Energy & Climate

April 2026 set a new monthly record for atmospheric CO2 at 431.12 ppm—the highest in over two million years—while the Trump administration's FY2027 budget proposes eliminating NOAA's climate research funding entirely, threatening the 68-year Mauna Loa record.

Swedish startup SaltX Technology and cement giant Holcim have produced Portland-quality clinker using electricity alone, replacing the rotary kiln with a new Electric Clinker Reactor.

China Three Gorges Corporation anchored a 16 MW, 252-metre-rotor turbine in deep water off Yangjiang on May 2, setting a new benchmark for floating offshore wind and cutting cost per kilowatt by more than 50% versus its 2021 predecessor.

A patent-pending staining method developed at Oxford enables nanoscale imaging of battery binders, reducing internal ionic resistance by up to 40 percent and pointing toward faster-charging, longer-lasting EV batteries.

The 30 MW EFGL project off southern France began generating electricity on May 4, marking a milestone for floating offshore wind and anchoring a larger 250 MW follow-on.

A new IRENA report introduces firm levelised cost of electricity for hybrid solar/wind-plus-battery systems and finds round-the-clock renewable power now beats new coal in China and new gas globally.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers's 2026-27 budget pivots clean-energy policy from industrial subsidies toward consumer-side regulation, funding a new Clean Energy Regulator body for distributed solar, batteries, and EVs while cutting Hydrogen Headstart, Solar Sunshot, and Battery Breakthrough.

Ford on May 11 announced Ford Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary backed by roughly $2 billion that will build a 20-foot containerized BESS at a repurposed Kentucky plant, with first customer deliveries in late 2027.

A team at the Institute of Metal Research engineered a new iron-complex electrolyte that ran 6,000 cycles at 80 mA per square centimeter with no capacity decay and a 99.4 percent average coulombic efficiency, opening a possible low-cost route to long-duration grid storage.

California batteries discharged 12,000+ MW in late March 2026, equal to 12 nuclear plants and over 40% of state demand, as installed capacity climbs past 16 GW.

Volkswagen launched its ID. Polo entry-level EV on April 29 with pre-orders for the 155 kW Life trim starting at 33,795 euros, while a 25,000 euro base version is set to follow later this year.

Ontario Power Generation has placed the foundation module for the first BWRX-300 small modular reactor at Darlington, clearing the construction licence's first hold point and beginning above-ground reactor work on what is on track to be the G7's first commercial SMR.