EV Grid Breakthrough, $2.9M Battery Grant, & Meta’s Massive Nuclear Deal

The future of energy is unfolding through innovative solutions that merge transportation, storage, and grid management into integrated systems. Utrecht's groundbreaking vehicle-to-grid network demonstrates this perfectly—transforming electric vehicles into mobile power plants that balance renewable energy while providing shared mobility services. This dual-purpose approach could revolutionize how we think about EVs, changing them from mere transportation to crucial components of our energy infrastructure.

Meanwhile, advancements in sodium battery technology offer a promising alternative to lithium-ion dominance. Unigrid's new manufacturing facility in California represents a significant step toward commercializing these salt-based batteries that boast exceptional longevity, safety, and freedom from critical materials like cobalt and nickel. As China already deploys these batteries in vehicles and grid applications, the technology's global expansion seems increasingly inevitable.

The stark contrast between energy innovation and security challenges couldn't be clearer. While Meta secures its clean energy future through a massive nuclear power agreement with Constellation Energy, and Saudi Arabia's massive Neom hydrogen project approaches completion, America's grid security faces a troubling development with one-third of the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency's workforce departing amid looming budget cuts. This exodus of expertise comes precisely when sophisticated cyber threats from nation-state actors intensify against our critical infrastructure. The clean energy transition requires not just technological innovation but robust security frameworks to protect these increasingly connected systems. Whether through vehicle-to-grid networks, advanced batteries, or clean hydrogen production, the energy landscape is transforming—but its security must be prioritized if we want these innovations to fulfill their potential.

Chapters

• 0:00 Utrecht's V2G Car-Sharing Network
• 1:19 Unigrid's Sodium Battery Manufacturing Facility
• 2:05 Constellation-Meta Nuclear Power Deal
• 2:42 CISA Workforce Concerns
• 3:33 Renewable Capacity and Market Updates
• 5:09 Neom Green Hydrogen Project

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

I've got your energy stories for this. The second week of June 2025. And in the first one, utrecht Netherlands is launching Europe's first large-scale vehicle-to-grid car-sharing network. Utrecht Energized connects EVs to the power grid to support renewable energy balancing. The project is a collaboration between we Drive Solar, my Wheels, renault Group and the municipality of Utrecht, focusing on integration of variable wind and solar resources into the grid, and over a third of Utrecht rooftops have solar panels which create challenges for the grid. V2g lets EVs store surplus power and deliver it to that grid during peak demand. The network will start with a fleet of 50 Renault 5 e-tech electric vehicles, with a plan to scale to 500, eventually including other models, all of which will be equipped with Mobilize's bidirectional charging technology. Those 500 vehicles could yield up to 10% of the flexibility required to help balance renewable power flows during peak periods in the Utrecht region. In the Utrecht region, the Netherlands' largest car sharing platform, mywheels, will manage operations and we Drive Solar will install the requisite charging infrastructure. In this car sharing model, users will access clean transport options, while idle vehicles will provide grid balancing services.

Speaker 1: 1:19

Well, sodium battery manufacturer Unigrid Incorporated has received $2.9 million from the California Energy Commission to build a 12,000 square foot dedicated sodium battery pilot manufacturing facility in San Diego. The goal is to enable megawatt scale production of sodium ion battery cells. Sodium batteries are lower density than lithium ion, but they have some very attractive properties. They boast great cycle lives as long as 10,000 cycles and they're very stable. There's no thermal runaway safety issues. Furthermore, there's no cobalt, lithium, nickel or copper required. Salt-based batteries are already making their way into cars and supporting the grid in China as well, with megawatt-scale projects already having been announced. It's a technology worth watching. Well, constellation Energy and Meta have signed a 20-year power purchase agreement that will see Constellation providing 1,121 megawatts of energy from its Clinton nuclear plant in Illinois. The deal will commence in June of 2027, when Illinois' current zero emissions credit program expires. That ZEC program, established in 2017, has financially supported the Clinton plant and kept it open for the past eight years. Under the new agreement, the Clinton facility will be re-licensed and its output expanded by 30 megawatts. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Speaker 1: 2:42

Axios reports that approximately 1,000 employees, or a third of the overall workforce, have departed from the US Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency. You know the folks who help us keep our grids and water and gas utilities secure. Cesa is looking at a 17% budget cut in 2026 under the proposed budget from the White House. Numerous employees about 600, just accepted the second buyout and departed within the past few weeks. Per an internal memo quoted by Axios, most of CISA's senior officials have now departed.

Speaker 1: 3:16

Given the clear fact that our utilities are involved in an ongoing and undeclared battle with numerous advanced, persistent threat actors from countries such as China, iran, north Korea and Russia, this news should be of significant concern to the utility community and indeed to society at large. Well, new York ISO is raising concerns that new renewable capacity isn't being developed fast enough to meet growing demand and reserve margins are falling as a consequence. It says it will need to add additional fossil fuel generation to maintain resource adequacy and keep the lights on. In its new annual Power Trends report, ceo Rich Dewey comments that quote we must consider all options for investing in the grid to provide for reliability and certainty at the most efficient cost. Unquote.

Speaker 1: 4:03

The American Clean Power Association says that the US installed 7.4 gigawatts of utility-scale solar, wind and energy storage in Q1 of this year, falling just short of Q1 of 2024's record 8.1 gigawatts. Solar led with 4.4 gigawatts, followed by storage at 1.6 gigawatts and wind at 1.3. That 4.4 gigawatts of solar, though, was 30 percent below last year's number. Surprisingly, florida took the leader's flag with 894 megawatts of new solar capacity. And those aforementioned batteries which we keep installing every quarter.

Speaker 1: 4:41

Well, they may get harder to install in the very near future. Powen, the world's fourth largest battery storage integrator, says it may have to cut up to 250 employees in Oregon and cease operations by late July. A victim of what it terms. Quote unforeseen circumstances. Unquote in the markets, increased tariffs, the potential rapid repeal of tax credits and domestic content requirements are among the wins buffeting Powen and other battery developers and operators. And finally, from Saudi Arabia, air Products announces that the massive 2,200 megawatt Neom green hydrogen and ammonia project is now 80% complete. Equipment installed to date includes 2,200 megawatts of electrolyzers, an air separator unit and ammonia storage tanks. In addition, 2,200 megawatts of solar capacity and 1,600 megawatts of wind capacity have been built, along with a dedicated transmission grid. Well, that's all for this week. We'll see you again soon.