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Hydrogen has a diverse range of applications and can be deployed in a wide range of industries.
Siemens Energy and Air Liquide have announced plans to focus on the production of “industrial scale renewable hydrogen electrolyzers in Europe.”
A growing number of multinational firms are attempting to lay down a marker in the green hydrogen sector.

One type of hydrogen production uses electrolysis, with an electric current splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen. If the electricity used in this process comes from a renewable source then some call it “green” hydrogen.
Alex Kraus | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Siemens Energy and Air Liquide have announced plans to set up a joint venture focused on the production of “industrial scale renewable hydrogen electrolyzers in Europe.”
The move, announced on Thursday, represents the latest attempt to find a way to drive “renewable” or “green” hydrogen production costs down and make the sector competitive.

The establishment of the joint venture — Siemens Energy will have a 74.9% stake, while Air Liquide will hold 25.1% — is subject to approval from authorities.
If all goes to plan, its headquarters will be in Berlin, with a facility producing electrolysis modules, or stacks, also based there.
Plans for electrolyzer production in the German capital had been previously announced. Manufacturing is set to begin in 2023, with a yearly production capacity of 3 gigawatts reached in 2025.
The European Union’s executive arm, the European Commission, has previously said it wants 40 GW of renewable hydrogen electrolyzers to be installed in the EU in 2030.
In Feb. 2021, Siemens Energy and Air Liquide announced plans related to the development of “a large scale electrolyzer partnership.”

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Described by the International Energy Agency as a “versatile energy carrier,” hydrogen has a diverse range of applications and can be deployed in a wide range of industries.
It can be produced in a number of ways. One method includes using electrolysis, with an electric current splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen.
If the electricity used in this process comes from a renewable source such as wind or solar then some call it “green” or “renewable” hydrogen. Today, the vast majority of hydrogen generation is based on fossil fuels.
In Oct. 2021, Siemens Energy CEO Christian Bruch spoke of the challenges facing the green hydrogen sector. On Thursday, he stressed the importance of scale and collaboration going forward.
“To make green hydrogen competitive, we need serially produced, low-cost, scalable electrolyzers,” Bruch said in a statement. “We also need strong partnerships,” Bruch added.
Air Liquide CEO François Jackow described the creation of the joint venture as “major step towards the emergence of a leading European renewable and low-carbon hydrogen ecosystem.”

Read more about energy from CNBC Pro

Siemens Energy and Air Liquide’s plan for a joint venture represents the latest attempt by multinational firms to lay down a marker in the green hydrogen sector.
Just last week, oil and gas supermajor BP said it had agreed to take a 40.5% equity stake in the Asian Renewable Energy Hub, a vast project planned for Australia.
In a statement, BP said it would become the operator of the development, adding that it had “the potential to be one of the largest renewables and green hydrogen hubs in the world.”
In Dec. 2021, Iberdrola and H2 Green Steel said they would partner and develop a 2.3 billion euro (around $2.42 billion) project centered around a green hydrogen facility with an electrolysis capacity of 1 gigawatt. More

When Jackson Aw was introduced to blockchain technology in 2018, he “didn’t get it at all.”
“Can someone dumb it down even further for me? Like, can you just tell me what I can get as a consumer?” 

That was four years ago. Today, Aw, seems to have the answer to that question. 
The 32-year-old Singaporean, who runs Mighty Jaxx — a multi-million dollar toy company that produces collectibles and lifestyle products — has incorporated blockchain into his products. 
A blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger that records every transaction that has taken place. It also cannot be tampered with or changed retroactively.

CNBC Make It finds out why it “makes sense” for the collectibles empire to tap into blockchain capabilities, and bet on the metaverse.

Unique certificates 

Mighty Jaxx, which was founded in 2012, has partnered with some of the biggest global brands and visual artists, producing trendy collectibles that incorporate pop culture and design. 

Aw said the company has since sold millions of toy collectibles to people in more than 80 countries.
Mighty Jaxx’s limited-edition collectibles can cost up to $1,200 on its website, but in the secondary marketplace they can fetch “five to ten times” more than its original value, said Aw.

Jackson Aw’s advice for young entrepreneurs? “Fear will always exist. But the question is, what do you make of that?”
Eli Lo

But there is one problem.
“When you want to sell the product, the number one question everywhere is ‘Is it authentic?'”
Aw added: “For collectibles, what [sellers] do is that they take photos of the figurine and post it on Facebook groups, asking people to do an authenticity check.”
However, Aw was not satisfied with this method of authentication. 
“Whose word is it on? Where’s the provenance of it? So we thought, okay, that’s what we need.”

