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<keyword id="4625572" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-renewable-energy-development-agency" source="Orion">Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency</keyword> Ltd (<keyword id="391336" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="ireda" source="Orion">IREDA</keyword>) has opened an office in <keyword id="6424024" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gift-city" source="Orion">GIFT City</keyword> at Gandhinagar which will specialise in providing debt options denominated in <keyword id="90766" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="foreign-currencies" source="Orion">foreign currencies</keyword> to facilitate natural hedging and significantly reduce the financing costs for green hydrogen and renewable energy manufacturing projects, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy said on Thursday. The strategic initiative which would contribute to the country's journey towards a greener future was highlighted by IREDA chairman and managing director (CMD) Pradip Kumar Das at a panel discussion on 'Future Growth Opportunities for Long Duration <keyword id="1609428" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="energy-storage" source="Orion">Energy Storage</keyword>', held at the World Future Energy Summit 2024 in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. The IREDA CMD emphasised the critical role that energy storage will play in achieving the <keyword id="13194051" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="national-green-hydrogen" source="Orion">National Green Hydrogen</keyword> Mission's ambitious target of producing over 5 million metric tons of hydrogen per annum by 2030. The CMD emphasised the need to enhance research and development efforts to reduce cost and improve the performance of energy storage solutions. It was necessary to implement policies that strengthen the supply chain network, and providing competitive and tailored financial solutions will encourage investment in energy storage projects, he added. India has taken active steps in this direction, which include the formulation of a storage requirement roadmap up to 2047, technology-agnostic storage tenders, and supportive government interventions for battery manufacturing and pumped storage hydropower projects. The Central Electricity Authority of India projects a storage requirement of nearly 400 gigawatt-hours (GWh) by 2030-32, with an estimated investment exceeding Rs 3.5 lakh crore.

IREDA's GIFT City branch to give special foreign currency loans for green projects

