Category: 3. Business

“Crops look better and profitability is returning even in challenging years”: Mars champions Europe’s farmers and calls for the conditions to scale climate-smart agriculture

• More than 300 farmers across Europe already working with Mars to advance climate-smart agriculture practices on 60,900 hectares of land in parts of its pet care supply chain.
• Farmers across Europe report seeing “profitability returning”, more consistent yields, “better soil structure” and crops that “look better” thanks to regenerative techniques like cover cropping, crop rotation and reduced tillage.
• This World Soil Day, Mars is calling on European policymakers to help farmers thrive by creating an enabling environment that promotes public-private partnerships, outcomes-based public policy, and harmonized measurement aligned with global standards.

LONDON, UK (December 4, 2025) – On World Soil Day, Mars, Incorporated, a global leader in pet care products and services, confectionery, snacking and food and the maker of some of the world’s most-loved brands, is joining with partners and farmers in Europe to call on policymakers and scientists across Europe to enable scalable solutions that support farmers in adopting climate-smart agriculture practices. As Europe strengthens its role in shaping global agrifood policy and drives momentum behind regenerative, outcome-based farming, the region has become a natural focus for accelerating climate-smart solutions.¹

Last year, Mars announced multiple partnerships with leading agricultural suppliers and technical implementation experts including Agreena, Biospheres, Soil Capital and others to deliver tailored support across Europe’s diverse farming systems. Across Mars Petcare’s European supply chain, more than 300 farmers have implemented climate-smart practices, across over 60,900 hectares, from using cover crops in Buckinghamshire, UK, to implementing no-till cultivation in Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland.  

A year on from the last major announcement, farmers say these regenerative practices have shown positive results. Antony, a farmer in South East England in a Mars climate-smart agriculture program, said: “We are on heavy clay soils, which were very prone to water logging. [Since adopting regenerative practices] we are much less concerned about water logging as infiltration rates are better, and we don’t worry so much about drought as water holding capacity is much improved. This has enabled us to operate a longer weather window, creating more field working days and reducing our labour charges accordingly”, adding that the “crops look better and profitability is returning even in challenging years.”

 

 

However, Mars emphasizes that systemic climate-smart agriculture change requires greater collaboration, especially considering barriers facing farmers like financial risk and lack of technical training.  

Paolo Rigamonti, Regional President Europe Pet Nutrition at Mars, said: “Europe’s farmers play a vital role in improving soil health. Through regenerative techniques, they can store more carbon, improve water filtration and support local ecosystems. Across Europe, Mars is investing to help farmers adopt these practices – but they can’t do it alone. We need the right conditions in place, and policies that accelerate what is already working.”

To accelerate this transformation and help farmers thrive, Mars is calling on policymakers and scientists to strengthen public policy that enables action at scale by:

• Unlocking public-private partnerships to deliver essential training, financial support and technical assistance for farmers.
• Prioritizing outcomes-based policies that respect regional differences and give farmers flexibility in how they achieve regenerative goals.
• Measuring impact through harmonized metrics aligned with global science-based standards such as Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and GHG Protocol.  

Izabela, a farmer in northern Poland who has received financial and technical support for regenerative practices, said her farm has benefited from “increased water retention, which provides greater drought resistance and greater water absorption in the event of sudden heavy rains. We were still able to harvest this year, even though the fields were flooded after heavy rain in July.” Highlighting the need for more outcome-based policies, Izabela said: “Policy based on the results of specific agricultural practices supports the development of agriculture and provides freedom for proper management, while strict regulations detached from real needs and weather patterns can only harm farmers, the soil and crops.”

Farmers in Mars climate-smart agriculture programs need solutions that are tailored to Europe’s diverse landscapes – from drought adaptation to carbon sequestration. Success requires the right support system to accelerate and scale these practices across Europe.  

Norbert is a farmer in southern Hungary whose farm has been impacted by extremes of climate in recent years through prolonged dry periods. Improving climate resilience was among his motivations for implementing regenerative practices on his farm. Norbert said: “By abandoning rotational cultivation, the number of soil-dwelling organisms has increased significantly. The better soil structure and surface coverage can drain sudden rainfall faster, which usually results in a spectacular difference.”

Through collaborative partnerships and a clear call to action for policymakers, scientists and industry leaders, Mars continues its focus on scaling climate-smart agriculture in its value chain, which will help to deliver more than one million acres of regenerative practices across the globe by 2030. As part of the Mars Net Zero Roadmap, scaling climate-smart agriculture across its value chain is one of several critical initiatives Mars is advancing to reduce its GHG footprint. In its Sustainable in a Generation Report 2024, Mars, Incorporated announced 1.9% GHG emissions reduction compared with 2023, with an overall absolute reduction of 16.4% across the full value chain against a baseline of 2015 worldwide.  

Simon Haldrup, CEO at Agreena, said: “Scaling regenerative agriculture across Europe demands genuine collaboration between the private sector, policymakers and farmers – especially as farmers face growing pressures. Through Agreena’s partnership with Mars, we’re helping deliver the financial support and verified measurement needed to unlock real change on the ground. On World Soil Day, we’re reminded of the power beneath our feet, and Agreena echoes Mars’ call for policymakers to create the enabling environment required to rapidly scale these proven practices across Europe’s diverse farming landscapes.”  

