War accelerates green adoption

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is wreaking havoc in many aspects of our lives. Especially those of us who live in Europe are suffering unimaginable circumstances, which we already considered overcome after two world wars on our continent. In addition to the shock of having a war just a few kilometers from our homes, the economic sanctions imposed against the Russian Federation by most Western countries are causing, due to inflation, a rise in the prices of all goods and services, as well as shortages of supplies. Behind all this are the parabolic rises in gas (NYMEX: NGK22) and oil (NYMEX: QMK22) prices, on which Europe is totally dependent. So, at this point, and with the threat of supply cuts from Russia, European leaders are beginning to rethink the EU’s renewable energy strategies.

This problem is common to all countries to a greater or lesser extent. But we cannot ignore that one of the most affected countries is Germany, whose dependence on Russian gas is over 60%. Therefore, it is not surprising that its Parliament has decided to bring forward the deadline for a complete transition to renewable energies in its electricity sector by five years. From 2040 to 2035.

In addition, in collaboration with Norwegian energy company Equinor, the Germans have confirmed that they are developing a mega-project that plans to implement a pipeline to supply green hydrogen produced in Norway.

But the Germans are not the only ones betting on hydrogen. Another country particularly exposed to Russian gas is Italy, whose government has confirmed the start of talks with Algeria and Libya to create large solar installations that will produce and export green hydrogen to the transalpine country.

But that’s not all. Moving away from dependence on Russian fuel means betting on accelerating the adoption of electric mobility. That’s why it’s no wonder the momentum being seen in recent weeks in the construction progress of the “Gigafactory” that Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is building in Berlin. Or that Nio (NYSE: NIO), its Chinese competitor, plans to revisit the idea of setting up factories in Europe after initially ruling it out in November last year.

In addition, the growing demand for electric vehicles has a cascading effect on the need to increase the infrastructure of charging points and other critical components associated with this new renewable energy economy. It is therefore not surprising that in recent times leading companies in the sector, such as WallBox (NYSE: WBX), Blink Charging Co. (NASDAQ: BLNK) and ChargePoint Holdings (NYSE: CHPT), have begun to see favorable changes in their share price trends. And this could only be the beginning.

It looks like the groundwork has been laid. Now all that remains to be seen is the speed of expanding renewables in the EU. If only this new wave of interest in green renewable energy did not have to come from the aftermath of a war. Either way, it is welcome. Yes, an end to the war NOW!