energy

JSW Steel Italy announced the signing of an agreement with Creon Capital with the aim of developing the renewable energy, LNG, logistics and related industrial activities in the area of Piombino port. On September 15th, JSW Steel presented the Piombino 2030 Industrial Plan.

The new industrial plan for JSW Steel Group’s Italian companies, known as Piombino 2030, was presented on September, 15th at the JSW Steel Italy headquarters in Piombino. JSW Steel Italy’s Vice-President, Marco Carrai, the Undersecretary for Economic Development, Alessia Morani, the President of the Tuscany Region, Enrico Rossi, and the Mayor of Piombino, Francesco Ferrari, were present at the event.

Other participants were the Social Partners, representatives of the Province, of the Ministry of the Environment, of the Ministry of Labour, Invitalia, the Upper Tyrrhenian Sea Port System Authorities and the State Property Office. The meeting was also attended by all the financial partners involved in the industrial plan.

The industrial plan, which envisages an initial investment of 84 million euro thanks also to the participation of Invitalia, as announced in the same office by the Undersecretary for Economic Development Alessia Morani, is divided into two phases: the first, in the short term, aims to make the rolling plants more efficient, complete the product range and bring the company to satisfactory profitability. The second phase, in the medium term, targets over the next five years the return to steel production through the use of the electric furnace and the construction of a multicentric industrial complex that also includes logistics, manufacturing and environment activities to be carried out with selected partners in the individual sectors and financials.

“We are proud to present the business plan today, even in a difficult economic situation. I would like to thank all those present here for making this relaunch a reality” – said Marco Carrai, Executive Vice President JSW Steel Italy – “Invitalia, as announced today by the Undersecretary for Economic Development Alessia Morani, will support this first phase, aiming to relaunch the company and make it productive again. We hope that Piombino will once again become a key industrial place, starting from our core business, steel, and safeguarding all jobs”.

“We had made a commitment and respected it. For some months now I have been following the dispute with Minister Patuanelli. The first commitment we had made was the possibility for the State to enter the capital of JSW Piombino and this will be achieved in the coming weeks through Invitalia, which will enter with 30 million euros” – said the Undersecretary for Economic Development Alessia Morani – “The second commitment was on a regulatory level and took shape last week, with the approval of the simplification decree, regarding the rail orders for the Piombino factory, thanks to which we created the ideal conditions ensuring a continuity that guarantees economic peace of mind for the company and, of course, for the workers. I believe that the policy must be done in the following way: for commitments and concrete results. On the 24th there will be a meeting at Mise to update the addendum that necessarily follows the approval of the industrial plan. With Jindal, all the institutional partners and with the help of the trade union, we hope to guarantee a future for this factory, which is the heart of the city, as soon as possible”.

In recent weeks, JSW Steel Italy announced the signing of an agreement with Creon Capital with the aim of developing the renewable energy, LNG, logistics and related industrial activities in the area of Piombino port and the start of a dialogue with the ship builder Fincantieri to assess the possibility of allocating some areas within the Piombino industrial site to shipbuilding activities and large reinforced concrete cellular modules for maritime infrastructure.

DOWNLOAD the Press-release in English, Russian or Italian language

JSW Steel Italy Piombino S.p.a., Piombino Logistics S.p.a. e G.S.I. Lucchini S.p.a. are part of the diversified JSW Group in India, which has a leading presence in sectors such as steel, energy, infrastructure, cement, sports, among others. Today, JSW Steel Ltd. is one of the leading integrated steel companies in India with an installed capacity of 18 MTPA.

The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically changed the global economy. And investors are “risk on” again. In addition to the pandemic currently sweeping the world the climate crisis remains in the background and investors are increasingly worried about environmental risks. Russian companies, in particular, are worried about being penalised for environment related issues and will have follow the Green Economy trend that is being demanded by retail investors, first and foremost.

The coronavirus pandemic has distracted from the furore created by Swedish climate crisis campaigner Greta Thunberg and her “Friday’s for the Future” youth movement. Nobody seems to care anymore about climate change since the globalization has stalled. People fear losing their jobs more than what the future holds — even on Fridays.

But appearances are deceptive. While governments around the world are busy curbing the pandemic and managing economic loses, a sophisticated green financing infrastructure is being built in the background. Companies, especially in Europe, which has embraced Thunberg’s call to action, taking their ESG (Environment – Social – Governance) responsibilities seriously and including it in their long-term strategies. This trend will not stop, and can be expected to grow in importance.

The pandemic has sharpened the senses to risks among companies’ decision-makers. Coronavirus has clearly demonstrated the fatal consequences of underestimating the risks for supply chains and the disruptive power Mother Nature still commands.

Banks, investors, and regulators re-evaluate risks that go beyond the pandemic. A World Economic Forum (WEF) report on global risks has linked nine out of ten risks directly to ESG factors, the most important of which are the protection of the climate and the environment. Financial players have started to closely monitor companies’ ESG policies.

