Haley Zaremba

Researchers and energy companies are intensifying the search for commercially viable natural, or geologic, hydrogen in locations including China’s Sichuan Basin and the Philippines. New measurements in Sichuan reportedly found hydrogen seepage with purity above 97%, while Koloma argues that the Philippines’ extensive seeps may connect to large underground accumulations. Estimates suggest Earth could contain vast quantities of geologic hydrogen, and extracting even a small fraction could rival the energy in global natural-gas reserves. If production costs approach $1 per kilogram, the resource could undercut green and gray hydrogen, reshape energy geopolitics and support decarbonization in hard-to-abate sectors, although the technology remains at an exploratory stage.

Solar panel prices have fallen by 90% since 2010, driven by German subsidies that created early demand and China’s expansion of large-scale manufacturing. China now controls about 80% of the global solar supply chain, while lower costs have accelerated adoption in both wealthy and developing countries, including Pakistan. The article argues that energy security and economics, rather than climate policy alone, are now the main forces behind solar deployment, making the sector resilient to changes in government and subsidy policy.

Only 7% of announced global green hydrogen capacity was completed on schedule in 2023, highlighting a major gap between industry ambitions and implementation. California’s hydrogen vehicle strategy is also struggling, with hydrogen cars costing about four times more per mile than gasoline vehicles, declining registrations and a shrinking, partly nonfunctional fueling network. The analysis argues that green hydrogen is poorly suited to passenger cars and space heating because direct electrification is more efficient, but retains significant potential for steelmaking, long-duration energy storage and long-haul transport. China, the United States and the European Union are cautiously renewing support, making strategic refocusing of investment and research increasingly urgent.

AI-driven data-center expansion is sharply increasing the emissions of Google, Microsoft and Amazon, while Amazon is supporting a natural-gas power plant in South Texas that could emit 33 million tons of CO2 annually. Research published in NPJ Climate Action estimates that AI’s use across the fossil-fuel and renewable-energy sectors could increase global emissions by 0.47 billion to 1.8 billion tons per year, unless renewable-energy gains substantially exceed those in fossil fuels. The analysis concludes that, without effective policy intervention, AI is more likely to reinforce fossil-fuel dominance than accelerate decarbonization.

The United States obtains 93% of the uranium used in its nuclear fuel from foreign sources, while only 7% of reactor uranium deliveries come domestically. Rising global demand, concentrated enrichment capacity and dependence on suppliers including Russia leave U.S. utilities facing a projected 186 million-pound uranium shortfall over the next decade. Proposed solutions include recycling spent fuel, expanding in-situ uranium recovery at a major South Texas site, and converting more than 50 tons of Cold War-era weapons-grade plutonium into commercial reactor fuel for advanced nuclear companies such as Oklo.

China is nearing completion of a 100-MW molten-salt solar plant in Xizang, where nearly 16,000 heliostats will concentrate sunlight to heat salt and provide electricity after sunset. The project aims to reduce solar curtailment and test reliable clean-power delivery in a high-altitude, weak-grid environment. It reflects Beijing’s broader push into solar-plus-storage, although the earlier U.S. Crescent Dunes project exposed major cost and maintenance problems. China’s rapid solar buildout is also running ahead of transmission and storage capacity, while policy changes and foreign tariffs are causing sharp volatility in solar stocks.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz and resulting disruption to global oil and gas flows have accelerated Southeast Asia’s interest in renewable energy, particularly among import-dependent countries. However, ageing and overloaded electricity grids, unclear power-purchase frameworks, permitting delays, tariff uncertainty and limited private-sector access are blocking investment. Between 50% and 60% of renewable projects in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia were reportedly stalled or cancelled from 2021 to 2025, while more than 100 TWh of additional electricity demand is expected by 2030. Because new demand could emerge within one to three years but grid infrastructure takes five to fifteen years to build, urgent grid expansion and modernization are essential to prevent the region’s clean-energy transition from faltering.

Researchers at UC Davis and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that titanium-palladium foils can increase the frequency of deuterium–deuterium fusion reactions at lower temperatures than normally required. The work advances materials-driven fusion, in which reactor materials are engineered to enhance reactions rather than merely withstand extreme conditions. Although the discovery does not yet solve fusion’s energy-balance or commercial viability challenges, it could support more compact neutron generators and provide data for Ames National Laboratory’s DuctGPT AI system, which is designed to identify materials suited to fusion environments. The article links these developments to the broader need for new energy sources to meet rising AI electricity demand.

