The year that just ended was not a good one for the energy transition in Europe. Every industry involved in that transition spent the year mostly struggling to survive and keep going. Wind and solar stocks got pummeled amid soaring raw material costs, higher borrowing costs, and supply chain snags. EV makers realized their affordability and reliability troubles are not the only ones facing the industry, with China cementing its place as the world's biggest EV maker.
Hydrogen continued to be talked about, but little else. And this year is unlikely to be any different. To begin with, the cost problems of wind and solar power development are not going to go away on their own, and the factors that led to these problems are unlikely to change this year. These factors include greater exposure to interest rate hikes than other energy companies and less cash to cushion against the worst of the rate hikes' effect