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:
Fortescue Leads Australian Miners to Cut $7bn Diesel Subsidy with Renewables
Fortescue Metals, backed by CEO Dino Otranto, is urging the nation’s 18 biggest miners to replace the AU$11 billion (≈$7 bn) diesel tax credit with renewable power. The campaign calls for capping the Fuel Tax Credit at AU$50 million (≈$33 million) and reinvesting the savings into clean‑energy projects.
Amprius and Matternet Partner to Advance Drone Delivery
Amprius Technologies and Matternet announced a strategic partnership to integrate Amprius’s silicon‑anode lithium‑ion cells into Matternet’s M2 delivery drones. The cells deliver up to twice the energy density of traditional graphite batteries, extending range, payload and reducing charge time. Both...
Rising Heat Strains US Power Grid Needing Off-Season Repairs
A late‑spring heat wave is stressing the U.S. Eastern Interconnection, prompting PJM Interconnection to keep all generators online and suspend planned maintenance. Temperatures above 90°F are forecast across the East Coast, and PJM declared a low‑level emergency in parts of...
The New ‘Gold Rush’ of Geothermal Energy
Geothermal power is gaining traction as a zero‑emissions energy source. The sector’s visibility surged last week when Houston‑based Fervo Energy went public, raising $1.89 billion in its IPO—the largest clean‑tech offering ever—and achieving a valuation above $10 billion. The IPO signals strong...
Span Is Building a New Kind of Electric Utility
Span is turning residential electrical panels into a flexible grid resource, enabling homeowners to host AI compute nodes while avoiding expensive service upgrades. The company’s XFRA “distributed data center” leverages unused capacity, and its partnership with PG&E will see Span...
Utilities Are Betting Billions on a Technology That Could Become Obsolete
U.S. utilities have shifted from coal to natural‑gas plants, citing higher efficiency, lower shipping costs and minimal waste. However, recent EIA data show solar‑plus‑storage at $53.44/MWh and on‑shore wind at $29.58/MWh now undercut the $64.55/MWh levelized cost of combined‑cycle gas....
Iran's Floating Oil Stockpile Jumps 65% As U.S. Naval Blockade Bites
Iran’s floating oil stockpile surged 65% to roughly 42 million barrels as the U.S. naval blockade, launched in mid‑April, forced Iranian tankers to linger in the Persian Gulf and near the Strait of Hormuz. The number of Iranian‑laden vessels rose from...
The Impacts of the Iranian Crisis on Japan’s Energy Strategy
The February 28 US‑Israeli strike on Iran sent shockwaves through global energy markets, raising prices and testing supply chains. Japan, despite importing the bulk of its fossil fuels, weathered the crisis better than most Asian peers thanks to sizable crude‑oil reserves,...
OPEC+ and the Business World: What’s the Connection?
OPEC+ production decisions continue to steer global oil prices, creating ripple effects across transportation, manufacturing, consumer spending, and financial markets. When the cartel cuts output, fuel costs climb, squeezing margins for retailers, airlines, and logistics firms. Higher energy prices raise...
Energy Policymakers Grapple with Reliability, Fairness, and Flexibility: Texas Grid Roundup #92
Texas regulators are refining the ERCOT reliability standard, shifting from the 2026 Regional Transmission Plan forecast to a more conservative batch‑zero load projection. The batch‑zero forecast, expected by mid‑August, predicts a peak demand of 90‑98 GW, well below the 112 GW estimate...
Hull Street Energy to Acquire FirstLight’s Hydro, Pumped Storage Assets
Hull Street Energy (HSE) has signed an agreement to acquire FirstLight from the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, adding nearly 1,400 MW of renewable generation in the Northeast. The deal includes Northfield Mountain, a 1,168 MW pumped‑storage hydro plant that is New...
PNE Starts Fiscal Year 2026 with Strong Earnings Growth – Revenues and EBITDA Rise Significantly
PNE AG posted a robust start to fiscal 2026, with first‑quarter revenue surging to €56.2 million (≈ $61 million) and normalised EBITDA climbing to €17.9 million (≈ $19.5 million). The uplift was driven by strong project sales, better wind conditions and higher electricity generation of 262 GWh....