The Philippines may host some of the world’s largest natural hydrogen seeps, making it a leading candidate for commercial geologic hydrogen development. Koloma, backed by Bill Gates and Amazon, believes the seeps could connect to substantial underground accumulations and estimates that geologic hydrogen could eventually cost less than $1 per kilogram—below current green and gray hydrogen costs. However, extraction technology remains at an early stage, resource volumes have yet to be confirmed, and commercial-scale operations are likely years away. Success could strengthen Philippine energy security, reduce reliance on imported diesel and LNG, and reshape global clean-energy markets.

The Finnish town of Pornainen has commissioned the world's largest sand battery from Polar Night Energy for district heating company Loviisan Lämpö. The system can cover about a month of summer heating demand or a week of winter demand, while reportedly cutting heating-related emissions by nearly 70%. Unlike lithium-ion batteries, it uses sand and avoids rare-earth materials, though it is less energy-efficient. The project is presented as a potential alternative for Europe, where renewable-energy growth, limited storage, imported-energy dependence and lithium-ion supply-chain concentration are increasing grid vulnerabilities. Sand batteries are unlikely to replace lithium-ion systems broadly, but could contribute to a more diversified and resilient energy-storage mix.

Researchers at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University developed a perovskite-organic tandem solar cell that reportedly retains 97% efficiency when partially shaded without suffering the reverse-bias damage that can degrade conventional panels. The design could improve solar-system durability, output, and economics as intense competition, limited land, grid congestion, and rising costs pressure the industry. The article links the technology to broader energy-security and decarbonization needs, noting that the International Energy Agency expects annual solar-capacity additions to double by 2030.

The U.S. Department of Energy has issued its first Nuclear Safety Design Agreement for a molten salt reactor being developed by Abilene Christian University in Texas. The technology uses molten salt as both fuel medium and coolant, potentially reducing water consumption, fuel needs, radioactive-waste lifetimes and vulnerability to drought-related shutdowns. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is supporting research into molten-salt behavior, while the Trump administration is funding advanced nuclear pilots and seeking greater U.S. leadership. Critics argue that prioritizing experimental reactors could delay the goal of quadrupling domestic nuclear capacity by 2050, particularly as China rapidly expands conventional nuclear power and claims progress with a thorium-based molten salt reactor.

Renewed conflict around the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, combined with Ukrainian attacks on Russian and Kazakh infrastructure, has overturned expectations of an imminent crude-oil glut. Tanker rerouting, reduced Kazakh exports, refinery disruptions and Russian diesel restrictions are tightening refined-product markets, pushing global refining margins to record highs despite falling oil demand. Depleted inventories and limited spare refining capacity raise the risk of further supply shocks and a global recession, although the IEA says more than 1 billion barrels of government-controlled emergency stocks remain available.

China’s Chinese Academy of Sciences has unveiled ADANES, a five-layer AI architecture intended to integrate artificial intelligence across the nuclear energy life cycle, from design and commissioning to operation, maintenance, and decommissioning. Supporters argue AI could improve safety by processing reactor data and responding to problems quickly, while acknowledging that large language models remain opaque and difficult to validate against nuclear safety requirements. China is developing an engineering verification platform for the system. The article also notes Microsoft and NVIDIA’s nuclear-sector AI toolkit and growing U.S. startup investment in advanced nuclear power to meet the electricity demands of generative AI, warning that rapid commercialization may outpace safety and security oversight.

Governments and major energy companies have committed billions of dollars to carbon capture and storage as a way to reduce emissions from hard-to-abate industries, but evidence of underperformance and rising costs is undermining the sector. An IEEFA review found that most of 13 operating projects captured less than their designed 90% rate, while the Global CCS Institute reported that only 50 facilities were operating worldwide in 2024, capturing roughly one-thousandth of global emissions. CCS costs range from an estimated $20–30 per MWh for U.S. gas plants to $170–340 per tonne in Europe, with projects often dependent on taxpayer support. Critics argue that CCS risks prolonging fossil-fuel use and enabling greenwashing, and the article concludes that governments should prioritize permanent low-carbon alternatives while reserving CCS for limited applications.

