Stellantis to begin EV battery recycling joint venture with nuclear materials operator Orano
Stellantis announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with hydrometallurgical metal recovery expert Orano, to establish a joint venture focused on recycling end-of-life EV batteries and production waste materials from its plants around the world.
Stellantis remains a globally recognized automotive conglomerate with several marques under its umbrella that are now transitioning into EVs. As a larger automaker, Stellantis has delved into adjacent and emerging technologies as well, including EV battery production, a new fast charging network in North America, and has even invested in eVTOL startups like Archer Aviation.
Stellantis is currently chasing a goal to reach complete carbon neutrality by 2038 as part of its Dare Forward 2030 strategy, in which 50% of US vehicle sales and 100% of European sales are to be BEVs by the end of the decade. Part of that process includes a previous MOU announced this past June to form a joint venture with Galloo to implement a service for recycling end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) from the Stellantis’ brands, and possibly other automakers.
Today, Stellantis announced that another joint venture is in the works with nuclear material handler Orano, to begin recycling EV battery materials and other production waste.
Stellantis signs MOU with Orano to begin battery recycling
Per Stellantis, both it and Orano and have signed a memorandum of understanding to create the new joint venture, which will focus on the recycling of battery materials from the former’s production facilities in Europe and North America.
Stellantis shared that the recycling will be based upon a low-carbon process developed by Orano, which not only enables the recovery of all the components within end-of-life lithium-ion batteries, but also supports the manufacturing of new materials for battery cathodes.
In this instance, the new JV will not only help Stellantis on its way to carbon neutrality, but should result in the acquisition of supplies of precious recycled materials crucial for a circular EV battery chain, including cobalt, nickel, and lithium.
Stellantis states that Orano’s recycling process will also produce materials known as “black mass,” which can eventually be refined and reused in future EV batteries once Orano’s planned hydrometallurgical site is complete in Dunkirk, France. Per Orano Group’s director of Innovation, R&D and nuclear medicine, magnets and batteries, Guillaume Dureau:
We are delighted with this partnership concluded with a major player such as Stellantis and to be able to work together on the recycling of used electric batteries. We are proud to bring our expertise and know-how, with our innovative and disruptive process which allows a true closed loop. Orano continues its commitment to developing a low-carbon economy with the recycling of strategic materials necessary for the energy transition and the circular economy.
In addition to recycling Stellantis’ own battery materials and production waste, the joint venture partners say they will provide the automaker’s parters and other OEMs with battery recycling services.
If and when approved, Stellantis expects its new joint venture to contribute significantly to its circular economy business unit, which is already planning to increase recycling-related turnover by tenfold and generate over $2.1 billion in turnover for the economy.
The JV will use Stellantis’ existing facilities and is expected to begin operations in 2026.
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Enbridge is going big on solar again in Texas, and Meta is snapping up all the solar power it can get.
Last month, Electrek reported that the Canadian oil and gas pipeline giant just launched its first solar farm in Texas. Now it’s given the green light to Clear Fork, a 600 megawatt (MW) utility-scale solar farm already under construction near San Antonio. The project is expected to come online in summer 2027.
Once it’s up and running, every bit of Clear Fork’s electricity will go to Meta Platforms under a long-term contract. Meta will use the solar power to help run its energy-hungry data centers entirely on clean energy.
The solar farm project’s cost is around $900 million. Enbridge says it expects Clear Fork to boost the company’s cash flow and earnings starting in 2027.
Enbridge EVP Matthew Akman said the project reflects “growing demand for renewable power across North America from blue-chip companies involved in technology and data center operations.”
Meta’s head of global energy, Urvi Parekh, added that the company is “thrilled to partner with Enbridge to bring new renewable energy to Texas and help support our operations with 100% clean energy.”
Meta’s first multi-gigawatt data center, Prometheus, is expected to come online in 2026.
Clear Fork is part of a growing trend: tech giants like Meta, Amazon, and Google are racing to lock down renewable energy contracts as they expand their fleets of AI-ready data centers, which use massive amounts of electricity.
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A fully electric Japanese electric pickup truck? It’s not a Toyota or Honda, but Isuzu’s new electric pickup packs a punch. The D-MAX EV can tow over 7,770 lbs (3,500 kg), plow through nearly 24″ (600 mm) of water, and it even has a dedicated Terrain Mode for extreme off-roading. However, it comes at a cost.
Meet Isuzu’s first electric pickup: The D-MAX EV
After announcing that it had begun building left-hand drive D-MAX EV models at the end of April, Isuzu said that it would start shipping them to Europe in the third quarter.
