Peter Tom Jones’ Post

"We live in the dictatorship of the vocal minority", that's one of Peter Tom Jones' statements in this new 38-minute podcast (In Dutch) about Europe's hashtag #criticalrawmaterials predicament. Acknowledgements to Cees van Lotringen to put this together. 🎧 List to the podcast "Op zoek naar het nieuwe verhaal" here: https://lnkd.in/eSFq4fkC “This is a wake-up call by Peter Tom Jones, director of the KU Leuven Institute for Sustainable Metals and Minerals (SIM2 KU Leuven). Topics covered include China’s brilliant mine-to-cleantech strategy; the Trojan horse: Build Your Dreams (BYD); non-recyclable Chinese batteries; the Critical Raw Material Act; BANANA thinking in the Netherlands and Belgium; and France striving for a vertically-integrated, long-term, mine-to-cleantech strategy." 🔔 Want to know more? Come to Ghent or Leuven for the panel debates about Europe's CRM strategy and the première of our new documentary "Europe's Mining Renaissance: A Catalyst for Climate Neutrality". 📣 24 March, Gent (Industriemuseum): "MO*talks". Panel: Thijs Van de Graaf, Peter Tom Jones, Wies Willems, Jan Franco - moderated by John Vandaele [More info: https://lnkd.in/e7uJQjX4] 📣 27 March, Leuven (DOCVILLE, Aula Vesalius): Premiere "Europe's Mining Renaissance: A Catalyst for Climate Neutrality) + panel debate with Ia Modin Modin, Julia Poliscanova (she/her), Nick Meynen, Peter Tom Jones - moderated by John Vandaele [More info: https://lnkd.in/exUHvaur] 🎬 "Europe's Mining Renaissance" - Synopsis. The #CriticalRawMaterialsAct sets benchmarks for diversifying Europe’s critical raw materials supply chains, making Europe less dependent on China, Russia et al. By 2030 Europe needs to achieve at least 10% of domestic extraction of #lithium, #cobalt, #nickel, #copper and #rareearths. Hence, Europe will need no less than a Mining Renaissance. Not the dirty #coalmining of old, which fuels the global heating problem, but future-oriented, #responsiblemining of the metals that are needed to catalyse Europe’s climate change strategy. 🎞 Trailer of documentary: https://lnkd.in/eJfJ6Jzs 🙏 The team: Stijn van Baarle (STORYRUNNER) Peter Tom Jones Michael Van de Velde Jerome De Meyere Casimir De Kimpe Marius Acke Jasper Vander Elst https://lnkd.in/dbekrJQM

Reality of Green Hydrogen in EU Steel Production: Debunking the Hype The buzz around green hydrogen as the saviour of green steel production in the EU has been palpable, but are we truly on the brink of a revolution, or are we at the peak of inflated expectations in the green hydrogen hype curve? Insights from industry leaders like Geert Van Poelvoorde sheds some light on the complexities ahead. - Green Hydrogen Price: Forecasts suggest that by 2030, green hydrogen prices are unlikely to dip below €5/kg, presenting a substantial barrier for potential off-takers. - Short-term challenges: Escalating capital expenditure, increasing renewable energy costs, and historically low gas prices create a challenging environment that doesn't incentivise the adoption of green hydrogen at scale. - Profitability Conundrum: Kudos to Mr. Van Poelvoorde for his candid acknowledgment that green hydrogen-based steel production may not be financially viable for the European steel industry at large. His stance prompts a critical question: Who will shoulder the burden of this green inflation? Charting a Path Forward: Amidst these challenges, a pragmatic approach emerges. Instead of forcing green hydrogen into domestic steel production, could the EU focus on sourcing Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) and green slabs from regions with cheaper green energy, leveraging global dynamics for competitiveness? Let's continue this dialogue, acknowledging the realities while exploring innovative solutions to navigate the path towards sustainable steel production in the EU. It's not just about hype; it's about finding practical solutions for a greener future. #GreenHydrogen #EUSteel #Sustainability #FutureofIndustry

Biomass and BECCS: Climate solution from Ecological disaster? Despite opposition worldwide, governments continue to invest millions in biomass. The biomass industry wants to triple production with BECCS. This way we save the Climate! What do you think? Check it out 👇 new video 🎥 #biomass #BECCS #forest #climate #video #breaking

