🇪🇺 Europe's busy week

Good Morning. This is the Sunya Scoop. The newsletter that takes energy transition news and turns it into an easy-to-read email for you.

Here’s what we have for you today:

• H2B2, green hydrogen platform, goes public via SPAC

• Ørsted awarded contract to capture and store 430,000 tons CO2

• EU countries target 42.5% energy from renewables by 2030

• Vietnam approves $135 billion in power projects

• Activist Elliot pushing for changes at NRG

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HYDROGEN

H2B2, green hydrogen platform, goes public via SPAC

• H2B2 Electrolysis Technologies, a global green hydrogen platform, is set to go public on the NASDAQ via a proposed business combination with RMG Acquisition Corp. III.

• H2B2 provides integrated green hydrogen production solutions, including designing, building, owning, and operating production facilities. It also manufactures electrolyzers of varying scales.

• The green hydrogen energy market is expected to surpass 60 million tonnes globally by 2030.

• H2B2 has gained momentum with several recently awarded projects, including an 18MW green hydrogen facility in Rørvik, Norway.

• The proposed business combination is expected to be backed by a private capital raise and/or a PIPE transaction, with an equity value of $750 million ascribed to H2B2.

• The business combination and capital raise are expected to fund H2B2’s near-term project pipeline and assist in scaling its operations.

• H2B2's stockholders will roll 100% of their equity holdings into the combined public company.

• H2B2 has a role in several strategic projects in the US, Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific, and has been approved to receive up to €25 million from the European Commission for development and manufacturing.

• The California Energy Commission awarded H2B2 a grant for a green hydrogen production facility, which is expected to begin production in May 2023.

• H2B2 has also entered the Indian market via a joint venture, and has been welcomed as a strategic partner by Ecopetrol, Colombia's leading oil company.

• The proposed transaction is unanimously approved by the boards of directors of RMG and H2B2, and is expected to close in the second half of 2023.

• Upon closing, the surviving corporation will be named "H2B2 Electrolysis Technologies, Inc." and its shares are expected to be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

CARBON CAPTURE

Ørsted awarded contract to capture and store 430,000 tons CO2

• The Danish Energy Agency has awarded a 20-year contract to Ørsted for its carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, 'Ørsted Kalundborg Hub'.

• The project involves establishing carbon capture at the Asnæs Power Station in Kalundborg and the Avedøre Power Station in the Greater Copenhagen area.

• Starting in 2026, the project aims to capture and store 430,000 tonnes of biogenic CO2 annually.

• Ørsted is partnering with Aker Carbon Capture, who will provide carbon capture units to the power stations.

• The captured CO2 will be shipped to the Northern Lights storage reservoir in the Norwegian part of the North Sea.

• The project aims to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, creating negative emissions.

• Microsoft has agreed to purchase 2.76 million tonnes of high-quality, carbon removal over 11 years from the Asnæs Power Station.

• The carbon capture process will be integrated with the power plants, enabling district heating in Kalundborg and the Greater Copenhagen area.

• The project is expected to regenerate surplus heat for approximately 31,000 Danish households in total.

• Construction of carbon capture units at Asnæs and Avedøre combined heat and power stations is expected to begin in June 2023.

RENEWABLES

EU countries target 42.5% energy from renewables by 2030

• European Union (EU) countries are set to finalize a new target to achieve 42.5% of the bloc's energy from renewable sources by 2030, as indicated in the final version of a new law.

• This initiative is part of the EU's broader efforts to decarbonize their economies to combat climate change and ensure energy security by developing a European green industry, reducing reliance on any single country for energy.

• The final law, which EU diplomats will review soon, solidifies a political agreement reached with the European Parliament at the end of March.

• Though the final text still requires formal approval from EU countries and the European Parliament, this step is typically a formality that approves the deal without any changes.

• The new law replaces the EU's existing target of a 32% share of renewable energy by 2030, establishing a binding new goal of 42.5%, and suggests member states should aim for 45%.

• For the transport sector, the law would require member states to reach at least a 29% share of renewables or reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of their transport sector by at least 13%.

• EU states are required to increase renewable energy use in industry by 1.6% a year. By 2030, 42% of the hydrogen used in industrial processes must be derived from renewable energy, increasing to 60% by 2035.

• The final law allows countries to reduce their renewable fuel targets for industry by 20%, if less than 23% of their hydrogen is produced using fossil fuels in 2030. This provision supports countries using nuclear energy to displace fossil fuels from their energy mix.

POWER AND UTILITIES

Vietnam approves $135 billion in power projects

• Vietnam's Prime Minister has approved a power plan, known as PDP8, requiring $134.7 billion to develop new power plants and grids between 2021 and 2030.

• The plan is aimed at ensuring energy security for Vietnam, accounting for an anticipated annual gross domestic product growth of 7% during this period.

• By 2030, the plan envisages that half of office buildings and homes in Vietnam will be powered by rooftop solar panels.

• The country also plans to generate green energy for exports, targeting 5-10 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.

• A draft of PDP8 indicates the plan will more than double the country's power generation capacity to 158 GW by 2030, up from 69 GW at the end of 2020.

• By 2030, power plants using domestic gas and imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) will be the main source of the country's power generation, accounting for 23.6% (or 37.33 GW) of the total.

• Coal will account for 19% of the energy mix by 2030, followed by hydropower (18.5%), wind energy (17.6%), and solar power (13%).

• The draft plan also indicates that Vietnam aims to stop using coal for power generation by 2050.

POWER AND UTILITIES

Activist Elliot pushing for changes at NRG

• Activist investor Elliott Investment Management LP is advocating for significant changes at NRG Energy, a U.S. power company.

• This is the second time in six years that Elliott has taken a position in NRG and is pushing for reform.

• Elliott wants NRG to appoint five new independent board members and to reverse its recent acquisition of home security firm Vivint Smart Home Inc.

• Elliott disclosed a more than 13% economic interest in NRG, valued at approximately $1 billion.

• Upon news of Elliott's involvement, NRG's shares initially rose by 4.5%, before settling at a 3% increase.

• Elliott is urging NRG to implement $500 million worth of cost cuts and to conduct a strategic review to help the company refocus on its core business of supplying power.

• Elliott also suggests selling NRG's home services unit, including Vivint, which was acquired in a $2.8 billion cash deal completed in March.

• Elliott's recommendations, along with a new capital allocation framework to return at least 80% of free cash flow to shareholders, could create over $5 billion of shareholder value and potentially raise NRG's stock price above $55 in the next 18 months.

• In 2017, Elliott and NRG reached a settlement agreement that resulted in the appointment of two board members and a revised business plan for NRG which included asset sales and debt reduction.

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.