State-owned <keyword id="20039950" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharat-Petroleum-Corporation" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Bharat Petroleum Corporation" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Bharat Petroleum Corporation">Bharat Petroleum Corporation</keyword> plans to invest Rs 1.7 lakh crore over the next five years to grow its core oil refining and fuel marketing business as well as in 'future big bets' of <keyword id="20115883" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="petrochemicals" source="keywords">petrochemicals</keyword> and <keyword id="19895435" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="green-energy" source="keywords">green energy</keyword>, its chairman G Krishnakumar has said. At present, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (<keyword id="19908646" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="BPCL" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="BPCL" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="BPCL">BPCL</keyword>) owns about 14 per cent of India's oil <keyword id="20064251" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="refining-capacity" source="keywords">refining capacity</keyword> and about a quarter of the fuel retailing network. It plans to grow these businesses while foraying into newer areas. The firm is now implementing the first phase of a multi-decade aspirational journey in the form of '<keyword id="22826627" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="project-Aspire" source="keywords">Project Aspire</keyword>' - its five-year strategic framework that is based on two fundamental pillars - 'Nurturing the Core' and 'Investing in Future Big Bets', he said in the company's latest annual report. "Our mid-term strategy is on a continuum. While we remain committed to growing our core businesses, which include refining and marketing <keyword id="20037698" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="petroleum-products" source="keywords">petroleum products</keyword> and upstream, we are equally focused on our big bets comprising petrochemicals, gas, green energy, non-fuel retail, and digital. "Project Aspire, with a planned capex outlay of around Rs 1.70 lakh crore over five years, will enable us to create long-term value for our stakeholders while preserving our planet for future generations," he said. "A cornerstone of our long-term strategy, Project Aspire, with a Rs 1.70 trillion investment, marks the initial phase of our multi-decade odyssey to shape the energy of tomorrow. This, coupled with our robust balance sheet, fuels our ambition to lead the <keyword id="19951336" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="energy-transition" source="keywords">energy transition</keyword>." The company is targeting net zero carbon emissions from its operations by 2040. "BPCL has drawn a net-zero roadmap, which encompasses renewable power, green hydrogen, compressed biogas, carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS), efficiency improvement and the offsets procurements. This would require a phased capital outlay of approximately Rs 1 lakh crore till 2040, and the company is geared for the same," he said. The firm's bet on continuing investing in core businesses is based on the premise that India's booming economy will drive a 4-5 per cent annual increase in energy demand and petroleum product consumption. Also, the demand for major petrochemical products is expected to rise by 7-8 per cent annually. "This presents a strategic opportunity to expand refining capacity alongside the development of integrated petrochemical complexes," he said. BPCL is implementing new petrochemical projects at two of its three oil refineries. A Rs 49,000 crore ethylene cracker project is being implemented at the Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh, alongside raising oil refining capacity from the current 7.8 million tonnes to 11 million tonnes annually by 2029. A polypropylene project is being set up at Kochi refinery in Kerala by 2027. "To meet the anticipated demand beyond our planned expansions in Bina and Kochi, we are actively evaluating options for setting up additional integrated refining and petrochemical capacities within the next 5-7 years," Krishnakumar said without disclosing either the investments or the location of such a project. Andhra Pradesh is being speculated as the likely site after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP and regional party TDP stormed to power in the state in recently concluded assembly elections. TDP has been demanding the implementation of a refinery-cum-petrochemical complex that was promised as part of the package when the state was split more than a decade back. "Our investment in the petrochemical project is consistent with our aspiration of becoming a dominant player in India's petrochemical growth story," Krishnakumar said. On energy transition, he said BPCL is targeting to build 2 gigawatts (GW) of <keyword id="19895602" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="renewable-energy" source="keywords">renewable energy</keyword> capacity by 2025 and 10 GW by 2035. "We are investing nearly Rs 1,000 crore to establish two 50 MW captive wind power plants in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, which will support our refineries in Mumbai and Bina." The firm is also investing around Rs 300 crore in 72 MWp of solar project in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. "Concomitantly, we are executing green hydrogen projects aligned with the National Green Hydrogen Mission. These projects include a 5 MW electrolyser plant at Bina refinery and a green hydrogen refuelling station with an indigenously developed electrolyser at Kochi," he noted. BPCL, he said, is committed to supporting the transition to electric mobility through a robust and accessible charging infrastructure. The company has installed over 3,000 charging stations, including fast chargers for cars and two-wheelers. 900 fast chargers are installed across 120 highway corridors, which helps address the range, discovery and time anxiety of electric vehicle (EV) owners. "Over the next five years, we aim to install 4-wheeler fast chargers at approximately 6,000 retail outlets across 400 highway corridors, prioritising high-traffic corridors like the Golden Quadrilateral and N-S/E-W highways," he said. On biofuels, he said BPCL sells petrol with 20 per cent ethanol blend at 4,279 out of its over 22,000 petrol pumps. It is also building compressed biogas plants using municipal solid waste to make gas that can be used as CNG in automobiles. The firm is also exploring partnerships in the arena. "These combined efforts, along with the upcoming commissioning of a bio-ethanol refinery, positions BPCL as a key player in India's transition to a greener fuel mix, creating a robust ecosystem for the adoption of cleaner fuels across the country," he added. BPCL is establishing a corporate venture capital fund to invest directly in promising startups. "In order to thrive in this complex and challenging business landscape, we will leverage our agility and focus on operational excellence to ensure continued success. Safety and reliability will remain our top priorities, guiding all our actions. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of corporate governance," he added. He said the energy sector of India stands at an inflection point. "The nation has an ambitious vision of becoming a USD 30 trillion developed economy by 2047. 'Viksit Bharat @2047' will necessitate an almost fourfold increase in primary energy demand." India's exponential growth trajectory will propel it to a pivotal role in the global energy market, accounting for roughly 12 per cent of world energy consumption by 2047. "The key strategic objectives for India in the energy sector will entail significant expansion in refining capacities, raising the share of gas in the energy basket from about 6 per cent to 15 per cent, establishing leadership in petrochemical exports, and sharply reducing energy imports from current levels of 47 per cent to below 25 per cent by 2030 and to zero by 2047," he said. India is targeting 500 GW of non-fossil fuel energy capacity, sourcing half of its energy needs from renewables, reducing carbon emissions by 1 billion tonnes and lowering carbon intensity by 45 per cent by 2030 with the ultimate goal of net-zero emissions by 2070. "Building on its strong Indian energy presence, BPCL aspires to meet 7-10 per cent of the nation's primary energy demand by 2047," he said.

