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The report details a long history of toxic pollution and regulatory non-compliance at the Quemetco secondary lead smelter in the City of Industry, California. It documents extensive lead, arsenic, and hexavalent chromium contamination in the air, soil, and water, affecting predominantly low-income and minority communities. The author argues that Quemetco has exploited a flawed regulatory system to avoid accountability and recommends that California regulators deny its permit renewals and expansion requests, ultimately shutting down the facility in favor of cleaner energy storage alternatives like lithium-ion batteries.

Global Witness reports that while the US and UK have banned Russian-origin nickel, the EU has not, creating a loophole where Russian nickel is refined in Finland and then legally exported to the US. The report highlights the environmental degradation and human rights abuses linked to Norilsk Nickel's operations in the Arctic, the company's ties to the Russian military-industrial complex, and the challenges of conducting corporate due diligence in a repressive political environment. It recommends that the EU implement targeted sanctions on Russian nickel, maintain strict thresholds for the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), and prioritize circular economy strategies to reduce dependency on Russian minerals.

The 'Deliver Electric Delhi' pilot is a collaboration between RMI, the Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi (DDC), and 36 private sector partners to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) for final-mile delivery. The initiative addresses the high pollution and carbon emissions caused by urban freight, which accounts for 45% of vehicular NOx pollution in Delhi. The pilot follows a three-phase approach—design, execution, and documentation—to gather data on total cost of ownership (TCO), vehicle productivity, and charging patterns. This data is intended to reduce risks for EV owners and financiers and inform public policy and infrastructure planning.

The Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) has introduced Circularity Guidelines to address the growing volume of end-of-life batteries resulting from the expansion of distributed renewable energy (DRE) systems in Africa and other low- and middle-income countries. The guidelines aim to prevent the public health and environmental risks associated with substandard recycling practices, particularly for lead-acid batteries, by providing a framework for quality procurement, maintenance, take-back schemes, and certified recycling. The document calls on stakeholders—including developers, manufacturers, and investors—to endorse these standards and implement them within two years.

The document explores how battery storage can enable eCooking in areas with weak, unreliable, or non-existent electricity grids. It specifically proposes a Battery Swapping Model (BSM) where users lease batteries from a central station, reducing upfront capital burdens and ensuring professional battery maintenance. The paper identifies a 'Goldilocks Zone' for this model—informal urban settlements, humanitarian settings, and mini-grid edges—where population density and proximity to stations make daily swaps practical. It concludes that while promising, the BSM requires targeted pilots to determine financial and operational viability.