Connect with us

Published

on

After consistent updates pertaining to its growing lineup of team owners, but with multiple delays to the start to its inaugural season, the UIM E1 World Championship has set a date for its first official racing event. We are now 100 days out from the first-ever electric boat racing series, although the rest of the race calendar remains a tad less clear. Here’s the latest.

We are now more than a year removed from the World Port Days in Rotterdam, Netherlands, when the nascent E1 electric boat league inked a deal to race there in its first season before showcasing two races at that same event this past September.

Since then, the series which will eventually consist of 12 mixed-gender teams, has gained some hype by recruiting a slew of athletes and celebrities representing regions around the world. In addition to Team Venice – the first team originally announced, E1 has recruited Formula 1’s Sergio Perez; tennis great Rafael Nadal; legendary footballer Didier Drogba; the most decorated NFL player of all time, Tom Brady; and most recently superstar DJ Steve Aoki.

In early January, E1 CEO Rodi Basso shared that the league expects eight teams to compete in events during its inaugural season and teased that fans will see races in Europe and the Middle East in 2023.

By June, E1 shared its full race calendar, beginning in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – but the series had been delayed until January 2024. Today, we’ve learned that E1’s first official electric boat racing event has been delayed again, but have a more concrete date to the start, which will remain in Jeddah.

E1 racing event
The racing format of the UIM E1 World Championship / Credit: E1

E1’s first racing season to begin in early February 2024

This morning, E1 confirmed the first ever UIM World Championship will kick off its first race events in Jeddah on February 2-3, 2024. The E1 Jeddah GP will take place at the Jeddah Corniche close to shore on the Red Sea and will be made possible through a partnership with the Saudi Ministry of Sport and the Saudi Water Sports and Diving Federation. Per cofounder and CEO Rodi Basso:

We are thrilled to get the first dates in our fans’ calendars as the first-ever E1 Grand Prix is about to arrive. We know that audiences around the world will love our unique racing in stunning locations, as we make a positive impact on our race locations with our all-electric race fleet.

In addition to witnessing the inaugural electric boat racing event, fans in Saudi Arabia will be able to visit the first-ever “Acceleration Festival,” E1’s dedicated village for attendees offering variety of entertainment options and experiences.

During the event, each of the teams will choose two mandated mixed-gender pilots to share the racing duties outlined in the format above. The league now says not eight, but (up to) 10 teams will compete in the inaugural UIM E1 World Championship.

We’d assume the season schedule will slightly change now that the start in Jeddah was pushed a month, but E1 has yet to update it. Here’s what the previous timeline looked like:

  • January 2024 – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • February 2024 – TBD, Middle East
  • April 2024 – Venice, Italy
  • May 2024 – Venice, Italy
  • June 2024 – TBD, Europe
  • July 2024 – Monaco
  • September 2024 – Rotterdam, Netherlands

E1 states that ticketing details for the Jeddah event will be released shortly.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Environment

Why merger mania is coming to the fore in the mining industry

Published

on

By

Why merger mania is coming to the fore in the mining industry

The Rio Tinto Group logo atop Central Park tower, which houses the company’s offices, in Perth, Australia, on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The mining sector appears poised for a frantic year of dealmaking, following market speculation over a potential tie-up between industry giants Rio Tinto and Glencore.

It comes after Bloomberg News reported Thursday that British-Australian multinational Rio Tinto and Switzerland-based Glencore were in early-stage merger talks, although it was not clear whether the discussions were still live.

Separately, Reuters reported Friday that Glencore approached Rio Tinto late last year about the possibility of combining their businesses, citing a source familiar with the matter. The talks, which were said to be brief, were thought to be no longer active, the news agency reported.

Rio Tinto and Glencore both declined to comment when contacted by CNBC.

A prospective merger between Rio Tinto, the world’s second-largest miner, and Glencore, one of world’s largest coal companies, would rank as the mining industry’s largest-ever deal.

Combined, the two firms would have a market value of approximately $150 billion, leapfrogging longstanding industry leader BHP, which is worth about $127 billion.

