Browsing: Pacific

China, where coal-based blast furnaces still account for about 90 percent of steel production and roughly 15 percent of national CO2 emissions, is expanding its hydrogen strategy beyond transport into sectors including steelmaking, shipping, aviation, and chemicals.

A reported 93.9 percent energy utilization efficiency, roughly one-third higher than conventional thermal hydrogen storage methods, is drawing attention to a new gas-solid battery prototype developed by researchers at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Australia has shortlisted seven hydrogen derivative projects totaling 2.18GW of electrolysis capacity under the second round of its Hydrogen Headstart program, but the government’s decision to halve the available funding highlights growing pressure to narrow support toward projects viewed as commercially defensible rather than politically ambitious.

SoftBank is moving beyond its traditional telecommunications and technology focus with plans to establish a domestic battery manufacturing business aimed at supporting AI-driven power demand.

Global electronic waste exceeded 60 million metric tons annually in recent years, yet only a limited share is formally recycled, leaving substantial volumes of recoverable nickel, cobalt, and other battery metals unused.

Fortescue’s private mining grid in Western Australia is now operating with 2.3 GW of generation capacity and more than 5 GWh of battery storage, yet its most consequential shift is not scale but control.

Global mean sea level has risen by 9.4 centimeters since 2000, with satellite data showing an average annual increase of 3.64 millimeters since 1999, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service. The rate is not static. It has accelerated from 1.3 millimeters per year in the early 20th century to 3.7 millimeters per year in the most recent observational window assessed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Australia’s Capacity Investment Scheme is beginning to translate policy ambition into contracted capacity, with more than 2 GW of new renewable generation and nearly 500 MW of battery storage awarded across Western Australia at a time when the state is preparing to retire its remaining coal-fired power stations by 2030.

The global shipping industry is approaching a structural imbalance. While dual-fuel vessels capable of operating on methanol and ammonia are entering fleets at an increasing pace, fuel availability remains constrained, creating a growing disconnect between technological readiness and energy supply. A new report from Accelleron points to Asia Pacific ports as early movers in addressing this gap through coordinated, cross-sector hydrogen and e-fuel development strategies.

A 60 GWh supply agreement for sodium-ion batteries signals a shift in the global energy storage market, where reliance on lithium-based chemistries is increasingly being challenged by emerging alternatives. The three-year partnership between CATL and HyperStrong marks the largest sodium-ion battery deal announced to date, highlighting growing confidence in the technology’s readiness for large-scale deployment.