cheapest

transforming desert sand into the cheapest and most durable road material in Africa

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Honda is experiencing one of its most complicated moments. On the one hand, it has canceled several launches of its electric cars in North America, has paralyzed the development of Afeela which it developed in collaboration with Sony and has announced losses of around $15.7 billion. Now they are in a moment of restructuring to get out of the slump, but they have not left aside some of their most experimental projects. One of them is PathAhead, a startup that emerged from its internal incubator that has presented a construction material made of desert sand with which it intends to pave roads in Africa. The problem they want to solve. Only about 20% of African roads are paved, according to data from Honda itself. This figure has a direct impact on the region’s economy, since in the end a place where transportation access is difficult makes logistics more expensive, limits access to markets and slows down development. Furthermore, according to the firm, conventional materials for road construction (natural sand and crushed stone) present variations in resistance depending on their geological origin, which makes it difficult to guarantee uniform quality. The solution: desert sand turned into arid. As we have mentioned before, the company behind this project is called PathAhead, and it has developed a material that it calls Rising Sand. The company describes it as the world’s first artificial aggregate made from desert sand. The process consists of agglomerating fine grains of sand (about 100 micrometers in diameter) into larger, more uniform particles using heat and pressure, increasing their resistance. Image: Nikkei Asia The result, according to the company, is roads with a useful life of more than 20 years, double that of those built with conventional materials, and a life cycle cost that is 60% lower, according to its estimates. The deployment plan. PathAhead plans to begin demonstration trials in Kenya in 2027, followed by Tanzania and South Africa. If the results are positive, mass production will begin in 2028 in its own factory in that country. The startup’s financial goal is to reach revenue of $270 million by 2034. The company has so far raised about 136 million yen (approximately $850,000), with Honda as one of its investors. Where PathAhead comes from. The startup was born within the Ignition program, which Honda launched in 2017 to encourage the creation of new businesses among its employees. Masayuki Iga, its founder and CEO, worked for years at Honda’s research center developing automotive materials. “I created PathAhead with the desire to apply the technologies and knowledge accumulated in that experience to directly address the challenges of our society,” declared Iga during the presentation in Tokyo. Why it draws attention now. Sling has increased its spending on R&D by 55% in the last five years, to exceed one trillion yen in the recently closed fiscal year. That the company maintains and even expands its commitment to internal innovation while undergoing a profound restructuring of its core business is, at the very least, a sign that it does not want to reduce its long-term bets. If PathAhead can prove that its material works on an industrial scale, it could become more than just an experimental project. We’ll see if it ends up having a place in the industry. Cover image | Sling In Xataka | The car industry has condemned the manual gear shift to extinction. A company wants to avoid it: BMW

Spain has the cheapest wholesale energy in Europe in the midst of the Hormuz crisis

