2025-06-22 21:34

Britain to cut high energy costs for business Government announces first industrial strategy for eight years Manufacturing revival eyed but some services miss out LONDON, June 22 (Reuters) - Britain's industrial strategy made public on Monday will reduce green levies, lowering energy bills for thousands of companies to try to make steel companies and other manufacturers more competitive. Under the strategy for the decade 2025-2035, the government plans to cut the bills of electricity-intensive industry by up to 25% from 2027, which it said could benefit more than 7,000 businesses. Sign up here. The government has made boosting Britain's anaemic growth a priority. But lawmakers and business leaders had highlighted the high energy costs many companies face as an obstacle. As the United States, under President Donald Trump, has taken a lead in promoting domestic industry through protectionist tariffs and by tearing up potentially expensive environmental rules and charges, Britain and also the European Union have faced pressure to support their manufacturers. Industry body Make UK had said the government should scrap climate levies imposed on firms. In response, the government has given an exemption to the most energy-intensive companies. The Industrial Strategy still includes clean energy as one of eight previously identified sectors of strength for Britain. Others are advanced manufacturing, defence and the creative industries. "Tackling energy costs and fixing skills has been the single biggest ask of us from businesses and the greatest challenge they have faced - this government has listened," Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said in a statement. The government said the energy measures would be funded through reforms to the energy system, without raising household bills or taxes. The scope and eligibility for the scheme will be finalised after a consultation. BUSINESS AND WORKERS The industrial strategy is Britain's first in eight years, after the centre-left Labour Party said it would provide a more coherent approach to help industry with anything from skills to power to water and investment. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other ministers said the British state had both stood back and interfered too much. They said workers had little support during deindustrialisation but had also faced what they say is overegulation. Engineering and business groups welcomed the strategy's focus on energy costs and skills, but pro-growth campaign group Britain Remade called for more to be done to ensure faster grid connections and to reform the planning system. Under the strategy, the government will expand the state-owned British Business Bank's capacity to channel investment into smaller companies, provide an extra 1.2 billion pounds ($1.61 billion) a year on skills by 2028-29, and cut regulatory burdens on businesses. Manufacturing accounts for less than 9% of the economy. As well as including Britain's creative sector, the industrial strategy covers financial and other professional services, but business groups from sectors such as hospitality criticised it for being too narrow in its focus. ($1 = 0.7435 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/britain-cut-companies-energy-bills-new-industrial-strategy-2025-06-22/

2025-06-22 21:22

June 22 (Reuters) - Electric car maker Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab started a trial of its long-awaited robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, the first step toward what could be a showdown with Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab Waymo, the only player currently offering fully autonomous paid rides in the United States. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has started off with about 10 Model Ys and promised to focus on safety. He says Tesla could scale quickly, and he plans a separate robotaxi vehicle. Sign up here. Social media influencers were seen booking and taking rides in the robotaxis in several Austin locations on Sunday, according to videos reposted by Musk. Here is how Tesla's cybercab efforts compare with those of Waymo and Amazon.com-owned (AMZN.O) , opens new tab Zoox, which is preparing its own commercial launch: LOCATIONS VEHICLE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/how-teslas-robotaxi-efforts-stack-up-against-waymo-zoox-2025-06-22/

