Europe’s energy crisis is making the market nervous. And analysts expect record-high prices to persist

Published

4 years ago

September 16, 2021

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Round bales of straw drying on the field are seen in front of the power station operated by RWE AG near Rommerskirchen, Germany on August 10, 2021. The cost of natural gas and electricity has surged across Europe.

Ying Tang | NurPhoto | Getty Images

LONDON — European power prices have spiraled to multi-year highs on a confluence of factors in recent weeks, ranging from extremely strong commodity and carbon prices to low wind output.

What’s more, the record run in energy prices is not expected to end any time soon, with energy analysts warning market nervousness is likely to persist throughout winter.

The October gas price at the Dutch TTF hub, a European benchmark, was seen to climb to a record high of 79 euros ($93.31) a megawatt-hour on Wednesday. The contract has risen more than 250% since January, according to Reuters, while benchmark power contracts in France and Germany have both doubled.

In the U.K., where electricity bills are now the most expensive in Europe, power prices have soared amid the country’s high dependence on gas and renewables to generate electricity.

British day-ahead electricity prices rose nearly 19% to reach 475 pounds ($656.5) on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The contract was already trading near record highs shortly after a fire at a U.K.-France power link cut electricity imports to Britain.

“By far the biggest factor is gas prices,” Glenn Rickson, head of European power analysis at S&P Global Platts Analytics, told CNBC via email.

Higher gas prices have also been a “big driver” in lifting carbon and coal prices to record highs too, Rickson said, although he noted there are other supporting factors at play, such as low wind generation and nuclear plant unavailability across the continent.

Carbon prices in Europe have nearly trebled this year as the European Union reduces the supply of emissions credits. The EU’s benchmark carbon price climbed above 60 euros per metric ton for the first time ever in recent weeks, trading slightly below this threshold on Thursday.

The EU’s Emissions Trading System is the world’s largest carbon trading program, covering around 40% of the bloc’s greenhouse gas emissions and charging emitters for every metric ton of carbon dioxide they emit. Record carbon prices have made highly polluting sources of energy generation even less attractive because coal, for example, emits more carbon dioxide when burnt.

Rickson said the outlook for European power prices this winter will be “highly dependent” on gas prices, adding that he expects gas prices to rise even further in the coming months. “Aside from the ‘average’ picture, we expect prices to be highly volatile, with swings from low or even negative hourly prices when wind generation is high, to very high prices as already seen when wind is low, and demand is high.”

How did we get here?

European gas prices have accelerated since the start of April, when unseasonably cold weather conditions meant Europe’s gas in storage dipped below the pre-pandemic five-year average, indicating a potential supply crunch.

Europe has since struggled to bring gas supplies that are necessary for the winter period back to where they should be. An economic rebound as countries eased Covid-19 restrictions also coincided with higher-than-expected demand that led to a shortage of gas.

An output filtration facility of a gas treatment unit at the Slavyanskaya compressor station (operated by Gazprom), the starting point of the Nord Stream 2 offshore natural gas pipeline. According to Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, the construction of Nord Stream 2 will be completed by the end of this year.

Peter Kovalev | TASS | Getty Images

Further to this, Russia has been seen to slow its delivery of piped natural gas to the region, raising questions about whether this may be a deliberate move to bolster its case for starting flows via Nord Stream 2. The controversial pipeline, bringing natural gas to Europe from Russia, bypassing Ukraine and Poland, is soon expected to be fully operational and could resolve some of the region’s supply problems.

This deficit is “making the market nervous as we approach winter,” Stefan Konstantinov, senior analyst at ICIS Energy, a commodity intelligence service, told CNBC. “That is coupled with the very significant competition for LNG supplies from Asia and South America, which is driving gas prices up.”

Climate crisis concerns

Earlier this month, soaring gas prices and low wind output prompted the U.K. to fire up an old coal power plant to meet its electricity needs.

The move raises serious questions about the government’s environmental commitments amid the climate crisis. To be sure, coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel in terms of emissions and therefore the most important target for replacement in the proposed pivot to renewable alternatives.

When asked how the U.K.’s decision to turn to coal could possibly be squared with the urgent need to dramatically scale down fossil fuel use, Konstantinov replied: “It’s a bit ironic isn’t it?”

Activists march with flags and placards, during the march at Extinction Rebellion’s Nature Protest held in Central London about how nature is in crisis.

