The Nord Stream 2 pipeline still awaits approval from Germany’s energy regulator although it is completed. The final approval could still be months away after the German regulator asked Nord Stream 2 AG last month for assurances that it will comply with the competition rules. The controversial project has taken criticism from the United States, Ukraine and others. 

Brazil’s lower house approved a constitutional reform that allows private firms to explore and mine uranium in the country. The sector is currently controlled by the state-owned Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil (INB). The state-run company control all activities related to uranium mining used for generating nuclear energy. Brazil currently imports most of its uranium needs used in its only nuclear power plant, Angra.  

South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution (LGES) announced on Friday it has signed lithium and cobalt supply agreements with three Canadian mining companies, as the company wants to expand its presence in North America in the wake of U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which incentivizes manufacturing of electric vehicles (EVs) and EV battery components in North America. LGES, which supplies Tesla among other EV makers, said in a statement the agreements were part of an effort to expand mid- to long-term supply contracts with companies that mine and process key battery materials in North America.