While the world is fighting the coronavirus, Europe continues its efforts to build up a large-scale financial infrastructure for ESG investors. In 2016, the Luxembourg Exchange launched the Green Stock Exchange (LGX) – a trading platform for securities and Eurobonds of projects that meet 17 UN sustainable development goals (SDGs). Today it is the global leader in the “green bond” market, whose volume doubled to €216bn in 2019. Today less than one per cent of all traded bonds are green, but this market has enormous growth potential.

Investments revaluation

Large investors have already given an impulse to “greenify” the market, and the rest of the investing community is expected to follow. Last summer, the world’s largest investment company Blackrock banned all investments into the traditional energy sector. In October, the Norwegian pension fund Global sold its stake in Russia’s metallurgical titan Norilsk Nickel for environmental reasons: according to the Norwegian Ministry of Finance, the environment is suffering because of the company’s activities, and this violates the fund’s code of ethics (although Global itself made €900bn from oil sales the same year). And Brussels has already banned the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) from investing in oil, gas, and coal industries.

A this trend progresses more and more investors are expected to redistribute funds from fossil fuel producers to green-tech companies. Raising capital in equity markets for green and eco-friendly companies will become easier. Financial institutions will monitor ESG-compliance and make access to credit lines and bank accounts easier. In the case of non-compliance with these standards, credit and capital will become hard to get.

Classical energy companies will be subjected to the neoclassical risks. Why invest in bonds, even a super-profitable oil company, if it is exposed to non-ESG compliance risks or public scandal that could ruin an investment overnight? Neither investors, nor banks, nor regulators are willing to bear responsibility for serious environmental consequences.

Russia has no choice but to follow the trend

“The trend if your friend,” runs the old market adage, but in this case it is a trend with a twist. Falling oil prices have already created problems for the low-liquid waste market, which is still at very early stage of development.

The upshot of the low prices is petroleum raw materials to make plastics is now cheaper than recycled plastic waste. But the large petrochemical producers such as Russia’s Sibur and Nizhnekamskneftekhim remain committed to using recycled plastic in production, thanks to pressure from their strategic partners, customers, investors, and banks as well as their own ESG-compliance rules.

Many Russian companies are actively introducing ESG compliance strategies and officers. For an example, Russia’s major privately owned Lukoil oil producer covers 6% of its electricity needed using renewable sources – primarily solar energy. Shell plans to spend €2bn a year on development of alternative energy sources, and the Norwegian oil major Equinor will invest one fifth of its investment budget in renewables.

Russian petroleum companies are still far from these numbers, though they are already active in environmental protection initiatives. Environmental performance of oil and gas companies is monitored by Transparency Rating of Environmental Responsibility, which has been jointly conducted by Creon Group and WWF Russia (World Wild Fund for Nature Conservation) for seven years already.

The time for large investments into the green economy has come. Now is the time to develop clean renewable energy, reduce burning of associated gas to zero, and increase the share of recycling in the polymer industry. In the new economic order only businesses with a consistent strategy for sustainable development in the social and environmental arena can be profitable. This need has already recognized by many, not just Greta Thunberg.

Florian Willershausen, director of Creon Capital, managing Luxembourg-based fund’s company Creon Energy Fund, which invests in projects of green technologies, renewable energy and logistics projects. The fund is the core part of Creon Group, a strategic consultant in the transition to sustainable development and integration of ESG factors.

This text has been published on Intellinews:

https://www.intellinews.com/opinion-why-the-russian-economy-will-inevitably-become-green-after-the-covid-19-epidemic-is-over-183464/?source=russia

A Russian version is available on the leading Russian online portal RBC:

https://trends.rbc.ru/trends/green/5ea82ca89a79472db412c14a?from=center

Since 2008, the UAE-based renewable energy company Masdar hosts the Abu-Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) to promote green technologies and renewable energy as cornerstones for a cleaner global energy sector. This year, CREON Group is committed as a sponsor of the World Future Energy Forum. A large delegation of specialists participates in the exhibition and forum discussion. More than 5.000 visitors visited the several sectoral summit and the exhibitions.

It is common knowledge that Arab countries such as the United Arab Emirates have achieved economic prosperity thanks to traditional energy sources. But some might still underestimate, that especially the UAE accelerated to the world leaders in terms of investments in new energy sectors. Their state policy in the field of renewable energy is based on the principles of sustainable development formulated by the UN and regionally ensured by active government support of investments in the new energy sector such as renewable energy and green technologies. During the Abu-Dhabi Energy Week, the Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia, Prince Abdulaziz Ibn Salman Al Saud, predicted that the share of gas and renewable sources in the energy balance of the kingdom will increased significantly. Among renewable energy sources – not only solar and wind, but also hydroelectric power plants.

Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Chairman of Masdar, announced the goals of sustainable development of the emirates for the next 30 years: “At the national level in the UAE, we have increased our portfolio of renewable energy sources by more than 400% in the last 10 years, and we are on the path to doubling it again over the next 10 years. ” By 2030, the country plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% and reduce the share of water use from natural sources to 0.5%. The Masdar Chairman stated that «the UAE not only talks the talk but walks the walk towards renewable energy. Because it is right and makes perfect economic sense».

