Europe

China strongly criticized the EU’s ban on Chinese inverters in EU-funded solar projects, warning it could damage trade relations, supply chains, and Europe’s energy transition.

The new policy has already applied, and impacts billions in funding from the European Investment Bank on renewable projects including standalone and co-located storage.

India and the European Union (EU) have launched a €15.2 million (INR 169 crore) joint funding programme to advance recycling technologies for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, under the India–EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) Working Group 2 on Green and Clean Energy Technologies.

Escalating Middle East tensions and global energy supply risks are accelerating Europe’s shift toward solar and storage, particularly in commercial, industrial, and utility-scale segments where energy security, resilience, and price stability are becoming central investment drivers. At the same time, expanding manufacturing capacity in China and India is redirecting surplus solar and storage supply toward Europe, creating a highly competitive and increasingly selective market where long-term success depends on quality, reliability, ESG alignment, and strategic market positioning.

Italy’s energy regulator ARERA has approved a proposal from the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security to target 16 GWh of storage capacity in the 2029 MACSE auction, while urging caution on final volumes to reflect existing pipeline capacity.

Germany’s Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) awarded 155 MW of rooftop PV capacity at an average of €0.0956 ($0.11)/kWh, leaving nearly half of the 283 MW tender volume unallocated.

NTPC Ltd has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UK-based Octopus Energy Group to explore collaboration opportunities in advancing clean energy, digital utilities, and customer-centric power solutions across India, the United Kingdom, and other mutually agreed geographies.

Kärcher aims to build a closed-loop cleaning ecosystem for India’s solar industry, covering both PV manufacturing environments and the long-term maintenance of PV plants.

The TEXMiN Foundation, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, has signed an MoU with GIREDMET State Research and Design Institute of Rare Metal Industry, Russia, to collaborate on rare earth processing, critical minerals, advanced materials, and translational research across the mining value chain. The partnership will also focus on hydrometallurgical recycling technologies for lithium-ion batteries to recover valuable metals.

Advait Greenergy has partnered with electrolyser technology providers Switzerland-based CENMAT and US-based Power to Hydrogen Inc. (P2H2), India-based EPC firm JESCO Projects, and hydrogen storage specialist VJ Industries to support the development of green hydrogen projects in India.