Today's Energy Pulse
Scania pilots vehicle‑to‑grid power for heavy‑duty electric trucks
Scania showcased one of the first V2G systems for heavy‑duty electric trucks using the Megawatt Charging System (MCS). The pilot demonstrated bi‑directional power flow, letting trucks feed stored electricity back to the grid while parked, with real‑time communication enabling dynamic charging and discharging. The company also opened orders for trucks equipped with an extra battery pack and MCS.
Also developing:
Locals Object to $14 Billion British Neocloud Latest Plans, Nscale Pushes On
Nscale is moving forward with a £14 billion (approximately $17.5 billion) neocloud data‑centre project in the United Kingdom despite a local planning committee’s objection. The committee demanded formal assurances that the facility would not overload the regional electricity grid. Nscale has signaled it will continue the application while seeking to address the energy‑supply concerns. The dispute highlights the tension between rapid data‑centre expansion and existing infrastructure limits.
Japan Temporarily Lifts Coal Limits Amid Middle East Tensions
🚨 JAPAN TO LIFT COAL POWER LIMITS FOR 1 YEAR Japan is temporarily easing restrictions on coal-fired power plants for the next 12 months. The emergency measure comes as a direct response to rising Middle East tensions and potential disruptions to energy...
Iran War Sends Shockwaves Through Energy, Fertilizer and Consumer Goods Supply Chains
The war sparked by Iran’s confrontation with the United States and Israel has closed the Strait of Hormuz, driven Brent crude above $100 a barrel and halted key fertilizer shipments, while India grapples with an LPG shortage that threatens millions...
BAIC Unveils 11‑Minute Charge Sodium‑Ion EV Battery with 450 Km Range
Beijing Automotive Group’s R&D unit announced a sodium‑ion battery prototype that can fully charge in about 11 minutes and deliver a CLTC range of 450 km. The pack boasts over 170 Wh/kg energy density and operates from –40 °C to 60 °C, positioning...
GAIL (India) Limited to Acquire 49% Stake in Leafiniti Bioenergy Private Limited
GAIL (India) Limited is investing roughly $1.6 million to acquire a 49 percent stake in Leafiniti Bioenergy, a TruAlt subsidiary, launching a joint venture to build six greenfield compressed biogas (CBG) plants in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Odisha. The first phase will deliver...
Chevron Warns California of Historic Fuel Shortage as Diesel Tops $7 per Gallon
Chevron warned that California is on the brink of a historic fuel shortage after diesel prices surged past $7 a gallon, the highest on record. The company said it may cease refining in the state unless taxes and regulations are...
CoolCo’s Nine LNG Vessels Sport Revamped Propulsion Drives
ABB upgraded the propulsion drives on CoolCo’s nine LNG carriers, replacing frequency converters and control electronics with its latest Universal Control Unit platform. The modular retrofit adds more than ten years to each vessel’s operational life while keeping dry‑dock time...
Iran's Hormuz Closure Sends Brent to $104, Triggers Global Energy Shock
Iran’s decision to block the Strait of Hormuz has driven Brent crude up to $104 a barrel, a 40% jump since the war began, while roughly 2,000 vessels remain stranded. The move fuels a price surge, a de‑facto toll‑booth regime...
EPA Issues Temporary E15 Gasoline Waiver to Ease $4‑plus Pump Prices
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, led by Administrator Lee Zeldin, approved a short‑term waiver permitting nationwide sales of E15 gasoline from May 1 to May 20. The move targets near‑$4‑per‑gallon pump prices that have surged amid the Iran war, while sparking debate...
Samsung to Launch GaN Foundry and SiC Pilot Line, Targeting Power Market
Samsung Electronics will begin mass production at its 8‑inch GaN power‑semiconductor foundry line in the second quarter of 2026 and start sample production of silicon‑carbide (SiC) devices in the third quarter. The move positions Samsung as a new player in...
Gulf Tensions Force Arabian Drilling to Suspend Ops on some Offshore Rigs
Saudi Arabia’s largest drilling contractor, Arabian Drilling, announced the suspension of several offshore rigs in the Gulf due to heightened regional tensions, while its on‑shore fleet of 39 rigs remains fully operational. The move follows a similar short‑term shutdown by...