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The outbreak of war in Iran on February 28 and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz have plunged the world, overnight, into an energy crisis of alarming proportions. In the midst of this global chaos, a European country is resisting the challenge much better than its neighbors: Spain. A shield in front of the market. To understand why electricity in Spain has not become more expensive at the same rate as in the rest of the continent, it is essential to look at how the electricity market works. The European system is “marginalist”meaning that the most expensive technology needed to meet the demand for a given day (usually gas) is what dictates the final price of all electricity. The day after the start of the conflict in the Middle East, the price of gas rose by 55%, according to Euronews. However, the impact on Spanish bills is being cushioned, thanks to the fact that the share of clean energy in the country’s generation mix already exceeds 60%. Since 2019, Spain has added more than 40 GW of renewable capacity, doubling its wind and solar farms. Added to this structural deployment is a key seasonal factor: a solid spring “hydraulic cushion”, with the reservoirs located at 82.6% of their capacity. The data of the Iberian exception. The x-ray of the European wholesale markets, reflected in the records of Energy-chartsconfirms this gap in a very visual way: The Spanish daytime miracle: Spain’s graphics during February and March They show almost absolute dominance of renewable generation and hydraulic pumping. This massive injection sinks prices from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., becoming free, or even registering negative prices, because many plants find it more profitable to bid at zero price than to assume the very high costs of stopping and restarting their machines. The fossil condemnation of Germany and Italy: The European contrast is devastating and explains the asymmetric impact of the war. German market data for the same period reveal a heavy dependence on non-renewable sources, illustrated by a thick gray strip of fossil generation that sustains their system. The case of Italy is even more illustrative about the dangers of depending on foreign gas: its graphs show a huge constant load of non-renewable generation, which condemns the transalpine country to maintain a systematically high and flat price curve throughout the day. The “green shield” night fissure: However, we are not invulnerable. As analyst Antonio Aceituno, from the consulting firm Tempos Energía, warns, in Europa Pressthe Spanish balance is broken when evening falls. When the sun disappears, gas combined cycles begin to cover demand, returning tension to prices. This explains why in March the monthly average It woke up abruptly to 64.05 euros/MWh, with nighttime peaks of up to 247.15 euros/MWh. It is empirical proof that, no massive batteries to save the sunat eight in the afternoon we are still at the mercy of what happens in the Strait of Hormuz. Furthermore, time is against us. Antonio The Tempos Energía analyst warns that our precious “hydraulic shield” could begin to give way at the beginning of summer if the conflict becomes entrenched. In the worst case scenario, the June bill could jump above 100 euros per MWh, reaching the feared 120 euros between July and August. A halfway transition. The current energy crisis has left an irrefutable lesson: renewables are our best social shield. The deployment of recent years has prevented Spain from suffering the same financial drowning as its neighbors. As energy financing expert Gerard Reid reflects, in Euronewsit is preferable to depend on China to import a solar panel once every 25 years, than to depend on oil and gas from the Persian Gulf every day. But the transition is painfully incomplete. As long as lack of storage forces us to turn on gas plants when the sun sets, our pockets will continue to be hostage to global volatility. Whether due to a military drone over the Strait of Hormuz or due to political retaliation in the Oval Office, Spain’s true energy independence will not come until we are able to massively save the sun and wind that we have left over. Image | Photo by Alexis Presa on Unsplash and Photo by Jakub Zerdzicki on Unsplash Xataka | Skyscrapers are full of glass, so some Spanish researchers have had an idea: let them serve as “solar panels”

The “bottom of the barrel” was the cheapest waste of the oil industry. The war in Iran has just turned it into an unaffordable luxury

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Historically, the fuel oil has been known in the oil industry as the “bottom of the barrel.” Typically cheap and underappreciated, this byproduct comes from the bottom of distillation towers, the equipment where crude oil is heated and split into multiple products. In fact, very often, this fuel cost less than a barrel of crude oil, and refineries sold it at a loss as it was a simple remnant of the process necessary to manufacture high-value products such as diesel. However, as expert Javier Blas warns in your column for Bloombergthe Iran war has turned the industry upside down. That waste that no one wanted has become an ultra-expensive raw material overnight, which is bad news for the global economy. Despite being overshadowed by other distillates, the fuel oil plays an immense role in the modern world, driving container ships that act as the workhorses of globalization. The breakup of a market at the limit. In the current conflict, all eyes they are set in the rises and falls of crude oil. However, the real drama is hidden in the physical maritime bunker markets, where the traditional relationship between the price of crude oil and refined products has been completely broken. With crude oil hovering around $100, the fuel oil It shouldn’t be much more expensive. In reality, it is trading at $140 a barrel in Singapore and almost $160 in the Emirati port of Fujairah. A report of Lloyd’s List explains that the average price of the fuel oil of very low sulfur content (VLSFO) in the 20 main bunkering centers reached $1,005 per ton, double its pre-war cost and the highest figure since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. For his part, analyst Clyde Russell warns in his column Reuters that, while crude oil futures are confident of a solution, prices for physical cargoes are sending signals of an impending crisis and a supply chain that is buckling under pressure. The missing link. The key to this specific crisis lies in geography and geology. As Blas points outrefineries in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates produce 20% of all fuel oil sold internationally. Added to this is a crucial geological factor: the crude oil from the Persian Gulf generates much more fuel oil than that of other regions. For example, when distilling a barrel of Saudi flagship crude oil (Arab Light), approximately 50% of what comes out is residue for fuel oil, compared to 33% left by US WTI crude oil. This explains why the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is a death trap specifically for this byproduct. The logistical panic. The real urgency is no longer just the price, but physical availability. The shipping industry has raised the alarm because supplies are critically low in Singapore and Fujairah, two of the world’s most important bunkering hubs. “If we do nothing, we risk ending up with dry supply points in Asia,” Vincent Clerc sharply warnedCEO of shipping giant Maersk. To avoid collapse, Maersk needs to be proactive and is transporting its own fuel around the globe to have the right amount in the right place, an unprecedented challenge that Clerc compares to the logistical juggle experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic. On a day-to-day basis, the charter market is paralyzed. Scott Bergeron, CEO of Oldendorff Carriers, confess to Lloyd’s List that there are problems getting fuel quotes, and that “availability for April is a big question mark.” The operational consequences will be drastic: Global slowing: Ships will reduce their speed to conserve fuel. Port congestion: Massive congestion is expected in ports that still have reserves. Accelerated scrapping: Older and inefficient fleets could be forced to be scrapped due to the enormous costs. Furthermore, according to Clyde Russell in your column for ReutersAsian refiners are cutting production, and countries like South Korea could restrict exports, pushing dependent nations like New Zealand into rationing measures. The environmental dilemma. This severe lack of supply is even putting pressure on climate regulations. Given the suffocating lack of distillates, The Maritime Executive details that the regulators could be tempted to temporarily suspend IMO 2020 emissions regulations. This would allow ships to return to burning heavy fuel oil (HSFO) widely, freeing up ingredients for other critical sectors. Meanwhile, ships already equipped with scrubbers (scrubbers) can still legally burn the cheaper HSFO. As the price gap between clean and dirty fuel widens, these shipowners are realizing massive savings; In fact, this price spread reached $189.50 per ton in Singapore. The current crisis leaves no room for maneuver. As Javier Blas saysthe world has already spent its main lines of defense against this oil shock: compromised refineries have been avoided and strategic reserves have been emptied. Looking to the future, the only variable capable of balancing consumption with a meager supply is the “destruction of demand” through suffocating prices. Ship fuel may come from the bottom of the barrel, but it has proven to have the ability to sink or keep afloat international commerce. Today, without a doubt, it has become the world’s main problem. Image | Photo by william william on Unsplash Xataka | The US Navy already knows what is going to happen to the planet: the mission to open Hormuz is the closest thing to a suicide operation