Mighty Jaxx designed a Near-Field Communication chip, that is embedded into each toy. “With our app, you can [scan the chip], register your ownership of the item,” said the company’s founder Jackson Aw.
Eli Lo

Mighty Jaxx designed a near-field communication chip and embedded one into each toy. NFC technology enables short-range, wireless communication between two devices. 
“With our app, you can [scan the chip], register your ownership of the item [to show] it’s an authentic Mighty Jaxx product,” Aw said.
Powered by blockchain, the platform issues and validates unique, tamperproof certificates for every product. It also provides a digital footprint when ownership of an item changes.

…content and intellectual property is key, because without any of this [visual] representation, that technology does nothing

Jackson Aw
Founder, Mighty Jaxx

“If Jay Chou or JJ Lin owned that figurine prior to you, that is definitely far more valuable than me owning it,” Aw jokes. Jay Chou and JJ Lin are popular Mandarin pop singers. 
Providing reliable authentication through blockchain technology is just “the beginning” for Mighty Jaxx.

A ‘phygital’ edge 

With the nonfungible token market seeing explosive growth in 2021, Aw said that was when there was “a change in culture as we knew it.” 
“[Being] artists and creators in general … has always been more of a service-based work. But now it flipped. Now, content and intellectual property is key, because without any of this [visual] representation, that technology does nothing,” Aw explained.
“Nothing speaks louder than visual form.”

NFTs are crypto-based digital assets that also function like collectibles — something that Mighty Jaxx is no stranger to.
Hence, it “makes sense” for Aw to venture into the space, by offering fans exclusive digital experiences with physical collectibles. 
“When you buy our NFTs, you get access and the opportunity to purchase the physical manifestation of it in that design. So only this bunch of people would be able to purchase this figure,” said Aw. 
“Because only they could do it and they can combine both asset classes together, it generates even higher value for them.” 

Collectors who buy Mighty Jaxx’s NFTs get exclusive access to purchase physical manifestation of the same design, which “generate even more value for them,” said Jackson Aw.
Mighty Jaxx

Aw believes that is Mighty Jaxx’s “phygital” edge over its competitors — being able to offer both digital and physical assets. 
“The fact that we create digital assets before we produce the physical toys … means that we can go to market quicker as well,” he added. 
“I can’t think of, you know, 10 other companies doing that in the whole world, simply because the work that goes into creating a hardware or a [physical] collectible, it’s naturally just a steeper learning curve.” 

Metaverse expansion 

In 2021, Mighty Jaxx launched its first collection of NFT trading cards, featuring cats that look like the Chinese cuisine, dim sum.  

“We launched 6,000 units, within … two seconds, they were just sold out,” Aw said.
Mighty Jaxx got its big break with DC Comics by scoring a licensing partnership in 2015, allowing it to “restyle” the creative intellectual property. 
Since then, it has partnered with renowned brands to reach fandoms all around the world, from Adidas, Hasbro and Nickelodeon, to Formula 1, Sesame Street and Netflix. 
Aw says “there’s a lot more work to be done,” with plans to expand its IP collaborations into the metaverse as well. 
The metaverse is a set of virtual worlds where people live, work and play.

Mighty Jaxx’s first collection of NFT trading cards were sold out within “2 seconds,” said Jackson Aw.
Mighty Jaxx More

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CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday said that a possible upcoming slew of price estimate cuts from analysts could create a sell-off and an opportunity for investors to do some buying.
“Over the next few weeks … I expect the analysts to hit us with some preemptive estimate cuts while more companies hit us with negative preannouncements,” he said.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday said that a possible upcoming slew of earnings estimate cuts from analysts could create a sell-off and an opportunity for investors to do some buying.
“Over the next few weeks, before earnings season gets rolling, I expect the analysts to hit us with some preemptive estimate cuts while more companies hit us with negative preannouncements,” he said.

“That’s going to be bad for the averages, but once the sell-off hits and we get over the estimate cuts for 2022 and 2023, that’s it. That’s when we will have not a tradeable bottom like this one, but an investable one,” he added.
The “Mad Money” host’s comments come after a turbulent earnings season roiled by inflation saw companies falling short of Wall Street expectations.
Cramer said that he believes analysts’ consensus earnings estimates for the stocks in the S&P 500 are too high, and they need to come down because markets don’t bottom unless bad news is baked into stock prices.
“They’re predicting 8% growth, followed by 11% next year. I find that hard to believe. Eight percent to eleven percent earnings growth is basically what you’d expect in an average year,” he said.
He pointed out that there have been several companies in recent weeks that reported great quarters but disappointing guidance.

“You had these really great quarters, but they are saying things are getting weaker. People like them because they think the estimate cuts are finally done. I’m not sure,” he said.
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It’s that time again! “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer rings the lightning round bell, which means he’s giving his answers to callers’ stock questions at rapid speed.

