MP MATERIALS TO BUILD RARE EARTH MAGNET SITE IN TEXAS: Rare earth producer MP Materials announced it has selected Northlake, Texas, to build its large-scale rare earth magnet manufacturing campus, dubbed 10X. 

Once operational, the facility would produce about 10,000 metric tons of rare earth magnets per year. MP Materials plans to invest more than $1.25 billion in the project and it expects it to be operational in 2028. 

As a reminder: MP Materials is one of a handful of companies that has partnered with the federal government to help bolster the rare earth supply chain. Last year, the Pentagon entered into an agreement with the rare earth producer, which included a 15% direct stake in the company. 

The partnership is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to prop up the domestic supply chain for critical minerals and rare earth elements. The global supply chain is dominated by China. 

The company said “10X is a cornerstone” of its partnership with the Pentagon. The facility will also receive support from the Texas state government. 

Key quote: MP Materials founder and CEO James Litinsky said, “10X is about building industrial strength at a scale the United States has not seen in generations, and the exceptional talent and infrastructure in North Texas make it possible.” 

“We are advancing key objectives under our public-private partnership with the Department of War and accelerating America’s rare earth and magnet independence with an uncompromising focus on speed, execution, and delivery,” Litinsky added. 

Read more by Maydeen here. 

RARE EARTH SHORTAGE: MP Materials’ announcement comes as suppliers to domestic aerospace and semiconductor firms are facing increasingly worse rare earth shortages. 

Reuters reports that supply is short for yttrium and scandium, which are necessary in aerospace, semiconductor, and defense technology industries. 

China has previously placed export controls on several rare earths. Although Trump reached a truce with China last year to ease export restrictions on several rare earths, shipments of these materials rarely make it to the U.S., Reuters reports. 

It said that, since November, yttrium prices have jumped 60% and are 69 times higher than a year ago. Yttrium is used to coat engines and turbines to keep them from melting, but coating manufacturers are now rationing materials. 

Two domestic firms that buy yttrium to make coating told Reuters that they have temporarily paused production due to shortages and another one recently ran out of material and stopped selling products. 

DATA CENTER ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION TO AT LEAST DOUBLE BY 2030: Power-hungry data centers are on track to consume at least double their current share of U.S. electricity in just four years, according to a new report. 

The report, released by the Electric Power Research Institute on Thursday, forecasts that data centers will consume 9-17% of U.S. electricity by 2030. Currently, these large-load facilities – which are crucial for artificial intelligence – consume around 4-5% of U.S. electricity. These estimates are roughly 60% higher than what the research firm predicted just two years ago. 

This electricity consumption is projected to vary significantly across the country. In Virginia, where data centers consume just over 20% of electricity, the report estimates that share could balloon to 57% by the end of the decade. 

Meanwhile, states like Oregon, Iowa, and Nebraska could see data center electricity shares exceeding 20%. In other areas, like Indiana, Louisiana, and Mississippi, that will sit around 10% of electricity consumption. 

You can read the full report here. 

STELLANTIS REPORTS $26.3BN LOSS AFTER EV RETREAT: Stellantis reported an annual net loss of $26.3 billion after scaling back its investments in electric vehicles. 

The automaker is one of several which have announced significant losses from rolling back EV investments, including Ford and General Motors.  

The retreat on EVs reflects the shift away from policy support for alternative vehicles, most notably Trump’s repeal of federal incentives and regulations aimed at bolstering the EV industry. 

Stellantis plans to release an expansion of products this year to regain profitability, such as the Jeep Cherokee and “Hemi V8” version of the Ram 1500 pickup truck. 

Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said, “Our 2025 full year results reflect the cost of over-estimating the pace of the energy transition and of the need to reset our business around our customers’ freedom to choose from the full range of electric, hybrid and internal combustion technologies.”

