The European Union imported 49.7 million tonnes of recyclable raw materials in 2025 while exporting 36.2 million tonnes to non-EU countries, widening the bloc’s net import position to 13.5 million tonnes, according to data released by Eurostat.
A projected €6.7 billion investment is now central to Europe’s emerging hydrogen transmission strategy, as Spanish infrastructure operator Enagás outlines plans for a cross border hydrogen backbone that would connect Portugal, Spain, France, and Germany through a dedicated energy corridor.
The efficiency limitations of water electrolysis remain one of the largest technical and economic barriers to scaling green hydrogen production. While renewable electricity costs have declined sharply over the past decade, the oxygen evolution reaction inside electrolyzers continues to require high energy input, slowing system efficiency and sustaining dependence on expensive precious metal catalysts such as iridium and ruthenium.
The United States installed 9.7 GWh of new energy storage capacity during the first quarter of 2026, setting a record for the period and reinforcing how rapidly battery deployment is becoming tied to grid reliability concerns, electricity price volatility, and the accelerating power requirements of artificial intelligence infrastructure.
South Korea’s Hanwha Power is attempting to position supercritical carbon dioxide power systems as a commercially viable decarbonization tool for pipeline infrastructure operators in Canada.
The latest ASEAN-European Union workshop in Brunei Darussalam signals a broader geopolitical and economic shift: carbon markets are no longer being treated solely as climate instruments, but increasingly as industrial policy and investment mechanisms tied to trade competitiveness, energy transition financing, and regional economic integration.