Researchers from UCLA and Ewha Womans University developed a single-reactor alkaline thermal treatment process that converts unsorted PET, PE and PP plastic waste into high-purity hydrogen without carbon emissions. The method addresses plastic accumulation while producing a fuel that could help decarbonize industries such as shipping and steelmaking. The report places the breakthrough within renewed interest in hydrogen research, alongside a Chinese agricultural-waste process reportedly producing hydrogen at $1.54 per kilogram, while noting that conventional green hydrogen remains expensive and requires careful use of renewable energy.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has effectively blocked about 3.9 million tonnes of Middle Eastern urea exports, roughly 30% of the region’s annual fertilizer trade, while producers operate at reduced rates. Combined with heat waves and renewed fighting around Ukrainian Black Sea ports, the disruption is pushing crop prices to three-year highs and raising the risk of higher supermarket prices. A United Nations report warns that conflict-driven energy and fertilizer costs could cause 9 to 18 million additional people to go hungry, while the average global cost of a healthy diet has risen nearly 25% since 2021.

Artificial intelligence is creating a paradox for the energy sector: data centers and AI adoption are driving steep electricity demand and putting additional pressure on power grids, while AI also improves forecasting, grid stability, and energy efficiency. Researchers in China used AI to identify a molecule that could restore dead electric-vehicle batteries for thousands of additional cycles; Ames National Laboratory developed DuctGPT to accelerate fusion-material modeling; and University of Toronto researchers identified six metal alloys for extreme environments in weeks rather than years. These advances could reduce clean-energy research costs and timelines, helping make difficult decarbonization technologies more scalable and commercially viable.

Waha natural gas prices recovered from deeply negative levels after the Gulf Coast Express Pipeline expansion and Energy Transfer’s Hugh Brinson Pipeline began adding Permian takeaway capacity. The projects are easing congestion caused by rising associated gas production from oil-focused drilling, but operators expect constraints to persist into 2027, with some forecasting resolution no earlier than 2028 or not at all. Planned U.S. pipeline additions totaling 44.9 Bcf/d in 2026 and 2027, much of it originating in Texas, should further debottleneck the region. However, sustained high oil prices could encourage more Permian drilling and associated gas output, potentially creating new bottlenecks.

MIT researchers developed a framework that combines climate projections with county-level power-infrastructure data to identify locations where decarbonized electric grids may face reliability problems. Simulations of the New England and Texas grids found that failing to account for future climate conditions could increase energy shortfalls and blackout risk fivefold by 2050. Incorporating projected weather patterns into renewable-grid planning, however, was found to provide significant resilience at little additional cost, underscoring the importance of strategically siting generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure as electricity demand grows.

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has proposed investing $17 billion in a 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery on Kenya’s Lamu Island. The facility would supply Kenya and neighboring East African countries, potentially create more than 60,000 jobs, process regional crude and export surplus fuels through the LAPSSET Corridor and AfCFTA. Supporters point to Nigeria’s Dangote refinery as a model for reducing fuel imports and retaining economic value locally. The proposal faces opposition from Greenpeace Africa and local communities over risks to Lamu’s UNESCO-listed marine ecosystem, carbon emissions and stranded-asset concerns. Lawyers are calling for comprehensive environmental assessments and public participation, while economists warn that tax incentives and anti-dumping protections could enable market dominance and restrict competition.

Metals markets are being pulled between structural supply deficits and strong demand from AI data centers, power-grid expansion and renewable energy, while high energy prices, inflation concerns and expectations of prolonged high interest rates are driving a selloff. Copper has the most favorable outlook because of tight supply and resilient Chinese demand. Aluminum prices may have fallen too far because idled Middle Eastern capacity is unlikely to return quickly. Platinum-group metals face greater pressure from weaker automobile demand, with palladium receiving the sharpest forecast downgrade; rhodium is expected to remain modestly undersupplied in 2026.

Energy companies have raised $12.6 billion through IPOs in 2026, nearly triple the full-year 2025 total, as investors seek ways to benefit from AI’s rapidly increasing electricity demand. Funding is flowing into established solar businesses as well as speculative technologies including nuclear fusion, enhanced geothermal energy and space-based solar power. Meta has agreed to work with Overview Energy on up to 1 gigawatt of space-based solar capacity, while fusion startups are gaining unprecedented access to public markets. Solar accounted for 72.6% of U.S. electricity-capacity additions over the 28 months through the end of 2025, suggesting that renewable investment remains strong despite less supportive U.S. policy. The broader energy investment surge reflects growing concerns over power availability, energy security, resilience and price stability.

The European Union plans to triple energy-storage capacity, targeting 200 GW by 2030 from a current 55 GW and adding roughly 30–35 GW by 2028. Rapid growth in wind and solar generation has outpaced storage infrastructure, producing wasted surplus electricity, record negative prices and greater market volatility. Expanded storage could align renewable supply with demand, reduce reliance on imported fossil gas, improve energy security and help Europe cope with heat waves, geopolitical shocks and rising electricity demand from AI data centers.

