Category: 3. Business

  • Prospects for Natural Gas Certification – Analysis

    Prospects for Natural Gas Certification – Analysis

    About this report

    This report offers an overview of the role of certification in natural gas supply chains, provides a broad mapping of existing initiatives, highlights selected regulatory and market developments, identifies areas where improvements may be needed, and presents recommendations to support the development of credible certification frameworks.

    Certified natural gas refers to gas whose environmental and social attributes – such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions performance, water use, local community impacts and worker safety – have been independently verified against defined criteria or benchmarks. In 2024, around 7.5% of global natural gas production was certified, with volumes primarily originating from North America.

    As certification continues to evolve, opportunities remain to improve consistency, transparency and coverage across the full supply chain. To support further progress, the report outlines potential policy actions for governments to consider –such as international collaboration on harmonisation, setting minimum standards for certification, and exploring ways in which certification could complement emerging regulatory and market frameworks.

    While not a standalone solution, certification can enhance transparency and performance on GHG emissions across natural gas supply chains. This can support broader efforts to reduce emissions and strengthen energy security by improving accountability and easing comparability across different supply chains.

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  • Cornwall train station celebrates 100th birthday

    Cornwall train station celebrates 100th birthday

    David Dixon

    BBC News, South West

    Steve Lloyd An old black and white grainy photo of a line of elephants walking down the path from Penmere station Steve Lloyd

    Circus elephants walked from a cargo train towards Falmouth in the 1930s

    A railway station in Cornwall which once had circus elephants walk down its path has celebrated its 100th birthday.

    Residents of Falmouth attended a centenary plaque unveiling on Tuesday at Penmere Station, which is on the line between Truro and Falmouth docks.

    The station was first opened in 1925 and became neglected during the 1970s and 1980s before it was rejuvenated.

    Zara Radford’s grandfather had worked in the ticket office in the 1960s, and said he would have been “very proud” to see it on its 100th birthday.

    Two women stand on the station platform , they have both been presented with a bouquet of flowers.

    Zara Radford and Julia Foyle’s grandfathers both worked at the station

    Julia Foyle, whose grandfather also worked at the station until 1968, said she remembered bringing him pasties for lunch there.

    She said it was “nice to see how loved [the station] is now” and it had “gorgeous vintage signs”.

    Steve Lloyd A black and white picture from the 1950s. A steam train pulls into Penmere station Steve Lloyd

    The station became unmanned in the 1960s

    A volunteer group, the Friends of Penmere Station, has been planting flower beds since the station fell into disrepair after it became unstaffed in the 1960s.

    Since the flowers and greenery were planted, the garden has gone on to win a number of awards for its appearance.

    Steve Lloyd, a founding member of the group, said the station would have originally served dockworkers who lived in the area.

    A man standing in front of a vintage style railway station sign that reads Penmere Platform. He has white hair and wears a green tie

    Steve Lloyd has been gardening and maintaining at the station since 1993

    He added: “During World War Two, there were oil trains that came down overnight and transferred [oil] into tanks next to the station, where it was piped down to fuel up the flying boats that operated from Falmouth harbour.

    “We [also] found a photograph from the 1930s of Bertram Mills Circus.

    “The train pulls into Penmere Station and the picture is of elephants plodding down the footpath from the station towards the circus tent in the centre of town.”

    A minature train covered in greenery and glags, it says Penmere Platform Centenary of Opening 1st July 2025 on it. There is also a sign which says Penmere Platform.

    The garden has won awards for its appearance

    Maureen Bramwell-Hewitt has lived across from the station since 1974 and said she remembered the area before its transformation.

    She said: “It was abysmal, it was an overgrown death trap. People were struggling to get to the platform.

    “Now it’s beautiful. Everyone in community uses it now, students from the university use it and some elderly people come and sit in the gardens because they’re so lovely.”

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  • EIC board calls for quadrupled budget

    The European Innovation Council (EIC) needs a budget at least four times larger under FP10, the EIC board said in a statement on Tuesday. The money would go towards bringing success rates to an “acceptable” level of around 15% in the upcoming research Framework Programme, up from a current level of between 3% and 5%.

    The board’s position paper comes only days after EU research commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva told MEPs that the European Commission should at least double – if not triple – the EIC’s budget in a bid to help it finance more projects.

    As the Commission is planning to announce a proposal for the next EU multiannual budget on July 16, EU research and innovation funders are fighting for bigger money pots and more autonomy. 

