** Honda announced Monday that it will introduce an electric SUV called the Prologue, marking the automaker’s first attempt to sell an EV in high volume as it pivots away from gasoline-powered cars. The launch is part of Honda’s recently announced plan to switch to all zero-emission vehicles in North America by 2040, including battery-electric cars and hydrogen vehicles.
** A dispute over how to distribute Alaska’s oil-wealth fund threatens to shut down the state government.
** At the very moment the United States is ramping up electric vehicle development manufacturers are running up against the weakest link in the supply chain — a shortage of battery materials. The bottleneck puts the United States at a major disadvantage to China, which controls most of the world’s battery minerals mining and processing.
** Shipments of Powder River Basin coal inch upward as heat-related electricity demand and natural gas prices climb.
** Tesla Inc.’s aspirations in China were dealt a major blow over the weekend after the government ordered that almost all the cars it’s sold in the nation — more than 285,000 of them — be fixed to address a safety issue.
** European Union countries on Monday gave the final seal of approval to a law to make the bloc’s greenhouse gas emissions targets legally binding, as EU policymakers prepare a huge new package of policies to fight climate change.
** An overflowing tank causes roughly 1,000 barrels of saltwater and other oil-drilling byproducts to spill in North Dakota.
** China’s Envision Group plans to spend as much as 2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) on a battery plant in northern France to power an affordable range of Renault SA electric vehicles.
** Schlumberger Limited will hold a conference call on July 23, 2021 to discuss the results for the second quarter ending June 30, 2021
** Pioneer Natural Resources Company announced the addition of Lori George Billingsley to the company’s board of directors effective immediately. George Billingsley is the Global Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for The Coca-Cola Company.
** The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority met virtually in regular session recently where Port Chairman Ric Campo opened the meeting by sharing the “good news” that the Houston Pilots have taken the first step towards bringing longer vessels to the Houston Ship Channel.
