Energy

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is developing new generation reactors for the coming decades that can quickly vary output to compensate for renewable source fluctuations. (Source photo by Reuters) 
Climate Change

Next-gen reactor to adjust output in 17 minutes: Mitsubishi Heavy

Drastically shorter reaction time will allow nuclear power to supplement renewables

14 January 2022
Coal barges in Samarinda, Indonesia. Coal and other fossil fuels generate the vast majority of electricity in Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.
Climate Change

Japan's ammonia push in Southeast Asia seen as aiding coal

Critics say co-firing approach is just 'Band-Aid' for fossil fuels

14 January 2022
Thai miner Banpu has started operations at a solar farm in HaTinh, Vietnam as it begins to unwind its coal business. (Photos courtesy of Banpu)
Interview

Thai miner Banpu divesting coal business despite revenue surge

Windfall from global coal price rise will be invested in green power projects

14 January 2022
Japan's Railway Technical Research Institute is testing a 1.5-km superconducting transmission line in Miyazaki Prefecture. (Photo by Kotaro Fukuoka)
Technology

Japan's next-gen electricity cable promises zero transmission loss

Superconducting technology will allow trains to operate cheaper

12 January 2022
Indonesia subsidizes regular-grade gasolines to keep prices low. Last year, fuel subsidies, including for diesel, electricity and liquefied petroleum gas, reached 142 trillion rupiah ($9.9 billion)
Climate Change

Indonesia backtracks on cleaner gasoline plan over inflation fear

Pertamina to keep selling regular fuels, defying country's zero-carbon pledge

12 January 2022
A CNOOC booth at a Beijing trade fair: U.S. sanctions have had no major impact on the company's production and operation, according to CEO Xu Keqiang.
Energy

CNOOC's U.S. delisting had 'profound impact' on share price: CEO

Planned Shanghai listing intended to repair damage and find new funding

12 January 2022
An Aeon mall in Kawaguchi, near Tokyo. (Photo by Makoto Okada)
Climate Change

Retailer Aeon to use 100% renewable energy at 160-plus Japan malls

Group accounts for almost 1% of nation's electricity consumption

11 January 2022
Excavators load coal onto a truck in West Java province, Indonesia in 2019. The country has now imposed a one-month ban on exports of the commodity. Antara Foto/Dedhez Anggara via REUTERS
International relations

Philippines, Japan call on Indonesia to lift coal export ban

Jakarta took step this month in face of dwindling stockpiles

10 January 2022
Gautam Adani says his business is "well on track to be the world's largest renewable power generating company by 2030." (Source photos by Getty Images and courtesy of Adani Green Energy)
Interview

Adani to lean on green bond market for renewables expansion

Indian billionaire aims to transform his fossil fuel-reliant business empire

7 January 2022
Dennis Uy looks on as President Rodrigo Duterte rings the Philippine Stock Exchange bell to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the listing of the tycoon's Phoenix Petroleum in 2017.
Business Spotlight

Duterte's tycoon donor Dennis Uy faces new political landscape

Businessman navigates pandemic and politics as president's influence ebbs

7 January 2022
Tugboats pull an LNG tanker toward a thermal power station in Futtsu, Japan.
Energy

Asian LNG prices plunge 30% as Europe supply worries ease

Chinese and Japanese inventories slacken, but weather uncertainty remains

6 January 2022
Daniel Yergin, the vice chairman of IHS Markit, said in a recent written interview that the U.S. shale industry is experiencing the "second shale revolution," in which companies stay within cash flows and return money to investors. 
Interview

Daniel Yergin: Shale 'revolution' to challenge Saudis, Russia on oil

Underinvesting in conventional energy may trigger crisis again, warns IHS Markit vice chairman

3 January 2022
The JAEA will share lessons it learned from developing the Monju fast breeder reactor in central Japan's Fukui Prefecture. (Photo courtesy of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency)
Energy

Japan nuclear research set to revive on U.S. fast-reactor project

Tokyo seeks to ensure access to tech for recycling spent fuel

3 January 2022
A woman shoveling coal in Kamduni, West Bengal, where the government hopes to mine the country's biggest block. 
Economy

Protests cast shadow over mining of India's largest coal block

West Bengal project pits locals against state as foreign firms see opportunity

2 January 2022
Offshore wind turbines operate near the Belgium coast. Japan has been a laggard in the field, but some say Hokkaido has the potential to become a hub for the renewable energy source. 
Environment

Japan pushes for undersea cables to solve wind power puzzle

New budget advances effort to connect windy Hokkaido to electricity-hungry Tokyo

2 January 2022
Indonesian soldiers patrol in an armored fighting vehicle at the ExxonMobil Arun natural gas field near Lhokseumawe, in Indonesia's Aceh Province, in April  2001.
Society

ExxonMobil Indonesia lawsuit heads for trial after 20 years

Villagers in Aceh say they were tortured by 'Exxon Army' hired by gas plant

31 December 2021
Emissions rise from a smokestack in Altay in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
Energy

Chinese utility abandons model 'green' energy plant in Xinjiang

State-approved project was found to emit polluted wastewater

30 December 2021
The bilateral initiative looks to replace methane derived from liquefied natural gas with synthetic methane from recycled hydrogen and CO2.
Energy

Japan and China partner on clean alternative for natural gas

Cost remains hurdle in bringing synthetic methane to market

26 December 2021
Adaro Energy and other Indonesian coal miners are taking steps to diversify from the commodity.
Commodities

Indonesian coal miner Adaro to build $728m aluminum smelter

Company also unveils battery plan as part of diversification push

24 December 2021
Toyota Tsusho's pilot test will make use trucks powered by fuel cells. (Photo courtesy of Toyota Tsusho)
Climate Change

Port of LA to test manure-derived hydrogen as fuel for trucks, cranes

Japan's Toyota Tsusho launches pilot to tap renewable energy source

22 December 2021
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc during a meeting in Moscow on Nov. 30.
Economy

Vietnam poised to resume nuclear project a decade after Fukushima

Hanoi greenlights building small research reactor, joining hands with Russia

19 December 2021
Part of Gazprom's Power Of Siberia gas pipeline to China: The likelihood of a sequel project appears to be growing.
International relations

China, Russia eye supercharged energy ties as shield against U.S.

Xi-Putin talks signal progress toward second gas pipeline from Siberia

18 December 2021
The amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland conducts a high-energy laser weapon system demonstration on a static surface training target in the Gulf of Aden on Dec. 14. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps)
Technology

U.S. Navy tests next-gen laser weapon in Middle East waters

USS Portland destroys floating target that mimics a drone boat

16 December 2021
A plantation laborer in Mizoram's Kolasib District with palm oil fresh fruit bunches. (Photo by Varsha Torgalkar)
Environment

India's palm oil ambitions for northeast frontier stir concern

Opponents fear environmental degradation if monoculture is promoted

11 December 2021
Woodside has natural gas partnerships with several Japanese companies in the North West Shelf project, off the northwestern coast of Australia. (Photo courtesy of Woodside)
Interview

Australia's Woodside aims to start up massive hydrogen plant in 2027: CEO

Meg O'Neill says Japanese companies are 'absolutely' a possibility as joint venture partners

11 December 2021