BPCL planning Rs 1.7 lakh crore spend to expand core business, new energy foray over next five years

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Abaxx is a new commodities exchange that aims to stabilize prices and aid the energy transition.</li><li>"Trade and network keeps the world at peace," Abaxx's CEO told BI.</li></ul>The race to clean-up the global economy is on.Investment in the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-renewable-energy-transition-solar-electric-vehicles-hit-records-2024-2">energy transition</a> — a broad shift from fossil-based energy production systems to renewable resources like wind and solar power — hit $1.8 billion in 2023, with countries like China and the United States leading the charge, according to BloombergNEF, an energy research company. The International Energy Agency says total investment in clean energy could reach $2 trillion by the end of the year.But the shift to a cleaner, lower-carbon world doesn't depend solely on the work of government officials, legislators, or even major businesses. It also hinges on players working behind the scenes to secure the prices of key commodities like liquefied natural gas, essential for electricity generation and heating, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fund-carbon-removal-corporates-avoid-bad-credits-2023-2">carbon offsets</a>, which help companies counteract the impact of their carbon emissions.A new Singapore-based commodities exchange called Abaxx, which launched in June, is working to do that by providing companies, governments, and project developers with a transparent marketplace for their trades. Commodities markets help stabilize prices by helping suppliers and consumers figure out fair prices, hedge against volatile price changes, and execute efficient and transparent transactions.Exchanges like Abaxx play a role in this because they help lock in prices and mitigate drastic fluctuations in the future. Abaxx deals in futures contracts, legally binding agreements to buy or sell commodities at a specified future date. Three regionally deliverable liquified natural gas contracts and two carbon offset contracts are already trading on the exchange. It's working on launching futures contracts for gold and battery metals, like lithium, a component in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-cheaper-electric-vehicle-battery-technology-lithium-shift-2023-3">batteries that power EVs like Tesla</a>.Josh Crumb, the CEO and founder of Abaxx, says unclear pricing can lead to higher and more volatile prices for consumers while also forcing commodity producers to navigate turbulent investment cycles."If we look at the battery supply chain, nickel sulfate, lithium, cobalt, these things have gone through huge swings of boom and bust over the last couple of years," Crumb told Business Insider. "The main reason why is we don't have a lot of market transparency so that people can forward plan, price, hedge, all of that."Crumb first realized that the commodity industry needed more innovation when he was working as a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rip-goldman-sachs-wall-street-investment-bank-dead-2023-11">strategist at Goldman Sachs</a> in the years following the 2008 financial crisis. That coincided with the end of the commodities boom of the 2000s, during which the prices of many commodities, from food to oil to chemicals, had drastically surged.Now, with trading in full swing, Crumb hopes Abaxx will play a role in stabilizing what he sees as the next commodity investment cycle — marked not just by a need for new commodities to facilitate the energy transition but also a surge in electrification."When people speak of the energy transition to a lower carbon economy, they are usually speaking of replacing internal combustion engines with electric vehicles, with electricity supplied by low carbon renewables, hydro, and nuclear power. This will lead to a dramatic increase in electricity consumption," a representative for Crumb wrote to Business Insider by email. Between 2022 and 2050, global electricity generation is expected to surge at a faster rate than it did over the past decade, according to a report from the International Energy Agency.Most importantly, though, exchanges like Abaxx could play a critical role in geopolitics, Crumb said. "You want more transparency; you want more markets because we think that leads to more peace," he said. "We think trade and networks keeps the world at peace."

Founder of new commodities exchange explains how it can fuel the green energy transition

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 29 (ANI): The Power Transmission &amp; Distribution (<keyword id="21574285" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="PTD" source="keywords">PT&amp;D</keyword>) business of <keyword id="19975888" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Larsen-Toubro" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Larsen &amp; Toubro" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Larsen &amp; Toubro">Larsen &amp; Toubro</keyword> (<keyword id="19963313" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="LT" source="keywords">L&amp;T</keyword>) has secured new orders both domestically and internationally for the construction of substations and <keyword id="21017821" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="transmission-lines" source="keywords">transmission lines</keyword>. According to an exchange filing, these projects are integral to the vast, interconnected electricity network, aiming to accelerate the <keyword id="20596535" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="clean-energy-transition" source="keywords">clean energy transition</keyword> and ensure a reliable, resilient power supply. In India, L&amp;T's PT&amp;D has been entrusted with two 765kV double circuit transmission line projects. These projects are vital for the evacuation of power from the Jaisalmer/Barmer <keyword id="21873922" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Renewable-Energy-Zone" source="keywords">Renewable Energy Zone</keyword> in Rajasthan, channelling it to substations in Madhya Pradesh for further distribution. This initiative is a step towards harnessing and utilising renewable energy resources efficiently within the country. On the international front, Saudi Arabia continues its pursuit of sustainable and efficient power supply by bolstering its 380kV network in the central region. L&amp;T's PT&amp;D has secured orders to construct a 380kV substation and 380kV overhead line segments. These developments are crucial for enhancing the region's <keyword id="21644086" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="electricity-infrastructure" source="keywords">electricity infrastructure</keyword> and ensuring a stable power supply. In the United Arab Emirates, L&amp;T's PT&amp;D has been awarded contracts to build a 220kV substation and three 132kV substations. These substations will be pivotal in meeting the growing electricity demand in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, supporting the utilities in maintaining a robust and reliable power network. Larsen &amp; Toubro, a USD 27 billion Indian multinational, is a prominent player in EPC projects, hi-tech manufacturing, and services with a global footprint. Renowned for its customer-focused approach and relentless pursuit of top-quality standards, L&amp;T has maintained leadership in its major business domains for over eight decades. The recent orders won by L&amp;T's PT&amp;D fall under the 'Large' category, with values ranging from Rs 2,500 to Rs 5,000 crore.

