Big news on both sides of the Atlantic shows how the EV future is a more distant horizon than advocates — and some automakers — once hoped.

Why it matters: Petro-powered cars are a huge CO2 source.

• And the pace of EV transition sways future oil demand, auto companies' bottom lines, minerals markets and plenty in between.

Driving the news: EU officials today are slated to propose backing off plans to phase out sales of new internal combustion cars by 2035, following pressure from European auto giants and multiple nations' leaders.

• A revised plan would allow plug-in hybrids and EVs with "fuel-powered range extenders," Bloomberg reports.
• If EU governments and lawmakers approve the change, it'll be the bloc's "most significant climb-down from its green policies of the past five years," per Reuters.

🇺🇸 Catch up quick: And in the U.S., Ford yesterday unveiled a scaled-back EV strategy.

• The auto giant is dropping the all-electric version of the F-150 Lighting pickup, and putting more of its money into hybrid trucks.
• But Ford is sticking to its plan to build a new line of affordable EVs, starting with a mid-sized electric pickup due in 2027.

Follow the money: The pivot will come with almost $20 billion in charges to be taken now through 2027, more than $5 billion of that in cash the next two years.

The big picture: Ford called it a response to customers who want more affordable vehicles and don't want to sacrifice performance and utility with battery-powered EVs.

• It also comes amid a sweeping rollback of clean vehicle regulations under the Trump administration, and the GOP budget law's termination of consumer purchase subsidies.

What they're saying: One auto analyst sees connective tissue between the moves in Europe today and Ford yesterday.

• "Everyone's coming to grips with the new realities, " Michael Dunne, CEO at Dunne Insights, tells Axios.
• "Europe and the U.S. realize they are not ready to compete with the Chinese on EVs, batteries, and battery supply chains," he said.

"The more they looked at things, they said we have no chance against the Chinese, so let's focus on our home markets, and be profitable selling products that are acceptable to our customers," Dunne adds.

• "In the meantime, we'll try to gradually catch up to the Chinese. But we're not going to do it with one swing of the bat."

The intrigue: Nearly any energy story these days touches AI and data centers, and Ford's pivot fits the mold.

• It's starting a new business to sell battery storage systems to utilities and data centers for backup power, something GM also recently announced.

What we're watching: Evolving projections of the vehicle mix as policies shift.

• The International Energy Agency last month estimated that under nations' existing and planned policies, EVs (including plug-in hybrids) would top 50% of global sales by 2035.

A new kind of AI-supercharged composting bin will turn fruit and vegetable scraps at Whole Foods into chicken feed — which will then help produce the grocer's own eggs.

Why it matters: The technology can shrink waste volumes by up to 80%, according to its maker, startup Mill, cutting greenhouse gas emissions from food waste and saving Whole Foods money.

• "Waste is one of the largest sectors of the economy that most folks in our industry overlook," Mill co-founder and CEO Matt Rogers told Axios in an interview yesterday.

Driving the news: Amazon and Mill are partnering to roll out the bins across Whole Foods stores by 2027, the companies tell Axios exclusively.

• Amazon, which owns Whole Foods, is also investing an undisclosed amount in Mill, founded in 2020.

Follow the money: Mill has raised a total of $250 million since its founding, the startup also shared exclusively with Axios.

• In addition to Amazon, via its Climate Pledge Fund, other investors include Prelude, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Lower Carbon, Energy Impact Partners and Google Ventures.

The big picture: Food loss and waste account for 8 to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and cost $1 trillion annually, according to the United Nations.

Catch up fast: Until now, Mill has focused its business on homes and workplaces.

How it works: The machine dehydrates and grinds food scraps into coffee-ground-like material that can be composted or fed to chickens.

• Mill's AI-equipped bins will allow Amazon to analyze in real time what's being wasted.

The intrigue: Rogers, who co-founded Nest, the smart thermostat company Google acquired in 2014 for $3.2 billion, predicts real-world applications like Mill's will ultimately determine whether today's AI hype delivers on its promise.

• Rogers said that eventually, society focused not just on products like iPods and iPhones, but the apps that live on them — like Airbnb and Uber.

What's next: Rogers said Mill will begin engaging restaurants "immediately."

A bipartisan bill to speed permitting is heading for the House floor following an intra-GOP compromise on rules of engagement.

Why it matters: It keeps alive the uphill fight for a deal in Congress, though anything that clears the House would almost certainly require Senate changes.

Driving the news: The Rules Committee last night sent the SPEED Act before the full House on a party-line vote.

• It would quicken agency reviews and limit litigation timelines. The bill — to boost "certainty" — would also put some new limits on executive powers to scuttle previously approved projects.

The intrigue: The panel will allow floor votes on GOP hardliners' amendments to remove that "certainty" provision and prevent the bill's application to offshore wind — the source most targeted by Trump officials.

State of play: The bill is a priority for a suite of powerful business groups including the U.S. Chamber, oil and gas interests, manufacturers and more.

• Some clean energy groups back it, while green groups generally oppose it.

The big picture: It's a proxy fight between established and largely GOP-aligned industry players and MAGA-y lawmakers loath to help wind and solar.

• Josh Freed of the center-left group Third Way said Trump and the MAGA movement "don't seem to really care about what used to be traditional constituencies" like the U.S. Chamber and National Association of Manufacturers.

"Permitting ... becomes a test as to how much fight there still is both in the Washington business community, and among 'normie' Republicans," he said via email, noting the conservative Freedom Caucus' renewables opposition.

The bottom line: Permitting talks face huge hurdles even if the SPEED Act passes this week with limited Democratic buy-in.

• Many Democrats don't trust that Trump officials will back off their campaign against wind and solar, no matter what's in the bill.

☢️ Oklo gets OK: Advanced nuclear startup Oklo announced today that the Energy Department has approved a preliminary safety analysis for its fuel fabrication facility at Idaho National Laboratory.

• Why it matters: It's the first approval under DOE's Fuel Line Pilot Program to build and operate nuclear fuel production lines and provide a fast-track approach to commercial licensing.
• What's next: The facility will make fuel for Oklo's Aurora reactor, which uses neutrons with high kinetic energy to sustain a nuclear fission chain reaction instead of the slower thermal neutrons used in conventional reactors.

💼 SAFE staff change: The group SAFE (Securing America's Future Energy) said Avery Ash will become its next CEO, moving from senior VP of government affairs. Founder Robbie Diamond will be executive chairman.

• Why it matters: SAFE is a longtime D.C. presence and the leadership change comes amid rising political and policy salience of critical minerals.

Brent crude oil prices today fell below $60 per barrel, the lowest levels since May.

Why it matters: It should keep pushing gasoline prices lower, a benefit for incumbent Republicans under political pressure as power bills rise.

The big picture: Supply outpacing demand growth is the big story.

• But this week "renewed optimism" about a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire is also at play, ING analysts said.

What we're watching: U.S. crude production, which has proven fairly resilient to modest prices, as futures keeps tumbling.

• Right now the Energy Department's stats arm sees just a small dip in 2026 from today's record output.