Loredana Sangiuliano | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images

“If there was enough wind, it could maybe meet more than half or two-thirds of U.K. power demand on a relatively low power demand day. But instead what we are seeing is that actually we’ve got no wind and we are forced to fire up polluting coal-fired generation.”

“At first glance, that doesn’t tally up with the government’s ambition to decarbonize. But this is very much driven by the intermittent nature of renewables: both wind and solar,” he added.

The U.K. has committed to phasing out coal power completely by Oct. 2024 to cut carbon emissions.

“The fundamental drivers, i.e. high gas prices and high carbon prices, we at ICIS believe they are here to stay for the coming months,” Konstantinov said.

Analysts at Wood Mackenzie, a global natural resources consultancy, also expect U.K. and European gas prices “to remain elevated at current levels throughout winter.”

“A recovery in UK gas production is critical for this winter,” they added. “And going forward, investment into domestic gas supply remains crucial to ensure a smooth energy transition to renewables and new technologies.”

Environment

Volvo Penta teams up with e-power to equip Boels with next-gen Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)

Published

3 hours ago

September 6, 2025

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Volvo Penta teams up with e-power to equip Boels with next-gen Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)

Veteran marine and industrial power solutions company Volvo Penta has joined forces with energy solutions provider e-power to build battery energy storage systems (BESS). Volvo Penta’s battery systems for energy storage will power BESS units built by e-power that can be catered to a range of applications, most notably construction rental clients like Boels Rentals in Europe.

Volvo Penta is a provider of sustainable power solutions that currently serves land and sea applications under the Volvo Group umbrella. As more and more of the world goes all-electric, the global manufacturer has also adapted, sharing cultural values with Volvo Group to engineer new and innovative sustainable power solutions.

Nearly 100 years later, Volvo Penta remains an industry leader in marine propulsion systems and industrial engines. As more and more of the world goes all-electric, the Swedish manufacturer has also adapted, sharing cultural values with Volvo Group to engineer new and innovative sustainable power solutions.

For example, all Volvo Penta diesel engines now run on hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO), reducing well-to-wheel emissions by up to 90% across the marine and industrial power industries. On the zero-emissions side, Volvo Penta has expressed its dedication to fossil-free power solutions, including battery electric components to serve heavy-duty applications such as terminal tractors, forklifts, drill rigs, and feed mixers, to name a few.

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To leverage its battery electric value chain, Volvo Penta has also ventured into battery systems for energy storage (or BESS subsystems). These energy-dense, purpose-built BESS subsystems can provide portable, sustainable energy for all-electric charging and reduce grid dependency.

Volvo Penta to deploy battery systems for energy storage

Volvo Penta recently announced a strategic partnership with e-power, a Belgian power solutions provider. Together, Volvo Penta and e-power will develop a scalable Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) for Boels Rental.

The collaboration continues a long-standing partnership between all three companies. Boels – one of the largest construction rental companies is a long-time customer of e-power generators that utilize Volvo Penta engines. As the company shifts toward electrification and sustainability, it will again turn to those companies to deliver reliable performance.

Volvo Penta’s BESS subsystem comprises battery packs, a Battery Management System (BMS), DC/DC converters, and thermal management, combining to offer a compact, high-density, and transport-friendly solution optimized for rental operations. The company shared that this BESS design is integration-ready, enabling other OEMs like e-power to adapt and scale systems to customer-specific needs. Per e-power business support director, Jens Fets:

We’ve built our reputation on reliability and efficient power systems. Working again with Volvo Penta, this time on battery energy storage, allows us to meet the growing demand for energy in a silent, low-emissions, compact and mobile design—especially in rental applications.

The deployment of these new battery energy storage systems will help Boels cater to its customers’ growing demand for clean, silent, and mobile energy solutions in construction and other industrial applications.

Aside from being more quickly adaptable to customer needs, Volvo Penta says its BESS architecture marks an overall shift in rental power systems. This is welcome news for all who support a cleaner, more sustainable future across all industries.

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Environment

2026 Mercedes-Benz GLC EV exterior leaks ahead of schedule

Published

4 hours ago

September 6, 2025

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2026 Mercedes-Benz GLC EV exterior leaks ahead of schedule

Mercedes-GLC-EV-face — The 2026 GLC EV will showcase a new face; via Mercedes-Benz.