L&T wins multiple orders worth Rs 2500 to 5000 crore to build grids for clean energy transition

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Oil and gas will remain the dominant energy sources in 2050, according to a new report from Exxon.</li><li>The company points to population growth and increasing energy needs among developing countries.</li></ul>Contrary to forecasts for oil demand to peak in the coming years, Exxon Mobil says oil and gas will remain the dominant sources of energy until the middle of this century. The oil major said in an outlook published this month that global oil demand will remain above 100 million barrels a day through 2050, even as the share of renewable powers grows. Broken down by source, it sees oil and gas accounting for 54% of the global energy mix by 2050, coal at 13%, nuclear energy at 6%, bioenergy at 10%, and renewables like wind, solar, and hydroelectric at 15%.That forecast stands in contrast to predictions from the International Energy Agency, which predicts that oil and gas demand will peak and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/global-oil-demand-prices-supply-opec-us-crude-producers-iea-2024-6">plateau at 105.6 million barrels per day</a> by 2029.Exxon, the leading oil and gas company in the US, pointed to a rise in the global population to 10 billion in 2050, up from 8 billion today.With half of the world's population currently living below Exxon's "modern energy minimum"—having enough energy for housing, infrastructure, jobs, and mobility—the company projects a 15% increase in global energy use is necessary for reliable energy worldwide by 2050.That rise in energy use will be predominantly driven by a 25% increase among developing countries, whose current energy problems put inhabitants at risk from harmful cooking fuels, limited electricity, and poverty, the report says.Developed countries, on the other hand, will decrease energy use by 10% due to improved efficiency.The report says that even greater adoption of electric vehicles won't make a dent in oil and gas usage."What many don't realize is that making gasoline is but one relatively small use for oil," Exxon said in its report, adding that the majority of the world's oil is used for industrial processes like manufacturing, and for transportation like shipping, trucking, and air travel."These services are needed for modern life – and they also fuel future economic growth in the developing world," the report says.At the same time, the report predicts carbon emissions will drop for the first time in 2030. Last year, the company's annual report said the world likely won't meet the emission reduction targets that were set in the Paris Climate Accords in 2015 to curb the effects of climate change.