Sébastien Roumegous, CEO at Biospheres, said: “Across Europe, the shift toward regenerative agriculture is progressing at uneven speeds. In countries like France, strong technical support helps farmers adopt new models, while in others, the lack of reliable local partners slows the transition. Our collaboration with Mars bridges this gap: it combines targeted financial support, robust scientific measurement and hands-on agronomic guidance that farmers can trust. By working together, we’re creating the conditions for regenerative practices to scale consistently across diverse landscapes and ensuring soils remain a foundation of resilience for future generations.”

Chuck de Liedekerke, CEO at Soil Capital, said: “At Soil Capital, our ambition is to make regenerative agriculture the norm. Expanding regenerative practices across Europe depends on consistent collaboration between farmers, businesses and policymakers. Our work with Mars rewards farmers who receive financial support because they deliver real, verified impact on the ground. The next step is for policymakers to put in place the framework to scale what’s already working across Europe’s diverse farm realities.” 
 

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1. EU agricultural outlook 2024-35: A resilient sector adapts to climate change, sustainability concerns, and shifting consumer demand – Agriculture and rural development
 

About Mars, Incorporated 
Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As an approximately $55bn family-owned business, our diverse and expanding portfolio of leading pet care products and veterinary services support pets all around the world and our quality snacking and food products delight millions of people every day. We produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including ROYAL CANIN®, PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®, CESAR®, DOVE®, EXTRA®, M&M’S®, SNICKERS® and BEN’S ORIGINAL™. Our international networks of pet hospitals, including BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, VCA™ and ANICURA™ span preventive, general, specialty, and emergency veterinary care, and our global veterinary diagnostics business ANTECH® offers breakthrough capabilities in pet diagnostics. The Mars Five Principles—Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom—inspire our 150,000 Associates to act every day to help create a better world for people, pets and the planet.  

For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook(Opens a new window), Instagram(Opens a new window), LinkedIn(Opens a new window) and YouTube(Opens a new window).

About Agreena  
Headquartered in Denmark, Agreena is powering the global transition to regenerative agriculture, operating Europe’s leading soil carbon programme. Through its flagship AgreenaCarbon project, which is the first large-scale agricultural cropland initiative verified under Verra’s world-renowned Verified Carbon Standard, Agreena collaborates with thousands of farmers across 4.5 million hectares of arable land in 20 markets.  

Agreena finances farmers’ transition to sustainable practices, measures and verifies the climate impact with field-level accuracy and offers climate solutions to corporates to achieve their sustainability goals. Agreena’s holistic solution is built on three pillars: farmer engagement, which provides essential financing, knowledge, and resources to support growers in making impactful change; scalable dMRV, integrating satellite imagery, ground-level soil sampling and proprietary AI models to precisely quantify practice changes and carbon outcomes at scale; and verified carbon and environmental data, empowering companies to make credible sustainability claims, support farmer-led climate action and access high-integrity carbon credits. Visit www.agreena.com.

About Biospheres  
BIOSPHERES is an international organization committed to accelerating the transition toward large-scale regenerative agriculture.  

Present in more than 20 countries, BIOSPHERES supports farmers, companies and territories in restoring ecosystems while improving the long-term profitability and resilience of agricultural systems.

Its approach combines scientific methodologies, field expertise, and strategic partnerships with major agri-food players to deploy regenerative solutions at scale.

From soil health assessment to change-management programs, from carbon and biodiversity strategies to on-farm coaching, BIOSPHERES works across the entire value chain to help organizations build productive, climate-resilient and ecosystem-positive agriculture. Driven by a clear ambition, making regenerative agriculture viable, measurable and replicable, the team develops tools, training programs and field projects that translate science into practical, scalable action. A sustainable, profitable and regenerative agriculture is possible — and it is already underway. 

About Soil Capital  
Founded in 2013, Soil Capital is a certified B Corp on a mission to support farmers in their transition to regenerative and sustainable agriculture. Operating across the United Kingdom, France, and Belgium, Soil Capital has developed an innovative programme that uses agronomic intelligence to connect businesses seeking more resilient supply chains with farmers rewarded for improving soil health, mitigating climate change, and reinforcing food security. To date, ‍Soil Capital has distributed more than €15 million directly to farmers, rewarding their adoption of regenerative practices. The programme is built on a reliable methodology that complies with the FLAG requirements of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), helping companies reduce their scope 3 emissions and sustainable goals. Learn more at www.soilcapital.com.

A little more than a year ago, Mario Draghi presented his report ‘The future of European competitiveness’, stating that unless EU Member States make huge investments and bold reforms, the European competitiveness will be at risk. Global competition, especially from the US and China, is intensifying at a dizzying pace, and the EU must act now to secure the Union’s future competitiveness and common security.

