Category: 3. Business

Digital platforms significantly enhance the efficiency of renewable energy operations by integrating cutting-edge technologies such as IoT, AI and blockchain.

These platforms transform complex datasets into actionable insights, enabling better decision-making and operational efficiency.

For instance, AI-driven automation and real-time energy management systems help predict energy production patterns, optimize the output of wind turbines and solar panels, and address potential system failures before they cause outages.

Digital platforms also facilitate demand-side flexibility, allowing consumers to better understand their energy use and lower their bills.

By fostering collaboration and innovation, these platforms contribute to a more resilient and adaptive energy future.

TOKYO – Nikon Corporation will open and commence operation of “S3S LAB”, a co-creation platform outfitted with a full suite of equipment necessary for developing flexible electronics within its Sagamihara Plant in Kanagawa prefecture on December 10, 2025. “S3S LAB” will house Nikon’s proprietary, cutting-edge Roll-to-Roll (R2R)^*1 maskless lithography system, as well as peripheral equipment utilizing the film deposition and multilayer wiring formation technologies required for flexible device manufacturing. As a new base for innovation, it will provide strong solutions to customers’ challenges, from research and development to commercialization.

Flexible electronics, which form electronic circuits on the surface of film, enables production of lightweight, thin, transparent, and freely shaped devices. This opens up new possibilities in a variety of fields, including displays, sensors, and perovskite solar cells. However, the transition from research and development to mass production poses the challenge of expensive capital investment and co-creation platforms that can consistently verify the R2R process are rare even on a global scale.

“S3S LAB” provides integrated support from prototype manufacturing to mass production process development, enabling customers to promote necessary process verifications for mass production, and commercialization decisions without large-scale capital investment. In the mass production phase, Nikon will contribute to customers’ commercialization and the creation of a new era in the flexible electronics industry by providing process technology and R2R equipment cultivated at “S3S LAB”.

• *1A manufacturing process in which roll-shaped substrates are continuously processed and rewound into rolls. Compared to the sheet processing method, it features superior continuity and high productivity.

Overview of S3S LAB

Features of the R2R Maskless Lithography System

• Achieves 6.0 µm^*2 (L/S^*3) resolution and overlay accuracy within ± 2 µm for films prone to deformation such as distortion and shrinkage due to heat, supporting the production of high-definition and multilayer wiring devices.
• Delivers high productivity of 10 mm per second by utilizing multi-lens technology^*4 developed with Nikon’s FPD lithography systems.
• The polygon scanning method is used to pattern on the curved surface of the roll, enabling continuous patterning.
• Since exposure is based on CAD data, no photomask is required, which contributes to shortening prototyping time and reducing mask costs.

• *21 µm (micrometer) means one-millionth of a meter (one-thousandth of a millimeter).
• *3Abbreviation for Line and Space. Refers to the width of the wiring and the spacing between adjacent wiring.
• *4Nikon’s proprietary technology for FPD lithography systems arranges multiple projection lenses in an array and precisely controls them to achieve the same effect as using a single giant lens. This enables patterning over a wider area in a single scan.

Overview of the R2R Maskless Lithography System

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The legal documents submitted in New York Supreme Court mark the latest development in a prolonged saga over Venture Global’s failure to deliver LNG under long-term contracts while selling on the spot market as prices soared after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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In a challenge last month to the arbitration ruling, Shell alleged that a third party testified in arbitration that Venture Global had abruptly decided to delay the start of its Calcasieu Pass LNG plant. Shell said it asked arbitrators to study that communication, but said Venture Global avoided disclosure by giving misleading statements.

Venture Global said in its filing on Tuesday that Shell had provided no evidence of the alleged fraud. It said the third party, which was redacted, “did not testify to written communications with Venture Global” and that Venture Global’s counsel did not make misleading statements.

The LNG producer also said in the filing that Shell had breached arbitration confidentiality to share information with Venture Global’s counterparties and their counsel.

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Shell’s arbitration case centred around cargoes from Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass facility. Shell also has a long-term contract with Venture Global’s Plaquemines facility.

In its legal filing, Venture Global included an email from what it said was a Shell executive, whose name was redacted, signalling an interest in reaching a commercial resolution.

“We remain interested in finding a commercial resolution for both the CP (Calcasieu Pass) and Plaquemines situations and I welcome a conversation at your earliest convenience,” the Shell executive told Venture Global in an email dated the same day the oil major filed its challenge.

The Shell executive also told Venture Global in the email that the arbitration outcome between the LNG producer and BP raised significant concerns about the evidence presented in that proceeding, and suggested that Shell’s arbitration should have been decided in the same way.

Venture Global shares, also under pressure from its exposure to a possible LNG supply glut, have declined 22% since Shell first filed the challenge last month. They are hovering near an all-time low of $6.56 per share compared with $24 when they began trading on the market in January.

that BP won its arbitration case with an argument of unfair behaviour by Venture Global, citing five sources.