Exxon says oil and gas will still be the dominant sources of energy by 2050 

Silicon Valley is filthy with divorced-dad energy.Not necessarily the people, though I'm sure there's plenty of that, but the most powerful companies in the Valley are collectively giving off a sweaty vibe that reeks of desperation. These once proud tech giants are turning to flashy trinkets and cheap thrills rather than doing the hard work and introspection necessary to actually build the future.Let's be clear, the tech industry was never cool cool. Starting sometime around 2000, Silicon Valley's ability to deliver new products that actually improved our lives gave it a new cultural cache — at least for a time, the industry was like the cool, interesting person that people wanted to be with, who listened and built things that people actually wanted. Things came easily, and tech's valuations skyrocketed as companies "disrupted" incumbent businesses.Smart people wanted to work at these companies to tackle the world's most intractable problems, and average Americans began to integrate the best solutions into their everyday lives. It seemed like every new idea opened up a new market worth hundreds of billions of dollars — smartphones, social media, cloud computing, software development solutions. Liquid capital, growing market dominance, slick ads, and fawning media made it easy for giants like Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon to expand their footprint and grow their bottom lines.Yet, like any decaying relationship, these companies got lazy, entitled, and demanding. They started to care less about the foundations of their business — like having happy customers and stable products — and more about making themselves feel better by reinforcing their monopolies. By around 2015, tech's cool-dad period had ended. After reaping the rewards of various hyper-growth ideas, the industry's growth promises began to get ahead of its ability to innovate. Silicon Valley became addicted to acquisitions, buying the new, hot toy that it figured everyone would like instead of thinking through what Americans actually needed. Instead of doing the work to get better, tech has remained steadfastly attached to the tropes that worked when its products were at their prime. The industry has become a bloated, surly divorced dad who refuses to do the hard work and look inward to find real solutions.The biggest players in tech are dyeing their gray hairs, starting a band with their equally middle-aged friends, throwing on a leather jacket or new chain (sometimes literally), and trying anything to pretend that they've "still got it" — anything other than focusing on building important and meaningful products that users actually want. Big Tech has decided the way to keep customers isn't to compete or provide them with a better service but instead make it hard to leave, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-instacart-uses-dark-patterns-encourage-shoppers-buy-faster-more-2023-2">trick customers into buying things</a>, or eradicate competition <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-companies-ruining-apps-websites-internet-worse-google-facebook-amazon-2023-3">so that it can make things as profitable as possible, even if the experience is worse</a>. Great companies are able to accept their limitations and acknowledge that nobody has to be your customer, but giants like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon refuse to accept that they can't do everything and that their problems are a direct result of the kind of lack of introspection and cultural laziness that breaks relationships. Customers have spent the past 30 years sharing their precious data and money with tech companies, but Silicon Valley's new divorced-dad energy may finally push users to pack up the car, take back custody, and leave the toxicity behind.As with all failed marriages, the first sign that the tech industry was letting America down came many years before the eventual breakup. After two decades of consistent internal innovation, Big Tech got addicted to acquisitions in the 2010s: <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-buys-siri-a-mobile-assistant-app-as-war-with-google-heats-up-2010-4">Apple bought Siri</a>; Meta bought <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-is-buying-whatsapp-2014-2">WhatsApp</a>, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-buys-instagram-2012-4">Instagram</a>, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-to-buy-oculus-rift-for-2-billion-2014-3">Oculus</a>; <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-buys-twitch-2014-8">Amazon bought Twitch</a>; Google bought <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-nest-stratgey-32-billion-2014-1">Nest</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/breaking-google-buying-motorola-mobility-for-125-billion-2011-8">Motorola's entire mobility division</a>. At first, this spending spree was cheered on by a society that had yet to grow suspicious of tech, applauding Amazon and Meta (then Facebook) for finding new ways to expand business and get more users. But over time, the acquisitions made it impossible for these companies to focus on delivering the features we needed. (And eventually got them in legal hot trouble, as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-violated-antitrust-law-to-keep-search-monopoly-judge-rules-2024-8">Monday's antitrust ruling against Google's search practices</a> showed.) Big Tech companies became less known for one particular product. Instead, they offered a sprawling suite of different interconnected products that all kind-of-sort-of worked while effectively printing money.Tech companies and average Americans knew that just snapping up smaller startups wasn't going to cut it. Eventually, people needed something real — something on the scale of Google Search, Facebook, or the original iPhone, something that changed how we interacted with others, that made our lives richer