the cheapest laptop in Apple history with iPhone chip

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It was expected like May water by fans of the firm with the bitten apple and, last week, Apple finally cleared up the rumors and presented the MacBook Neothe cheapest laptop in its entire history. Now, you can buy from 699 euros. This is the price for the 13-inch model with 256 GB, although the 512 GB variant with touch ID is available for 100 euros more: 799 euros. Apple MacBook Neo 13-Inch with A18 Pro Chip, 256 GB The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Apple MacBook Neo 13 Inch with A18 Pro Chip 512 GB and Touch ID The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A cheap Apple laptop perfect for less demanding users It is true that for an Apple laptop, the MacBook Neo It is modest in specifications, but it is true that it presents a excellent value for moneyideal for those who want a computer from the firm of the bitten apple without having to pay 1,000 euros for the base model. The MacBook Neo is perfect for those who want enter the Apple ecosystem without paying more. This is a move in which Apple has been trying to succeed for a long time with the launch of cheaper devices such as the iPhone 17e or the Apple Watch SE 3. This MacBook Neo is designed for everyday use, with more than enough features for a standard user. Its screen is type 13 inch IPS LCDwith a resolution of 2,408 x 1,506 pixels and a brightness of 500 nits. The surprise of this laptop is that, unlike all other Apple models, it mounts the chip Apple A18 Prothe same as the iPhone 16 Pro and that is more than enough for browsing, checking email, editing an image and everyday work tasks. Its light weight 1.2kgmakes it an inseparable companion for those who have to carry the office on their backs every day. In addition, it stands out for its battery that, according to company data, lasts up to 16 hours, so you can forget about charging it while you work. Of course, despite some advantages, it is true that there is an unwritten agreement by which you assume that by buying a MacBook for 699 euros you have to give up some things. For example, The keyboard does not have a backlight nor does it come with a wall charger. In terms of connectivity, it only has two ports USB-CWiFi 6E, Bluetooth 6.0 and 3.5 mm headphone jack. Finally, one of the things that is also striking about this cheap Apple laptop is that you can buy it in four different colors. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: macbook neo laptop ✅ THE BEST The price: It is the first Apple MacBook for which you have to pay less than 700 euros at launch. Very light and portable: Weighing only 1.2 kg, it is a perfect laptop to take with you every day to the office or university. ❌ THE WORST Oh, the RAM… 8 GB of RAM may be a bit short for intense multitasking and the worst thing is that it cannot be expanded. Yesand they miss some things… With no backlit mouse, no wall charger and only two USB-C ports, these are some of the things you have to sacrifice if you want to pay little for a MacBook. 💡 BUY IT IF… You want a cheap Mac for studying, browsing, watching videos or even everyday work. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… You are a person who wants a laptop to edit video, program many apps or who wants a device that will last for many years. Some accessories that may interest you for this MacBook Neo BENFEI Laptop Stand with Docking Station USB C 6 in 1 The price could vary. We earn commission from these links tomtoc 360° Case for 13 Inch The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Pedro Aznar (Applesfera) and Apple In Xataka | MacBook Air M4 vs MackBook Air M3: these are the main differences between the two models In Xataka | MacBook Air Vs MacBook Pro: we explain which one to choose

