diesel

The largest nuclear power plant in Europe has been connected to diesel generators for a month. It’s as encouraging as it sounds.

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Europe is once again walking a nuclear tightrope. After more than three years of war, the largest atomic plant on the continent —the Ukrainian Zaporizhia plant— has gone from being an industrial symbol to becoming at a point of friction capable of triggering an emergency of continental reach. In parallel, other plants in the country operate at reduced power after attacks on the electrical grid. The situation is so unstable that the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, recently traveled to Kaliningrad, Russia, for emergency talks with the head of Rosatom, Alexey Likhachev, according to the Anadolu agency. It is a gesture that reflects the extent to which the risk is real. An attack that left two centers at minimum. According to a statement from the IAEAa military attack during the night of November 7 damaged an electrical substation critical to nuclear security. This incident left the Khmelnitsky and Rivne plants disconnected from one of their two 750 kilovolt lines and forced the electricity operator to order a power reduction in several of its reactors. Ten days later, one of the lines was still out of service and three reactors continued to operate at limited power. The agency emphasizes that these substations are essential nodes of the network: they allow the voltage levels that feed the security and cooling systems to be transformed and maintained. Without them, plants cannot guarantee safe operation. One month depending on diesel generators. The situation in Zaporizhzhia is even more critical. According to an opinion column by Najmedin Meshkati, professor of engineering and international relations published in the Financial Timesthe plant spent a full month without outside power after its two main lines were cut. During that time it survived solely on diesel generators, a resource that the industry considers strictly temporary: they are designed to run for around 24 hours, not for weeks. Technicians were only able to repair the lines under the protection of localized ceasefires negotiated by the IAEA, according to NucNet. Even so, one of the two restored lines was disconnected again on November 14 due to the activation of a protection system. Grossi summed it up like this: “The electrical situation at the plant remains extremely fragile.” The condition for a shut down reactor to remain safe. Although Zaporizhzhia’s six reactors have been on cold shutdown for more than three years, the plant requires a constant three to four megawatts to maintain cooling pumps and other essential systems, according to Meshkati. The professor emphasizes that even huge emergency batteries require external electricity to stay charged. It is a vicious circle: without the electrical grid, batteries are used, but without external electricity, these batteries cannot be recharged and, without both, the cooling systems fail. And without cooling the risk of nuclear fuel melting or overheating increases. The University of Southern California professor warns that this scenario reproduces the conditions that transformed Fukushima into a global disaster: “What turned an earthquake into a catastrophe was the total failure of the electrical system.” And he adds that, unlike 2011 in Japan, this time the risk comes from deliberate human action. A network reduced to its minimum expression. Before the war, according to the Kyiv Independentthe Zaporizhia plant was connected through ten power lines. Today it only has one or two operations and has lost all connection ten times since the beginning of the invasion. The IAEA itself has described the situation power plant as “extremely precarious” and “clearly not sustainable” when it depends for long periods on diesel generators. Short and medium term risks. The notices in the last report on Ukraine by the IAEA point in the same direction: the main danger is not a Chernobyl-type explosion, but a prolonged cooling failure. This scenario could cause overheating of the reactors in cold shutdown, damage to the spent fuel pools and a possible localized or regional radioactive release, with the consequent need to create an exclusion zone in the heart of agricultural Europe. For its part, according to Meshkatiadds two other relevant elements. On the one hand, it points out that a serious accident will exceed the economic impact of Fukushima, estimated at about $500 billion. An incident of that magnitude would affect agriculture, transport, supply chains and the European insurance market. On the other hand, he maintains that if Russia manages to consolidate the precedent that an occupying army can take control of a nuclear power plant and connect it to its own network, the global nuclear security architecture would be seriously compromised. It would be a precedent without equivalent since the creation of international standards that regulate the civil use of atomic energy. Is there a meeting point? The IAEA has acted as an intermediary between Moscow and kyiv on multiple occasions. According to the Anadolu agencyGrossi traveled to Kaliningrad to meet with Likhachev, director of Rosatom, in order to directly discuss the situation in Zaporizhzhia and the minimum conditions to guarantee nuclear safety. At the same time, the agency is trying to technically shore up the Ukrainian electrical system. According to their own statementshas so far coordinated 174 deliveries of essential equipment – ​​switches, electrical cabinets, radiation monitoring stations, vehicles and computer equipment – ​​worth more than 20.5 million euros, intended to sustain nuclear security in Ukraine during the war. Nuclear security supported by fragile cables Europe breathes thanks to a handful of cables repaired under fire and diesel generators that have already proven to be well beyond their limits. As the Financial Times explainsthe continent’s security depends on electricity continuing to arrive and on the parties respecting the fragile ceasefires needed to repair lines when they go down. Grossi summed it up with a mix of relief and alarm after the restoration of one of the lines: “It is a good day for nuclear security, although the situation remains highly precarious.” And the precarious thing, in this case, is that a new attack, a mechanical failure or a downed line is enough to bring … Read more