and cooler and more vibrant, or at least a little easier. But after a few years of coasting, Silicon Valley couldn't deliver. Instead, Big Tech became obsessed with a series of half-baked boondoggles that seemed revolutionary, yet in practice, were either not reliable enough to be trusted or simply not that useful. The shiny distractions were plentiful: Virtual reality would have a brief time in the sun, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oculus-rift">with Oculus Rift popularizing the concept</a> until it became obvious that the technology was little more than a niche gadget with<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solution-for-virtual-reality-vr-motion-sickness-2016-6"> extremely variable results depending on who used it</a>. Augmented reality was briefly exciting, with an incredible-looking demo from a company called Magic Leap that inspired a short funding craze along with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-glass">an even briefer hype cycle around Google Glass</a>. Self-driving cars were all the rage after Tesla launched its <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-software-update-70-coming-to-model-s-and-model-x-drivers-thursday-2015-10">lane-keeping "autopilot" software</a> in late 2015, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-autonomous-tesla-drive-across-country-by-end-of-2017-2016-10">Elon Musk promised</a> that "every new Tesla would drive itself" by 2017. Years later, Musk has not delivered, and autonomous vehicles are still struggling to catch on outside a very select set of use cases. Then there was the agonizing dalliance with cryptocurrency and the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/metaverse-dead-obituary-facebook-mark-zuckerberg-tech-fad-ai-chatgpt-2023-5">useless puffery of the metaverse</a>.There's a consistent theme behind all of these movements — tech's promises vastly outpaced software and hardware's ability to actually drive value. Autonomous cars are possible but require an incredibly large amount of training data, and even then, they make egregious and at times fatal decisions, making it difficult to trust them. While we figuratively might love the idea of being in a virtual world, our expectations are such that we'd want a full-sensory experience rather than a clunky headset, and without full immersion, things feel off. Augmented reality has cool ideas, but what consumers want is something that magically projects in front of them — any physical encumbrance or clunky menu system shatters the illusion. In all of these instances, tech companies tried to growth hack their way into a new, multibillion market while they let the core products — the very thing that had made us fall in love with them in the first place — wither away. It's all so terribly divorced — ignoring long-term problems in favor of shiny baubles that make them feel good and make vacuously informed investors fall in love with them, failing to accept that the reason people are so down on the tech industry is that its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-companies-ruining-apps-websites-internet-worse-google-facebook-amazon-2023-3">core products are getting worse</a> as a means of making investors more money.Big Tech has become sullen, entitled, and lazy, believing that nobody else could snatch away its precious customers. So these companies, brimming with overconfidence, are doing less and less to try to delight customers, unable to see how every selfish move is pushing the most important people away.Perhaps the uber-example of Silicon Valley's new divorced-dad energy is the gratuitous waste that is the latest AI hype cycle. The industry has collectively sunk hundreds of billions of dollars into an unprofitable technology <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/generative-ai-exaggeration-openai-nvidia-microsoft-chatgpt-jobs-investors-markets-2024-3">with massively overstated abilities</a>, which Goldman Sachs' head of equity research, Jim Covello, has argued is "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-bubble-fundamental-issues-pop-goldman-sachs-global-head-equity-2024-7">not capable of solving complex problems</a>." In spite of these glaring problems, Big Tech is forging ahead, trying to convince Americans that it's different this time and AI really is the thing that will change their lives. Generative AI is the tech industry's leather jacket, and GPUs are the Porsche. Rather than focusing on the next frontier of computing, Big Tech wants to take the big, sexy, fancy, easy route — throwing more money at the latest shiny thing in the hope that it fixes all its problems.Google CEO Sundar Pichai proudly stated that he believes AI in search creates value for users, even as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-ai-glue-pizza-i-tried-it-2024-5">Google's AI-powered search</a> tells users to put glue on their pizza. Meta, unable to reconcile its total lack of innovation in any part of its business, instead chose to let Facebook get <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/social-media-flooded-spammy-ai-content-2023-8">flooded with AI-generated spam</a> that it seems unwilling to deal with because it's profitable in the short term — ignoring the bigger problem that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wheresyoured.at/rotcombubble/#:~:text=Facebook%20(a%20remarkable%20%2D27.7%25">Facebook's traffic has dropped by more than 25%</a> in the past few years. Amazon has only ever lost money on its devices, and while Microsoft might have acquired Github to "heighten Microsoft's focus on open-source development" and is happy to boast that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/24/07/40061358/satya-nadella-says-microsofts-copilot-drives-40-of-githubs-revenue-growth-we-are-also-enabling-anyon">40% of Github's revenue </a>comes from its AI-powered copilot, it's a flimsy boast to make it feel good about itself. Even customers who have had a dalliance