The Electrification of Everything is a Long Term Trend
And some amazing, hopeful new natural discoveries
Commodities Up, Stocks Down
As your Bitcoin and tech stock portfolios drop, good old fashioned commodities continue higher, especially in energy.
Oil is up as the industry enters what might be a permanent state of underinvestment before demand eventually plummets to nearly zero.
Meanwhile, all of the energy transition commodities - copper, nickel, uranium, lithium - are also well supported by strong market fundamentals.
Electrification of Everything
A New Hydrogen Economy
From the Middle East to West Texas, the energy transition away from fossil fuels will change the current balance of, well, power.
Established geopolitical dynamics are under threat and power is shifting and becoming more dispersed with renewables.
Hydrogen is a green way to store and transport renewable energy, and new technologies as well as dispersed production regions will upend current energy players and trading relationships.
+Geopolitics of the energy transformation: The hydrogen factor - IRENA
+Hydrogen power forecast to bring new dimension to energy geopolitics - FT
Uranium in Kazakhstan
Speaking of shifting geopolitics in energy, they say Kazakhstan is the Saudi Arabia of uranium.
Actually, with 40% of the market, it is all of OPEC and Russia rolled into one.
+The Kazakh crisis is only one threat hanging over the uranium market - Economist
How Green is your fuel?
Like the difference between blue and green hydrogen (blue requires natural gas in production, green is produced using renewable energy) discussed in the articles above, it is not only that we are shifting away from fossil fuels in transportation and electricity markets, but also in how industrial processes are fueled.
Many energy transition materials like hydrogen and lithium are produced in energy-intensive processes themselves. Therefore, production will shift to regions and countries where renewable energy is abundant.
“The aim is to demonstrate that lithium hydroxide, a key component of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, can be produced in Cornwall from naturally occurring geothermal water with a net zero carbon footprint,” GEL says
+The world is hungry for lithium. Geothermal energy could transform how it is source - CNBC
Where Will Seabed Mining Fit In?
Every metal and mineral related to the energy transition is or will be in short supply. Mining the seafloor promises new sources of these materials, but at what cost?
I was a little shocked to see this story considering where Australia stands on protecting its mining sector on land.
+Seabed mining ban in Australia’s Northern Territory is a win for marine life, fishing, and culture - Pew
Hope Lies In Preservation
It is well documented that we understand very little about our oceans despite our reliance on them.
Just this week, two insane discoveries were made that make you wonder what else is out there.
+A breeding colony of 60 million fish discovered off Antarctica - CNN
+Giant pristine coral reef discovered off Tahiti - BBC
Seafood
Deep in the seaweed wormhole the last couple of weeks. While the future of aquaculture in general is clearly strong, fish aquaculture will continue to face significant challenges - from fish food to waste production.
Seaweed is perhaps unique as a zero-input, carbon-sequestering natural product that can be used for everything from food to bioenergy to bioplastics.
Cool things will be coming from this space in the coming years.
+Seaweed Startup Investments Double in 2021 - The Fish Site
Full report here:
+State of the Seaweed Industry 2022 - Phyconomy
Beyond Food
+New seaweed plasterboard design provides safer, more sustainable building option - University of Canterbury
Offshore Wind
The UK currently can produce up to 10 Gigawatts of electricity from installed offshore wind and just awarded the rights to develop an additional 25GW.
The US has the urgent need to scale its offshore wind production in the next decade. This is a start (132MW), but we’re way behind other countries. Also, I find it disappointing that there still isn’t a domestic company in this space considering our expertise in offshore oil and gas production.
We ignore the offshore wind industry to our own detriment.
+Big boost to UK offshore wind production with Scottish auction - FT
+New York’s First Offshore wind project approved for construction - gCaptain
Shipping
Clean fueled ships moving clean fuels around. The future of shipping is so meta.
+NYK and Knutsen Group Launch Liquefied CO2 Shipping Company - gCaptain
Tourism
Because, of course…
+Norwegian cruise ship cancels midvoyage amid COVID-19-related issues - The Hill
Thanks for reading…
D