By the end of the year, Isuzu will begin production of right-hand drive models for the UK. Sales will follow in early 2026.
Isuzu announced prices this week, boasting the D-MAX EV features the same “no compromise durability” of the current diesel version.
The D-MAX EV pickup features a full-time 4WD system, a towing capacity of up to 3.5 tons (7,700 lbs), and an added Terrain Mode, which Isuzu says is designed for “extreme off-road capability.” With 210 mm (8.3″) of ground clearance, Isuzu’s electric pickup can wade through up to 600 mm (24″) of water.
Powered by a 66.9 kWh battery, Isuzu’s electric pickup offers a WLTP range of 163 miles. With charging speeds of up to 50 kW, the D-MAX EV can recharge from 20% to 80% in about an hour.
The electric version is nearly identical to the current diesel-powered D-Max, both inside and out, but prices will be significantly higher.
| Isuzu D-Max EV specs and prices | |
| Drive System | Full-time 4×4 |
| Battery Type | Lithium-ion |
| Battery Capacity | 66.9 kWh |
| WLTP driving range | 163 miles |
| Max Output | 130 kW (174 hp) |
| Max Torque | 325 Nm |
| Max Speed | Over 130 km/h (+80 mph) |
| Max Payload | 1,000 kg (+2,200 lbs) |
| Max Towing Capacity | 3.5t (+7,700 lbs) |
| Ground Clearance | 210 mm |
| Wading Depth | 600 mm |
| Starting Price (*Ex. VAT) | £59,995 ($81,000) |
Isuzu’s electric pickup will be priced from £59,995 ($81,000), not including VAT. The double cab variant starts at £60,995 ($82,500). In comparison, the diesel model starts at £36,755 ($50,000).
The EV pickup will launch in extended and double cab variants with two premium trims: the eDL40 and V-Cross. Pre-sales will begin later this year with the first UK arrivals scheduled for February 2026. Customer deliveries are set to follow in March.
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In this photo illustration, Claude AI logo is seen on a smartphone and Anthropic logo on a pc screen. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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OpenAI and Anthropic continue to lead a fundraising bonanza in artificial intelligence, raising historic rounds and stratospheric valuations.
But when it comes to finding AI exits for venture firms, the market looks a lot different.
AI startups raised $104.3 billion in the U.S. in the first half of this year, nearly matching the $104.4 billion total for 2024, according to PitchBook. Almost two-thirds of all U.S. venture funding went to AI, up from 49% last year, PitchBook said.
The biggest deals follow a familiar theme. OpenAI raised a record $40 billion in March in a round led by SoftBank. Meta poured $14.3 billion into Scale AI in June as part of a way to hire away CEO Alexandr Wang and a few other top staffers. OpenAI rival Anthropic raised $3.5 billion, while Safe Superintelligence, a nascent startup started by OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, raised $2 billion.
While Meta’s massive investment into Scale AI amounted to a lucrative exit of sorts for early investors, the overarching trend has been a lot more money going in than coming out.
In the first half, there were 281 VC-backed exits totaling $36 billion, according to PitchBook. That includes the roughly $700 million acquisition of EvolutionIQ, an AI platform for disability and injury claims management, by CCC Intelligent Solutions, and the public listing of Slide Insurance, which builds AI-powered insurance offerings for homeowners. Slide is valued at about $2.3 billion.
“The dominant exit trend right now is frequent but lower-value acquisitions and fewer IPOs with significantly higher value,” said Dimitri Zabelin, PitchBook’s senior research analyst for AI and cybersecurity.
CoreWeave’s IPO, which took place at the very end of the first quarter, was the exception on the infrastructure side. The stock shot up 340% in the second quarter, and the company is now valued at over $63 billion.
Zabelin said the pattern of more investments in applications with smaller deals has been in place for the past year.
“Vertical solutions tend to plug more easily into existing enterprise gaps,” Zabelin said.
The acquisitions wave is being driven, in part, by what Zabelin calls bolt-on deals where larger companies buy smaller startups to enhance their own future valuations, hoping to enhance their value ahead of a future sale or IPO.
“That also has to do with the current liquidity conditions in the macro environment,” Zabelin said.
Outside of AI, activity is slow. U.S. fintech funding dropped 42% in the first half of the year to $10.5 billion, according to Tracxn. Cloud software and crypto have also seen sharp pullbacks.
Zabelin said IPO activity could pick up if economic conditions improve and if interest rates come down. Investors clearly want opportunities to back promising AI companies, he said.
“The appetite for AI, specifically vertical applications, will continue to remain robust,” Zabelin said.
— CNBC’s Kevin Schmidt contributed to this report.
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