Solar and portable energy storage experts Growatt impress again with the release of the new and updated INFINITY 1300. This versatile and powerful energy storage system can provide uninterrupted power for 14 outlets, completely recharge in less than 2 hours, and accept a variety of solar input. Electrek gets hands on with this efficient portable power station. Check out the INFINITY 1300 Presale here, which lasts from April 17 to 30.
Growatt hasn’t been a stranger to Electrek, or the industry at large. After 11 years in the industry, Growatt touts recognition by authoritative organizations in Europe and America. With a fairly focused product lineup, Growatt claims millions of customers and counting. We’ve been able to test some of their products, including the new INFINITY 1300, and they perform at outstanding levels to back up the product hype.
AC Outlet 4 x 120V~, 50/60Hz, Pure Sine Wave Max 1800W, Surge Peak 3600W
Car Outlet 1 x 13.2V/10A, 132W Max
DC5521 Output 2 x 13.2V/3A, 36W Max
USB-A 2 x 5V/2.4A, 12W Max
USB-A Fast Charge 2 X 18W Max
USB-C 2 x 5V/9V/12V/20V, 5A, 100W Max
Wireless Charging 1 x 15W
Fun Story
The INFINITY 1300 is much more than a big battery with a handle on it. Believe me, I’ve tried to make one. When I worked at a bike shop we attended trade shows where we had to pay for electricity to our booth. Trying to save some money, I instead mickey-moused an eBike battery to power our music, TV, and lights for the booth. While it addressed our humble purposes, the DIY power supply was victim to overheating, inefficient drain, and a birds nest of crimped wires. We used it, once, after realizing that a barley operable system didn’t instill confidence in our shop.
Fast forward about 7 years, and testing the INFINITY 1300 I look back at those trade shows with a touch of lament. Whether on the job, or enjoying comfortable time in the great outdoors, having expertly crafted power supply makes a world of difference.
Super Easy Output
The INFINITY 1300 has 4 separate 120v home outlets on the side that can power a wealth of items all at once. The standout feature is the bidirectional inverter, built into the unit. Not only does this speed up charge time, but with no adapters needed the unit can switch from AC to DC power automatically. With the INFINITY 1300, it works how I would expect: I plugged in a heater and ran it for hours one crisp spring morning, and charged up my gamut of camera equipment at the same time. The cooling fans underneath the carry platform turned on automatically, and were quiet enough to let me continue with work indoors.
Having this ease of use and flexibility makes power a non-issue when preparing for a busy day out filming. Since I use a variety of small devices, the wireless phone charger, USB-C, USBC-A, and 110v outlets are a dream come true for me. Just this one device carries everything necessary to provide plug-and-play power and focus on the job. Having the power to bring extra light, cameras, and the computer with me brought my work to a whole new productivity level.
Input and App
One of the first thing I was impressed by was the fast recharge time. The INFINITY 1300 can recharge in 1.8 hours, from 0-100%. This is incredibly fast, as I’ve used many electric bike batteries with half the capacity that still take double or triple the charge time. Although we didn’t get a chance to test it, Growatt says the recharge time from solar is about 2.5 hours using high conversion 99% MPPT efficiency and a wide solar input range. The solar input can utilize a wide range of voltages, offiering compatibility with more panels. With this kind of flexibility, fast charging capacity, this makes the 1300 an incredible flexible unit for longer trips and multiple recharge uses over the course of a single day.
App Control remained one of the standout features for the brand itself. You wouldn’t think that a battery would need additional remote control through wifi connections, but the additional control can be quite compelling. Using the app I was able to check on the current and recent status of both input, output, as well as change settings such as sound, display and more.
INFINITY 1300 Home Backup
Unlike the Growatt Vita550 covered here, the INFINITY 1300 is capable of being a home backup for a handful of devices or even a workstation. With 1382wh worth of energy, important devices like a computer station, connectivity devices such as a modem and router could be set for days during an outage. Featuring an uninterruptible power supply, it can also support sensitive devices such as security and home medical care equipment. Switchover time is less than 20 milliseconds.
Industry Powerhouse
Growatt has built the INFINITY 1300 to last over 3000 cycles for 10 years. If I could get that kind of life out of my phone, I would be ecstatic. Growatt has a slogan of “Time Saved, but Life Extended, and with over 10 years in the business of energy storage, EV chargers, solar arrays, and energy management systems.
During the limited pre-sale promotion from April 17th to 30th, you can buy the INFINITY 1300 Power supply for $300 off, before it jumps to the regular retail of $1,299.
It looks like electric motorcycle influencer Surronster has landed himself in trouble south of the border, based on an arrest video posted to his social media channels.
A heavily edited video posted on his Instagram page shows the controversial rider in handcuffs being led into a police vehicle by officers in Tijuana, Mexico. The reel appears to have been filmed by a companion in the influencer’s entourage. No additional context was provided in the post, and at the time of writing, details surrounding the arrest remain unclear.
The incident comes just two days after the influencer posted another update to his social media showing that he was being denied entry into Mexico with his Sur Ron electric off-road motorcycle loaded in the bed of his truck.
In the more recent clip, the Tijuana Municipal Police appear to be questioning him and an associate before handcuffing them both. An officer is seen starting to remove the influencer’s helmet, then the clip jumps to a shot of the influencer entering the back of the police truck, edited to avoid showing his unhelmeted face. Surronster has long concealed his identity, always being filmed while wearing a full-face dirt bike helmet.
Surronster has gained a large following online by pushing the limits of electric motorcycles – especially the Sur Ron Light Bee and similar lightweight electric dirt bikes. His content often shows him performing stunts, riding in traffic without a license plate, and usually on electric dirt bikes that are not street legal for use on public roads. His 1M+ following is comprised mainly of young male viewers in their teens and twenties, with many attempting to imitate the riders’ style and stunts. He has risen to become one of the leading influencers in the electric motorbike industry, all while promoting a rebellious image and racking up millions of views on social media.
