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Japanese oil giant, Idemitsu Kosan, is building a new large-scale lithium sulfide plant that will supply the raw material for Toyota’s upcoming all-solid-state EV batteries.

New plant will supply Toyota’s all-solid-state EV batteries

Toyota has been promising to launch all-solid-state EV batteries for years, but those plans may finally be coming together.

Idemitsu announced on Thursday it will build a large-scale production plant for lithium sulfide, a raw material used in all-solid-state EV batteries.

All-solid-state batteries, often called the “holy grail” of EV battery tech, promise to deliver drastic improvements in driving range, charging speeds, and energy density. As the name implies, they feature a solid electrolyte rather than traditional lithium-ion batteries, which contain a liquid electrolyte.

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Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) has already approved the planned construction site. It will cost around 21.3 billion yen ($142 million) and was deemed as a “plan for ensuring supply of storage batteries.”

Idemitsu aims to mass produce all-solid state batteries in 2027 and 2028. The plant will be able to produce 1,000 metric tons of lithium sulphide annually.

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Idemitsu’s value chain for solid electrolytes used in all-solid-state EV batteries (Source: Idemitsu)

The company’s executive officer Tetsuji Mishina told the media (via Reuters) at its oil refinery in China, where it will build the new facility.

Mishina also said Toyota would be its first customer before it plans to expand to others later. Toyota and Idemitsu have been working together since 2023 to develop solid electrolytes for the mass production of all-solid-state EV batteries.

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Toyota EV battery roadmap (Source: Toyota)

The new plant is another step in the right direction, part of Idemitsu and Toyota’s plans to commercialize all-solid-state EV batteries in 2027 to 2028.

In September, Toyota was granted a METI certification, which gave it the green light to build the new batteries in Japan.

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Toyota and Lexus EV concepts (Source: Toyota)

The approval comes as Japan looks to wean itself off dependence on China or South Korea for batteries and establish a stable local supply chain. Toyota and Idemitsu are among several leading Japanese companies investing a combined $7 billion (1 trillion yen) in domestic battery production.

Electrek’s Take

Will Toyota actually launch EVs powered by all-solid-state batteries? They have been touting the new battery tech for years, but it seems to have made some progress recently.

Meanwhile, others are already getting a head start. Mercedes-Benz began testing the “world’s first” production EV powered by solid-state batteries earlier this month.

Through its partnership with US-based Factorial Energy and Mercedes AMG High-Performance Powertrains (HPP), the company tested a slightly modified EQS with over 621 miles of driving range. Mercedes said it was “the first car powered by a lithium-metal solid-state battery on the road.”

Factorial is working with other major OEMs, including Stellantis. Next year, Stellantis plans to launch a series of electric Dodge Chargers powered by Factorials solid-state batteries.

Honda, Hyundai, and let’s not forget global battery leaders CATL and BYD, are also racing to launch the promising new battery tech.

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It seems like Elon Musk stoking a civil war in England isn’t good for Tesla’s sales there

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It seems like Elon Musk stoking a civil war in England isn't good for Tesla's sales there

Tesla’s EV registrations in the UK, its biggest market in Europe, took a dramatic hit in October 2025 — just 511 units — marking one of the brand’s weakest showings in recent memory. That’s a steep drop from 971 in October 2024 and 2,677 in October 2023. The tone of the market is shifting.

Maybe Tesla’s CEO stoking a civil war in England isn’t helping the automaker’s demand in the important market.

Tesla’s sales have been struggling in Europe over the past two years, and the decline has been accelerating in 2025.

While some believed that things were stabilizing for the American automaker in Europe, the October data tells a different story. Tesla had its worst month of deliveries of the year in 12 of its 15 biggest European markets.

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As Tesla sales in Germany crashed over the last year, partly because Tesla CEO Elon Musk supported the far-right AfD party, the UK became Tesla’s biggest market in Europe.

But now it looks like the UK is going in the same direction.

According to registration data, Tesla delivered only 511 vehicles in the UK in October 2025. Tesla has over 50 stores in the country – that’s an average of roughly 10 vehicles per location for the whole month.

It’s the worst monthly performance since October 2022.

Much as Tesla’s demand crashed in Germany, Elon Musk’s politics might be behind the lower demand in the UK.

The CEO regularly comments on UK politics and often shares inflammatory reports about crimes perpetrated by immigrants. He also shares misleading crime and immigration statistics aimed at spreading hatred.

After he tweeted that “Civil war is inevitable. Just a question of when.”, he was accused of stoking a civil war in the country.

Musk’s public commentary on UK topics has sparked backlash and resulted in his “unfavorability rating” reaching 80% in the country.

Electrek’s Take

Meanwhile, Tesla’s demand cliff is opening the door to competitors. BYD is now expected to outsell Tesla in the whole year of 2025 in the UK despite Tesla having a presence in the market for much longer.

Not many industry watchers thought it would happen this fast.

Tesla appears to be completely missing out on the surge of EV sales in Europe due to a mix of having a stagnant EV lineup, brand problems brought on by a controversial CEO, and increased competition.

In the US, Musk is believed to have cost Tesla about 1 million sales over the last 3 years.

I think it will soon be approaching this number in Europe.

