Italian RE JV: Renewable energy company Qualitas Energy has announced a new renewable energy-focused joint venture (JV) with Natixis Investment Managers affiliate Mirova in Italy. The JV, named Italian Renewable Platform s.r.l. will own, develop, build and operate up to 250 MW project capacity comprising 33 PV projects across 8 regions. Spread across Piemonte, Friuli, Marche, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata, Sardegna, and Sicilia, these projects are at varying levels of maturity. The portfolio may be expanded to around 100 MW of wind capacity.  

Northvolt bankruptcy: Northvolt, the European battery manufacturer, has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden. The decision followed the management exploring all available means to secure a viable financial and operational future for the company, it said. It cites a range of challenges that ‘eroded’ its financial position, including rising capital costs, geopolitical instability, subsequent supply chain disruptions, and shifts in market demand. While Northvolt AB, Northvolt Ett AB, Northvolt Labs AB, Northvolt Revolt AB and Northvolt Systems AB have filed for bankruptcy with the Swedish court, Northvolt Germany and Northvolt North America are not filing for bankruptcy in their respective jurisdictions, shared the company. 

Finalists for The smarter E Award 2025: The list of finalists for the 5 categories of The smarter E Award 2025 has been released. Winners will be announced and awarded on May 6, 2025, on the eve of The smarter E Europe at the International Congress Center Messe München (ICM) in Munich, Germany. Following are the 7 finalists in the photovoltaics category: 

7Secondsolar (South Africa) for its AUTOPV planning software solution 

Aevy (Norway) for the Aevy asset management platform 

Aiko Energy (China) for its ABC INFINITE PV module 

Anhui Huasun Energy (China) for its Kunlun Series Ultra-high Bifaciality HJT solar module 

LONGi Solar Technology (China) for its Hi-MO X10 module, and 

MBJ Solutions (Germany) for the MBJ Sunlike Lab solar simulator.