CTRI Poised for Comeback with 30% IRR Target
$CTRI is a broken spin-off staging a comeback - Parent $SWX fully exited; 80% supply overhang is gone - Pure-play exposure to grid load growth and gas infrastructure - DD organic growth + long roll-up runway - Implied 30% IRR with a target of...
The Iran War Is Hitting Every Node in the LNG Supply Chain
The ongoing war in Iran is disrupting every node of the regional liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply chain, choking exports from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. With Gulf output curtailed, European and Asian buyers are forced to vie for...
British Airways To Offer Pilots Bonus For Burning Less Fuel: Smart Or Risky?
British Airways will introduce a pilot incentive program that offers up to a 1% bonus on basic salary if collective fuel‑burn reductions meet a target of 60,000 tonnes of CO₂ below 2025 levels, slated to begin in 2027 after a...
Morgan Sindall Starts Passivhaus Scheme at Cambridge University
Morgan Sindall Construction has broken ground on the Owlstone Croft Passivhaus student housing scheme at Queens’ College, Cambridge. The £34.4 million (~$44 million) project will deliver 13 new homes with 60 bedrooms and refurbish existing Blocks A and B to add 87...
Energy Crisis: A Green Light for Renewables?
The episode examines how the Middle East conflict‑driven energy shock is reshaping Asia’s energy security strategy and accelerating its renewable transition. HSBC analysts Fred Newman and Harold van der Linde discuss Asia’s heavy reliance on imported oil and gas, while...
#363 Uncrewed Vessels and Unprecedented Data
During its seventh Allocation Round, the UK held Europe’s largest offshore wind auction, awarding contracts for 8.4 GW of new capacity—enough to power roughly 10 million homes. The upcoming Allocation Round 8 aims to push capacity toward 10 GW, supported by radar system upgrades....
Bluetti Owner PowerOak Files for Hong Kong IPO: The Fourth Major Player in Global Portable Energy Storage
PowerOak, the maker of Bluetti portable batteries, has lodged a main‑board IPO application on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, positioning it as the city’s first listed pure‑play portable‑energy‑storage firm. The Shenzhen‑based company ranked fourth globally in 2024, capturing 6.6% of...
‘Absolutely Bright’ Future for Battery Storage in Ukraine
Ukraine is rapidly building battery energy storage to offset an inflexible, Soviet‑era nuclear and pumped‑hydro fleet while integrating a growing share of renewables that already cause curtailment at under 10% penetration. DTEK has connected about 0.5 GW of batteries, including a...
Panel Mulls Solutions to Better Coordinate Gas Development in South Africa
A panel of South African gas experts warned that the country’s gas development process is fragmented, jeopardizing the transition to reliable baseload power as renewable capacity expands. They highlighted the imminent "gas cliff" for industrial users and stressed the need...
Philippines Takes Delivery of Russian Oil After US Waiver
Petron Corp., the Philippines' largest refiner, received a shipment of roughly 13.5 million barrels of Russian crude after Washington granted a sanctions waiver for oil already loaded on tankers. The waiver, issued to mitigate supply shortages caused by the closure of...
Analyst Admits Early‑year Oil Optimism Was Misplaced
oil companies up and mining stocks down. First time I have seen an analyst (PJ Invesco) admit hey we’re wrongly optimistic start of the year and many positions are locked in. Outlook hopeful and great point said- we are not as dependent...
Listen: Can Europeans Actually Reduce Our Gas Consumption?
European households are grappling with soaring energy bills as gas prices remain high. The EU forced an 18% cut in gas consumption after Russia's invasion, surpassing its target, and experts now urge a repeat of that mandate. Alternatives such as...
BluEnergies Secures Top Bid in Gulf of America Lease Sale, Engages Independent Houston Firm for Reserve Evaluation
BluEnergies Ltd. won the top bid for the 5,000‑acre SS‑59 lease in the Gulf of America’s shallow federal waters, securing a 100 % working interest for a five‑year term. The block sits within the Crown Royal prospect, where a 1987 Texaco...
