In the coming years, we will likey see a cement plant🪨🏭, Biomethane🌱 upgraders, two bioenergy plants, and a waste-to-energy plant with CCS in Denmark. I sympathize with the first two. I'm skeptical about bioenergy plants and waste incinerators with CCS.
More in my latest newsletter.
In the last round, 9 of 10 preselected applicants dropped out, all of them bioenergy🪵🔥 or waste-to-energy🗑️🔥 plants. Did I say 9? Well, 9 announced they were dropping out, but one mystery🔮 bidder decided to un-drop out. The tender ended with two bids.
A wide range of political parties supported the plans. Apart from a first offshore storage site, Denmark awarded subsidies💶. But those came with a catch: deliver on time - or face penalties.The winner of the 2023 tender, Ørsted with 2 bioenergy🪵🔥 plants, is already struggling with delays.
What happens if you offer generous subsidies💰 for Carbon Capture and Storage💨 - but you demand that projects deliver on time⏰?
In recent years, Denmark🇩🇰 has started a rollout of CCS technology. 🔌💡 🧵
industrydecarbonization.com/news/denmark...
This raised a question: are there policy options to change this, to let cleaner producers gain an economic advantage💶? It's complicated, maybe. Longer answer in my latest newsletter: industrydecarbonization.com/news/some-of...
They aren't alone. Many relatively climate-friendly Caprolactam factories in the EU🇪🇺 have been shut down or are in danger.
A curious fact about N₂O and the ETS💶 is that emissions from some chemical processes are covered, while others—like Caprolactam—aren't.
I showed that chart📉 in a presentation at #39c3, joking that there probably aren't many people asking themselves what the N2O emissions of Caprolactam production are, or what that even means. Hours later, I read that Domo Caproleuna, a German Caprolactam producer, had filed for bankruptcy.
Chart showing N2O emissions from Caprolactam in the EU, significant decline.
A Climate Success Story🎉 without a Happy End🙁?
This chart📉 shows something we would like to see more often: emissions are going down rapidly. Those are emissions of N₂O from the production of a chemical🧪—Caprolactam—used to make certain plastics&synthetic fibers.
🔌💡 🧵
Obviously, that does not look plausible, and is likely a data reporting error. Yet, despite having informed responsible authorities months ago, the EU emission database has not been corrected.
It is not the only strange issue in EU emission databases: industrydecarbonization.com/news/errors-...
More in my latest newsletter. And if you prefer a video, I presented this at the #39C3 - a recording is available: media.ccc.de/v/39c3-green...
In all likelihood, the data📊 was entered in the wrong unit🤷♂️
Less clear is why an ArcelorMittal steel🔩 plant & a Yara fertilizer🌾 plant in France🇫🇷 have diverging emissions for some years in the ETS and the EU's Industrial Emissions Portal. (Brought to my attention by @leonardstimpfle.bsky.social)
It's so much that it is hard to believe this really happened. And that is not the only odd thing I found in emission databases. Another factory in Iceland, Elkem's ferrosilicon plant, did not report CO₂ emissions for multiple years, and afterwards, they fell by a factor of 1,000 twice.
Was there a massive leak of a dangerous greenhouse gas in Iceland🇮🇸 in 2011-or was it a data📈 reporting error?
Emission databases show that the Norðurál aluminium factory🏭 released 60 tons of SF₆ in 2011 — but no such emissions in any other year. 🔌💡 industrydecarbonization.com/news/errors-...
🧵
thanks! good to hear that people liked my talk.
Thanks, @hanno.hboeck.de for a stunning investigation into major greenhouse gas reporting errors! Was a pleasure to translate your talk. #c3lingo
Two diverging curves for CO2 Emissions from an ArcelorMittal steel plant
The two curves here should be the same. Obviously, they are not.
If you are at #39c3 and want to learn about the unusual things I found in Greenhouse Gas Emission Databases, come to stage One at 11h
fahrplan.events.ccc.de/congress/202...
There's a livestream: streaming.media.ccc.de/39c3/one
Here's my recent newsletter about SF6: industrydecarbonization.com/news/super-e...
Another one of my readers, Erik Butter, contacted Stiftung Warentest. They went to their archives and shared a scan of the article.
I found sources mentioning that this was brought to Nike's attention by a German environmental magazine in 1992. I initially couldn't find out which magazine it was, so I asked my newsletter readers. I quickly got a reply that it was the Aug'92 Stiftung Warentest magazine (simply called "Test").
The article that highlighted a powerful greenhouse gas in Nike shoes in 1992 🌍👟
I recently wrote about high SF6 emissions from a factory in Germany. SF6 is the most powerful known greenhouse gas, and I also dug a bit into its history.
Until 2006, Nike used SF6 in its shoes.
/thread 🔌💡 🧵
The Worst Greenhouse Gas on Planet Earth: #SF6 💨🟡🌍🔥
Scientists have identified a factory in Germany emitting far more of the world's most damaging greenhouse gas than officially reported.
A short video presentation 🎥 🔌💡
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaJs...
I would take any "we can't do this thing (that we really don't want to do anyway, because we were elected on a pro-car agenda), because privacy laws" claim with a very huge grain of salt.
die 90% sind vermutlich aber ohne GO-exporte gerechnet oder?
A Solvay factory in Bad Wimpfen emits far more than reported. Solvay and local authorities are now in legal disputes over orders to reduce & measure emissions. It's probably safe to say that this is truly impactful climate research by Katharina Meixner, Andreas Engel, and their many collaborators.
It also has an extreme impact on the climate, with a 100-year global warming potential of ~24.000. Studies have warned that atmospheric measurements and reported SF6 emissions don't add up. And now, it looks like the research was able to find a major source of these discrepancies.
It's the worst known greenhouse gas, and a factory in Southern Germany emits a lot of it 🌍🏡💨🏭
Sulfur Hexafluoride or SF6 is a gas that has been used in Nike shoes (until 2006), Magnesium production, soundproof windows, and electric switchgear. 🔌💡 /thread 🧵
industrydecarbonization.com/news/super-e...
In collaboration with Belgian journalist Jelle De Mey, I wrote about massive SF6 emissions from a Solvay factory in Southern Germany for @apache.be
apache.be/2025/12/11/b...
De chemische fabriek van Solvay in Duitsland stoot jaarlijks 30 ton SF6 uit, het sterkste broeikasgas dat we kennen: 500x meer dan wat het bedrijf rapporteert. De overheid beveelt het Belgische bedrijf om de uitstoot te doen dalen, maar die eis vecht Solvay nu aan.
apache.be/2025/12/11/b...
To spare others the difficulty of writing Python🐍 code that simulates a user clicking links in a browser, I am also sharing download bundles of UNFCCC data: industrydecarbonization.com/docs/unfccc....
The UNFCC provides a data interface that allows searching the data, but it hasn't been updated for some years. Automated downloads of all Common Reporting Tables are actively prevented by a "Security Firewall"🔥🧱