with the new divorced-dad version of Silicon Valley have been grossed out — some customers who have tried out new AI tools have been <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-ai-copilot-future-openai-2024-3">disappointed in their capabilities</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pharma-cio-cancelled-microsoft-copilot-ai-tool-2024-7">quickly ended their contracts</a>. It doesn't matter that generative AI isn't making anyone money or that it's making companies like Google and Microsoft raise their emissions by more than 30% over the past five years, it's getting attention and drawing investor dollars, so it'll do for now.Even when tech companies aren't trying to shove AI down our throats, they fall into a similar trap. Apple, unwilling to be seen as behind the times, rushed out its Vision Pro headset to prove to the markets that it could make new things. The only problem: The VisionPro wasn't ready for prime time. It clearly needed a few more years of development to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/apple-vision-pro-review">make it lighter, easier to use</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-vision-pro-first-impressions-2024-2">less prone to giving you a headache</a>.Tech's increasingly divorce-vibed executives are scared of doing the hard, transformative work because it requires investing massive amounts of time and energy in developing new inventions with clear use cases in everyday life or fixing the core products that they've left to decay. Pichai shouldn't be excited about AI in search — he should be doing the hard work to fix the cultural and incentive issues that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-search-getting-worse-spam-affiliate-links-duckduckgo-bing-2024-1">ruined the existing Google Search.</a> Satya Nadella shouldn't be shoving billions into artificial intelligence but trying to build a meaningful improvement to Microsoft Windows or investing in internal security services instead of outsourcing it to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/delta-hires-david-boies-lawyers-crowdstrike-microsoft-pay-damages-2024-7">growth-at-all-costs partners like CrowdStrike</a>. Amazon is, at this point, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-logistics-buildout-one-day-prime-shipping-2021-2">a $50 billion logistics company</a> with a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-stock-amzn-quarterly-earnings-call-report-live-updates-2024-7">massive cloud-computing business</a> tacked on. Instead of investing in making its workers and customers happier, it's let the quality of products offered on the platform collapse and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-hr-performance-improvement-plans-pip-pivot-had-to-quit-2023-11">treated its workers</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aws-deprioritized-cloud-services-surprising-customers-salespeople-2024-8">clients like crap</a>. But all of that is much harder than just buying some half-baked chatbot and sloppily plugging it in, so here we are: getting AI pushed on us in a desperate attempt to win us back.Like the collapse of any marriage — amicable or otherwise — tech's great divorce from their end users is the result of a disconnection from the reason they built their companies in the first place, back when things mattered more, back when they felt that they had to earn people's love and respect. Now Big Tech firms are cobbled-together masses of people from different companies acquired at different times, with no clear vision and little cultural unity. Much like people get married, grow old, stop having date nights, stop paying attention to each other and to the little things, Big Tech has simply forgotten what matters: the customer at the end of the transaction — and instead has fallen into a parasitic relationship with them, where customers have to stay because leaving would be painful, annoying, and so much work. And once tech's divorce truly happens — when things really begin to fall apart as companies realize they have no more hyper-growth markets — it will be so much harder for them to fix things. Google, Meta, Amazon, and Apple are simply no longer forces for innovation, and when the public eventually walks out, I don't believe Big Tech is even capable of making the adjustments necessary to win them back. The "work" in question here likely requires some <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.wheresyoured.at/rot-economics-an-interview-with-mits-daron-acemoglu">actual creative destruction</a> — the "disruption" that t<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/big-tech-sabotages-new-startups-businesses-coopting-disruption-2024-3">ech used to be famous for</a> — which in turn will likely break up one or a few of the largest tech companies.Instead of doing the kind of introspection necessary to please average people, they'd rather paper over their problems with ideas like generative AI — a big, noisy, and superficially impressive doodad that makes them feel cool for a minute but only makes them feel bad when they drive it back to their empty, featureless apartment. Generative AI is the biggest, dumbest attempt that tech has ever made to escape the fallout of building companies by acquiring other companies, taking their eyes off actually inventing things, and ignoring the most important part of their world: the customer.And, like any divorce, lawyers will make a great deal of money either way.<a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/ed-zitron">Ed Zitron</a> is the CEO of <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://www.ezpr.com/">EZPR</a>, a national tech and business public-relations agency. He is also the author of the tech and culture newsletter <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://ez.substack.com/">Where's Your Ed At</a> and the host of <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.betteroffline.com/">the "Better Offline" podcast</a>.

