Crude oil prices started moving higher early on Friday, set to book their first weekly gain in several weeks as China reported growth in exports and imports, and ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas broke down. China reported a 5.45% increase in crude oil imports specifically for last month, equal to a daily rate of 10.88 million barrels. This was lower than the March average, which stood at 11.55 million bpd but was still strong enough to warrant a change in sentiment among traders. One reason for that was the news that the latest round of ..read more

Last month, we reported that scores of beleaguered solar companies in Europe were looking to abandon their home countries and set up shop in the United States amid intense competition from Chinese solar manufacturers as well as favorable solar and clean energy policies in the U.S. To wit, Swiss solar module maker Meyer Burger has revealed plans to stop panel production in Germany and relocate to the United States after failing to garner support from Berlin. Similarly, Norway’s Freyr Battery has stopped ..read more

The Trans Mountain Expansion Project, now finally completed after years of delays, is expanding access to markets for Canadian oil producers and is set to boost the price of Canada’s heavy crude oil for years to come, top executives at the major energy firms say. The expanded pipeline is tripling the capacity of the original pipeline to 890,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 300,000 bpd to carry crude from Alberta’s oil sands to British Columbia on the Pacific Coast.  The Federal Government of Canada bought the Trans Mountain ..read more

Via Metal Miner Nickel prices followed other base metals up throughout April, with a nearly 15% month-over-month rise. By late April, prices hit their highest level since September, although they subsequently began to retrace as upside momentum cooled. Overall, the Stainless Monthly Metals Index (MMI) rebounded, with a 9.58% jump from April to May. Outokumpu, Acerinox Post Q1 Results Outokumpu and Acerinox, the parent company of North American Stainless, recently released their first-quarter results. While both producers noted constrained output ..read more

As many as 25 Republican U.S. states sued on Thursday the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), challenging the Administration’s strict rules on emissions from power plants. The attorney general of the states filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Reuters reports. At the end of April, EPA announced final rules on emissions reductions of power plants which would force coal-fired power plants that plan to run in the long-term and all new baseload gas-fired plants to capture ..read more

Tokyo University of Science scientists have discovered a stable, highly conductive lithium-ion conductor in the form of a pyrochlore-type oxyfluoride. It’s an innovation addressing the need for non-sulfide solid electrolytes. All-solid-state lithium-ion batteries offer enhanced safety and energy density compared to liquid electrolyte counterparts, but face challenges like lower conductivity and insufficient electrode contact. The non-sulfide solid electrolytes, offer higher conductivity and stability and pave the way for advanced all-solid-state ..read more

India is gearing up to tackle its most significant power deficit in 14 years this June, propelled by a decline in hydropower generation, according to government sources. With projections indicating a shortfall of 14 GW during nighttime hours, the nation's power sector faces a critical challenge, necessitating urgent measures to avert potential outages. The impending deficit is exacerbated by delays in commissioning 3.6 GW of new coal-fired plants, originally slated for operation before March. The situation underscores the critical importance of ..read more

In 2023, solar energy accounted for three-quarters of renewable capacity additions worldwide. Most of this growth occurred in Asia, the EU, and the U.S., continuing a trend observed over the past decade. In this graphic, Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti illustrates the rise in installed solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in China, the EU, and the U.S. between 2010 and 2022, measured in gigawatts (GW). Bruegel compiled the data.. Chinese Dominance As of 2022, China’s total installed capacity stands at 393 GW, nearly double that of the EU’s ..read more

Hydrogenone Capital Growth, the investment trust focused on cash into clean hydrogen, has reported a strong performance of its underlying holdings, even though its share price has struggled. The trust’s net asset value (NAV) has grown 0.6 percent since the start of the year, and 3.6 percent since March 2023, it reported in a quarterly portfolio update today. Hydrogen companies in the portfolio Elcogen (19.4 per cent of NAV), HiiROC (15.3 per cent of NAV) and Sunfire (20.9 per cent of NAV) all gained new strategic investments in the period ..read more

Tesla just fired the staff in charge of its recharging network? No explanation. Best explanation: recharging stations lose money. There’s a chicken and egg problem here. You can’t sell electric vehicles without them. Or perhaps this is an accounting problem. Yet fear of being stranded without a place to recharge may be the most powerful reason not to buy an electric vehicle.  Without a ubiquitous charging network, electric vehicles will remain limited in market share. Shouldn’t the developers of the vehicles underwrite recharging ..read more