2025-06-22 20:33

Shell-led LNG Canada facility begins production in Kitimat, British Columbia Facility aims to export 14 million metric tonnes per annum, doubling capacity next year Canadian gas exports to U.S. may decline as LNG Canada provides new outlet HOUSTON/CALGARY, June 22 (Reuters) - The Shell-led (SHEL.L) , opens new tab LNG Canada facility has produced its first liquefied natural gas for export in Kitimat, British Columbia, a spokesperson for the project confirmed on Sunday. The new production, which will go mainly to Asia, comes amid concerns over disruptions to the 20% of global gas supply coming from Qatar, due to the Israel-Iran conflict and the possibility of Tehran closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane. Sign up here. The facility has not yet loaded its first LNG export cargo, although LNG Canada said it remains on track to do by the middle of this year. The facility is the first large-scale Canadian LNG project to begin production and also the first major LNG facility in North America with direct access to the Pacific Coast, significantly reducing sail time to Asian markets when compared with U.S. Gulf coast facilities. When fully operational it will have a capacity to export 14 million metric tonnes per annum (mtpa), according to company statements. Shell and its partners in the LNG Canada project are working toward reaching a final investment decision next year for doubling the project's 14 million metric tonnes per year (mtpa) capacity, Cederic Cremers, Shell's president of integrated gas, told Reuters. He added he expected the project's first phase to fully reach its 14 mtpa capacity next year, after starting up this month. LNG tanker Gaslog Glasgow is approaching LNG Canada's Kitimat port, according to LSEG ship tracking data. The vessel is expected to arrive on June 29 and will be loaded with LNG, the sources said. The LNG Canada project is a joint venture between Shell Plc (SHEL.L) , opens new tab, Petronas (PGAS.KL) , opens new tab, PetroChina (601857.SS) , opens new tab, Mitsubishi Corporation (8058.T) , opens new tab and Kogas (KVGG.LJ) , opens new tab. Once the facility enters service, Canadian gas exports to the U.S. will likely decline, traders said, as Canadian energy firms will have another outlet for their fuel. For now, the U.S. is the only outlet for Canadian gas. Canada has two other smaller LNG export facilities also under construction on the Pacific Coast. The facilities, Woodfibre LNG and Cedar LNG, are expected to be completed between 2027 and 2028. Canada exported about 8.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of gas via pipelines to the U.S. in 2024, up from 8.0 bcfd in 2023 and an average of 7.5 bcfd over the prior five years (2018-2022), according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That compares with a record 10.4 bcfd in 2002. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/lng-canada-produces-first-liquefied-natural-gas-export-sources-say-2025-06-22/

2025-06-22 20:07

VIENNA, June 22 (Reuters) - Entrances to tunnels used to store part of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile at the sprawling Isfahan nuclear complex were hit in U.S. military strikes overnight, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Sunday. "We have established that entrances to underground tunnels at the site were impacted," the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement. Sign up here. Officials have previously said much of Iran's most highly enriched uranium was stored underground at Isfahan. In a statement to the U.N. Security Council soon after the IAEA statement was issued, the agency's chief Rafael Grossi appeared to confirm the tunnels hit were part of the area used for the storage of that stockpile. "Entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material appear to have been hit," he said, referring to Isfahan. Iranian officials have said measures would be taken to protect the country's nuclear material without informing the IAEA. Grossi said Iran could do that in a way that respects its so-called safeguards obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. "Any special measures by Iran to protect its nuclear materials and equipment can be done in accordance with Iran’s safeguards obligations and the agency. This is possible," Grossi told the Security Council. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iaea-says-entrances-tunnels-irans-isfahan-site-hit-by-us-strike-2025-06-22/

2025-06-22 19:30

BUDAPEST, June 22 (Reuters) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Sunday urged the European Union to take a proposed ban on Russian energy off the agenda due to an expected rise in energy prices following the US bombing of Iran. The European Commission on Tuesday proposed a legally binding ban on EU imports of Russian gas and liquefied natural gas by the end of 2027, using legal measures to ensure the plan cannot be blocked by EU members Hungary and Slovakia. Sign up here. The proposals set out how the bloc plans to fix into law its vow to end decades-old energy relations with Europe's former top gas supplier after Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. "We must contend with a further increase in the price of energy," Orban said in a Facebook video after a meeting of his Defence Council that discussed the possible security and economic implications of the Iran-Israel conflict. "This is a serious threat. Therefore, we must remove in Brussels the regulations and bans on Russian energy," he said. "We have enough problems given the negative impact of the Iran-Israel war on energy prices." Earlier on Sunday, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto held phone calls with the foreign ministers of Israel, Russia, Bahrain and Jordan to discuss the Middle East crisis. Slovakia and Hungary continue to receive Russian gas and oil and have argued with Ukraine over its decision to halt gas flows from the east through its territory at the end of 2024. The EU has imposed sanctions on most Russian oil imports but not on gas due to opposition from Slovakia and Hungary, which maintain closer ties with Moscow. Analysts have said higher oil prices, which have surged since Israel began attacking Iran a week ago, could add to inflationary pressures in the import-reliant central European region. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/hungarys-orban-urges-eu-drop-russian-energy-ban-amid-us-iran-conflict-2025-06-22/

