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Electric Vehicles

Why Rivian’s Stock Is Up

On EV growth, battery prices, and Arctic drilling

Jessica Hullinger •
12/10/2024
Why Rivian’s Stock Is Up
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Current conditions: A severe heat wave warning is in place for large parts of Australia’s Queensland state, where “unsettling” thunderstorms are expected • A bitter Arctic blast is heading for the Upper Midwest • An explosive wildfire is raging in Malibu, California, where at least 6,000 people have been told to evacuate immediately.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Microsoft unveils new data center design for reduced water use

Microsoft yesterday unveiled a new design for data centers that reduces water use. The design “optimizes AI workloads and consumes zero water for cooling,” saving an estimated 125 million liters of water per year per data center. It does this by recycling water through a closed loop system, moving it between the servers and the water chillers. All new Microsoft data center designs will now be based on this cooling technology, and some pilots will come online in 2026.

Microsoft

2. Biden finalizes Arctic drilling lease sale

The Biden administration confirmed its plans to hold an oil and gas drilling lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge starting on January 9. The amount of land up for auction – some 400,000 acres – is the minimum required by law. The move seems to have angered people on all sides, for many different reasons. Environmentalists will remember that Biden campaigned on a promise to stop drilling in the ANWR. “The Arctic Refuge deserves to remain a place of refuge, not an industrial oilfield lining the pockets of big oil executives,” Kristen Miller, executive director of Alaska Wilderness League, said in a statement. Some Indigenous groups, however, want even more land included in the sale to maximize local economic benefits.

3. Report: Battery pack prices plummeted in 2024

Lithium-ion battery pack prices dropped 20% this year, the biggest decline since 2017, according to BloombergNEF’s annual battery price survey, out today. It cites “significant overcapacity” as the main reason for the price change. Manufacturers expanded production in anticipation of a surge in EV sales that has been slow to materialize, and are now trying to sell off stock. Battery EV pack prices dropped by 27% this year, dropping below $100 per kilowatt-hour for the first time ever. This price point is “an oft-cited rule of thumb for where EVs reach price parity with internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEs),” the report adds. This will be hastened by increased production of cheaper batteries outside of China.

BloombergNEF

4. ‘Massive market opportunity’ projected for Rivian

And sticking with EVs for a moment, Rivian’s stock got a nice boost after Benchmark Securities gave it a “buy” rating and projected a “massive market opportunity.” “We believe Rivian’s capability to manufacture EV’s domestically with in-house designed software has been validated through its partnerships with Amazon and Volkswagen,” wrote analyst Mickey Legg. “VW’s industry relationships and experience will help [Rivian] negotiate with suppliers and provide engineering synergies.” Rivian shares were up 11% in pre-market trading.

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    • 5. EU scientists call for solar geoengineering ban

    Scientists are urging the European Union to ban solar geoengineering methods such as injecting aerosols into the stratosphere, cloud brightening/altering, and space mirrors. “The benefits and risks of these solar radiation modification technologies are highly uncertain,” the European Commission’s chief scientific advisers wrote, warning these activities could “bring substantial negative ecological and economic effects.” Instead, the group suggested prioritizing reducing greenhouse gas emissions as the “main solution to avoid dangerous levels of climate change.” It also called for implementing new rules that govern this practice worldwide.

    THE KICKER

    The EPA has officially banned the use of trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (Perc), two common solvents known to cause cancer and other health problems.

    Yellow
    Jessica Hullinger profile image

    Jessica Hullinger

    Jessica Hullinger is a freelance writer and editor who likes to think deeply about climate science and sustainability. She previously served as Global Deputy Editor for The Week, and her writing has been featured in publications including Fast Company, Popular Science, and Fortune. Jessica is originally from Indiana but lives in London.

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    Sparks

    New York’s Largest Battery Project Has Been Canceled

    Fullmark Energy quietly shuttered Swiftsure, a planned 650-megawatt energy storage system on Staten Island.

    Jael Holzman
    10/28/2025
    Curtis Sliwa.
    Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

    The biggest battery project in New York has been canceled in a major victory for the nascent nationwide grassroots movement against energy storage development.

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    Alexander C. Kaufman
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    An Exxon sign.
    Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

    Current conditions: Hurricane Melissa exploded in intensity over the warm Caribbean waters and has now strengthened into a major storm, potentially slamming into Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica as a Category 5 in the coming days • The Northeast is bracing for a potential nor’easter, which will be followed by a plunge in temperatures of as much as 15 degrees Fahrenheit lower than average • The northern Australian town of Julia Creek saw temperatures soar as high as 106 degrees.

    THE TOP FIVE

    1. Exxon sued California

    Exxon Mobil filed a lawsuit against California late Friday on the grounds that two landmark new climate laws violate the oil giant’s free speech rights, The New York Times reported. The two laws would require thousands of large companies doing business in the state to calculate and report the greenhouse gas pollution created by the use of their products, so-called Scope 3 emissions. “The statutes compel Exxon Mobil to trumpet California’s preferred message even though Exxon Mobil believes the speech is misleading and misguided,” Exxon complained through its lawyers. California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office said the statutes “have already been upheld in court and we continue to have confidence in them.” He condemned the lawsuit, calling it “truly shocking that one of the biggest polluters on the planet would be opposed to transparency.”

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    The Aftermath

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    10/27/2025
    Wildfire aftermath.
    Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

    In the two decades following the turn of the millennium, wildfires came within three miles of an estimated 21.8 million Americans’ homes. That number — which has no doubt grown substantially in the five years since — represents about 6% of the nation’s population, including the survivors of some of the deadliest and most destructive fires in the country’s history. But it also includes millions of stories that never made headlines.

    For every Paradise, California, and Lahaina, Hawaii, there were also dozens of uneventful evacuations, in which regular people attempted to navigate the confusing jargon of government notices and warnings. Others lost their homes in fires that were too insignificant to meet the thresholds for federal aid. And there are countless others who have decided, after too many close calls, to move somewhere else.

    By any metric, costly, catastrophic, and increasingly urban wildfires are on the rise. Nearly a third of the U.S. population, however, lives in a county with a high or very high risk of wildfire, including over 60% of the counties in the West. But the shape of the recovery from those disasters in the weeks and months that follow is often that of a maze, featuring heart-rending decisions and forced hands. Understanding wildfire recovery is critical, though, for when the next disaster follows — which is why we’ve set out to explore the topic in depth.

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