A marine scientist has emerged as a new candidate to lead the International Seabed Authority. If elected, she could represent a shift in how the UN-affiliated organization that regulates deep sea mining operates. It’s a high-stakes year for the nascent industry, as pressure mounts on the ISA to finalize mining regulations and as more countries focus on shoring up their supply of critical minerals used to make electric vehicle batteries and other technologies…During a two-week meeting of the ISA’s policymaking Council that kicked off on Monday, Brazil’s delegate — speaking on behalf of 29 Latin American and Caribbean member nations — announced the candidacy of Brazilian oceanographer Leticia Carvalho for the position of secretary-general of the organization’s administrative arm, known as the Secretariat. The ISA’s 168 member nations and the European Union will decide on the next secretary-general at what is expected to be a pivotal meeting in July…If elected, Carvalho would likely represent a marked change from the administration of current Secretary-General Michael Lodge, whose second four-year term ends in December. A UK lawyer, Lodge has disparaged environmental opposition to mining deep ocean ecosystems for valuable minerals and drawn criticism for his closeness to mining contractors the ISA regulates…Pressure is mounting on the ISA to finish its decade-long effort to enact regulations amid growing opposition to mining fragile and biodiverse deep sea habitats for cobalt, nickel and other metals…Carvalho runs the marine and freshwater branch of the UN Environment Programme in Nairobi and previously served as a Brazilian federal environmental official…On the first day of the gathering, Denmark became the 25th ISA member nation to call for a pause or moratorium on mining due to a lack of scientific knowledge about seafloor ecosystems…While the US only attends ISA meetings as an observer — it declined to ratify the 1982 UN treaty that gives the ISA jurisdiction over the seabed in international waters — US interest in deep sea mining is growing…China controls five ISA exploration contracts that allow it to prospect for minerals, the most of any nation…There are already signs that the US may be keen to follow in the footsteps of countries like Norway, which in January approved seabed mining exploration in its territorial waters to lessen dependence on China, contravening the advice of government scientists. In the US, Congress included a provision in its most recent defense budget that requires the Pentagon to issue a report on the nation’s capacity to process seabed minerals.

Boosted by strong electric vehicle sales, Chinese car makers will be in the spotlight at the Bangkok International Motor Show this week, underscoring the growing challenge to Japanese auto giants that have long dominated Thailand's vehicle market…Chinese automakers such as Geely's Zeekr and Xpeng Motors are slated to unveil their latest EVs to Thai customers as they debut at the Bangkok motor show, a week-long expo that opens to public on Wednesday…On Monday, at a media preview, the EV newcomers showcased their cars and technology at slick booths shoulder-to-shoulder with those from market leaders like Toyota Motor that are household names in Southeast Asia's second-largest economy…In all, Chinese automakers have committed to invest more than $1.44 billion in production facilities in Southeast Asia's largest auto manufacturing hub. Thailand is looking convert about 30% of its annual vehicle production into EVs by 2030…The expansion by Chinese EV makers in Thailand comes against the backdrop of intensifying competition at home where car makers are racing to cut prices…In 2023, Thais bought 73,500 battery EVs, or about 9% of domestic car sales, and that is expected to double by the end of 2024, according a Federation of Thai Industries forecast…Major Japanese auto manufacturers are set to invest 150 billion baht ($4.34 billion) in Thailand over five years.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. is working on faster charging batteries for Tesla Inc. as Elon Musk’s automaker seeks to defend its market share and roll out an electric car for under $25,000…“There’s always room for cost reduction depending on what the $25,000 car’s aim is,” Robin Zeng, the billionaire chairman of the world’s biggest battery maker, said in a wide-ranging interview with Bloomberg News in Hong Kong on Monday. “If it’s for robotaxis, we don’t have to worry about the cost reduction for each cell as our batteries have a longer life cycle and so their average cost is actually lower.”…Its grip on battery supply both within and outside China has meant estimate-beating revenue growth even as an over-supply of electric vehicles worldwide looms. Nonetheless, the Chinese company is effectively barred from selling in the US directly, which it’s attempting to circumvent by licensing battery-making technology to partners and charging a royalty fee…Zeng expressed bullishness around CATL’s so-called licensing, royalty and services (LRS) model and added that the company plans to train engineers from Ford Motor Co., for example, by inviting them to CATL’s headquarters in Ningde, Fujian in China or to Germany, where it also has a plant. CATL is in talks with around 10 to 20 other automakers in the US and Europe regarding a similar arrangement, Zeng said, without elaborating…US President Joe Biden’s signature climate law has allocated some $370 billion in funding to help the US set up a comprehensive EV production and supply chain to compete with China…With the licensing model the only real way for CATL to compete in the US, the battery behemoth is eyeing building out production capacity in more friendly regions, such as Europe and Southeast Asia, Zeng said. 

A Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicle batteries is in talks to invest more than £1bn to build a giant new factory on the outskirts of Coventry…EVE Energy, which says it employs 28,000 staff worldwide, is understood to be in talks to construct a 5.7m sq ft gigafactory, which will form one of the main parts of the planned UK Centre for Electrification, an investment zone in the West Midlands…Sources with knowledge of the talks confirmed EVE’s interest in the project, which could create up to 6,000 jobs in partnership with local councils and Coventry airport, where the plant will be located…The Chinese company is thought to be considering committing an initial £1.2bn to the project, according to the Sunday Times, which first reported the discussions. Subsequent phases of the works are expected to expand the site, which would make it almost twice the size of Nissan’s electric battery factory in Sunderland.

Nissan will expand its electric vehicle lineup, develop more powerful batteries and cut production costs, while speeding up the whole process, in what the Japanese automaker’s chief called “The Arc” pathway to higher sales by 2030…“The auto industry is now being forced to reshape its values so we can say continuous change is the new normal,” Chief Executive Makoto Uchida told reporters Monday, in outlining a sprawling but ambitious business plan…“Nissan must change. We cannot succeed if we continue along the same path.”…Costs will come down for electric models so they’ll be about the same as gasoline-engine models by fiscal 2030, while global sales will grow by a million vehicles during that period, he added…The company is planning 30 new models over the next three years, 16 of them EVs. Nissan plans to launch 34 EV models from fiscal 2024 through fiscal 2030, so that EVs will account for 40% of its global offerings by fiscal 2026, and 60% by the end of the decade…Earlier this month, Nissan announced it was in talks on forming a partnership with Japanese rival Honda Motor Co. in electrification and artificial intelligence…Nissan, Japan’s No. 2 automaker, was an early EV adapter, coming out with the Leaf EV in late 2010. In recent years, Japanese automakers have fallen behind Tesla of the U.S. and Chinese manufacturers like BYD.