Analysts were broadly skeptical about the merits of a Rio Tinto-Glencore merger, pointing to limited synergies, Rio Tinto’s complex dual structure and strategic divergences over coal and corporate culture as factors that pose a challenge for concluding a deal.

“I think everyone’s a bit surprised,” Maxime Kogge, equity analyst at Oddo BHF, told CNBC via telephone.

“Honestly, they have limited overlapping assets. It’s only copper where there is really some synergies and opportunity to add assets to make a bigger group,” Kogge said.

Global mining giants have been mulling the benefits of mega-mergers to shore up their position in the energy transition, particularly with demand for metals such as copper expected to skyrocket over the coming years.

A highly conductive metal, copper is projected to face shortages due to its use in powering electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels and energy storage systems, among other applications.

Oddo BHF’s Kogge said it is currently “really tricky” for large mining firms to bring new projects online, citing Rio Tinto’s long-delayed and controversial Resolution copper mine in the U.S. as one example.

“It’s a very promising copper project, it could be one of the largest in the world, but it is fraught with issues and somehow acquiring another company is a way to really accelerate the expansion into copper,” Kogge said.

“For me, a deal is not so attractive,” he added. “It goes against what all these groups have previously tried to do.”

What's behind the looming copper shortage

Last year, BHP made a $49 billion bid for smaller rival Anglo American, a proposal which ultimately failed due to issues with the deal’s structure.

Some analysts, including those at JPMorgan, expect another unsolicited offer for Anglo American to materialize in 2025.

M&A parlor games

The company logo adorns the side of the BHP gobal headquarters in Melbourne on February 21, 2023. – The Australian multinational, a leading producer of metallurgical coal, iron ore, nickel, copper and potash, said net profit slumped 32 percent year-on-year to 6.46 billion US dollars in the six months to December 31. (Photo by William WEST / AFP) (Photo by WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images)

William West | Afp | Getty Images

Analysts led by Ben Davis at RBC Capital Markets said it remains unclear whether talks between Rio Tinto and Glencore could result in a simple merger or require the breakup of certain parts of each company instead.

Regardless, they said the M&A parlor games that arose following merger talks between BHP and Anglo American will undoubtedly “start up again in earnest.”

“Despite Glencore once approaching Rio Tinto’s key shareholder Chinalco in July 2014 for a potential merger, it still comes as a surprise,” analysts at RBC Capital Markets said in a research note published Thursday.

BHP’s move to acquire Anglo American may have catalyzed talks between Rio Tinto and Glencore, the analysts said, with the former potentially looking to gain more copper exposure and the latter seeking an exit strategy for its large shareholders.

“We would not expect a straight merger to happen as we believe Rio shareholders would see it as favouring Glencore, but [it’s] possible there is a deal structure out there that could keep both sets of shareholders and management happy,” they added.

Copper, coal and culture

Analysts led by Wen Li at CreditSights said speculation over a Rio Tinto-Glencore merger raises questions about strategic alignment and corporate culture.

“Strategically, Rio Tinto might be interested in Glencore’s copper assets, aligning with its focus on sustainable, future-facing metals. Additionally, Glencore’s marketing business could offer synergies and expand Rio Tinto’s reach,” analysts at CreditSights said in a research note published Friday.

“However, Rio Tinto’s lack of interest in coal assets, due to recent divestments, suggests any merger would need careful structuring to avoid unwanted asset overlaps,” they added.

A mining truck carries a full load of coal at Glencore Plc operated Tweefontein coal mine on October 16, 2024 in Tweefontein, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.

Per-anders Pettersson | Getty Images News | Getty Images

From a cultural perspective, analysts at CreditSights said Rio Tinto was known for its conservative approach and focus on stability, whereas Glencore had garnered a reputation for “constantly pushing the envelope in its operations.”

“This cultural divide might pose challenges in integration and decision-making if a merger were to proceed,” analysts at CreditSights said.

“If this materializes, it could have broader implications for mega deals in the metals [and] mining space, potentially putting BHP/Anglo American back in play,” they added.

