Today's Energy Pulse
Scania pilots megawatt‑scale V2G for heavy‑duty electric trucks
Scania demonstrated one of the first vehicle‑to‑grid systems for heavy‑duty electric trucks using the Megawatt Charging System (MCS). The pilot showed bi‑directional power flow, allowing trucks parked at depots to feed electricity back to the grid, with real‑time communication between the truck, charger and energy‑management platform enabling dynamic charging and discharging. The test marks a step toward integrating large‑capacity EVs into grid balancing.
Also developing:
Fusion Doesn’t Have a Normal Startup Timeline, and Investors Are Fine with That
Private capital in fusion jumped from $10 billion to $15 billion within months, signaling a shift from speculative research to a viable asset class. Investors now compare the fusion playbook to biotech and SpaceX, focusing on milestones like the Q‑value rather than near‑term power‑plant deployment. The surge is driven by advances in superconducting tape and AI‑enhanced plasma modeling, and even a surprising merger with Trump Media highlighted the sector’s mainstream attention.
Valeura Charters Jackup Rig for Multi-Year Drilling Campaign in Gulf of Thailand
Valeura Energy has chartered the Shelf Drilling Enterprise jack‑up rig for a three‑year term ending in 2029, with operations slated to start in Q4 2026. The rig will first support production‑acceleration projects before moving to appraisal and exploration drilling across the...
ASCO Wins New Offshore and Gas Support Contracts in Australia
ASCO announced it has won a suite of Australian contracts worth AUD 33.2 million (approximately US$22 million). The awards span offshore decommissioning, gas‑plant support and logistics services across Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Projects include NORM radiation‑safety work, marine transport for a...
LUFKIN Upgrades Rod Lift Platform with Advanced Well Design Capabilities
LUFKIN Industries launched SROD V9.5.0, an upgraded rod‑lift design platform that automates data import and applies wave‑equation modeling to evaluate well performance. The new version adds a counterbalance reporting tool that calculates optimal rod‑lift configurations, aiming to reduce equipment strain...
Pumps & Valves Innovation Conference Brings Program for Operators, Engineers to the Gulf Coast
Empowering Pumps & Equipment and Gulf Energy Information have partnered to launch the Pumps & Valves Innovation Conference (PVIC), a two‑day technical event scheduled for November 2‑3, 2026 at the LyondellBasell CPET facility in Pasadena, Texas. The conference expands the...
Indonesia Talks Energy Transition, But Why Does Coal Still Rule? – by Alan Munandar (Modern Diplomacy – April 21, 2026)
Indonesia’s president pledged at the 2024 G20 summit to retire all coal and fossil‑fuel power plants within fifteen years, but days later his envoy softened the promise to a mere “phase‑down.” Despite the rhetoric, the country added the third‑largest amount...
Greens Gave Iran the Hormuz Stranglehold – by Lawrence Solomon (Financial Post – April 21, 2026)
Lawrence Solomon argues that Europe’s strict anti‑fracking and climate policies have forced the continent to rely on imported oil and gas, giving Iran strategic leverage over the Strait of Hormuz. He points out that abundant shale resources exist worldwide, but...
U.S.-Iran Tensions Spark Sharp Swings in U.S. Stocks, Oil and Treasuries
U.S. President Donald Trump’s extension of a cease‑fire with Iran, coupled with a continued naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, sent the S&P 500 and Nasdaq tumbling while oil prices surged. Traders scrambled for liquidity as Treasury yields rose...
The Last Refiner Standing
The report spotlights a U.S. refiner that leverages a monopoly position in a strategic region, cheap North American crude feedstock, and integrated retail and logistics to generate peer‑leading profitability. Record refinery throughput and improving operational reliability have lifted margins as...
Competitors Accelerate to Undermine China’s EV Battery Supply Chain Lead
Chinese companies continue to dominate the electric‑vehicle battery supply chain and are expanding production beyond China, while rivals scramble to adopt alternative chemistries and new sites to close the gap.
