ENTEK wins $1.3 billion US Loan for EV Battery Plant
The U.S. Department of Energy's loans office said on Friday it has finalized a loan of $1.3 billion to ENTEK Lithium Separators to finance a plant in Indiana for making lithium-ion battery separators used mostly in electric vehicles.WHY IT'S IMPORTANTThe Loan Programs Office is racing to finalize billions of dollars in loans to companies developing cutting-edge technologies expected to help speed an energy transition and curb climate…
ArcelorMittal delays planned green investments for EU
ArcelorMittal is the second largest steelmaker in the world. It announced on Friday that it was delaying green investments due to uncertainty over European Union regulations. ArcelorMittal received 850 million Euros ($885 million) from the French Government in January to support its 1.7 billion Euro decarbonisation programme in France through 2030 at its Dunkirk site and Fos-sur-Mer site. ArcelorMittal said on Friday that it had not yet made final investment decisions for these projects.
Danos Leaders Recognized in “40 Under 40” Lists
Danos announced that two of its leaders, Melanie Hill and Scott Theriot, have been named to prestigious “40 Under 40” lists for 2024.Melanie Hill, Danos’ general manager of shale production, was honored in Hart Energy’s Oil and Gas Investor Forty Under 40. This national recognition highlights leaders across the energy sector for their proven leadership and positive impact in their respective organizations. These honorees demonstrate entrepreneurial spirit, creative problem-solving, leadership and community involvement.
US Awards up to $2.2 Billion to Speed Clean-hydrogen Development
The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Wednesday that it had awarded up to $2 billion to centers in the Gulf Coast and the Midwest for the development of hydrogen, a new source of energy which is costly to produce with renewable power. Hydrogen supporters, such as the administration of Joe Biden believe that low carbon hydrogen can combat climate change by fueling industries like aluminum, cement and steel, along with long-haul transport. Most hydrogen produced today is made from fossil fuels, which emit unabated gases.
MSE Int'l Wins Funding for Port Recharging Project
MSE International has won funding from TRIG 2024 to lead a new project, PRIMET; Port Recharging Infrastructure for Maritime Energy Transition.The project will accelerate the roll-out of port and harbor infrastructure needed to support the rapid expansion in vessel recharging and shore-powering facilities which are essential to realize the government’s Clean Maritime Plan. PRIMET will develop outline solutions for supplying energy to…
Change of Ørsted Region Americas CEO
Ørsted announced today that David Hardy, Group EVP and CEO Americas, has decided to leave the company to join GE Vernova as Chief Commercial Officer, Wind. He will step down from his position effective November 30.The search for a successor Region Americas CEO is well underway. In the interim period, Ørsted's Chief Commercial Officer and Deputy CEO, Rasmus Errboe, will guide and support the experienced senior leadership team in the U.S. market.Mads Nipper, Group CEO, says, “I want to thank David for his five years with Ørsted.
Chris Wright, CEO of the oil industry, is appointed Energy Secretary by Trump
Donald Trump, the President-elect, announced on Saturday that Chris Wright, an oil and gas executive who is a staunch supporter of fossil fuels, will be his choice to lead the Department of Energy. Wright is the founder of Liberty Energy in Denver, a firm that provides oilfield services. He will likely support Trump's plans to increase oil and gas production and seek ways to increase electricity generation, which is on the rise for the first decade.
South Asia's solar power push is facing a land battle
Food and jobs are at risk when cropland and pastures are taken away. By BhaskerTripathi and Md. Modhera’s 6 megawatts (MW) of solar power and battery storage system were built in 2022, despite the opposition of local farmers who had filed a lawsuit in the highest court for the state in 2020 to stop its construction. According to the research group Land Conflict Watch, it is one of 25 land conflicts in India that are linked to renewable energies. Local media in Bangladesh reported that solar projects were halted because of local protests.
TotalEnergies Suriname project gets underway with $3 billion in contract awards
TotalEnergies, a French oil company, has awarded contracts for engineering services worth more than $3 billion to its first offshore project in Suriname. Italian energy contractor Saipem announced on Thursday that it had signed a $1.9billion deal with a Suriname subsidiary of TotalEnergies for the development of the GranMorgu oil field. In a separate announcement, TechnipEnergies said that it was also awarded an additional contract for…
SMA Solar, a German company, will cut 1,100 jobs and lower its full-year forecast
SMA Solar Technology, a German supplier of solar power components, announced on Wednesday that it plans to reduce up to 1,100 positions worldwide and lower its forecasts for this year. This comes nearly two months after the company announced a restructuring plan. SMA Solar began a restructuring program for the entire company in September to reduce costs by up to 200 millions euros. The company now expects to lower its group revenue between 1.45 billion and 1.5 billion euro for the entire year.
