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The tit-for-tat trade war between the US and China earlier this year cooled by late October after President Trump and President Xi agreed to a trade truce that, so far, appears to be holding. There are early signs that the truce is beginning to restore rare earth trade between China and the West, as Beijing has started approving some rare earth export license applications this week. EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic told Bloomberg TV earlier this week that industry chatter suggests China is granting so-called general licenses, a shift from a highly…
Lithium-ion batteries dominate the tech world. You probably have at least one within reach right this moment, considering that lithium-ion batteries now power a whopping 70 percent of all rechargeable devices, from your smartphone to electric vehicles, and even power utility-scale energy storage. And while the tech industry is eager to diversify battery design to relieve its dependency on this “white gold”, lithium continues to dominate the sector – and will likely remain essential for a long time to come. While lithium…
For years, heat pumps were seen as the fragile heroes of mild climates, efficient in theory but unreliable when the mercury dropped. That narrative has now collapsed under the weight of experience. From the frozen lakes of Finland to the prairies of Canada, heat pumps are thriving where they were once thought impossible. The data from the multiple past winters tells the story clearly. Even in subzero temperatures, installations are growing faster than almost any other clean heating technology. This shift is more than a technical achievement; it…
On a recent flight from Los Angeles to Phoenix, I glanced out the window as the aircraft slowly descended over the open desert west of the city. The landscape shifted abruptly from endless scrubland to an expanse of mirrored rectangles stretching to the horizon. I took several pictures, and my phone’s GPS later confirmed what I was seeing: the Mesquite Solar Complex in Arlington, Arizona—one of the largest photovoltaic installations in the United States. From above, the site resembles an enormous geometric tapestry. On the ground, it…
What looked at first like a bizarre local accident in western Norway should have set off every alarm bell in Europe. In April 2025, someone remotely seized control of a hydroelectric dam in Bremanger, opened its floodgates, and let millions of cubic meters of water roar downstream for hours. Only months later did Norway’s intelligence service quietly confirm that the culprits were linked to Moscow. And this act wasn’t meant to destroy the dam — it was a calling card. Most Europeans still think the war stops at…
