Officials have denied problems in the Franco-German relationship, but Chancellor Scholz’s focus on domestic politics is upsetting some lawmakers in Europe.
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Fresh tensions between France and Germany are challenging their relationship at a time when their unity is critical for broader European policy in tackling the energy crisis.
The leaders of the two nations will meet in Paris on Wednesday, but this encounter almost got canceled.
It was initially meant to be a broader discussion including government ministers, then it was announced it was being postponed, and eventually, it was transformed into just a meeting between the two heads of state.
“The Franco-German’s historical commitment to close cooperation seems questioned, or at least challenged, today,” Alberto Alemanno, professor of EU law at H.E.C Business School, told CNBC via email.
He added that the action of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is “creating the deepest divides within the Union.”
France and Germany are the two largest economies in the European Union and two of the founding nations of this political grouping. Their unity is essential for EU policymaking.
France and Germany have had their differences over how to tackle the energy crisis. While, for example, France defended a cap on European gas prices, the German government only agreed to do so last week — and with several conditions attached.
Germany has also been criticized for approving a 200 billion euro ($200.2 billion) rescue package looking to support German companies and families while blocking steps at the EU level to raise more money and support European nations with less fiscal room.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in the wake of this plan that the euro zone needed to work together and avoid fragmentation among the 19 countries that share the common currency.
In addition, there are concerns in the broader EU about Scholz’s upcoming trip to China and for looking to do business with a nation that is increasingly deemed as a rival to European countries. There are also issues with Germany’s long delay in delivering weapons to Ukraine.
“The relationship is obviously strained, a development I blame mostly the German government for,” Jacob Kirkegaard, senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund think tank, said via email.
“Scholz leads the first three-party coalition in German history, and as such has less control over his ‘domestic politics’ than previous German chancellors on top of having ideologically often opposed coalition members in the Greens and FDP,” he added.
‘Blown out of proportion’
French officials, however, have denied any sort of tensions, but they have acknowledged that Germany’s three-party coalition makes any sort of agreement slower to achieve.
“This has been blown out of proportion,” a French official, who did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of this issue, told CNBC about the tension between Paris and Berlin.
The changes to the original gathering have been linked to calendar issues, with German ministers reportedly arguing this was a good week for holidays with their families. Le Maire said the postponement had “nothing to do with any kind of political difficulties,” according to Politico.
The same official added that sometimes both countries move “more slowly” on policy than what would be desired, but “we are always discussing with the Germans.”
Nonetheless, they added that the German coalition, in place since December, is relatively new and “there is a learning curve there.”
“It takes a lot of time for them to find a common position,” the official said.
The German government was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
Scholz said last week that “as far as cooperation with France is concerned, President Macron and I meet very, very often.”
Analysts at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group have also noted that “frustration with Berlin has grown” across Europe.
“While the criticism initially centered around what was perceived by many senior EU officials as Berlin’s limited military support for [Kyiv], member states across the board have now started to criticize Germany’s fiscal and energy policies too,” they said in a note Tuesday.
“Disappointment with Berlin has now gone so far that it actually risks weakening the Franco-German alliance—the EU’s single most important bilateral relationship,” they added.
National Grid Renewables has broken ground on its 100 MW Apple River Solar Project in Polk County, Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin solar farm, which will use US-made First Solar Series 6 Plus bifacial modules, will be constructed by The Boldt Company, creating 150 construction and service jobs. Apple River Solar will generate over $36 million in direct economic benefits over its first 20 years.
Once it comes online in late 2025, Apple River Solar will supply clean energy to Xcel Energy, which serves customers throughout the Upper Midwest. According to National Grid Renewables, the solar farm will generate enough energy to power around 26,000 homes annually. It will also offset about 129,900 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year – equivalent to taking 30,900 cars off the road.
“We are excited to see this project begin as it underscores our dedication to delivering clean, reliable and affordable energy to our customers,” said Karl Hoesly, President, Xcel Energy-Wisconsin and Michigan. “This project is an important step in those goals while bringing significant economic benefits to Polk County and the local townships.”
Electrekreported in February that Xcel Energy, Minnesota’s largest utility, expects to cut more than 80% – and possibly up to 88% – of its emissions by 2030, putting it on track to hit Minnesota’s goal of net zero by 2040. It also says it’s on track to achieve its clean energy goals for all the Upper Midwest states it serves – Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Michigan.
