BP says all other global energy crises pale in comparison to the year of Covid. These stats show why

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4 years ago

July 12, 2021

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LONDON — Oil and gas giant BP on Thursday published its benchmark Statistical Review of World Energy, describing 2020 “as a year like no other” due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on global energy.

Over the past seven decades, BP said it had borne witness to some of the most dramatic episodes in the history of the global energy system, including the Suez Canal crisis in 1956, the oil embargo of 1973, the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the Fukushima disaster in 2011.

“All moments of great turmoil in global energy,” Spencer Dale, chief economist at BP, said in the report. “But all pale in comparison to the events of last year.”

To date, more than 185 million Covid-19 cases have been reported worldwide, with over 4 million deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The actual tally of Covid-19 infections and fatalities is believed to be far higher — and continues to rise.

The pandemic also led to massive economic loss, with global GDP estimated to have slipped by around 3.3% last year. That represents the largest peacetime recession since the Great Depression.

For global energy, the Covid pandemic has had a dramatic impact. Here are some of the highlights from the report:

Energy developments

BP said the coronavirus crisis last year resulted in primary energy and carbon emissions falling at their fastest rates since World War II. The relentless expansion of renewable energy, however, was found to be “relatively unscathed,” with solar power recording its fastest ever increase.

To be sure, the oil and gas company said world energy demand was estimated to have contracted by 4.5% and global carbon emissions from energy use by 6.3%.

“These falls are huge by historical standards — the largest falls in both energy demand and carbon emissions since World War II. Indeed, the fall of over 2 Gt of CO2 means that carbon emissions last year were back to levels last seen in 2011,” Dale said.

“It’s also striking that the carbon intensity of the energy mix — the average carbon emitted per unit of energy used — fell by 1.8%, also one of the largest ever falls in post-war history,” he added.

Bim | E+ | Getty Images

For some, the decline of global carbon emissions briefly raised hopes of so-called “peak carbon,” although desires of limiting global warming — and meeting a crucial target of the landmark Paris accord — are rapidly deteriorating.

It comes even as politicians and business leaders publicly acknowledge the necessity of transitioning to a low-carbon society, with policymakers under intensifying pressure to deliver on promises made as part of the Paris Agreement ahead of this year’s COP26.

“There are worrying signs that last year’s COVID-induced dip in carbon emissions will be short lived as the world economy recovers and lockdowns are lifted,” Bernard Looney, CEO of BP, said in the report.

“The challenge is to achieve sustained, comparable year-on-year reductions in emissions without massive disruption to our livelihoods and our everyday lives,” he added.

Oil

The Covid crisis triggered a historic oil demand shock in 2020, with Big Oil enduring a brutal 12 months by virtually every measure. The pandemic coincided with falling commodity prices, evaporating profits, unprecedented write-downs and tens of thousands of job cuts.

The torrent of bad news prompted the head of the International Energy Agency to suggest 2020 may come to represent the worst year in the history of oil markets.

BP said oil consumption fell by a record 9.1 million barrels per day, or 9.3%, last year, slipping to its lowest level since 2011.

A general view of Gunvor Petroleum or Rozenburg refinery in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Europe’s largest port covers 105 square kilometers (41 square miles) and stretches over a distance of 40 kilometers (25 miles).

Dean Mouhtaropoulos | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Oil demand fell most in the U.S., contracting by 2.3 million barrels, followed by the EU and India, contracting 1.5 million barrels and 480,000 barrels, respectively.

BP said global oil production shrank by 6.6 million barrels, with oil producer group OPEC accounting for two-thirds of that decline.

The price of international benchmark Brent crude averaged $41.84 in 2020, the energy giant said, its lowest level since 2004. The oil contract was last seen trading at $73.70.

Renewables

“Arguably, the single most important element of the energy system needed to address both aspects of the Paris Agreement — respond to the threat of climate change and support sustainable growth — is the need for rapid growth in renewable energy,” BP’s Dale said in the report.

Renewable energy, including biofuels and excluding hydro, rose by 9.7% in 2020, BP said. This was slower than the 10-year average of 13.4% year-on-year but the increment in energy terms was found to be similar to increases recorded in the years prior to the pandemic.

Solar electricity rose by record levels, however it was wind that was found to provide the largest contribution to renewables growth.

In terms of capacity, solar expanded by 127 gigawatts in 2020, while wind grew by 111 gigawatts — almost double its previous highest annual increase, BP said. “The main driver was China, which accounted for roughly half of the global increase in wind and solar capacity,” Dale said.

Reflecting on BP’s latest annual Statistical Review of World Energy, Dale said: “The importance of the past 70 years pales into insignificance as we consider the challenges facing the energy system over the next 10, 20, 30 years as the world strives to get to net zero.”