It is no coincidence that the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is located in the UAE capital. The eco-city of the future Masdar City was built here, and since 2006 the company of the same name Masdar has been operating, through which the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund invests in green projects in 25 countries of the world. Khaldun Khalifa Al Mubarak, CEO of Mubadala Development Company, considers his main task “to act now, given the climate changes that threaten not only future generations, but the very existence of our planet.”

Green technologies and environmentally friendly energy solutions are in line with the investment objectives of the fund managed by Creon Capital, which is regionally oriented towards the emerging markets of Eurasia. The fund is constantly looking for new opportunities for clean energy. Fares Kilzie, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Creon Capital, explains why such solutions for the energy sector will be most in demand: “In parallel to traditional types of energy, Russia and the CIS countries are beginning to show interest in renewable energy and environmental solutions. The result is green projects worth trillions of dollars. As the country diversifies toward clean energy, it will also continue to invest in the responsible production of traditional forms of energy. We urge the majors of the Russian oil and gas sector, who have extensive capabilities and all the necessary infrastructure, to engage more actively in the implementation of green technologies and renewable energy sources. ”

Pictures:

Creon and Masdar executives meeting in Abu-Dhabi (from the left): Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi (CEO of Masdar),Yousif Al Ali ( Acting Executive Officer of Masdar Clean Energy), Dr. Fares Kilzie (Chairman Creon Capital), Vladimir Nekhvyadovich (1st Deputy CEO ISS Global Solutions).

Masdar Chairman Dr. Sultan Ahmed Ad Jaber opend the Abu-Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW)

Creon Capital is represented in the exhibition zone with a stand, as well as portfolio companies such as ISS Global Solutions.

The Eurasian Economic Forum in Verona is one of the leading networking platforms for businesses and politics linking Europe and Eurasia. On October 24-25, the event was held by the Italian “Cognoscere Eurasia” initiative for the 12th time, as usual gathering more than 400 leaders from all over Eurasia in the city’s beautiful old town. Creon Capital chairman Dr. Fares Kilzie attended a panel discussion on the role of natural gas in helping Europe’s energy security and climate change goals, alongside with Gazprom Deputy Chairman Elena Burmistrova and Leonid Mikhelson, Chairman of the Management Board of Novatek.

Prior to the debate, Igor Sechin, President and CEO of Russia’s leading oil producer Rosneft, had set the tonality for the day. He turned out to be very confident that oil and gas will remain key sources for energy production throughout the upcoming decades, hydrocarbons will still account for more than 50 percent of the energy mix in 2030 despite the growth of renewables. For this time period, he forecasts a 20 percent growth of oil demand due to the increasing consumption in Asia, first and foremost in India. But Sechin underlined: “We at Rosneft show that oil production is possible in a socially and environmentally responsible way.”

The Creon Energy Fund is committed to gas-related projects, which are a cleaner alternative to Diesel and gasoline. However, improving the entire energy sector’s ecological responsibility maintains an objective for the fund managers of Creon Capital, as chairman Dr. Fares Kilzie stated. “We consider investments in green technologies as being commercially viable and reasonable. Therefore, we aim at co-investing with companies of the energy-sector in projects to slow down climate change.” As one example he named the Fund’s attempts to develop a market for small-scale LNG and CNG, which ensures that vessels and trucks can be fueled with cleaner gas instead of Diesel and heavy oil.

This seems to be in line with the “bullish” expectations of Novatek’s Leonid Mikhelson. Russia’s leading exporter of liquefied natural gas recently corrected its capacity plans for 2030 upwards: Instead of 57 million tons, the company now plans to produce and export 70 million tons annually, up from 19 million tons this year. Similarly, also Gazprom’s leader Elena Burmistrova presented the audience ambitious plans to improve the gas giant’s position on the LNG market, including small-scale infrastructure projects on the domestic hydrogen market.

Both Mikhelson and Burmistrova made clear that natural gas will play inevitably a major role in reducing the climate impact of the energy sector. Creon chairman Fares Kilzie, however, put more emphasis on renewable energy, which is deployed increasingly even in hydrocarbon-based countries such as Kazakhstan and Russia. The Fund joint-venture ISS Global Solutions these days completes one of the largest transportation projects for windmills going from China and Germany to Kazakhstan.

Kilzie finally pointed out that even hydrocarbon producers have to think day-by-day how to become “greener”: “As we are running a private equity fund in Luxembourg, we know perfectly how banks and regulators increasingly pay attention to environmental and social responsibility of companies and their projects. We recognize rapidly growing demand for ‘green bonds’, but emitters have to fulfill strict preconditions in terms of environmental responsibility”. For the Eurasian energy companies this would means, that they must become “best-in-class” in terms of environmental protection.

Pictures:

84 million euros for the relaunch of JSW Steel Italy

Why the Russian economy will inevitably become green after the COVID-19 epidemic is over

Abu-Dhabi Sustainability Week supported by Creon Capital

Chairman Fares Kilzie debates with leaders of Novatek and Gazprom in Verona