Rivian (RIVN) is still planning to build electric vehicles in Georgia, just not as soon as expected. After delaying construction, Rivian reaffirmed its commitment to an EV manufacturing plant in GA.
After unveiling the R2 last month, a smaller and more affordable electric SUV, Rivian announced it would begin production at its Normal, IL facility rather than its new $5B GA plant.
Rivian said the move would save $2.25 billion as the EV maker works to turn a profit. More importantly, CEO RJ Scaringe said it will help speed up the R2’s launch. Rivian is expected to begin R2 production in the first half of 2026.
However, not everyone is happy about the move. Although Rivian said Georgia remains “an extremely important part of its strategy to scale production of R2 and R3,” the state wants more answers.
On March 22, the Joint Development Authority (JDA) and the State of Georgia sent a letter to Rivian stating several concerns.
The letter stated that “this change in plans will require Rivian to promptly address issues,” like site conditions and safety. According to The Covington News, the letter outlined a “summary of near-term items that need to be addressed expeditiously.” At the end, it asked for “monthly updates” going forward.
Rivian R2 (Source: Rivian)
Rivian reaffirms GA EV plant commitment
A response letter signed by Rivian’s chief policy officer and returned on April 18 reaffirmed the EV maker’s commitment to GA and its new manufacturing plant.
The letter stated, “Rivian further remains committed to complying with all federal and state regulations with respect to environmental matters and is further committed to ongoing coordination with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.”
Although vertical construction is not expected to begin for some time, Hoffman confirmed that Rivian will continue to work to maintain the site.
Site plan for Rivian’s Georgia plant (Source: Clayco)
“Rivian’s overall goal is to use the pause to prepare the Project to go vertical when the pause is lifted,” the company’s response read.
Rivian agreed to provide “continuous communication and transparency” as the project evolves. “Rivian will continue to provide timely updates to our partners and the community during the pause and as we approach start of construction.”
Rivian R2 (Source: Rivian)
Less than 24 hours after launching, Scaringe revealed the R2 generated over 68,000 reservations.
The EV maker officially shut down production in Normal earlier this month as it prepares for upgrades to cut costs and improve efficiency. These improvements are not directly related to R2 but could help with future production.
Scaringe previously said Rivian expects “ideally over a million units of demand across the globe.” He added, “That means we will have at least two plants producing the vehicle.”
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OpenAI on Thursday said it is launching a Stargate-branded AI data center in Norway, marking its first foray into Europe with such a project.
British firm Nscale will design and build the site as part of a 50-50 joint venture with Norwegian energy infrastructure firm Aker.
OpenAI will be a so-called “off-taker” in the project, meaning it will effectively buy capacity from the data center.
“Part of the purpose of this project is to partner with OpenAI and leverage European sovereign compute to release additional services and features to the European continent,” Josh Payne, CEO of Nscale, told CNBC in an interview on Thursday.
The site aims to deliver 100,000 NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPU) by the end of 2026, “with the intention to expand significantly in the years ahead,” OpenAI said in a press release. The companies said the data center will run entirely on renewable power and have 230 megawatts of capacity, making it one of the biggest in Europe.
Nvidia’s GPUs have become the de facto choice of chips for data centers because of their ability to handle large AI workloads.
For the Norway project, Nscale and Aker have each committed around $1 billion to the initial 20MW phase of the project. The site will be located in Kvandal, just outside Narvik in northern Norway. The companies said the region is characterized by “abundant hydropower, low local electricity demand, and limited transmission capacity.”
Payne declined to comment on how Nscale would fund this project or the financial benefits of the project to the company. The CEO said there were no plans for additional Stargate data centers but that Nscale has its own “robust European expansion plan.”
OpenAI has looked to take this initiative globally. In June, the company and its partners announced plans to build a Stargate campus in the UAE.
Europe has meanwhile been pushing the concept of “sovereign AI,” requiring data centers and AI workloads to be located and processed on European soil.
Payne said Europe has two “problems” — the first is that it does not have enough computing capacity, and the second it is “very fragmented.”
“What the continent needs is large AI infrastructure projects deploying compute [power]. The ecosystem can consume from the project to build AI products, to generate productivity growth and economic benefit,” Payne said.
In a trip to Europe this year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang urged the continent to build more AI infrastructure. French AI company Mistral announced plans to use Nvidia’s GPUs in a new data center planned for France.
The brand logo of the mineral oil and natural gas company Shell plc can be seen at a filling station of the company in Nuremberg (Bavaria) on July 25, 2025.
Britain’s Shell on Thursday reported better-than-expected second-quarter profit and maintained the pace of its shareholder returns, despite the impact of lower global oil and gas prices.
The energy giant posted adjusted earnings of $4.26 billion for the three months through June, beating analyst expectations of $3.87 billion, according to an LSEG-compiled consensus.
A separate, company-provided analyst forecast had expected Shell’s second-quarter profit to come in at $3.74 billion.
Shell reported adjusted earnings of $6.29 billion over the same period last year and $5.58 billion in the first three months of 2025.