This report presents a comprehensive, data-driven assessment of Sweden’s competitive standing in 48 Key Strategic Technologies that are crucial for its future prosperity, economic resilience, and national security. The analysis is based on three major datasets covering 2010–25: scientific publications, patent documents, and investment data. The findings reveal a mixed landscape of established leadership, critical vulnerabilities, and untapped potential, demanding strategic action to secure Sweden’s place in an intensifying global technology race.

 

This report was commissioned and published by The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) as part of the research project ‘Mapping Sweden’s Competitiveness and Investment Priorities in Key Strategic Technologies,’ with research and analysis conducted by CEPS. The project aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of Sweden’s strategic positioning in key technology sectors and identify priority areas for future investment and policy development. This research examines Sweden’s competitive strengths, emerging challenges and opportunities within the evolving global technology landscape. The findings, conclusions and recommendations presented reflect the CEPS team’s independent research and expert assessment.

 

Dec. 4, 2025, London: As the global energy transition accelerates, rising demand for some critical metals is outpacing supply chain capacity, creating structural market imbalances that threaten to constrain decarbonisation efforts, according to BloombergNEF’s Transition Metals Outlook 2025. Copper, graphite, aluminium, lithium, cobalt and manganese are all seeing sharp demand increases thanks to electric vehicles, energy storage, grid expansion and data centers.

According to the report, China continues to dominate global supply chains, holding midstream capacity in aluminium, graphite, manganese, cobalt and rare earths. Other regions have made efforts to diversify: Europe and the US have strengthened domestic supply for some metals, while Southeast Asia has expanded nickel production, with Indonesia and the Philippines anchoring upstream operations. Australia, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia and South Africa are implementing policy measures such as export restrictions, sovereign investments and fiscal incentives. Nonetheless, upstream refining capacity remains largely concentrated in China, leaving many regions dependent on imports and exposing global supply chains to disruption.

Copper faces significant pressure, with the market entering a structural deficit next year and facing a projected shortfall of 19 million metric tons by 2050 if new mines and recycling facilities are not developed. Graphite is expected to face a technical deficit after 2030 as battery demand grows faster than primary supply. Meanwhile, lithium production is set to expand significantly, supported by new extraction projects in South America and Africa and increased recycling of retired batteries.

The analysis also highlights the growing importance of policy and investment in shaping metals markets, as well as developments in company strategy. Recent interventions in cobalt production in the Democratic Republic of Congo have helped stabilize prices. Major mining companies – including BHP, Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Glencore – have begun to prioritize capital expenditure over shareholder distributions, with explosive copper demand emerging as a central driver in this reorientation.

For the past 30 years, China was able to build its mineral empire by pouring money into securing raw materials from the world’s suppliers, securing access to crucial mines in countries like Australia, Chile, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and  then systematically building out massive processing capabilities. Through economies of scale, it has become the lowest-cost producer globally. Looking to diversify this concentration in a single region, other countries are now looking to build up their own domestic supply chains.

Decarbonizing metal production is also critical as renewables scale. Steel, aluminium and copper contribute the majority of embodied emissions in wind and solar projects. Operational carbon offsets allow many technologies to achieve payback in just months, but neglecting upstream decarbonization prolongs embedded emissions, underlining the need for a holistic approach that prioritizes both upstream and downstream investment.

Other key findings of the report include:

• Total lithium capacity from both primary and secondary sources could reach 4.4 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent by 2035, up from 1.5 million metric tons LCE in 2025.
• The manganese market is projected to remain balanced through 2050. Unlike other energy transition commodities, manganese faces no major supply risks concerning reserves or production capacity, though regional policy and logistics constraints may influence short-term availability. Total supply is set to grow by roughly 1% a year between 2025 and 2050, as primary supply utilization rates adjust to meet demand.
• Cobalt prices are likely to remain elevated in 2026 as a result of the DRC’s export ban.
• Iron ore remains the dominant revenue source for most companies analyzed, though exposure has declined with falling prices. Copper has also become another key revenue driver. Its share of BHP revenues rose to 38% in 2024 from 27% in 2020, while Anglo American doubled its exposure to 26% from 13%, making copper its largest contributor. Rio Tinto increased to 16% from 11%, and Zijin held steady at 20%.

It is a special edition of the Beigies Awards where one regional Federal Reserve Bank will receive lifetime achievement recognition. Today on the show, we speak to its President about the value of economic anecdotes.

Related episodes: 
What keeps a Fed president up at night
Using anecdotes to predict recessions

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Tyler Jones. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  

Interview with Piero Cipollone, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Takerou Minami on 26 November 2025

4 December 2025

Why is the digital euro needed in Europe now?

The use of cash is declining because we cannot use it to pay digitally. This clearly limits people’s freedom to pay with central bank money – which currently only exists in the form of physical cash. If we do not complement it with a digital form of cash, we are, in a way, discriminating against central bank money at the retail level.

We are concerned about what would happen in an economy in which there is no access to money issued by the central bank at the retail level. We have not experienced such a situation for a long time. Central bank money is the anchor for the whole financial system, yet we do not currently have a single European solution for every type of digital payment that would allow all Europeans to pay anywhere in the euro area – the only European option that allows you to pay everywhere in the euro area is cash.

