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Aug 6, 10:08
US locks down tungsten and battery scrap exports as great-power minerals race intensifies
Washington has moved to keep tungsten waste and recycled battery material inside its own borders, a step that underscores how deeply critical-minerals policy has become entangled with the broader US-China strategic rivalry.
Waymo is considering leaving its robotaxi partnership with Uber as it seeks to bring ride-hailing service in Austin and Atlanta under the Waymo App starting in 2028. The shift would end Uber’s exclusive role in those markets when the current contract is expected to expire in May 2028.

Factorial Energy and SK On have agreed to study whether existing battery plants could be adapted for solid-state cells, a move that could affect how next-generation batteries reach global markets. The deal underscores a broader industry push to scale cleaner, denser energy storage through established manufacturing networks, rather than entirely new factories.

Tesla's latest quarterly results fell short of market expectations, but another development attracted equal attention: CEO Elon Musk adopted a noticeably more cautious tone when discussing the company's Robotaxi ambitions.

Onsemi's leadership fielded a wide range of investor questions following the company's second-quarter 2026 results, with much of the discussion centered on its accelerating AI data center business, capacity utilization, and how the company is managing rising input costs.

China's Momenta has become the first Chinese autonomous-driving company to receive a nationwide Level 4 testing permit from Germany's KBA (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt, Federal Motor Transport Authority), a step that could matter well beyond Europe. The approval expands road testing across Germany, tightening competition with US and Chinese rivals and underscoring how quickly robotaxi development is moving globally.

South Korean cathode materials maker L&F said its subsidiary L&F Plus has shipped the first trial-production samples from South Korea’s first lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode materials mass-production line. The shipment marked a step toward formal production as the company works to build a non-China supply chain for batteries used in energy storage systems (ESS) and electric vehicles.
As Chinese automakers accelerate in-house chip development, the strategy is increasingly about more than smart vehicles. It is also tied to supply chain self-reliance, overseas expansion, and the longer-term push into artificial intelligence robots, even as advanced chips still rely on external foundries.

RichWave Technology said at a recent earnings call that Wi-Fi 7 adoption continues to rise rapidly, with strong demand from telecom operators and retailers. The radio frequency (RF) front-end supplier said that the second half of 2026 should be slightly better than the first half of the year overall, but warned that tight supply of memory and passive components could affect shipment timing.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has abolished all clauses related to cascade utilization in its rules governing used power batteries dismantled from new-energy vehicles in a major regulatory shift aimed at curbing unsafe repurposing practices. The move ends the policy label for battery second-life use and ushers in a full overhaul of used power battery management.
DIGITIMES Intelligence observed at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) that AI is rapidly reshaping the direction of the automotive industry. Competition in vehicle intelligence is shifting from software-defined vehicle (SDV) function integration towards the development of AI-defined vehicle (AIDV) capabilities, extending automakers' competitive focus from software architecture to AI models, computing platforms, and ecosystem integration.
SK On, the South Korean battery maker, reported the second quarter of 2026 being its highest quarterly profit since its 2021 spinoff from SK Innovation. The company posted revenue of about KRW2.95 trillion (US$1.995 billion) and operating profit of KRW821.8 billion, while The Elec and Bizwatch said LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI also returned to profit in the same period.