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Nokia Corp: “I am hearing nothing but positives of late, for the last four weeks, about Nokia. … I think it’s right to buy.”

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Iron Mountain Inc: “I’ve been behind it because I like that dividend. … I think you’re okay in it.”

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Tattooed Chef Inc: “That’s a very hard call. Doesn’t make money, and I’m not currently recommending stocks that don’t make money.”

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Intrepid Potash Inc: “I am very worried about that industry because I’ve seen the prices of corn and wheat have been going down. And soy.”

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CRISPR Therapeutics Inc: “I’m not going to bet against anyone who wants to be part of CRISPR technology, because it could be great.”

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The CDC’s independent experts endorsed Moderna’s vaccine for kids ages 6 to 17 after examining the shots’ safety and effectiveness during a public meeting.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is expected to sign off on the recommendation later Thursday, the final step before pharmacies and doctor’s offices can start administering the shots.
There is an elevated risk of heart inflammation after Covid vaccination for boys ages 12 to 17. However, Covid infection carries a higher risk of heart inflammation, according to the CDC.

A young man receives his Covid-19 vaccination at a vaccination clinic. People receive the Moderna vaccine in Milford, Pennsylvania.
Preston Ehrler | LightRocket | Getty Images

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to clear Moderna’s two-dose Covid-19 vaccine for kindergartners through high schoolers for public distribution this week after the agency’s panel of independent vaccine experts unanimously voted Thursday to recommend the shots.
The committee endorsed Moderna’s vaccine for kids ages 6 to 17 after examining its safety and effectiveness during a public meeting. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is expected to sign off on the recommendation later Thursday, the final step before pharmacies and doctor’s offices can start administering the shots.

The CDC endorsed Moderna’s vaccines for infants through preschoolers, ages 6 months to 5 years old, on Saturday. Vaccinations started this week for that age group.
Moderna’s shots for older kids won’t have an immediate impact on the U.S. vaccination campaign, other than providing parents with another option to choose from. Previously, only Pfizer’s vaccine was authorized for kindergartners through high schoolers, though uptake has been lackluster. Two-thirds of kids ages 5 to 11 and 30% of adolescents ages 12 to 17 haven’t been vaccinated against Covid yet.
More than 600 kids in those age groups have died from Covid during the pandemic and more than 45,000 have been hospitalized, according to the CDC.  Nearly 11 million kids ages 5 to 17 have caught Covid during the pandemic.
Kids ages 6 to 11 receive smaller 50 microgram Moderna shots, while adolescents ages 12 to 17 would receive the same dosage as adults at 100 micrograms.
Moderna originally asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize its vaccine for adolescents ages 12 to 17 more than a year ago, but the regulator held off after other countries raised concern the company’s shots might be associated with a higher risk of heart inflammation, or myocarditis, than Pfizer’s vaccine.

There are no head-to-head comparisons in the U.S. of heart inflammation in kids who get Pfizer’s or Moderna’s shots because Moderna’s vaccine was authorized only for adults until this month. However, comparisons between Pfizer and Moderna shots in young adults appears to show that the rate of myocarditis is slightly higher in Moderna recipients, though data is not consistent across the various U.S. surveillance systems.
“Some evidence suggests that myocarditis and pericarditis risks may be higher after Moderna than after Pfizer. However, the findings are not consistent in all US monitoring systems,” Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, an official at the CDC vaccine safety unit, told the committee.
The available U.S. data on myocarditis among kids ages 6 to 17 is based on side effects reported from Pfizer’s vaccine because Moderna’s shots hadn’t been authorized for this age group yet. Pfizer and Moderna’s shots use similar messenger RNA technology.
The CDC has identified 635 cases of myocarditis among children ages 5 to 17 after vaccination out of 54 million Pfizer doses administered. The risk of myocarditis after Pfizer vaccination is highest after the second shot among boys ages 12 to 17. Myocarditis is slightly elevated among boys ages 5 to 11 after the second dose of Pfizer’s vaccine, though it is much lower than adolescents.
Boys ages 16 to 17 reported 75 myocarditis cases per 1 million second Pfizer doses administered while boys ages 12 to 15 reported about 46 myocarditis cases, according to CDC data. Boys ages 5 to 11 reported 2.6 myocarditis cases per million second Pfizer doses administered.
People who have developed myocarditis after vaccination are generally hospitalized for a few days as a precaution before being sent home. Most patients made a full recovery 90 days after their diagnosis, according to a CDC survey of health-care providers.
The CDC has found that the risk of myocarditis is higher from Covid infection than vaccination. Myocarditis in children is typically caused by viral infections.
Dr. Sara Oliver, a CDC official, said the risk of myocarditis after Moderna vaccination in children and adolescents is unknown, though data from adults suggests the risk could be higher than Pfizer’s shots. However, Oliver said extending the interval between the first and second dose to eight weeks may lower the risk of myocarditis based on data shared by health officials in Canada.
The most common side effects among kids ages 6 to 17 during Moderna’s clinical trials were pain at the injection site, fatigue, headache, chills, muscle pain and nausea. There were no confirmed cases of myocarditis during the trials.
It’s unclear how effective the shots will be against the omicron variant. The clinical trials were conducted during periods when other Covid strains were dominant. The shots for adolescents ages 12 to 17 were about 90% effective at preventing illness from the original Covid strain and the alpha variant, while the shots for kids ages 6 to 11 were more than 76% effective at preventing illness from the delta variant, according to the Food and Drug Administration’s review of clinical trial data.
However, the Covid vaccines have trouble fighting the omicron variant, which is now dominant, because it has so many mutations. Third shots have significantly increased protection in other age groups. Moderna is studying booster shots for kids that target omicron with data expected later this summer.
“We would expect to be addressing this gap in booster dose recommendations over the summer and into early fall,” said Dr. Doran Fink, a senior official at the FDA’s vaccine division.

