Author: Anela Dokso

The Trump administration has announced more than $700 million in federal support for coal-related energy projects, including funding aimed at extending the life of existing plants, developing new coal generation, and supporting carbon capture initiatives.

Renewable energy developer Sunly and Rolls-Royce Power Systems have signed agreements to develop four utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Latvia with a combined capacity of 490 MWh.

Engineering company Studsvik has submitted plans for between 600 MWe and 1,400 MWe of new nuclear capacity near its Nyköping headquarters, while the Swedish government is preparing to increase state involvement in a separate small modular reactor (SMR) project at the Ringhals Nuclear Power Plant site.

Producing one kilogram of hydrogen through conventional electrolysis requires approximately 9 kilograms of water, creating additional pressure on freshwater supplies as electrolyzer deployment expands. UK-based Hychor, a spin-off from the University of Aberdeen, is developing a seawater-based hydrogen production system designed to address this limitation by eliminating the need for freshwater treatment before electrolysis.

The global chemical industry is increasingly shifting from pilot-scale circularity initiatives toward securing commercial volumes of recycled feedstocks, with BASF and Texas-based Encina strengthening their partnership around chemically recycled benzene production.

California’s growing electricity demand and renewable integration challenges are increasing the importance of hybrid solar and battery storage projects capable of delivering both clean energy and grid flexibility. The BigBeau Solar+Storage Project in Kern County is the latest example of this shift, with EDF power solutions North America and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Masdar, securing 15 year power purchase agreements covering output from the 128 MWac solar facility and its 40 MW/160 MWh battery energy storage system.

In the United Arab Emirates, Innovation Platform Capital (iPC) and Intelligent Investment Holding (IIH) have announced a strategic joint venture to develop a large scale green hydrogen production platform aimed at supplying domestic industries while creating future export opportunities.

In Tarragona, Spain, a proposed green hydrogen facility backed by H2PRO and Sun Systems Group aims to connect renewable electricity generation with one of Europe’s largest industrial clusters, targeting the decarbonization of chemical and petrochemical operations.

The UK green hydrogen sector is moving from policy development toward commercial execution, but the transition remains dependent on securing investment, reducing technology risk, and establishing reliable demand. A new partnership between Protium Green Solutions Ltd and ITM Power highlights the industry’s current focus: combining project development expertise with electrolyzer manufacturing capabilities to advance industrial scale hydrogen production.

As demand for electric vehicles, renewable energy infrastructure, battery storage, advanced electronics, and artificial intelligence systems accelerates, critical minerals are increasingly becoming the foundation upon which decarbonization strategies depend.