BP’s arbitration win in October gave Shell a basis for its challenge, legal experts told Reuters.

“Shell referencing BP’s win (in its challenge) signals that similar fact-patterns led to different tribunal outcomes, strengthening Shell’s argument that full evidentiary access matters,” said Claudio Steuer of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.

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GE Vernova – one of only three major makers of gas turbines globally – has yttrium inventories to last the rest of 2025 and into next year, Strazik said, although he did not disclose how long into next year supplies would last.

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The company is also investing in alternatives to replace certain rare earths used in production if it became necessary, although there were cost or performance trade-offs in some cases, he added.

“We are very focused on it every day,” Strazik said in response to a question about yttrium shortages at an investor day on Tuesday.

“We’re in good shape for the foreseeable future based on the fact that we have everything we need for this year into next year. But we will continue to be opportunistic whenever there’s an opportunity to add to the inventory,” he added.

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Warner Bros Discovery investors met Paramount chief executive David Ellison in New York on Tuesday as he tried to convince them that his company was a better bet than Netflix in the fight to control the Hollywood group.

Ellison and his deputies left several WBD shareholders with a positive view of the advantages of Paramount’s $108bn bid over Netflix’s offer, according to investors and others who attended the meetings.

Flanked by his chief legal officer Makan Delrahim and chief strategy officer Andy Gordon, Ellison tried to assuage concerns about Paramount’s reliance on investors from the Middle East to fund its offer — which became a point of contention in negotiations with WBD’s board.

“They . . . did an extraordinarily good job at answering questions at a regulatory level, state level and global level with regards to the difference between Netflix and Paramount,” said Mario Gabelli, a fund manager and veteran media investor who attended Tuesday’s meetings.

His fund holds WBD stock worth about $160mn at Tuesday’s share price.

Paramount’s tender offer to acquire stock from current shareholders would circumvent WBD’s board of directors.

Gabelli said: “My clients would be better off . . . tendering their stock [under the Paramount offer] if Netflix doesn’t change the structure of their proposed bid.”

The bidding war has thrown the future of the Warner Bros movie studio, HBO and CNN into question and drawn in US President Donald Trump, who has said he “would be involved” in the decision. 

A deal would require approval from federal competition regulators, and could face scrutiny from US states as well.

Gabelli said Paramount’s bid would probably close faster because it was “less complicated” from a regulatory standpoint. “Netflix has to bump the price.”

Semafor earlier reported some details of the meetings with Ellison, which took place alongside a UBS investor conference.

Netflix was also meeting with WBD shareholders this week, according to people familiar with the matter.

The meetings come after WBD on Friday accepted a $83bn bid from Netflix to acquire its studio and streaming business. On Monday, Paramount countered with an all-cash $108bn hostile offer that values the whole of WBD, including its television channels, at $30 a share. 

The showdown has propelled WBD’s share price from $12 in September to $28 at the market close on Tuesday.

“We’ve been pleased with what the board has done,” said Robert Bierig, portfolio manager of the Oakmark Fund at Harris Associates, the fourth-largest WBD shareholder, who would not disclose which bid they preferred. “When an asset like this goes up for sale, there’s an argument to pay more than the standalone value [of Warner].”

Netflix has offered $23.30 in cash and $4.50 worth of Netflix stock for each WBD share — and would not acquire WBD’s traditional television channels, including CNN.

WBD shareholders have until January 8 to accept Paramount’s bid, while its board has to respond by December 22.

Some WBD shareholders expect Paramount to lift its bid before the tender offer expires, after Ellison’s company said in a regulatory filing that $30 was not its “best and final” price.

Paramount is privately weighing an increase, or whether to instead add sweeteners intended to give WBD’s board greater confidence in its regulatory prospects versus Netflix, according to people familiar with the matter. 

Paramount declined to comment. WBD and Netflix did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Tokyo, December 10, 2025 – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), as part of its effort to develop an innovative ammonia cracking system,(Note1) has succeeded in producing 99% pure hydrogen by cracking ammonia using steam as the heating source. The production of hydrogen at pilot scale using the steam heating was conducted at the company’s pilot plant in the Nagasaki District Research & Innovation Center, marking a world first.(Note2)

In contrast to conventional technologies that utilize heat from burner combustion, MHI’s steam heating system operates at lower reaction temperatures, reducing operating costs. In addition, because a combustion furnace is not required, the system offers excellent features such as the potential for miniaturization.

The utilization of hydrogen, a fuel that does not emit CO₂ even when combusted, is expanding worldwide as a means of achieving a decarbonized society. Ammonia in particular is attracting attention as a “hydrogen carrier” to store and transport hydrogen over long distances safely and in large quantities.