that some Tesla clients go to diesel

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Tesla is losing the battle for the loyalty of her clients in the US since Elon Musk began His political adventure and Tesla stagnated in the renewal or expansion of its electric cars. A Global S&P report reveals that many Tesla users are changing to other brands, and some are even driving cars with diesel engines. This fall in the loyalty of Tesla users is a thermometer for the reach of the brand reputation crisismore than a change in trend in the electric car market in general. The elephant in the room. Tesla is not living its best commercial moment. Even though their shareholders trigger the price of their actions promoted by the enthusiasm that has caused the Elon Musk Billonario BonusTesla’s sales do not trace. According The published By Euronews, the data of the Association of European Automobile Constructors (ACEA) suggest that Tesla has suffered a sales drop of 40%, and only in July the company sold 42.4% less in the EU. The bad news for Tesla are that this fall It is not generalized throughout the sector of the electric car. In comparison, during the month of July its main rival, Byd, put on the street 200% more cars than in the previous registry, ensuring a market share of 1.1% in the EU, while Tesla remains at 0.7%, falling from 2.1% share that the brand signed in 2024. That means that Tesla still has an important weight in the electric car market, but it is no longer a priority option because the market It has become much more competitive in prices and models. The stagnation of Tesla. Tesla’s reputation has been seriously affected Since Elon Musk began to get involved in politics. According to A report From the S&P Global consultant, in the second quarter of 2025, the loyalty of customers in the US to Tesla fell 9.4% compared to the previous year. This percentage places the brand below Ford, although even above Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda or Mercedes-Benz. This Down in Loyalty to Tesla On the part of its clients it is not due to a loss of reliability of their cars as it could happen in other cases, but to its decisions as a company. Many Tesla users decide not to return to Buy a car Tesla and look for rival brands that offer broader ranges and equipment options that Tesla no longer offers. As a relevant fact, with the exception of Cybertruck, which is not available in all markets, Tesla does not present a new model Since 2019 with Model Y. During that time, the electric car market has been filled with options for all sizes, prices and finishes that do connect with the needs of Tesla users and, when it is time to renew it, they opt for other brands. Tesla is an atypical manufacturer. Tesla’s problem with respect to those who are already customers is that it is not a car manufacturer to use, but in the background it is a software manufacturer and electrical infrastructure. That is, its business model is not based on taking out a new car every three or four years like the rest of the manufacturers, but on creating a platform and updating its software to improve its benefits throughout its useful life. That makes, when a Tesla user seeks to renew his car, he does not find in the concessionaire A new model that makes him feel that he is buying something more modern and current, but that he meets the same car that has parked In his garage, with some aesthetic touch -ups at most. As much as at the software level they have Improved and added new functions and benefits during that time. The electric car user is not loyal. The Global S&P study data show that, in general, the electric car customer is not faithful to a single brand, not even a type of fuel. So far this year, only 58.7% of households with electric car changed to another electric, compared to 68% registered two years ago. On the other hand, combustion car users do remain on this platform when they change car by 84%, although the study indicates that they gradually lose strength in the market. The Tesla client is no different. If we focus on Tesla users, in 2025, only 52.1% of Tesla customers repeated purchase with the brand, compared to 67% recorded in 2022 and 2023. Of those who decided not to buy a tesla again, 68.9% did so to an electric car of another brand, while 31% made a more drastic change and went to combustion cars, being 28% diesel This last fact is striking, since diesel cars are very uninfused in the United States and are mainly available in pick-ups and large SUVs, which leaves Cybertruck in Very bad position Among the purchase options for this segment. In Xataka | Tesla has a good reason to offer a bill bonus to Elon Musk: it is no longer his golden egg chicken Image | Flickr (Gage Skidmore), Xataka

