EGEB: Shell cuts up to 9k jobs in oil demand slump

• Royal Dutch Shell will cut up to 9,000 jobs by 2022 due to the pandemic and lack of oil demand.
• Turntide’s Smart Motor System has the potential to reduce global electricity consumption by 25%.
• Sustainable technology company Furrion launches a solar cooler that also packs a charging station.
• Arcadia Power is committed to making clean energy work for the planet and your bank account — all without changing your utility company. Sign up to receive your $20 Amazon Gift Card.

Shell slump

British-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell is to cut between 7,000 and 9,000 jobs as a result of the pandemic and a slump in demand for oil. 1,500 of those job cuts will be a result of voluntary redundancy. Shell employs 83,000 people worldwide.

At the end of April, Shell cut its dividend for the first time since World War II. Its first-quarter net income fell 46% to $2.9 billion, and second-quarter income fell 82% to $638 million. Shell expects third-quarter earnings to be “at the lower end of the $800 million to $875 million range,” according to the BBC.

On April 16, as Electrek reported, Shell announced that it intends to reach net zero by 2050 or sooner by selling more green energy to reduce its carbon emissions. It plans to offset CO2 emissions from its own oil and gas production by 2050. Those emissions do not include the bigger category of greenhouse gases emitted from its products such as gasoline and jet fuel. The plan includes an interim target to cut those emissions by more than 33% by 2030, up from 20% previously.

Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden said the company has to change the type of products it sells:

[Shell has to be] a simpler, more streamlined, more competitive organization that is more nimble and able to respond to customers.

We will have some oil and gas in the mix of energy we sell by 2050, but it will be predominantly low-carbon electricity, low-carbon biofuels, it will be hydrogen, and it will be all sorts of other solutions too.

Yesterday, Shell announced plans to tap hydrogen fuel cells and liquified natural gas to wean its shipping business off heavy fuel oil.

Smart Motor System

Turntide Technologies, which manufactures the Smart Motor System, a sustainable electric motor with digital DNA, announced a recently completed $33 million funding round with support from the Amazon Climate Pledge Fund.

Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, which was announced in June 2020 and has an initial $2 billion in funding, “will invest in visionary companies whose products and solutions will facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy.”

Turntide’s Smart Motor System’s digital motor is software-driven, intelligent, and sustainable. For example, if a building is getting too hot or too cold, the Smart Motor System can slow the speed of the motor, lowering the output of conditioned air and eliminating excess energy waste and cost.

Turntide’s technology integrates software that allows for Internet of Things control system capabilities and data collection delivering ongoing value over time, monitoring for degradation, temperature, and speed. The motor is a “drop-in” solution.

Turntide’s Smart Motor Systems are being manufactured, shipped, and installed at scale across the US, Canada, and the UK, with further international expansion planned in 2021. It has pilots in the Middle East, Asia, and Mexico.

Nest founder and Future Shape principal, who also invests in Turntide, among others, said:

Turntide delivers electrical motors that are 25% more efficient. That changes the $100 billion
motor industry. And, it will change the future of our climate.

You can learn more about Turntide’s smart motor in the video below:

Solar cooler innovation

Sustainable global technology company Furrion has announced the launch of the Furrion eRove. It uses the sun to keep things cool, and is pretty much the coolest (sorry) cooler I’ve ever seen, and it’ll start shipping in January. Furrion started taking pre-orders yesterday.

The 50-quart eRove can chill on the Furrion ePod battery system for five days, or chill indefinitely on the optional solar charging system. It can also be plugged into a wall or DC outlet. Powered touch controls keep your food cool or frozen with temperatures from -8F to 50F. It also features an onboard charging station with multiple USB fast-charging and USB-C ports, as well as a 10W wireless charging dock.

The Off-Grid Pack Launch Special costs $1,899. It includes (and this is where it gets really neat):

• Portable Electric Cooler
• 2x ePod Battery
• Wheel kit
• ePod Power Station
• Solar Panel
• AC and DC Adapters
• Serving Tray
• Cup Holder
• Umbrella Holder
• Bottle Opener

So basically, it not only chills your food, but also acts as a generator. You can charge and run devices if you lost power. This is an amazing piece of equipment for those who like to go off-grid — and even more importantly and increasingly, those who lose power due to natural disasters like hurricanes or wildfires.

And even better, this could possibly eliminate the need for fossil-fuel-powered generators, which often causes fatalities due to carbon monoxide poisoning. As NPR reported on September 1, “More deaths associated with Hurricane Laura were caused by the improper use of portable generators than the storm itself.”