🎈 Spying on LNG, Hydrogen, Carbon credits & Lithium mining

Good Morning. This is the Sunya Scoop. The newsletter that takes energy transition news and turns it into an easy-to-read email for you. 

Hopefully, we DON’T get shot down…

Here’s what we have for you today:

• Linde’s $1.8 billion bet on clean hydrogen for blue ammonia

• Air Liquide and Total partner up on European hydrogen

• JPM acquires $500 million of timberland for carbon credits and lumber

• Freeport LNG to restart a train

• GM investing $650 million into lithium mining in Nevada

Linde to invest $1.8 billion to supply clean hydrogen to OCI’s Gulf Coast blue ammonia plant

Alright folks, here’s the rundown on the latest clean energy move by Linde:

• Linde is getting in the game, signing a 10-year deal to supply clean hydrogen to OCI’s 1.1mm ton per annum blue ammonia plant in Beaumont, Texas (first greenfield facility of it’s kind in the US)

• They’re putting their money where their mouth is with a $1.8 billion investment in a complex that includes carbon sequestration of 1.7 million metric tons annually

• This complex will supply clean hydrogen and nitrogen to the plant and other customers in the Gulf Coast, and Linde’s pipeline network will also be used to provide clean hydrogen to decarbonizing companies

• The project is expected to get up and running in 2025

• Linde’s CEO says the company is poised for more clean energy projects

• And OCI’s CEO is hyped about the facility helping build their blue ammonia and clean fuels platform.

Air Liquide and Total team up on European hydrogen stations

• Air Liquide and TotalEnergies are joining forces to create the ultimate hydrogen fueling network for heavy-duty vehicles across Europe.

• Over 100 hydrogen stations are coming to a road near you in France, Benelux, and Germany.

• The JV combine’s Air Liquide’s tech prowess with Total’s expertise in station operations and energy distribution.

• The goal is simple: revolutionize heavy-duty mobility with hydrogen and bring some much-needed decarbonization to the European road transportation scene.

• 2023 is the year, people. Get ready for the joint venture of a lifetime (pending those pesky regulatory approvals).

JP Morgan’s Campbell Global acquires $500mm of timberland for nature based carbon credits and lumber

• J.P. Morgan is acquiring some SERIOUS forestry, over 250k acres of commercial timberland across 3 properties in the Southeast US, worth over $500 million.

• The properties will be managed for both carbon capture and timber products, because sustainability is the name of the game these days.

• These properties have some major benefits, including 18 million metric tons of stored CO2 equivalents, 120 million standing trees, 700 miles of protected streams, and 250k acres of diverse wildlife habitat.

• This acquisition is part of J.P. Morgan’s efforts to offer more and better options for their clients, and they’re leveraging the expertise of Campbell Global to offer some ESG products.

• Basically, JP Morgan is going long carbon with this deal by locking up some nature-based carbon credit supply.

Freeport to restart an LNG train this week

• Freeport LNG, the second-largest U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, plans to restart one of its three liquefaction trains at its Texas export plant this week.

• Freeport will begin the restart of Liquefaction Train 3 on Feb 3 and the other trains will follow sequentially.

• Federal regulators approved Freeport’s plan to start sending gas to Train 3 and held a public meeting on Feb. 11 for interested parties to voice their concerns about the restart plans.

• The Freeport plant was shut down after a fire in June 2022 and is expected to return to full LNG production by mid-March or later.

• When operating at full power, Freeport can produce about 2.1 billion cubic feet of LNG per day, about 2% of the total U.S. daily gas production.

• Despite the planned restart, U.S. gas futures fell about 3% due to forecasts for milder weather in February.

• Freeport’s customers, including JERA, Osaka Gas, BP, TotalEnergies, and SK E&S, booked hundreds of millions of dollars of losses due to the outage.

• Everyone in the US natural gas business along with the major counter-parties globally are praying for a safe return to normal with Freeport

GM to invest $650mm in Lithium Americas for mining project in Nevada

• GM is investing $650 million in Lithium Americas to help develop North America’s largest lithium mine, Thacker Pass in Nevada

• Lithium Americas to extract lithium from a clay deposit at Thacker Pass, a first at commercial scale

• GM will become Lithium Americas largest shareholder, agree to buy all lithium from Thacker Pass when it opens in 2026

• The deal was in the works for nearly a year and came after rival U.S. lithium companies signed deals with Ford and Tesla

• GM will purchase shares in two equal parts, with the first subject to Lithium Americas winning a court case

• Lithium Americas raises budget for Thacker Pass project to $2.27 billion and plans to build processing facilities on site

• Lithium Americas seeks loan from U.S. Department of Energy, with CEO expecting funding for a “major component” of the project.

• The project faces opposition from tribes and environmental groups over potential harm to wildlife and water supplies.

That’s a wrap for today. If you like what you read, send to a friend. 

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.