2025-06-22 18:10

Musk emphasizes safety, limits robotaxi operations to specific conditions Republican Texas governor signs bill regulating autonomous vehicles Law does not take effect until September About 10 cars carry invited riders in limited area, with no one behind wheel AUSTIN, June 22 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab deployed a small group of self-driving taxis picking up paying passengers on Sunday in Austin, Texas, with CEO Elon Musk announcing the "robotaxi launch" and social-media influencers posting videos of their first rides. The event marked the first time Tesla cars without human drivers have carried paying riders, a business that Musk sees as crucial to the electric car maker's financial future. Sign up here. He called the moment the "culmination of a decade of hard work" in a post on his social-media platform X and noted that "the AI chip and software teams were built from scratch within Tesla." Teslas were spotted early Sunday in a neighborhood called South Congress with no one in the driver's seat but one person in the passenger seat. The automaker planned a small trial with about 10 vehicles and front-seat riders acting as "safety monitors," though it remained unclear how much control they had over the vehicles. In recent days, the automaker sent invites to a select group of influencers for a carefully monitored robotaxi trial in a limited zone. The rides are being offered for a flat fee of $4.20, Musk said on X. Tesla investor and social-media personality Sawyer Merritt posted videos on X Sunday afternoon showing him ordering, , opens new tab getting picked up , opens new tab and taking a ride to a nearby bar and restaurant, Frazier's Long and Low, using a Tesla robotaxi app. If Tesla succeeds with the small deployment, it still faces major challenges in delivering on Musk's promises to scale up quickly in Austin and other cities, industry experts say. It could take years or decades for Tesla and self-driving rivals, such as Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab Waymo, to fully develop a robotaxi industry, said Philip Koopman, a Carnegie Mellon University computer-engineering professor with expertise in autonomous-vehicle technology. A successful Austin trial for Tesla, he said, would be "the end of the beginning - not the beginning of the end." Most of Tesla's sky-high stock value now rests on its ability to deliver robotaxis and humanoid robots, according to many industry analysts. Tesla is by far the world's most valuable automaker. As Tesla's robotaxi-rollout date approached, Texas lawmakers moved to enact autonomous-vehicle rules. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, on Friday signed legislation requiring a state permit to operate self-driving vehicles. The law, which takes effect September 1, signals that state officials from both parties want the driverless-vehicle industry to proceed cautiously. Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. The governor's office declined to comment. "EASY TO GET, EASY TO LOSE" The law softens the state's previous anti-regulation stance on autonomous vehicles. A 2017 Texas law specifically prohibited cities from regulating self-driving cars. The new law requires autonomous-vehicle operators to get approval from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles before operating on public streets without a human driver. It gives state authorities the power to revoke permits for operators they deem a public danger. The law also requires firms to provide information on how first responders can deal with their driverless vehicles in emergency situations. The law's permit requirements for an "automated motor vehicle" are not onerous but require firms to attest their vehicles can operate legally and safely. It defines an automated vehicle as having at least "Level 4" autonomous-driving capability under a recognized standard, meaning it can operate with no human driver under specified conditions. Level 5 autonomy is the top level and means a car can drive itself anywhere, under any conditions. Compliance remains far easier than in some states, notably California, which requires submission of vehicle-testing data under state oversight. Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who focuses on autonomous driving, said it appears any company that meets minimum application requirements will get a Texas permit - but could also lose it if problems arise. "California permits are hard to get, easy to lose," he said. "In Texas, the permit is easy to get and easy to lose." MUSK'S SAFETY PLEDGES The Tesla robotaxi rollout comes after more than a decade of Musk's unfulfilled promises to deliver self-driving Teslas. Musk has said Tesla would be "super paranoid" about robotaxi safety in Austin, including operating in limited areas. The service in Austin will have other restrictions as well. Tesla plans to avoid bad weather, difficult intersections, and will not carry anyone below age 18. Commercializing autonomous vehicles has been risky and expensive. GM's (GM.N) , opens new tab Cruise was shut down after a serious accident. Regulators are closely watching Tesla and its rivals, Waymo and Amazon's (AMZN.O) , opens new tab Zoox. Tesla is also bucking the young industry's standard practice of relying on multiple technologies to read the road, using only cameras. That, Musk says, will be safe and much less expensive than lidar and radar systems added by rivals. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-tiptoes-into-long-promised-robotaxi-service-2025-06-22/