VW expects battery, raw material drive to cost up to $34bn
Schmall is overseeing Volkswagen’s ambitious plan to build six large battery cell plants in Europe by the end of the decade
Updated 01 December 2021
Reuters
Volkswagen’s planned European battery cell plants and securing vital raw materials will cost as much as 30 billion euros ($34 billion), board member Thomas Schmall said, putting a price tag on the expansion for the first time.
Schmall, who is in charge of technology at Europe’s largest carmaker, said in an interview at the Reuters Next conference that Volkswagen would seek outside partners to fund it.”
“We are talking about 25 to 30 billion (euros) ... including the vertical chain of raw materials, not only the factories,” the 57-year old said, adding VW would not have to take the lead on funding and was not aiming for a 50/50 investment split.
“It depends on the partnership model we will establish in the next months. We’re open to discuss it. For us it’s necessary that we can control ... the technology roadmap, the timing, the costs and the availability to enable our rollout.”
Schmall is overseeing Volkswagen’s ambitious plan to build six large battery cell plants in Europe by the end of the decade, a strategic pillar in its bid to overtake Tesla and become the world’s top electric vehicles seller.
Sweden’s Northvolt, the first plant in which Volkswagen owns a fifth, will start production premium cells for the German carmaker from 2023. The second plant, to be built jointly with China’s Gotion High-Tech in Salzgitter, is to start in 2025.
Four more plants will follow by the end of the decade, most likely in Spain, eastern Europe and two additional locations that have so far not been disclosed.
Costs will be 1 billion to 2 billion euros per plant while capacity will range from 40 up to a maximum of 80 gigawatt hours (GWh), depending on the chemistry as well as whether enough energy supplies are available, Schmall said.
“We have some natural limits in the availability of utilities, energy, water,” he said.
But production capacity is only one part of the equation, Schmall said, adding that Volkswagen also had to make sure it gets enough raw materials, such as lithium and nickel.
This requires a more proactive approach and Schmall said that Volkswagen was looking to strike partnerships, with cooperation announcements due “in some weeks.”
Volkswagen, which plans to submit its next five-year investment plan to the supervisory board on Dec. 9, is pursuing a mix of strategies, which might even include becoming a shareholder in a mining firm.
“You will see the full range,” Schmall said, also referring to fixed and mixed price contracts with suppliers. “You have to tailor-fit solutions, necessarily, to specific raw materials.”
This also requires making sure that materials are procured sustainably, which, in Volkswagen’s case, includes transparency reports, supplier ratings, and efforts to phase out some materials, most notably cobalt.
In the end, Schmall said, the goal was to ensure that the full production chain was sustainable, adding that producing electric vehicles alone was not enough for Volkswagen, which is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2050 at the latest.
“And this altogether brings us in this closed loop and hopefully show you that we are taking care from the beginning on, from the first step, from the mining process, to be sustainable, until the last point of battery lives and car lives and recycling,” he said.
UAE’s power capacity set to reach 79.1GW by 2035: GlobalData
Updated 5 sec ago
Nirmal Narayanan
RIYADH: The power capacity of the UAE is expected to reach 79.1 gigawatts by 2035, registering a compound annual growth rate of 3.4 percent from 2024, according to a report.
Findings from data analytics and consulting company GlobalData stated that annual power generation in the Emirates is expected to increase at a CAGR of 3.8 percent from 2024 to 2035, reaching 281.3 terawatt-hours.
Boosting power capacity is essential for the UAE as energy demand rises alongside a rapidly growing population, which is expected to reach 11.9 million by the end of the decade, up from 11 million today.
A significant factor contributing to this increased energy consumption is the high expatriate population, which accounts for around 88 percent of the total and drives the growth in residential and commercial energy needs.
“The power sector in the UAE offers abundant opportunities for investors, with the government poised to make significant investments in the expansion and modernization of its generation and supply infrastructure,” said Attaurrahman Ojindaram Saibasan, power analyst at GlobalData.
He added: “The anticipated increase in capacity is projected to occur predominantly in gas-based thermal power, as opposed to oil, where capacity is expected to remain stable. Manufacturers of gas turbines stand to benefit from this surge in gas-fired power capacity.”
GlobalData further said that the climate conditions in the UAE are exceptionally conducive to solar power generation, prompting the government to allocate extensive tracts of undeveloped land for solar parks, including both photovoltaic and concentrated solar power installations.