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HEINEKEN is brewing beer with a massive 100 MWh heat battery

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HEINEKEN is brewing beer with a massive 100 MWh heat battery

Rondo Energy and energy producer EDP are installing a massive 100 MWh renewable-powered heat battery at HEINEKEN’s brewery in Lisbon, Portugal. The project will deliver round-the-clock renewable steam and reduce emissions without altering the facility’s beer brewing process.

Photo: Rondo

Brewing HEINEKEN with zero-carbon steam

The Rondo Heat Battery (RHB) will be the biggest deployed in the beverage industry worldwide. It can store electricity as high-temperature heat using refractory bricks, then convert that heat into 24/7 steam, all without burning fossil fuels.

At HEINEKEN’s Central de Cervejas e Bebidas Brewery and Malting Plant, the heat battery system will supply 7 MW of steam, powered by renewable electricity from onsite solar and the grid. That steam is identical to steam created by gas-fired boilers, but without the carbon pollution.

EDP is providing the renewable electricity and will deliver the steam directly to HEINEKEN via a Heat-as-a-Service model. Rondo is supplying the battery, and HEINEKEN gets to ditch fossil fuels without retooling its brewing process.

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Why this matters

This project is a big win for industrial decarbonization. High-temperature steam is one of the most complex parts of manufacturing to electrify, and the beer industry runs on it. HEINEKEN’s Lisbon site already uses solar panels for electricity and electric heat pumps for hot water, and this move helps it go even further.

It’s part of HEINEKEN’s “Brew a Better World” plan to hit net zero emissions by 2040 and decarbonize all of its global production sites by 2030.

Additionally, the deployment aligns with Portugal’s national target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030.

The bigger picture

With the European Investment Bank and Breakthrough Energy Catalyst backing this and other Rondo projects with €75 million in funding, this Lisbon installation is just the beginning. Rondo’s technology enables energy-hungry industries to switch from fossil fuels to renewable electricity without compromising 24/7 operations.

Rondo CEO Eric Trusiewicz sums it up: “We are thrilled to be installing our first Rondo Heat Battery in Iberia, and to support HEINEKEN to reach its goals. We look forward to helping industries across Iberia cut costs and carbon, and help Iberia capitalize on the opportunity.”


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Lucid (LCID) misses Q3 earnings estimates, but there’s some good news

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Lucid (LCID) misses Q3 earnings estimates, but there's some good news

Lucid Group (LCID) reported third-quarter earnings after the market closed on Wednesday, missing top and bottom-line estimates.

With 4,078 vehicles delivered in Q3, Lucid marked its seventh straight quarter with higher deliveries. Through the first nine months of 2025, Lucid delivered nearly 10,500 vehicles, more than the roughly 10,200 it handed over in 2024.

Although supply chain issues hampered production in the first half of the year, Lucid’s CEO Marc Winterhoff said the company made “significant progress ramping production of the Lucid Gravity through Q3,” including adding a second manufacturing shift at its Casa Grande, Arizona, plant.

Lucid produced 3,891 vehicles in Q3, missing estimates of around 5,600. With 9,966 EVs produced through the third quarter, Lucid will need to build over 8,000 more to meet its full-year production goal of 18,000 to 20,000.

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According to estimates, Lucid is expected to report an adjusted quarterly loss of $2.27 per share on revenue of $352 million in Q3 2025.

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Lucid Q3 2025 production and deliveries (Source: Lucid Group)

Lucid Group Q3 2025 earnings breakdown

Lucid missed top and bottom-line estimates as it continues to address industry-wide supply chain issues that are hampering production of the Gravity SUV.

Although it missed estimates, Lucid reported Q3 revenue of $336.6 million, which is still up 68% from $200 million in the same period last year.

Lucid’s net loss narrowed to $978.4 million in the third quarter, or $3.31 per share, from $992.5 million, or $4.09 per share, in Q3 2024. On an adjusted basis, Lucid posted a loss of $2.65 per share.

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Lucid Q3 2025 earnings (Source: Lucid Group)

In addition, Lucid said it agreed with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to increase the delayed draw term loan credit facility (DDTL) from $750 million to around $2 billion.

Given the increase, Lucid said total liquidity would have been around $5.5 billion at the end of Q3, up from the $4.2 billion it reported. Lucid ended the third quarter with $1.6 billion in cash and equivalents.

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Lucid’s midsize crossover SUV (left) and Gravity SUV (right) Source: Lucid Group

Lucid said liquidity is enough to fund it through the first half of 2027, up from the second half of 2026, as previously forecast. Lucid plans to launch production of its more affordable midsize platform in late 2026 with vehicles starting at around $50,000.

Lucid confirmed it was still on track to start production of the midsize platform later next year. However, given the supply chain issues, it now expects to hit the lower end of its production goal at around 18,000.

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The Lucid Gravity debuts in Europe (Source: Lucid)

Winterhoff said the company “remains intensely focused on ramping up production and addressing the significant supply chain disruptions impacting the entire industry.”

Lucid is advancing other emerging tech, including autonomy and intelligent mobility. Through a new partnership with NVIDIA, Lucid aims to be among the first to offer Level 4 autonomous driving.

The third-quarter earnings miss comes after Rivian (RIVN) beat expectations this week, reporting higher revenue and improving gross margins.

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