The results come shortly after the London-listed firm flagged weaker trading results at its integrated gas division and losses at its chemicals and products arm.
Shell also announced another $3.5 billion in share buybacks over the next three months, keeping the pace of its shareholder returns. It marks the 15th consecutive quarter of at least $3 billion in buybacks.
“The backdrop of the macro has been challenging, and what I would say is we continue on the momentum that we have in transforming Shell,” CEO Wael Sawan told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Thursday.
“On all measures, [I’m] pleased with that performance. And on the trading side, indeed, despite difficult macro, pleased with how the team has performed,” Sawan said.
Shares of Shell were up 2.5% at around 9 a.m. London time (4 a.m. ET).
Value creation
In March, Shell announced plans to prioritize shareholder returns, ramp up the cost of savings and double down on its liquified natural gas (LNG) push. The strategic update was designed to bolster its commitment to value creation, while maintaining focus on “performance, discipline and simplification.”
The plan appears to have been well received by investors. Shell’s share price has outperformed many of its European and U.S. rivals so far this year, notching gains of 8%. By comparison, Britain’s BP is up 3%, France’s TotalEnergies is down 2% and Exxon Mobil is up 4% over the same period.
Notably, Shell recently dismissed speculation about a possible takeover bid for BP, saying in late June that it had “no intention” of making an offer for its struggling domestic rival.
Asked about the prospect of acquisitions and whether the current state of play means bigger is better for oil companies, Sawan replied: “I don’t buy bigger is better. I think you have to drive it from a value perspective.”
Shell’s CEO said scale is not of concern for the world’s largest trader of liquified natural gas (LNG).
“It is how do we leverage that scale by focusing on the areas where we have competitive strengths and the areas where can create value,” he addd.
‘You can be sure of Shell’
Shell on Thursday said that it achieved structural cost reductions of $800 million through the first six months of 2025, bringing cumulative reductions since 2022 to $3.9 billion. Earlier in the year, the company set a cost reduction target of $5-7 billion by the end of 2028.
The company’s net debt, meanwhile, came in at $43.2 billion at the end of the second quarter, up from $41.5 billion on a quarterly basis.
Shell’s Sawan repeated his comments from earlier in the year when asked about the prospect of the company moving its listing from London to New York, saying it is not a live discussion.
Customers pump gas into their vehicles at a Shell station on April 10, 2025 in Miami, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
“Part of the reason is actually we have been outperforming. We have been able to just stick to our own story, just deliver on what we say we’re going to do. At Capital Markets Day we used the old tag line: ‘You can be sure of Shell,'” Sawan said.
“On the back of that, we feel more and more confident that our message is getting through to those pools of capital that want to invest in this differentiated investment thesis that we have,” he added.
It’s a big day for upstart electric semi truck manufacturer Windrose. The company has lined up what could be a landmark, $60 million deal and announced plans to being shipping its innovative HDEV trucks to South America.
ChinaTrucks is reporting that Windrose has lined up a deal to supply several hundred of its long-range, battery-powered heavy-duty trucks to US-based, zero emissions logistics company Nevoya that, once finalized, will represent the startup’s largest North American order to date. The agreement, which is reportedly valued at more than 430 million yuan (approximately $60 million, as I type this), has initial deliveries of the Windrose R700 BEV semi planned by the end of 2025, with full deployment expected by the end of 2026.
The company used its own electric trucks to complete the logistics process between warehouses and ports in both Shanghai and Los Angeles, achieving what it’s calling a fully zero-emission transport loop. Windrose CEO Wen Han posted the knock-down kits arriving at the Port of Long Beach a few days ago, and it appears that these could be the first of hundreds of electric semi trucks destined for deployment at Nevoya.
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Expansion plans
Windrose R700 electric semi truck; via Windrose.
At the same time, Windrose announced expansion into its 5th continent, thanks to a partnership with Chilean logistics firm Trailerlogistics Sudamerica.
Chile has a goal of reaching 100% zero-emission sales of freight transport and intercity buses by 2045. This aligns with its broader National Electromobility Strategy, which targets carbon neutrality by 2050. Chile is ranked as the 5th largest economy in Latin America by nominal GDP and 46th in the world (just above Finland and Portugal). Further, Chile has the highest per-capita GDP in Latin America. In 2024, there were 14,267 trucks sold in Chile, according to National Automotive Association of Chile.
For their part, Trailerlogistics Sudamerica seems excited by the prospect of electrifying their fleet with Windrose. “I am completely convinced Chile is the perfect market to start with Windrose in South America,” says Hernan Searle Ferrari, the company’s founder and CEO. “Apart from having totally open trade agreements with all international markets, Chile boast world-class highways and a unique geography; from the desert in the north, all the way south down to Antarctica, covering a total of 4000km. This will allow us to continue developing the dominance of our long-haul EV technology in all terrains.”
The first Windrose trucks will arrive in Chile to begin route testing with Trailerlogistics later this year, with a stated goal of deploying up to 100 trucks by the end of 2026.
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