    The European Research Council (ERC) has also entered the budget race. Last month, in a letter to Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and research commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva, the ERC scientific council said that the EU’s fundamental research fund should become independent from the Commission, with a stable long-term budget.

    The EIC, which was launched to help start-ups and SMEs scale up breakthrough technologies and innovations, has a budget of €10 billion out of the nearly €14 billion allocated to the third pillar of Horizon Europe over the 2021-2027 period. This represents less than 15% of the total funding for the Framework Programme for research and innovation.

    According to Zaharieva, her team is working on a proposal to provide the EIC with the appropriate budget.

    In its series of recommendations, the EIC board also said that the EIC’s venture investment arm, the EIC Fund, should expand to provide early-stage investment but also follow-on and growth financing for deep-tech start-ups and SMEs.

    Under the EIC Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform 2025 call, the EIC Fund plans to provide up to €30 million to support rounds above €100 million for the scale-ups. But in the next budget period, which will run from 2028 to 2034, the EIC Fund would require a minimum of €7 billion to provide larger investments to scale up strategic technologies and help close the innovation gap with the United States and China.

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    Meanwhile, the proposed Scaleup Europe Fund, which the Commission intends to deploy together with private investors to allow direct equity investments in strategic sectors like artificial intelligence and quantum technologies, is expected to provide “additional firepower to catalyse even larger rounds,” the board said, calling for a budget of €3 to €5 billion to draw in institutional investors, including pension funds and insurance companies.

    The EIC also pointed out that US agencies such as DARPA and other ARPA programmes had a combined annual budget of about $6 billion, which is around four times higher than the EU funding agency. “Matching the US levels of investment in disruptive early-stage innovation only would require at least €5 billion a year,” the board said.

    Other recommendations include adopting a challenge model inspired by the US Advanced Research Projects Agencies, making processes more agile and innovator friendly, building synergies with European, national and regional initiatives and embracing experimentation.

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  • FanDuel Casino’s new creative platform “Calling All Thrillionaires” highlights the thrilling experience of playing on FanDuel Casino.

    FanDuel Casino’s new creative platform “Calling All Thrillionaires” highlights the thrilling experience of playing on FanDuel Casino.

    FanDuel, Flutter’s largest brand and US market leader in online sports betting and iGaming, announced the launch of “Calling All Thrillionaires,” a new creative platform for FanDuel Casino.

    “Calling All Thrillionaires!” aims to elevate and set FanDuel Casino apart from the sea of online casino ads that focus on offers by showcasing the unique experience FanDuel Casino can provide. The campaign comes to life across TV, OLV, paid social and digital, retail, direct mail, radio, and OOH. The first iteration of “Calling All Thrillionaires” highlights the entertainment experience that FanDuel Casino Jackpots provide customers. The new spots will air in key FanDuel Casino markets including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.

    “At FanDuel Casino, we believe the real magic lies in the thrill of possibility,” said Daniele Phillips, Vice President of Marketing at FanDuel Casino. “Our newest campaign, “Calling All Thrillionaires,” celebrates the enjoyment of anticipation within our new FanDuel Jackpots experience. The campaign builds upon our key brand values to always provide our players with fun, responsible, and exciting experiences on FanDuel Casino.”

    “Orchard Creative and FanDuel Casino will work together to drive FanDuel Casino’s next phase of ambitious growth,” said Barney Robinson, Chief Executive Officer at Orchard Creative. “Calling All Thrillionaires” is a clarion call to all online casino players. FanDuel Casino understands what really energizes and motivates customers is anticipation. Our new campaign showcases just that.”

    The “Calling All Thrillionaires” campaign will feature two hero spots including Mechanical Bulls and Haunted Home. Mechanical Bulls went live on June 23, clip to this ad is HERE. The second hero spot, “Haunted Home” will launch in September, clip to this ad is HERE.

    For more information on FanDuel Casino, visit https://casino.fanduel.com

    For more information, please contact corporatemedia@flutter.com.

    Sign up to email alerts here.

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  • Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) – New version released: The NEA Shielding Integral Benchmark Archive and Database (SINBAD)

    The NEA has released version 2 of the Shielding Integral Benchmark Archive and Database (SINBAD), following the migration to a collaborative development environment and a standardised dataset format. SINBAD, developed since the early 1990s by the NEA and the US Radiation Safety Information Computational Center (RSICC), aims to preserve radiation shielding benchmark experiments for the international community. The SINBAD Task Force, under the NEA Expert Group on Physics of Reactor Systems (EGPRS), now steers its development in collaboration with RSICC.