Floating Solar‑Aquaculture Needs Ecological, Economic Longevity
Floating solar combined with aquaculture is an interesting idea. Using the same surface for energy generation and food production sounds efficient. Less land use. Lower evaporation. Potentially better panel performance. But the concept also raises questions that are often overlooked. What happens to the...
Barclays Sees 13–14 Million Bpd Oil Supply Loss From Prolonged Hormuz Disruption
Barclays estimates that a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz would remove 13‑14 million barrels per day from global oil supply, representing roughly 13% of projected 2026 demand. The bank warns that if the disruption extends into late April, Brent...
Maine Tries Again to Unlock Wind Energy. This Time, It Has Help.
Large‑scale on‑shore wind could finally launch in Maine after years of stalled attempts, as regulators in five New England states evaluate proposals for up to 1.2 GW of capacity in northern Maine. The multistate collaboration, backed by RENEW Northeast, aims to...
Virginia Set to Enact a Flurry of Laws Boosting Cleaner, Cheaper Power
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger is poised to sign a suite of bills that expand solar generation, accelerate battery storage, and improve grid utilization to curb soaring electricity costs. Key measures include Senate Bill 347, which blocks outright bans on large‑scale...
Tesla’s Newest “Folding V4 Superchargers” Are Key to Its Most Aggressive Expansion Yet
Tesla has introduced a folding V4 Supercharger that lets 33% more units fit on a single truck, slashing deployment time by half and cutting installation costs about 20%. The new V4 cabinet delivers up to 500 kW per stall for passenger...
Iran's Hormuz Fee Push Spurs Focus on Malacca
Iran's bid to start charging a fee to vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz (Tehran never ratified the UNCLOS despite signing it in 1982) is making other countries ensure they don't encounter such risks in other chokepoints -- the Straits...
ChargePoint Launches Premier Care and Self-Service Portal
ChargePoint announced two new charger‑management services – Premier Care, a concierge‑style offering for operators with large or complex EV charging deployments, and a self‑service Support Portal that ships with every ChargePoint Cloud Plan subscription. Premier Care assigns a dedicated expert to handle revenue...
Another Power Crisis
In this episode of Plugged In, the hosts examine how the war in Iran is reverberating through Europe’s power markets, reigniting price volatility and testing the resilience of the continent’s energy transition. Julia Demedag outlines Germany’s improved but still gas‑dependent...
“Self-Erecting” Wind Turbine Hits Power Milestone Ahead of Joining Fortescue Pilbara Project
A prototype wind turbine that merges Nabrawind’s self‑erecting tower with Envision Energy’s 7.8 MW rotor has achieved full‑capacity operation at a Chinese test site. The hybrid unit will be shipped later this year to Fortescue’s Nullagine Wind farm in Western Australia,...
Tanker Carrying Russian Oil Hit By Drone Attack in Black Sea
A Sierra Leone‑flagged Suezmax tanker, the Altura, was struck by drones near the Bosporus, damaging its bridge and engine room but causing no crew injuries. Turkish officials say the attack likely involved an unmanned underwater vehicle, a rare method in...
ConocoPhillips CEO Warns Supply Losses, Infrastructure Gaps Will Drive Higher Oil Prices
ConocoPhillips Chairman and CEO Ryan Lance warned that the removal of 8‑10 million barrels per day of oil and roughly 20% of global LNG capacity is creating a tight market that will push oil prices higher. He said U.S. shale output...
Sierra Leone Promotes Offshore Licensing, Upstream Potential at Paris Energy Forum
Sierra Leone’s Petroleum Directorate announced its sixth offshore licensing round, targeting deep‑water blocks in a largely untapped frontier basin. Recent 3‑D seismic surveys suggest the offshore could hold tens of billions of barrels of recoverable oil and gas. At the...
Petrobras Awards Foresea Long-Term Drillship Contract for Mero Field Offshore Brazil
Foresea secured a long‑term contract with Petrobras to operate the ultra‑deepwater drillship ODN I on the Mero field offshore Brazil, adding roughly $465 million to its order backlog. The agreement covers a 1,443‑day drilling campaign slated to begin in early 2027, with...