In many euro area countries, people have to rely on non-European solutions to pay digitally, notably international card schemes. This means that if people want to buy milk at the supermarket in the morning, they either carry cash or they have to use an international card scheme. This is a big concern for us, because we are responsible for the smooth functioning of the payment system. What if there is a major problem with a payment system that does not come under the euro area’s jurisdiction? We need to make sure that Europeans have one European solution that allows them to pay digitally throughout the euro area. Like cash, but digital.

In what ways could a digital euro strengthen Europe’s unity and autonomy?

Cash was king ten years ago. Euro cash has been a symbol of unity for Europe, but now it risks losing its significance. By combining cash with a digital euro, we would be returning to the world we used to have, where you could pay for anything, anywhere with central bank money. This would reinforce the resilience of the system and, at the same time, our strategic autonomy.

How do you view the historical significance of the digital euro, in light of the changing post-war international order?

It is a natural evolution. We started with cheques, which were later replaced by debit cards, now we have mobile payments and tomorrow, potentially, stablecoins. Following this evolution, it would be absurd if the central bank did not adjust the offering of its main product – money.

The Bank for International Settlements warned about the risks that stablecoins pose to monetary sovereignty and financial stability.

Stablecoins are a new way to mobilise private savings. But they have a unique feature, which is that they represent commodity money rather than credit money. The provision of stablecoins depends on the collateral you have. Because each stablecoin needs to be backed one-to-one by underlying assets, their supply is more rigid than money that is issued by commercial banks. And because the value of the underlying assets might change, stablecoins can be exposed to runs. This could cause financial stability problems.

Some European banks are considering euro-denominated stablecoins.

This is important because euro-denominated stablecoins carry less risk than US dollar-denominated ones. If a stablecoin is denominated in a different currency to that of the country where it is issued, this results in currency substitution and creates risks for monetary sovereignty. Still, euro-denominated stablecoins might be subject to the same risk of a lack of flexibility I was discussing before.

As a central banker, how concerned are you about economic security threats? US President Donald Trump has repeatedly made hostile remarks against the EU.

The digital euro is a strategic project that is deeply rooted in the digital transformation of our economy. The project has its own life and motivations, independent of what is happening outside the eurozone.

What kind of user benefits and use cases do you see?

We aim to address all use cases, which means payments from person to person, in e-commerce, in shops and possibly also from and to the government. What are the benefits for individuals? First, simplicity, because you can cover all your needs with one means of payment. Second, a digital euro would allow people to pay offline even if there is no electricity or internet. This would increase resilience.

The most immediate benefit for merchants would be that their service costs would decline. The fees merchants pay to international credit card schemes increased from 0.27% in 2018 to 0.44% in 2022. With a digital euro, merchants would be in a better position when negotiating with international card schemes.

There are more than 300 million people in the eurozone, but how many of them would you expect to use a digital euro?

That is a very good question. We are working on understanding what the take-up rate would be. The information we have so far is that 66% of those who have an idea of what the digital euro would be say that they would be interested in using it. Of course, this number has to be tested once we launch a campaign explaining what it would be and how exactly it would work. But this is a credible number.

Would travellers from Japan be able to use the digital euro in Italy or Germany?

So far, the legislation foresees that visitors to the euro area, including tourists, would be able to make digital euro payments through European payment service providers.

Will the legislation be in place in time for the potential issuance in 2029?

The European Commission put forward the regulation on the digital euro in June 2023. Two bodies are currently examining it: the Council of the European Union, which represents EU Member States, and the European Parliament. They have to examine this piece of legislation and propose amendments or changes. Then they sit together and come up with the final legislation. The amendment process in the Parliament has just started. We are working on the assumption that the legislation will be adopted in 2026.

How confident are you that the legislation will be in place by 2026?

I am growing more confident by the day. During both the March and the October Euro Summit, we received strong support from the Heads of State, who called this a strategic project for Europe. I see momentum building here, and the EU Council aims to agree its position on the legislation by the end of the year.

The ECB is apparently gathering insights from eurozone countries, including the three Baltic States that border Russia. How do you deal with the threat of cyberattacks?

The Baltic Member States had some important proposals relating to resilience that they brought to the Council Working Party and that have been taken on board. We are reflecting this in the technical design of the digital euro. In terms of specific architecture, we are building a system that uses three different sites, each with multiple servers. The systems work in parallel, so that if one of the sites is down, service is not disrupted.

How would you address money laundering problems?

The approach would not differ much from what we do today. The anti-money laundering checks would be performed by the banks and other payment service providers. Essentially, when you make a payment with the digital euro, you use the app from the ECB or from your bank. Your interaction with the bank would be very much like it is today. That’s where the checks regarding anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism occur.

In terms of privacy, the ECB would see three numbers on the ledger of the digital euro: an encrypted code that represents the payer, the amount paid, and an encrypted code that represents the payee. But the link between the identity of the person and the code would only be known to the bank or payment company, not to the central bank.

So it would be impossible for us to attribute a payment to a specific person, because all we would see is an anonymised code.

What is your view on holding limits?

