Volkswagen

In other news, the UK charging infrastructure is in for a major boost, Volkswagen aims to catch up with Tesla, and the first all-electric Rolls-Royce completes winter tests near the Arctic Circle.

In other news, StoreDot’s extreme fast charging EV technology gets one step closer to commercial viability and Volkswagen resumes European production. Moreover, Japanese carmakers are gearing up to claim their share of the European EV market.

In other news, Ford has accelerated its EV push in Europe with seven new models, Samsung SDI is building a pilot line for solid state batteries, Northvolt is planning its third battery gigafactory in northern Germany, whereas Porsche has unveiled new electrification plans.

An array of new investment plans were announced in Greece in May, ranging from mega PV projects to battery and electric vehicle production, as well as a move to smart green islands. pv magazine explores the state of these investments and links them to the country’s general policy frameworks – most notably, Greece’s master plan to boost green investments in former lignite regions and establish a new type of economy.

Big brands will have to put their money where there mouth is on carbon commitments, though, and the EU will have to put its shoulder to the wheel, particularly in respect of the commonly-heard call to dispense with red tape. The prize could be a call for 280 GW more renewables capacity by 2030.

The 18-meter long solar cell-clad trailer is said to enable fuel savings of 5-10% in Sweden. Swedish thin-film manufacturer Midsummer is a partner on the project.

The European battery manufacturer has raised the funds with a private shares placement which included the co-founder and CEO of music streaming service Spotify.

In a little over ten years, Northvolt aims to pour 150 GWh of batteries onto the European market, annually. The company is also working to source end-of-life batteries for half its raw materials.

Pure EVs had begun to claim a rising market share before coronavirus containment measures decimated sales last month. Even in the face of an 88% monthly fall in EV sales from March to April, however, clean energy models fared better than petrol and diesel sales.

Although the energy price recovered this week, ultra low levels driven by bumper solar power generation on a sunny weekend in Germany reportedly put further pressure on the business case for conventional energy.