China

The China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) said today that it expects China to add 75 to 90 gigawatts (GW) of solar power in 2022.

Intelligent EV startup JIDU announced a closed round of Series A funding that raised nearly $400 million dollars. The financing was led by JIDU’s parent company Baidu Group, and its business partner Zhejiang Geely Holding Group – the largest auto manufacturer in China. JIDU plans to use the funds for R&D of its teased “Robocar” concept, aiming for mass production in 2023.

Guangdong Hongtu Technology (GHT), a part supplier to Chinese EV automakers like NIO and XPeng, announced it will begin developing a 12,000-ton die-casting unit with the help of Tesla supplier LK Technology. Recent responses from representatives at NIO and XPeng hint that they might soon be using GHT’s large, one-piece die-casting machines to manufacture their own EVs.

Chinese automotive giant and Volvo/Polestar parent company, Geely, has signed an agreement with the French Renault Group to launch a new collaboration intended to bring fuel-efficient hybrid electric cars to South Korea, as well as export sales into other Asian markets.

The first fruits of a joint venture between Chinese automotive giant Geely and two-wheel experts Lifan have just been leaked ahead of their expected debut – and we can understand why someone just couldn’t wait. “Maple Leaf 60S” says it all!

Following confirmation of a new brand catered to battery swaps, CATL subsidiary CAES officially unveiled its EVOGO swap solution. In addition to implementing swap stations across ten Chinese cities to begin, CAES and EVOGO have also introduced modular battery blocks inspired by chocolate bars, and a coinciding app.

China’s leading battery manufacturer CATL recently shared news it is entering the market of battery swap technology for EVs, with a new brand called EVOGO, set to launch Tuesday. CATL has been teasing the new battery swap brand on its social media, ahead of the upcoming launch event in China.

You can’t say they didn’t warn us! Less than a month after NIU co-founder, Yinan Li, hinted that four wheeled vehicles might present better business opportunities than two wheeled vehicles, Li has brought us the incredibly well-finished product you see here. Meet the battery-powered NIUTRON NV, and expect big things.

As we eagerly slam the book shut on 2021 and look toward a promising year of further EV adoption in 2022, it’s important to look back and assess how far the global market has come during this most recent trip around the Sun. From there, we can compare 2021’s numbers to the year prior and gain an idea of the trajectories many of the major EV automakers may travel on into 2022. We will begin with EV deliveries in China, a rich mecca of EV production and innovation with many companies now expanding to other markets around the globe.

Chinese company EHang has opened a new, 5G enabled, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vertiport and maintenance facility in Guangzhou, China – it’s just the latest new project in China’s “official” urban air mobility (UAM) test city.

Beijing-headquartered electric power company Huaneng Power International (HPI) has completed the world’s largest floating solar project in Dezhou, which is in Shandong, an eastern Chinese province on the Yellow Sea. The 320 megawatt (MW) project is the largest floating solar farm to come online to date.

Everywhere you look, you can see signs of an automotive market that’s been hit hard by a silicon “chip shortage.” Everywhere that is, except Tesla, where a more flexible, software-focused approach and sturdier grip on its critical parts supplies have allowed the company to nearly double its deliveries from the year before. Over in China, Geely and Foxconn have taken notice.

You could argue that the quietest business week in the Western world is that week between Christmas and New Year’s, and into that nebulous, boozy, cheese-filled week of relative silence was lobbed news that China has lifted its decades-old ban on foreign ownership of Chinese car factories. Tesla already owned their Chinese factory, so it seemed like business as usual – until Honda announced plans to build a massive EV factory in China.

Chinese EV automaker GAC Aion announced the start of sales for its anticipated SUV, the LX Plus. After announcing an NEDC range of 1,000 km this past November, GAC Aion has now shared a slightly longer range alongside other specs for Chinese consumers, including pricing.

China’s largest offshore wind farm was connected to the grid at full capacity on Saturday, December 25. It transmitted power through undersea cables.

Coal production is forecast to reach an all-time high in 2022, and then after a couple of years, plateau as demand flattens, according to the latest annual market report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), released today.

Chinese EV automaker NIO announced it will reveal a new model later this week during its NIO Day 2021 event in Shanghai. The annual event is normally when NIO introduces new models, and a teaser image from the company may confirm rumors that the public will get its first glimpse of the ET5 later this week.

China is the world’s biggest polluter – and it’s also the world’s leader in clean energy growth. China’s cumulative installed onshore and offshore wind capacity has now reached 302.2 gigawatts (GW), according to Windpower Intelligence (WPI), the data and research division of Windpower Monthly.

The COP26, aka the United Nations Climate Change Conference UK 2021, has officially finished in Glasgow. But the final agreement has not yet been put in place, and that will likely come over the weekend. Here’s Electrek‘s daily roundup of the key happenings at the world’s most important summit ever.

Chinese automaker XPeng Motors has begun teasing its upcoming electric SUV, the fourth vehicle in its overall fleet. While mystery surrounds this SUV more than actual specs, XPeng has shared some clues as to what the public can expect to see next week during the Guangzhou Auto Show.

Chinese automotive conglomerate Geely is reportedly spinning off a pickup truck business from its commercial EV division. Geely is working to release an all-electric pickup in the second half of next year that may very well someday compete against nascent US automaker Rivian.