US awards $500m to seven critical minerals and battery projects

Cabot Corporation is expanding domestic production of advanced conductive additives at its Franklin, Louisiana, and Pampa facilities through a modified $50 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation. The funding, combined with approximately $75 million of Cabot investment, is intended to meet rising demand for energy storage systems, AI infrastructure, data centers, grid modernization and broader electrification. Under the revised agreement, Cabot will redirect funding from its originally planned Michigan project toward a two-site brownfield expansion, a move expected to accelerate development, improve production efficiency and strengthen supply capabilities. The investment will support Franklin's production of LITX advanced battery-grade conductive carbons, while the Pampa facility will establish Cabot's first commercial-scale production of carbon nanostructures and part of its ENERMAX product family, with both projects expected to become operational by the end of 2028. Cabot's shares have gained 17% year to date compared with the industry's 13.7% rise in the same period.

Factorial Energy shares jumped 14.4% in Thursday's trading after the company said it will partner with Japan's Mitsui Kinzoku to accelerate the global scale-up of its Solstice all-solid-state battery platform. Mitsui Kinzoku produces sulfide-based solid electrolytes for all-solid-state batteries and is one of few companies worldwide with foundational technology in this space, Factorial said. The Japanese company also produces ultra-thin copper foil and holds an estimated 90% share of the semiconductor market for that foil. Mitsui Kinzoku Senior Executive Officer Kiyotaka Yasuda said the two companies aim to accelerate the realization of next-generation batteries by combining Mitsui Kinzoku's long-established expertise in materials and manufacturing technologies with Factorial's advanced technological capabilities. Factorial Energy shares began trading on Nasdaq in June following the completion of its business combination with Cartesian Growth Corporation III.

New registrations of battery electric vehicles in Europe rose 54.2% year-on-year in August, accounting for roughly one in three new cars sold and far outpacing forecasts for 2026. According to data from E-Mobility Europe, New Automotive and Fierce Automotive, BEV registrations across 16 major European markets rose to 202,833 units, giving fully electric vehicles a market share of 30.5%. BEV registrations across Europe as a whole have exceeded 1.67 million units since the start of the year, up 33.1% from the same period a year earlier. T&E had forecast a BEV share of 23% in the EU this year, while Rho Motion expected around 21% for Europe as a whole, but BEV registrations in the 16 markets have risen 33.1% year-to-date, exceeding forecasts for the combined plug-in market of BEVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles. By country, France's BEV market share rose to 38.3% in August and Germany's to 32.5%, with fully electric registrations reaching 36,159 units in France and 68,980 units in Germany. Among Europe's most electrified markets, Norway led with a BEV share of 98.7%, followed by Denmark at 85.9%, Finland at 52.3%, the Netherlands at 48.9%, Belgium at 46.2% and Portugal at 36.1%.