Trump tariffs push Asian trade partners to weigh investing in massive Alaska energy project

Published

8 months ago

April 20, 2025

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Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are considering investing in a massive natural gas project in Alaska in an attempt to reach trade deals that would both satisfy demands from President Donald Trump and avoid high U.S. tariffs on their exports.

Alaska has long sought to build an 800-mile pipeline crossing the state from the North Slope in the Arctic Circle to the Cook Inlet in the south, where gas would be cooled into liquid for export to Asia. The project, with a staggering price tag topping $40 billion, has been stuck on the drawing board for years.

Alaska LNG, as the project is known, is showing new signs of life — with Trump touting the project as a national priority. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this month that the liquified natural gas (LNG) project could play an important role in trade negotiations with South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

“We are thinking about a big LNG project in Alaska that South Korea, Japan [and] Taiwan are interested in financing and taking a substantial portion of the offtake,” Bessent told reporters on April 9, saying such an agreement would help meet Trump’s goal of reducing the U.S. trade deficit.

Taiwan’s state oil and gas company CPC Corp. signed a letter of intent in March to purchase six million metric tons of gas from Alaska LNG, said Brendan Duval, CEO and founder of Glenfarne Group, the project’s lead developer.

“You can imagine the geopolitical enhancements whether it’s for tariff or military reasons — Taiwan is really, really focused on getting that signed up,” Duval told CNBC in an interview. CPC has also offered to invest directly in Alaska LNG and supply equipment, Duval said.

March trade mission

Duval and Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy traveled to South Korea and Japan on a trade mission in March, meeting with high-ranking officials in government and industry. Japanese and South Korean companies have asked whether their development banks can help finance Alaska LNG, Duval said.

“Lately, there has been quite a lot of inquiries from India, so there’s a fourth horse that’s entered the race,” Duval said. Thailand and other Asian countries have also shown interest, he said.

The Alaska LNG project has three major pieces: The pipeline, a gas processing plant on the North Slope and a plant to liquify the gas for export at Nikiski, Alaska. These facilities are estimated to cost roughly $12 billion, $10 billion, and $20 billion respectively, Dunleavy said at an energy conference in Houston in March.

The permits for Alaska LNG are already in place, the CEO said. Glenfarne expects to reach a final investment decision in the next six to 12 months on the first phase of the project, a pipeline from the North Slope to Anchorage that will supply gas for domestic consumption in Alaska, Duval said.

Construction on the LNG plant is expected to begin in late 2026, the CEO said. The goal is to complete construction on the entire Alaska LNG project in four and a half years with full commercial operations starting in 2031, he said.

Alaska LNG plans to produce 20 million metric tons of LNG per year, equal to about 23% of the 87 million tons of LNG that the U.S. exported last year, according to data from Kpler, a commodity researcher.

‘Unleashing’ Alaska’s resources

Alaska plays a central role in Trump’s goal to boost production and exports of U.S. oil and gas, part of the White House’s agenda for U.S. “energy dominance.” The president issued an executive order on his first day in office seeking to tap Alaska’s “extraordinary resource potential,” prioritizing the development of LNG in the state.

“We’ll have that framed on our walls in Alaska for decades,” Gov. Dunleavy said at the Houston conference last month, referring to the executive order.

Once a net importer, the U.S. has rapidly become the largest exporter of LNG in the world, playing an increasingly vital role in fueling power plants in Asia and Europe for allies with limited domestic energy resources. Japan and South Korea, for example, each took about 8% of U.S. LNG exports last year, according to Kpler data.

The Trump administration views Alaska LNG as “an important strategic project,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said at the Houston energy conference. LNG exports from Alaska would reach Japan in about eight days rather than having to pass through the congested Panama Canal from terminals on the Gulf Coast, Dunleavy said at the same conference.

“They can have the opportunity to get delivered to them the most efficient LNG from an allied partner,” while avoiding chokepoints, Duval said. “This is the only LNG the U.S. can supply that has a direct route, and they are very cognizant about that in today’s environment.”

North Pacific talks

Trump told reporters during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in February that the two countries were discussing the pipeline and the possibility of a joint venture to exploit Alaska oil and gas. Trump said he discussed the “large scale purchase of U.S. LNG” in an April 8 phone call with South Korea’s acting President Han Duck-Soo, and Korea’s participation in a “joint venture in an Alaska pipeline.”

Japan wants to maintain its security agreement with the U.S. against a rising China and avoid tariffs, officials at the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority told the Alaska Senate finance committee during a February presentation. “We are now in a completely ‘transactional’ trade world,” the executives said. Tokyo must invest more in the U.S., buy more LNG and enter a joint venture linked to Alaska oil and gas, they said.