Reversible Solid‑oxide Cells Could Reshape Clean Power and Storage, Study Finds
Researchers from Northwestern Polytechnical University and Fuzhou University published a comprehensive review in eScience, arguing that coordinated advances in materials, electrochemistry and system integration can overcome durability and cost barriers for reversible solid‑oxide cells. The paper maps a roadmap that...
The Scuttlebutt at the 2026 Solar + Wind Finance & Investment Summit
The This Week in Cleantech podcast highlighted Iran’s recent strikes on aluminum smelters in the UAE and Bahrain, which pushed regional electricity prices up 11%. That surge lifted U.S. power costs to their highest level since Russia’s 2022 invasion of...
Crude Oil Surges Despite U.S. Extension Of Two-Week Ceasefire
Crude oil prices surged on Wednesday, with WTI June futures climbing $3.54 to $93.21 a barrel, a 3.95% gain, despite a U.S.‑declared two‑week cease‑fire in the U.S.–Iran conflict. The rally reflects lingering supply‑disruption fears as the Strait of Hormuz remains...
Question Time: Age of Scarcity and Energy Prices (VIDEO)
Alhambra Research’s Bob Williams examines the emerging "age of scarcity" in a new video, highlighting how constrained energy supplies are driving unprecedented price spikes. He links tighter oil and gas markets to higher inflation, reduced corporate margins, and shifting geopolitical...
Oil Servicer Weatherford Sees War Impacts Deepening This Quarter
Weatherford International warned that earnings will be hit by $30‑$50 million in the first half of the year as the Iran‑related war disrupts oilfield activity. The company posted first‑quarter earnings that beat estimates, but expects the impact to deepen in Q2...
Sitetracker Launches AI Platform Scout To Improve Infrastructure Management
Sitetracker, a New Jersey‑based software firm, launched Scout, an autonomous AI platform aimed at streamlining infrastructure delivery for utilities and contractors. Scout claims to turn internal system data into real‑time risk insights, automated work packages, and faster decision‑making across planning,...
Thailand Develops H-FAME Premium Biodiesel to Support Low-Carbon Transport Transition
Thailand’s National Energy Technology Centre (ENTEC) has created H‑FAME premium biodiesel, a drop‑in low‑carbon fuel that can cut CO₂ emissions by up to 50 % and particulate matter by up to 86 % without engine modifications. The fuel’s stability is boosted threefold...
The Data Center Surge Is Here; So Is Wildfire Season
U.S. data centers are projected to consume up to 580 TWh of electricity by 2028, dramatically increasing load on an aging utility grid. Simultaneously, about 180 million wooden utility poles are vulnerable to failure and wildfire ignition as climate stressors intensify. Composite...
The 17-Year Orderbook Nobody’s Tracking — Inside Shipbuilding’s Quiet Supercycle
A veteran LNG shipping CEO warned in December 2025 that the global orderbook of 234 new LNG carriers for 2026‑2030 will fall far short of the 229 million tons of liquefaction capacity slated for completion by 2030, creating a 70 Mt shortfall....
Breakbulk26: Loss of Persian Gulf Oil Supplies Difficult to Replace Quickly
At the Breakbulk26 conference, S&P Global Energy’s Amy Groeschel warned that the war in the Middle East could trap roughly 16 million barrels of crude and refined product in the Strait of Hormuz each day, a volume that cannot be replaced quickly....
Tri-State Expedites Energized Line Rebuild
Tri‑State Generation and Transmission Association rented a TLL‑1300 triple‑line lifter to rebuild two short sections of a 115 kV radial line near Burlington, Colorado. The equipment enables crews to work on multiple energized lines simultaneously, cutting repositioning time and boosting overall...
Oil Prices Rise Despite US-Iran Ceasefire Extension
Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday as Brent crude approached $100 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose above $90, despite the United States extending a cease‑fire with Iran. The extension has done little to ease market nerves, with...
NRD Releases Solid-State Nuclear Battery Power Cell
NRD unveiled its NBV series, a solid‑state betavoltaic nuclear battery powered by nickel‑63. The cell delivers 5 nW to 500 nW of power, with voltages ranging from 1 V to 20 V, in a compact 20 mm × 20 mm × 12 mm package. Designed for ultra‑low‑power electronics, it promises maintenance‑free...
