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Less than a year after its initial reveal, Hyundai officially launched its off-road-friendly IONIQ 5 XRT variant in the US and invited us to Palm Springs to test it out. This is a Hyundai IONIQ through and through, but it features some unique design upgrades, including a new drive mode to help it tackle tougher terrain than its siblings.

The Hyundai IONIQ 5 XRT is the latest variant to come out of HMG’s design lab. It was initially announced in March of 2024, just days after news of a refresh coming to the standard 2025 IONIQ 5, which we also tested out during this trip (check out that review here).

It wasn’t long after Hyundai confirmed the IONIQ 5 XRT that a camouflaged version was spotted in Korea. It presumedly pushed the limits of a new “Terrain Mode” the off-road variant debuts. We certainly did the same last week in the desert outside of Palm Springs where we got an opportunity to take the IONIQ 5 XRTs out of a natural terrain course and kick up some dust.

While this may not be the most rugged BEV out there, it’s most certainly the most off-road-friendly option from Hyundai, and the automaker continues to wow us with unique design elements that are both functional and just plain cool-looking. I’ve shared my complete impressions below.

The 2025 IONIQ 5 XRT is super cool… in the right color

The XRT is the second highest trim level on the Hyundai IONIQ 5 totem pole, below the Limited but above the SEL. As such, several unique features have been added to this new spin on the ever-popular IONIQ 5.

Starting with the exterior, you’ll notice a more rugged look. XRT does stand for “Extreme Rugged Terrain,” after all. The Hyundai team described this design approach as an “armor-like aesthetic.” The front and rear fascias have been equipped with unique protective cladding that goes higher up than a standard BEV for added protection from rocks and other debris.

Of course, Hyundai had to include its parametric pixels in the cladding! This subtle pattern, Hyundai calls “digital camo,” looks different in every lighting scenario (see close-up images above). That cladding was also placed above the wheels, which are unique to the IONIQ 5 XRT. This variant sits on simple yet badass 18″ black wheels with all-terrain tires.

The front features two bright red recovery hooks, while the rear offers higher protection on its corners and an embossed XRT badge. For added off-road capabilities, the IONIQ 5 XRT features a 23mm suspension lift alongside unique tuning, offering an extra inch of ground clearance (7″), a higher approach angle (19.8º), and a higher departure angle (30º).

That being said, this off-road BEV does not have a skid plate or underbelly protection. Instead, the Hyundai team said the added security comes from increased ground clearance. Let’s move into the interior.

As you can see in the image above, the interior of the 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 XRT is murdered out and appears a bit sportier than some of its siblings. The doors feature more of the brand’s new digital camo pattern behind an XRT logo, the same of which you’ll find embossed into the front head rests (see images above).

The rest of the interior is comparable to the standard IONIQ 5s, aside from some unique tech upgrades. For instance, the XRT is the first model to come equipped with a new Terrain Mode, which can be activated directly from the steering wheel.

From there, you can choose between sand, snow, and mud. While we saw snow up at elevation in the non-XRT versions of the 2025 IONIQ 5, we were only fortunate enough to trek through a desert course with plenty of compact and loose sand to see what Terrain Mode can really do.

In all honesty, the XRT was a blast to drive. Terrain Mode and the BEV’s H-Trac AWD let me open it up, but I felt in complete control the whole time. I especially had a blast on the course curves with loose sand, as I was able to swing that back end around without feeling like I was about to spin out.

The raised ride height and suspension tuning were noticeable, especially after having just driven the standard IONIQ 5 earlier that day, but it was still a bit of a bumpy ride out on those rocks, especially as a passenger. Here’s some footage of the course:

I feel the overall approach to the XRT is slightly gimmicky because this is undoubtedly an off-road capable BEV, but not something you’d take to Moab. That being said, Hyundai did an excellent job designing it to look rugged and cool.

I was not a big fan of the contrast between the XRT-exclusive cladding and lighter-colored exteriors like Atlas White and Cyber Grey. In my opinion, the darker exteriors complemented the cladding much better. Still, I wish we could have seen the two new Hyundai colors exclusive to the IONIQ 5 XRT – Cosmic Blue Pearl and Ultimate Red Metallic. Unfortunately, those colors weren’t available for our drive since we got some of the first XRT models off the assembly line. Oh well.

Overall, I enjoyed my time behind the wheel of the 2025 IONIQ 5 XRT, but this is a niche variant for a niche audience, similar to the IONIQ 5 N, which I’m also a massive fan of. That being said, I would rather have an N or a Limited trim of the 2025 IONIQ 5 since I’m not much of an off-roader (although if I were, I’d probably go with a Rivian instead).

If you like taking vehicles out in the dust and dirt, the IONIQ 5 XRT could be the BEV you’ve been looking for. I recommend checking it out in person to see the cladding up close and scroll through the terrain modes (if you can drive one out on a course, that would be even better!)