That notoriety has earned him plenty of fans, but also a long line of critics. Many in the e-bike and e-moto community have called out the influencer for encouraging illegal and unsafe behavior that risks drawing increased regulation and public backlash against electric two-wheelers, not to mention the danger to young riders who may attempt to recreate his stunts. Others defend him as a thrill-seeking entertainer similar to traditional motorsport stunt riders.
A large proportion of his videos feature illegal riding activities, but his strict control over his anonymity has meant that he has effectively operated with impunity. But getting arrested in a foreign country is a serious matter, and it remains to be seen what charges – if any – he’ll face. At the time of publishing, the Tijuana Minicipal Police have not responded to a request for comment.
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Clean energy jobs surged in 2024, growing more than three times faster than the rest of the US economy and adding nearly 100,000 new positions. That brought the total clean energy workforce to 3.56 million people, according to the 10th annual Clean Jobs America report from E2.
But growth slowed compared to 2023. Amid policy uncertainty and an overall cooling economy, clean energy jobs expanded at their slowest pace since 2020, with about 50,000 fewer new jobs than the year before.
Even so, the sector still outpaced the broader economy. Solar, wind, batteries, energy efficiency, storage, and grid jobs made up more than 7% of all new US jobs last year and 82% of new energy jobs. Clean energy also takes a bigger share of the overall workforce: it now accounts for 42% of all US energy jobs and 2.3% of the total workforce. More people work in clean energy today than as nurses, cashiers, restaurant servers, or preschool through middle school teachers.
The report lands as the clean energy industry faces major headwinds. Federal policy moves have canceled projects, revoked tax credits, and added new regulatory hurdles targeting solar, wind, EVs, and more. While not yet reflected in 2024’s numbers, those actions are already hitting jobs hard. E2 found that since January 2025, companies have canceled more than $22 billion worth of clean energy factories and projects that would have created 16,500 jobs. Other analyses warn that more than 830,000 jobs could vanish under Trump’s big bill, signed on July 4.
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“This was one of the hottest and most promising job sectors in the country at the end of 2024,” said E2’s executive director Bob Keefe. “Now, clean energy job growth is at serious risk – and with it, our overall economy.”
Clean energy and EV jobs have added more than 520,000 positions over the last five years, a 17% increase. That’s far more growth than fossil fuels, ICE vehicle manufacturing, or the economy overall. In fact, over the past five years, clean energy companies have added jobs 60% faster than the rest of the US economy.
Energy efficiency remains the largest employer in the sector, with nearly 2.4 million workers after adding 91,000 jobs last year. Renewable generation jobs reached 569,000 (+9,000 in 2024), while clean vehicle jobs totaled 398,000. The clean vehicle sector shrank by 12,000 jobs in 2024 due to an industry-wide decline across all vehicle sectors, but employment is still up 52% since 2020.
Regionally, the South is leading the way. More than 1 million clean energy workers are based there, and the South added 41,000 jobs in 2024. The West and Northeast each added over 20,000 jobs, and the Midwest added 13,000. At the state level, 23 states now have at least 50,000 clean energy jobs, and in all but eight states, clean energy employment outnumbers fossil fuel jobs.
“Every year, clean energy jobs become more intertwined and critical to our overall economy,” said Michael Timberlake, E2’s director of research and publications. “These jobs are now a vital anchor of America’s energy workforce. The strength of the US job market and the future of our energy economy are now inseparable from the growth of clean energy.”
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Genesis is turning 10, and it’s celebrating with a few big surprises. The rising luxury brand is rolling out a slate of new hybrids and EVs, including an ultra-luxe flagship SUV and off-roader.
Genesis gears up for new EVs, hybrids, and EREVs
Hyundai’s luxury brand has quickly emerged as a dark horse in the luxury market. Genesis is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a bang.
By 2030, the brand aims to sell 350,000 vehicles annually. Genesis is launching a new lineup, including its first hybrid, a new flagship SUV, an off-roader, and several performance vehicles.
Hyundai confirmed during its CEO Investor Day on Thursday that Genesis will launch several new models soon, including new EVs, hybrids, and extended-range vehicles (EREVs).
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Genesis will launch its first hybrid in 2026, followed by EREVs shortly after. At least two new SUVs are set to join the lineup, a full-size flagship model and an off-roader.
Hyundai said the new luxury SUVs will be based on the Neolun and X Gran Equator concepts. Although we have yet to learn all the details, the Neolun is expected to arrive as the GV90, an “ultra-luxe,” full-size flagship electric SUV. The X Gran Equator concept is a more rugged, luxury off-road SUV.
Genesis Neolun ultra-luxury electric SUV concept (Source: Genesis)
Genesis plans to expand the brand into up to 20 European markets while strengthening its presence in the US. Those in the US will see the first hybrid Genesis vehicles roll out, starting in 2026.
Genesis X Gran Equator Concept (Source: Genesis)
The luxury brand will also launch its first EREV, which Hyundai promises will deliver over 600 miles of range by using a battery and a gas engine that acts as a backup generator.
Genesis is entering “the realm of high-performance vehicles” with its new Magma brand. The first performance model, the GV60 Magma, will arrive later this year.
Genesis GV60 Magma testing with other Magma vehicles (Source: Genesis)
In under eight years, the Genesis brand sold a total of over 1 million vehicles. Over the next few years, it’s betting on new EVs, hybrids, advanced tech, sleek designs, and more to solidify its position in the luxury space.
Hyundai is also launching new vehicles across nearly all powertrains and segments. Check out our recap of Hyundai’s CEO Investor Day to see what’s coming.
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