Chile’s Salt Flats and the Lithium Race neither China nor the US Wants to Lose
The Chilean government under President José Antonio Kast has moved to simplify lithium mining regulations, merging the economy and mining ministries and pledging faster permits and lower taxes. This shift reverses the previous left‑leaning National Lithium Strategy, rolling back environmental...
Ford Energy Secures 20 GWh Battery Storage Deal, Repurposes EV Plants for Grid Power
Ford Energy has signed a five‑year framework agreement with EDF Power Solutions North America to supply up to 20 GWh of containerized battery storage systems. The deal leverages Ford’s under‑utilized EV battery lines in Kentucky and Michigan, marking a major shift...
Schneider Electric Launches SE Advisory Services in India to Accelerate Energy Transition
Schneider Electric announced the launch of its SE Advisory Services in India, aiming to help clients meet the country's rapid electricity demand growth of over 6% a year and its 2035 climate targets. The new unit will combine sustainability expertise,...
NextEra Energy to Acquire Dominion in $67 B Deal Targeting AI Data‑Center Power
NextEra Energy announced an all‑stock acquisition of Dominion Energy valued at roughly $67 billion, forming the world’s biggest regulated electric utility. The merger, driven by exploding AI data‑center power needs, will give the combined firm a market cap of about $249 billion...
Utah Communities Pivot From Coal to Renewables, Targeting 300,000 Homes
Nineteen Utah municipalities have formed the Utah Renewable Communities coalition to build solar and wind projects that will offset the power used by roughly 300,000 homes and businesses. Backed by Rocky Mountain Power, the effort confronts a state where 75%...
Rwanda to Have Nuclear Energy in Early 2030s, Kagame Says
Rwandan President Paul Kagame announced that the country aims to have operational nuclear power by the early 2030s, focusing on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). The plan was reinforced at the Nuclear Energy Innovation Summit for Africa, where Rwanda received the...
Oil Slips After Trump Pauses Planned Iran Attack for Negotiations
Oil prices slipped on Tuesday after President Donald Trump announced a pause to a planned attack on Iran, citing ongoing negotiations. Brent crude fell 1% to $110.83 a barrel, while U.S. WTI slipped modestly. The move came amid a closed...
Rising Energy Costs and Data Centers at Heart of NextEra’s Dominion Bid
NextEra Energy announced a $120 billion acquisition of Dominion Energy, creating the nation’s largest utility. The combined entity would serve roughly 10 million customers across Florida, Virginia, the Carolinas and other southeastern states, inheriting nuclear, renewable, transmission and pipeline assets. Rising electricity...
Green Hydrogen From Ireland for Germany – HYreland Study Sees Strong Export Potential for European Supply Chains
An analysis by Fraunhofer ISE and Ireland’s utility ESB finds that the island can become a major green‑hydrogen exporter to Europe, especially Germany. Strong offshore wind, existing energy infrastructure and industrial sites around Cork make large‑scale electrolysis viable, while pipeline...
Lenders Now Actively Financing Merchant BESS Projects in Germany
Germany’s utility‑scale battery‑energy‑storage system (BESS) market has surged to over 2 GW by the end of 2025, establishing storage as an institutional asset class. Lenders are now actively financing merchant‑only BESS projects, even without capacity contracts, though they impose tighter debt...
Gulf of Oman VLCC Assessment in Spotlight as Hormuz Crisis Drags On
Tanker operators are increasingly referencing the Baltic Exchange’s Gulf of Oman‑to‑China VLCC assessment as the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked by the ongoing US‑Israel‑Iran conflict. While the assessment shows elevated rates, actual VLCC fixtures are scarce, making the figures largely...
Poland Moves Closer to Second LNG Terminal with FSRU Launch
Poland is advancing its second LNG terminal as South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries launched the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) destined for Gdańsk. The vessel will arrive in the Gulf of Gdańsk by the end of 2027 and...
H2 Core Systems Uses Siemens Tools for Hydrogen Systems
Siemens announced that German startup H2 Core Systems is leveraging the Siemens Xcelerator suite, including Solid Edge and Teamcenter Share, to design and build modular hydrogen‑based energy installations. The digital tools have halved production time, trimmed design cycles by 20%, and streamlined...
