Sign In or Create an Account.

By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy

Electric Vehicles

Saudi Aramco’s Big Bet on Combustion Engines

On the future of ICEs, stuck bridges, and patriotic appliances

Saudi Aramco’s Big Bet on Combustion Engines
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Current conditions: Some Greek islands are resorting to desalinating sea water for tourists this summer as reservoirs run dry • Tokyo residents have been warned to avoid physical activity due to a risk of heatstroke • It will be 98 degrees Fahrenheit today in Washington, D.C., where Biden is hosting a NATO summit.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Oil giant invests big in internal combustion engines

The world’s largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, recently invested €740 million (about $800 million) in taking a 10% stake in a company that makes internal combustion engines (ICEs), the Financial Timesreported, signalling that the oil giant believes these engines aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. The investment in Horse Powertrain is based on a calculation that “as the industry stops designing and developing its own combustion engines, it will start buying them from third parties,” the FT wrote. Aramco’s executive vice president, Yasser Mufti, told the paper he thinks ICEs will see “significant improvements” over the coming years that will make them more sustainable, but didn’t specify what those improvements might be. ICEs, of course, run on fossil fuels and spew greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Saudi Aramco last year bought lubricant brand Valvoline, which will supply all Horse engines with products. As the FT noted, “the venture’s success will depend on whether other carmakers are willing to put their trust in a company born out of their rivals.”

2. Weakened Beryl spawns tornadoes as it moves north

At least seven people are dead and more than 2 million remain without power in Texas after Hurricane Beryl made landfall on the state’s Gulf Coast yesterday. Officials are assessing the economic damage, but large parts of Houston are flooded, with water levels exceeding 10 inches. The streets are littered with branches and downed power lines, and first responders have been dispatched to help stranded residents. Temperatures are climbing in the area, posing even more risk to people without power.

A stranded vehicle on a flooded road in Houston. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

The storm system has been downgraded to a tropical depression but is expected to bring heavy rain and tornado conditions to Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, and parts of southern Illinois and Indiana as it tracks northeast this week. Already more than 110 tornado warnings were issued overnight across in eastern Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas, which is “the most tornado warnings issued in the U.S. in a single July day since records began in 1986,” according to weather analyst Colin McCarthy.

3. NYC bridge temporarily closed because of extreme heat

The Third Avenue Bridge in New York City was temporarily closed yesterday after sweltering temperatures caused its steel to expand. The 126-year-old bridge, which serves as an artery between the Bronx and Manhattan, swings opened to accommodate water traffic in the Harlem River. Temperatures reached 95 degrees Fahrenheit in the city yesterday, and after the bridge opened, it wouldn’t close. Authorities tried to cool the structure by spraying water on it. Eventually the bridge reopened a few hours later. Yesterday was the hottest day of the year so far in NYC, and the heat wave will last through the week.

4. House tees up votes on efficiency standards for household appliances

House Republicans are expected to vote today on two bills aimed at curbing the Department of Energy’s authority to set efficiency standards for home appliances. H.R. 7637, known as the “Refrigerator Freedom Act,” and H.R. 7700, aka the “Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards Act,” would “prohibit the Secretary of Energy from prescribing or enforcing energy conservation standards” that “are not cost-effective or technologically feasible.” The DOE finalized efficiency standards for several appliances over the last few months, aiming to improve their performance, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and save consumers money. It estimated the standards will save Americans $33 billion on utility bills over 30 years. Republican lawmakers claim the new rules will increase the costs of appliances, but others say the savings on utility bills would more than make up for any short-term increase in sticker prices. Most of the energy consumed by homes and commercial buildings goes toward powering appliances.

Get Heatmap AM directly in your inbox every morning:

* indicates required
  • 5. Colombia sees deforestation drop

    Deforestation in Colombia dropped by 36% last year to a 23-year low, according to the nation’s environment ministry. The government credits its program of paying farmers to conserve nature, as well as peace talks with guerilla groups. But those peace talks have reached a stalemate, and deforestation has increased in 2024. “It's really good news ... but we definitely cannot say that the battle is won," Environment Minister Susana Muhamad said.