The project would likely be a structured as a loose joint venture, with Asian partners signing contracts for large volumes of LNG, Duval said, and won’t necessarily translate into Japan, Taiwan and South Korea holding direct equity stakes in Alaska LNG, though Glenfarne is open to the possibility, he said.

Glenfarne’s goal is to be the long-term owner and operator of Alaska LNG with partners, Duval said. Glenfarne is a privately-held developer, owner and operator of energy infrastructure based in New York City and Houston. The company assumed a 75% stake in Alaska LNG from the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation in March, with AGDC keeping 25%.

Roadblocks and commercial viability

The Trump administration is clearly pressuring Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan to invest in Alaska LNG, said Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy and former energy advisor to President George W. Bush. Although Japan wants to both placate Trump and diversify its LNG supplies, Tokyo may yet hesitate to invest in Alaska LNG due to the project’s cost, complexity and risk, McNally said.

Another roadblock is that Democrats could return to power in 2028 and try to stop the project from advancing, citing environmental effects, McNally said. President Joe Biden, after all, paused permits for new LNG exports to countries including Japan that don’t have free trade agreements with the U.S. But Trump reversed Biden’s suspension as part of a torrent of executive orders tied to energy on his first day in office in January.

In addition to political risk, Alaska LNG “doesn’t have a clear cut commercial logic,” said Alex Munton, head of global gas and LNG research at Rapidan. “If it did, it would have had a lot more support than it has thus far, and this project has been on the planning board for literally decades,” Munton said. There are more attractive, existing LNG options for Asian customers on the Gulf Coast, he said.

The project is expensive even by the standards of an LNG industry that builds some of the costliest infrastructure in the energy sector, Munton said. The price tag of more than $40 billion likely needs to be revised upwards given that it is two years old, the analyst said.

“You have to assume that the costs are going to be much higher than the publicly quoted figures,” Munton said. Alaska LNG will likely need “public policy or a public commitment of funds to bring it to life,” the analyst said.

Duval said Alaska LNG will be competitive with no government subsidy. “It is a naturally competitive source of LNG, independent of the geopolitical benefits, independent of the tariff discussions,” he said.

“We have the support of the president of the United States,” Dunleavy said in Houston. “We have Asian allies that need gas. Geopolitical alliances are changing. Tariff questions are coming up. When we really look at it in that context, it’s a very viable project.”

Environment

Volkswagen’s Tesla Robotaxi rival gets put to the test in Wolfsburg

Published

2 hours ago

December 14, 2025

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Volkswagen's Tesla Robotaxi rival gets put to the test in Wolfsburg

Volkswagen Group is starting the next testing phase in Wolfsburg with its self-driving research vehicle Gen.Urban1. After intensive trials, the Gen.Urban can now drive autonomously in real urban traffic.

Volkswagen is putting its Tesla Robotaxi rival through its paces in Wolfsburg, Germany, where the self-driving Gen.Urban research vehicle is now driving autonomously in real urban traffic – without a steering wheel or pedals!

VW’s Gen.Urban research project sets out to explore how passengers experience riding in a self-driving vehicle on real roads, among real drivers, and without a traditional steering wheel or pedals, and what those requirements might mean for future vehicle concepts.

Some of the key questions VW is asking include:

How do people spend their time in a self-driving vehicle?
Which digital features best support work, entertainment, or relaxation?
How should interaction between the vehicle and passengers be designed, particularly for older people or children?
Most importantly: Do people feel comfortable?

“The technology for autonomous driving is making rapid progress,” explains Dr. Nikolai Ardey, Head of Volkswagen Group Innovation. “With our Gen.Urban research vehicle, we want to understand exactly how passengers experience autonomous driving. Because: The key to a positive customer experience is to build trust – through meaningful interaction, a relaxed atmosphere, and intelligent assistance systems that respond precisely to the needs of passengers. Ultimately, technology should fit people, not the other way around. We will benefit from these insights across the entire Group in the long term.”

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Not QUITE fully autonomous

It’s important to note here that, while Volkswagen designed the Gen.Urban without a steering wheel or pedals, the vehicles participating in these test have a trained safety driver monitoring the vehicle from the passenger seat, ready to step in to control the vehicle using a specially developed control panel with a joystick – which means we’re still a long way from the 2022 Volkswagen Gen.Travel concept (above).

Even so, Volkswagen’s autonomous driving efforts have been in public testing phases since at least 2023, when the company unveiled a fleet of ten specially modified VW.Buzz AD electric vans. Tests with those vans have gone well enough, at least, to lead Volkswagen to announce plans for large-scale production.

The current test phase is limited to Volkswagen Group employees as riders, and is planned for a period of several weeks. If results are satisfactory, VW could expand its rider base by the end of Q1.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Volkswagen.