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Tesla has announced that it will finally deliver 500 kW charging as it is about to install its long-awaited V4 Supercharger cabinets.
The rollout of Supercharger V4 has been a strange one, to say the least.
Tesla has been deploying the new charging stations for two years and calling them “Supercharger V4”, but it has only been deploying the charging stalls.
Supercharger stations are made of two main parts: the stalls, which are where the charging cable is located, and the cabinets, which are generally located further back and include all the power electronics.
For all these new “Supercharger V4”, Tesla was actually using Supercharger V3 cabinets. This has been limiting the power output of the charging stations to 250 kW – although
Today, Tesla officially announced its “V4 Cabinet”, which the automaker claims will enable of “delivering up to 500kW for cars and 1.2MW for Semi.”
Here are the main features of the V4 Cabinet as per Tesla:
Faster charging: Supports 400V-1000V vehicle architectures, including 30% faster charging for Cybertruck. S3XY vehicles enjoy 250kW charge rates they already experience on V3 Cabinet — charging up to 200 miles in 15 minutes.
Faster deployments: V4 Cabinet powers 8 posts, 2X the stalls per cabinet. Lower footprint and complexity = more sites coming online faster.
Next-generation hardware: Cutting-edge power electronics designed to be the most reliable on the planet, with 3X power density enabling higher throughput with lower costs.
Tesla reports that its first sites with the new V4 Cabinets are going into permitting now. The company expects its first sites to open next year.
We recently reported about Tesla’s new Oasis Supercharger project, which includes larger solar arrays and battery packs to operate the charging station mostly off-grid.
Early in the deployment of the Supercharger network, Tesla promised to add solar arrays and batteries to all Supercharger stations, and Musk even said that most stations would be able to operate off-grid.
While Tesla did add solar and batteries to a few stations, the vast majority of them don’t have their own power system or have only minimal solar canopies.
Back in 2016, I asked Musk about this, and he said that it would now happen as Tesla had the “pieces now in place” with Supercharger V3, Powerpack V2, and SolarCity:
It took about 8 years, but it sounds like the pieces are now getting actually in place with Supercharger V4, Megapacks, and this new Oasis project.
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Hyundai has a new secret weapon it’s about ready to unleash. To revamp the brand in China and counter BYD’s surge, Hyundai is launching a new AI-powered EV next year. The new model will be Hyundai’s first dedicated electric car for the world’s largest EV market.
With the help of Haomo, a Chinese autonomous startup, Hyundai will launch its first EV equipped with generative AI. It will also be its first model designed specifically for China.
A Hyundai Motor official said (via The Korea Herald) the company is “working to load the software” onto the new EV model, “which will be released in the Chinese market next year.” The spokesperson added, “The level of autonomous driving is somewhere between 2 and 2.5.”
In comparison, Tesla’s Autopilot is considered a level 2 advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) on the SAE scale (0 to 5), meaning it offers limited hands-free features.
With Autopilot, you still have to keep your eyes on the road and hands on the steering wheel, or the system will notify you and eventually disengage.
Haomo’s system, DriveGPT, unveiled last spring, takes inspiration from the OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT.
The system can continuously update in real-time to optimize decision-making by absorbing traffic data patterns. According to Haomo, DriveGPT is used in around 20 models as it looks to play a bigger role in China.
Hyundai hopes new AI-powered EV boosts sales in China
Electric vehicle sales continue surging in China. According to Rho Motion, China set another EV sales record last month with 1.2 million units sold, up 50% from October 2023.
Over 8.4 million EVs were sold in China in the first ten months of 2024, a notable 38% increase from last year.
BYD continues to dominate its home market. According to Autovista24, BYD accounted for 32.9% of all PHEV and EV (NEV) sales in China through September, with over half of the top 20 best-selling EV models.
Tesla was second with a 6.5% share of the market, but keep in mind these numbers only include plug-in models (PHEV).
Like most foreign automakers, Hyundai is struggling to keep up with the influx of low-cost electric models in China. Beijing Hyundai’s sales have been slipping since 2017. Through September, Korean automaker’s share of the Chinese market fell to just 1.2%.
According to local reports, Hyundai is partnering with other local tech companies like Thundersoft, a smart cockpit provider, and others in China to power up its next-gen EVs
With its first AI-powered EV launching next year, Hyundai hopes to turn things around in the region quickly. The new model will be one of five to launch in China through 2026.
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