Sweaty, desperate, and sad: Big Tech is giving off divorced dad energy

The <keyword id="1154824" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="japan-atomic-energy-agency" source="Orion">Japan Atomic Energy Agency</keyword> (JAEA) has confirmed the detection of <keyword id="74416" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="radioactive-material" source="Orion">radioactive material</keyword> leaks in one of its <keyword id="98276" type="General" weightage="40" keywordseo="nuclear-fuel" source="Orion">nuclear fuel</keyword> research facilities but reported no adverse effects on the health of the staff or the surrounding environment, local media reported on Wednesday. In its report, Kyodo News citing the JAEA said that the leaks were detected within the Plutonium Fuel Development Room No. 3 at the JAEA's Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories, located in Tokai village, <keyword id="590723" type="General" weightage="30" keywordseo="ibaraki" source="Orion">Ibaraki</keyword> prefecture, reports Xinhua news agency. On September 8, the Plutonium Fuel Development Room No. 3 identified pollution caused by radioactive materials at four locations within the facility. The pollution was discovered during a routine inspection of the glovebox equipment, which is designed to be airtight. The contamination was found both above and below the glovebox, with the highest level of radioactive activity measuring approximately 33 becquerels. Although the glovebox contained nuclear fuel materials, it had not been in recent use and was solely undergoing a biennial routine inspection, said the JAEA. The JAEA has reassured the public that the leak of nuclear material has not had any negative consequences for the health of the facility's four staff members or the surrounding environment. At present, the cause of the radioactive material leak is under investigation. Authorities at the laboratories suspected that the radioactive materials may have seeped out of the equipment.

Radioactive material leaks detected at Japan's nuke fuel research facility

New Delhi, India on Saturday announced the launch of the <keyword id="16473623" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Global-Biofuel-Alliance" source="Orion">Global Biofuel Alliance</keyword> and urged G20 nations to join the initiative with a plea to take ethanol blending with petrol globally to 20 per cent. Speaking at the G20 Summit session on 'One Earth', Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="narendra-modi" source="Orion">Narendra Modi</keyword> also proposed launching the 'G20 Satellite Mission for Environment and Climate Observation' and urged leaders to commence work on the 'Green Credit Initiative'. "Today, the need of the hour is that all countries should work together in the field of fuel blending. Our proposal is to take an initiative at a global-level to take ethanol blending in petrol up to 20 per cent," he said. "Or alternatively, we could work on developing another blending mix for the greater global good, one that ensures a stable energy supply while also contributing to climate security," Modi said at the session attended by US President Joe Biden, Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak among others. The prime minister said energy transition is a significant need of the 21st century world considering the challenge of climate change. He said trillions of dollars are required for an inclusive energy transition and that the developed countries play a very crucial role in this. "Along with India, all the countries of the Global South are pleased that developed countries have taken a positive initiative this year, in 2023. Developed countries have expressed their willingness to fulfil their commitment of USD 100 billion for climate finance for the first time," he said. At the Copenhagen UN climate talks in 2009, developed countries had committed to providing USD 100 billion per year by 2020 to support developing countries in combating climate change. However, the wealthier nations failed repeatedly to fulfil this commitment. The Global Biofuels Alliance, which the world's third biggest oil consumer wants to push during its G20 presidency, mirrors the <keyword id="3155010" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="international-solar-alliance" source="Orion">International Solar Alliance</keyword> (ISA) piloted by New Delhi and Paris in 2015 to bring clean and affordable solar energy within the reach of all. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an exclusive interview told PTI that India's proposal for a global alliance on biofuels among members of the Group of 20 major economies would help accelerate sustainable biofuels deployment in support of the global energy transition. "Such alliances are aimed at creating options for developing countries to advance their energy transitions," he had said. "Biofuels are also important from the perspective of a circular economy. Markets, trade, technology, and policy all aspects of international cooperation are crucial in creating such opportunities," Modi had said. <keyword id="53632" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="biofuel" source="Orion">Biofuel</keyword> is a renewable source of energy which is derived from biomass. India, which imports over 85 per cent of its crude oil needs, is gradually building capacity to produce fuel from such items as crop stubble, plant waste, and municipal solid waste. While India is on schedule to double the mixing of ethanol extracted from sugarcane and agriculture waste to 20 per cent with petrol by 2025, it is also setting up dozens of compressed biogas (CBG) plants. The Global Biofuels Alliance is aimed at facilitating cooperation and intensifying the use of sustainable biofuels across sectors, including transportation. Its focus is primarily on strengthening markets, facilitating global biofuel trade, developing concrete policy lesson-sharing and providing technical support for national biofuel programmes worldwide. Such an initiative is also aimed at helping India's transition to alternative fuels and cutting its import bill, as it seeks to achieve its net zero carbon emissions goal by 2070. On the other hand, the ISA aims to mobilise more than USD 1,000 billion of investment needed by 2030 for the massive deployment of solar energy. The <keyword id="69313" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="international-energy-agency" source="Orion">International Energy Agency</keyword> (IEA) estimates that global sustainable biofuel production would need to triple by 2030 to put the world's energy system on track towards net zero emissions by 2050. Liquid biofuels provided more than 4 per cent of the total transport energy supply in 2022.

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