MHI, with the aim of building a hydrogen supply chain using ammonia as a hydrogen carrier, will build on this achievement to promote the development of medium-scale, decentralized ammonia cracking systems near hydrogen demand sites. Based on the results of this pilot test, MHI, in collaboration with project partners Nippon Shokubai Co., Ltd. and Hokkaido Electric Power Co., Inc., will accelerate the development of this technology, which was selected by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) for its “Development of Technologies for Building a Competitive Hydrogen Supply Chain” project.(Note3) Through these efforts, MHI will strive to establish and implement decarbonization technologies as soon as possible, and contribute to the realization of a sustainable, carbon-neutral world.

Image of Hydrogen Mitsubishi Ammonia Cracking System (HyMACS_®)

TOKYO, Japan ― Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today introduced the RA6W1 dual-band Wi-Fi 6 wireless microcontroller (MCU), along with the RA6W2 MCU that integrates both Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth® Low Energy (LE) technologies. These connectivity devices address the growing demand for always-connected, ultra-low-power IoT devices across smart home, industrial, medical and consumer applications. Renesas also launched fully integrated modules that accelerate development with built-in antennas, wireless protocol stacks, and pre-validated RF connectivity.

Ultra Low Power Operation for Always-Connected IoT

Today’s IoT devices must stay always connected to improve application usability and response time, while maintaining the lowest possible power consumption to extend battery life or to meet eco-friendly regulations. Renesas’ Wi-Fi 6 MCUs offer features such as Target Wake Time (TWT), which enables extended sleep times without compromising cloud connectivity and power consumption. This is critical for applications such as environmental sensors, smart locks, thermostats, surveillance cameras, and medical monitors, where real-time control, remote diagnostics and over-the-air (OTA) updates are critical.

Additionally, both MCU Groups are optimized for ultra-low power consumption, consuming as little as 200nA to 4µA in sleep mode and under 50µA in Delivery Traffic Indication Message (DTIM10). With the “sleepy connected” Wi-Fi functionality, these devices stay connected with minimal power draw, meeting the growing requirements of modern energy efficiency standards.

Scalable RA MCU Architecture with Full Software Support

Built on the Arm® Cortex®-M33 CPU core running at 160 MHz with 704 KB of SRAM, the MCUs enable engineers to develop cost-effective, standalone IoT applications using integrated communication interfaces and analog peripherals, without the need for an external MCU. Customers also have the option to design with a host MCU that can be selected from Renesas’ broad RA MCU offerings and attach the RA6W1 and RA6W2 as connectivity and networking add-ons. Both RA6W1 and RA6W2 are designed to work with Renesas’ Flexible Software Package (FSP) and e² studio integrated development environment. As the first Wi-Fi MCUs in the RA portfolio, they offer a scalable platform that supports seamless software reuse across the RA family.

High Performance Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 with 2.4 and 5 GHz Connectivity

With support for both 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, both MCUs deliver superior throughput, low latency, and reduced power consumption. The dual-band capability dynamically selects the most suitable band based on real-time conditions, ensuring a stable and high-speed connection even in environments with many connected devices. Advanced features such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) and TWT boost performance and energy efficiency, making these solutions well suited for dense urban environments and battery-powered devices.

Robust Security and Matter-Certified Interoperability

The RA6W1 and RA6W2 devices offer advanced built-in security including AES-256 encryption, secure boot, key storage, TRNG, and XiP with on-the-fly decryption to keep data safe from unauthorized access. The RA6W1 is RED certified (Radio Equipment Directive), which makes it easier for developers to future-proof their design. Additionally, the device is Matter ready and certified with Matter 1.4, and is compatible across smart home platforms. Renesas supports both MCUs and modules through the Renesas Product Longevity Program, offering 15-year support for MCUs and 10 years for modules.

“We’re offering our customers the flexibility to design with a standalone Wi-Fi device, a Wi-Fi/Bluetooth LE combo, or fully integrated modules depending on their needs,” said Chandana Pairla, VP of the Connectivity Solutions Division at Renesas. “These wireless solutions save power, simplify system design and lower BOM cost. With hosted or hostless implementation options, customers can confidently begin their wireless onboarding journey and seamlessly integrate into next-generation connected systems.”

Two types of modules, Wi-Fi 6 (RRQ61001) and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth LE combo (RRQ61051) simplify design by integrating certified RF components and wireless connectivity stacks that comply with global network standards. Supported RF certification standards include the U.S. (FCC), Canada (IC), Brazil (ANATEL), Europe (CE/RED), UK (UKCA), Japan (Telec), South Korea (KCC), China (SRRC) and Taiwan (NCC). By integrating connectivity at the system level, the modules significantly reduce design effort and accelerate time to market.

