Daily Debrief

Water super-heated by rocks will also provide the UK's first domestic supply of the critical mineral lithium.

United Downs power plant in Cornwall is the first in the UK to generate electricity from subsurface heat and produce lithium for use in car batteries

Energy giant to work with regional installers to help businesses deploy on-site renewables and cut their energy bills by up to 50 per cent

Without careful handling, AI power demand could push up electricity prices and sink net zero plans

GEL among British groups racing to realise projects as west looks to secure local supplies of critical minerals

A new mini power station and lithium extraction facility near Redruth are set to bolster green energy and create jobs Just outside the perimeter fence stand the hulking remains of grand stone engine houses, a testament to Cornwall’s proud tin and copper mining history. But inside is a shiny new mini power station and lithium extraction plant that is once again accessing rich underground resources in the far south-west of Britain. Continue reading...

Deadline for entries to the UK's most prestigious green business awards falls on Friday 27th February Businesses, individuals, and projects keen to make the shortlist for the UK Green Business Awards 2026 have just one more day to submit their entries ahead of the official deadline on Friday 27th February. The finalists will then be announced next month, ahead of the awards dinner and glittering awards ceremony, which will take place during London Climate Action Week on the evening of Wednesday 24th June. The flagship awards - which are now in the their fourth year and act as the successor to the BusinessGreen Leaders Awards that first launched in 2010 - are expected to bring together over 600 senior figures from across the UK's burgeoning green economy, providing a unique opportunity to network with colleagues and showcase the many achievements of leading green businesses. "The UK Green Business Awards are always a wonderful celebration of a green economy that continues to go from strength to strength - and this year promises to be bigger and better than ever," said BusinessGreen editor-in-chief James Murray. "The awards always offer a great opportunity to showcase the many leading businesses, innovative projects, and inspiring individuals who are working to build an economy that is more sustainable and prosperous for all. "Many of the finalists at the awards over the past decade have gone to on to enjoy remarkable success, underscoring how green business models and clean tech innovations are reshaping the economy, bolstering resilience, and driving commercial returns. We'd urge all companies working to advance the green economy to enter this year's awards and seize the chance to highlight and celebrate the remarkable work they are doing." Companies and individuals considering submitting an entry to the awards have a wide range of categories to consider, including consultancy of the year, fast track company of the year, ESG investor of the year, innovation of the year, small business of the year, and the coveted company of the year. Companies, projects, and individuals looking for advice on what makes a strong entry can check out BusinessGreen's recent guide and webinar, where judges offered their tips on what they are looking for in a submission. This year's UK Green Business Awards are delivered with support from our sponsors Osborne Clarke and Radley Yeldar and partners London Climate Action Week and the Great Big Green Week. You can check out further details on sponsorship opportunities for the UK Green Business Awards and Women in Green Business Awards 2026, which will take place this autumn, through the awards website.

Unprecedented levels of customer debt and arrears are threatening the future of the retail energy market and will continue to escalate without coordinated intervention across Government and industry, Energy UK has warned. The sector trade association’s latest report, Energy debt: Everyone pays, reveals the scale of household energy debt, which has more than doubled over the last three years to reach £5.5 billion. … Read more

Yorkshire plant has been criticised for taking material from some of British Columbia’s most environmentally important forests The owner of Drax power plant has started reducing the amount of Canadian wood pellets it burns, and will stop burning trees from British Columbia entirely within the next year. The FTSE 250 company Drax Group said its Canadian wood pellet plants, which once supplied millions of tonnes of biomass to be burnt in its North Yorkshire power plant, had cost the company almost £200m in financial impairments last year. Continue reading...

UK autonomous driving startup Wayve just added about $1.5 billion to its investment stack as it works toward full autonomy.

“We will work actively to ensure that a support regime is put in place that is suitable for small-scale projects with multiple floaters, as in the UK,” says project chairman Gunnar Birkeland.

Proxima Fusion aims to build Europe’s first commercial plant by the end of the next decade

Smart appliances can and should be smart by default, enabling consumers to benefit from their devices without having to actively manage them, writes Murat Omercik from ADE: Demand

EV sales in Europe continued their upward trend in January, while sales of conventional cars fell significantly.

Readers respond to an interview with Beth Gardiner on how the oil industry is pumping billions more into plastics Beth Gardiner is right to argue that plastic is not merely a recycling failure (‘They pushed so many lies about recycling’: the fight to stop big oil pumping billions more into plastics, 19 February). It is something far more consequential: an oil growth strategy. Petrochemicals – of which plastics are the dominant output – now account for roughly 75% of net global oil-demand growth, and are projected to become the largest driver of future oil demand. Plastic production has already doubled in the past two decades. Major oil companies are responding accordingly. Recent consolidation – including a $60bn merger creating one of the world’s largest plastics producers – reflects a deliberate pivot toward petrochemical assets as a long-term demand anchor. Continue reading...