The report added that the UAE has the capability to not only meet local demand using solar energy but also cater to export needs.
The country is taking significant steps to bolster its renewable energy capacity, especially solar power, as a core strategy to address climate change.
It is targeting a clean energy capacity of 14.2GW by the end of this decade and is planning to invest between $40.84 billion and $54.45 billion to triple renewable energy contribution by 2030.
“Over the past decade, the UAE has experienced a marked increase in electricity demand, necessitating the importation of natural gas from Qatar,” said Saibasan.
He added: “In response to this growing demand and to diversify its energy portfolio, the UAE has strategically shifted away from exclusive dependence on natural gas, expanding into renewable and nuclear energy sectors.”
GlobalData further stated that the development of mega urban projects, such as Masdar City and Expo City Dubai, also highlights the need for sustainable energy solutions.
“These smart cities are at the forefront of innovation, yet they also contribute to higher electricity consumption. Consequently, this trend necessitates the expansion of the electrical grid and investment in smart infrastructure to meet the evolving demands,” Saibasan concluded.
Global energy investment to hit record $3.3tn in 2025: IEA
Updated 21 min 39 sec ago
Nirmal Narayanan
RIYADH: Energy investment globally is projected to hit a record $3.3 trillion in 2025, driven by a surge in clean power spending amid economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, according to an analysis.
In its latest report, the International Energy Agency said that technologies in the sector, including renewables, nuclear, and storage, are set to attract $2.2 trillion in investment.
Investments in oil, natural gas and coal are set to reach $1.1 trillion this year.
The uptick in clean energy spending aligns with the wider trend observed globally as most nations, including oil-rich countries in the Middle East, have set net-zero targets to reduce emissions and combat climate change.
Saudi Arabia plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060, while the UAE aims to reach the goal in 2050.
Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, said: “Amid the geopolitical and economic uncertainties that are clouding the outlook for the energy world, we see energy security coming through as a key driver of the growth in global investment this year to a record $3.3 trillion as countries and companies seek to insulate themselves from a wide range of risks.”
He added: “The fast-evolving economic and trade picture means that some investors are adopting a wait-and-see approach to new energy project approvals, but in most areas we have yet to see significant implications for existing projects.”
Electricity takes the lead
IEA said that investment trends in the sector are being shaped by the onset of the “Age of Electricity” and the rapid rise in demand for industry, cooling, electric mobility, data centers and artificial intelligence.
A decade ago, investments in fossil fuels were 30 percent higher than those in electricity generation, grids and storage.
In 2025, electricity investments are set to be some 50 percent higher than the total amount being spent bringing oil, natural gas and coal to market, reaching $1.5 trillion.
In April, another report by the IEA also highlighted the growing demand for electricity globally driven by the rapid rollout of AI and data centers.
At that time, the think tank said electricity consumption by data centers powered by AI is expected to double by 2030 to reach 945 terawatt-hours, creating new challenges for energy security and carbon dioxide emission goals.
IEA added that electricity consumption by data centers has increased by 12 percent annually since 2019 to reach 1.5 percent of the global amount in 2024.
Data centers are a growing user of electricity. Shutterstock
Clean energy surge
According to the report, spending on low-emission power generation has almost doubled over the past five years, led by solar PV.
The energy agency projected that investment in solar, both utility-scale and rooftop, is expected to reach $450 billion in 2025, making it the largest single item in the world’s energy investment inventory.
“Fierce competition among suppliers and ultra-low costs are seeing imported solar panels, often paired with batteries, become an important driver of energy investment in many emerging and developing economies,” said the IEA.
Battery storage investments are also climbing rapidly, surging above $65 billion this year.
Saudi Arabia has also set ambitious goals to generate clean energy, primarily using solar power.
The Kingdom plans to generate 58.7 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030, with 40 GW from solar PV. It also plans to generate 16 GW from wind energy and 2.7 GW from concentrated solar power.
This commitment is part of the broader National Renewable Energy Program strategy, aimed at diversifying its energy portfolio and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
IEA added that capital flows to nuclear power have grown by 50 percent over the past five years and are on course to reach around $75 billion in 2025.
The US and the Middle East accounted for nearly half of a resurgent level of final investment decisions for natural gas power.
