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World Energy News From the Communications Centre Contributed by Aristide Mbiock IJmuiden, NL, 25th June 2001 - Ref.:0106art12
Vattenfal sells-off Naturgas stake
- Ruhrgas expands further Sweden's Vattenfall holding has sold its dominating 51% stake in the natural gas division Vattenfall Naturgas to the four other shareholders. The move lifts the share of German gas supplier Ruhrgas and Norwegian oil and gas producer Statoil to 30% each. Danish gas incumbent Dong now owns 20%, as does Finland's gas company Fortum. "Ruhrgas sees good chances for Vattenfall Naturgas in an expanding Swedish gas market," said Ruhrgas board member Fritz Gautier. "The market potential can be found in the energy-intensive industry as well as in power generation." The company will be renamed after the deal has been completed. Vattenfall intends to concentrate on power as its core business. Vattenfall Naturgas sells about 10TWh annually in Sweden, where natural gas only has a share of 2% in primary energy consumption. Most of this is imported from Denmark. At the same time, Ruhrgas has become shareholder in two small gas distributors in Norway. The group acquired a 15% stake in Gasnor, which has an annual sendout of 40m m³, and 14% of Natugass Vest, which has just started business and sold only 0.4m m³ last year. Ruhrgas took over the shares from Norsk Hydro, which wanted to reduce its influence in the two utilities. Ruhrgas said the deal did not have anything to do with its interest in Statoil. It saw the downstream market in Norway as a 'good prospect,' it said. The purchase is still subject to Ruhrgas supervisory board approval. Shell Hydrogen and International Fuel Cells Establish
"HydrogenSource LLC" Fuel-Processing Joint Venture Shell Hydrogen U.S., a division of Shell Oil Products Company (Shell), and International Fuel Cells (IFC), a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), announced last week the formation of HydrogenSource LLC. The 50-50 joint venture will develop, manufacture and sell fuel processors and hydrogen generation systems for the emerging fuel cell and hydrogen fuel applications. "Fuel cells continue to emerge as the power plant of the future, and fuel processing systems are critical to the rapid commercialization of this game-changing technology," said Phil Snaith, President of HydrogenSource. "By combining the complementary technological and marketing strengths of both joint venture partners, HydrogenSource has the potential to become a global industry leader." HydrogenSource will design, manufacture and market fuel processing systems for commercial, residential and transportation fuel cell power plants, as well as distributed hydrogen fueling applications for retail or commercial filling locations. HydrogenSource will be headquartered in South Windsor, Connecticut. Its staffing is expected to approach 200 people by the end of next year, with the majority of personnel dedicated to research, development and engineering. The management team consists of executives from both joint venture companies. In addition to Snaith, the officers are Larry Holland, Vice President of Marketing; Fran Kocum, Vice President of Technology; Howard Farrer, Vice President of Operations; and Steve Evans, Vice President of Finance. "Hydrogen and fuel cell technology offer a promising future as we continue to pursue environmentally sound and reliable solutions for transportation and power generation, and we look forward to the growing opportunities for these emerging products," said Donald P. Huberts, Chief Executive Officer of Shell Hydrogen. IFC President Bill Miller said, "HydrogenSource brings together the world- leading technology and experience of two highly regarded players in their respective industries. This gives the new company the tools for success in fuel processing technology." Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that combine hydrogen fuel and oxygen from the air to produce electricity, heat and water. Fuel cells operate without combustion, so they are virtually pollution free. Since the fuel is converted directly to electricity, a fuel cell can operate at much higher efficiencies than internal combustion engines, extracting more electricity from the same amount of fuel. The fuel cell itself has no moving parts -- making it a quiet and reliable source of power. Fuel processors convert a hydrocarbon fuel, such as gasoline or natural gas, into a mixture of hydrogen and other gases. The hydrogen is then supplied to the fuel cell as one of the ingredients for its electrochemical process. Shell Hydrogen is a global business consisting of separate companies and other organizational entities within the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies. Shell Hydrogen was set up in 1999 to pursue and develop business opportunities related to hydrogen and fuel cells, and has its principle office in Amsterdam, Netherlands. International Fuel Cells is a world leader in fuel cell production and development for commercial, transportation, residential and space applications. IFC is the sole supplier of fuel cells for U.S. manned space missions. CONTACT: Media - New York - Mike McGarry of Shell Oil Company, 212-218-3107; or London - Cerris Tavinor of Shell International, 44-171-207-3045; or Paul Jackson, 860-728-7912, for United Technologies Corp. (UTX) US coal power technology seen saving $7
bln/year WASHINGTON - U.S. consumers could save up to $7 billion per year on their electricity bills as part of six new government-funded projects that will reduce pollutants emitted from coal-burning power plants, the Department of Energy said this week. The DOE will give six groups nearly $8 million in federal funding to design technologies that will reduce mercury emissions from 90 percent to nearly zero. The technology will reduce costs for coal power plants that would be passed to consumers."The cutting-edge projects we are announcing today provide a dual benefit - they can help safeguard the health of Americans while ensuring that we can continue to use the nation's abundant supplies of coal to generate affordable electricity," Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said in a statement. The DOE said that without the new projects, consumers could pay as much as $7 billion more per year on their electricity bills. Republican lawmakers agree that coal is a key component in the country's long-term energy outlook. But while coal is plentiful, traditional coal-fired power plants emit an inordinate amount of pollutants and gases into the air that contribute to both smog and global warming. Coal power plants accounted for more than 50 percent of all U.S. electricity generated in the U.S. last year, the Energy Information Administration estimated. By 2020, the United States is expected to consume about 22 percent more coal, according to the government. In its energy plan last month, the Bush administration proposed spending $2 billion over 10 years to help develop new technology to burn coal in the U.S. with less pollution. The DOE has targeted reducing emissions from power plants by 50 percent to 70 percent by 2005 and 90 percent by 2010. These new technologies will work with other processes that reduce pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emitted by coal.
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