ‘Dome’ gasholder, storing it under pressure, and then dispatching it by evaporating and expanding the gas through a turbine back into the gasholder,” the venture remarked further.

Let’s discuss Energy Dome’s solutions and products.

CO2 Battery

Energy Dome touts its patented CO2-based technology as the only alternative to expensive, unsustainable lithium batteries currently used for energy storage. The CO2 Battery is a better-value, better-quality solution that solves the user’s energy storage needs, so that he/she can start transitioning to alternative energy sources today.

The products featured include round-trip efficiency (75%+) AC-AC and MV-MV, highly competitive CAPEX (Capital Expenditures) and OPEX (Operating Expense), the flexibility of being constructed/assembled anywhere in the world, and increased durability as it can give the same amount of capacity/performance for over 30 years. Also, the product is made up of off-the-shelf eco-friendly components, while eliminating the dependence on rare metals such as lithium.

“The CO2 Battery is widely scalable on a global level thanks to the integration of well-known industrial components in a new, efficient, and cost-effective process. It’s a model where the same identical design can be deployed anywhere in the world. Every component we choose is standard, making the CO2 Battery a very simple and more economical solution, no matter where you are—a plug-and-play plant to solve the world’s biggest problem,” Energy Dome remarked.

Other Solutions

We started our article by mentioning about Energy Dome’s services like “Energy Storage As A Service” and “Buy Your Own Plant”. Now we will describe these in detail about these products.

Talking about “Energy Storage As A Service,” the start-up develops, funds, builds, owns, and operates the CO2 Battery long-duration energy storage plant.

“You simply enter into a long-term tolling power purchase agreement with us for the energy storage capacity. You’re in control at all times while we make sure the plant is consistently delivering what you need. You manage how to dispatch electricity according to your decarbonisation needs. It’s that simple,” it stated further.

The service provides key benefits to clients like no CAPEX requirement, cost-effective, fixed and predictable payment schedule. Also, Energy Dome manages and services the energy storage plants while ensuring it always delivers the output capacity the client needs.

The plant only needs an MV electrical connection and around 5 hectares/12 acres of relatively flat land for the infrastructure installation. All the client needs to do is find a suitable site for the project, following which the start-up takes over the remaining procedures like building, owning, and operating the plant.

Next is “Buy Your Own Plant,” which the start-up explained in the following words, “For those who need total control and want to capitalise on a longer-term investment, this solution is the best way to do it. Energy Dome supplies your CO2 Battery, which you and your team fully manage. Enjoy our performance guarantees and our assistance during all steps of your project.”

Energy Dome helps the client’s team during the development phase of the latter’s CO2 Battery project in various manners. “Buy Your Own Plant” has been designed in a way so that it remains installation-friendly, while keeping the environmental impact near to zero. The plant doesn’t emit emissions as it uses sustainable materials during its operation. Also during the operations, it doesn’t consume non-renewable resources like water, so staying ecologically sustainable in the process.

A CO2 battery, a crucial component of the “Buy Your Own Plant,” only needs an electrical connection to work.

“We charge in MV AC and discharge in MV AC by using standard synchronous generators and motors. Our standard frame 200MWh battery requires about 5he (12 acres) of land to be built. We can adapt the shape of the dome to fit your project boundaries,” the venture stated further.

“The CO2 battery is designed to minimise site construction activities; all components come on a pre-assembled skid, piping is pre-spooled, and electrical cabinets are containerised. Civil works foundations are minimal. You can have your CO2 battery in only 15 months, from the Notice To Proceed (NTP) to the Commercial Operation Date (COP),” it added further.

The CO2 battery-powered plant can be fully remote controlled, with minimum maintenance operations due to the use of a clean working fluid circulating in a closed controlled loop.

Energy Dome In The News

In October 2023, Energy Dome entered into a collaborative partnership with MAN Energy Solutions, a renowned provider of technology solutions in the energy sector. With the support of MAN Energy, Energy Dome wants to take its CO2 battery technology to new heights. This announcement was followed by the venture announcing funding commitments for its first CO2-based and innovative thermo-mechanical energy storage system to be located in Sardinia, Italy. The venue of the announcement was the COP28 Summit in Dubai.

In January 2024, Energy Dome was named on Cleantech Group’s “2024 Global Cleantech 100,” a comprehensive ranking of the most promising private companies in the cleantech ecosystem.

Energy Dome’s breakthrough product, the “CO2 Battery,” has helped the venture carve out a special place for itself in the cleantech sector. At a time when the global community is intensifying its focus on achieving net-zero goals, Energy Dome’s innovative approach can be the beacon of progress for the 21st century socio-economic order.

The post Start-up of the Week: Energy Dome’s ‘CO2 Battery’ Changing Cleantech appeared first on International Finance.