Author: Anela Dokso

India recycles an estimated 60 percent of its plastic waste, far exceeding the global average of 14 percent, yet only around 13 percent is converted into high-value recycled outputs, revealing a structural inefficiency in the country’s recycling value chain.

A 60 GWh supply agreement for sodium-ion batteries signals a shift in the global energy storage market, where reliance on lithium-based chemistries is increasingly being challenged by emerging alternatives. The three-year partnership between CATL and HyperStrong marks the largest sodium-ion battery deal announced to date, highlighting growing confidence in the technology’s readiness for large-scale deployment.

Research led by the University of Kentucky is exploring an alternative pathway by converting coal into high-purity synthetic graphite, aiming to establish a domestic source for a material that remains critical to battery performance.

Germany’s target to reach up to 10 GW of domestic electrolyzer capacity by 2030 is increasingly shaping cross-border partnerships, as technology providers and infrastructure companies position themselves to capture industrial hydrogen demand.

Europe’s circular economy workforce expanded by 10 percent between 2014 and 2023, reaching approximately 4.4 million jobs across the EU-27, yet structural barriers continue to limit the transition from niche applications to system-wide industrial adoption, according to assessments published by the European Environment Agency. The findings highlight a widening gap between policy ambition and market readiness as the bloc prepares its forthcoming Circular Economy Act.

A 350 MW / 1,243 MWh battery energy storage project at Hams Hall in North Warwickshire, developed by BW ESS in partnership with EDF, will ultimately expand to 400 MW / 1,424 MWh following a second phase of development.

Spain has awarded 12.64 GWh per day of hydrogen injection capacity into its natural gas network, selecting 35 projects from 285 applications, a conversion rate that underscores both the scale of developer interest and the limited near-term capacity of existing infrastructure.

The Pacifico Mexinol project in Mexico has entered its pre-construction phase, positioning itself as one of the largest planned facilities for blue and ultra-low carbon methanol with an expected combined output of 2.15 million metric tonnes annually.

Europe’s carbon capture and storage landscape is entering a phase where early-stage geological validation is becoming as critical as industrial deployment. Croatia’s allocation of €2.7 million in EU-backed funding for CCS development reflects this shift, targeting foundational data gaps that continue to constrain large-scale carbon storage investment across the region.

China’s installed renewable energy capacity reached approximately 2.4 billion kilowatts by March 2026, accounting for more than 60 percent of total national power capacity, signaling a structural shift in the world’s largest electricity system.