(The Wall Street Journal) - Surging prices for lithium are intensifying a race between auto makers to lock up supplies and raising concerns that a shortage of the battery metal could slow the adoption of electric vehicles.

(The Wall Street Journal) - Soaring profits at oil companies and miners are making earnings look better than the reality of the rest of the stock market, and distorting Wall Street’s favorite valuation tool, the ratio of price to forecast earnings.

(Argus) - Chinese demand for medium sulphur anode-grade petroleum coke may increase in the coming years as battery manufacturers — regular consumers of ultra-low sulphur sponge and needle coke — aim to relax specifications to meet growing cost-cutting pressure.

(News.Sky) - A fleet of 125 military air-to-air refuelling tankers would release a cloud of microscopic sulphur dioxide particles at an altitude of 43,000ft (13km) and a latitude of 60 degrees in both hemispheres, slightly shading the Earth's surface beneath.

(Auto Evolution) - Right now, the goal of our society is to limit the use of fossil fuels as part of our energy mix and industrial future. The move might be good and bad at the same time, as this risks cutting away the primary source of sulfur, a mineral used in many fields, including mining critical battery materials.

(Reuters Events) - While fertilizer inventories saw some increases and demand showed some softening in mid-2022, reduced nitrogen availability combined with weather events will not only keep supply tight but test food security and may create instability.

(Wall Street Journal) - Wind and solar projects, viable on their own, still sell offsets to polluters, say critics. With its 34 turbines perched on a hill in southwestern India, the Tuppadahalli wind farm generates green energy and profits.

(Wall Street Journal) - Let's come right out and say it: Anyone who still thinks climate change is a greater threat than climate policy to financial stability deserves to be exiled to a peat-burning yurt in the wilderness. Lest you've forgotten, the world's central banks and other regulators are in the middle of a major push to introduce various forms of climate stress testing into their oversight.

(Hellenic Shipping News) - Dry bulker and container freight rates have continued to fall over the past three months. Due to the seasonality of the market, dry bulk freight rates would typically peak in the third quarter; however, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence's latest dry bulk freight market outlook, the second quarter would likely be the peak of 2022.

(Railway Age) - A report released on Sept. 8 by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) has found that a nationwide rail shutdown would "dramatically impact economic output" and could cost more than $2 billion per day.

(MarineLink) - A tanker of U.S. sour crude was delivered at Germany's port of Rostock last week for the first time ever, according to sources, analysts and vessel tracking data, as local refiners test alternatives to Russian oil.

(Mining) - Global battery and minerals supply chains need to expand ten-fold to meet projected critical minerals needs by 2030, a report published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) has found.

(Wall Street Journal) Hailed as the Saudi Arabia of lithium, this California- sized chunk of terrain accounts for some 55% of the world’s known deposits of the metal, a key component in electric-vehicle batteries. 

(Reuters) - Earlier this summer, four European countries agreed to develop coordinated offshore transmission links, showing how rising renewable energy targets are accelerating plans for an offshore wind grid across northern Europe.

(AG Web) - Soy-based asphalt technology discovered by accident at Iowa State University will be nationally available for commercial use next year. Researchers, who have been testing the product for roughly a decade, recently launched SoyLei Innovations, which is developing the rejuvenator product, which is a compound made of soybean oil that is mixed with recycled asphalt.

(The Maritime Executive) - To head off the supply-chain impact of a railway strike, U.S. President Joe Biden has established a presidential emergency board to help resolve a labor dispute between Class I rail carriers and their unionized workforce. The decision averts a possible large-scale labor action, which could have started as early as Monday.

(Vigor Times) - Governments around the world are offering rich subsidies and incentives to producers of hydrogen energy, which many see as a holy grail. Companies are equally excited: Hundreds of projects worth at least $600 billion have been announced. Estimates suggest demand could increase up to tenfold by midcentury.

(Drought.gov) - Extreme heat and dryness in the Southern Plains and Missouri/Arkansas led to another week of major degradations. However, parts of the Midwest (which have been experiencing flash drought) and the Southeast saw good rain and improvements. As of July 19, 2022, 44.57% of the U.S. and 51.87% of the lower 48 states are in drought.

(Reuters) - BP Plc (BP.L) said on Tuesday it was conducting a joint feasibility study with Australian lender Macquarie Group (MQG.AX) to produce green hydrogen at the oil giant's former refinery site near Perth in Western Australia.

(Railway Age) - CSX has recently proposed to acquire Pan Am Railways. Although, as I explain below, I am usually critical of mergers, I believe this merger will substantially enhance the rail network in New England by bringing the region more directly into the national railroad network.

(Texas Standard) - It’s another example of Big Oil being pushed toward renewable energy. But achieving net-zero carbon emission goals will still be a big challenge. Texas-based oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. saw a major shakeup in the boardroom last week, with a new activist investor group called Engine No. 1 grabbing two spots on the company’s board of directors. The hedge fund has been targeting Exxon since December with its “Reenergize Exxon” campaign, pushing the company to rethink its business strategy in a time when green energy and climate activism is becoming increasingly mainstream.

(WSJ) - LONDON-- Royal Dutch Shell PLC detailed a first-of-a-kind shareholder vote over its pivot away from oil, asking investors to endorse its energy transition strategy in a nonbinding vote next month.

(Investing News) - Rio Tinto has commenced production of battery-grade lithium from waste rock at a lithium demonstration plant at the Boron mine site in California, United States. The demonstration plant is the next step in scaling up a breakthrough lithium production process developed at Boron, to recover the critical mineral and extract additional value out of waste piles from over 90 years of mining at the operation.

(Agriculture.com) - Ag input suppliers are betting big on microbial solutions for plant nutrition, and the Mosaic Company is one of the latest to enter the fray.
Last week, Mosaic – a producer and seller of phosphate and potash crop nutrients – entered into a strategic collaboration with AgBiome, a company with one of the world’s largest collections of diverse microbial communities. The goal is to discover, develop, and launch biological solutions to enhance soil fertility, the companies said in a press release.

(Agriculture.com) - The Mosaic Company announces that two of its products, MicroEssentials and Sus-Terra fertilizer, are now labeled as Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizers (EEF) as defined by the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials (AAPFCO).

(Coatings World) Hempel A/S said it signed a purchase agreement to acquire Wattyl – one of Australia and New Zealand's leading manufacturers of paint for the decorative and protective segments with a turnover of €150 million and 750 employees – from The Sherwin-Williams Company.