Catch up
Capital
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In a market update, Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC) tipped market volatility to continue through the June 2025 quarter as a result of the new global tariff environment and China export controls and said it may accelerate investment in the Texas processing facility. Chief executive Amanda Lacaze criticised te govenrment's plan for a criticla minerals stockpile
Investment in US clean energy manufacturing, booming in the wake of the IRA tax credits, saw a downturn in Q1 of 2025, according to the latest Clean Investment Monitor from MIT and the Rhodium Group. Six manufacturing projects tied to US$6.9 billion of investment were cancelled, mostly related to battery projects — the highest value of quarterly cancellations on record.
Policy
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Shadow Energy Minister Ted O’Brien was asked by ABC’s Sally Sara whether a Coalition government would impose an EV tax, after Nationals frontbencher Bridget McKenzie suggested a road user charge on EV drivers could pay for fixing potholes.
“We've made no decision on that. It's certainly one of the big challenges for the next government, whether it be Labor or whether it be the Coalition. We need to ensure that investment can continue in our roads and we need equity. Whether you drive an EV, a diesel, or a petrol car, you shouldn't be treated differently from others. Now this is a really challenging thing, Sally, as you can imagine, and we're not the only country in the world having to deal with it as different technologies come in. But it has to be driven by a principle, and that principle is equity. Nobody should be given a free ride, and everybody should be responsible for contributing to the upkeep of our infrastructure. — Ted O’Brien on RN
Technology
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Endua, a Brisbane-based hydrogen startup backed by CSIRO and Main Sequence Ventures, will establish a pilot for onsite production within the PepsiCo supply chain after being selected as a finalist in an Asia-Pacific Greenhouse Accelerator Program.
“Hydrogen is a versatile carrier of clean energy and we are looking forward to understanding the Pepsi business better, and seeing where hydrogen can add value as a zero-emission alternative to fossil fuels.” — Endua CEO Paul Sernia
 Projects
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Santos’ $3.6 billion Narrabri Gas Project (NGP) may depend on the approval and construction of a carbon capture and storage project that could impact the Great Artesian Basin, according to documents FOI’d by community organisation Lock the Gate.
"The tightening of requirements under the Commonwealth’s Safeguard Mechanism is likely to encourage Santos to investigate opportunities to abate emissions from its projects. Santos has previously expressed interest in opportunities to utilise carbon capture storage (CCS) in NSW around the Moree region and Santos is likely to ask about the NSW Government’s current position on CCS and the need for a regulatory framework. A CCS facility in NSW could also be used by other high-emitting industries in NSW to abate their emissions. Santos is already planning to use offshore CCS to abate emissions from one of its offshore gas projects in Commonwealth waters, north of Darwin." - Ministerial meeting brief excerpt
“It’s remarkable that, more than a decade after the NGP was first proposed, Santos has only recently realised it needs to do something about the significant emissions it would produce,” Lock the Gate National Coordinator Carmel Flint said. Santos has a commitment to be net zero by 2040 using “step change” technologies such as CCS.
People
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Battery materials and technology company Novonix (ASX: NVX) announced the appointment of Michael O’Kronley as Chief Executive Officer, effective May 19. O’Kronley succeeds Robert Long, interim CEO since January 2025, who will now resume his role as Chief Financial Officer.
Regulation
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Getting a jumpstart on minority government negotiations, the Greens said they would demand the Climate Minister exercise “latent” powers to stop new coal and gas mines, including the North West Shelf gas expansion. Why? Data published earlier in April by the Clean Energy Regulator on the Safeguard Mechanism, which is designed to reduce emissions from Australia’s largest industrial plants, found 70% of the roughly 100 coal and gas facilities covered reported an increase in their emissions, which largely cancelled out improvements in other areas.
Research
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Aurora Energy Research, commissioned by Fluence last year, published a study on how capacity mechanisms are evolving across Europe, and the role battery storage was expected to play.
Random
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It would require about 31 hectares of corn ethanol to produce the same amount of energy generated by one hectare of land covered in solar panels. (Anthropocene)