China currently controls most global rare-earth refining and large shares of cobalt, nickel, and battery-grade lithium processing, leaving U.S. clean-energy and technology supply chains exposed to geopolitical disruption. Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a co-flow reactor that combines seawater and sodium hydroxide to produce high-purity magnesium hydroxide, with potential applications to nickel and other critical minerals. Analysis suggests that pairing the technology with California’s Carlsbad desalination plant could yield about 1.16 million pounds of magnesium hydroxide daily—more than three times current U.S. daily use—although broader commercial scalability remains to be demonstrated.

Bangladesh's $12.65 billion Russian-built Rooppur nuclear plant is expected to connect its first reactor to the grid in August 2026 and eventually provide up to 15% of the country's electricity. The project reflects a broader shift toward nuclear power in emerging economies seeking cleaner, more secure energy, but the falling Bangladeshi taka has increased its financial burden. Although operators argue that low long-term running costs will make Rooppur worthwhile, Bangladeshi officials do not plan another large-scale plant and are instead considering small modular reactors. Rooppur's performance and affordability will influence other developing countries evaluating nuclear power.

New Jersey has enacted a competitive procurement process for at least 1,100 megawatts of advanced nuclear generation, including small modular reactors, to strengthen grid reliability and meet rising electricity demand from data centers and artificial intelligence. The state already obtains about 40% of its electricity from traditional nuclear power and views newer reactors as a potential source of flexible, clean baseload capacity. The initiative aligns with the Trump administration’s efforts to accelerate U.S. advanced nuclear development, though critics argue that unproven technologies may distract from expanding conventional large reactors. China’s faster construction pace and growing nuclear capacity highlight the broader competitive challenge facing the United States.

Renewed fighting between Yemen's military and Houthi rebels is raising fears that the Houthis could block the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, creating another major chokepoint for global oil shipments while the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted. Yemen is simultaneously facing a severe domestic energy crisis: Aden experiences power cuts of up to 20 hours daily because of infrastructure failures and crude shortages. Residents are turning to poorly installed solar-battery systems and unsafe cooking-gas vehicle conversions, contributing to a rise in deadly fires and burn injuries. The combined humanitarian and geopolitical pressures threaten Yemen's fragile government and could amplify global energy-market risks.

China Three Gorges Corporation has connected a 1-gigawatt hybrid solar facility in Xinjiang’s Gobi Desert to the grid for commercial trial operations. The plant combines photovoltaic panels, concentrated solar power and molten-salt thermal storage capable of supplying electricity for up to eight hours after sunset, avoiding the four-hour duration limits and supply-chain concerns associated with lithium-ion batteries. The project is presented as evidence that long-duration storage can make renewable power more dependable and strengthen energy security amid disruptions to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. China Energy Engineering Corporation is developing an even larger hybrid facility nearby.

Exploratory drilling near the Weisweiler coal plant in Germany’s Rhineland suggests the area may support geothermal heating as the plant approaches its planned 2029 closure. The development could help replace coal with round-the-clock, low-emission energy while creating a pathway for economic transition in coal-dependent communities. Although Germany’s legal coal-exit deadline is 2038, researcher Hauke Hermann argues that high EU carbon prices and relatively low gas prices could push the phase-out to 2032. The article notes that geothermal potential remains dependent on deeper surveys, seismic imaging and confirmation of economically viable reservoirs.

Peak Energy is building a 183,000-square-foot Sacramento plant designed to produce 4 gigawatt-hours of grid-scale sodium-ion battery systems annually, with shipments expected to begin in the first quarter of 2027. The facility would be the first U.S. site dedicated exclusively to utility-scale sodium-ion storage and is expected to reduce storage costs by 20% while providing 99% guaranteed uptime. The investment comes as China, led by CATL and its TENER system, continues to dominate battery manufacturing and lithium supply chains. Sodium-ion technology could give the United States a more competitive foothold because it relies on more widely available materials and avoids some dependence on China-controlled lithium. Rising electricity demand from data centers, artificial intelligence, and renewable energy integration is increasing the need for affordable domestic grid storage.

Deep Fission has delivered a prototype reactor canister to a Kansas test site, advancing plans to test an underground small modular reactor known as a gravity reactor. The proposed system would be installed about one mile underground, using natural water pressure and surrounding bedrock for cooling, containment and operating pressure while eliminating large surface pressure vessels. Deep Fission claims the design could reduce operating costs by up to 80%, but the technology has not yet been proven in a nuclear operating environment. The project is receiving support through the Trump administration’s advanced-reactor program, while critics argue that emphasizing untested designs could divert investment from large conventional reactors and undermine the goal of quadrupling U.S. nuclear capacity by 2050.