The digital euro would be a kind of banknote, so any restrictions on digital euro holdings need to be proportionate. However, holding limits would ensure that people do not move excessive amounts of money from their bank account to the digital euro wallet, which could be destabilising for banks. With holding limits, we want to minimise this risk while preserving people’s freedom to use the digital euro. We don’t want to jeopardise financial stability. At the same time, the user experience will be seamless for consumers as they will be able to pay sums higher than the holding limit by linking their digital euro wallet to their commercial bank account.

Would it be acceptable to set the limit at €3,000?

We would reassess all of this when we move closer to actually issuing the digital euro, but a study we published recently showed that with this limit there wouldn’t be any financial stability problems.

Would you consider sharing the technology and the knowledge gained in the digital euro project with other central banks such as the Bank of Japan?

Once we have overcome some problems, this becomes public knowledge. We will be more than happy to share know-how and discuss the technology with the Bank of Japan. More broadly, we are always exploring ways to improve payments together: for example, we are currently working together on a project steered by the Bank for International Settlements, called Agora, which aims to make cross-border payments faster and cheaper. We also work together in many groups at the G7 level, so we regularly share our assessments.

So is it possible to share such knowledge with the Bank of Japan?

It is. If we’re approached, we will be more than willing to interact, discuss and share.

The ECB has kept its deposit facility rate at 2%. Is it appropriate to maintain this rate at the December meeting?

We make decisions meeting by meeting, and they’re based on the information we have. Compared with the last Governing Council, it seems to me that risks around the central projection are more balanced. You may remember there was some concern that the economy could do worse than projected in the main scenario. But the economy has been resilient.

In our September projection, we expected inflation to be below target in 2026 and 2027. As you know, for us it is key that we go back to target in the medium term. The December projections will extend our forecasting horizon to 2028. But risks around inflation seem balanced and our central scenario seems more and more credible. So for the time being – as the President has said several times – we are in a good place. And we stand ready to react to any shock.

Is it premature to declare an end to rate cuts?

There are still many risks in the pipeline. For example, we haven’t seen the full effect of tariffs on the European economy. We know that there is pressure on the import side from the Chinese goods that are being redirected from the United States to Europe. The financial boost coming from higher expenditure, especially in Germany, might not manifest itself with the intensity that we are expecting. For the recovery of consumption, we are assuming that the savings rate will go down, but this assumption has yet to be tested. If it doesn’t materialise, we will need to act.

The Japanese yen has slumped to a new record low against the euro. The Japanese Government may decide to intervene in the foreign exchange market to support the weak yen. Would that be acceptable from the ECB’s point of view?

The G7 communiqué on exchange rates uses very clear language. It says, among other things, that we are committed to “market determined exchange rates,” to “consult closely in regard to actions in foreign exchange markets” and that “we will not target exchange rates for competitive purposes.” We will stick to that.

• Hyundai Motor Group, together with its 7 affiliates, highlights cutting-edge hydrogen technologies and real-world applications at Korea’s largest hydrogen event
• World Hydrogen Expo attracts 250+ companies from 25+ countries, showcasing innovations across hydrogen production, storage, mobility and utilization
• 10 newly unveiled hydrogen technologies include a hydrogen burner, a packaged hydrogen refueling system, an automated hydrogen refueling robot, and many more

SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Hyundai Motor Group (the Group) is showcasing hydrogen innovations at the World Hydrogen Expo, reaffirming its hydrogen leadership. Korea’s largest hydrogen industry exhibition brings together over 250 companies from more than 25 countries under the theme ‘Hydrogen Pioneers: Innovate, Unite, Accelerate.’

The Expo, held for the first time following the combination of the annual H2MEET exhibition and the conference, is supported by four government ministries^[1]. It is expected to attract 40,000 attendees, including industry leaders and the general public. The event underscores the country’s growing prominence as a global hydrogen hub and the Group’s central role in advancing the transition to clean energy.

“With the rapid increase in power demand driven by the spread of AI, expanding renewable energy is essential. Hydrogen offers the most powerful solution to store and utilize renewable energy, complementing its intermittency and enhancing overall efficiency,” said Jaehoon Chang, Vice Chair of Hyundai Motor Group. “By converting surplus electricity into hydrogen, we can ease the burden on power grids and make energy systems more flexible. Hydrogen is the ultimate game changer for the future energy transition,” he added.

Hydrogen, Beyond Mobility, New Energy for Society

Through its affiliates Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Corporation, Hyundai Steel Company, Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. (Hyundai E&C), Hyundai Engineering Co., Hyundai Glovis Co. and Hyundai-Rotem Co., the Group is showcasing innovative hydrogen technologies under the Group’s dedicated hydrogen brand and business platform HTWO.

The Group’s booth features various technologies, many of which are being unveiled for the first time. These innovations span the hydrogen value chain and are categorized under Production, Storage & Refueling, Mobility, and Industrial Application. These advancements reflect the Group’s commitment to driving sustainable energy innovation and scaling hydrogen applications across industries.

