Air Liquide announced the successful start-up of the world’s first industrial-scale ammonia cracking pilot unit with a 30 tons per day ammonia to hydrogen conversion capacity at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Belgium. This groundbreaking innovation demonstrates a key missing technology brick to a viable pathway for converting ammonia into hydrogen, and unlocks challenges of transportation of hydrogen. This technology proven at the industrial scale for the development of world scale ammonia cracking plants enables access to low-carbon and renewable hydrogen for the decarbonisation of industry and mobility.
The ability to efficiently transport hydrogen over long distances is a persistent challenge in developing a robust global hydrogen economy. Ammonia (NH3), formed by hydrogen and nitrogen molecules, emerges as a valuable hydrogen carrier. It can be cost-effectively produced in regions rich in renewable energy sources, such as solar, hydro, and wind or other low-carbon power. A well-established global infrastructure already exists for the large-scale production, transportation, and utilisation of ammonia. This allows for the export of ammonia from energy-abundant regions to end-users worldwide, where it can then be “cracked” back into hydrogen, providing a crucial component for decarbonising industry and mobility.
Work will begin next year, with the aim of generating power by the mid 2030s
A first-of-its-kind nuclear power station is to be built on Anglesey, bringing up to 3,000 jobs and billions of pounds of investment.
The plant at Wylfa, on the Welsh island’s northern coast, will have the UK’s first three small modular reactors (SMR), although the site could potentially hold up to eight.
Work is due to start next year with the aim of generating power by the mid 2030s.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said that Britain was once a world leader in nuclear power but “years of neglect and inertia has meant places like Anglesey have been let down and left behind. Today, that changes.”
The news was also welcomed by First Minister Eluned Morgan, who said she had been “pressing the case at every opportunity for Wylfa’s incredible benefits”.
Using the Welsh name for Anglesey, she described it as “the moment Ynys Môn and the whole of Wales has been waiting for”.
The project, which could power about three million homes, will be built by publicly owned Great British Energy-Nuclear and is backed by a £2.5bn investment from the UK government.
SMRs work similarly to large reactors, using a nuclear reaction to generate heat that produces electricity – but are a fraction of the size, with about a third of the generating output.
Ed Milliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, called the announcement “exciting” and said Britain is in the race for new reactors.
Simon Bowen, chair of Great British Energy-Nuclear, called the announcement an “historic moment for the UK”.
“These first SMRs at Wylfa will lay the groundwork for a fleet-based approach to nuclear development, strengthening the UK’s energy independence and bringing long-term investment to the local economy.”
Anglesey councillor Gary Pritchard said it was an “important step forward for new nuclear build on Ynys Môn”.
“If, as we hope, these plans come to fruition – it will mean economic certainty and prosperity for decades to come.”
Llinos Medi, the MP for Ynys Môn, said it was an “significant step” and a “game-changer” for the area “but only if local people see real and lasting benefits”.
Mims Davies MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, said there is no doubt the decision will bring much-needed jobs and investment but “the current plan will only generate a fraction of the power that a Gigawatt-powered plant would”.
The company has also been tasked with identifying potential sites for another large-scale nuclear power plant, similar to those being built at Hinkley Point in Somerset and Sizewell in Suffolk, which have the potential to power the equivalent of six million homes.
It will report back by autumn 2026, and has been requested by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband to consider sites across the UK, including in Scotland, officials said.
It is not clear whether the SMR plans, which are smaller and more straightforward to build, rule Wylfa out from being considered after it was designated the preferred location in 2024 by the previous UK Conservative government.
The decision to opt for small modular reactors at Wylfa was criticised by the US ambassador Warren Stephens, who said he was “extremely disappointed” by the decision.
He had been urging ministers to commit to a large-scale plant, with US firm Westinghouse having reportedly presented plans to build a new gigawatt station at the site.
“If you want to get shovels in the ground as soon as possible and take a big step in addressing energy prices and availability, there is a different path, and we look forward to decisions soon on large-scale nuclear projects,” Mr Stephens said.
‘Nuclear equivalent of an Ikea chair’
One industry expert described the announcement as “incredible”.