Saudi Arabia is also planning to include nuclear energy as a key part of the Kingdom’s energy mix.
In January, the Kingdom’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the nation is planning to begin enriching and selling uranium.
Launched in 2017, Saudi Arabia’s National Atomic Energy Project is a cornerstone of the Kingdom’s strategy to diversify its energy sources.
If investments in carbon capture, utilization and storage move ahead as planned, spending in this sector will rise more than tenfold by 2027 from current levels, the IEA added.
“Low-emissions fuel projects are particularly prone to policy uncertainty. Some hydrogen projects have been canceled or delayed in the past 12 months, but there remains a pipeline of approved projects that require around $8 billion of investment in 2025, almost double the level seen in 2024,” said the report.
In November, NEOM Green Hydrogen Co.’s CEO Wesam Al-Ghamdi told Arab News that Saudi Arabia is on track to begin production in the world’s largest green hydrogen project by 2026.
The plant, located in the Kingdom’s $500-billion giga-project, will rely entirely on solar and wind energy to power a 2.2-GW electrolyzer designed to produce hydrogen continuously.
Grid investment gap
Spending patterns in the energy sector remain very uneven globally, according to the IEA. Shutterstock
According to the IEA, investment in grids — now at $400 billion per year — is failing to keep pace with spending on generation and electrification.
“Maintaining electricity security would require investment in grids to rise toward parity with generation spending by the early 2030s. However, this is being held back by lengthy permitting procedures and tight supply chains for transformers and cables,” said the energy agency.
The report further said that lower oil prices and demand expectations are set to result in the first year-on-year fall in upstream oil investment since the COVID-19 slump in 2020.
The expected 6 percent drop is driven mainly by a sharp decline in spending on US tight oil.
However, investment in new liquefied natural gas facilities is on a strong upward trajectory as new projects in the US, Qatar, Canada and elsewhere prepare to come online.
The report added that the global LNG market is set to experience its largest-ever capacity growth between 2026 and 2028.
Geographical shifts
According to the IEA, spending patterns in the energy sector remain very uneven globally — with many developing economies, especially in Africa, struggling to mobilize capital for energy infrastructure.
The report added that Africa accounts for just 2 percent of global clean energy investment, despite being home to 20 percent of the world’s population.
“To close the financing gap in African countries and other emerging and developing economies, international public finance needs to be scaled up and used strategically to bring in larger volumes of private capital,” said the IEA.
China is the largest global energy investor by a wide margin, and its share of global clean energy investment has risen from a quarter 10 years ago to almost one-third now.
Even though well behind China, the IEA added that energy investment trends in India and Brazil stand out among emerging and developing economies.
“Mobilising international finance for clean energy investment in emerging and developing economies will need to be combined with the development of domestic capital markets,” added the energy agency.
Remittances from Egyptians abroad surge over 80%, reaching $26.4bn
Updated 05 June 2025
Nour El-Shaeri
RIYADH: Remittances from Egyptians working overseas recorded a significant jump during the first nine months of the 2024/2025 fiscal year, reaching an unprecedented $26.4 billion.
This marks an 82.7 percent annual increase compared to the $14.4 billion recorded in the same period of the previous financial year, according to data from the country’s central bank.
The surge was especially pronounced in the third quarter, from January to March, when remittances saw an annual climb of 86.6 percent to about $9.4 billion, up from $5 billion in the previous year.
On a monthly basis, March saw inflows of approximately $3.4 billion, reflecting a 63.7 percent increase compared to the $2.1 billion registered in the same month of 2024.
The rise in remittances reflects broader improvements in the country’s external financial position, indicating growing trust from Egyptians abroad and helping to ease pressure on foreign currency reserves.
It also highlights the impact of recent government and central bank measures aimed at stabilizing the exchange rate and encouraging the flow of foreign currency through formal channels.
Net international reserves rose to $48.5 billion at the end of May, up from $47.8 billion in March, indicating stronger foreign currency inflows and improved liquidity.
Egypt’s foreign currency position has been further supported by ongoing economic reforms implemented under an International Monetary Fund-backed stabilization program.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly reported in May that Egypt achieved real gross domestic product growth of 3.9 percent during the first half of the fiscal year, while private sector investment rose by 80 percent and foreign direct investment increased by approximately 17 percent.
