Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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Stories we discuss in this episode (with links)

Everrati rebrands B2B EV conversion arm to ‘Powered by Everrati’ amid clientele increase

Tesla Cybertruck owner gets quoted over $30,000 for Powershare installation

CATL unveils world’s first LFP battery with 4C ultra-fast charging for 370-mi in 10 mins

Tesla (TSLA) surges on Elon Musk trying to ride AI wave

Tesla expects its 4680 battery cells to be cheaper than suppliers by end of year

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The first of 23 caissons for Princess Elisabeth Island, the world’s first artificial energy island, is nearly complete.

Princess Elisabeth Island will be an electricity grid at sea that will connect offshore wind farms to the Belgian mainland and also serve as a hub for future interconnectors with the UK and Denmark. Belgian electricity transmission system operator Elia is the project’s developer.

The 20,000-ton caissons, which will form the energy island’s outer walls, are being built at Jan De Nul Group and DEME’s construction site in Vlissingen, the Netherlands. It takes around three months to build one caisson. The production process is split into five 20-day stages. The caissons are moved between the different work sites using “runners,” which takes about six hours. 

When the caissons are ready, a semi-submersible vessel will transport them further down the harbor, where they’ll be temporarily stored in the water. They’ll then be moved to their final location in the North Sea this summer, weather allowing, said maritime infrastructure company Jan de Nul.

You can watch a time-lapse video of Princess Elisabeth Island’s first caisson being built here:

Princess Elisabeth Island is part of the larger Princess Elisabeth Zone, a future 3.5 gigawatt (GW) offshore wind farm in the North Sea, around 45 km (28 miles) off the Belgian coast. The world’s first artificial energy island will receive power from the wind turbines via undersea cables, and it will then be converted to high-voltage electricity and distributed to the Belgian mainland and other European countries. The energy island will combine both direct current (HVDC) and alternating current (HVAC).

The energy island will be finished in late 2026 when the electrical equipment will start to be installed. Princess Elisabeth Island is expected to be fully connected to all wind farms and the mainland by 2030. 

Read more: 2023 was a record year for wind power growth – in numbers

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Honda is finally joining the EV race after announcing a massive $11 billion (CAD$15 billion) investment to build four new EV plants in Canada. The historic investment will be used to build Canada’s first EV supply chain, enabling 240,000 Honda EVs to be made for the US and Canada annually.

Honda reveals game changing investment to build EVs

Honda announced its largest investment in Canada ever as it prepares for the electric era. The plans for a new Honda EV plant and stand-alone EV battery factory in Alliston, Ontario.

Once fully operational, the EV facility will be able to produce 240,000 EVs a year, while its battery plant will have capacity of 36 GWh per year. Production is expected to begin in 2028.

According to a press release from the prime minister’s office, Honda will build Canada’s first comprehensive EV supply chain. The project will include four new manufacturing plants in Ontario.

In addition to the EV plant and battery factory, Honda will build a cathode active material and precursor plant through a joint venture with POSCO Future M. A second is planned with Asahi Kasei Corp.

Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada, said Honda’s investment is a “game changer for manufacturing in Canada.” With a full supply chain, Honda expects to cut costs by over 20%.

Honda aims for EVs and FCEVS to account for 100% of vehicle sales by 2040. Honda also invested $700 million to retool three Ohio plants to serve as its hub for future EV and EV battery production.

Meanwhile, Honda’s first electric SUV, the Honda Prologue, went on sale earlier this year. Starting at $47,400 (excluding destination), the Prologue offers up to 296 miles range.

With the $7,500 federal tax credit, the Prologue’s starting price can fall to as low as $39,900 (excluding destination).

Lace Woelfer, VP of Honda America National Auto Sales, said the Honda Prologue hits the “sweet spot” as a sporty, stylish electric SUV.