Environment

Porsche’s new electric Cayenne can charge without plugging in

Published

1 hour ago

November 19, 2025

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Porsche's new electric Cayenne can charge without plugging in

Porsche unveiled its new Cayenne EV today, and it comes with an option for something we haven’t seen out of a factory-equipped car before: inductive charging.

Over the years, we’ve heard plenty of attempts by companies to trick consumers into thinking that it’s possible to make an electric car that doesn’t need to charge.

From Toyota’s dumb “self-charging hybrid” claim, to the new fad of “range extenders”/EREVs (aka plug-in hybrids with a bigger battery), to all manner of solar vehicles, people seem to think that convincing customers that they don’t need to plug in will get them to buy an EV (or, will help them greenwash their gas-guzzling hybrids).

And now the next entry into that group has arrived: the Porsche Cayenne electric, which can indeed be driven without ever plugging in, or gassing up, or even parking in the sun.

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It does have to be parked somewhere specific though: over a pad in your garage. Because this car can be equipped to use inductive charging, right out of the factory.

Inductive charging uses magnetic fields to transfer electrical power, as opposed to conductive charging, which uses a plug. Inductive charging is how phone charging mats work, but in this case, it’s scaled up significantly in size and power.

We’ve seen a few inductive charging projects before, but they’ve always been aftermarket or experimental so far. Or, they’ve been targeted more at commercial or fleet buyers (buses, for example).

There is one mass-produced EV which is rumored to have inductive charging capability, the Tesla Cybertruck, and we know that Tesla is working on a charging pad, which will be helpful if autonomous vehicles ever roll out properly. But nothing has been announced as available yet.

Porsche, however, is ready to announce that the capability is coming to its upcoming Cayenne EV. Porsche has shown off its inductive tech before, but now we got to see it ourselves when we checked out the Cayenne in a studio preview.

Porsche says that its inductive charging system can push 11kW of power, which is plenty for overnight home charging (on the car’s 113kWh battery). It does this at 90% efficiency – not as much as the ~95% of conductive charging, but still quite good. It also requires an extra ~33lbs of coils and wiring onboard the car, which is a significant if not massive weight gain.

To activate the system, the charging pad makes contact with the car via wide-band wireless communication to determine location, then activates when you park in just the perfect spot. The car’s screen shows guide lines to help you find the way to where you need to be – or there’s always the tennis-ball-on-a-string trick if you want to go low tech.

When we tried it out in LA, once we got the system up and running (hot tip: don’t daisy chain two extension cords if you want your inductive charging pad to work), it quickly charged at 11kW, at least according to the in-car system.

The inductive charger includes a lot of safety features to ensure nothing weird happens. Even though it only uses magnetic fields, the mat includes sensors to detect any living or metal objects nearby, it will stop (yes, this includes your cat that likes to sleep under the car, and yes, Porsche gets asked this question often). We saw this happen once in the studio demo, but it quickly turned back on after deciding everything was okay.

The Cayenne will still have its regular conductive charging ports, capable of 11kW AC or 400kW DC charge. But for those who want to forgo the plug, at least at home, the mat is an available option.

That said – pricing and availability are still TBD. The system costs €7k in Europe, plus an electrician, but we don’t know what it will cost in the US yet.

So, there’s still a chance that someone else beats Porsche to the “first” moniker – possibly Tesla, given that it seems to be close to offering an inductive charging system. But there are a lot of hurdles to ensure that the system is reliable in every type of weather and real world situation, and lots of electrical codes to follow. So, it looks like the race is on.

Electrek’s Take

I was quite interested in talking to the engineers about this system, because I hadn’t actually experienced inductive charging in an EV before.

People have been talking about this for a long time, and I used to be excited about the concept of electrified roads where cars could just drive on them and get a charge and never have to plug in.

However, after conversations over the years and experience with how easy driving and charging an EV is, I came to think that inductive charging is mostly a gimmick, and that we will likely rely on conductive charging in the long term (and especially that in-highway charging is a boondoggle that’s never going to be a good option, especially when catenary/pantograph systems exist).

That said, there are still niches and benefits to be had. In a potential fully autonomous future, we’ll need to figure out autonomous charging, and inductive charging could be a good answer for that.

In addition, some drivers do have difficulty with cables. While the NACS cable is much easier to handle than the old CCS cable, an older driver or one with mobility issues might have a hard time plugging in a car. Inductive charging could be good for them.

Or, heck, maybe someone is just lazy. Or doesn’t like cords. And doesn’t mind spending money for these marginal improvements. We can imagine there are Porsche buyers who could fit that description.