    The new SINBAD version includes 105 benchmarks for shielding assessments of fission and fusion systems, accelerator shielding and nuclear data evaluations. It represents an internationally recognised resource for validation and verification of radiation transport applications.

    The new SINBAD release is maintained and distributed through the NEA GitLab system provided by the NEA Data Bank, enabling users to give direct feedback and suggest improvements. The SINBAD Task Force manages and evaluates user contributions, following a transparent, version-controlled development process. This development strategy follows successful examples from Open Software development projects, such as the LINUX kernel.

    Organisations from NEA Data Bank member countries can request SINBAD version 2 from the NEA Data Bank, while professionals from non-member countries can request it from RSICC.

    Request SINBAD Version 2 at the NEA Data Bank: SINBAD Version 2, Volumes 1 and 2 (Package NEA-1939).

    Request SINBAD Version 2 at the RSICC: https://rsicc.ornl.gov.

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  • Global Hydrogen Mobility Alliance: Air Liquide joins a strategic partnership in Europe

    Global Hydrogen Mobility Alliance: Air Liquide joins a strategic partnership in Europe

    Air Liquide has joined the newly launched Global Hydrogen Mobility Alliance, a coalition of industry leaders gathering equipment manufacturers, Automotive & Technology suppliers, Energy & Chemicals players. The Alliance is calling for the acceleration of the development of hydrogen mobility to secure Europe’s industrial strength and sustainability. To better understand this initiative, Erwin Penfornis, Vice President of Air Liquide’s Hydrogen Energy business line, answers our questions.

    What does hydrogen mobility offer that electric batteries do not?

    It adds crucial layers of resilience, competitiveness, and system-wide efficiency. Firstly, it requires much less infrastructure investments. Secondly, the full electrification of Europe’s fleet, especially heavy-duty vehicles, would overwhelm grids, so hydrogen storage can help maintain their stability. On top of that, hydrogen can help solve the growing problem of fluctuating renewable power, providing a way to store and use the energy that would otherwise be wasted. Thirdly, hydrogen vehicles provide a range comparable to that of diesel, with fast refueling times (15 minutes for 600+ km range versus 45 minutes for 400 km for battery electric), and lighter weight for increased payload. Thanks to these advantages, hydrogen is crucial for heavy and long-distance transport, which is difficult to decarbonize.

    Why is this technology not broadly adopted yet?

    The technology is ready: it is mature, safe, and reliable. However, for commercial transport operators, whose margins are tight, the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)1 is the deciding factor. The current price of hydrogen at the pump needs to be optimized, vehicles are still expensive due to a lack of mass production, and the refueling network needs to get denser. Therefore, it is now urgent to bridge this cost gap.

    How does Europe’s progress compare on the global stage?

    Other regions are moving very quickly and decisively. China, for example, is already the world leader in deployment, with more than 28,000 hydrogen trucks and buses on the roads and hundreds of refueling stations in operation as of this year. They have a stated goal of reaching 1 million vehicles by 2030. This isn’t just about catching up; it’s about Europe leveraging its own strengths to lead in a technology that is vital for our industrial future.

    To create that momentum, the Alliance is calling for a “market activation phase.” What does this involve?

    We are calling for a pragmatic and targeted strategy. At the heart of this approach, we advocate for effective public support for the deployment of refueling infrastructure, drawing inspiration from successful programs like the SWiM initiative in the Netherlands. The principle is to simultaneously develop fleets of trucks and the stations that supply them along key corridors. This method reduces investment risks and offers a concrete pathway to meet European objectives. It must be complemented by other incentives, such as road toll exemptions for zero-emission vehicles.

    This pragmatism also applies to technology: we must be technology-neutral and support both fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen combustion engines to accelerate deployment. Finally, on the supply side, while the goal is 100% decarbonized hydrogen, environmental requirements must be introduced progressively to give the entire ecosystem time to adapt.

    What strategic opportunity does the development of a hydrogen economy represent for Europe today?

    The long-term vision is a competitive and self-sustaining hydrogen mobility market that makes our economy stronger while preserving the environment. At Air Liquide, we are already building toward this future, investing across the entire value chain: from large-scale low-carbon hydrogen production, such as our Normand’Hy electrolyzer, to the distribution infrastructure needed to deliver it to end customers, which is the purpose of TEAL Mobility, our joint venture with TotalEnergies.