CNBC Health & Science

Read CNBC’s latest global coverage of the Covid pandemic:

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Netflix is laying off around 300 employees across the company, CNBC confirmed Thursday.
The cuts come about a month after the streaming company eliminated about 150 positions in the wake of its first subscriber loss in a decade.
Netflix had warned investors in April that it would be pulling back on some of its spending growth over the next two years.

Netflix’s revelation that it lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter put further pressure on an already beleaguered tech sector, but top tech analyst Mark Mahaney believes the current weakness in the sector presents several opportunities for investors.
Aaronp/bauer-griffin | Gc Images | Getty Images

Netflix is laying off around 300 more employees across the company.
The cuts, which represent about 3% of total employees, come about a month after the streaming company eliminated about 150 positions in the wake of its first subscriber loss in a decade.

“Today we sadly let go of around 300 employees,” Netflix said in a statement Thursday. “While we continue to invest significantly in the business, we made these adjustments so that our costs are growing in line with our slower revenue growth. We are so grateful for everything they have done for Netflix and are working hard to support them through this difficult transition.”
Netflix had warned investors in April that it would be pulling back on some of its spending growth over the next two years.

Spencer Neumann, the company’s chief financial officer, said during the company’s earnings call in April that Netflix is trying to be “prudent” about pulling back to reflect the realities of its business. However, it still plans to invest heavily, including around $17 billion on content.
Co-CEO Reed Hastings also said during the call that the company is exploring lower-priced, ad-supported tiers in a bid to bring in new subscribers after years of resisting advertisements on the platform.
Netflix is working to crack down on rampant password sharing as well. In addition to its 222 million paying households, more than 100 million households use its service through account sharing, the company said.
Netflix shares were roughly even in afternoon trading Thursday, but are off more around 70% year to date.

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CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday said President Joe Biden needs to team up with business leaders in order to bring inflation down and help the economy recover.
“There’s another reason we have all of these supply shortages: Our government doesn’t have a productive relationship with big business,” the “Mad Money” host said.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday said President Joe Biden needs to team up with business leaders in order to bring inflation down and help the economy recover.
“I’m always pointing out that the major problems come down to supply chain disruptions, a labor shortage, the war in Ukraine and the lockdowns in China. But I think the blame for inflation might go further than that,” the “Mad Money” host said.

“There’s another reason we have all of these supply shortages: Our government doesn’t have a productive relationship with big business. Like it or not, big business has the ability to rein in inflation, but they don’t have any incentive to do so,” he added.
Cramer said he specifically has issues with Biden’s relationship with the oil industry and how he believes it doesn’t bode well for skyrocketing gas prices, pointing to the time the president said “Exxon made more money than God this year” in a jab toward the nation’s top oil producer.
“I get why Biden doesn’t want to buddy up to the oil industry as fossil fuels are very unpopular in the Democratic Party, and for good reason. … But if he wants to get reelected, he’s going to have to suck it up,” Cramer said.
He also said the president should play nice with the semiconductor industry to get more American production going, and that the tech firms and their clients are “failing us too” for not harnessing its services to solve economic issues like the worker shortage.
“Maybe it is as simple as businesses connecting with tech. McDonald’s calling Nvidia. Biden saying: ‘Okay I’ll sit down with the oil guys, I guess I have to.’ Someone in Congress who’s powerful saying we just can’t lose on this CHIPS Act,” Cramer said, referring to the bill aiming to incentivize investment in the U.S. semiconductor industry.

Disclosure: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Nvidia.

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