After launching the cheapest Mac in history, Apple is preparing three ‘Ultra’ products. Wants to go for both ends of the market

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A few days after the arrival of MacBook Neothe cheapest Mac in history, we know thanks to Mark Gurman in Bloomberg that Apple is preparing three products for this year. All three aspire to be the most expensive in their category. And that contrast says a lot about Apple’s strategy for the immediate future. The panoramic. Gurman is the journalist with the best history of leaks about Apple. And he has published in his newsletter Power On that Apple plans to launch at least three products with the Ultra surname, or at least with its essence (the most powerful and expensive in its range): A foldable iPhone. We have been listening to it for years and It seems that 2026 is going to be the year. Expected price of around $2,000. It does not replace the Pro Max, but rather points to another form factor and to those who want to have the most advanced device in the line. AirPods with camera sensors. They would be above the AirPods Pro in price. Its differential would not be in the audio but in space capabilities that the cameras would provide. Macbook Ultra. Although it is not confirmed that it will be called that. With OLED touch panel and M5 Ultra chip. It would be the most expensive and powerful laptop ever launched by Apple, aimed at those who already spend similar amounts on a mac studio plus a monitor. All this in the same year that Apple launches the MacBook Neo for $600. He counted. They are complementary movements. The Neo lowers the barrier to entry into the Mac ecosystem, and the Ultra raises it for those who are already inside and can (and want) to go further. Apple has been trying a similar logic for some time. He first Apple Watch Ultra It arrived in 2022 for about double the price of the current Series. Without being a radically different product, it found its buyer: who wanted the best Apple Watch possible without the price being a major obstacle. It worked. Between the lines. The touch screen on a Mac deserves separate attention, because Apple justified not incorporating it a few years ago, when there was some pressure for it to do so, explaining that touching a computer screen is uncomfortable due to the position of the arm. The question. Just because the strategy is coherent on paper does not mean that all products will be able to sustain it. The foldable iPhone will arrive after seven years with other foldables on the market, without anyone being able to turn it into a bestseller. AirPods with cameras are going to have to offer something that justifies the spending premium, not just a gimmicky demo for the first few days. And the MacBook Ultra will have to justify its price with something that only that laptop can deliver. Apple knows better than anyone that a premium line demands that premium products truly deliver. In 2026 we will see if it is up to the task with this new shipment that seeks to raise the ceiling of several lines. In Xataka | Apple has only found one option to make a cheap laptop: make it a mobile Featured image | Tatiana Steve, insung yoon, dlxmedia.hu

Finding the cheapest gas station in your area is very simple thanks to this very powerful tool