Extreme heat is forcing France to reduce output at as many as five nuclear plants because overheated rivers can no longer safely cool reactors, threatening electricity availability during peak cooling demand. France’s nuclear curtailments could also affect Germany and the United Kingdom, which rely on French power exports, while hydropower, coal and gas plants face related heat and water constraints. Experts say Europe must adapt through flexible demand, stronger grids, batteries and climate-proofed cooling systems, but insufficient long-term funding is delaying action and leaving the continent vulnerable to more frequent extreme-weather events.

Permitting bottlenecks are delaying U.S. clean-energy projects just as data-center electricity demand is projected to double by 2027. J.P. Morgan identifies the United States as having the world’s worst permitting constraints, while Wood Mackenzie estimates that additional federal scrutiny now affects roughly $121 billion in investment and 92 gigawatts of early-stage renewable capacity. A Department of the Interior directive requiring senior approval throughout the permitting process has added to existing federal, state, and agency complexity. Europe, Australia, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom also face permitting delays, although Europe’s policy environment is described as more supportive of renewables. The delays threaten higher costs, weaker grid resilience, and slower decarbonization amid rising power demand and extreme heat.

Florida-based AMPERA has 3D-printed a subcritical, solid-state reactor core and pressure vessel as an early step toward a factory-built thorium power system. The technology is presented as potentially safer and less vulnerable to weapons proliferation than conventional uranium reactors, while thorium could reduce dependence on concentrated uranium-enrichment supply chains, particularly Russia's share of global capacity. The effort comes as China claims to have operated a thorium molten salt reactor since October 2023, although the timeline has not been independently confirmed. U.S. researchers are pursuing advanced nuclear technologies, but experts say China is advancing rapidly, increasing pressure on Washington to accelerate domestic nuclear innovation.

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories fell by 3.8 million barrels in the week ending June 26 to 408.4 million barrels, leaving stocks 7% below the five-year seasonal average. The draw was smaller than the 6.072-million-barrel decline reported by the American Petroleum Institute, while Brent and WTI prices were lower in mid-morning trading. Gasoline inventories rose by 2.3 million barrels and middle-distillate inventories increased by 2.5 million barrels, although distillate stocks remained 8% below the five-year average. Total petroleum products supplied averaged 20.6 million barrels per day over four weeks, up 1.7% year over year, while gasoline demand rose and distillate demand declined.

The rapid expansion of AI data centers is creating a severe electricity and grid-infrastructure bottleneck, with trillions of dollars in planned investment competing for transmission capacity, substations, transformers, permits, and power generation. The article argues that Bitzero Holdings is unusually well positioned because its earlier Bitcoin-mining operations secured low-cost power, land, permits, fiber connectivity, and grid access in Norway, Finland, and North Dakota. Its development pipeline exceeds one gigawatt, including a 520-megawatt Finnish project and a 110-megawatt Norwegian campus covered by a proposed 15-year, approximately $2.6 billion lease with OneQode Networks. Major technology companies are pursuing nuclear power and other dedicated energy arrangements, while suppliers such as Super Micro Computer, SpaceX, and CrowdStrike are presented as beneficiaries of the broader AI buildout. The piece is explicitly promotional and discloses that Oilprice.com’s owner holds Bitzero shares or options, creating a conflict of interest.

Gail Tverberg argues that an Iranian supply disruption could ultimately push oil prices below $40 per barrel rather than trigger a sustained spike. She contends that depleted oil reserves, damaged infrastructure, transport delays and restrictions on fuel use would reduce economic activity and demand, producing recession, broken supply chains and shortages of goods and services. Drawing on the 2020 pandemic, she predicts governments may impose restrictions to preserve fuel for essential services, while airlines, businesses and consumers reduce consumption. The analysis also portrays the United States as militarily and strategically weakened, criticizes the conflict’s economic rationale, and calls for shorter, more regional supply chains.

University of Michigan researchers have deployed prototype wave-energy devices on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan, where the equipment has powered a light bulb and charged a phone. The technology could eventually provide backup electricity for the island’s roughly 600 permanent residents, reducing reliance on a vulnerable 30-mile underwater cable from mainland Michigan. The project is part of broader interest in Great Lakes wind and hydrokinetic energy, though growing electricity and water demand from AI data centers could create new pressures on the region’s water resources.