Author: Anela Dokso

Global demand for plastics continues to rise even as regulatory pressure, brand commitments, and climate targets tighten around emissions, waste, and feedstock sourcing. For companies operating at the scale of LyondellBasell, one of the world’s largest producers of polyolefins and chemicals, the challenge is no longer limited to cost efficiency or capacity utilization.

Donut Lab has unveiled what it claims to be the world’s first commercially production-ready all-solid-state battery, signaling a potential shift in electric vehicle (EV) energy storage.

China Nuclear Power Corporation (CNNC) announced that Unit 2 of the Zhangzhou nuclear power plant in Fujian province has entered commercial operation, marking a key milestone in the country’s nuclear expansion.

Spearmint Energy has closed an equity investment with Kyuden International focused on two utility scale battery projects that are already operational, a notable development in ERCOT where rapid load growth and tightening reserve margins have typically seen financing precede lengthy construction timelines.

Germany’s carbon dioxide emissions fell to 640 million tonnes in 2025, a 1.5 percent year-on-year decline that places the country 49 percent below its 1990 baseline. On paper, the national target under the Climate Change Act was met. In practice, the slowdown in emission reductions compared with 2024 signals a more fragile trajectory, driven less by structural decarbonization and more by weak industrial output and favorable solar conditions, according to Agora Energiewende’s annual review of Germany’s energy year.

India’s push to decarbonize rail transport has reached a technical inflection point, with a 1 MW green hydrogen pilot project now in the final stages of commissioning and set to supply fuel for the country’s first hydrogen-powered train.

Australia’s renewable energy transition gained a significant boost with Origin Energy announcing the commercial commencement of Eraring Battery 1, a 460MW/1,770MWh battery energy storage system in New South Wales.

Coal-fired power plants in Vietnam generate more than 25 million tonnes of ash and slag annually, a volume that for years strained landfills and raised environmental risks. What has shifted the debate is not a reduction in coal use but a sharp increase in reuse.

LAB7, the venture building arm backed by Saudi Aramco, has taken a strategic stake in U.S. startup Homeostasis to explore an alternative production route that converts carbon dioxide into synthetic graphite.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Japan Suiso Energy have signed a contract to build what they describe as the world’s largest liquefied hydrogen carrier, with a cargo capacity of 40,000 cubic meters.