How Keystone Came Back From the Dead
The Biden administration cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline in 2021, but a new cross‑border project is emerging. President Donald Trump signed a presidential permit for the Bridger Pipeline Expansion, allowing construction of facilities at the Canada‑U.S. border in Montana. Canadian...
FSRU Launch Bringing Europe’s Next Terminal Closer to Completion
Poland’s gas transmission operator Gaz‑System launched a new 295‑metre floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) at Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea. The vessel, equipped with 170,000 cbm of LNG storage and a >6 bcm/year regasification capacity, will reach the Gulf of...
South Africa’s $5.8bn Green Hydrogen-Ammonia Project Advancing
South Africa’s Nelson Mandela Bay green hydrogen‑ammonia project is moving toward a final investment decision by Q3 2027 after selecting a $1 billion electrolyser‑and‑ammonia loop capable of producing one million tonnes of green ammonia annually at $650 per tonne. The venture,...
BPCL Q4 Results: Net Profit Plunges 58% QoQ to ₹3,191 Crore; Revenue Flat at ₹1.35 Lakh Crore
Bharat Petroleum Corporation reported a fourth‑quarter net profit of ₹3,191 crore ($384 million), a 58% sequential decline driven by a ₹4,349 crore ($524 million) impairment on its upstream subsidiary. Revenue rose to ₹1.34 lakh crore ($1.63 billion) year‑on‑year but slipped 1.2% from the prior quarter, while EBITDA...
India’s Peak Power Demand Hits Record High of 260 GW
India’s power grid set a new record on May 19, 2026, reaching a peak demand of 260.45 GW as extreme heat drove massive cooling loads. The previous day’s record of 257.37 GW was also surpassed, highlighting rapid demand spikes during heat waves. Coal‑fired...
ERCOT Forecast Projects Solar to Overtake Coal in Texas by 2026
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) forecasts that utility‑scale solar will generate 78 billion kilowatt‑hours in 2026, outpacing coal’s 60 billion kilowatt‑hours for the first time. The projection signals a decisive move toward renewables in the state’s power mix, driven by...
Trump’s Iran Negotiation Claim Sends Brent to $110.30, WTI to $103.31
U.S. President Donald Trump announced "serious negotiations" with Iran, prompting Brent crude futures to slip 1.6% to $110.30 a barrel and WTI to drop just over 1% to $103.31. The comment eased a recent price surge that had been driven...
SK Innovation Begins Construction on LNG-Fired Power Plant in Vietnam
South Korea’s SK Innovation has broken ground on a 1.5 GW LNG‑fired combined‑cycle power plant in Nghe An Province, part of the $2.3 bn Quynh Lap LNG Project. The development, built with state‑owned PetroVietnam Power and agribusiness NASU, also includes an LNG import terminal...
SMA Now Assembling Medium-Voltage Power Stations in Arkansas
SMA Solar Technology AG opened an integration facility in North Little Rock, Arkansas, to assemble its medium‑voltage power stations (MVPS) with partner CEP. German‑made inverters are shipped to the site, combined with U.S.‑produced transformers, and delivered as 20‑ft skidded containers...
The Middle Corridor’s Energy Dimension: A New Phase in Turkiye-Kazakhstan Ties
At the sixth Turkiye‑Kazakhstan High‑Level Strategic Cooperation Council in Astana, the two nations signed 13 agreements, with energy as the centerpiece. Turkey pledged to increase the volume of Kazakh oil transiting through its territory via the Middle Corridor, while Turkish...
'Point of No Return': A Research Firm Says the Oil Market Is Headed for a Dire Turning Point by Early...
HFI Research warns that if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed into the first week of June, the oil market could enter a "real panic" as global inventories approach rock‑bottom levels. The firm notes that U.S. crude stocks have already...
NextEra-Dominion Deal Shows Power Is Becoming a Supply Chain Constraint
NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy have announced an all‑stock merger that would create the world’s largest regulated electric utility, combining roughly 110 GW of generation assets and a 130‑GW pipeline of large‑load opportunities. The deal underscores how AI, data‑center expansion, electrification...
PJM Gets Emergency Approval to Curtail Data Centers, Large Loads During Hot Weather
PJM Interconnection received an emergency order from the U.S. Department of Energy allowing it to curtail data centers and other large loads that have on‑site backup generation. The directive covers a three‑day window starting May 18, as PJM anticipates less than...
