Voestalpine has launched two innovative projects at its Linz site, showcasing a decisive shift towards coal-free, low-emission steel production through hydrogen technology and electric smelting, with potential to redefine industry standards. voestalpine and its partners have moved decisively to demonstrate a coal-free route to primary iron production, advancing two complementary projects at the company’s Linz site that aim to underpin a broader decarbonisation of steelmaking. Construction began in July 2025 on Hy4Smelt, an industrial demonstration plant that will pair Primetals Technologies’ HYFOR® hydrogen direct-reduction process for ultrafine iron ores with an electrically powered smelting stage to produce pig iron without…

Etihad Rail has completed a pioneering maglev freight pilot in the Middle East, highlighting potential efficiency gains and adaptable infrastructure for future sustainable logistics. Etihad Rail has taken a tentative stride into magnetic levitation freight after completing a pilot with Italian developer IronLev at the Al Faya Depot, marking what both companies describe as the first maglev freight demonstration in the Middle East. The short trial lifted and moved a fully loaded 7‑tonne container along 1.2 kilometres of track to evaluate how passive magnetic levitation might perform under conditions similar to those on the UAE national freight network. Company engineers…

A new study reveals that intelligent optimisation of EV charging can significantly increase grid capacity, reduce system costs, and delay infrastructure upgrades, with broad implications for the energy transition. Electric vehicles, when coordinated intelligently, can transform from individual loads into a collectively managed resource that eases pressure on distribution networks and delays costly upgrades. A new analysis by The Brattle Group, commissioned by EnergyHub and based on data from an EnergyHub pilot in Washington State, finds that actively optimised charging can substantially raise how many EVs a given section of the grid can support while lowering system costs and meeting…

A new Royal Society report highlights untapped thermal energy in UK’s industrial sector, proposing heat cascade strategies to slash emissions, cut costs, and boost low-carbon heating across communities. A new Royal Society report argues that the UK’s industrial sector contains a largely overlooked resource: the vast quantities of thermal energy currently discarded as waste. According to the report, industrial heating is responsible for roughly 14% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, and about half of the energy consumed in industry is lost as heat. Capturing and redeploying that thermal energy, the authors say, would curb emissions, shrink operating bills and…

Industry experts highlight that soaring electricity prices and logistical challenges are undermining the economic viability of CCS in cement factories, calling for targeted public interventions to enable large-scale decarbonisation. A senior executive at Heidelberg Materials has told Carbon Pulse that soaring electricity prices and complex supply chains have undermined the investment case for carbon capture and storage (CCS) at cement plants, leaving large-scale deployment dependent on public support. Industry analyses and academic studies paint a similar picture: capturing the bulk of CO2 from a cement kiln is highly energy‑intensive and costly, and those costs quickly erode the already thin margins…

China reports a landmark year in 2025, with significant increases in renewable generation and fossil-fuel production, reshaping opportunities and risks for decarbonising industry amid advancing market reforms and expanding storage capacity. China’s energy system recorded what state officials described as a landmark year in 2025, combining higher domestic fossil‑fuel output with a rapid scale‑up of renewables, larger storage capacity and deeper market liberalisation , developments that are reshaping opportunities and risks for industrial decarbonisation. According to China Daily, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said domestic crude oil and natural gas production reached record levels in 2025, rising 1.5 percent and…

Researchers develop a novel concrete made from desert sand, plant-derived additives, and milled wood particles, potentially reducing reliance on environmentally damaging extraction methods for non-loadbearing applications. Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and the University of Tokyo have presented a prototype construction material that could allow the abundant but notoriously unusable desert sand to play a role in reducing the extractive pressure on riverbeds and quarries. According to the study published in the Journal of Building Engineering, the team’s so-called botanical sand concrete binds fine desert grains with plant-derived additives and milled wood particles under controlled heat…

The Biden administration’s withdrawal of subsidies and permits for wind and solar projects since 2025 is forcing industry stakeholders to reassess investment strategies, with implications for decarbonisation efforts and energy security. The US federal government’s retreat from subsidies and permitting for wind and solar has forced a reality check across the renewable sector, with policy shifts enacted since 2025 reshaping the commercial landscape for developers, grid operators and corporate decarbonisation planners. The administration moved decisively to remove fiscal and regulatory preferences for non-dispatchable resources. According to a White House fact sheet, an Executive Order signed in July 2025 directed Treasury…

Fundamental Advisors has unveiled MorningSky Power, a new platform designed to develop and operate utility-scale solar and battery projects across 27 US states, amidst ongoing industry consolidation and structural shifts driven by Pine Gate’s bankruptcy proceedings. Fundamental Advisors has launched MorningSky Power, a new platform to develop and operate utility‑scale solar and battery storage projects across the United States, the firm said in a statement. Headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina, MorningSky will operate in 27 states with a development portfolio the company describes as 117 projects totalling roughly 20 GW of solar and storage capacity, and will focus on advancing…

Major federal programmes driving Australia’s low‑emissions transition are under scrutiny for lacking transparency on funding and outcomes, prompting calls for independent audits and clearer public disclosure to ensure effective and accountable use of taxpayer funds. Australia’s major federal programmes to accelerate low‑emissions capacity are coming under renewed pressure over secrecy about the scale, cost and returns of taxpayer support, prompting calls from investors, economists and policy researchers for much stronger public oversight. Industry figures have warned that the Capacity Investment Scheme and the National Reconstruction Fund risk morphing into opaque vehicles for public spending unless the government discloses how funds…