The 2025 IONIQ 5 XRT is now on sale in the US, starting at an MSRP of $55,400 before taxes and fees. It also comes available in two new colors exclusive to the XRT only –

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Trump wants coal to power AI data centers. The tech industry may need to make peace with that for now

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Trump wants coal to power AI data centers. The tech industry may need to make peace with that for now

Energy Sec. Wright: Trump's duties provide 'no tariffs on energy'

President Donald Trump wants to revive the struggling coal industry in the U.S. by deploying plants to power the data centers that the Big Tech companies are building to train artificial intelligence.

Trump issued an executive order in April that directed his Cabinet to find areas of the U.S. where coal-powered infrastructure is available to support AI data centers and determine whether the infrastructure can be expanded to meet the growing electricity demand from the nation’s tech sector.

Trump has repeatedly promoted coal as power source for data centers. The president told the World Economic Forum in January that he would approve power plants for AI through emergency declaration, calling on the tech companies to use coal as a backup power source.

“They can fuel it with anything they want, and they may have coal as a backup — good, clean coal,” the president said.

Trump’s push to deploy coal runs afoul of the tech companies’ environmental goals. In the short-term, the industry’s power needs may inadvertently be extending the life of existing coal plants.

Coal produces more carbon dioxide emissions per kilowatt hour of power than any other energy source in the U.S. with the exception of oil, according to the Energy Information Administration. The tech industry has invested billions of dollars to expand renewable energy and is increasingly turning to nuclear power as a way to meet its growing electricity demand while trying to reduce carbon dioxide emissions that fuel climate change.

For coal miners, Trump’s push is a potential lifeline. The industry has been in decline as coal plants are being retired in the U.S. About 16% of U.S. electricity generation came from burning coal in 2023, down from 51% in 2001, according to EIA data.

Peabody Energy CEO James Grech, who attended Trump’s executive order ceremony at the White House, said “coal plants can shoulder a heavier load of meeting U.S. generation demands, including multiple years of data center growth.” Peabody is one of the largest coal producers in the U.S.

Grech said coal plants should ramp up how much power they dispatch. The nation’s coal fleet is dispatching about 42% of its maximum capacity right now, compared to a historical average of 72%, the CEO told analysts on the company’s May 6 earnings call.

“We believe that all coal-powered generators need to defer U.S. coal plant retirements as the situation on the ground has clearly changed,” Grech said. “We believe generators should un-retire coal plants that have recently been mothballed.”

Tech sector reaction

There is a growing acknowledgment within the tech industry that fossil fuel generation will be needed to help meet the electricity demand from AI. But the focus is on natural gas, which emits less half the CO2 of coal per kilowatt hour of power, according the the EIA.

“To have the energy we need for the grid, it’s going to take an all of the above approach for a period of time,” Kevin Miller, Amazon’s vice president of global data centers, said during a panel discussion at conference of tech and oil and gas executives in Oklahoma City last month.

“We’re not surprised by the fact that we’re going to need to add some thermal generation to meet the needs in the short term,” Miller said.

Thermal generation is a code word for gas, said Nat Sahlstrom, chief energy officer at Tract, a Denver-based company that secures land, infrastructure and power resources for data centers. Sahlstrom previously led Amazon’s energy, water and sustainability teams.

Executives at Amazon, Nvidia and Anthropic would not commit to using coal, mostly dodging the question when asked during the panel at the Oklahoma City conference.

“It’s never a simple answer,” Amazon’s Miller said. “It is a combination of where’s the energy available, what are other alternatives.”

Nvidia is able to be agnostic about what type of power is used because of the position the chipmaker occupies on the AI value chain, said Josh Parker, the company’s senior director of corporate sustainability. “Thankfully, we leave most of those decisions up to our customers.”

Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark said there are a broader set of options available than just coal. “We would certainly consider it but I don’t know if I’d say it’s at the top of our list.”

Sahlstrom said Trump’s executive order seems like a “dog whistle” to coal mining constituents. There is a big difference between looking at existing infrastructure and “actually building new power plants that are cost competitive and are going to be existing 30 to 40 years from now,” the Tract executive said.

Coal is being displaced by renewables, natural gas and existing nuclear as coal plants face increasingly difficult economics, Sahlstrom said. “Coal has kind of found itself without a job,” he said.

“I do not see the hyperscale community going out and signing long term commitments for new coal plants,” the former Amazon executive said. (The tech companies ramping up AI are frequently referred to as “hyperscalers.”)

“I would be shocked if I saw something like that happen,” Sahlstrom said.

Coal retirements strain grid

But coal plant retirements are creating a real challenge for the grid as electricity demand is increasing due to data centers, re-industrialization and the broader electrification of the economy.

The largest grid in the nation, the PJM Interconnection, has forecast electricity demand could surge 40% by 2039. PJM warned in 2023 that 40 gigawatts of existing power generation, mostly coal, is at risk of retirement by 2030, which represents about 21% of PJM’s installed capacity.

