Daily Digest for

MoEF&CC reported implementation of Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022: 3,664 producers and 442 recyclers registered; 7.29 lakh MT EPR certificates procured vs 10.96 lakh MT target; PLI-ACC approved with Rs. 18,100 Crore for 50 GWh capacity.

The United States and the European Union agreed a Framework on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade including EU elimination of tariffs on US industrial goods, US application of MFN or 15% tariffs on EU-origin goods, EU procurement pledges of $750 billion in US energy through 2028 and $40 billion in US AI chips, plus investment, defence procurement and standards cooperation.

University of Houston researchers led by Mim Rahimi developed a membraneless EMAR achieving >90% CO₂ removal at about $70/metric ton and a vanadium redox flow battery that captures CO₂ while storing energy.

Governor Hochul announced NYSERDA awarded more than $11 million to five clean hydrogen projects, including $2M to National Grid Ventures for a hydrogen linear generator (1-year test), $2M to Plug Power with Verne for cryo-compressed trailers, >$4.9M to Stony Brook for hospital storage, $2M to SWITCH Maritime for a 150-passenger hydrogen ferry, and >$220K to GTI Energy for geological storage evaluation.

Schneider Electric has acquired WattBuy to accelerate residential electrification in the U.S.

• Acquisition and integration: Schneider Electric acquired WattBuy, retaining CEO Naman Trivedi, and will integrate WattBuy with Schneider subsidiaries EnergySage and Qmerit to provide an end-to-end homeowner electrification pathway covering personalized energy plans, solar installations, EV charger deployment, and home electrification upgrades; WattBuy is API-first and already reaches consumers via partners like Redfin, Veterans United Home Loans, and Opendoor (collectively reaching over 100 million consumers).
• Technology and press details: WattBuy uses proprietary data models to personalize recommendations for electricity plans, rooftop solar, battery storage, and total energy costs based on address and usage; press contacts provided are naman@wattb.com and schneiderelectric@sutherlandgold.com; no transaction value or implementation timeline is stated in the release.

Diplo blog explains Gulf SWFs (PIF, ADIA, Mubadala, QIA, KIA) collectively manage ~$5 trillion (projected $7T by 2030); PIF ~$1.15T targeting $2T by 2030; QIA >$550B; funds are used for strategic outbound investment in infrastructure, renewables and regional partnerships.