Prof Simon Middleburgh, director of the Nuclear Futures Institute at Bangor University, said: “They’re smaller than the average reactor, built in a modular manner in factories and shipped to the site to be put together a bit like an Ikea chair.”
The planned SMRs “fit nicely” with the existing grid capacity at the Wylfa site, offering a similar electricity output as the old power plant currently being decommissioned, he added.
There were “a few more hurdles to go through”, he cautioned – from securing regulatory approval, building the factories required to construct the SMRs and training the workforce that will run them.
Opponents of the project point to the fact that a long-term storage facility for the UK’s nuclear waste is yet to be agreed upon and say investment in renewable energy schemes – wind, wave and tidal – is what Anglesey needs.
Dylan Morgan of campaign group People Against Wylfa-B told BBC Wales the proposed SMRs were far from “small” and were in fact “an unnecessarily big development of an unproven technology”.
“Modular reactor technologies have been touted by many companies internationally but are still only plans on paper,” he said.
The government sees them as a secure, reliable, affordable and low carbon energy system and is convinced that, with investment, SMRs will create thousands of jobs and boost manufacturing.
Wylfa beat off competition from another site at Oldbury in Gloucestershire, with the reactors designed by British engineering firm Rolls-Royce, subject to final contracts, which are expected later this year.
The UK government said the plant would help provide energy independence.
The old nuclear power plant at Wylfa was switched off in 2015 and previous plans for a large-scale replacement fell through in 2021.
The company behind the scheme – the Japanese industrial giant Hitachi – cited spiralling costs and a failure to reach agreement with the UK government over funding.
There is a huge political component to the announcement, with Labour’s leadership in Westminster keen to show that it means business when it comes to big investment in infrastructure projects
In Wales, the first minister has been pushing hard for Wylfa – and the announcement comes just six months before the Senedd election.
Eluned Morgan has been trying to strike a balance: differentiating the Welsh party from UK Labour, but also pushing for extra funding, further devolution of powers and big investment announcements from her UK colleagues.
She has certainly got the latter, although plenty of other issues such as reform to the way Wales is funded and devolution of the Crown Estate – the body which owns much of the Welsh coastline and vital to future wind power – remain unresolved.
Abdul Latif Jameel Finance named “The Leading Non-Bank Financial Institution for MSME Funding in 2024” for the second consecutive year.
It was also awarded “The Highest Growing Non-Bank Financial Institution for MSME Funding in 2024”.
Recognition reflects Abdul Latif Jameel Finance’s commitment to empowering entrepreneurs and supporting Saudi Vision 2030’s goals of economic diversification and sustainable growth.
Abdul Latif Jameel Finance, a leader in innovative financing solutions and services that is regulated by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), has been honored with two awards at the Biban Forum 2025, held in Riyadh.
Presented by the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (Monsha’at), Abdul Latif Jameel Finance was recognized as both the “The Leading Non-Bank Financial Institution for MSME Funding in 2024” for the second year in a row, and the “The Highest Growing Non-Bank Financial Institution for MSME Funding in 2024”.
The awards highlight Abdul Latif Jameel Finance’s leadership in advancing access to finance for micro, small, and medium enterprises across Saudi Arabia, and its ongoing contribution to driving entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, and sustainable economic development in line with Saudi Vision 2030.
Dr. Khalid Alsharif, CEO of Abdul Latif Jameel Finance, said: “We are deeply honored to receive two awards from Monsha’at recognizing our leadership and growth in MSME financing. This achievement reflects our unwavering commitment to empowering entrepreneurs, supporting business sustainability, and contributing to the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 objectives. We remain dedicated to developing innovative, responsible financial solutions that help Saudi businesses grow and thrive.”
To date, Abdul Latif Jameel Finance has funded more than 294,000 MSMEs, extending over SAR 4.2 billion in financing across key sectors including technology, tourism, entertainment, crafts, and production.
As a trusted partner in Saudi Arabia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, Abdul Latif Jameel Finance continues to innovate tailored financing solutions that enable business growth, promote financial inclusion, and support the Kingdom’s ongoing economic transformation.
