Industrial Electrification, EV Momentum & Nuclear Rankings
From Europe’s lagging industrial electrification policies to China’s surging EV wave and the reshaping of global nuclear capacity, the week’s developments highlight how uneven the world’s energy transition remains. While Asia drives battery and solar innovation, Western frameworks are struggling to keep pace with the scale of transformation required.
⚡ Europe’s Policy Gap on Industrial Electrification
New research finds Europe’s policy support for industrial electrification is far from adequate. Across 17 expert responses, the regulatory framework scored just 1.3/5, while policymakers’ perceived priority for electrification averaged 2.3/5. Industrial heat pumps scored only 1.7/5, revealing how limited attention this crucial technology still receives. The gap is clear: Europe’s technical potential is huge, but institutional readiness remains shallow.
⛽ The Oil Industry’s Structural Problem
Global ICE vehicle sales peaked nearly a decade ago, and now the delayed effects are beginning to hit. In China, EVs make up 45% of new car sales, and saturation there could push Chinese EV makers to export heavily, accelerating the shift worldwide. That spells trouble for oil demand: even a 2% drop can crash prices as the industry’s economics unravel almost overnight. The “slow fade” of gasoline demand could soon become a permanent structural decline.
🔋 Top 10 Global Battery Makers (2025)
Six of the world’s ten largest battery producers are Chinese, three are Korean, and one is Japanese.
This concentration underscores Asia’s continued dominance in battery supply chains — and its growing leverage in the global EV and storage markets.
☀️ South Korea to Regulate Agrivoltaics
South Korea plans to introduce a legal framework for agrivoltaics in 2026, paving the way for wider use of solar panels on farmland. Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung said the legislation will be drafted this year and enacted in the first half of next year, following consultations with farmers and solar developers.
☢️ Ranked: Nuclear Power Capacity by Country
Just five countries generate more than 70% of the world’s nuclear electricity. The United States remains the clear leader, operating 94 reactors with a combined capacity of 97 gigawatts (GW). France follows with 57 reactors totaling 63 GW, reflecting its long-standing reliance on nuclear power for most of its electricity supply.
China has also become a major player, matching France in reactor count with 57 units, though its average plant capacity remains lower. Russia and Japan round out the top five, maintaining significant fleets despite contrasting policy trajectories—Russia expanding abroad through reactor exports, while Japan continues a gradual restart of plants idled after Fukushima.