A German Fire team was blindly trusted in its diesel trucks. They discovered that the electric were better

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“We cannot trust experiments in an emergency.” It was, without any doubt, the most repeated phrase in the fire department of the Garching Campus of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) when they considered replacing their diesel trucks with electric. At least, that’s what they assure from the University itself. The phrase was repeated to satiety by their own firefighters during internal surveys. The rejection was widespread for the delicate of the matter: to change the reliability of their diesel trucks for a technology with which many of them had not had contact. The most repeated doubts, collect the companions of Motorpasionwere their load times, the reliability of trucks and even safety during operations. All these concerns seem to have disappeared. And, for those who have not disappeared, there is an expected security network. No, autonomy is not a problem either A year later, everyone seems to be delighted with change. The Fire Park now uses a 66 kWh capacity battery, engines that generate 490 hp and, the small trick, an autonomy extensor that is put into a marking with a six online cylinders that generates another 301 hp diesel. Regarding your capacity techniqueIt has a 2,000 -liter water tank and another 125 liters of Igniphuga foam and, despite being electric, a half -meter Vadeo capacity. That is, at the technical level, there is no substantial difference between an electric truck and a traditional diesel. We said the little trick is in that diesel generator. And it is that the truck is, in reality, an electric of extended autonomy that allows it to have a safety network. This type of vehicles are designed to be used as almost always electric and the combustion engine is nothing more than an emergency solution. In fact, they are usually engines that are used as an electric generator, producing electricity to a battery that feeds the engines. The solution is very widespread in China And, in fact, brands like Hyundai either Mazda They have cars that apply this technology. In the case of an electric firefighter truck, the solution does not go so through the autonomy available to travel (in a city they should be short distances) but to “skip” the load of the truck in case of requiring several interventions in a short time. Because, at the level of interventions, according to your data only 3% They need to turn on the diesel engine to be able to supply energy to the water pump. This, obviously, needs to pull the vehicle’s energy but is not until after half an hour when the battery is exhausted and need to turn on the diesel propeller. “In more than 97% of operations it is not necessary”, They emphasize. Saved that first and important stumbling block, from the fire team seem to be delighted with the new vehicle. They point out that without engine noise they can communicate better between them, both to speak directly and to understand what is being said on the radio. In its article, the German University emphasizes that it is a clear improvement within the vehicle but also for those who work outside it. “This allows us to communicate much better among us, which is great. You can also understand the radio and your colleagues without any problem, so you do not have to continue asking questions, a great gain in safety and comfort.” From the Fire Department they say that “our experience shows that electric mobility works for the Fire Department. I hope that many more fire departments follow their example. In any case, there is a lot of interest: we regularly receive consultations about our experiences.” The next step, they say, will be to install solar panels to load the trucks. Photo | Technical University of Munich (Tum) and Jai Heike In Xataka | Turn off electric cars, according to firefighters: self -colombing, twice water and triggered temperatures

A Spaniard has patented a mast that transforms wind and waves into electricity. His invention challenges diesel in ships