• Production: The Group is advancing diverse hydrogen production technologies to enhance energy efficiency and resilience. At the Expo, interactive displays provide visitors with an intuitive understanding of production processes.
• Storage & Refueling: The Group’s advanced hydrogen storage and refueling technologies aim to expand infrastructure, improve operational efficiency, and simplify deployment.
• Mobility: The Group is showcasing a wide array of hydrogen-powered mobility solutions, from passenger and commercial vehicles to groundbreaking applications across various industries.
• Industrial Application: The Group’s innovative hydrogen technologies extend beyond mobility, showcasing the versatility of hydrogen in industrial applications.

– End –

About Hyundai Motor Group

More information about Hyundai Motor Group can be found at: http://www.hyundaimotorgroup.com or Newsroom: Media Hub by Hyundai, Kia Global Media Center (kianewscenter.com), Genesis Newsroom

^[1] Including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources; Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment; Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport; and Ministry of Science and ICT (Information and Communication Technology).

SOURCE Hyundai Motor Group

Household energy bills will rise to help fund a £28bn investment in the UK’s energy network.

Most of the funding in energy regulator Ofgem’s five-year plan will go towards maintaining gas networks, but £10.3bn will be used to strengthen the electricity transmission network.

Households will see an additional £108 added to energy bills by 2031 under the plan.

But Ofgem said that what people would end up paying for energy will only rise by £30 a year, as the investment will help lower the reliance on imported gas and make wholesale energy cheaper.

Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley said the investment “will keep Britain’s energy network among the safest, most secure and resilient in the world”.

“The investment will support the transition to new forms of energy and support new industrial customers to help drive economic growth and insulate us from volatile gas prices,” he said.

Speaking ahead of Ofgem’s announcement, Keith Anderson, the chief executive of Scottish Power told the BBC’s Today programme the investment would also remove constraints in the system, which means the company would not need to be paid to turn off its wind turbines.

“This will be the biggest wave of investment in our electricity infrastructure since it was built by our grandfathers back in the 1950s and it will give us a system that is fit for purpose for the country for the 21st century,” he said.

The five-year plan covers maintenance and expansion of the network and the move away from a reliance on volatile international gas prices.

Ofgem has described this as a defining moment for Britain’s energy system – striking a balance between investing for the future and how much that costs billpayers.

Companies that run energy networks – including power lines and cables – are separate from suppliers. They have monopolies in different parts of the country.

This plan sets the framework for how they deliver a safe and secure supply, and the cost controls they face for five years, from next year.

It also comes after a government pledge in the Budget to remove certain costs, the equivalent to about £150 from a typical annual bill.

DXC Technology (DXC) has been grinding through a tough stretch, with the stock down sharply this year even as recent weeks show a modest rebound. That mix of pressure and recovery is exactly what makes the setup interesting right now.

See our latest analysis for DXC Technology.

With the share price now around $13.70, the recent 7 day share price return of 4.5% and 30 day gain of 3.24% look more like a short term bounce than a reversal, given the year to date share price decline of 30.63% and 1 year total shareholder return of 39.11%.

If DXC has you rethinking where momentum and ownership really line up, this could be a good moment to explore fast growing stocks with high insider ownership.

With revenues shrinking, profits under pressure, and a hefty intrinsic value discount implied, are markets overly pessimistic about DXC Technology, or is the current share price already correctly pricing in limited future growth potential?

DXC Technology’s most followed valuation narrative puts fair value slightly above the recent 13.70 dollar close, hinting at modest upside if its muted outlook plays out.

The analysts have a consensus price target of 15.625 dollars for DXC Technology based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors. However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of 18.0 dollars, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just 14.0 dollars.

Read the complete narrative.

Want to see why a shrinking top line, thinner margins, and lower future earnings still support a higher price tag? The key lies in how the narrative balances declining profitability, steady buybacks, and a richer future earnings multiple. Curious which assumptions really carry this valuation story? Dive in to unpack the cash flow path, margin profile, and discount rate that hold it all together.

Result: Fair Value of $14.50 (UNDERVALUED)

Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what’s behind the forecasts.

However, persistent GIS revenue declines and fierce competition from digital natives could derail the turnaround narrative if new contracts fail to offset churn.

Find out about the key risks to this DXC Technology narrative.

If you are not fully convinced by this perspective, or simply want to dig into the numbers yourself, you can build a custom view in minutes: Do it your way.

A great starting point for your DXC Technology research is our analysis highlighting 3 key rewards and 2 important warning signs that could impact your investment decision.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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In November, Norwegian had 1.5 million passengers, while Widerøe had 324,000 passengers, bringing the Group total to 1.84 million passengers. The November load factor of 85.5 percent was a record high for Norwegian.

“We had a strong performance overall during November. The load factor for Norwegian is the highest we have ever recorded for this month, showing that the network and capacity adjustments we made for the winter season are making a positive impact. We are also pleased with an increase in the unit revenue in November for Norwegian, and that operational performance continues to be solid into the winter season,” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

Norwegian’s capacity (ASK) in November was 2,404 million seat kilometres, down 6 percent from last year. Actual passenger traffic (RPK) for Norwegian was 2,055 million seat kilometres, a decline of 2 percent. The load factor was 85.5 percent, up 3 percentage points. Norwegian operated an average of 75 aircraft during November.

