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China’s 2024 ban on exports of critical minerals antimony, gallium and germanium to the U.S. sent prices soaring nearly 50% in a matter of days. It was a retaliatory move following Washington's crackdown on the country’s chip sector. But there are always loopholes, and new reports now reveal how Chinese traders are circumventing the ban by re-routing U.S. shipments through third countries. According to U.S. customs data, the U.S. imported 3,834 metric tons of antimony from Mexico and Thailand in the first four months following…
Brazil has become the latest target of U.S. President Donald Trump’s ire after the Republican frontrunner threatened 50% tariffs on the South American giant for allegedly persecuting right-wing ex-president Jair Bolsonaro. In a post on Truth Social, Trump called on Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to halt what he described as a “Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!” Bolsonaro is currently on trial for allegedly attempting to overturn the results of the 2022 election. Tensions have escalated. Lula has promised…
Via Metal Miner German flats producer ThyssenKrupp Steel recently commissioned a modernized strip mill at its main site in Duisburg as well as new upstream equipment. On July 4, the steel industry titan released a statement detailing that the modernized hot rolled strip mill will be able to roll 3.1 million metric tons of hot rolled coil in widths of 900-1,600mm and in 1.2-9mm gauges. “The new units are located at the interface between upstream operations and hot strip production, making them a core feature of the integrated production network…
Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the world around us as our systems get smarter, and the resource and energy use of large language models grow ever larger. In the energy sector, artificial intelligence represents a double-edged sword: AI could help the sector overcome some of the hurdles involved in maintaining global energy security while we transition to cleaner alternatives, but it could also pose an existential threat to vulnerable power grids if used indiscriminately. Artificial intelligence requires a staggering amount of energy…
Taiwan is facing an energy crisis that could prove existential. Not only is the country’s energy demand outpacing its grid’s capacities, the country is heavily dependent on energy imports, making the island nation highly vulnerable to military blockades from neighboring China. If Taiwan is not able to build up its own energy supply in a hurry, it will become increasingly difficult – if not impossible – to continue resistance against the Chinese agenda to annex the island under its One China policy. Taiwan’s isolated…
Investors who have shorted Tesla stock are about to pocket $1.4 billion in profits as the beleaguered company continues its rapid downward spiral. A potent combination of tariffs, anti-clean energy legislation, and stunningly bad PR have led to devastating drops in the company’s share values, with reverberating consequences for the company’s many ventures, not to mention clean energy tech research and development writ large. Tesla has been failing to meet its forecasts for a while now, even with projections much reduced to reflect the…
The previous article discussed global and regional carbon emission trends. Today, I take a closer look at the world’s ten biggest carbon emitters. Carbon emissions are typically measured in metric tons, but context matters. To better understand the cause and impact of a country’s carbon emissions, we must look at emissions per capita and carbon productivity—how efficiently nations generate economic output from each ton of CO2-equivalent emissions (defined in the previous article) released. A Deeper Look at the World’s…
Despite heightened tensions in the Middle East, oil prices are likely to remain capped below $70 per barrel for the rest of the year amid ample supply and uncertainties about demand. Unless actual supply disruptions occur in and around the hotspots in the Middle East, the price of oil will be a function of supply and demand, analysts and investment banks say. Growing supply from the OPEC+ group, although not as high as the monthly headline figure of 411,000 barrels per day (bpd) suggests, is set to create an oversupply…
Despite high-profile pushbacks against renewable energy and a rapidly changing policy environment, the global clean energy transition has picked up speed over the last year. While the last few years have seen slow and stuttering progress toward decarbonization goals, countries around the world are finally gaining momentum in building up cleaner and greener energy grids as 2030 benchmarks loom just around the corner. The World Economic Forum’s annual Energy Transition Index 2025 paints a refreshingly hopeful picture for global climate…
In late June the Energy Institute (EI) released the 2025 Statistical Review of World Energy, which was published previously for more than 70 years by BP. Here is the link to the full 2025 Statistical Review of World Energy. The Review confirmed that a troubling trend continues. Despite historic investments in renewables and net-zero pledges from nearly every major economy, global carbon emissions hit a record high in 2024. This article is the first in a series breaking down the key findings—and what they mean for the global energy sector.…
The precedent for politicized energy policy in the region is well known. The 1973 Arab oil embargo remains the most prominent example of hydrocarbons being wielded as geopolitical leverage. But in the decades since, Gulf NOCs have moved away from direct entanglement in regional conflicts, particularly Arab-Israeli or Iranian-Israeli hostilities. Instead, they have matured into commercial and strategic instruments aligned with national agendas focused on long-term stability, economic diversification, and global market integration. This evolution…
Germany is increasingly indicating openness to nuclear energy, marking a complete pivot from their historic stance on the controversial energy source. Germany’s shift in attitude toward nuclear energy comes as part of a larger global movement back toward nuclear power as a viable part of a secure and low-carbon energy landscape. Last month, German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche opted to join a meeting with pro-nuclear European Union members instead of attending a gathering of states dedicated to renewables, marking a major fracturing…
