Shell is working with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) to reduce emissions and adopt electric harbor craft in the nation. The oil giant revealed its first fully electric passenger ferry Monday, the Penguin Refresh, as part of the collaboration.
With the shift to zero-emission electric transportation accelerating, big oil companies are diversifying their interests to include renewables and electric alternatives.
Shell has joined the revolution by making several acquisitions and investments over the past several years to shift away from fossil-fuel-related sales. The company realizes fewer gas stations will be needed as more electric vehicles hit the road.
Shell has begun deploying EV charging stations to overcome this and establish a new revenue stream, starting with some of its first in 2017.
Later that year, Shell followed up by acquiring New Motion, giving the oil giant instant access to over 30,000 charging ports across Europe.
Shell has continued expanding its EV charging network over the years to include nearly 100,000 ports, with new buyouts and partnerships with big names in the EV industry, including NIO and BYD.
Most recently, Shell acquired Volta, an EV charging and media company with infrastructure deployed around malls, grocery stores, banks, and other retail locations.
Shell aims to operate over 500,000 EV charging ports by 2025 as the world moves to sustainable transportation.
Meanwhile, Shell is also rolling out renewable energy sources, such as the super-hybrid offshore wind farm in the Netherlands with solar, battery storage, and green hydrogen production.
Its latest innovation is another step toward a sustainable future as Shell unveils its first electric ferry in Singapore.
Singapore and Shell’s first electric ferry (Source: MPA)
Shell introduces its first fully electric passenger ferry
The electric ferry is the first of at least three as part of a collaboration between Shell and the Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) as the nation looks to reduce emissions from boats and ships traveling in the ports.
Shell unveiled the electric ferry with a 200-passenger capacity at its energy and chemicals facility on Pulau Bukom Monday.
The 200-passenger ferry will transport around 3,000 passengers daily, or about 1.8 million trips a year between mainland Singapore and Shell Energy and Chemicals Park.
The electric ferry was designed and built by Penguin International Limited with a lithium-ion battery system capable of 1.2 MWh and run speeds of over 20 knots (18 knots at night), all with zero emissions and noise.
The collaboration is part of a broader effort to reduce emissions from the Port of Singapore, one of the busiest ports globally, including requiring all new harbor craft to be net zero by 2030. By 2050, it aims for net zero emissions across its harbor craft, pleasure craft, and tugboat sectors.
Shell says it will work with MPA to deploy charging infrastructure to support the transition as well as research developing low and zero-carbon fuels.
The first electric ferry called the Penguin Refresh, is set to sail in May, with two additional zero-emission ferries joining in August.
According to MPA, the three new electric ferries will save roughly 1,952 tonnes of diesel fuel while reducing CO2 emissions by around 6,258 tonnes each year.
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Hyundai is the latest carmaker offering significant discounts on electric vehicles in the UK. The Hyundai Electric Grant program offers up to £3,750 ($5,000) off popular EVs, including the Inster EV, IONIQ 5, and new IONIQ 9. And it’s not just the UK, Hyundai is launching deals in nearly every market.
Hyundai launches new EV grant program in the UK
Starting today, July 25, all Hyundai electric vehicles in the UK are eligible for the program. Hyundai’s EV grant offers buyers £3,750 ($5,000) off the 2025 Inster, the brand’s new entry-level electric SUV.
The savings are available across Hyundai’s entire EV lineup, with £1,500 ($2,000) in savings on the IONIQ 5, Kona Electric, and IONIQ 9.
“As the electric vehicle landscape continues to evolve, it is important that customers have complete clarity, choice and compelling value when making the switch to electric,” Ashley Andrew, president of Hyundai and Genesis UK, said on Friday.
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After launching the Inster EV and its flagship IONIQ 9 this year, Hyundai now offers a complete lineup ranging from entry-level to a three-row electric SUV.
The EV grant is available immediately across Hyundai’s UK dealer network, including for retail, Hyundai Affinity, or Contract Hire purchases.
Hyundai Inster EV (Source: Hyundai UK)
Until August 31, buyers can score an extra £500 ($671) off the Inster EV and Kona Electric through Hyundai’s Electrifying Summer promo.
Hyundai is also offering 24-hour test drives, allowing customers to try it before making a purchase. The Korean automaker follows other brands, including MG and Leapmotor, to offer discounts ahead of the UK’s new EV grant program.
Hyundai Kona Electric N Line (Source: Hyundai)
According to new registration data from Jato, Hyundai was the 10th best-selling EV brand in Europe in the first half of 2025.
The Inster EV, priced from £23,505 ($31,500), cracked the top 20 most registered EVs last month with over 3,300 units sold. Hyundai Motor, including Kia’s share of the EV market, rose from 12.6% to 19.1% in H1 2025.
Hyundai is offering significant savings on electric vehicles not just in the UK, but essentially in every market, including the US, right now.