Base Power Partnership to Mitigate Price Spikes, Load Peaks for South Texas Co-Op, CEO Says
Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative (GVEC) is expanding its residential battery program with Base Power, adding 50 MW of distributed storage across its 3,500‑square‑mile service area. The partnership builds on a 2‑MW pilot and targets 20 MW of capacity by the end of...
The Security Imperative of India’s Clean Energy Transition
India’s reliance on Middle‑East fossil fuels has been starkly exposed by the recent Strait of Hormuz closure, which cut off roughly half of its crude oil and over 60% of LNG imports. The shock drove LPG shortages that cost the...
Five Ways Utilities Can Make Better Decisions with the Data They Already Have
U.S. utilities spent over $50 billion on distribution upgrades in 2023, yet control rooms still drown in fragmented, uncontextualized data. Everardo Camacho outlines five practices—unifying data streams, correlating alerts, adding operational context, adopting predictive analytics, and aligning teams around a shared...
Nordex Pushes Forward Development: N175/6.X Turbine Receives 7.3 MW Operating Mode and New Hybrid Tower Options for Higher Yields -...
Nordex is upgrading its flagship N175/6.X turbine with a new 7.3 MW operating mode that can lift annual energy output by up to 1.7 % without increasing noise. The company also secured certification for two hybrid tower variants—a 162.5 m concrete‑steel design and...
On Energy, Our Supply Chains NOT Keeping Up
U.S. energy production reached unprecedented levels in 2025, with crude oil output climbing to 13.6 million barrels per day and natural‑gas output hitting nearly 109 billion cubic feet per day. These figures make the United States the world’s largest energy producer by...
How Much CO2 Do Oil Tankers Emit?
A new analysis highlights the carbon footprint of oil tankers supplying California, where 484 million barrels were consumed in 2025 but only 111 million barrels were produced domestically. The war in the Middle East has forced longer shipping routes, increasing bunker fuel...
Powering the Arsenal: CSIS Warns Energy Could Limit U.S. War Production
The Center for Strategic and International Studies warns that the United States’ defense‑industrial surge could be throttled by regional energy shortfalls, not a lack of total power. A CSIS brief estimates a full‑scale war would need about 17.4 petajoules of...
Datacenter Boom Keeps Dirty Coal Plants Alive in the US
Datacenter construction in the United States, driven by AI and other high‑power workloads, is pushing electricity demand sharply upward. The surge is causing utilities to keep aging coal‑fired plants online, delaying roughly 40% of retirements scheduled through 2025. At the...
Edison: Qatar to Extend Gas Force Majeure, U.S. LNG Filling Gap
Italian utility Edison warned that Qatar may keep its LNG force majeure in place beyond mid‑June, after the Gulf supplier cancelled ten cargoes totaling 1.4 billion cubic metres. To bridge the shortfall, Edison secured seven cargoes from U.S. exporters, effectively substituting...
U.S. Gas Exports Will Boom Again in 2027
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Short‑Term Energy Outlook projects a resurgence in U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports as five new LNG projects come online by the end of 2027. Net natural‑gas exports are expected to climb 18 % to 18.7 billion...
US Supreme Court Sides with Michigan in Its Fight to Shut Down Ageing Pipeline
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Michigan’s lawsuit to shut down Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline segment must remain in state court, rejecting the company’s attempt to move the case to federal jurisdiction. Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted Enbridge missed the 30‑day...
To Phase Out Fossil Fuels, Developing Countries Need Exit Route From “Debt Trap”
A new report from the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative warns that soaring external debt – now $8.9 trillion for low‑ and middle‑income nations – is trapping developing countries in a cycle where fossil‑fuel revenues are needed to service debt, while that...