VANGUARD SETTLES ANTITRUST SUIT BROUGHT BY REPUBLICAN STATES: Fund manager Vanguard Group has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by Republican attorneys general accusing the company of violating antitrust laws through curbing coal investment. 

Vanguard has agreed to a settlement in which it would pay $29.5 million to the states. Texas, Kansas, Alabama, and a number of other Republican-led states sued Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street in November 2024. 

The states alleged that the three asset managers used their influence over the coal market and pressured the companies to accommodate “green energy” goals by reducing coal output by more than half by 2030. It also added that the firms misled investors who chose non-ESG funds in an effort to maximize return. 

In a statement, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said “I am glad to see that Vanguard has chosen to protect investors and become the industry leader when it comes to empowering investors with proxy voting choice. This sets a new standard for institutional investors that every company should follow.” 

As part of the settlement, Vanguard has agreed to avoid imposing ESG goals over customers’ profitability. The antitrust lawsuits against BlackRock and State Street remain pending. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MOVING TO FORMALLY KILL INTERNATIONAL CARBON SHIPPING TAX: The Trump administration is reportedly taking steps to further prevent a carbon tax on the international maritime industry from taking effect later this year, just months after successfully delaying a vote on the issue. 

The details: A diplomatic memo from the State Department, viewed by E&E News, reportedly warns other nations against adopting the international carbon tax, also known as the International Maritime Organization’s net-zero framework (NZF). 

The memo details that the Trump administration remains “strongly opposed” to the measure and “will not tolerate” the creation of a fund that would use revenue collected from the tax to support programs focused on lowering greenhouse gas emissions in the maritime sector. 

The draft memo reportedly claims the “most appropriate path forward is to end consideration of the NZF prior to moving to a new discussion.” It was written by the State Department in coordination with the Energy Department and other agencies, one source told the outlet. 

Some background: Members of the IMO initially voted to approve the framework and carbon tax in April, agreeing to charge shipping companies for greenhouse gas emissions released by their vessels if they exceed a certain threshold. The Trump administration successfully pressured member states to delay voting on whether to adopt the measure in October, pushing the decision back by one year. 

EUROPEAN UNION LOOKS TO COORDINATE WITH G7 ON FULL BAN OF RUSSIAN OIL: As we touched on in Daily on Energy earlier this week, the European Union is looking to escalate its phase-out of Russian energy products, including a full maritime services ban on seaborne exports of crude oil. However, before the bloc can move forward with the ban, it must coordinate with the G7, Reuters now reports. 

The details: On Feb. 6, the European Commission proposed a ban on any services that support seaborne exports of Russian crude, as part of its broader effort to cut off Russia’s energy revenue used to fuel its war in Ukraine. 

While the EU is broadly in favor of this ban, EU sanctions envoy David O’Sullivan revealed today that they need broader support from Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Out of all the G7 countries, diplomats have told Reuters that they are most worried about whether the Trump administration would support the measure. 

This total ban on seaborne crude exports from Russia would do away with the existing price gap on Russian oil first set by the G7 in 2022. 

ICYMI – WHITE HOUSE TO HOST BIG TECH NEXT WEEK: The Trump administration plans to host several major technology companies, including Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft, at the White House next week, where the firms will sign an agreement to generate their own power for artificial intelligence developments. 

The details: The visit is expected to take place on Wednesday, March 4. A White House official later confirmed the event to Daily on Energy. 

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said that “these massive companies will build, bring, or buy their own power supply for new AI data centers, ensuring that Americans’ electricity bills will not increase as demand grows.”

The event follows Trump’s unveiling of the rate payer protection pledge during his State of the Union address Tuesday night. 

During the American Council on Renewable Energy Policy Forum, Callie pressed Amazon’s head of energy policy Nate Hill on whether the tech giant would be signing the pledge. Hill declined to provide any immediate update on the company’s plans but said Amazon is committed to “paying our full cost” and is working with officials on the federal, state, and local levels to tackle affordability. 

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