I still think the take rate will be relatively low, but it will be interesting to see real world tests of this, how buyers get along with it, and what sort of problems they manage to solve. As much as I’m a skeptic of inductive charging’s usefulness and acknowledger of its limitations, it’s nice to see new things get tried sometimes.

What do you think about Porsche’s inductive charging system? Would you prefer it to conductive charging? How much would you pay to add this option to your EV? Let us know in the comments.

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Environment

Hyundai now has Germany’s best-selling EV under €25,000

Published

2 hours ago

November 19, 2025

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Hyundai now has Germany's best-selling EV under €25,000

The Inster, Hyundai’s most affordable EV, is Germany’s best-selling small electric car and top overall vehicle priced under €25,000.

The Hyundai Inster is Germany’s best-selling small EV

After launching the Inster in Europe in late 2024, Hyundai’s smallest and most affordable EV quickly became one of the most popular electric cars in the region.

According to JATO Dynamics, the Hyundai Inster was the 19th most popular EV across Europe in June, outselling the Dacia Spring, Hyundai Kona, and Toyota bZ4X.

In Germany, the heart of Europe, Hyundai’s most affordable EV is making an even bigger impression. Since this summer, the Hyundai Inster is Germany’s best-selling small EV so far in 2025 and just won the Golden Steering Wheel award for best car under €25,000 ($28,900) by AUTO BILD & BILD am SONNTAG.

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Hyundai said the recognition is proof that its vehicles are resonating with buyers across Europe. The Korean automaker will continue expanding its EV lineup, from the small Inster to the three-row IONIQ 9.

The award comes after the Inster was crowned the 2025 World Electric Vehicle at the World Car Awards ceremony in the spring, held during the New York International Auto Show.

Hyundai’s electric city car starts at just €25,000 ($28,900) in Germany. Despite its small size, the Inster delivers up to 370 km (230 miles) WLTP driving range, fast charging (10% to 80%) in 30 minutes, and a surprisingly spacious and feature-rich interior.

The Inster features dual 10.3″ driver display and infotainment screens with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as part of Hyundai’s digital cockpit.

By 2027, Hyundai plans to electrify all vehicles sold in Europe. The Inster and IONIQ 9 are now rolling out across the region, and Hyundai plans to build momentum with new EVs, including the IONIQ 3, which will go into production in Hungary in the first half of 2026.

In South Korea, Hyundai’s home market, the Inster is sold as the Casper Electric. The compact EV is sold in Japan, Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia.

Although those in the US won’t get to see the Inster or IONIQ 3, Hyundai still has one of the most affordable EVs you can get your hands on. With leases starting at just $189 per month, the Hyundai IONIQ 5 is still America’s best deal for an electric vehicle.

Interested in a test drive? We can help you get started. You can use our link to find available Hyundai IONIQ 5 models near you.

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MP Materials stock surges on Pentagon-backed deal to develop rare earth refinery in Saudi Arabia

Published

3 hours ago

November 19, 2025

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MP Materials stock surges on Pentagon-backed deal to develop rare earth refinery in Saudi Arabia

Deutsche Bank on MP Materials upgrade: Stock finally trading on fundamental value

MP Materials surged Wednesday on a deal with the U.S. Department of Defense and the Saudi Arabian Mining Company, Maaden, to develop a rare earth refinery in the kingdom.

The U.S. rare earth miner’s stock was last up about 9%.

MP and the Pentagon will hold a 49% stake in the joint venture, the company said. Maaden’s position will be no less than 51%. The Defense Department will finance the U.S. portion of the venture with MP providing technical and marketing expertise.

The binding agreement to form the joint venture comes after MP and Maaden signed a memoranum of understanding back in May. The agreement will “significantly expand MP’s global footprint” and is structured to “ensure U.S. oversight and alignment with national security objectives,” the company said.

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MP Materials stock over the past six months

MP is also holding talks on a possible collaboration to standup magnet manufacuring in Saudi Arabia.

The Pentagon struck a landmark deal with MP in July that includes an equity stake, a price floor, and offtake agreement. The Trump administration is investing in MP as it seeks to reduce U.S. dependence on China for rare earth imports and stand up a domestic supply chain.

MP CEO James Litinsky has described the company as the U.S. “national champion” for rare earths. Rare earths are crucial inputs in U.S. weapons platforms, electric vehicles, clean energy technology, semiconductor manufacturing and consumer electronics.

Goldman Sachs initiated converage of MP on Tuesday with a price target of $77, implying about 32% upside from Monday’s closing price.

“We believe MP’s downstream expansion into refining and magnet production, accelerated by a partnership with the US government, will strategically position MP as a key supply chain component for rare earth refining and magnet production,” Goldman analyst Brian Lee told clients.