"How (cleantech) industry can save both Europe AND the climate", the title of a quite intimate interview published in the Belgian newspaper De Morgen today. The interview is an edited version of “Former climate activist defends more (metal) mining and factories in Europe” published in the Dutch newspaper Trouw (Daan Marselis). Peter Tom Jones calls for an integration of the #EUGreenDeal targets with a profound #IndustrialDeal. Climate targets AND the hardware and business cases to achieve them! This interview covers his personal journey from being an environmental activist/author to his present role as Director of the KU Leuven Institute for Sustainable Metals and Minerals (SIM2 KU Leuven) and documentary presenter on made-in-Europe mine-to-cleantech value chains. 🗨 Some quotes: “To counter China’s power, the European Union must adopt a ‘strategic industrial policy,’ where supply chains for clean technology are established as much as possible within the EU, Jones believes. The fact that Mario Draghi (former head of the European Central Bank) reached a similar conclusion at the request of the European Commission in early September shows that Jones’ message is timely.” “Many people think that we can thrive with a service economy where we comfortably engage in banking and software development, but without manufacturing, the service economy cannot continue to exist,” he says. “Therefore, Europe must ensure that the #energytransition is accompanied by the development of its own #cleantech industry, which offers future-oriented jobs.” “His new pro-mining and industry-friendly tone does come with a downside. In Leuven, he became known for his plan to make the city climate-neutral. Old comrades from the climate movement accuse him of abandoning the idea of #degrowth and failing to adequately highlight the negative consequences of mining in his films, such as high water consumption, leakage of mining waste, and loss of habitat. Conversely, Jones’ understanding of some more radical climate and environmental organizations has also diminished. ‘They are for a #climateneutral society, but against the industries that need to help make the necessary cleantech. I can only explain such tunnel vision by a lack of scientific and technical knowledge.’" 👉 On-line version: https://lnkd.in/evHQxpyG 🎬 Watch our documentary "Made in Europe, from mine to electric vehicle": https://lnkd.in/eE9k9smN Team: Director: Stijn van Baarle ( STORYRUNNER). Presenter: Peter Tom Jones (SIM2 KU Leuven / SOLVOMET R&I Centre). 🎬 Forthcoming documentary: “Europe’s #lithium paradox”. Next filming location: Serbia, #Jadar project. We are #crowdfunding: https://lnkd.in/gh_Prrnv Judith Kirton-Darling industriAll Europe AVERE - The European Association for Electromobility Eurometaux (European Metals Association) Susana XARÁ

With a new top executive considering one of the worst polluters by extraction of fossil resources, which until now has excelled mostly in greenwashing is going to slow the pace of reduction CO2 emissions even further. Shell is considering reducing its own CO2 emissions at a slower pace, reports news agency Bloomberg based on insiders. The oil and gas group is working on a new version of its climate plans. A team at Shell was asked to examine various options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and present them to top management. Shell tells Bloomberg it is looking forward to publishing the new strategy. It is expected to appear on Thursday. Under former top executive Ben van Beurden, Shell introduced a plan in 2020 to achieve zero net CO2 emissions by 2050. The company is regularly criticized for its own climate plans, alleging a lack of concrete interim targets in line with the Paris climate agreement. In combating emissions, Shell focuses mainly on the CO2 intensity of its products, i.e. the amount of greenhouse gas released per liter of gasoline sold, for example. About three years ago, Shell promised to reduce CO2 intensity by 20 percent by 2030 compared to 2016. By 2035, that should be 45 percent. New top Shell executive emphasises shorter-term shareholder value. One criticism of this is that the targets are not about the absolute amount of CO2 released into the air by Shell. So even at a lower intensity, more CO2 could still end up in the atmosphere. Van Beurden's successor Wael Sawan emphasized last year after taking office that Shell must above all become a more valuable company for investors. As a result, profitability must also become more central to green projects. Shell also wants to expand the extraction of fossil gas. Shell and other European oil and gas companies lag behind American competitors such as ExxonMobil in terms of market capitalization. BP recently announced its intention to pump up more oil and gas than previously planned, hoping to close that gap. https://lnkd.in/eftCjeeM

Donatello Piras and Ruth Oei-Abraham, many thanks for the chance to comment on the ESG fund withdraw news item! As mentioned this is not like the dot-com era, where all was baked air(; The current ESG / Renewable investments are based on actual projects and scaleup companies with very promising technology solutions. Some will not make it, but we believe that these, future energy solutions, will give investors a healthy return in the (longer) run.

Now that the ‘sustainability image’ of biomass has thoroughly been damaged, BECCS (‘undersea capture and storage method of C02’) is acting as a Trojan horse to bring in billions of euros in subsidies and thus give biomass a second life. Claiming that there is a “rapid greening” and that biomass is structurally declining are therefore somewhat bold claims that do not do justice to the current, miserable state of climate and ecology. #biomass #climate #energy #forests #nature

Renewable hydrogen without electricity

Happy to see that the report is more robust and has a more #integral view on the issue that the headline of this article suggests ..... Business positioning on EU’s Net-Zero agenda through an economic analysis of the key issues regarding industry competitiveness and security of supply. Very much needed to counter political delusions of the day and wishful thinking of some activist movements. Key takeaways: Net-Zero, security of supply and competitiveness can be reconciled through enhanced EU-level coordination, planning, and support for an efficient transition 🎓Ensure the efficient implementation of current energy and climate policies through enhanced coordination and monitoring 🔌Address the energy price competitiveness gap and security of supply challenges ♻ Support an efficient transition of industrial sectors and reinforce policies to mitigate the risk of carbon leakage

Verandering CO2 emissie in 2023 ziet er niet goed uit. Werldwijd een toename van 6% Zie https://lnkd.in/eFjkXBij China, the United States, and India are not only the largest emitters when it comes to the energy sector, but also in overall emissions. According to the Global Carbon Atlas, these top three emitters accounted for over half of the world’s CO₂ in 2021. India, the third-highest carbon emitting country, is investing heavily into its coal production, announcing plans to double its coal production to 1.57 billion tonnes by 2030. Coal made up 56% of the country’s primary energy consumption in exajoules in 2023.