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A mast shaken by the wind, the waves pushing without rest: usual scenes in any maritime journey. The interesting thing is that the same movement can serve to generate electricity. A canary who is one step away from being an engineer has designed a system that converts the strength of the ocean into usable energy, with the ambition to reduce the dependence of the diesel in the ships. It is an idea that takes the everyday of the sea and makes it a concrete technical proposal, simple enough to intrigue and ambitious enough to demand validation in the sea. “In the end it is a three -dimensional generator,” Juan Francisco Sarmiento Medina said in an advance of the Podcast of the Stier Groupand described the mechanism with simple images: “Let’s imagine that my arm is the mast. When the wind comes in front, it clashes, as the mast of a flag, and begins to oscillate. The keel works as a piston of a combustion engine (…) then movement occurs in the x, y y y z axes, all under Faraday’s law,” he explained. That narration of the inventor itself forms the technical spine of the project. What exactly is the e-mast. In its LinkedIn account the project appears as E-MAST (Energy Mast System) and is presented as a technology that transforms the structural vibration of the mast into clean electrical energy. According to the textthe system integrates an encapsulated rotor without exposed parts, linear generators and piezoelectric elements to convert oscillations into electricity, and can direct part of the induced air under the keel in the form of microburbujas. The advantages of the inventor are clear: “Without diesel engines, or maintenance. The owner of the boat, as there are no mechanical parts that have to be maintained with oil or that are broken, also reduces costs in that sense,” He pointed to El Español. The inventor also underlines the operational silence due to the absence of external propellers and the total structural integration into existing masts. These benefits, in any case, will require trials to measure power, autonomy and acoustic signature. Of production patent. The applications of applications published by the author encompasses autonomous marine surveillance, oceanographic research, defense and ecological navigation platforms in protected areas. According to Sarmiento Medina, the e-mast is protected by two patents, ES202430338 and ES202430339, with a favorable report according to the promoter. According to the newspaper La Provinciathe promoter figure around half a million euros international protection and development and has conversations with shipyards in France and the Netherlands to explore production. The sea still has the last word. Sarmiento says that he is a neighbor of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and recognizes that part of his learning and opportunities come from the Stier Group, which has supported his training. This local support, added to the intellectual protection that it declares in its public profile, has allowed to convert a daily element of any ship at the base of an ambitious technological proposal. Now the most difficult part remains: validate the system in the sea. But the idea has already demonstrated something important: that there is still margin to imagine new things, even in an environment as old as navigation. Images | Juan Francisco Sarmiento Medina In Xataka | A “Roomba” to clean rivers: the ship that the three throats has launched in China

The cheapest way to maintain a Mazda RX-7 is to stuff a diesel engine. And yes, there are those who have dared with it

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Rotary engine, scamotable headlights and a silhouette, simply, perfect. The third generation of Mazda RX-7 is not only a sculptural carit is a fundamental pillar of the Japanese automobile culture that came to us in the 90s. For those who grew up those years with Gran Tourism under the armJapan became an absolute reference when building our most precious memories. They were years of matagigants such as Honda NSX or the Nissan Skyline GT-Rdomain in the World Cup in Rallies of Subaru and Mitsubishiand the tunning with greater taste that has been seen with the Toyota supra, Mitsubishi Eclipse or the Mazda RX-7 (among many others that I leave) by flag. As if that were not enough, later the iconic would arrive Mazda RX-7 by Dominic Toretto In the first to all gas, I would return with Han in Fast & Furious Tokyo Drift And, meanwhile, we could drive it in the aforementioned Gran Turismo or in the Need For Speed, if we want to follow that tuning aspect. It is not surprising that the public has love to a car that was not only beautiful. He was also spectacular for his peculiar engine and his delicious sound. All that has been lost with this peculiar restoration. A DIESEL MAZDA? “I bought it two years ago and it was nothing more than a chassis (…) had no engine, or gearbox, or interior …” With these words, the Arnold declaration begins, a Polish that Account on the Nightride YouTube channel (Almost a million subscribers), the story of his Mazda RX-7. The words of the owner of this mythical sporting have the halo that seems to be exculpating their sins in the confessional. “I started with the aesthetic part”he recounts when he says that only after modifying his exterior and resembling him to aesthetics Touge (The Japanese seventies fashion to skid on the mountain roads that is collected in films such as Fast & Furious Tokyo Drift or in the famous initial manga d) It was when he thought what he would do with the engine. The third generation of Mazda RX-7 is famous for set up a rotary engine biturbo that reached 280 hp. In addition to a very light chassis, the car quickly became saint and sign of Drift lovers. It was a car that had everything, a brutal aesthetic, a rare engine and a sound that remembered the mythical Mazda 787b That was done with the victory in Le Mans. “I wanted the car to be controversial”. And what if it has been. Not precisely because of the aesthetic carbon fiber package based on the needd Speed Underground. Arnold decided that nothing would cause more impact than forgetting the rotating engine and seating a six diesel cylinders. Yes, you have read well. I know you need time to digest it. Can you keep reading? The six -cylinder diesel came from a BMW 5 E39 series. With the smile of who knows that has committed a crime He has achieved his goal, he says on the camera: “I wanted to have a car with a shocking engine under the hood. And it was shocking, because it works in a Mazda RX-7”. And then, with a smile, he explains that he valued many types of engines but that was finally decided by the six BMW diesel cylinders. A reliable and cheap engine. No other engine that I could use was so cheap and gave it so much performance. But he also confesses, “I liked to anger people.” Looking at the good side of things, Arnold says that the project was born with the idea of being “a cheap drift car” that could complement with the other RX-7 that, this yes, has a rotating engine in its garage. But the project became more expensive. He raised the power from 184 to 270 hp and installed a rear differential, also from BMW that he customized. He assures that he continues to use it as a car for Drift but, finally, so much attention for the detail has made it a vehicle to use on a day -to -day basis. With his beautiful image his diesel engine will not attract attention … until someone misses the particular howl of the newspaper. “Some love him and others hate him”says at the end of the video. Well, Arnold, we imagine that on that balance there are many more on one side than in the other. But at least we stayed that the chassis of a Mazda RX-7 was returned to life and now dazzles those who find it down the street. Photo | Jacob s and BMW In Xataka | Mazda 6e, first impressions: to give up what seemed inalienable to become a missile against Tesla Model 3

