Volkswagen has chosen Canada for its first gigafactory overseas and laid out plans for a €180bn four-year investment plan. On March 13, the German automaker said its battery company PowerCo would build its next plant in St Thomas, Ontario, with operations set to commence in 2027.

“PowerCo is on track to become a global battery player. With the expansion to North America, we will enter a key market for e-mobility and battery cell production,” said Thomas Schmall, chairman of PowerCo’s supervisory board in a statement on the same day. 

Presenting its annual results the following day, Volkswagen said in a statement that it will invest €180bn over the next four years in its “most attractive profit pools” which include battery storage, North America and China.

US–Philippines tie-up for Indian renewables

The Philippines’ Ayala Group is partnering with US renewables company Brightnight to develop 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of hybrid wind-solar projects in India. The tie-up between aims to invest $250m to build out Brightnight’s development pipeline in the Asian country.

“With this partnership, we are significantly strengthening our foothold in India’s fast-growing market as we shift from pure solar play to multi-technology renewables,” said Patrice Clausse, ACEN International CEO, in a statement on March 10.

India is aiming to have 500GW of renewable energy capacity installed by 2030.

UK budget to push quantum computing

The UK government will invest £2.5bn in quantum computing over the next decade, according to the Financial Times (FT). Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will announce the programme as part of the country’s spring budget on March 15. 

A key player in the 10-year programme will be the National Quantum Computing Centre which is being built in Oxfordshire. However the government will also seek to create a “future network of research hubs” around the country, the FT reports.

And finally: Italian energy giant Eni has signed a collaboration agreement with Commonwealth Fusion Systems, based in Boston, US, to accelerate the industrialisation of fusion energy.