— CNBC’s Ganesh Rao contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Environment

Go West, young brand – GreenPower Motor Company sells 11 more BEAST buses

Published

on

By

Go West, young brand – GreenPower Motor Company sells 11 more BEAST buses

GreenPower Motor Company says it’s received three orders for 11 of its BEAST electric Type D school buses for western state school districts in Arizona, California, and Oregon.

GreenPower hasn’t made the sort of headline-grabbing promises or big-money commitments that companies like Nikola and Lion Electric have, but while those companies are floundering GPM seems to be plugging away, taking orders where it can and actually delivering buses to schools. Late last year, the company scored 11 more orders for its flagship BEAST electric school bus.

As far as these latest orders go, the breakdown is:

  • seven to Los Banos Unified School District in Los Banos, California
  • two for the Hood River County School District in Hood River, Oregon
  • two for the Casa Grande Elementary School District in Casa Grande, Arizona

Those two BEAST electric school buses for Arizona will join another 90-passenger BEAST that was delivered to Phoenix Elementary School District #1, which operates 15 schools in the center of Phoenix, late last year.

“As school districts continue to make the change from NOx emitting diesel school buses to a cleaner, healthier means of transporting students, school district transportation departments are pursuing the gold standard of the industry – the GreenPower all-electric, purpose-built (BEAST) school buses,” said Paul Start, GreenPower’s Vice President of Sales, School Bus Group. “(The) GreenPower school bus order pipeline and production schedule are both at record levels with sales projections for (2025) set to eclipse the 2024 calendar year.”

GreenPower moved into an 80,000-square-foot production facility in South Charleston, West Virigina in August 2022, and delivered its first buses to that state the following year.

Electrek’s Take

GreenPower electric school buses
BEAST and NanoBEAST; via GreenPower Motor Company.

Since the first horseless carriage companies started operating 100 years ago (give or take), at least 1,900 different companies have been formed in the US, producing over 3,000 brands of American automobiles. By the mid 1980s, that had distilled down to “the big 3.”

All of which is to say: don’t let the recent round of bankruptcies fool you – startups in the car and truck industry is business as usual, but some of these companies will stick around. If you’re wondering which ones, look to the ones that are making units, not promises.

SOURCE | IMAGES: GreenPower Motors.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Environment

Harbinger electric truck brand gets real with $100M Series B funding raise

Published

on

By

Harbinger electric truck brand gets real with 0M Series B funding raise

While some recent high-profile bankruptcies have cast doubt on the EV startup space recently, medium-duty electric truck maker Harbinger got a shot of credibility this week with a massive $100 million Series B funding round co-led by Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund.

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for fledgling EV brands like Lion Electric and Canoo, but box van builder Harbinger is bucking the trend, fueling its latest funding round with an order book of 4,690 vehicles that’s valued at nearly $500 million. Some of the company’s more notable customers including Bimbo Bakeries (which owns brands like Sara Lee, Thomas’, and Entenmann’s) and THOR Industries (Airstream, Jayco, Thor), which is also one of the investors in the Series B.

Other prominent investors include Tiger Global, the Coca-Cola System Sustainability Fund, and ArcTern Ventures.

As for what makes Harbinger such an attractive investment prospect, Dipender Saluja, Managing Partner of Capricorn Investment Group’s Technology Impact Fund explains that, “Harbinger has demonstrated a remarkable ability to reach significant milestones far quicker than other EV companies … the market has been impressed by their ability to develop large portions of the vehicle in-house to drive down unit costs, while remaining capital efficient.”

The company plans to use the funds to ramp up to higher-volume production capacity and deliver on existing orders, as well as build-out of the company’s sales, customer support, and service operations.

“Harbinger is entering a rapid growth phase where we are focused on scaling production of our customer-ready platform,” said John Harris, co-founder and CEO. “These funds catalyze significant revenue generation. We’ve developed a vehicle for a segment that is ripe for electrification, and there is a strong product/market fit that will help fuel our upward trajectory through 2025 and beyond.”

The company has raised $200 million since its inception in 2021.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Harbinger.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Trending