Since the start of the year, growth in the European solar market has slowed markedly. SMM expects total new solar installations in the European market to fall to around 68.5GW in 2026, a year on year decline of about 2 percent. Alongside softening demand, multiple EU level supply chain restriction policies continue to advance, including the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA), the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), and restrictive measures targeting inverters from so called high risk countries.

Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited (TPREL) has awarded Suzlon Group a new 400MW wind EPC contract in Andhra Pradesh, lifting the two companies' cumulative wind energy collaboration beyond 1GW. Suzlon will supply, install, commission and maintain 127 units of its 3.15MW S144 wind turbines. The project supports India's renewable energy expansion and decarbonisation goals while further strengthening Suzlon's growing wind energy project pipeline.

Novelis said Europe’s aluminium demand is expected to rise by about 30% by 2040, driven by EVs, renewable energy, construction and packaging. While recycled aluminium has become increasingly important due to its 95% lower energy consumption than primary production, the company said recycling alone cannot meet future demand for high-performance applications such as aerospace, electrical systems and advanced automotive alloys. Novelis called for a balanced strategy combining expanded recycling with competitive low-carbon primary aluminium production.

In response to the EU's new safeguard system implemented on July 1, which slashed the bloc's overall tariff-free steel import quota by 46% to 18.35 million metric tons (mt), South Korea is launching initiatives to boost domestic consumption. With its country-specific EU quota reduced by 19.7% to 2.07 million mt, the South Korean government aims to create over 510,000 mt of new domestic steel demand by strengthening supply chain cooperation with local shipbuilding, defense, and renewable energy sectors. This strategic pivot illustrates South Korea's proactive approach to absorbing displaced export volumes and insulating its industry from rising global protectionism.

At the Rio de Janeiro Energy Summit on June 25, panelists stated that without direct government support, Brazil will not advance its critical minerals sector, given the country's lack of infrastructure, technology, and long‑term investment. Analysts noted that minerals have become a strategic asset essential for ensuring technological leadership and energy security, and should no longer be viewed merely as extractive commodities. They added that a sound legal and regulatory framework is key to providing predictability and certainty for long‑term investment in the industry. Marcos Mesquita, Strategic Vice President of LPG distributor Copa Energia, said the mining sector should focus on diversifying extraction operations into multiple minerals and their by‑products to increase revenue. Mesquita added that Brazil should not emulate China, as it can leverage its abundant water resources and dominant renewable energy generation to build a more sustainable industry platform.

On June 28, during Saudi Water Week 2026, LONGi officially signed a strategic cooperation memorandum with the Saudi Water Authority (SWA). Under the memorandum, the two sides will carry out in-depth cooperation in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, focusing on optimizing the energy structure and advancing the intelligent upgrade of Saudi Arabia’s water infrastructure. The cooperation will focus on promoting renewable energy integration and digital transformation across the full value chain of water production, treatment, and distribution.

South Korea's NEV market is recovering from the slump at year-end 2025, but the current rebound is still dominated by HEVs, rather than being driven solely by BEVs. Although BEV share has rebounded, the sustainability of the recovery remains to be confirmed. For South Korean battery enterprises, it has become difficult to gauge demand recovery simply by relying on domestic EV sales and export data. In contrast, driven by South Korea’s policy demand and utility-scale energy storage projects in North America, ESS is becoming a clearer growth channel.

Korea’s NEV market is recovering from late-2025 weakness, but the rebound remains HEV-led rather than BEV-driven. BEV share has improved, yet the recovery still lacks consistency. For Korean battery makers, domestic EV sales and export data alone are no longer sufficient indicators of demand recovery. ESS, supported by domestic policy demand and North American utility-scale projects, is emerging as a clearer growth channel.

Hyundai Motor published its 2026 Sustainability Report on June 30, outlining its proactive risk management capabilities and future sustainability management strategy amid tightening global ESG regulations. In the report, Hyundai Motor said it has achieved RE100, or 100% renewable energy use, across all of its business sites in Europe, North America and India.

Recently, Malaysia’s Plus Xnergy Services Sdn Bhd announced that a 20MWh battery energy storage system, deployed at a large food manufacturing facility in Perak, Malaysia, has completed full-capacity grid connection and entered commercial operation. The project was jointly developed by Plus Xnergy and energy storage system supplier HyperStrong. It is positioned as a commercial and industrial self-consumption battery energy storage project, namely a SELCO BESS.