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We have been very attentive to fuel prices for a few days. It is no wonder, since since the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran has exploded to the point of leaving the Strait of Hormuz in a compromised situation, oil has ended up skyrocketing and gas stations have already begun to notice the impact on their shelters. While the Government study what measures you can applyMany drivers go to those gas stations that have the cheapest fuel. And for this there are tools that the State itself offers. The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge made it available to any citizen quite some time ago, the Geoportal from Gas Stations, a free tool that allows you to know the price of fuel at all service stations in the country, so you can filter by the cheapest one in your area. It also has another very useful function: knowing how much has the price changed at every gas station. We tell you all the details below. What is the Geoportal and why is it worth it? The Gas Station Geoportal is a web application of the Ministry that collects the prices of all service stations in Spainupdated every five minutes. What you see on the screen is practically the real price of the moment. The tool has been available for years, but in situations like the current one, or like the one that happened with the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, its use makes special sense. Currently there are gas stations in large cities and in the main corridors that They already exceed 1.70 euros/liter in gasoline or 1.80 in diesel, while others remain below average. With a 50 liter tank, choose carefully where to refuel can mean quite significant savings. How to find the cheapest gas station from the GeoPortal To enter the Geoportal, all you have to do is enter this link. There is also a free mobile application for Android and iOS. It is called Route-E, and it is developed by the Ministry itself. In addition to gas station prices, it includes information on charging points for electric vehicles. When you enter the website you will see a map of Spain with marked service stations. On the left are the filters. The process is simple: Select “Service Stations” as search type. Choose your province and town. The map will automatically center on that area. You can refine it even further with the zip code if you live in a large city. Choose the type of fuel. You will find everything from the usual ones (gasoline 95 E5, gasoline 98, diesel A) to alternative options such as natural gas, bioethanol or hydrogen. As soon as you select one, the map will show the price of each station along with its schedule and operator. Mark “Sale to the public”. This excludes gas stations belonging to agricultural cooperatives or closed groups that are not open to any driver. Check the list ordered by price. When you have clicked ‘Search’, just below the map the tool generates a list of stations. Filter by price and the cheapest ones in the area should appear first, and you can export the list in CSV or Excel format if you need it. As extra information: yes you hover over any station on the map, you will directly see its price, schedule, rating and operator without having to click. There is an additional filter: “Discount plans”. If you activate it, the search engine shows gas stations with current promotions, either because they belong to a specific chain or because they offer discounts to groups such as transporters, farmers or taxi drivers. Mobile Apps If you prefer not to use the Ministry’s website, there are several free applications for iOS and Android that offer a similar feature. At Xataka we already talked about them a while ago, among which are GasofApp, GasAll, Gasolineras or GasOnline, among others. They all draw on the same official data and allow you to locate the cheapest stations near your location in real time. In addition to all of them, there is also Ruta-E, which is the one we mentioned before, but the rest of the apps offer (in our opinion) much faster and easier navigation. How to see the price history of any gas station Knowing the current price is good, but if you are curious about how the price of a specific station has evolved over time, you can also do it from the Geoportal. For that, just enter this page and complete the form that appears on the screen. You have two options to check the evolution of prices: through the price history or through a timeline per gas station. To do this you must: Selectr the interval of time. You can choose between daily, weekly, monthly or yearly views, and set a start date and an end date for the period you want to analyze. Heegir data series. Below in the form will be where you can decide if you want to see the evolution of the average price of all of Spain, of an autonomous community, of a province, of a municipality or of a specific gas station. Select the fuel. The menu includes all available: 95 E5 gasoline, 98 gasoline, diesel A, diesel B, LPG, natural gas, hydrogen and many more. Choose the type of graph. You can view the data in a line or bar graph, depending on what is most comfortable for you. The result is a graph that shows the evolution of the price in the chosen period. With it you can see, for example, how much diesel cost at the gas station in your neighborhood before the situation with Iran became tense and how much it costs today. Cover image | Geoportal and engin akyurt In Xataka | Cuts are coming for the most used Cercanías line in Spain. The reason: more capacity and driverless trains

Apple made a splash with its cheapest iPhone. And the iPhone 17e is coming to repeat the play