Widerøe’s capacity (ASK) in November was 161 million seat kilometres, a decline of 2 percent from last year. The actual passenger traffic (RPK) for Widerøe was 113 million seat kilometres, while the load factor was 70.3 percent, down 1.4 percentage points.

Norwegian and Widerøe’s punctuality, defined as the share of flights departing within 15 minutes of scheduled time, was 82.3 percent and 79.8 percent respectively. Regularity, measured by the share of scheduled flights taking place, was 99.7 percent for Norwegian and 94 percent for Widerøe. Widerøe’s operational performance during the month was impacted by harsh winter weather conditions.

Christmas holidays and strong booking momentum

With the end of the year and Christmas nearing, Norwegian and Widerøe both report that flights for the holidays are filling up quickly.

“We are well prepared for a busy holiday period and see solid demand for Christmas travel, both for domestic, city and beach destinations. The most popular dates are filling up fast, and we are all looking forward to bringing our passengers to their Christmas destinations. The booking momentum remains encouraging well into the beginning of next year, with more tickets sold than at the same point last year,” said Geir Karlsen.

During November, Norwegian launched several new routes for the 2026 summer programme. Among the 30 new routes are:

• Las Palmas, from both Bergen and Stavanger
• Lamezia, from Oslo (the airline’s 16th route between Norway and Italy)
• Zurich, from Oslo
• Tbilisi, from Copenhagen
• Tirana, from Helsinki
• Montpellier, from Stockholm

A separate press release on Widerøe’s traffic figures is available in the Widerøe media centre (In Norwegian only).

Vegetables, in my experience, rarely cause controversy. Yet last month I found myself in the middle of a legal storm over who gets to own the word sabzi – the Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Persian, Dari and Pashto word for cooked veg or fresh greens. It was a story as absurd as it was stressful, a chain of delis threatened me with legal action over the title of a book I had spent years creating. But what began as a personal legal headache soon morphed into something bigger, a story about how power and privilege still dominate conversations about cultural ownership in the UK.

When the email first landed in my inbox, I assumed it must be a wind-up. My editor at Bloomsbury had forwarded a solicitor’s letter addressed to me personally, care of my publishers. As I read it, my stomach dropped. A deli owner from Cornwall accused me of infringing her intellectual property over my cookbook Sabzi: Fresh Vegetarian Recipes for Every Day. Why? Because in 2022, she had trademarked the word sabzi to use for her business and any future products, including a cookbook she hoped to write one day.

My jaw clenched as I pored over pages of legal documentation, written in the punitive and aggressive tone of a firm gearing up for a fight. I was accused of “misrepresentation” (copying the deli’s brand), damaging its business and affecting its future growth, and they demanded detailed commercial reports about my work, including sales revenue, stock numbers and distribution contracts – information so intrusive that it felt like an audit. Buried in the legal jargon was a line that shook me. They reserved the right to seek the “destruction” of all items relating to their infringement claim. Reading the threat of my book being pulped was nothing short of devastating. It was also utterly enraging.

Because sabzi isn’t some cute exotic brand name, it’s part of the daily lexicon of more than a billion people across cultures and borders. In south Asia, it simply means cooked vegetables. Shout it loudly in any household and someone will instinctively start chopping. For Iranians, sabzi refers to fresh herbs and greens and is part of the national psyche. Iran’s national dish is ghormeh sabzi, a fragrant herb-laden stew, and sabzi is the scent of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, where we eat herbed rice and grow fresh greens as a symbol of rebirth and renewal. As someone of both Pakistani and Iranian heritage, when I first had the idea of writing a vegetarian cookbook back in 2017, I knew that I wanted to call it sabzi to honour the two food cultures I grew up with.

But back to the deli’s threats. My publishers sought legal advice – which was clear: the claims were overreaching and we should fight them. Book titles can’t actually be trademarked and common cultural words should be exempt from intellectual property law (can you imagine if someone tried to trademark common food words like curry, pasta or tapas?) The evidence of alleged business harm was weak, amounting to a few emails from customers who seemingly couldn’t differentiate between the deli owner and my name on the cover of the book. The legal team responded robustly, and I stepped away imagining we’d hear more in a few weeks. Then everything exploded.

One morning, I opened Instagram to find I was subject of a pile-on accusing me of copying the deli by calling my cookbook Sabzi. I noticed an unusual pattern in the people sending me aggressive messages: they were all women, all white, and all from Cornwall. I traced the comments back to the deli’s page and saw the owner had posted publicly about the legal action, naming me and framing it as a David-v-Goliath battle. This puzzled me, as business chains generally do rather better financially than food writers. Her statement also described herself as a “mother of two”, a detail that was later repeated in press coverage as though maternity itself conferred some kind of moral authority. As someone who has written extensively about infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss, I found the framing jarring. There are many places in the world where motherhood shapes your vulnerability – Sudan, say, or Gaza. But a privately educated deli owner, related by marriage to the former prime minister Clement Attlee, taking legal action against a writer over the title of a book whose title just means “vegetables” is not one of those situations.

