Briefings

Notes from the desk

Supplier verification, origin logic, and procurement-grade methods. Focus on evidence and decision utility.

Latest brief

Finland's hydrogen pipeline and the missing buyer

Gasgrid wants to build more than 1,000 km of hydrogen pipeline, first costed at €3.5bn and later nearer €5bn, part of a roughly 4,750 km Finnish-linked corridor to Germany. Not one kilometre has reached a final investment decision, the anchor demand keeps stalling, and the promoters are still running calls for interest. A demand-first look at whether the business case is real, drawing on the A1AYN electricity-costs and hydrogen-pipelines data.

2026-06-02
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2026-05-26

Vegetable oil's pricing anchor has shifted from food to fuel

Where the global vegetable oil market sits at the end of May 2026: Indonesia's B40 to B50 trajectory, Malaysia's B15 rollout from June 1, Thailand's conflicted blend policy, El Niño on the 2026 palm crop, Brent at $100, Ukrainian sunflower export disruption, India's 2025 duty reset as the demand baseline, and the food side as residual claimant. Sourced to USDA FAS, GAPKI, OECD-FAO, primary national regulations, and current market reporting.

2026-05-12

CBAM and the politics of the EU's carbon perimeter

Where CBAM sits in May 2026: the live EUA price, the statutory phase-in schedule, the post-2024 European Parliament arithmetic, the competitiveness trade-offs for EU industry, and the regulatory horizon to 2030. Sourced to primary regulatory texts, IEA, IEEFA, Eurofer and the European Parliament register.