Author: Arnes Biogradlija

South Korea’s hydrogen car market is in trouble. After years of government subsidies and bold promises, sales of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) like Hyundai’s Nexo have plummeted—dropping 54% in 2023 compared to the previous year. Now, Hyundai is trying to revive demand with a new financial incentive program, but will it be enough to overcome hydrogen’s biggest hurdles? The Deal: Hyundai’s “Nexo Easy Start Program” Hyundai’s latest move, launched in August 2025, is designed to make buying a hydrogen car less daunting. The program has two key parts: Sounds good, right? But there’s a catch: When the contract ends, you must return the car…

A stark gap is emerging between European green hydrogen ambitions and tangible progress. New analysis from Westwood Global Energy projects that a mere 12 gigawatts (GW) of the European Union’s targeted 40 GW of electrolyser capacity will likely be operational by 2030. This represents just one-fifth of the planned projects materializing this decade, fundamentally undermining a cornerstone of the bloc’s decarbonisation strategy. “As things stand, I don’t expect the EU 2030 target to be met,” states Jun Sasamura, Hydrogen Manager at Westwood, capturing a growing industry consensus. The initial euphoria positioning green hydrogen as a panacea for hard-to-abate sectors like…

China’s battery giant CATL has now deployed 400 battery swap stations for passenger electric vehicles (EVs), reinforcing its aggressive push into a segment long debated for its economic and technical viability. The company aims to expand that figure to 1,000 stations by year-end, indicating a sharp acceleration in infrastructure rollout at a time when alternative charging models are under increasing scrutiny. CATL’s pivot toward battery swapping comes as the company continues to post strong financials. Its second-quarter net income rose to 16.6 billion yuan (€2 billion), marking a 34% increase year-over-year. These gains, however, are not solely from its established…

As global interest accelerates in large-scale geological hydrogen storage to buffer renewable energy fluctuations and decarbonize industrial sectors, new data reveals that the mineral composition of underground reservoirs may play a more critical role than previously assumed. A comprehensive density functional theory (DFT) study has mapped hydrogen interactions across a spectrum of subsurface minerals, revealing that the chemistry of rocks could significantly impact hydrogen retention, retrieval efficiency, and even reservoir safety. The study, which modeled hydrogen adsorption behavior on a curated list of minerals commonly found in potential storage formations, identified three distinct types of H₂-mineral interactions. These include weak…

With lithium-ion supply chains under stress and battery safety still a headline risk, U.S.-based startup Peak Energy is betting on a long-overlooked chemistry: sodium-ion. The company has introduced what it describes as the world’s first fully passive, grid-scale sodium-ion battery energy storage system (ESS), piloted with nine utilities and independent power producers across the U.S. The system uses a sodium-ion phosphate pyrophosphate (NFPP) chemistry and is engineered with a passive thermal design that operates without moving parts—removing key failure points commonly associated with lithium-ion systems. In an energy storage market where safety, cost, and domestic supply chain resilience are fast…

China’s first interprovincial hydrogen pipeline spans 400 kilometers from Ulanqab to Beijing, yet the project’s 100,000-tonne annual capacity represents just 0.3% of China’s 33 million tonnes of hydrogen demand in 2023, highlighting the experimental rather than transformational nature of this infrastructure development. Sinopec’s pipeline, officially approved by Inner Mongolia authorities, connects the company’s 1GW wind-powered electrolysis facility to the capital’s industrial consumption centers. Inner Mongolia’s renewable hydrogen production potential could reach 1.4 million tonnes annually when planned projects are included, exceeding aggregated renewable hydrogen targets across all Chinese regions. This capacity concentration reflects the province’s strategic positioning within China’s hydrogen…

Global hydrogen projects increased from 200 to over 1,500 between 2021 and 2024, a 650% expansion that positions specialized insurance coverage as a critical enabler for the sector’s $680 billion investment pipeline through 2030, according to Allianz Commercial analysis. The projected $3 billion insurance market by decade’s end reflects not optimism but rather acute recognition of inherent industrial risks that distinguish hydrogen infrastructure from conventional energy systems. Total announced hydrogen investments increased 20% from $570 billion to $680 billion between October 2023 and May 2024, indicating accelerating project development despite persistent safety concerns. Around 60 governments have adopted hydrogen strategies,…

Spain operates just 33 MW of electrolyzer capacity against ambitious projections reaching 74 GW for hydrogen export, exemplifying the disconnect between infrastructure planning and market fundamentals now under scrutiny by environmental groups. Ecologists in Action: Cantabria’s demand for Strategic Environmental Assessment suspension of the Spanish Hydrogen Trunk Network reveals regulatory gaps that could constrain Europe’s largest planned hydrogen corridor development. The environmental challenge centers on Enagás Hydrogen Infrastructure’s project fragmentation strategy, dividing the Spanish Hydrogen Backbone into 15 separate sections plus the Polanco storage facility to circumvent comprehensive environmental review requirements. This approach contrasts sharply with electricity transmission regulations that…

Germany’s battery storage capacity reached 22.1 GWh by mid-2025, yet EnBW’s proposed 400MW/800MWh facility at the decommissioned Philippsburg nuclear site represents more than an economic opportunity—it embodies the complex realities of energy transition infrastructure financing without government subsidies. The country now operates nearly two million battery storage systems, but large-scale projects face mounting economic scrutiny as market dynamics shift. EnBW’s decision to pursue the project without federal support occurs within a German market that added 100 large-scale battery systems (above 1MWh) in 2024, doubling the previous year’s installations. This acceleration reflects growing market confidence, yet the 800MWh storage duration represents…

Tesla’s energy storage revenue exceeded $10 billion in 2024, representing a 67% year-over-year increase, yet this growth trajectory faces mounting pressure from escalating trade tensions. The company’s recent $4.3 billion agreement with South Korea’s LG Energy Solution (LGES) for lithium iron phosphate batteries reveals the strategic constraints forcing American technology leaders to restructure global supply chains amid an increasingly complex tariff environment. The three-year contract, spanning August 2027 to July 2030 with options for seven-year extensions, represents more than a supplier agreement—it signals Tesla’s calculated retreat from Chinese battery dependence. Chinese LFP cells now face 64.9% tariffs, escalating to 82.4%…