Rethink Energy Podcast

China is on track to install 200GW of solar capacity this year, installing 25% more than the rest of the world combined which is expected to total 360GW for 2023. Hydrogen trains are being reassessed as Germany's LVNG pulls the plug and commits to battery-based locomotion instead. Albemarle has increased its revenue expectations for the year showing faith in its decision to move further toward...

The US Department of Defence is more than doubling its financial support of Lynas Rare Earth's Texas-based processing facilities in attempt to lessen reliance on China for strategic military and new energy components. Germany has doubled its hydrogen production targets bringing them closer to the predictions Rethink made a few months ago. Finally the team discusses how FirstSolar has doubled i...

PPA indexation was the hot topic at a recent conference becoming a key trend for the wind industry in the first half of this year. The International Seabed Authority has voted to give itself two more years to finalize regulations necessary for it to grant mining licenses in the deep ocean, potentially delaying the decision to the middle of a commodities supercycle. 40 GW of solar modules are exper...

India's Tata Group - the parent company of Jaguar Land Rover - has announced its $5.2 billion 40 GWh battery factory in the UK, following a lengthy negotiating period with the UK government where it will receive significant subsidies. Germany has completed a €12.6 billion auction for offshore wind development which experienced negative pricing with significant interest from oil majors BP and T...

Solar employment figures are set to increase dramatically up to 2035 before tapering off and becoming a replacement market. The elevated price of quartz sand will remain a problem for solar module manufacturers as supply increases remain years away, though substitutability will soften the impact somewhat. Norge Mining doubles the world's reserves of phosphate ore in boon for Europe's batte...

Countries from Spain to the UAE uprate solar targets in confirmation of continued solar demand increase. The battery industry still can't decide whether sodium ion batteries will take its place in the mobility sector, Rethink says pace of lithium expansion too fast for sodium to compete. Sustainable aviation fuel proponents celebrate minor milestone, still struggling to accept H2 reality.

In this week's episode the team discusses whether Iridium will represent a supply chain issue for the hydrogen industry, what we found out from an interview with perovskite company Solaires and how IRENA is struggling to grasp the concept of 'S-curve' investments when it talks about its global energy outlook.

Rethink Energy updates its battery manufacturing capacity forecast up to 2030 with the market growing by 50% yearly over the next 3 years as Europe and the US finally enter the ring, but will still fail to address China's stranglehold of the industry. Scandinavian solar deployments continue to impress considering the region's infamous lack of solar irradiance. Small modular reactor company...

Q1 2023 global solar deployment show the beginning of massive deployment over the course of the year, avoiding the traditional Q4 to Q1 downturn. Innolith comes out of stealth with a novel li-ion battery electrolyte promising 300Wh/kg in today's batteries and discussions with over 50 companies. Stellantis, Volkswagen, Glencore, and La Mancha collectively purchase two Brazilian nickel sulfide m...

Rethink Energy debuts its weekly supply chain pricing analysis piece which records and explains price movements throughout renewable energy supply chains. A litany of early stage solar technologies post efficiency breakthroughs. China's GOTION HIGH-TECH has signed an MoU with the Moroccan Government as the pair explore the possibility of up to $6.3 billion in battery gigafactory investments in...

In this week's episode the team talk about the future of maritime shipping and its viable decarbonization pathways, the state of the solar supply chain and our recent interview with long duration energy storage company Energy Vault.

In the week's episode the team discusses our latest global EV forecast to 2050, the new Chinese energy reforms which made storage profitable overnight and who is the mysterious company that claims it can achieve an LCOE of $20/MWh from novel SMR technology.

In this week's episode, the team discusses our latest report covering a forecast of the hydrogen industry to 2050, the state of the polysilicon market and how this will affect solar installs and First Solar spending $80 million to join the perovskite game.

Lithium producers Allkem and Livent announce their intended merger, potentially forming the 3rd largest lithium product company by intended output by the end of the year. China's Shandong province sees offshore fixed base solar investment. Nikola sells its joint venture with Iveco in full European exit as it focuses on commercializing within the remit of US incentives.

The global platinum industry is going to see demand shift away from automotive use in catalytic converters towards usage in PEM electrolyzer markets, creating shortages arising from supply issues in South Africa. Q1 solar manufacturing has increased between 50-100% year-on-year depending on how you look at it. Meanwhile the US' Republican party continues its attempt to sabotage its own domesti...

Hydrogen's use in road transportation is explained as the ramp up of global hydrogen trucking fleet set to begin in 2030s, as battery trucks take early adoption lead saturating short-haul routes. Major quartz sand suppliers pledge production increases as crucibles used in solar production continue to increase in price. Germany bans the installation of gas boilers from 2024, giving a major boos...

Rethink Energy explains its Q4 2022 solar deployment and manufacturing figures and gives some insights to future expectations. Policymakers in the US look to prematurely end the country's moratorium on the banning of Chinese-origin solar products, potentially crippling US solar deployments for the next 14 months. China looks to expand its ownership of African hydrogen projects that aim to expo...

Macron's third state visit to China since 2018 was this time accompanied by between 50-60 company executives and the EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen aiming to increase cooperation with the country in a broad spectrum of energy technologies. 7 north-eastern US states have filed for $1.25 billion of the US' $8 billion hydrogen hub fund established by the Department of Energy. To...

Japan's revamped hydrogen strategy is expected to need $113 billion invested to reach 2040 goals of 12 million metric tons produced per year. OPEC+ has cut production in order to maintain $80 per barrel price floor while the US isn't in a place to intervene. The Australian government has committed $10 billion to support Australian industry as it looks to remain internationally competitive.

The European Union has finalized its negotiations with Germany to accommodate its last-minute demands to allow for an exception for the use of e-fuels within combustion engines past the 2035 deadline. EnerVenue has announced its plans to build a gigafactory in Kentucky as it aims to ramp up production of its nickel hydride batteries. Vietnam's renewables market awaits a new mechanism to suppor...

The Volkswagen Group has committed $130 billion towards electrification and digitization until 2028, increasing its share of total investment from 52% to 68% relative to 2018. The European Commission has officially announced its Critical Raw Materials Act and Net Zero Industry Act as its counterpart to the US' Inflation Reduction Act in an attempt to lure back manufacturers from the United Sta...

The European Commission has finalized its proposal that threatens to transform the European electricity market with a marked shift towards distributed energy sources. The rapidly falling cost of hydrogen will turn a green steel premium into a discount faster than expected says a new report from Rethink Energy. Talks between the US and EU continue ahead of guidance concerning the US' landmark Infla...

Petrobras has announced it will be conducting feasibility studies for 7 potential offshore wind projects on the coast of Brazil with the help of Equinor. High purity quartz sand becomes the new bottleneck in the solar supply chain as polysilicon worries ease. Ford has rejoined the race for truly autonomous driving as it establishes Latitude AI from the remains of its former investment Argo AI.&nbs...

A new report from Rethink Energy projects global passenger EV markets to make dramatic shift towards LFP throughout this decade, and looks at what this means for global commodity markets. Germany looks to merge its grid operators in search of greater efficiency while Chile looks to use its vast mineral and potential renewable energy wealth to become a major hydrogen exporter.

EverWind Fuels receives environmental approval for its planned $6bn hydrogen project in Nova Scotia, Canada. Our solar forecasts are up yet again following production figures and polysilicon prices. Tata Motors and Uber sign a deal for 25,000 EVs to serve India's urban population as the country is set to begin catching up on EV demand.