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Industry Data

  • Commodity prices: metals, materials and chemicals?

    Commodity prices: metals, materials and chemicals?

    Annual commodity prices are tabulated in this database for 70 materials commodities; covering steel prices, other metal prices, chemicals prices, polymer prices, all with data going back to 2012. 2022 was a record year for commodities. The average material commodity traded 25% above its 10-year average and 60% of all material commodities made ten-year highs.

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  • Water intensity of power generation?

    Water intensity of power generation?

    The water intensity of US power generation averages 21 liters per kWh (5,600 gallons per MWH), but 95% of this total comes from evaporation at hydro reservoirs. Excluding hydro power, good estimates are that nuclear power uses 2.1 liters/kWh of water, coal power uses 2 liters/kWh and CCGTs use 1.2 liters/kWh, or less in some…

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  • Residential energy prices: reasons for optimism?

    Residential energy prices: reasons for optimism?

    Residential energy prices tend to run 4x higher than underlying wholesale energy prices. This is a very wide margin, as by contrast, typical commoditized products in supermarkets are usually only marked up by about 2x, compared to their wholesale prices. Today’s data-file compares retail prices vs wholesale prices across a dozen different categories. A remarkable…

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  • Overview of lasers: by type, market size and efficiency?

    Overview of lasers: by type, market size and efficiency?

    The global laser market is worth $20bn pa, of which half comprises diode lasers mainly used for fiber-optic communications and around 30% is fiber lasers mainly used for cutting, welding and heat-treating materials. These two laser types dominate because of their high, 30-80% efficiencies. This data-file is a brief overview of lasers.

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  • LNG plant compression: gas drives vs electric motors?

    LNG plant compression: gas drives vs electric motors?

    This data-file compares the costs of refrigerant compression at LNG plants, using gas turbines, electric motors powered by on-site CCGTs, or electric motors powered by renewable electricity. eLNG has higher capex costs, but higher efficiency, lower opex, and short payback times. Numbers in $/mcf and $/MTpa can be stress-tested in the data-file.

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  • Material and manufacturing costs by region: China vs US vs Europe?

    Material and manufacturing costs by region: China vs US vs Europe?

    Material and manufacturing costs by region are compared in this data-file for China vs the US vs Europe. Generally, compared with the US, materials costs are 10% lower in China, and 40% higher in Germany, although it depends upon the specific value chain. A dozen different examples are contrasted in this data-file, especially for solar…

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  • China coal production costs?

    China coal production costs?

    China coal production costs are estimated on a full-cycle basis in this data-file, averaging $75/ton across large listed miners, with assets in Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi. The costs are increasing at $1.3/ton/year, as mines move deeper and into smaller seams. Smaller regional have 1.5-2x higher costs again, and will hit LNG price parity around…

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  • Duck curves: US power price duckiness over time?

    Duck curves: US power price duckiness over time?

    In solar-heavy grids, power prices trough around mid-day, then ramp up rapidly as the sunset. This price distribution over time is known as the duck curve. US power prices are getting 25-30% more ducky each year, based on some forms of measurement. Power prices are clearly linked to the instantaneous share of wind/solar in grids.

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  • Decarbonize shipping: alternative fuel costs?

    Decarbonize shipping: alternative fuel costs?

    This data-file screens the costs of alternative shipping fuels, such as LNG, blue methanol, blue ammonia, renewable diesel, green methanol, green ammonia, hydrogen and e-fuels versus marine diesel. Shipping costs rise between 10% to 3x, inflating the ultimate costs of products by 0.1-30%, for CO2 abatement costs of $130-1,000/ton. We still prefer CO2 removals.

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  • US power generation under development over time?

    US power generation under development over time?

    An all-time record of 180GW of new power generation is currently under development in the US in 4Q24, enough to expand the US’s 1.3TW power grid by almost 15%. This data-file tracks US power generation under development, as a leading indicator for gas turbine, wind, solar and battery demand. Gas turbines and battery co-deployments are…

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