China to set up USD 1.4 bn lithium miner: State-owned China Minmetals announced plans to develop a CNY 10 bn (USD 1.41 bn) miner in lithium-rich Qinghai under a joint venture with several local firms, Reuters reports. The JV — which was provisionally named China Salt Lake Industry Group — will develop a production hub aimed at boosting potassium and lithium resources — two key inputs in electric vehicle batteries. The JV will acquire a 12.54% stake in Qinghai Salt Lake Industry, which controls the country’s most potassium and lithium resources. Minmetals plans to invest CNY 5.3 bn in the JV.

Italy starts preliminary talks to set up a nuclear power company: Italy began initial discussions with Ansaldo Nucleare, Enel, and Newcleo to establish a new company tasked with developing small nuclear reactors, Bloomberg reported earlier this week, citing people it says were familiar with the matter. Italy’s Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said the country was looking to establish the new firm with a foreign technological partner, yet did not disclose the identities of firms said to be involved in the talks. The government is also working on new legislation to be announced later this year to reintroduce nuclear energy after banning the tech for decades.

Nuclear power is gaining traction globally: Poland said it is allocating PLN 4.6 bn (c. USD 1.2 bn) to start work on its first nuclear power plant last month. China also recently approved the construction of 11 nuclear reactors across five sites for a total of CNY 220 bn (c. USD 31 bn). Turkey is also looking to build its second nuclear plant with Russia’s state-owned power company Rosatom being the leading bidder for the project.

India’s Suzlon Group secures country’s largest wind energy order: India’s largest renewable energy solutions provider Suzlon Group secured a 1.16 GW wind energy order from NTPC Green Energy — the renewables arm of India’s largest energy producer NTPC, according to a statement. The order will see Suzlon install a total of 370 wind turbine generators across three sites in Gujarat with the electricity generated sufficient to power 3 mn homes. The order brings Suzlon’s cumulative order book close to 5 GW, according to the statement.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

  • Panasonic to start producing next-gen EV batteries: Panasonic Energy — a unit of Japanese electronics giant Panasonic Holdings — has finalized preparations for the mass production of its 4680 lithium-ion EV batteries at its renovated plant in Wakayama. The new batteries, which have five times the capacity of the smaller 2170 cells, are expected to extend the driving range of EVs and reduce the number of cells needed for battery packs. (Statement, pdf)
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