Non-oil exports also grew by around 33 percent in the first nine months of the fiscal year, reflecting stronger activity in the industrial, tourism, and technology sectors.
Moody’s affirmed Egypt’s Caa1 long-term foreign and local currency ratings with a positive outlook in February, citing improved debt service prospects, higher foreign reserves, and falling borrowing costs.
The government reported a drop in the general budget deficit to 6.5 percent over the past 10 months and aims to reduce debt to 85 percent of GDP by the end of June, down from 96 percent the previous year.
However, inflationary pressures have re-emerged. Monthly urban headline consumer price index inflation rose to 1.9 percent in May, up from 1.3 percent in April and compared to a contraction of 0.7 percent in May 2024.
On an annual basis, urban inflation reached 16.8 percent in May, up from 13.9 percent in April. Core inflation followed a similar trajectory, rising to 13.1 percent year-on-year in May from 10.4 percent the previous month.
Oil Updates — crude slips on US stockpile build, Saudi Arabia price cuts
Updated 05 June 2025
Reuters
TOKYO/SINGAPORE: Oil edged lower on Thursday after a build in US gasoline and diesel inventories and cuts to Saudi Arabia’s July prices for Asian crude buyers, with global economic uncertainty weighing on prices as well.
Brent crude futures fell 1 cent to $64.85 a barrel at 9:30 a.m. Saudi time. US West Texas Intermediate crude lost 11 cents, or 0.2 percent, dropping to $62.74 a barrel.
Oil prices closed around 1 percent lower on Wednesday after official data showed that US gasoline and distillate stockpiles grew more than expected, reflecting weaker demand in the world’s top economy.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, cut its July prices for Asian crude buyers to nearly the lowest in four years.
“While the (Saudi) decrease was smaller than anticipated, it suggests demand is soft despite entering the peak demand period,” said ANZ analysts in a note.
The price cut by Saudi Arabia follows the OPEC+ move over the weekend to increase output by 411,000 barrels per day for July. OPEC+ is made up of members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia.
Weak US economic data and ongoing developments in US-China trade relations also weighed on oil prices, said independent market analyst Tina Teng.
“Simply put, a gloomy global economic trajectory dimmed the demand outlook,” she said.
“Markets are cautiously watching for any progress in trade talks between the world’s two top economies.”
Data on Wednesday showed that the US services sector contracted for the first time in nearly a year in May while businesses paid higher prices for inputs, indicating the American economy remains in danger of slow growth and high inflation.
On the trade front, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that China’s Xi Jinping was tough and “extremely hard to make a deal with,” exposing friction between Beijing and Washington after the White House had raised expectations for a long-awaited Xi-Trump phone call this week.
Meanwhile, Canada prepared possible reprisals and the EU reported progress in trade talks as new US metals tariffs triggered more disruption in the global economy and added urgency to negotiations with Washington.
“Uncertainty fueled by President Trump’s shifting stance on tariffs has intensified fears of a global economic slowdown,” analyst Ole Hansen at Saxo Bank said in a note.
Saudi Aramco lowers July oil prices for Asian markets
Updated 04 June 2025
Arab News
RIYADH: Saudi Aramco has slashed its official selling price for crude oil destined for Asia in July, the company confirmed in an official statement on Wednesday.
The state-owned oil giant cut the price of its benchmark Arab Light crude by $0.20, setting it at $1.20 per barrel above the average of Oman and Dubai crude prices.
Saudi Aramco prices its crude oil across five density-based grades: Super Light (greater than 40), Arab Extra Light (36-40), Arab Light (32-36), Arab Medium (29-32), and Arab Heavy (below 29).
The company’s monthly pricing decisions impact the cost of around 9 million barrels per day of crude exported to Asia and serve as a pricing benchmark for other major regional producers, including Iran, Kuwait, and Iraq.
In the North American market, Aramco set the July OSP for Arab Light at $3.50 per barrel above the Argus Sour Crude Index.
Aramco determines its OSPs based on market feedback from refiners and an evaluation of crude oil value changes over the past month, taking into account yields and product prices.
Plans by OPEC+ producers to increase output by 411,000 barrels per day in July are also weighing on the market.
Yet, there was some support as wildfires reduced Canada’s production by some 344,000 bpd, according to Reuters calculations.