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Apple has just renewed its entry-level iPhone, the successor to the e family. Last year we saw a iPhone 16e that landed with a clear purpose: to be that iPhone for those who want a completely new iPhone, but with the basic specifications. Thus the iPhone 16e was born, a phone that has just been renewed in true Apple style. We tell you all the specifications, technical characteristics and news about the new iPhone 17e. iPhone 17e technical sheet iPhone 16e Screen OLED 6.1″ Super Retina XDR 2,532 by 1,170px (460 dpi) Up to 1,200 nits True Tone, HDR Processor Apple A19 Bionic Storage 256/512GB RAM memory 8GB Dimensions and weight 147.67×71.5×7.8mm 170g Software iOS 26 Apple Intelligence rear cameras Main: 48 MP, 26 mm, f/1.6 front camera True Depth 12 MP, f/1.9 Battery nd Connectivity USB-C 2 Wi-Fi 6 NFC Others Face ID Dynamic Island IP68 resistance Emergency calls Accident detection Price From 709 euros (Much the same. but better The iPhone 17e is not a mobile phone in which technical specifications prevail. It is a mobile phone in which the basics prevail. The phone repeats with an OLED screen, with Retina XDR resolution (2,532 by 1,170px) and a sin that we already criticized last year: a brightness of 800 nits which goes up to 1,200 nits for HDR content. Taking into account that the iPhone 15 went on sale in September 2023 with a panel that reached 2,000 nits, and that low-mid-range models are already around 3,000 nits, it is a brightness that is not typical of a phone that starts at 709 euros. The main novelty is that, this year, the front part is protected with Ceramic Shield 2, being much more resistant to scratches. Specifically, Apple promises up to three times more. The processor also changes, the same Apple A19 Bionic that the iPhone 17 incorporates. Like its older brothers, this model starts with 256 GB, finally banishing the 128 GB from the map. Regarding wired charging, it is 20W and promises a 50% recharge in 30 minutes. Same autonomy, more charge Apple promises the same autonomy in this iPhone 17e, despite the fact that the processor is a priori more efficient. Yes, there are improvements in fast charging, now including MagSafe and going up to 15W wirelessly compared to 7.5W in the previous generation. The camera repeats with a 48 megapixel sensor onlywith 2x “lossless” zoom thanks to the cutout in the central area. It’s Apple’s way of offering “a telephoto lens” and a sort of dual-camera setup on a phone with a single sensor. For the rest, we are looking at the same phone, these being its main new features: faster CPU 9 more hours of video playback Double the internal storage 15W wireless charging with MagSafe Panel with Ceramic Shield 2 Versions and price of the iPhone 17e The iPhone 17e returns from 709 euros, although it must be taken into account that it now starts at 256 GB. 250 euros than a iPhone 17but with some specifications behind a iPhone 15such as the double camera or the panel with dynamic island and 2,000 nits. Shock more or less, the iPhone e formula works. The iPhone 16e had very good sales resultsand the new model with more power, more storage and some additional improvements points to the same path. Image | Apple In Xataka | iPhone 16e Vs iPhone 16. Which Apple mobile to choose according to your tastes and needs

Offering the cheapest gasoline in Spain has become an obsession. And 2026 is going to be the year of the great battle

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The cheapest gasoline in Spain today, January 7, is found at a Ballenoil service station in Coslada (Madrid) at a price of 1,239 euros/liter, according to dieselgasolina.coma portal that monitors the price of service stations throughout our country. The second position is also from a Ballenoil service station and is also in Coslada. And the third. And the fourth and the fifth. Oh. And also the seventh, the eighth and the tenth. And the company low cost has started a war to be the company that sells us fuel the cheapest in our country. It wants to continue expanding. And along the way it will face Plenergy, another of the queens of cheap gasoline. Both have undertaken strong expansion. The cheap gasoline war Ballenoil, which is part of Cepsa moeve since just over two yearsis the leg that its parent company has to continue attracting customers who prioritize the price of gasoline above any other incentive. The company goes through a transformation campaignmaking greater efforts for sustainable fuels and electricity. With Ballenoil, Moeve has some safety net. Its service stations require very little expense because, precisely, that is the secret of gasoline low cost. Minimum investments in the stations, forget about additives and any other additional service so that word of mouth is the true driver of service stations. Low prices but good performance at volume. The strategy is working. They point out in Five Days that Ballenoil sold 1.385 million liters of fuel in 2024 and that the target figure for 2026 is 1.8 billion liters. To do this, they seek to consolidate at the end of the year an offer of 500 gas stations spread throughout Spain. Last November they were the first low cost to reach 350 stations of service in Spain. The investment is by no means exceptional. Plenergy is another of the kings of low cost with a turnover of 1,550 million euros in sales in 2024. Right now, it has 352 gas stations on the Peninsula, of which 10 are in Portugal and the rest in Spain. The objective is the same as that of Ballenoil: 500 service stations by the end of 2026. He growth of this type of business It is so high that if the plans are fulfilled we will be seeing one opening of this type of company every four days. That is, every two weeks there should be three new service stations and another on the way. And to certify it, the objective of Plenergy, they point out in Five Days is to have a 10% market share in our country. That would place it as the third most used company, only behind Repsol and Moeve. To these two giants we must add the third in contention. Petroprix, which shares with Ballenoil the service stations with the cheapest fuel in Spain according to dieselgasolina.com, also plans an expansion. For now, talk about extend your influence abroad But it also does not turn its back on Spain and talks about having 400 service stations ready in our country by 2027. gasoline low cost proves to be a huge business in our country. As we counted on Xatakaits competitive advantage is zero investment in marketing or additives. The fuel arrives at these service stations as it is distributed by Exolum, former CHLin charge of distributing all gasoline throughout our country. In return, the business model proposes sales that are large enough to compensate for the narrow profit margin, without an alternative for additional services such as large gas stations such as Repsol or Moeve receive. Photo | Ballenoil and Plenergy In Xataka | Look at gasoline and diesel to improve the electric motor. This project is committed to an untested solution

Temu and AliExpress are selling the cheapest V-16 beacons on the market. And it’s very easy to know if it’s a scam.