The deli owner was working with a PR company to amplify her case so it wasn’t long before local and national journalists started getting in touch. I was dumbfounded as to why the case was being escalated in public, outside legal channels, but it was clear that she was determined to heighten the dispute. She reported my book for trademark infringement on Amazon and overnight it disappeared from the world’s biggest bookseller. Say what you like about Amazon (and I often do), but most books are bought there, particularly in the run-up to Christmas, so it’s an important platform for authors.

My editor explained that under Amazon’s policies, only the complainant can revoke an infringement claim, which meant we could be waiting months – possibly until after court proceedings – for my book to reappear online. It was around that time that I stopped being able to sleep. The stress wasn’t abstract any more, it was a direct threat to my livelihood.

It was then – in a twist that still feels ridiculous to write – that a letter arrived from the Duchy of Cornwall, one of the monarchy’s oldest feudal estates, on behalf of the deli owner as her landlord. The letter argued in support of the deli’s right to trademark the word sabzi, a plot twist so colonial that I had to check whether the East India Company had been revived. I didn’t have “correspondence with Prince William’s estate about vegetables” on my 2025 bingo card and wondered what would come next. A note from King Charles demanding a Tupperware of leftovers?

When a private estate providing income to the crown becomes involved in a legal dispute over the ownership of an Asian word for veg, the legacy of the entitlement at the heart of British colonialism is laid bare. And really, for me, it felt as if colonial entitlement were at the heart of this case. Throughout the saga, some argued that because the deli owner had some Iranian heritage (her father is from Iran and her mother is British), the dispute wasn’t about cultural appropriation. But people of colour know that heritage alone doesn’t guarantee solidarity. British politics offers its own examples of this – Priti Patel, whose family fled persecution in Uganda, and Suella Braverman, whose parents were economic migrants to the UK, have used some of the most inflammatory rhetoric against refugees and migrants in recent memory. You can share a heritage yet and still uphold the power dynamics of privilege.

Because my lawyers advised silence, I couldn’t comment publicly. My friends, however, made up for it. Desi WhatsApp during a scandal is its own news channel: one half outrage, one half jokes about your ancestors rising from the grave. Their fury was laced with a weariness, though. When words born in our grandmothers’ kitchens become entangled in legal battles backed by establishment power, something has gone seriously wrong.

Because this case is part of a much bigger pattern. For decades, companies in the global north, backed by western intellectual property laws, have attempted to control or commercialise food terms and ingredients from the global south. In the UK, the restaurant chain Pho sparked widespread outrage when it issued cease-and-desist letters to other Vietnamese restaurants for using the word “pho” in their names and later withdrew its trademark after public pressure.

A similar backlash ensued after the celebrity chef David Chang’s Momufuku empire attempted to trademark “chili crunch”, a spicy condiment popular in east Asian homes, or when the US company RiceTec tried to patent “basmati”, the name of a rice grown in, and deeply entwined, with the heritage of India and Pakistan.

Farmers and activists in the global south have also fought numerous biopiracy cases, not over words, but over seeds and plants. The examples raise the same questions about who gets to own and profit from traditional food culture. Monsanto’s patent relating to the use of Nap Hal wheat for chapati flour was later revoked; the Dutch company Health and Performance Food International secured patents over teff, Ethiopia’s 4,000-year-old staple grain (though these were later ruled invalid); and South Africa defeated attempts to trademark rooibos tea – yielding its manufacturers geographic rights over the term, in the same way that champagne, Darjeeling tea and Colombian coffee are protected descriptions.

Farmers in the global south have long argued that these cases and attempts represent a new form of colonial extraction, carried out not by armies but by intellectual property and patent lawyers. For those of us in diasporas, these ingredients and words carry a different but equally emotional weight. They are bridges to our families, our histories and our identities.

If my friends embraced me privately during this ordeal, the food world embraced me openly. As the news of the dispute spread, some of the UK’s most respected food writers rallied, with Rukmini Iyer, Rachel Roddy, Catherine Phipps, Olia Hercules, Debora Robertson and Nigella Lawson (among many more) posting clear-eyed arguments about why food culture belongs to everyone. It was incredibly moving to see others speak the words I could not and I’m for ever indebted to those who, through no ask from me, leapt to my defence. I suspect this happened because the food world is, by nature, collaborative. We blurb each other’s books and publicise the work of our peers. Food, after all, is a conduit to sharing. But also, I think it’s because we know that there is plenty of room for people working on similar themes to thrive. Just look at how many air-fryer cookbooks exist.

As public pressure grew, the tone behind the scenes began to shift. I was informed that the deli would drop the case and withdraw the trademark, a quiet admission that it should never have been sought or granted. To my relief the book was reinstated with online retailers and although there has been no apology or statement reflecting on lessons, it’s still a win for all of us who do not want our cultures to be commodified.

I hope the case leads to reflection in the UK trademark office and that training is introduced so that examiners develop greater cultural literacy. There also need to be safeguards against privatising common words and clearer routes of appeal. Food is something we share, not something we own, and it should stay in the hands of all those who keep it alive.