Iridium Shortages Threathens Electrolyzer Potential

Because the availability of scarce raw materials such as iridium and platinum will become acute in the short term, there is a growing problem for the energy transition. By 2050, hydrogen production in the EU alone will require much more iridium than is currently produced worldwide every year.

[tno.nl] – Shortage of materials threatens planned green hydrogen production
[euractiv.com] – Metals needed for hydrogen production could get scarce, German authority warns
[sciencedirect.com] – Is iridium demand a potential bottleneck in the realization of large-scale PEM water electrolysis?
[wikipedia.org] – Iridium

[woodmac.com] – Why iridium could put a damper on the green hydrogen boom

World iridium supply is currently dominated by South Africa, as a by-product of platinum and palladium production. In 2018 South Africa accounted for 87% of global iridium production, with a further 8% coming from Zimbabwe and 3% each from Russia and Canada, according to the US Geological Survey. South Africa also has the great bulk of the world’s PGM reserves: about 91%, followed by Russia with about 6%, Zimbabwe with about 2% and the US with about 1%, again according to the USGS.

Translation: the BRICS hold almost all reserves. More illustration that Europe is entirely on the wrong path by letting itself being isolated from Russia by the US and its imperial adventures, that even had the audacity to bomb gas pipelines to Europe to ram hyper expensive LNG through our throats. We need to get rid of the US. Europe is the last colony in this world and that needs to end, fast.

The US and Renewables – Not Much Love Lost

The US = oil. The US rose on oil to geopolitical prominence, and it will come down with it. The US has no feel, let alone affinity, for renewables. Go visit the annual Intersolar renewable energy fair in Munich, like I did twice, to observe that the huge exhibition space is occupied almost exclusively by Germans and Chinese and that’s it. No serious American presence. The US is missing the renewable energy boat, with detrimental consequences for its future geopolitical status.

Without oil, the US empire would never have materialized. Unfortunately for us Europeans, that empire did materialize, at our cost. Oh, and it was all by design, forget about self-serving stories about an “accidental empire“. What is happening today in Ukraine, matches to a very large extent the events leading to WW2, if you map:

[parisberlinmoscow] – Ukraine for Dummies

[source] The secret behind a modern empire: energy. The Dutch exploited their iconic windmills and turned them into sawing machines, vastly increasing production of merchant and war ships. At some point, they had more than three times the amount of ships as the rest of the world combined, leading to global trade monopolies and spectacular wealth (“Golden Age“). Then came James Watt. The British Empire = James Watt, for 95%, not because of mysterious non-existing superior moral qualities of the Brit, that the Brexiteer loves to fantasize about, but coal and steam. Coal and steam enabled machines, trains and steam ships, superseding sail ships. Finally, the Americans came with oil and gas, superior to coal and steam, enabling cars, planes, submarines, which brought them 29% global GDP in 1941, sufficient to successfully attempt to set up the current US empire at the devastating cost for Europe. But, oil and gas are running out and the US is reluctant to jump on the renewable energy boat. Too bad for them. The US empire will tumble down, hand-in-hand with declining oil and gas production rates and Europe including Russia can start a new, united chapter in its history, as the first address on this planet again, after America.

Chinese Wind OEMs Outcompete West

[source]

China already dominates the solar photo-voltaic market, now it threatens to do the same with wind. While the West is raging with anger, foam on the lips, about the failed stealth attempt to incorporate Ukraine into its western empire, the big winner on all fronts is China.

Rising costs in Europe and the US are not being seen in China, meaning that locally made machines are now almost half the price of Western ones.

For western companies, the worst has yet to come, as it is busy to cut itself off from Russian resources, through inventing atrocity stories, courtesy SBU & MI6, that now all become available to China, no doubt at friendly reduced prices.

And then there is that petro-ruble story, where Russia mimics the US petro-dollar success story and begins to demand ruble for its resources. Hungary, Austria and Slovakia already said they will go along. There are estimates that the US owes 40% of its GDP to the dollar reserve currency status. Without that, the US would per capita fall back to the income level of Slovenia; they already had a fitting previous FLOTUS.

Where complete idiots like von der Leyen, Borrell and Michel are running the European economy into the ground with their insane sanctions regime, that hurt Europe much more than Russia, global economic dominance is handed over to China on a silver platter. Europe has no leaders, just water carriers of the US empire, that grinning succeeded in driving an enormous wedge between Europe and the rest of Eurasia. Europe failed to distance itself in time from the US. Kiss European prosperity goodbye. Soon you could very well have to worry about your next meal.

[rechargenews.com] – ‘Chinese wind turbine makers in a better place than ever to start displacing Western OEMs’
[rechargenews.com] – ‘We’re all in trouble’ | Wind turbine makers selling at a loss and in a ‘self-destructive loop’, bosses admit
[rechargenews.com] – ‘Russian invasion driving up wind sector costs just as they were starting to fall’: Nordex CEO

Crude Oil Price

[dailymail.co.uk] – Putin threatens to turn OFF gas pipeline to Europe as punishment for sanctions and warns oil will DOUBLE in price to $300 a barrel – as pressure grows on UK to reinvest in North Sea to shore up domestic supplies

Putin can always sell his oil and gas to China, after moving his European directed pipelines, leaving insane Europeans, who let themselves being pushed into a major conflict with Russia by a satanic US, that has no other motivation than to use Ukraine as a weapon to destroy Russia, with an economy raised to the ground. Forget about heating your home, forget about private car ownership, forget about flying to Spain with $300 oil and similar gas prices.

