News

The birth of the hydrogen-powered society

Hydrogen can be used to produce low carbon fuels for domestic heating and industrial processes or combined with air in a fuel cell to produce electricity. With a rising focus in the European Union on the effective integration of renewable energy, the importance of electric vehicles and reliable, resilient energy supply, energy storage is becoming an increasingly important factor in the electricity ecosystem. Chemours, a global leader in Proton Exchange Membranes, is developing new Nafion™ solutions to meet this demand for cleaner energy to produce electricity, and to power mobility.

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Reducing carbon footprint with IoT technology

The European Union wants to get at least 32% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030 and is aiming to be climate-neutral by 2050. To keep stability in the energy system, there has to be a balance between production and consumption of energy. Cisco has developed technology solutions to help utility providers collect, visualise and efficiently analyse critical data on the network and the flux of energy entering and leaving that grid. This allows for prediction on how much energy is available or consumed at a given time to keep stability in the energy system.

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US lifts restrictions on transatlantic travel

The American Chamber of Commerce to the EU (AmCham EU) welcomes the decision by the US Administration to lift travel restrictions for vaccinated travellers from the EU and other countries as of November. This announcement is an important step for many citizens, but also for global companies that rely on travel for their operations. Transatlantic cooperation on the re-opening of our economies, including lifting restrictions in a safe and coordinated manner, is critical to a strong recovery on both sides of the Atlantic. This positive decision can also help strengthen EU-US relations overall.

Utilising geothermal energy to power industrial sites

Janssen’s Beerse campus in Belgium is one of Johnson & Johnson’s largest campuses worldwide. In 2019, a geothermal energy project was started that involves drilling wells about 2.5 km deep, pumping up hot water from deep within the earth to generate heat for use on the property before returning it to the earth. With completion expected by Autumn 2021, the installation of this fourth-generation smart heat grid will cut 30% of CO2 emissions at that property and can save 15,900 metric tons of CO2 per year.

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Tackling the methane challenge with gas cloud imaging

The ambitious European Green Deal calls for zero net emission of greenhouses gases by 2050.  To achieve this goal, the reduction of methane is a clear and effective way, as methane traps 86 times as much heat as carbon dioxide over a 20-year period and accounts for a quarter of total atmospheric warming to date. However, traditional methane leak detection and repair (LDAR) has drawbacks. As a response, Honeywell has recently introduced a new class of technology solution called gas cloud imaging (GCI) , which can address the shortcomings in the current LDAR method. This technology uses visual and hyperspectral sensors supported by intelligent analytics to provide automated and continuous methane monitoring, detecting leaks as soon as they happen. 

Time to make tech fit for Europe

As part of its ambitious sustainability goals, Microsoft is working with partners across Europe to help shape a greener tomorrow. Through a collaboration with Microsoft, Danfoss, a Danish engineering company, has created a cloud based IoT solution providing food retailers with new ways to manage operations by using a combination of sensors and data algorithms. These new solutions in turn help to realise up to 40% net savings in energy consumption and enable retailers to reduce food loss, energy consumption and optimize overall store performance.

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Partnering to deliver cleaner energy for Europe

Solar energy is the energy of the future. As Europe seeks to decarbonise its economy, solar energy will become an ever-more important component of the energy supply. That is why The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is working together with energy supplier Enovos to build two large solar power stations at its testing facilities in Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg, as part of its commitment to reduce carbon emissions.

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Balance and proportion key to tackling foreign subsidies distorting the internal market

The European Commission’s proposed Regulation on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market and the objectives of resolving gaps in its current legal powers in relation to distortive foreign government subsidisation of companies is a step towards creating a level playing field in which companies from around the globe can compete on a fair basis within the European Single Market. Our new position paper highlights a number of areas where we believe the proposal needs to be further refined in order to best achieve the objectives of the Regulation.

Cross-industry statement on the need for a transition period for the implementation of the Batteries Regulation

On Thursday, 22 July, AmCham EU co-signed a statement on the need for a transition period in the implementation of the Batteries Regulation. The European Commission’s Proposal for a Batteries Regulation is an important step towards achieving the objective of improving the sustainability of batteries, whilst protecting the Single Market. The co-signers of this statement are committed to supporting the EU’s transition towards sustainable batteries and ensuring that the review of the batteries legislation is a success.