TDK Corporation (TSE:6762) announces that it has won the “Best IR Award” at the IR Excellent Companies Conference 2025, at the 2025 IR Award, organized by the Japan Investor Relations Association (JIRA). This marks the first time TDK has received this award in 20 years, the previous award win took place in 2005.
The IR Award is designed to recognize companies which have been highly accredited in the investment community for their understanding and promotion of IR activities. This year marks the 30th year since the first IR Award. Of the JIRA member companies, 371 publicly-traded companies applied for the 2025 IR Award and a total of 13 companies were selected and received awards: the “IR Grand Prix” was given to two companies, the “Best IR Awards” to six, the “IR Special Awards” to three, and the “Best IR Awards for Encouragement” to two.
Major Reasons TDK was Selected for the Award
In recent years, the company has expanded opportunities for dialogue between management and investors and has strengthened its IR activities
The company has worked to deepen investors’ understanding in various ways through hosting events including factory tours combined with business strategy briefings and meetings with outside directors
The company demonstrates a strong consciousness of cost of capital and stock price. By disclosing business-segment ROIC and explaining management policies derived by backcasting from its long-term vision, the company makes it easier for investors to understand its business-portfolio optimization and medium- to long-term projections
Through its Integrated Report and “Pre-Financial Capital Briefings,” the company is actively explaining how human capital and corporate culture contribute to enhancing its corporate value
TDK continues to place importance on active information disclosure and mutual communication with stakeholders to enhance its corporate value.
More details about the awards can be found at the website below: Japan Investor Relations Association https://www.jira.or.jp/english/
About TDK Corporation
TDK Corporation (TSE:6762) is a global technology company and innovation leader in the electronics industry, based in Tokyo, Japan. With the tagline “In Everything, Better” TDK aims to realize a better future across all aspects of life, industry, and society. For over 90 years, TDK has shaped the world from within; from the pioneering ferrite cores to cassette tapes that defined an era, to powering the digital age with advanced components, sensors, and batteries, leading the way towards a more sustainable future. United by TDK Venture Spirit, a start-up mentality built on visions, courage and mutual trust, TDK’s passionate team members around the globe pursue better—for ourselves, customers, partners, and the world. Today, the state-of-the-art technologies of TDK are in everything, from industrial applications, energy systems, electric vehicles, to smartphones and gaming, at the core of modern life. TDK’s comprehensive, innovative-driven portfolio includes cutting-edge passive components, sensors and sensor systems, power supplies, lithium-ion and solid-state batteries, magnetic heads, AI and enterprise software solutions, and more—featuring numerous market-leading products. These are marketed under the product brands TDK, EPCOS, InvenSense, Micronas, Tronics, TDK-Lambda, TDK SensEI, and ATL. Positioning the AI ecosystem as a key strategic area, TDK leverages its global network across the automotive, information and communication technology, and industrial equipment sectors to expand its business in a wide range of fields. In fiscal 2025, TDK posted total sales of USD 14.4 billion and employed about 105,000 people worldwide.
A bitter battle over the future of a Chinese-owned chipmaker in the Netherlands that threatened to cripple the global car industry is a “wake-up call to Europe and the west”, the minister at the heart of the row has warned.
The six-week standoff between the EU and Beijing over Nexperia and its vital supplies of automotive semiconductors has served up a sobering lesson to world leaders over their dependency on China, says Vincent Karremans.
The Dutch economy minister says he has no regrets about the tussle and would not change his actions even with the benefit of hindsight. “There’s a lot of interest in exactly what happened,” he says. “It’s like an economic thriller.”
Detailing for the first time how the trade war unfolded, he recalls high-level exchanges with his German counterpart, the car industry and the US, as well as conversations with critical intelligence that he claims showed Nexperia was moving parts of its physical operations in Hamburg to China.
The dispute started on 30 September when the Netherlands took supervisory control of Nexperia, alleging risks to “European economic security”. The decision to invoke a never-used-before cold war law had been taken two days earlier at the highest level of the Dutch government and was enacted after detailed legal checks.