The first prohibitions to diesel cars over 10 years are already underway. There is only a small detail: there are no

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Gasoline cars that comply with Euro 3 and diesel cars that comply with Euro 4 or Euro 5. That is the definition made by the DGT of the vehicles that They carry the bchatin B in cars. Although, really, what traffic has done has been discriminating for years of enrollment. Thus, cars with stickers B are enrolled between 2000 and 2006 for gasoline cars and Between 2006 and 2014 for diesel. This decision has generated some inconveniences since there are vehicles enrolled before 2000 (gasoline) or 2006 (diesel) that comply with the aforementioned emission regulations. But, except those exceptions that can be reviewedcars with stickers B are at least ten years behind them if we talk about diesel vehicles. Discrimination has raised some controversies since the owners of these cars face more hard restrictions than gasoline cars. To sticker equality, his car is many less years old. And that opens the door to be prohibited to diesel cars more modern than gasoline in our cities. Restrictions that, as you have been able to read, are already applied or will arrive very soon. But they do not exist. An exception (very exceptional) In recent days, social networks have been filled with messages that point to alleged prohibitions to cars with sticatin B. that is, gasoline with more than 19 years behind them but diesel with just over 10 years. But the truth is that when one goes to detail, those prohibitions They do not exist or, at most, they will be very soft restrictions that do not limit the use of the car. First, you have to understand that Since 2023 All cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants had to launch low emissions (ZBE) areas to improve air quality. But in the regulations It was not established how they should be These, who had to affect nor a punishment was established for not doing so. This has caused many municipalities to choose not to apply the measure, claiming that they needed clear orders from the government (aware that it is a measure that can negatively affect the electoral level). But it has also caused Paradoxes like Ciudad Realwhere you aspire to establish a ZBE … where all cars can access (even those who have no environmental labeling of the DGT). If we use the map that the government itself has active and select Restrictions by B labelwe will see that only the city of Segovia, Madrid and Barcelona remain active. In Madridcars with b label can circulate without problem but in the area of low emissions of special protection center center (ZBEDEP CENTER DISTRICT)they are obliged to park in a parking lot, whether public or private. It is the same restriction as when the area was called Madrid and there are no firm plans to change it. The case of Barcelona is a bit more special. Right now, all cars with stickers can circulate within the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB) without restrictions. Of course, cars with stickers B are included. The point is that The Generalitat of Catalonia has given green light to a plan to put obstacles to its use. That plan puts on the table restrictions on cars with B label from January 1, 2026 in all cities of More than 50,000 inhabitants within Catalonia as long as the anti -antamination scenarios are activated. That is, when the pollution is so high that it forces to prohibit circulation to some vehicles. It is something that It is also contemplated in Madrid In some scenarios. The protocol does contemplate the restriction of cars with B label B but as of January 1, 2028. By then, those cars will be over 14 years in the case of diesel and more than 22 years if we talk about gasoline. In Catalonia, cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants are Barcelona (and all the municipalities that already enter the AMB), Lleida, Tarragona or Girona, among others. You can consult here on this link. However, in the plan it is only specified that they will have to have a ZBE and that it must restrict the circulation to the cars with environmental label B but the size of it is not specified. That, just as it happens in the rest of the territory, has proliferated cities where Zbe barely affects a handful of streets, without substantial impact for the vast majority of drivers. That is what happens in Salamanca, the only city that Restrictions to cars with sticatin B already applies throughout Spain. However, the size is just 0.37 km2, the historical bud. Inside can access the aforementioned vehicles if they are registered in that area or if they do it outside the schedule established for the application of the ZBE: Monday to Thursday: from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Vespers of festive: from 7 to 23 hours. Sundays and holidays: 10 to 20 hours. Much Runrún and few prohibitions In spite of everything, in some media we continue to read that there are already prohibitions raised to cars with almost immediate application B label, as inferred in the holders. Then we leave a list of the most commented cities and what will be applied or not. Bilbao: This zbe It has a size of 2 km2 and is active from Monday to Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. In that time section, from June 15, 2025 cars with B label B of the DGT are forced to enter a parking lot (as in Madrid) but can enter with that condition until January 1, 2030. By then, these diesel cars will have at least 16 years. Estepona: This zbe It has a size of 0.49 km2 and is also located in the historic center. Here, cars with stickers B are obliged to park in a parking lot or in a hotel, as in the previous case of Bilbao. There are no more restrictions. Getafe: This zbe It has a size of 1.18 km2. Since 2025 it has the same … Read more

