RIYADH: Soaring energy prices along with the war between Russia and Ukraine have left countries such as Belgium and Germany scurrying to secure supplies and avoid shortfalls. Through a micro lens, firms such as China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., or CATL, and Japan’s Suzuki are seen making significant investments in line with the global electric vehicle push. Looking at the bigger picture: ·Belgium’s government is working on prolonging two nuclear reactors for an additional 10 years up until 2035 instead of 2025, Bloomberg reported. This comes as the European country tries to curb a shortfall in supply amid skyrocketing energy prices heightened by the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. ·Germany’s economy minister Robert Habeck has announced that he will be visiting both Qatar and the UAE as he seeks an alternative liquefied natural gas supply along with a hydrogen deal, Reuters reported. This comes as the European country aims to reduce dependency on its largest gas supplier Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Through a micro lens: ·Chinese battery manufacturer and technology company, CATL, is contemplating new sites across North America for a potential $5 billion facility, Bloomberg reported. The world’s biggest manufacturer of batteries for electric vehicles is planning for the plant to have a production capacity of 80 GW hours of batteries annually to supply its customers including Tesla Inc. ·Japanese multinational automobile company Suzuki has announced that it plans to invest an estimated 150 billion yen ($1.26 billion) to produce electric vehicles as well as batteries in India, Reuters reported. This comes as part of a bigger plan to be announced by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to inject a total of 5 trillion yen into India over the coming five years.