    We have a unique opportunity to deliver on Europe’s climate commitments and guarantee its energy safety for the future. This path simultaneously strengthens our industrial competitiveness, creating a powerful synergy for progress. We are ready to join forces with public and private partners to make this vision a reality.

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  • European renewable energy companies' shares rise after revised US senate bill – Reuters

    1. European renewable energy companies’ shares rise after revised US senate bill  Reuters
    2. A megabill mystery: Republicans ax solar and wind tax that surprised senators  NBC News
    3. Final Senate megabill to ease wind and solar phaseout  Politico
    4. Wind power firms Vestas and Orsted jump on U.S. bill update  CNBC
    5. “Slightly” Less Energy Scarcity  douglewin.com

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  • Price stability in times of change – European Central Bank

    Price stability in times of change – European Central Bank

    1. Price stability in times of change  European Central Bank
    2. Powell confirms that the Fed would have cut by now were it not for tariffs  CNBC
    3. Forex Today: Central bankers will be in the spotlight  FXStreet
    4. Fed holds interest rates for fourth time despite tariff turmoil  BBC
    5. Fed would have cut US interest rates by now if it weren’t for Trump’s tariffs, says Jerome Powell – as it happened  The Guardian

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  • BBVA deepens partnership with Google Cloud to innovate with AI

    BBVA deepens partnership with Google Cloud to innovate with AI

    BBVA and Google Cloud today announced the deployment of Google Workspace with Gemini across the global operations of the bank. This initiative will empower BBVA’s over 100,000 employees worldwide with secure generative AI experiences in tools like Gmail, Google Docs, Google Sheets, and more. Today, BBVA employees report that automating repetitive tasks with AI saves them nearly three hours per week on average, freeing up valuable time for more strategic, customer-focused work.

    BBVA has collaborated with Google Cloud to digitally transform its operations since 2011. Now, BBVA employees will gain a powerful collaborative assistant embedded within Google Workspace’s productivity tools they use every day, further solidifying BBVA’s position as a frontrunner in leveraging technology for business transformation. BBVA employees will use Gemini to help summarize, draft, and find information across emails, chats, and files; create professional documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and videos; and even take notes and collaborate better on calls.

    Beyond Google Workspace with Gemini, BBVA employees will leverage the standalone Gemini app and NotebookLM, an AI-powered research and writing assistant, to help with tasks like research, generating audio overviews of complex findings, creating reports, and more.

    “The partnership with Google Cloud allows us to continue transforming how our teams work, make decisions, and collaborate—using the most competitive generative AI models on the market,” said Elena Alfaro, Global Head of AI Adoption at BBVA. “We anticipate that Gemini with Workspace has the potential to simplify tasks and spark new ideas, which will significantly boost the productivity and innovation of our teams.”

    “BBVA transformed the way we work with Google Workspace more than ten years ago,” explained Juan Ortigosa, Global Head of Workplace at BBVA. “We expect that the widespread adoption of generative AI across these tools will improve productivity and the work experience of all employees, regardless of their role, fostering a more dynamic and efficient environment.”

    “This expanded partnership with BBVA underscores the transformative power of generative AI in the enterprise. Google Cloud is committed to providing the most advanced AI tools, like Gemini, to help industry leaders like BBVA unlock new levels of innovation and efficiency. We have been a proud partner of BBVA’s digital transformation journey for years, and we believe that this deployment of Gemini with Workspace will further empower their teams and redefine the future of banking,” said Isaac Hernandez, Country Manager Iberia, Google Cloud.

    In parallel to this AI deployment, the bank has launched a mandatory training program, ‘AI Express’, focused on the broader use of artificial intelligence. It provides employees with clear principles for secure and responsible AI adoption across use cases. The program is aligned with the European Union’s AI Act and BBVA’s internal policies on data protection and confidentiality.

    Access to Google Workspace with Gemini, the Gemini app, and NotebookLM will be granted to employees who have completed internal training programs. This approach ensures that teams are prepared to use these generative AI tools effectively, ethically, and in line with BBVA’s AI governance standards.

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  • Central bank gold buying picks up in May | Post by Marissa Salim | Gold Focus blog

    Central bank gold buying picks up in May | Post by Marissa Salim | Gold Focus blog

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