Winning Combinations

Renesas offers “Advanced Low-Power Wireless HMI for Household Appliances” and “Automatic Pet Door & Tracking System” that combine the new Wi-Fi 6 MCU and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth LE MCU with numerous compatible devices from its portfolio to offer a wide array of Winning Combinations. Winning Combinations are technically vetted system architectures from mutually compatible devices that work together seamlessly to bring an optimized, low-risk design for faster time to market. Renesas offers more than 400 Winning Combinations with a wide range of products from the Renesas portfolio to enable customers to speed up the design process and bring their products to market more quickly. They can be found at renesas.com/win.

Availability

The RA6W1 MCU is now available in FCQFN and WLCSP packages, along with the RRQ61001 and RRQ61051 modules. The RA6W2 MCU (BGA package) will be available in Q1/2026. The devices are supported by the FSP, e² studio, evaluation kit and software development kit (SDK) that include flash memory, PCB trace antennas, connectors and embedded power profiler for power consumption analysis. Renesas also offers comprehensive software tools to aid system application development, as well as the Production Line Tool (PLT) for production testing of wireless MCUs.

About Renesas Electronics Corporation

Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) empowers a safer, smarter and more sustainable future where technology helps make our lives easier. A leading global provider of microcontrollers, Renesas combines our expertise in embedded processing, analog, power and connectivity to deliver complete semiconductor solutions. These Winning Combinations accelerate time to market for automotive, industrial, infrastructure and IoT applications, enabling billions of connected, intelligent devices that enhance the way people work and live. Learn more at renesas.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, YouTube, and Instagram.

(Remarks) All names of products or services mentioned in this press release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

The content in the press release, including, but not limited to, product prices and specifications, is based on the information as of the date indicated on the document, but may be subject to change without prior notice.

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Beijing is keeping the renminbi heavily undervalued against the euro, European companies have warned, giving Chinese exporters an advantage and raising the risk of increased trade retaliation.

The warning from the EU Chamber of Commerce in China comes just days after data indicating the country’s annual goods trade surplus will exceed $1tn for the first time.

In a report released on Wednesday, the chamber said the renminbi had weakened to a 10-year low against the euro this year, even though China’s huge trade income should be driving an appreciation of its currency.

Economists say China’s real effective exchange rate — its weighted average against a broader basket of currencies — has depreciated 18 per cent from its peak in March 2022 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Prices in China have fallen during that time due to weak domestic demand and industrial oversupply.

“An undervalued renminbi is a subsidy for exports,” said Jens Eskelund, president of the EU chamber. He said this realisation would make it “easier” for China’s trading partners to take retaliatory actions, such as anti-dumping investigations and the imposition of tariffs.

“I think there needs to be a discussion about the real exchange rate . . . on its impact for both the Chinese economy and for China’s trade partners,” Eskelund said.

The People’s Bank of China closely controls the renminbi exchange rate, but Beijing says it abides by market principles and denies manipulating the currency for political purposes.

China has repeatedly reported large trade surpluses with the rest of the world since the pandemic, relying on export growth to offset a weak domestic economy suffering from a property slump.

Instead of a large-scale effort to boost domestic demand, Beijing has prioritised industry, particularly high-tech sectors, as it competes with the US for economic supremacy.

While China’s economies of scale and efficiency are credited with driving the increase in its global export market share, economists say the depreciation of its exchange rate has also played a strong role.

“China’s extraordinary competitiveness can be neatly summarised by movements in its real effective exchange rate,” said HSBC in a report.

Brad Setser, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Mark Sobel, US chair of think-tank OMFIF, called on China to let the renminbi appreciate in a paper last month, saying this would reduce geopolitically sensitive trade surpluses and boost domestic demand by increasing consumers’ spending power.

Jürgen Matthes, analyst at the German Economic Institute in Cologne (IW), also argued in a July report that the euro had appreciated in real terms based on producer prices by more than 40 per cent against the renminbi in the euro area between early 2020 and spring 2025.

Matthes said Europe’s rising trade deficit should have led to higher net demand for the renminbi. “Thus, the yuan should have appreciated if it was floating freely,” he wrote.

China portrays itself as a pillar of global trade in the face of US President Donald Trump’s tariff war.

“I believe that only through open co-operation can we create a larger space for incremental growth,” China’s second-ranked leader, Premier Li Qiang, told a Beijing gathering of officials from international agencies on Tuesday that included IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva.

The EU chamber report came amid a flurry of surveys by other chambers in Beijing that show foreign companies are still finding it hard to do business in China.

But reports by the German and UK chambers showed some were finding a niche partnering with Chinese companies investing abroad.

In the case of UK companies, conditions were improving for the legal profession after British firms were licensed to open more joint law operations with Chinese counterparts.

Harry Bell, policy and advocacy manager at the British Chamber of Commerce in China, said the joint ventures had contributed to soaring optimism in the legal services sector. The better sentiment was also due to firms’ “ability to help and support Chinese companies going global”, he said.