Data centers will temporarily prolong coal demand as utilities scramble to maintain grid reliability, delaying their decarbonization goals, according to a Moody’s report from last October. Utilities have already postponed the retirement of coal plants totaling about 39 gigawatts of power, according to data from the National Mining Association.

“If we want to grow America’s electricity production meaningfully over the next five or ten years, we [have] got to stop closing coal plants,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC’s “Money Movers” last month.

But natural gas and renewables are the future, Sahlstrom said. Some 60% of the power sector’s emissions reductions over the past 20 years are due to gas displacing coal, with the remainder coming from renewables, Sahlstrom said.

“That’s a pretty powerful combination, and it’s hard for me to see people going backwards by putting more coal into the mix, particularly if you’re a hyperscale customer who has net-zero carbon goals,” he said.

Catch up on the latest energy news from CNBC Pro:

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Bollinger Motors circles the drain as court cases, debts pull it down

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Bollinger Motors circles the drain as court cases, debts pull it down

A federal court judge in Michigan has placed the once-promising electric truck brand Bollinger Motors’ assets into receivership following claims that the company’s owners still owe its founder, Robert Bollinger, more than $10 million.

Bollinger Motors first came to fame in the “draw a truck, get a billion dollars” stage of the EV revolution that saw Nikola rise to a higher market cap than Ford for a brief time. Robert Bollinger wasn’t able to capitalize quickly enough to get his trucks into production, though – and a late stage pivot to sell the brand to Mullen Automotive and launch a medium-duty commercial truck doesn’t appear to have been enough to save it.

Now, Automotive News is reporting on some of the more convoluted details of the Mullen purchase deal, with Robert (for ease of distinguishing the man from the brand) claiming that Mullen Automotive owes him more than $10 million for a loan he made to the company in 2024.

Just how Robert ended up giving Mullen Automotive $10 million to take his eponymous truck brand off his hands is probably one of those capitalistic mysteries that I’ll never understand, but Mullen’s response was perfectly clear: they didn’t even bother to show up to court.

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Bollinger claims that at least two suppliers are also suing Mullen for unpaid debts. As such, the Honorable Terrence G. Berg has put the Bollinger brand into receivership, and its assets have been frozen in preparation for everything being liquidated. Worse, for Bollinger, the official court filings reveal a company that is really very much doing not awesome:

The testimony and evidence—which Defendant’s counsel conceded accurately reflected Defendant’s finances—showed that Defendant is in crisis. For months Defendant has owed more than twenty million dollars to suppliers, contractors, service providers, and owners of physical space. These debts are owed to parties who are critical for Defendant’s functioning. CEO Bryan Chambers testified that Defendant was locked out of its production facilities on May 5, 2025, and that the owner of the production facilities was seeking to permanently evict Defendant. The Court heard that Defendant had been prevented from accessing its critical manufacturing accounting system for a short time at the end of April 2025, before making a partial payment to restart services.

US DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN

I’m not sure if you caught all that, but Bollinger’s CEO has been locked out the company’s facilities and getting evicted, the company is more than $20 million in debt, and that debt is owed to people Bollinger absolutely needs in order to keep going.

You can read the full court decision, which I’ve embedded here, below. Once you’ve taken it all in, feel free to rush into the comments to say you told me so, since I really thought hoped the Bollinger B1 had a shot. Silly me.

Bollinger v. Bollinger case

SOURCES: Automotive News, Justia, Yahoo!.

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This vast 1.3 GW Indiana solar farm will power 200,000 homes

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This vast 1.3 GW Indiana solar farm will power 200,000 homes

Mammoth Solar, a 1.3 gigawatt (GW) solar farm in northern Indiana, is now powering into its biggest construction phase yet, cementing its place as one of the largest solar projects in the US.

The solar farm is set to increase Indiana’s solar capacity by more than 20% once it’s fully online. And with construction ramping up this month, developer Doral Renewables has given Bechtel Full Notice to Proceed on the design, engineering, and construction of three major phases of the project: Mammoth South, Mammoth Central I, and Mammoth Central II. Together, these phases will generate 900 MW of clean energy.

That’s enough electricity to power around 200,000 homes with clean energy, helping Indiana shift away from fossil fuels while boosting the local economy.

Construction is already underway, and over the next two years, Bechtel will install around 2 million solar panels, with about half of them made in the US. The company is also handling all engineering, procurement, and construction work, using its digital project management tools and autonomous tech to keep everything on track.

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At the peak of the buildout, Mammoth Solar is expected to create over 1,200 jobs, with at least 15% of those set aside for apprenticeships.

Bechtel says its success will hinge on strong collaboration with local trades and vendors. The company is working closely with craft professionals and is committed to being a reliable community partner throughout construction.

Once the solar farm is complete in 2027, Doral Renewables plans to roll out agrivoltaics across the site. That means livestock grazing and crop cultivation will happen right alongside energy production, giving farmers in the area a way to keep working their land while supporting clean energy development.

Read more: Solar adds more new capacity to the US grid in 2024 than any energy source in 20 years


If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*

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