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There are 44 days left until the connected V-16 beacon becomes mandatory in our country. There are, in fact, 43 days left if you are reading this on November 18, 2025. And I don’t want to burden anyone but there is obviously less room for maneuver with each passing day. We already know about the “evil of many…” but I will tell you a secret: if you are about to buy the beacon, you are by no means the only one in that position. Obviously, this has caused sales of the device to skyrocket. And with it have come the offers and, of course, the doubts about whether we are buying a valid product or not. Neither the DGT nor the consumer associations have helped with the doubts. And, on the market, there are V-16 beacons but not all of them are valid. Despite everything, you can find specific offers and bargains by finding this product, even below 10 euros. Therefore, we are going to explain how we can check whether or not we are facing a scam. Is it a scam? To understand why so much confusion must be taken into account that the approval of having to mount a V-16 beacon on the car It closed in 2021. Then the DGT decided that this device would replace the emergency lights and V-16 beacons began to arrive on the market. In 2022, however, it was confirmed that only V-16 beacons that could be used would be valid. contact DGT 3.0. They are called “V-16 connected beacons”, those that have a SIM card inside and that must guarantee connectivity for 12 years. That is, all V-16 beacons without connectivity (mainly sold before 2022) are not valid. This regulatory change is what has led consumer associations like the OCU to affirm that a connected V-16 beacon, the only valid one, “rarely goes below 40 euros.” But this is not entirely true. First, because it is very easy to find approved V-16 beacons for about 30 euros. Second, because there are real bargains that allow us to buy this device for less than even 10 euros. With that price it is logical to think that we could be facing a scam. Or, simply, that we are buying a V-16 beacon without realizing that they lack that connectivity that is essential for approval. The doubts multiply because Temu either AliExpress They offer beacons well below the 40 euros floor price recommended by the OCU. Pages specialized in discounts, such as Chollometer also offers aggressive discounts on some V-16 beacons. Do you want one for 9.99 euros? Yes. And it’s not a scam. Not, at least, in all cases. It’s all in the certificate number With a month and a half left before the new regulations come into force, there is not a day on pages like Aliexpress, Temu or Chollómetro in which a V-16 beacon is not offered at ridiculous prices. We give you some examples: V-16 beacon offered on Aliexpress V-16 beacon offered on Aliexpress The two previous beacons are sold on AliExpress at an almost absurd price. Of course, the fact that they can be purchased for just over two and four euros should make us suspicious. And indeed, none of the above options are valid. In fact, in the product rating of one of them, there is a comment specifying that they do not have connectivity. However, let’s look at another case. Beacon offer at 9.98 euros at Chollometro Redirection to Temu where it is shown that the beacon can be purchased for 9.99 euros The above case explains well how we can find a connected and completely valid V-16 beacon at a very low price. The connected V-16 beacon shown above is an offer that we have found on Chollometro, a website from which it is redirected to Temu where it is noted that the price of the beacon is 59.99 euros but that it is on sale for 29.98 euros. As if that were not enough, it is possible to buy it (red box) for 9.99 euros. The price should make us suspicious. But we go to the product description where it is mentioned that it has IP54 water resistance, it is promised that it is connected to DGT 3.0, which meets all the approvals… and its certificate is shown: IDIADA PC25060196. The latter is especially important because it is the data that certifies whether or not the connected V-16 beacon that we are purchasing is fake or meets the required requirements or not. To check it, let’s go to the DGT page. In this linkTraffic lists each and every one of the approved devices. We can filter the list by the date of approval, by the name of the manufacturer, the name of the product… and very importantly, the certificate number of all the products that we can even download is shown. In addition, it has a search engine, as we see in the following image. DGT list with all approved connected V-16 beacons It is enough to enter the certificate number, it is not even necessary to specify IDIADA or LCOE (the two laboratories that approve this product in Spain), to confirm that the V-16 beacon that we want to buy has all the technical requirements, including its manufacturer, the name of the exact model and when and where the approval was certified. In the case of the previous connected V-16 beacon, we are talking about a product certified, indeed, by IDIADA. It was homologated on June 30, 2025, the exact model name is V16 Beacon Light IoT CH-020L, sold under the Raykong brand and homologation requested by Limburg Technology Limited. Below we leave you the image in which this information is shown and the certificate that the DGT attaches with this data. Search for the beacon purchased in Temu Certificate of the connected V-16 beacon sold in Temu As we have seen, before purchasing the V-16 beacon it is easy to check whether we … Read more