New Methods Could Ship Alberta Bitumen Without Pipelines
How Alberta Bitumen Could Bypass Pipelines Entirely Economist Richard Masson explains new approaches to shipping bitumen to market. #ableg #abpoli #oilsands https://youtu.be/Hr6wDz-_hXo
Solar Dominates Day, Batteries Own Night, India Accelerates Clean Energy
Today on Volts: the think tank @emberenergyresearch is out with its yearly Global Electricity Review. I talk with two of the co-authors about the big stories this year: Solar has won the day; batteries are winning the night. Fossil power...
Oil Rises, Asian Stocks Mostly Fall After Trump Extends Ceasefire
President Donald Trump announced an extension of the U.S.–Iran cease‑fire, prompting Brent crude to climb above $100 a barrel and WTI past $90. Asian equity markets slipped, with Hong Kong and Sydney indexes falling more than 1%, while Tokyo and Shanghai...
Enercon Signs Large Framework Deal to Supply New Flagship Turbine to Canada
Enercon has secured a framework agreement to supply its flagship E‑175 EP5 E2 turbine to Canadian wind projects totaling more than 440 MW. The 7 MW turbine comes equipped with a cold‑climate system and blade‑heating technology designed for the country’s severe winters. Delivery will...
Transforming AI’s Energy Demand Into a Grid Asset
AI needs energy. A lot of it. But the more interesting question is what happens next. In this Earth Day episode of TEQ, Carolina Milanesi sits down with Christopher Wellise (@cwellise), VP of Sustainability at @Equinix, to unpack whether the infrastructure...
EU Finally Admits Oil and Gas Still Essential
The EU finally realizing it’s going to need oil & gas for long enough to justify frontier exploration.
Death Toll From Boiler Explosion at Vedanta’s India Coal Power Plant Rises to 24, Triggers Probes
A boiler explosion at Vedanta Ltd.'s Chhattisgarh Thermal Power Plant on April 14 killed 24 workers and left dozens with severe burns. The blast occurred in Unit 1 when a high‑pressure steam tube ruptured after a rapid load ramp‑up amid furnace over‑pressure....
Remembering Deepwater Horizon: 16 Years of Environmental Disaster
Deepwater Horizon oil spill started 16 years ago this week. Shit was crazy. Went on for months
Presidents' Oil Price Moves During Hormuz Crisis
A brief history of presidential oil price jawbones through the Hormuz crisis. Feel free to add your favourites below. https://t.co/iF0JvVgn0v
78% Tax Rate Means State Bears Most Carbon Tax
"With a marginal tax rate of 78%, the state effectively shares a large portion of the carbon tax cost (because carbon taxes are deductible as operating costs)." Yes, but let's imagine why he would say if Canada raised its marginal...
Ship Seizures Signal Iran’s Growing Control of Hormuz
Ship Seizures Mark New Phase in Iran’s De Facto Control of Hormuz. With extended ceasefire. The situation looks shaky. https://t.co/pThf20VEbW
Mapping Hormuz Bypass Easy, Execution Far More Challenging
Bypassing Hormuz: “You can draw beautiful lines on the map. To try to make it happen in reality is something else.” @QamarEnergy @ColumbiaUEnergy @rfelliott https://t.co/JKNGbORqzA
WTI Climbs 11% as US‑UK Spread Flips Dramatically
US oil (WTI) is up 11% on the week again as we move back above 93. Meanwhile, the US-UK (WTI-Brent) spread has swung back from the unusual positive extreme (+2.50, highest since Nov 2008) back to negative extreme (-8.75). Basis...
Live: Jennifer Granholm Discusses Energy Policy & IRA
Hot on the heels of last week's episode with Fatih Birol, going live at the top of the hour this week's episode is with Jennifer Granholm. Two-time governor of Michigan, Secretary of Energy under President Biden, author of the Inflation...
US Boarding Threatens Iran-China Oil Shadow Fleet
Secretive Shipments of Iranian Oil to China Are Under Threat by U.S.—Boarding of tanker raises risk for sanctions-evading ‘shadow fleet’ @austinramzy @RebeccaYFeng https://t.co/5rcMcxUf3Y https://t.co/5rcMcxUf3Y