Author: Arnes Biogradlija

With 44 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity ready for deployment but lacking Power Purchase Agreements, India confronts a market paradox that exposes fundamental structural weaknesses in the world’s third-largest energy system. The stranded capacity represents approximately $44 billion in investment based on typical renewable project costs of $1 million per MW, highlighting how demand-side failures are undermining the country’s ambitious clean energy transition despite recording 28.64 GW of renewable energy capacity additions in 2024, a 119.46% year-on-year increase. The contradiction becomes stark when examined against India’s energy consumption trajectory, projected to grow at over three percent annually for two decades…

The global sodium ion battery market was valued at USD 270.1 Million in 2024 and is set to grow at a CAGR of 26.1% from 2025 to 2034, creating significant opportunities for new entrants like Estonia-based Freen OÜ, which has launched its latest generation of sodium-ion battery storage systems targeting European markets with a strategic focus on Germany. The BSH and BSL product lines represent Freen’s entry into a rapidly expanding sector driven by supply chain diversification concerns and cost optimization requirements. Unlike lithium-ion alternatives, these systems avoid critical material dependencies while offering competitive pricing structures that challenge conventional assumptions…

BMW’s plan to unveil its third-generation fuel cell system in 2028 underscores the company’s determination to remain “technology-open” at a time when most automakers are converging on battery electrics. The timing is deliberate: while battery EVs dominate policy incentives and infrastructure investments, BMW is signaling that hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) could still claim a meaningful share of the mobility transition—if efficiency and scalability hurdles can be addressed. Prototype production is underway in Munich and Steyr, where BMW is validating assembly and testing processes for the new stacks. The stated focus—industrialization, quality assurance, and scalability—indicates a shift away from…

The Philippines generates more than 21 million metric tons of waste annually, and with landfill capacity nearing exhaustion in several urban centers, the country’s waste management system is under intensifying scrutiny. Stakeholders at the 4th Liveable Cities Lab argued that circular economy adoption—long discussed but unevenly implemented—offers one of the few viable pathways to reverse the trend while creating measurable economic and social benefits. Guillermo Luz, chairman of Liveable Cities Philippines, emphasized that the problem persists despite a two-decade-old legislative framework under the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. Most local government units (LGUs) still rely on open dumping or uncontrolled…

The aviation industry generates an estimated 5.7 million tons of cabin waste annually, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), yet less than 20% is recycled. Against this backdrop, Saudia Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with Loop KSA to design and implement its first comprehensive waste management program—a move that could position the airline as a test case for embedding circular economy strategies within the Kingdom’s aviation sector. The agreement, signed by Saudia’s Vice President of Sustainability Maryam Telmesani and Loop CEO Ali Bakhalgi, commits to developing a “Zero-Waste” strategy that encompasses recycling infrastructure, monitoring systems, and…

Saudi Arabia targets 1.2 million tons of green hydrogen production and 10% of global demand by 2030, yet renewable energy currently generates just 1% of the kingdom’s electricity, while oil exports represent 82% of total exports. This stark contradiction highlights the central tension in Saudi Arabia’s energy transition strategy, where climate ambitions compete directly with economic fundamentals that generated 73% of government revenues in 2024. The Middle East green hydrogen market was estimated at USD 168.4 million in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 1,254.8 million by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 22.8%, positioning the region for significant…

Germany’s transmission and distribution system operators now face over 500 GW of battery energy storage system connection requests, representing more than eight times the country’s peak electricity demand. This surge from 340 GW in February to 470.5 GW across four TSOs and three DSOs reflects fundamental systemic failures in grid connection procedures rather than genuine market development, according to industry analysis. The battery energy storage systems market in Germany is expected to reach $2.27 billion by 2030 with a compound annual growth rate of 30.7%, yet current grid connection processes create artificial bottlenecks that distort actual deployment timelines. Almost 600,000…

Lithium-ion battery health prediction accuracy drops significantly after 100 cycles in existing systems, yet new research demonstrates a root mean squared error of 0.0046 Ah for capacity forecasting using only first-stage cycle data. This precision threshold becomes critical as the lithium-ion battery market crossed USD 75.2 billion in 2024 and is expected 15.8% CAGR through 2034, with failure prediction accuracy directly impacting warranty costs and replacement scheduling across automotive and energy storage sectors. Current battery management systems struggle with a fundamental limitation: capacity degradation trajectories exhibit high consistency during early operational stages but diverge dramatically in later phases due to…

Global hydrogen markets are expanding at a rapid clip, with projections suggesting the sector could reach $410 billion by 2030, up from roughly $155 billion today. Much of this growth rests on policy-driven momentum—particularly in the EU, Japan, and South Korea—where hydrogen strategies are tightly woven into decarbonization pathways. Yet the trajectory is anything but linear, as structural barriers continue to blunt scale-up efforts. A critical challenge lies in the cost equation. Despite falling renewable electricity prices, green hydrogen production remains two to three times more expensive than fossil-based hydrogen. Electrolyzer costs, hovering at $900–1,200/kW, must fall significantly if the…

Inner Mongolia targets 200,000 tons of annual green hydrogen production by 2025, positioning the region as China’s hydrogen manufacturing epicenter. The recent 5 billion yuan agreement between Guofu Hydrogen Energy and Siziwang Banner represents approximately 13% of this regional capacity through a single integrated facility producing 40,000 tons annually. The project’s technical specifications reveal the infrastructure challenges facing China’s hydrogen economy. The facility will deploy 60 electrolyzers at 1,000 Nm³/h each, requiring 1GW of dedicated renewable power supply—equivalent to roughly 500 modern wind turbines operating at full capacity. This power-to-hydrogen ratio highlights the energy intensity of electrolytic production, where approximately…