2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 at a Tesla Supercharger (Source: Hyundai)
Following the launch of an aggressive sales promotion this summer, Hyundai is now offering 0% interest for 60 months on its top-selling SUVs. The savings are available on new EV models, including the 2025 IONIQ 5 and 2026 IONIQ 9 (see our review of it).
2026 Hyundai IONIQ 9 (Source: Hyundai)
The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5, which now offers up to 318 miles of range and a NACS port for charging at Tesla Superchargers, is listed for lease at just $179 per month. That’s about the lowest national offer for an electric SUV currently available.
Both the IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 9 are built at Hyundai’s new EV plant in Georgia, so they still qualify for the $7,500 US tax credit. However, that’s set to end at the end of September.
Ready to try one out for yourself? You can use our links below to find offers on Hyundai’s electric vehicles in your area.
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Tesla is stripping all meaning from the word “Robotaxi” as it plans to expand its supposedly autonomous ride-hailing program to the Bay Area as soon as this weekend, albeit with a driver in the driver’s seat.
Tesla is not yet ready to launch a level 4 autonomous driving system, but Elon Musk needs Tesla to achieve a win in self-driving after years of failed promises.
They decided to launch “Robotaxi”, a ride-hailing service in Austin, Texas, but due to the automaker not being ready to deploy level 4 autonomy, it had to add a safety monitor in the passenger front seat at all times.
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That passenger has access to controls capable of stopping the vehicle at all times, which is similar to how Tesla’s consumer version of ‘Supervised Full Self-Driving’ works. In short, it’s basically ‘Tesla Supervised Full Self-Driving’, but with the supervisor moving from the driver’s seat to the front passenger’s seat.
Those supervisors have already had dozens of interventions over just 7,000 miles in Austin over the last month.
Now, Tesla is looking to launch its ‘Robotaxi’ in the Bay Area. Rumors are that it could be as soon as this weekend.
However, during Tesla’s earnings call this week, Tesla’s head of self-driving, Ashok Elluswamy, confirmed that it will be with “a person in the driver’s seat”:
“The next is the San Francisco Bay Area. We are working with the government to get approval here, and meanwhile, we will launch the service with a person in the driver’s seat just to expedite while we wait for regulatory approval.”
To be clear, this is no different than an Uber driver who owns a Tesla with FSD picking you up at the airport. Tesla is looking to launch an Uber service in the Bay Area with employees at the wheel who use FSD, and it is going to call it ‘Robotaxi’.
It’s no more than a distraction from the fact that Tesla can’t deliver a level 4 autonomous driving system.
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Nexamp just pulled off something that could speed up clean energy deployment across the US – and potentially lower costs for everyone. The Boston-based solar developer just finished building three new solar farms in Maine and Massachusetts. But instead of waiting on the utility to handle all the grid hookup work, Nexamp did it themselves.
That might not sound groundbreaking at first, but in the world of renewable energy, it’s a pretty big deal. Normally, utilities are in charge of any grid upgrades and interconnection work needed before a new solar project can start sending power to homes and businesses. That process can be very slow and expensive.
Nexamp’s new approach, called “self-performance,” flips the script. It lets developers take on some of that work, like ordering and installing equipment, so they don’t have to sit around waiting for the utility to schedule it. That means solar farms can get online faster, which gets clean power to the grid sooner and keeps project costs in check.
The three projects that kicked off this self-performance effort are:
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Hartland Solar – 1.2 MW DC in Hartland, ME
Barre Road Solar – 1.3 MW DC in New Braintree, MA
Summit Farm Solar – 2.6 MW DC, also in New Braintree
Nexamp didn’t go rogue – they worked closely with Central Maine Power and National Grid on the interconnection designs, safety standards, and technical specs. But by handling the actual procurement and construction, Nexamp had way more control over cost, timing, and supply chain headaches.
“Self-performance lets us take much greater control over interconnection procurement and construction,” said Daniel Passarello, Nexamp’s lead consulting engineer for grid integration. “We can move much of the interconnection work forward at the same time as the solar farm build instead of treating them as separate. That helps us bring projects online faster and stay closer to budget.”
It also helps that Nexamp already has solid relationships with suppliers. Instead of going through multiple layers of utility procurement, they can go straight to the source, fast.
That kind of streamlining is exactly what the solar industry needs right now. Community solar is booming – as of the end of 2024, nearly 8 gigawatts of it have been installed across the US, according to the the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), and that number is expected to almost double by 2030. But bottlenecks in the interconnection process slow things down.
Sara Birmingham, VP of state affairs at SEIA, called Nexamp’s move a step in the right direction. “We must modernize and streamline the interconnection process to keep pace with fast-growing demand,” she said. “Self-performance is one of several innovative approaches that can accelerate project timelines and lower costs, which benefits all ratepayers.”
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