    THE KICKER

    “Each push alert marks the distance we’re closing between the previous range of normal activity and the future that scientists warned us of.”Zoë Schlanger writing in The Atlantic about how we’ll watch the climate crisis unfold through emergency push alerts on our phones.

    Yellow

    You’re out of free articles.

    Subscribe today to experience Heatmap’s expert analysis 
of climate change, clean energy, and sustainability.
    To continue reading
    Create a free account or sign in to unlock more free articles.
    or
    Please enter an email address
    By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy
    Politics

    The Climate Election You Missed Last Night

    While you were watching Florida and Wisconsin, voters in Naperville, Illinois were showing up to fight coal.

    Climate voting.
    Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

    It’s probably fair to say that not that many people paid close attention to last night’s city council election in Naperville, Illinois. A far western suburb of Chicago, the city is known for its good schools, small-town charm, and lovely brick-paved path along the DuPage River. Its residents tend to vote for Democrats. It’s not what you would consider a national bellwether.

    Instead, much of the nation’s attention on Tuesday night focused on the outcomes of races in Wisconsin and Florida — considered the first electoral tests of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s popularity. Outside of the 80,000 or so voters who cast ballots in Naperville, there weren’t likely many outsiders watching the suburb’s returns.

    Keep reading...Show less
    Green
    Energy

    Exclusive: Trump’s Plans to Build AI Data Centers on Federal Land

    The Department of Energy has put together a list of sites and is requesting proposals from developers, Heatmap has learned.

    A data center and Nevada land.
    Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

    The Department of Energy is moving ahead with plans to allow companies to build AI data centers and new power plants on federal land — and it has put together a list of more than a dozen sites nationwide that could receive the industrial-scale facilities, according to an internal memo obtained by Heatmap News.

    The memo lists sites in Texas, Illinois, New Jersey, Colorado, and other locations. The government could even allow new power plants — including nuclear reactors and carbon-capture operations — to be built on the same sites to generate enough electricity to power the data centers, the memo says.

    Keep reading...Show less
    Economy

    AM Briefing: Liberation Day

    On trade turbulence, special election results, and HHS cuts

    Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs Loom
    Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

    Current conditions: A rare wildfire alert has been issued for London this week due to strong winds and unseasonably high temperatures • Schools are closed on the Greek islands of Mykonos and Paros after a storm caused intense flooding • Nearly 50 million people in the central U.S. are at risk of tornadoes, hail, and historic levels of rain today as a severe weather system barrels across the country.

    THE TOP FIVE

    1. Trump to roll out broad new tariffs

    President Trump today will outline sweeping new tariffs on foreign imports during a “Liberation Day” speech in the White House Rose Garden scheduled for 4 p.m. EST. Details on the levies remain scarce. Trump has floated the idea that they will be “reciprocal” against countries that impose fees on U.S. goods, though the predominant rumor is that he could impose an across-the-board 20% tariff. The tariffs will be in addition to those already announced on Chinese goods, steel and aluminum, energy imports from Canada, and a 25% fee on imported vehicles, the latter of which comes into effect Thursday. “The tariffs are expected to disrupt the global trade in clean technologies, from electric cars to the materials used to build wind turbines,” explained Josh Gabbatiss at Carbon Brief. “And as clean technology becomes more expensive to manufacture in the U.S., other nations – particularly China – are likely to step up to fill in any gaps.” The trade turbulence will also disrupt the U.S. natural gas market, with domestic supply expected to tighten, and utility prices to rise. This could “accelerate the uptake of coal instead of gas, and result in a swell in U.S. power emissions that could accelerate climate change,” Reutersreported.

    Keep reading...Show less
    Yellow