Karremans says it had nothing to do with a US move on 29 September to put Nexperia on a list of companies facing import controls. “We were absolutely not pushed or pressurised or whatever by the Americans to take action on this,” he says.
“What we heard from the Americans was they were going into [government] shutdown and they wanted to ensure Nexperia was on the list.”
Vincent Karremans: ‘If I had been in the same position, with the knowledge I know now, I would have done the same thing again.’ Photograph: Koen van Weel/EPA
The Dutch intervention triggered a furious reaction from Beijing, which for four days banned the export of Nexperia’s chips from China, most of which are finished. That in turn threw carmakers’ supply chains in to chaos, leading to production pauses in Mexico and warnings from EU manufacturers that they were “days away” from stoppages.
After the deal between Donald Trump and Chinese president, Xi Jinping, in South Korea at the end of last month cleared the way for Beijing to resume chip supplies to Europe, the crisis appears to be over. For now.
“Now, for the short term, there’s a solution … and we’re very grateful for the steps that the Chinese authorities have taken on this.” However, Karremans stresses: “If I had been in the same position, with the knowledge I know now, I would have done the same thing again.”
The Dutch chipmaker, once part of the Philips electronics group, was bought by China’s Wingtech in 2018. Concerns about its future ability to export to the US emerged in 2023 when the US notified the Dutch that they were considering putting Wingtech on an “affiliate list” of companies that could pose a threat to national security.
“These restrictions were immense, so it was in our best interests to work with the American and Chinese governments and the Nexperia Chinese shareholder to work out a solution.”
The Dutch then entered a dialogue with Zhang Xuezheng, the founder of Wingtech and chief executive of Nexperia in the Netherlands, to ensure the company’s independence. Demands included the establishment of an independent supervisory board and a requirement that Zhang no longer act as both CEO and head of human resources.
“I spoke to Mr Zhang about this in the ministry last summer,” says Karremans. “It was one of the first meetings I had as minister for economic affairs. He was telling me they were very much on board. We had a list of measures to be taken and then we would engage with the Americans and say this is a Dutch company.”
But in September, things took a dramatic turn.
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“I had people coming to my office saying: ‘Minister, we need to talk to you,’ and they told me what Zhang was doing. They said he was moving away intellectual property rights, they were firing people, and they were looking to relocate production from [Hamburg] to China.”
Asked who these people were, he says: “I can’t tell you who they were … but we have physical evidence that this [relocation] was happening.”
He argues that if Wingtech had moved its semiconductor wafer production to China, then “this interdependence that Europe had [with China] would have changed into a full dependency. That … would have been very dangerous for Europe.”
After the situation with the Chinese escalated in the aftermath of the Nexperia intervention, Karrenmans spoke to Germany’s economy minister, Katherina Reiche. “She supported our action. She was very concerned about what this meant, obviously, for the car industry.” Leaders in the EU, US, China, France and elsewhere around the world were also kept informed.
“We weren’t intending to go public on this. We wanted to solve this swiftly and silently,” Karremans says.
Beijing’s move to restore chip supplies at the weekend came after the US decided to pause sanctions for companies on its affiliate list. But the Dutch have yet to reverse out of Nexperia, with Karremans hinting nothing will happen until the first chips arrive on European shores.
“We are in direct touch with the German car industry and with other car manufacturers and clients of Nexperia. They will let us know when they receive the chips. And once the supply resumes and we are confident it will continue, then … we’ll take the appropriate steps that are needed by the Dutch government to resolve this issue.”
Karremans hopes this “will serve as a wake-up call” over the dangers of depending on one country for essential tech or raw materials. Although his VVD party finished third in last month’s general election, he will remain economy minister until a new government is formed, which could take a year.
When Wingtech was asked about the allegations that it was planning to move part of its physical production line in Hamburg to China, the company said it was pressing ahead with an investment rollout in Germany with 150 new jobs created, including 100 in R&D and 50 in production.
A spokesperson said: “Wingtech’s $200m investment plan for the Hamburg wafer fabrication facility, announced in 2024, is progressing steadily … As the new production lines start to ramp up, we were expecting to continue the expansion of our operational team, a development which has since been sidelined due to the Dutch government’s intervention.”
