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The Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) won the "Gartner Eye on Innovation Awards for Power and Utilities" for the "Smart Electric Vehicle Charging Platform Project - Phase Two", which represents a qualitative leap in enhancing digital transformation and sustainability in the State of Qatar. In a press release today, Kahramaa said the Smart Electric Vehicle Charging Platform project came as a response to challenges faced by electric vehicle users, where there was fragmentation in charging applications, low usage rates, in addition to the lack of coordination among service providers, and the absence of vital data necessary for making evidence-based decisions on actual usage. Kahramaa launched the first phase of the platform in cooperation with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to create a unified platform that brings together all charging service providers. The project was developed in the second phase to provide users with the platform's capability for immediate access to all stations, with direct information about their availability and booking options, along with providing accurate usage analytics that contribute to raising operational efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. President of Kahramaa, Engineer Abdulla bin Ali Al Dheyab, said: "We have succeeded in unifying the user experience and providing accurate data that supports national policies, in line with Qatar National Vision 2030. Choosing our project as a semi-finalist in the Gartner Global Innovation Award confirms Kahramaa's commitment to leadership in digital transformation and sustainability and reflects our team's efforts in providing innovative solutions that serve the community and support the state's goals of reducing carbon emissions." The project began with a pilot phase in 2024, and the second phase was developed in 2025. Among the most prominent results were more than 2,980 application downloads; integration of more than 130 electric charging stations; saving more than 140,000 liters of fuel, reducing more than 0.3 million kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions; accelerating the station-finding process by 80%; achieving report accuracy exceeding 95% for analytics; and raising the level of coordination among service providers, users, and regulatory entities. The "Gartner Eye on Innovation Awards for Power and Utilities" is one of the most important global awards in the field of digital innovation for the energy and utilities sector, where the 2025 edition witnessed record participation from institutions around the world, with competition divided into three main regions: the Americas, Europe, Kahramaa obtained the semi-finalist position at the Asia and Pacific region level, in an achievement that reflects Qatar's leadership in the fields of digital transformation and sustainability and strengthens its position as a regional hub for innovation in clean energy.

Electric vehicle (EV) sales in South Korea soared nearly 50% year-on-year during the first eight months of 2025, fueled by the introduction of new models.According to data released by the Korea Automobile & Mobility Association, a total of 142,456 EVs were sold between January and August, a sharp increase from 95,988 units during the same period last year.Electric vehicles made up 12.7% of all new car registrations, up from 8.9% a year earlier a rise of 3.8 percentage points.Domestic manufacturers led the charge, with sales of locally produced EVs climbing 48.2% to 86,777 units, accounting for 60.9% of the total EV market.Imported EVs also posted strong growth, with sales jumping 48.6% to 55,679 units. Notably, over 42,000 of those imported vehicles were made in China, underscoring the growing influence of Chinese automakers in the South Korean market.