Let’s pay more for diesel

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Spain will receive 23.9 billion euros from Europe in the fifth section of European fund aid. It would be greater if they had unlocked each and every one of the requirements that Brussels has imposed on Spain. As if it were a video game, each milestone achieved had its reward in money. And uploading diesel taxes was one of those unnegotiable issues. 1.1 billion euros. That is the money that Spain will stop receiving a package awarded from 23.9 billion euros which is part of the fifth section of aid provided by the European Union within the framework of the Next Generation funds. To receive the funds, Europe forced various reforms. Two of them have not been fulfilled. The first is the one that has to do with the interim who Europe wants to become fixed workers but that do not swell the official’s lists. The second was a tax reform that contemplated a rise in diesel taxes. Failure to comply with both reforms has left Spain without 1,100 million euros. What do we pay? Europe has been pressing time for the price of diesel to equal to gasoline. At least in its tax section. That means that Spain should eliminate the subsidy that this fuel has in the section of the Special Hydrocarbons Tax. Right now, the figures are as follows: 98: 431.92 euros/1000 liters or 0.432 euros/liter gasoline. No lead gasoline 95: 400.69 euros/1000 liters or 0.401 euros/liter Diesel: 307 euros/1000 liters or 0.307 euros/liter. To this stretch of the tax we must add the autonomic that, since 2019, is linear in 7.02 cents/liters. This leaves us a special hydrocarbons tax of: 98: 0.504 euros/liter gasoline. 95: 0.473 euros/liter gasoline Diesel: 0.379 euros/liter. To these figures you also have to add VAT. As this is 21%, the impact will be greater the more expensive the fuel is. That is, in a liter of gasoline more money is collected in VAT than in one of diesel. According to the latest European bulletinin Spain we pay on average the liter of diesel to 1,425 euros/liter. No taxes would be 0.799 euros/liter. That is, 56% of what we pay in a liter of diesel are taxes. Match diesel. Despite this, the great objective of Brussels is to match diesel and gasoline taxes. This fuel is marked from Europe because its pollutant emissions They are more harmful for human beings than those of gasoline and therefore promote measures to reduce their use or get them out of the center of cities. To reduce their use and pressure drivers to look for cleaner alternatives, since Europe they have insisted on equalizing taxes. This would raise the price of diesel in almost 10 cents/liter, ending its competitive advantage in gas stations. I do not do it. Obviously, uploading the price of diesel has an obvious political cost for society. In April, Europe gave an ultimatum to Spain. He had to reach an agreement to raise the diesel or the funds would be frozen. The threat resonated more strongly after November 2024 It would slide from the government that had already reached an agreement to rise to 11 cents the liter of diesel (match the special hydrocarbons tax and the relevant percentage update with VAT). That agreed tax reform He never materialized. It was a failure that arrived three years later from another announced up in 2021 That, as it can be intuit, ever occurred. But that was after the Coronavirus crisis and before the Ukraine War. The conflict gave a last truce. But even before, in 2018, Mariano Rajoy’s government He also torted the possibility to raise diesel taxes. In the end, that reform that was going to affect diesel resulted in a widespread rise of all fuels. The European pressure resulted in the harmonization of the rise autonomic section that It is applied since 2019. Those 7.02 cents/liter of those we have already spoken. 18 million cars. The resistance to implement these measures is not accidental. According to the Latest data collected by ANFACthe Spanish mobile park is made up of 31.3 million vehicles that remain active. Of these, 58.9% are cars moved by diesel fuel. That is, three out of five vehicles, more than 18 million cars still use diesel to move daily. It is the result of a few years 2000 where diesel came to accumulate a market share that seemed irreplacement. In 2007 1.6 million cars were sold in Spain. Of them, 1.14 million were diesel -moved cars. Photo | Daniyar Orazov and Xataka In Xataka | We thought that gasoline cars were much cleaner than diesel. We did not have the effect of the sun