Dump brain-dead NATO!

[clingendael.org] – Macron’s Overtures Towards Russia Deserve Support, Not Scorn (April 2020)

It remains to be seen if #1 Dutch foreign policy think tank Clingendael has the guts to keep this article posted much longer, but even if not, the basic argument remains valid. Just in case they do remove the article, here is a copy.

These pipelines can easily be screwed loose and redirected to China, an absolute nightmare scenario for Europe. The Chinese will be glad to help the Russians securing Chinese energy supply. The only reason that hasn’t happened yet is that Putin is still resisting being pushed into Chinese arms for 100%, but if pushed too hard, he will.

A few examples of price explosions. The idea that Russia can be crippled by sanctions is ludicrous. The opposite is the case, Russia gets rich from it because the country sits on these basic commodities:

Rest assured that Russia will only deliver if the paid money can be accessed by Moscow.

Social Consequences of Soaring Energy Prices in Europe

NW European gas price almost €200/MWh and an electricity price of almost €500/MWh. Both exclusive of taxes and VAT. Both more than 10x higher than normal. Poor citizens and businesses. Europe (and NL) has maneuvered itself into an extremely unfortunate position with its energy policy.

[twitter.com] – Martien Visser

Note that these catastrophic numbers apply in an environment where Russia is still delivering fossil fuel to Europe. But Russia will cut those deliveries if it is pushed back into the corner even more. Since yesterday, they have actually made those noises:

[news.sky.com] – Ukraine war: Russia threatens to cut Europe’s gas supplies if oil ban goes ahead

All these touchy-feely snowflake yellow-blue flag wavers and US groupies should realize that by doing so they are destroying the economic foundations of their own society, leading to a Verelendung, Karl Marx could only have dreamed about. Expect an enormous upsurge of populism and the political right, already prevalent in France and Italy, that will seek to distance itself from the United States. Outside powers are already taking note:

[globaltimes.cn] – Russia-Ukraine conflict spurs more sentiment in France to leave NATO

The only good thing about this drama is that finally the military dams have been broken and Europe starts to rearm itself. Europe needs to become a nuclear armed military and economic superpower, that can prevail against all potential adversaries, most of all the United States, a superpower that eventually should include Ukraine, and yes even Russia, with or without Vladimir Putin. This necessity will be dictated by the rise of China, that soon will replace the United States as the next #1, with the US falling apart shortly after that, as a result of the growing polarization between the two political parties, that soon will go at each other’s throat:

[parisberlinmoscow] – The Unraveling of the United States
[parisberlinmoscow] – What Comes After the Three Anglo Empires?

The Brussels Effect

No, the EU doesn’t have military bases on foreign continents, nor aircraft carriers roaming the Seven Seas. Nevertheless, the EU is far more powerful than many suspect. The EU is the world’s standards setter. The quality of the Old Continent’s regulations pervade the entire world, not just Europe itself. In the context of this blog, the regulations and policies regarding renewable energy, as well as the goals enshrined in the Paris Accords are prime examples of how Europe makes its mark on the world.

The Finnish born globe-trotter and laywer Anu Bradford makes the case that Europe is anything but a declining and irrelevant power in the world.

[amazon.com] – The Brussels Effect: How the European Union Rules the World

90 Professoren Willen Groene Draai Geven aan Kabinets-formatie

[source]

90 hoogleraren van 16 nederlandse universiteiten hebben een brief geschreven naar de formateur met het verzoek om in het aanstaande regeringsakkoord opgenomen te krijgen dat Nederland koploper moet moet worden in de worsteling voor een groene economie, ipv Europese hekkesluiter te blijven.

Hoogtepunten:

…de vijf overgebleven kolencentrales in Nederland uiterlijk in 2020 sluiten. Verder vragen ze om snelle invoering van een kilometerheffing in het verkeer. Ze bepleiten een CO2-belasting voor de Nederlandse industrie, los van het gebrekkig werkende Europese systeem van CO2-beprijzing. Ze willen hoge fiscale heffingen op milieubelastende en energie-intensieve productie en consumptie. En ze vragen om een investeringsfonds voor duurzame innovaties.

[trouw.nl] – Hoogleraren: zet alles op alles voor een groene economie

Peak Oil Arrives At European Parliament

Youtube text: Benoît Thevard presents the conclusion of the report “Europe facing peak oil” at the European Parliament in November 2012. This study, commissioned by the MEP Yves Cochet, aimed to clearly redefine the contours of the oil situation, to place them in the current geopolitical and economic contexts, and to consider the potential impact on Europe (uploaded March 1, 2013).

[peakoil-europaction.eu]
[findupetrole.canalblog.com]