GreenergyDaily
September 18, 2023
1. Today, according to Reuters, the European Union could become as dependent on China for lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells by 2030 as it was on Russia for energy before the war in Ukraine unless it takes strong measures, a paper prepared for EU leaders said. The document, obtained by Reuters, will be the basis of discussions on Europe's economic security during a meeting of EU leaders in Granada in Spain on Oct.
2. On Sep. 18, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Chinese-brand passenger car sales surged 21.2% YoY in the first eight months of 2023 to 8.48 million units, with a market share of 54.2%, 6.5% higher than the same period of 2022.
3. China has been leading in direct geothermal utilization on a global scale for many years, as reported by the World Geothermal Congress 2023 on Sep. 18. By the end of 2021, the country's geothermal heating and cooling capacity had reached a staggering 1.33 billion square meters. In 2020, China's installed geothermal direct utilization made up 37.7% of the world's total.
4. During the China-ASEAN Expo on September 16, an agreement was signed between SPIC's China Power International Holding and the Lao government for an investment and development project. The project aims to construct a large photovoltaic base in Oudomxay Province in northern Laos, which will generate electricity to be transferred to China for consumption. The first phase of the project is scheduled to commence in early 2024 and will reach full capacity in 2025.
5. On September 18, according to the General Administration of Customs of China, it was reported that China's rare earth exports in August increased by 1.2% YoY, totaling 9,618 tons. From January to August, China's cumulative exports of rare earths and their products reached 79,083 tons, a 1.6% YoY growth.
6. Recently, according to Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter, Blackstone Group is attempting to acquire Growatt for US$1 billion, and the transaction review is still ongoing and it is uncertain whether the transaction will occur. In this regard, according to the latest reports, Growatt founder Ding Yongqiang said that the news is untrue.
7. On Sep. 17, an offshore wind farm with 11 wind turbines, including the world's largest 16-MW ones, has been fully connected to the grid in SE China's Fujian, its operator said. The project can generate 360 mln kWh of electricity a year, cutting CO2 emissions by 283,800 tonnes annually.
8. On Sep. 17, CNOOC announced that six new oil fields in the Enping 15-1 oil field group located in the Pearl River Mouth Basin were fully completed and put into operation. The crude oil production will exceed 2.5 million tons.
9. On Sep. 18, CATL stated on its interactive platform that the company is currently developing civil electric manned aircraft projects, which will undergo aviation-grade standard testing. Additionally, CATL plans to release a car-grade version of its condensed matter batteries, which will be available for mass production in 2023.
10. On Sep. 16, Three Gorges Energy hoisted all 1.7 million kW wind turbines of its new generation green power station in Ulanqab City. The project is the world's largest Source-Grid-Load-Storage integrated demonstration project and China's first new energy station with an energy storage configuration of 1,000 MWh.
