Electricity generated from wind energy will power the largest terminals in the Azov-Black Sea region of Russia as part of the programme of enterprises in the Russian logistics industry to switch to low-carbon energy sources, according to the Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom.
Last week, Rosatom subsidiary Atomenergoprom signed an agreement with Russia’s largest transport and logistics holding, Delo Group, for joint action to promote switching of logistics terminals to low-carbon energy sources, Rosatom said in a release. The agreement was signed by Delo Management Company CEO Igor Yakovenko and Rosatom’s head of Business Development Ekaterina Lyakhova.
“According to the agreement, from January 1, 2022, the terminals will be powered entirely by wind-generated electricity. KSK Grain Terminal and NUTEP Container Terminal became the first large port infrastructure facilities in Russia to announce a switch to renewable energy”, a Rosatom statement said.
“Rosatom is consistently implementing a strategy for low-carbon energy production based on nuclear and wind power. Currently, more and more companies are choosing the path to sustainable business development. In many ways, it becomes the key to competitiveness and long-term commercial success. And I hope that today’s (April 13, 2021) agreement is only the first step towards the switch of enterprises in the Russian logistics industry to low-carbon energy sources,” Lyakhova said.
According to Rosatom, the “green port” project will enable the use of electricity generated from low-carbon energy sources to facilitate exports from the Russia with minimal CO2 emissions, which, in turn, will affect the reduction in NUTEP and KSK’s estimate indicators in reporting on indirect greenhouse gas emissions and other indirect carbon emissions for their customers. Depending on the methodology adopted by the European Union (EU) the indicators could reduce the “carbon tax” on exports to the EU for Russian exporters.
According to Rosatom’s wind energy division NovaWind, “the potential reduction in CO2 emissions due to NUTEP and KSK switching to wind energy will amount to 6.8 and 5.7 thousand tons of CO2 per year, respectively (as compared to traditional sources of electrical energy, provided that they are based on burning natural gas).”
Meanwhile, in another major development in the area of renewable energy, Rosatom’s integrator company for the energy storage business, Renera, which is a subsidiary of Rosatom’s fuel arm TVEL, finalised a deal last month to acquire 49 percent share of South Korean manufacturer of electrodes, lithium-ion storage cells and energy storage systems, Enertech International. Rosatom said the agreement with Enertech also includes building a facility for manufacturing of lithium-ion cells and energy storage systems in Russia, with at least 2 gigawatt hours (GWh) production capacity by 2030. The start of the first stage of production is scheduled for 2025.
“The alliance with the Korean partner is a part of Rosatom’s strategic development of non-nuclear businesses. Energy storage is an end-to-end technology in Rosatom’s portfolio of new businesses, which makes it possible to create high-tech products which are in demand in the new technological paradigm”, a Rosatom statement said.
“Due to the combination of affordable prices and high performance, lithium-ion batteries have become the key component for development of environmentally friendly passenger transport – electric vehicles. Establishment of a world-class battery production enterprise in Russia would also become a landmark event for the national automotive industry. Reducing dependence on imports, associated commercial risks and, as a result, lower cost of the final products could become an incentive for production growth and widespread introduction of Russian-made electric transport”, it added.
In comparison with lead-acid batteries, lithium-ion storage systems allow several times faster accumulation and release of energy, the number of their operating cycles is three times longer, they are compact and do not require maintenance. According to Bloomberg forecasts, the annual demand for lithium-ion batteries in the next 10 years will grow 10 times, and by 2031, will amount to more than 2,000 GWh.
