Business and property

We are building a business to profitably deliver clean energy for our customers.

Energy Marketing

We provide electricity and smart energy solutions to residential, commercial and industrial customers. We do this through direct electricity sales, storage solutions and energy optimisation services. Our largest markets for commercial and industrial customers are Australia and the USA. In Australia, we are one of the largest commercial and industrial retailers of electricity in the market.

We entered into a joint venture with Eku Energy to deliver a utility-scale battery energy storage system in Australia. With this system, Shell will have access to 100% of the battery system's offtake over a 20-year period. Completion of the project is expected in late 2024.

In November 2023, we divested our retail businesses in the UK and Germany to Octopus Energy, and we are winding down the business in the Netherlands. We continue to sell natural gas and power to retail customers in the USA and Australia.

Trading and Optimisation

We trade and optimise power and pipeline gas, and carbon credits from our own assets and from third parties. We work in partnership with Shell businesses across the regions to offer energy solutions that can help our customers decarbonise. We have a gas and power trading presence in key markets, including North America and Europe.

Renewable Power Generation

We enable renewable power generation by owning and operating wind farms and solar plants, and participating in joint ventures. We target selective growth in markets where there is integration potential.

In the USA, Shell's Brazos Wind Farm achieved its first power following the dismantling and refurbishing of existing wind turbines and the commissioning of new ones. In December 2023, we strategically sold 60% of our interest in Brazos to InfraRed Capital Partners to release capital for investment in other renewables projects. Shell will retain 100% of the power offtake.

Brazos windfarm upgrade and first power

Shell's upgraded Brazos Wind Farm produced its first power in 2023. This was achieved after we decommissioned and restored a legacy wind farm at the end of its useful life and "repowered" it by building newer, more efficient turbines on the same acreage of land.

Brazos is expected to generate 182 megawatts, which will be put into the Texas electricity grid. From there, it is used for both residential and commercial needs. The energy that Brazos generates is enough to power more than 50,000 households. We are recycling the decommissioned turbine blades to be used as a component in concrete.

In December, we sold 60% of our interest in Brazos to InfraRed Capital Partners, releasing capital for investment in other renewables projects. Shell will retain 100% of the power offtake. The Brazos wind farm in Texas, USA is an example of an investment which is bringing more green electricity to the grid today. It is also a demonstration of capital discipline in our power investments where during development or upon achieving operations, we may choose to sell a share of the project to a third party to release capital to be used in the next renewable generation project. This allows us to make further investments in the energy transition, as we transform to a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050.

Harnessing wind power is a vital part of the energy transition and there has been unprecedented global growth over the past 12 months. At COP28, countries agreed to triple capacity by 2030.

In June 2023, the Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind development within the CrossWind joint venture (Shell interest 79.9%) reached a significant milestone by producing its first megawatts of renewable electricity. The electricity from this wind farm is planned to supply the 200 MW electrolyser Holland Hydrogen 1 (Shell interest 100%) in the Netherlands as it comes on line.

At the end of 2023, our share of renewable power generation capacity was 2.5 GW in operation and 4.1 GW in development. Our renewable power capacities are listed below:

Hydrogen

Hydrogen can help to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors, such as heavy industry and heavy-duty transport, as well as decarbonise our own assets. We are part of joint ventures and alliances that have built electrolysers and hydrogen filling stations. We have also participated in feasibility studies that aim to show the viability of a global import and export market for hydrogen. We aim to develop opportunities where we see adjacencies with our integrated business and pathways to attractive returns.

Since 2021, we have operated an electrolyser (Shell interest 100%) in Germany, which produces hydrogen using electricity from renewable sources. In July 2022, we announced the final investment decision to build Holland Hydrogen 1 to produce renewable hydrogen.

Carbon capture and storage

CCS is a combination of technologies that capture and store CO₂ deep underground, preventing its release into the atmosphere. R&ES offers CCS services to our customers. We report existing CCS operations that help decarbonise our own assets in the segment where the relevant asset sits.

We have a 33.3% interest in the Northern Lights Joint Venture, where the other partners are Equinor and TotalEnergies (equal partners). The project is in Norway and is under construction. Phase One is expected to be ready for start-up in 2025. In 2023, the Northern Lights CCS joint venture signed agreements with both Yara International and Ørsted for the transport and permanent storage of CO₂, marking an important step in helping to create a commercial market for CCS in Europe.

Nature and Environmental Solutions

Nature and Environmental Solutions include our NBS business and the Environmental Products Trading Business (EPTB). NBS invests in projects that conserve, enhance and restore ecosystems – such as forests, grasslands and wetlands – to prevent GHG emissions or reduce atmospheric CO₂ levels.

Through EPTB we develop, source offtake, trade and supply environmental products across compliance and voluntary markets. This includes working with our other businesses such as Integrated Gas or Marketing to provide integrated energy solutions to customers.

Shell Ventures

Shell Ventures are corporate venture funds where we act as an investor and a partner to start-ups and businesses to accelerate the energy and mobility transformation. We invest in companies that work on solutions to lower emissions, electrify energy systems, gain data-based insights and provide innovative consumer solutions.

Investments

Within R&ES, we maintain an integrated business model, with trading and optimisation, to help us manage our value delivery. Our investments are subject to financial modelling and stress-testing, due diligence and risk assessments to ensure that our capital is allocated to the most attractive low-carbon projects and opportunities. We monitor and evaluate the performance of our acquisitions against our expectations. Some acquired companies in new business sectors are not yet in full compliance with our Binding Corporate Rules. Following assessments of each new acquisition, specific actions are put in place to achieve compliance with our Binding Corporate Rules.