ProLogium, an energy innovation company specializing in R&D and
manufacturing of next-generation solid-state battery solutions for EVs,
earlier this month chose Dunkirk, France, as the location for its first
large-scale solid-state battery manufacturing facility outside of
Taiwan, a 3,000-job win for northern France. The announcement was
welcomed in Dunkirk by French President Emmanuel Macron. “Specifically,
ProLogium’s objective is threefold: to put down roots in Europe, to
mass-produce next-generation batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), and
to support the energy transition of the EU automotive industry, as ICE
car sale will be banned by 2035,” the company said. “ProLogium will
invest a total of €5.2 billion to set up a 48 GWh gigafactory and an R&D
center, strategically located in Europe. The localization of advanced
battery manufacturing will also be a significant milestone in French
government’s green reindustrialization strategy.” The company said
Dunkirk was selected from a long list of over 90 cities in Europe
following a rigorous review process for its well-established
infrastructure and superb geographic assets. “This region will allow
ProLogium to benefit from a supply of stable and low-carbon electricity
at a competitive price, thanks to various sources of decarbonized
electricity that are or will soon be present in Dunkirk, first and
foremost the EDF power plant in Gravelines, but also the future offshore
wind farm and a photovoltaic plant,” ProLogium said. “This project will
be located in the port of Dunkirk, close to Northern European automotive
manufacturing plants and the international shipping network. These
features make Dunkirk an ideal location to realize ProLogium’s vision of
implementing local supply and local manufacturing for European OEM
customers.”
On the very same day as the announcement above, EVE Energy Malaysia Sdn.
Bhd. (EVE) and Pemaju Kelang Lama Sdn. Bhd. signed an MOU marking a
milestone in establishing a $422.3 million, 600-job manufacturing
facility in Kulim, Kedah, Malaysia. “This facility will be EVE’s 53rd
factory and will spearhead the development of an International
Cylindrical Battery Industrial Park in Malaysia,” stated a release from
the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), which is
supporting the project and the overall sustainable mobility sector
alongside the country’s Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry
(MITI), the Kedah State Executive Council and Invest Kedah Berhad. “The
factory will primarily focus on the production of cylindrical
lithium-ion batteries for power tools and electric two-wheelers.”
Managing Director of Bosch Malaysia Klaus Landhaeusser noted, “EVE has
been Bosch’s focus supplier for lithium-ion cells since 2018. Their
expansion plan into Malaysia fits well with our local-for-local
strategy.” MIDA said it approved 54 projects totaling RM22 billion
(nearly US$ 4.8 billion) in the EV sector and its related ecosystems
from 2018 to 2022.
SCOTUS on WOTUS has attracted great notice. Reactions to
last week’s unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision in Sackett
v. EPA — which involved the jurisdiction of the Clean Water
Act and the definition of “Waters of the United States”
(WOTUS) — were swift and numerous. “In a victory for NAIOP
members and the CRE industry, the Court ruled that the Clean
Water Act extends only to wetlands that are as a practical
matter indistinguishable from waters of the United States’
and that have a continuous surface connection with that
water,” said a statement from NAIOP President and CEO Marc
Selvitelli. “For many years, NAIOP has advocated for commonsense regulation
to protect our nation’s wetlands that is clear, increases
predictability and consistency in EPA and Army Corps of
Engineers wetlands decision making, and reduces unnecessary
permitting delays … Supreme Court decision finally clarifies
the legal test needed to determine whether a federal
wetlands permit is required for a development project. This
will go a long way to reducing the uncertainty and added
costs of delay that were the result of the legal ambiguity
that existed. The Biden WOTUS rule had been suspended in 26
states because of legal challenges. Today’s Supreme Court
ruling will most likely force changes to the Biden
administration’s regulation to ensure its application is
consistent with the decision.”
Associated General Contractors of
America CEO Stephen E. Sandherr said, “This decision
will return consistency and sanity to the permitting
process. The decision will allow vital infrastructure and
development projects to proceed in a timely manner while
still providing strong protections for the actual waters of
the U.S.” He also noted, “The decision also makes clear that
the Biden administration must rewrite its current Waters of
the U.S. rule, which relies on the flawed ‘significant
nexus’ test that the Court roundly dismissed today.
Attempting to redefine nearly every wet area in the U.S. as
a federal water is clearly not legal.”
“Moving forward, we will continue to challenge the Biden
administration’s rule in court and welcome future
opportunities to work with the administration to help craft
a rule that continues to protect the waters of the U.S.
without erecting unnecessary and unlawful barriers to
economic activity.”
The National Apartment Association (NAA) and National
Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) also approved: “Today’s decision
provides long-awaited certainty for property owners and
housing providers and properly curbs federal overreach of
what defines Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS),” a statement read.
“The apartment industry strongly supports protecting our
water resources, but undue and confusing regulations would
exacerbate our nationwide housing affordability crisis.
After years of litigation, the Court unanimously agreed that
federal authority was lacking in this case and this ruling
limits the universe of properties subject to costly and
time-consuming federal permits to develop or redevelop
housing.”
PHOTO OF THE
DAY
Photo courtesy of NPS
In this archive photo from the National Park Service, an honor guard
stands at attention on Memorial Day at War in the Pacific National
Historical Park. A protected area in the United States territory of
Guam, the park which was established in 1978 in honor of those who
participated in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