That didn’t take long! Just a few hours after Mercedes revealed the screen-heavy interior of its upcoming 2026 GLC EV, photos of the new crossover’s exterior – and that controversial grille! – leaked on Instagram and Reddit. We’ve got them here.

Two days ahead of the GLC EV’s officially schedule global debut, images that reportedly show the new 2026 Mercedes undisguised have leaked on Instagram and Reddit. They show the blocky new light-up grille on the nose of a very smooth, jellybean-like crossover shape that, despite Mercedes’ insistence that it’s moving away from the EQ series’ design language, looks an awful lot like an EQ Mercedes.

Check out the leaked images from kindleauto’s Instagram account, below, and see if you agree with that assessment.

If you need to see more before you feel comfortable commenting on the new SUV’s looks, there’s a few more angles over on the r/mercedes_benz subreddit.

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Leaked exterior pictures of the upcoming GLC EV
byu/Quick_Coyote_7649 inmercedes_benz

As with everything else on the internet, take those unofficial images with a grain of salt and maybe wait until the GLC EV’s official reveal in a few days’ time before casting your final vote on the new look – but there’s very little reason to believe the new Mercedes will look terribly different from what you see here.

Will the new grille and tech-forward interior with its massive, 39″ screen and MB.OS software be enough to turn the tide for Mercedes-Benz, enabling it to finally gain some traction in the electric crossover market? That remains to be seen, but the recently updated Tesla Model Y and crisply-styled new BMW iX3 with its 500 miles of range will make it an uphill battle, for sure.

We got a sneak peek at the new GLC back in July, when Mercedes-Benz Group CEO, Ola Källenius said that, “We’re not just introducing a new model – we’re electrifying our top seller.” Back then, we learned that the new GLC EV would have a wheelbase 3.1″ longer than the current ICE-powered model, as well as more head- and leg-room for its occupants and an extra 4.5 cubic feet (for 61.4 total) of cargo space.

Källenius also promised an innovative new 800V electric architecture and the latest battery tech, which will enable the electric GLC to add around 260 km (~160 miles) of WLTP range in just ten minutes thanks to more than 300 kW of charging capability.

SOURCES | IMAGES: kindleauto; Quick_Coyote_7649.

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E-quipment highlight: John Deere TE 4×2 Electric Gator UTV

Published

5 hours ago

September 6, 2025

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E-quipment highlight: John Deere TE 4x2 Electric Gator UTV

For more than 30 years, John Deere’s go-anywhere Gator has been a trusted tool for ranchers, landscapers, and hobby farmers. But the all-electric TE 4×2 version of Big Green’s little truckster rarely gets to steal the spotlight from its ICE-powered 6×4 cousins.

We’re going to change that.

Unlike some of those other UTV brands that just recently entered the electric vehicle game, John Deere introduced its first all-electric Gator way back in 1998.

That OG E-Gator was designed from the ground up for quiet work in places like golf courses, university and hospital campuses, luxury resorts, and corporate grounds – but its go-anywhere design and quiet running made it a favorite of hunters and ranchers, too. Fitted with eight heavy, 12V lead-acid batteries, the ’98 Gator could deliver 6 hours of runtime between overnight charges.

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We haven’t come a long way, baby

TE 4×2 loaded w/ attachments; via John Deere.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That seems to be the mentality at Deere when it comes to the all-electric Gator. The TE 4×2 hasn’t chased trends or tried to reinvent itself with flashy autonomous tech. Instead, it’s relied solid, work-horsey reasons. Instead, the UTV has leaned on the formula that’s made it a winner for more than 25 years: bulletproof reliability, low maintenance, and a design that just works. Even the added weight of the low-tech batteries compared to more energy-dense li-ion deals makes sense in this application, providing weight over the drive wheels that delivers sure-footed traction on slippery grass or muddy trails.

That’s not to say the Gator hasn’t changed at all over the last few decades. The electrical system has been upgraded to 48V, and its high-capacity, deep-cycle batteries (12 kWh total capacity) give the TE 4×2 dependable, all-day runtime (up to 8 continuous hours) with the benefit of modern chargers, regenerative braking (!), and updated safety features.

The TE 4×2 electric Gator is available from your local Deere dealer with prices starting at $15,699. And, if you’re looking for an endorsement: my personal Gator is easily my favorite thing … maybe I should try to change my ~~Twitter~~ X handle to “GatorJo”?

Let me know what you think of that idea in the comments.

SOURCE | IMAGES: John Deere.

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