China's sodium-ion battery sector is drawing intense attention as surging lithium carbonate prices lift lithium battery production costs. But Chinese media say the market is already showing a split between "big-company heat and small-company chill," and that large-scale production could expose new material shortages.
South Korea's hydrogen rail commercialization is entering the final stretch, with Hyundai Rotem, a unit of Hyundai Motor Group, building hydrogen trains equipped with Hyundai Motor's in-house fuel cell system. The first commercial service is expected as early as 2029, but a 2024 shutdown of hydrogen trains in Foshan, China has raised questions about economic viability.
LG Energy Solution (LGES) reported stronger second-quarter sales and a swing back to operating profit, a result that could matter for global investors tracking how policy incentives are shaping vehicle manufacturing profits. The company said US production credits boosted its results, while underlying operating performance would have been weaker without those subsidies.
Battery backup (BBU) module demand from AI servers continued to rise in June, supporting revenue growth at Taiwanese suppliers AES-KY, Simplo Technology and STL. These companies have also been expanding capacity to meet customer orders, with additional output expected to support further business growth.
JLC reported a sharp rise in June revenue after Taiwan's Resource Circularity Promotion Act took effect, while the lead-acid battery recycler also benefited from early investment in process technology, tax incentives and ESG-linked positioning. The company said stronger downstream demand helped lift revenue more than 40% from May.
Test interface supplier Chunghwa Precision Test Tech. Co., Ltd. (CHPT) reported its June 2026 revenue, marking its sixth consecutive monthly revenue record as demand from the market remained strong. The company also posted record quarterly revenue in both the first and second quarters of 2026, underscoring its sustained growth momentum.
As global efforts toward the circular economy and net-zero emissions accelerate, the European Union has continued revising its End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive to establish a vehicle recycling framework centered on circular design, high-value material recovery, and life-cycle management. The policy is enforced to help drive worldwide development of end-of-life vehicle recycling and resource recovery.
The South Korean government treats batteries as a strategic asset tied to national economic and energy security, but industry leaders say the growth and survival of South Korea's companies now depend almost entirely on regulatory shifts in the US and Europe amid fierce competition from China. They are calling for urgent, concrete tax support at home, especially a direct refund system that would also benefit loss-making companies.
The European Commission is considering a new credit system for electric vehicles as part of its latest Automotive Package, Reuters reported, in a move aimed at speeding EV adoption while easing pressure on automakers as the EU moves toward its 2035 internal combustion engine ban. The plan would give smaller battery electric vehicles (BEVs) extra weight in fleet emissions calculations, a change that could reshape competition between mass-market and premium brands.
Nuclear energy startup Valar Atomics said on July 1 it is partnering with Nvidia to develop a small data center in Utah, an effort the companies say will demonstrate how computing facilities needed for artificial intelligence can conserve water.
MiTAC Holdings' subsidiary, MiTAC Computing Technology, has won strong demand from US cloud customers, driving a sharp rise in orders and a global expansion plan from Asia to North America starting in 2025. With new capacity set to come online in 2026 and additional North American output in the second half of the year, the company expects a clear uplift in operations.
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