Hot Rock Batteries, Climeflation, and Climate Boomtowns
More EV startups (even former stars) are running out of money before attaining profitability (or more investment) (also)(and)
A slew of US leaders are telling government it needs to ratify law that would give it the ability to tap seabed mineral resources (if they choose to do so).
Pair accused of stealing battery manufacturing secrets from Tesla and starting their own company (in China).
Hot rock batteries are getting cheaper:
Dubai’s ‘sustainable city’ was supposed to start a trend. It hasn’t yet (looks like a cool place, though).
Nuclear power projects almost always cost more and take longer than planners expect, and that’s especially true in Western countries.
Siemens Energy prepares to resume sales of troubled wind turbines.
The world’s 100 worst polluted cities are in Asia—and 83 of them are in India:
Hydrogen’s biggest problem is that no one wants to buy it (that last line tells us why no one is super-keen on hydrogen over direct electrification, except the fossil fuel companies that want to opt for that over solar, wind, etc.):
Between tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act and the Department of Energy’s $7 billion hydrogen “hub” program, the U.S. is pouring cash into efforts by a host of startups and oil companies to produce the hydrogen fuel that could replace oil and natural gas in shipping, heavy industry, and other sectors that aren’t well-suited to renewable electricity. In theory, production-side subsidies should benefit buyers as well. But low-carbon hydrogen is far more expensive than the fossil fuels it could replace — equivalent to oil priced at up to $400 per barrel, according to Nasser, compared to today’s actual oil price of about $82.
Biden’s newest rule on auto emissions set to boost electric car sales (on one hand, this policy is less intense and fast-moving than the one that was initially proposed, but on the other, the automobile industry seems less likely to fight it, which means it’s more likely to stick rather than being caught up in court in perpetuity).
Midwest cities had worst air quality in U.S. in 2023:
On the conflict over energy resources in Guyana.
Nigeria’s high-cost oil industry is in decline.
This startup promised to help fashion go green, brands didn’t want to pay for it.
US housing finally waking up to flood risk (related: “climeflation”)(though “climate boomtowns” are still fairly affordable at the moment, and real estate sites are catching on to the trend).
BYD is killing it in the EV world.
Western EV-makers? Not so much (EV-focused rental companies? Maybe even worse, though Saudi Arabia is pumping more money into its bets).
Nissan is doubling-down on the EV market in a big way, though.
And: the water is eating the island.