Page 158 - CW E-Magazine (31-12-2024)

News from Abroad

RENEWABLES GAIN GROUND
IEA forecasts global coal demand to plateau through 2027

After reaching a new high in 2024, weather patterns could drive fluctua- in the EU, and the availability of alter-
global demand for coal is set to level tions in coal consumption in the short native power sources, including cheap
off in the coming years as a surge in term. According to the report, coal natural gas in the US and Canada.
renewable power helps to meet soar- demand in China by 2027 could be up
ing demand for electricity around the to 140-mt higher or lower than forecast Emerging market trends
world, according to a report released due to weather-related variability in Meanwhile, demand for coal is still
by Paris-based energy thinktank, Inter- renewable generation. increasing in some emerging economies
national Energy Agency (IEA). where electricity demand is rising sharp-
“The rapid deployment of clean ly along with economic and population
Coal 2024 – the new edition of the energy technologies is reshaping the growth, such as India, Indonesia and
IEA’s annual coal market report, which global electricity sector, which accounts Vietnam. In emerging economies, growth
analyses the latest trends and updates for two-thirds of the world’s coal use. is mainly driven by coal demand from
medium-term forecasts – shows that As a result, our models show global the power sector, although industrial use
global coal use has rebounded strongly demand for coal plateauing through 2027 is also going up. Coal prices today
after plummeting at the height of even as electricity consumption rises remain 50% higher than the average seen
the pandemic. It is poised to rise to sharply,” said IEA Director of Energy between 2017 and 2019. Coal production
8.77 billion tonnes in 2024, a record. Markets and Security, Mr. Keisuke reached an all-time high in 2024, though
According to the report, demand is set Sadamori. “However, weather factors – growth is expected to flatten through
to stay close to this level through 2027 particularly in China, the world’s largest 2027 as structural changes take hold.
as renewable energy sources play a coal consumer – will have a major
greater role in generating power and impact on short-term trends for coal International trade of coal by volume
coal consumption levels off in China. demand. The speed at which electricity is also set to reach a record in 2024
demand grows will also be very impor- of 1.55-billion tonnes. However, looking
Consumption in China tant over the medium term.” ahead, global trade volumes are set to
The electricity sector in China is shrink, with thermal coal seeing the
particularly important to global coal Decrease in developed world biggest decline. According to the report,
markets, with one out of every three In most advanced economies, coal Asia remains the centre of inter-
tonnes of coal consumed worldwide demand has already peaked and is ex- national coal trade, with all of the largest
burned at a power plant in the country. pected to keep decreasing through importing countries in the region,
In 2024, China continued to diversify 2027. The pace of decline will continue including China, India, Japan, Korea
its power sector, advance the construc- to depend on the enactment of strong and Vietnam, while the largest exporters
tion of nuclear plants and accelerate its policies, such as those implemented include Indonesia and Australia.
huge expansion of solar PV and wind IMCD to acquire life science business of South
capacity. This should help limit increases
in coal consumption through 2027, Korea’s YCAM
according to the report, though it also Dutch distributor of speciality focuses on providing customers with
highlights a number of key uncertain- chemicals and ingredients, IMCD, has formulatory advice and speciality ingre-
ties in its analysis. agreed to acquire the personal care and dients through its technical team and
pharmaceutical business of YCAM laboratory support. YCAM generated
Electricity use in a number of coun- Corporation, a distributor based in a revenue of approximately KRW
tries, including China, is growing at a South Korea. 26-bn (€17-mn) in 2023 with 8 employees.
strong pace due to a combination of “This acquisition will be an important
factors, including the electrification Founded in 2010, YCAM specia- step in expanding our footprint in our
of services like transport and heating, lises in distributing speciality ingre- beauty and personal care market and
rising demand for cooling, and increas- dients for the cosmetics, personal care, further enriches our life science portfolio,”
ing consumption from emerging sec- and pharmaceutical markets. YCAM said Mr. Dongjoon Lee, Managing
tors such as data centres. Additionally, represents leading global suppliers and Director of IMCD South Korea.

158 Chemical Weekly December 31, 2024

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