Ryanair is known for being one of the cheapest airlines. It is not so much if we look at its RASK

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Iberia reaches third place in AirAdvisor ranking over the best airlines on the continent, even surpassing Ryanair in a key indicator to evaluate cost-efficiency. The study analyzed more than 7.6 million flights and 831,000 passenger opinions to determine which airlines best combine price, service and reliability. Low cost vs. traditional. Iberia is positioned as cheaper than Ryanair when we measure the real cost per seat kilometer, as revealed the latest report AirAdvisor Annual. The Spanish airline ties with Vueling in seventh place if we stick to the price (with a RASK of 0.0824 euros), while Ryanair falls to the last position of this specific indicator, tied with Air France. Why is RASK important?. The RASK indicator (the formula being total revenue between available seats per kilometers flown) measures how much a passenger actually pays for each kilometer traveled, including all additional charges. With this parameter, we can see that low-cost airlines They are not so low-cost when we add extrassuch as checked baggage, seat selection or priority boarding. In this sense, if we stick to the RASK indicator, Iberia demonstrates that a traditional airline can also compete on prices without sacrificing basic services. The complete ranking. According to the report From AirAdvisor, Aegean Airlines repeats as the best European airline for the second consecutive year with 93 points, followed by Finnair (89 points) and Iberia (88 points). The Spanish airline recovers positions after falling to sixth place in 2024, rising three places in one year. Lufthansa and KLM complete the top 5, tied with Scandinavian Airlines. At the opposite extreme, Air Europa once again occupies the last place in the ranking with 48 points. Where Iberia stands out. The Spanish company obtains the highest scores in three key categories, according to the AirAdvisor report: travel with pets, family travel and safety. Its VIP lounges are ranked third in Europe, only behind Aegean and Finnair. In addition, Iberia was ranked 15th in the ranking of the 100 best airlines in the world in 2024. Its main weakness according to the report: reputation among customers, where it is the third worst valued. The Ryanair case. The Irish airline leads with 88% punctuality in both 2023 and 2024, but loses ground in almost all other categories. Ryanair is ranked 12th in the AirAdvisor overall ranking with 58 points, surpassing only Wizz Air, LOT Polish Airlines and Air Europa. In addition, the company obtains the second worst reputation score among customers and, according to the ranking, it is the worst option for traveling with pets and in comfort. The cheapest in Europe. For the third consecutive year, Wizz Air maintains the title of the continent’s cheapest airline, with a RASK of just 0.0417 euros per seat kilometer. They are followed by TAP Air Portugal (0.0713 euros) and Scandinavian Airlines (0.075 euros). However, it’s not all about the price, and Wizz Air occupies 13th place in the general classification, being the worst rated by passengers and registering the lowest scores for travel with pets and comfort. The methodology behind the numbers. According to they claim From AirAdvisor, its team spent weeks analyzing nine different categories to create this ranking. The data includes 7.6 million flights operated between 2023 and 2024, more than 831,000 customer reviews from nine different sources, 75,000 lounge reviews, 46 industry awards and pet, family and comfort policies of 13 airlines. Each category receives a specific score that then adds points for an overall ranking. What does this mean for the travelers. “Low-cost” and “traditional” airlines are becoming diluted and are no longer defined entirely by their quality/price ratio. There are other important indicators, such as the RASK, and airlines such as Iberia, KLM or TAP Air Portugal have adjusted to compete on price with low cost airlines, while ending up offering more complete services without surprise charges. Therefore, for the passenger this means that comparing only the base fare of the ticket can end up being misleading. Hence, a recommended practice is to see the final price of the ticket on each airline that we weigh once all the extras have been added and basic services have been taken into account. Cover image | Wolfgang Weiser In Xataka | In the midst of the battle between Ryanair and Aena, there is a Spanish airport that is suffering more than any other: Valladolid

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