Another day, another SAF venture: South Africa’s Sasol — the world’s largest producer of fuels and chemicals from coal and gas — and leading Danish decarbonization company Topsoe are joining forces to set up a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) joint venture, according to a joint statement released on Wednesday. The 50/50 JV “aims to develop, build, own, and operate SAF plants and promote SAF derived primarily from non-fossil feedstock, utilizing green hydrogen, sustainable sources of CO2 and biomass,” the statement said.

REMEMBER- The EU agreed in April to set binding targets for European aviation to boost its use of SAF in a bid to decarbonize the industry. The proposal aims to increase the use of SAF by ensuring fuel suppliers have 2% of the fuel accessible at EU airports as SAF in 2025, rising to 6% in 2030, 20% in 2035 and 70% in 2050. The EU carbon market is set to provide about EUR 2 bn to help airlines switch to SAF. Some 1.2% of fuels must also be synthetic fuels from 2030, rising to 35% in 2050. Aviation is a difficult sector to decarbonize and net zero aircrafts are not expected for another 10 years.

Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group launches a USD 1.5 bn climate finance platform: Japanese financial services company Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group has announced the launch of a USD 1.5 bn finance platform to help push climate investments to developing countries, Reuters reported on Thursday. The new green finance joint venture, Gaia, is backed by various UN organizations and aims to channel needed capital to some 20 mn people across 25 climate-vulnerable countries. Gaia, which will fund renewable energy and low carbon mobility ventures, will channel 70% of its funds toward climate adaptation projects and will allocate a quarter of its financing to small island countries and the least developed countries.

Anything for renewables for the Dutch: The Netherlands plans to raise subsidies for green hydrogen production by EUR 1 bn in 2024 and another EUR 3.9 bn in the following years, Reuters reported on Friday. It aims to have the capacity to produce at least 4 GW of green hydrogen in 2030 and grow it by two-fold in 2030, depending on the availability of wind power. “We want to significantly increase hydrogen production in the Netherlands, which is indispensable for reaching our CO2 reduction targets,” Dutch Climate Minister Rob Jetten said.

USAID will provide a five-year USD 88.9 mn grant to East and Central African countries to increase their clean energy production capacity and widen access to clean energy, according to a statement. The financing will go towards adding some 1.2 GW of renewable energy to the region and developing 1.5k km of electricity transmission lines to enhance connectivity to the region’s power grids. The grant will help support 10 mn on- and off-grid electricity connections, providing some 50 mn residents of the region with clean energy sources. Separately, the US Embassy in Nairobi said it would work to unlock c.USD 4.7 bn in public and private financing under its Power Africa program to support renewable energy projects in the region, Zawya reports.

France-based firms acquire Actis’ Africa-focused renewables company BTE Renewables: French energy firm Engie and Paris-based infrastructure investor Meridiam have signed an agreement with Atis to acquire its South Africa-based renewables firm BTE Renewables, the company said in a statement (pdf) last week. The agreement will add 50 MW of onshore wind and 190 MW of solar to Engie’s renewables assets, as well as a portfolio of more than 3 GW of “advanced development projects,” the statement said, without providing further details. Meridiam, on the other hand, will acquire Kenya’s 100 MW Kipeto wind farm and its neighboring 50 MW Siruai wind and storage project. The transaction is expected to close in 4Q 2023.

The sale was a long time coming: Last year, Actis was looking to sell its South African business BTE Renewables for around USD 1 bn and hired Citigroup as advisors.

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EU Carbon emissions could be up for a drop again: The EU’s greenhouse gas emissions could fall again starting this year on the back of a rise in renewable energy generation capacity, The National reported yesterday, citing statements by Goldman Sachs analysts. The EU’s emissions grew 9% from 2020-2022 after a growth in transport demand following the pandemic and a sizable gas-to-coal switch for energy generation. The Russian-Ukrainian crisis saw natural gas prices surge to record levels, pushing power stations to raise their coal use. The investment bank’s analysts see a continued growth in renewable energy capacity and a “more sustainable” transition away from coal and back into gas from 2025, which should help slash emissions in the bloc by another 16% by 2030.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• Australian grid operator Transgrid is investing USD 11.2 bn in energy storage systems and 2.5k km of transmission lines to prepare Australia’s New South Wales to rely 100% on renewables within 10 years. (Reuters)
• In the biggest ever award of its kind, the US Energy Department will provide up to USD 9.2 bn in a low-cost government loan to a joint venture between Ford Motor and South Korea’s SK On to help it build three battery plants in the US. (Reuters)
• VSK Energy LLC — a JV between Indian solar panel manufacturer Vikram Solar Ltd, US-based renewables investor Phalanx Impact Partners, and US financial services firm Das & Co — will invest USD 1.5 bn to build two solar panel manufacturing facilities in the US. (Reuters)
• Rolls-Royce Holdings is opening its first office in East Africa to produce sustainable fuels for electricity and to power locomotives and ships. (Bloomberg)