Al Nowais, according to Italy's Maire, has bought 5% of Nextchem in order to target the Middle East
It was reported by Italy's Maire on Wednesday that Yousef Al Nowais bought a 5% share in Nextchem. This valued the subsidiary of the engineering company at $1.33 billion. Al Nowais is one of the company's shareholders and has owned a stake of 4.73% for more than 10 years. He paid 62.5 millions euros for 5% in Nextchem which provides technology solutions for companies working on energy transition. The move was made to boost Nextchem's service in the Middle East.
Chinese giant CATL expands beyond batteries to power grids and EV platforms
Robin Zeng is the billionaire founder and CEO of CATL. He wants to transform the world's biggest battery manufacturer into a provider of green energy, as well as reduce the costs of developing electric cars, thus upending the economics that have driven the growth of the industry. Zeng said in an interview he expected the business of developing "zero-carbon" electric grids to be "ten times larger" than supplying batteries for electric vehicles, a sector CATL currently leads with 37% share.
RWE buys back $1.6 billion in shares as the outlook for US offshore wind and hydrogen worsens
RWE, Germany’s largest utility, announced on Tuesday that it would purchase up to 1,5 billion euros ($1.6billion) in shares. The company cited weakening prospects in Europe for hydrogen and offshore wind, in response to Donald Trump’s election win. RWE has also bowed to investor pressure by launching a buyback that will begin in the fourth quarter of this year and last for 18 months. This is due to the fact that clean energy projects are not generating the returns they should.
Japan and Peru agree to cooperate in mineral mining technologies - Nikkei
Nikkei, a Japanese business daily, reported on Saturday that the leaders of Japan will sign a statement on cooperation on mineral mining technology later this month. The aim is to strengthen their supply chains by using Japanese technology. Nikkei reports that Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru shiba will hold a bilateral with Peruvian leader Jose Luis Guajardo during his visit to Peru to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders' Summit (APEC).
Who would be the best person to run Trump's energy policy?
Donald Trump, the president-elect of the United States, has pledged to overhaul U.S. Energy Policy. He aims to maximize oil and gas production in this country which is already at record levels by rolling back regulations and accelerating permits. Who will he select to lead the departments and agencies that are critical to completing this task? These are some names that have been considered. Two sources with knowledge of the matter say that Trump's second Energy secretary Dan Brouillette…
Trump's Victory Lifts Small-Caps, Banks
Donald Trump's second term as U.S. President on Wednesday lifted equity markets, on the back of bets on lower corporate taxes, favorable tariffs, and deregulation. This lifted shares of local small-cap companies, banks, and Trump Media.Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors, was appointed to head a government efficiency panel after Trump endorsed the billionaire during his election campaign. This led to an increase of 12.6% in Tesla's shares.Futures linked to the Russell 2000 small-cap index surged by 6%.
TSX Futures Rise as Oil Supports; US Election in Focus
Crude prices lifted futures linked to Canada's major stock index on Monday as investors prepared for the highly anticipated U.S. Presidential election this week and Federal Reserve policy decision. At 6:00 a.m., December futures for the S&P/TSX Index were up 0.4%. ET (11:00 GMT). As polls show, Donald Trump and Kamalah Harris are in a close race for the U.S. elections on Tuesday. The United States is Canada's largest trading partner. This means that the result of the election will have a significant impact on Canada's markets and economy.
Chinese solar firms are ever-nimble and go to places where US tariffs do not reach
The U.S. tariffs on Vietnam and three other Southeast Asian nations have prompted some of the largest Chinese-owned factories to cut production and lay off workers. In the meantime, a number of Chinese-owned solar power plants are being built in Indonesia and Laos. These are outside of Washington's protections on trade. Reports show that their planned capacity would be enough to provide about half of the solar panels installed in the U.S. Chinese solar firms have shrunk their output in existing hubs, while building new factories elsewhere.
U.S. regulators consider the issue of data centers in power plants
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission held a technical meeting on Friday to discuss the reliability and cost concerns associated with the growing trend of building data centers that are energy-intensive on the site of U.S. nuclear power plants. The technology industry is racing to build data centers to support technologies such as generative artificial intelligence. However, accessing the huge amounts of electricity required for these centers quickly has become a major problem.
Wall St. ends lower than expected as Meta and Microsoft highlight AI costs
The major U.S. indexes ended lower on Thursday, after Microsoft and Meta Platforms pointed out that artificial intelligence costs could impact their earnings. This dampened the enthusiasm for megacaps which have been driving this year's market rally. Microsoft and Meta Platforms, which own Facebook, saw their shares fall despite the fact that both companies beat earnings expectations in results announced after Wednesday's bell. The other so-called Magnificent 7 megacap technology companies also fell.
