At COP28, the UK, France, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, European Investment Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and African Development Bank have made new commitments to expand climate-resilient debt clauses (CRDCs) in their lending. CRDCs are clauses which primarily offer a short-term liquidity support tool which could provide borrowers with fiscal breathing space at the time of a severe climate-induced(/natural) disaster. The UK announced it has issued the first-ever CRDCs to its new and existing loan agreements with Senegal, hopefully setting the precedent for other developed countries to follow suit. This could be a potential game changer as the use of this financial instrument could materially help countries by giving them fiscal space to invest in climate resilience and recovery initiatives.
Symbio has opened the largest gigafactory, called SymphonHy, for hydrogen fuel cells in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in France. Bear in mind, that Symbio is a hydrogen mobility JV between Stellantis, Forvia and Michelin. The gigafactory currently can produce 16,000 fuel cell systems however it plans to ramp this up to 50,000 fuel cell systems by 2026. This aligns with Stellantis’ strategy of increasing its hydrogen vehicle offerings by introducing large vans in Europe in 2024 and entering the USA market in 2025.
Nio has announced it intends to spin off its battery manufacturing business, in a bid to reduce costs. This announcement follows Nio’s weak performance this year, as it has only sold 142,000 EVs in the first 11 months this year, versus the 250,000 EV goal it had set itself. The company will continue to develop cells, battery materials and packs in-house, it is the production that will be outsourced. Nio has been implementing a few cost-cutting strategies for a few months now, in a bid to decrease expenses by ¥2bn in FY24.
Go-Ahead has announced it is collaborating with Google and Littlepay to help streamline mobile payments by passengers. Go-Ahead’s Brighton and Hove Buses will be integrated with Google Wallet and Littlepay which will allow it to offer customers the chance to view their bus journey history and financial benefits accrued through time-based fare caps. This demonstrates the change in human behaviour as the majority of the Go-Ahead ahead customers use digital payment methods, especially pay-as-you-go, versus cash payments. If this pilot study in Brighton is a hit, then the bus operator intends to roll this out to other regions.
The European Commission has proposed to delay (post-Brexit) tariffs on EVs traded with the UK by 3 years. This has been welcomed by all regions and European OEMs. To recap, this Rule of Origin was initially, set to start from the 1st of January 2024, whereby there would have been a 10% duty if less than 45% have the value of the EV came from outside the UK and EU. This was meant to act as a catalyst to help stimulate and develop Europe’s battery supply chain. However, creating a secure and reliable battery supply chain has been tougher than anticipated, thus the UK and most EU members and (European) automakers have been championing pushing back this date to 2027.
Hull City Council has announced it will be investing £150,000 into 20 new EV charging points. These charging points will be available around Hull, ranging from Stockholm Road Depot and Stoneferry Bridge. Thirteen 11kW chargers of the 20 will be replacing 6 older ones. This is the latest effort by the Council to help hit its target of becoming net zero by 2045. The Council has been proactive and has applied for ZEBRA2 (alongside East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Stagecoach and East Yorkshire Buses) funding and we sincerely hope they will get some funding for new electric buses.
MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC (Norilsk), a Russian nickel and palladium mining and smelting company, has announced it is looking for new ways to use palladium. Traditionally, palladium has been used in catalytic converters which help curb emissions, however, due to the (continued) rise of EVs, there will be less demand for pollution-controlling devices. Thus, the company will be investing a substantial amount of capital into R&D on new palladium projects, centring around the hydrogen, solar power and chemical sectors. Bear in mind Norilsk mines c40% of the world’s palladium and due to the demand for EVs, palladium prices have fallen by c70% compared to last year.
Silverstone Leasing has announced it is launching a new EV salary sacrifice scheme for UK employers and employees. The scheme is called EVolve Car and it includes car insurance, road tax, roadside assistance, MOT testing, vehicle maintenance, replacement tyres, and accident support. Currently, there are no initial upfront payments or deposits required and is free to join.
The Australian Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries has released data that shows that EV sales have gone up by c185% compared to 2022. This is great news however the Australian EV market is very early in its adoption of EVs. The progression of adoption is encouraging, as EV sales have hit 80,446 compared to 28,326, in 2022. To put this into context, EVs made up 7.2% of all new vehicle sales in 2023. The rapid adoption of EVs has been helped by the region having a choice of cheaper models under $40,000. BYD, which is the 2nd biggest-selling EV brand in Australia, announced it is opening up another 30 retail stores over the next 18 months. This is encouraging news for Australian consumers and should further boost EV sales next year.
Deals
Monterra, a Californian-based EV software automating company, has announced it has raised $2.5m in a pre-seed funding round. Base10 Partners led the round, with investors such as Future Climate Venture Studio, and Very Serious Ventures also participating. Interestingly, this startup focuses on automating the design and planning of EV charging installations. It intends to use the capital to grow its team and accelerate product development.