Hydrogen Alliance Aims to Build Scalable Clean Energy
The Global Liquid Hydrogen Alliance (GLHA), led by ZESTA, is rallying the maritime sector around scalable liquid hydrogen (LH2) as a commercial fuel. Backed by $175 billion of pledged investment and more than 600 announced projects, the alliance highlights regulatory momentum...
Colombia Pushes Glencore on Cerrejón Closure Plans
Colombia’s government is urging Glencore to start planning a post‑coal future for the Cerrejón mine, whose concession runs until 2034. Production fell to 16.8 million tonnes in 2025, supporting more than 12,000 jobs and generating about $166 million in annual royalties. Officials...
Solar to Lead, Wind Second as Coal, Gas Fade
Renewables are unstoppable. BNEF's New Energy Outlook for this year says solar is set to be the biggest source of electricity in 2032 and wind will be second biggest in 2034. Both coal and gas displaced from those thrones. This...
Hormuz Closure Triggers 2026 Oil Shock
[CHARTBOOK] Strait of Hormuz closure and the oil shock of 2026 - slides for a presentation to the British Institute of Energy Economics: https://t.co/yL3UeeaHjW https://t.co/HWXdNxr2vB
Ammonium‐Anchored Mn‐Based Prussian Blue Analogues via Hydrogen Bonding for Robust Sodim‐Ion Battery Cathodes
Researchers have introduced a hydrogen‑bond anchoring technique that inserts tetrahedral NH4+ ions into the A‑site cavities of manganese hexacyanoferrate (MnHCF) Prussian blue analogues. The N‑H···N hydrogen bonds stabilize the framework at the molecular level, suppressing Jahn‑Teller distortion and preventing the...
US's Largest Wind Farm Set to Operate Next Month
A wind project billed as the largest clean energy installation in the US is due to come online next month https://t.co/AqX0z8r6sP
Tigo Energy Delivers U.S.-made Optimizers to EG4 Electronics for Use in Domestically-Produced Goods
Tigo Energy has delivered its first U.S.-made shipment of module‑level power electronics to EG4 Electronics, including 650W TS4‑A‑O optimizers, Cloud Connect Advanced data loggers and TAP units assembled in Vancouver, Washington. The components will be integrated with American‑made EG4 inverters,...
Molecular‐Level Engineered Approach Induces Built‐in Electric Field Modulation in G‐C3N4/CoMoS2 Heterojunction for Enhanced Hydrogen Generation via Urea Oxidation
Researchers engineered a g‑C3N4/CoMoS2 heterojunction electrocatalyst that leverages an intrinsic electric field to accelerate urea oxidation and hydrogen evolution. The built‑in field creates electrophilic g‑C3N4 and nucleophilic CoMoS2 sites, promoting rapid C‑N bond cleavage. In 1 M KOH with 0.33 M urea...
Banks Bet June Strait Opening to Avert Inventory Collapse
JPM, Goldman, and Morgan Stanley are all assuming the Strait opens in June. Not because the Trump admin has the upper hand but because global inventories will hit tank bottom if it doesn’t.
Venezuela Energy Reform and US Sanctions Relief Are Moving Together. Here’s What That Means.
Venezuela’s partial overhaul of its organic hydrocarbons law, announced in January, introduces lower tax rates, royalty caps, minority‑shareholder rights in joint ventures, and arbitration mechanisms, aiming to make the oil sector more attractive to foreign investors. Simultaneously, the U.S. Treasury’s...
Utilities at a Crossroads: Adopt Distributed Solar or Risk Becoming a Backup Plan
Utilities face a pivotal choice: embrace distributed solar or risk relegation to a backup role. The week’s cleantech roundup highlights pressure points—from xAI’s addition of 19 natural‑gas turbines for AI data centers to Ford’s attempt to revive its lagging EV...
Coupling Dead‐Lithium Reactivation and Interfacial Stabilization for Long‐Life Lithium Metal Batteries
Researchers introduced a multifunctional Li3Bi‑LiI composite interphase that forms in situ when BiI3 reacts with lithium metal. The LiI component dissolves during cycling, triggering a reversible I⁻/I₃⁻ redox that reactivates electrochemically dead lithium, while Li3Bi provides mechanical robustness and uniform...