Nigeria Fast-Tracks Permits to Revive Idle Oil Wells, Boost Production
Nigeria’s Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has reduced idle‑well permit approvals from weeks to mere hours, aiming to boost output as crude prices hover around $100 a barrel. The fast‑track process has already cleared 500 permits in 2024, encouraging local firms...
Saudi Arabia Ramps Yanbu Exports Toward 5 MMbpd as Hormuz Disruption Forces Rerouting
Saudi Arabia is accelerating crude exports from its Yanbu Red Sea terminals, aiming for a 5 MMbpd target as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed by Iran. The East‑West pipeline linking Abqaiq to Yanbu can handle 7 MMbpd, but 2 MMbpd are...
White House Predicts Lower Gas Prices via Trump’s Oil Push
"We're going to see prices at the pump go back down," says White House's Karoline Leavit Trump's prioritization of domestic oil production will to it, she says Just like Drill, Baby, Drill that never happened for the last 15 months? You don’t offset...
Taiwan Spends $600M Extra as LNG Prices Double
Taiwan spent an extra $600 million to secure LNG through June to replace lost Qatari supply 🇹🇼 💰 Taiwan’s Economic Minister said spot LNG prices are “about twice as high as long-term contract prices with Qatar” The island depends more on gas...
China Open to Reviving South China Sea Oil Talks, but Tells Philippines to 'Show Sincerity'
China signaled that its door remains open for joint oil and gas development in the South China Sea, but it told Manila it must first demonstrate sincerity before talks can resume. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. linked the renewed interest to...
Liddell Shifts From Coal to 500MW Battery by 2026
"The Resurrection of the Hunter: Liddell’s Transition from Coal Giant to Battery Powerhouse" The first 250 megawatt phase is currently being put through its paces, with the full 500 megawatt capacity expected to be commercially operational by June 2026. https://t.co/wi9ivAy4Ue
India's 2025 CO2 Growth Slowest in 20 Years
NEW ANALYSIS: India's CO2 emissions in 2025 grew at slowest rate in more than two decades 🏭power CO2 down 3.8% ☀️record clean-energy growth 🚗oil demand only up 0.4% 🏗️steel/cement up 8/10% By CREA for CB https://t.co/PbsujsYFN9 https://t.co/GMaOhXfXzR
EVs Charge Cheaper than Petrol, Urging UK Renewable Push
as gas and oil prices surge, I managed to charge up two EVs yesterday for far less than 1 litre of petrol (gasoline) 🙃 I hope the UK government follows Portugal and Spain and invests heavily in renewable energy https://t.co/9xuUvHpp9C
Fuel Subsidies Breed Artificial Shortages, Warns President Nanggaw
ONE thing President @edmnangagwa understood very early in his presidency is that SUBSIDIES create ARTIFICIAL SHORTAGES. Countries with fuel subsidies are already experiencing MASSIVE SHORTAGES… https://t.co/bpI2xgOqg6
Chile's Renewable Revolution: Wind & Solar Outpace Fossils
In just over a decade, Chile went from no utility-scale wind or solar to more electricity from these sources than from all fossil fuels combined. 2000: wind+solar 0%, fossil fuels 45% 2025: wind+solar 36%, fossil fuels 28% https://t.co/sL9Igdp0rP
Asia Braces for Looming Energy Crisis Across Multiple Nations
Asia are preparing for worst-case energy scenarios 🚨 🇰🇷 South Korea set up an emergency economic task force 🇮🇳 Modi warned India faced unprecedented challenges 🇵🇭 The Philippines said there is “imminent danger of a critically low energy supply” https://t.co/bCF6njaYxh
France Appoints Six Firms for PV Module Recycling
France selects six operators for PV module recycling capacity #energysky -- via pv magazine global: https://t.co/h4W6IZISaO
Robots Deploy 100 MW Solar on 1‑GW AES Project
Robots install 100 MW of solar panels on 1-GW AES project #energysky -- via Solar Power World: https://t.co/twW6hPg4bg