Bridgestone World Solar Challenge leaderboard: what’s on deck
This edition of the 3,000 km solar car race across Australia from Darwin to Adelaide has the same teams in the lead in the Challenger class since early on. Each has a 6 m2 solar deck but no two are exactly the same.
Fluence expands US battery production with new Texas fab
Fluence says its new Houston fab brings the number of its US production sites to five and has helped employ more than 1,200 manufacturing workers this year.
China new energy storage capacity tops 100 GW, surpasses hydro
China’s installed energy storage capacity reached 164 GW by June 2025, according to the China Energy Storage Alliance (CNESA). More than 100 GW came from new energy storage excluding pumped hydro, driven by accelerating deployments and market shifts.
Schneider Electric acquires WattBuy home-electrification software platform
Schneider Electric is expected to merge WattBuy with EnergySage and Qmerit to provide an end-to-end experience for residential solar, EV integration, home electrification, and related services.
Ocean-going saildrones tap solar, wind for long-duration monitoring
The U.S.-based ocean technology company has developed a range of data-collecting uncrewed surface vehicles (USV) powered by solar and wind. They are designed to operate in harsh maritime conditions, above and below the sea surface, to carry out science, commercial, and defense missions.
AGC Automotive’s solar roof for passenger cars is ready for mass production
The Belgium-based company announced that its panorama-style solar roof for passenger cars is ready for mass production. The glass-glass design features high-efficiency back contact solar cells and a uniform full black appearance.
Mitsubishi, Evhacs launch world’s first integrated heat pump, EV charger
The integrated system is claimed to efficiently provide dynamic load balancing, while supporting demand-side management and future smart grid applications. The heat pump technology comes from Mitsubishi’s Ecodan, Mr. Slim, and M heat pump series, which Evhacs modified for integration with the EV charger.
Lyten to acquire Northvolt’s $5 billion battery assets in Sweden and Germany
US startup Lyten has stepped up again to buy Northvolt’s Swedish and German assets, continuing its takeover of the failed battery giant’s $5 billion manufacturing empire. The move marks a major shift in Europe’s battery landscape.
New utility software to steer homeowner energy systems, enable load trading
Austrian startup Podero has launched software to enable utilities to roll out new residential services via its home energy device steering and trading solutions.
US states push reliability standards and utility incentives for EVs
NC Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) identifies the latest electric vehicle policy trends in its “50 States of Electric Vehicles” quarterly report.