Unless you are a hobbyist or technician who solders things on a regular basis, your only acquaintance with the metallic element bismuth is probably through Pepto Bismol, the main ingredient of which is bismuth subsalicylate, a pinkish substance sold, not surprisingly, under the name of pink bismuth. The fact that you can ingest pink bismuth and it will soothe your stomach should tell you something about its toxicity; it's quite low. And, that's why bismuth is favored over lead for soldering. It is now widely used for soldering of circuit…
China is increasingly integrating artificial intelligence into its energy system to increase the sector’s efficiency and enhance national energy security. From managing energy storage to more accurately forecasting energy supply and demand, large language models can make the whole sector smarter, by streamlining energy systems and minimizing waste. As early as 2020, the Chinese state-owned natural gas giant Gas Holdings Ltd. was using artificial intelligence to more accurately predict complex and dynamic shifts in natural gas demand.…
Despite the Western push to diversify critical minerals supply away from China, Beijing is set to further tighten its grip on the market of key battery metal lithium. China is poised to become the world’s biggest lithium miner by next year, surpassing Australia, commodity price reporting agency Fastmarkets forecasts. China already has an outsized dominant position in the refined lithium market, where it held a 73% market share as of 2024, per data from the International Energy Agency (IEA). Sourcing more of the raw material at home –…
Just a couple of years ago, everyone seemed to be talking about the great potential for clean hydrogen. As governments worldwide strive to decarbonise, several industry players were looking to hydrogen as the potential miracle fuel that could clean up operations. While there is still hope for a hydrogen revolution in some parts of the world, this is looking increasingly unlikely in the United States. Under the Biden administration, investors across the U.S. were planning to spend billions on hydrogen projects, encouraged by the financial…
For the third consecutive day, extreme heat across the eastern half of the U.S. has triggered power grid alerts and emergency warnings, highlighting the fragility of current energy infrastructure. Extremely tight power grids reinforce a core part of our energy thesis: the urgent need for clean, reliable baseload power, and there is no better option than nuclear. The current environment strengthens our conviction as long-term 'atomic bulls', a stance we've maintained since our original call in December 2020 (read here). Nuclear energy remains…
The recent commissioning of Brazil’s largest gas-fired thermal plant is set to raise the country’s annual gas consumption for power generation by at least 6 million cubic meters per day (MMcmd) from July to November – representing a 23% year-on-year rise. Gas Natural Acu’s (GNA) 1.7-gigawatt (GW) GNA II power plant began commercial operations on 31 May, accounting for approximately 8% of the country's total gas-fired installed capacity. As a result, GNA raised its operational thermal portfolio to 3 GW, consolidating itself…
Via Metal Miner Amidst the tariff wars, are we about to see the birth of new energy dynamics in the Americas? A few days ago, Russia offered to supply liquefied natural gas to the United States’ neighbor, Mexico. Because of the strategic, economic and geopolitical implications, the move quickly made sector analysts sit up and take note Media reports quoted Russia’s Energy Minister, Sergei Tsivilev, as saying that the country was already working with Mexico in other sectors. Now it was offering to share its liquefied natural gas technologies…
A new offshore oil auction in the Amazon, a major investment in refinery expansion, and an attempt to extract $6.2 billion from the energy industry—this may not sound very appropriate for a government that has made some big net-zero promises. Yet it is exactly what the Lula da Silva government in Brazil is doing. South America’s biggest country produces around 3.5 million barrels of crude daily. It also recently auctioned 19 blocks in the Foz do Amazonas basin, part of the Equatorial Basin and a highly sensitive ecosystem, according…
For over a decade, since production peaked in 2013, Colombia’s economically crucial oil industry has been in decline. This, since controversial leftist President Gustavo Petro took office in August 2022, has only accelerated. Petro, himself a former leftwing guerilla organizer, entered office opposed to Colombia’s hydrocarbon sector with plans to wean the country off its economic addiction to oil and natural gas. While there are signs the Petro administration’s disapproval of Colombia’s oil industry is easing, there are…
With strong government backing and billions of dollars at their disposal, Middle Eastern oil giants are aggressively expanding into the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market, aiming to nearly double their LNG capacity within the next decade. Companies like Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) and QatarEnergy are investing heavily in LNG production and trading, driven by the growing demand for natural gas as a transition fuel and a desire to diversify their portfolios beyond crude. “LNG seems to be still the best bet across…
A team of researchers in China is using artificial intelligence to help breathe new life into old electric vehicle batteries. Extending the lifespan of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles would be a major boon for making electric vehicles more endurable and cost-effective, help mitigate skyrocketing lithium demand, and slow the flow of critical – not to mention toxic – minerals into landfills. The China-based scientists wanted to discover a molecule that could re-infuse a dead cell with lithium ions, replenishing its capacity.…
The UK government is mulling over a change to the law to oil and gas projects in the North Sea in a drive to lower energy bills. Michael Shanks, a minister working under energy secretary Ed Miliband, will be visiting Scotland on Thursday with a decision set to be made on the government’s intervention on legal cases won by environmentalists last year over an oil project by Equinor at Rosebank and a gas field by Shell in Jackdaw. The government has given extra funds for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to invest between 2026…