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Environment

Past classic that deserves an electric update: Honda Element

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2 hours ago

December 14, 2025

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Past classic that deserves an electric update: Honda Element

Electric Honda Element Concept — Honda Element concept; made with ChatGPT.

Ask anyone who owned or owns one, and they’ll tell you that Honda Element was ahead of its time, delivering a flexible interior, car-like ride, and SUV-levels of visibility – and, if Honda really wanted to, they could roll out an all-new, all-electric Element riding on an Ultium-style electric skateboard tomorrow.

Honda’s first Element made its debut way back in 2003, when it was still a bit strange to think of companies like Cadillac, Volkswagen, and Porsche selling anything as big and clunky as an SUV. It earned plenty of fans, however, and for all the same reasons, they’ll love an electric Element even more.

Consider the following:

Car-like handling

The original Element rolled around on a lot of bits originally developed for the Honda Civic – widely regarded as a fun-to-drive, great-handling little car. That car-based chassis earned it some mockery among automotive journalists who, more than two decades ago, still widely believed that an SUV had to have some off-road chops to it.

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Today, we’re a more enlightened bunch. In 2025, an SUV needs to be practical above all else, emphasizing the “Utility” aspect. With a low-slung, low-cg, and low-intrusion electric skateboard underneath its boxy body (more on that in a minute), a modern Element would be than more than capable of delivering a “car-like” ride with plenty of sporty acceleration, as well.

Flexible interior

Honda Element — Element interior; via Honda.

Remember that comment about the low-intrusion nature of the Ultium EV chassis? Without a transmission tunnel to get in the way, Honda was able to offer a massive, flat floor that made the Element ideal for moving, camping, beach days, tailgating, antiquing, and (not to put too fine a point on it) drive-in movies – which we still had those in Florida until at least 2010.

In an EV, all that flat-floor goodness is still there, with the added benefit of being able to offer a flat floor without a transmission tunnel ruining the ~~bedroom~~ cargo bay.

Add a bit of extra width inherited from the Prologue, toss in a friendly ASIMO interface to keep the investment class happy, and offer a full range of inflatable tents, dog beds, and other overlanding, pet, or surf-friendly accessories, and Honda could watch the money roll in. At the very least, if Honda had built a modern Element instead of the Prologue on GM’s skateboard, they might have an easier time moving them in post-rebate America, I think. What do you guys think?

You guys are smart, so I’m sure you’ll be able to find all the problems with this particular take – and I can’t wait to hear them! Should it be FWD only? A plug-in hybrid? Ship with a tent? Scroll on down to the comments and let me know what you think it would take to make a battery-powered Honda Element revival make sense to you.

Original content from Electrek.

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Environment

Chinese Buick Electra EV may be coming to the US after all

Published

1 day ago

December 13, 2025

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Chinese Buick Electra EV may be coming to the US after all

The Next Buick Grand National Should Be This Wicked Dual Motor EV

File this under “wishful thinking” if you want, but a fresh trademark filing for the Buick Electra name could mean that the storied nameplate is set for a return to US shores.

GM Authority reports that Buick parent company General Motors has renewed its trademark for the Buick Electra name in the US in a filing from 09DEC2025 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and received an assigned serial number 99538079. The application carries a Goods and Services of, “Motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles.”

Electra a nameplate that holds a long history with the near-luxe Buick brand and has generally been believed to be one that’s especially relevant to Buick’s electrification strategy in the US. That’s a notion that seems especially true when you consider the following two facts:

the Buick Electra nameplate is already featured on a number of hugely successful GM products being sold in the ultra-competitive Chinese market
2027 is the fortieth anniversary of the Buick Grand National, and GM’s marketers are way too smart to let that moment slide

It’s worth noting, of course, that this most recent renewal for the Buick Electra trademark is a long, long way from a confirmation of a new all-electric Buick for the US market and even further from a confirmation that we’re getting the hot, sexy Electra GM sells in China. If anything, it’s likely just a matter of course legal thing that GM needs to protect its IP in China while, at the same time, preventing some kind of disastrous Sierra Mist scenario from playing out at home (which– yeah, I get that it’s not true, but you got the idea).

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That said, I want to believe.

Electrek’s Take

I’m a huge fan of GM, GM’s EVs, and the way Mary Barra has managed the General over the past several years. I also think a big, sexy sedan is sorely missing from GM’s lineup, and the fast, flashy electric sedan formula might play better at the Buick store than at the Cadillac brand.

Combine that with an overwhelming desire to see a new-age Buick Grand National parked in my garage next Christmas and you can see that I’m not to be trusted. So, what say you? Head on down to the comments and let us know what you think of an American Electra revival just in time for the 2027 model year.

SOURCE | IMAGES: GM Authority; GM.

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