To batteries, it does not need to recharge and save millions of liters of diesel

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While Europe looks with sweet eyes on Hydrogen train and In Argentina they already presume their solar trainAustralia boasts of her brand new electric train. Wait, how “electric train” when that exists for decades and It is called Ave? Because the Australian train has an important nuance: it works with batteries and is not connected to the catenary. The result? An “infinite train” manufactured with racing technology. And with a mission: save a lot of money in diesel. The ‘Infinity Train’. Mining in Australia is a huge business And companies invest to improve their infrastructure, thus being more competitive and efficient in every way. Fortescue (how difficult it is not to write “Fortesque” as in ‘Medievil‘) is one of those companies, and just announce who have completed the pilot trip of their “intinifo train.” Driven only by its battery system and without being connected to the current, this ‘Intinity Train’ has completed a trip of about 1,100 kilometers, and the most impressive thing is that it will have to do another 1,100 kilometers back without having to recharge. In fact, the idea is to make constant round trips without going through a plug. His trick is not called Solar panels Not anything like that: it’s called regenerative braking. Formula braking 1 AND. In 2022, Fortescue acquired 100% of Williams Advanced Engineering, a British company founded as a split of the Williams team of Formula 1, but focused on the creation of High performance batteries for formula E. The purchase was closed for 223 million dollars and the objective was Accelerate decarbonization in the company’s mining operations. One of the keys to Formula E, which also applies to the Formula 1 battery system, is the generation of electric power thanks to braking. It is like a dynamo that generates electricity with the engine in reverse, and in the case of ‘Infinity Train’, it is a tremendously magnified process. A huge asterisk. Because here the trick is that the round trip from Perth to the Pilbara region makes it loaded with materials, increasing the weight of the train and maximizing regeneration in braking. But, in addition, it is a route with a slope down. The slope on the road to the mines to the port is 600 meters, so the train has more than 1,000 kilometers to, with up to 34,000 tons of iron from the mines, generating electricity that compensates for the expense it can do. The return path makes it downloaded and ‘strip’ of that energy that has filled the batteries so as not to need an external load nor the support of the catenaries. And start again: they return to load the train, go downhill up loading their batteries and then climb the energy generated. The matter of money. In a huge continent and with the complicated terrain to install catenaries, it is a solution that has all the way, but the limitation is more than evident: the technology of this train can only be applied in situations as specific as that of long journeys in which the phase of being loaded with materials is done downhill. In other situations, it seems more complicated. But well, the company’s intention is to electrify its more than 50 transport trains for 2030 with the aim of reducing its emissions and, in addition, saving What Diesel costs. It is difficult to get the idea of ​​magnitude, but They speak to cut 82 million liters of fuel per year and reduce 11% of its annual CO₂ emissions if they electrify the train network. Electrifying the mines. From the company they affirm that this technology can be exported to everyone, and in the end it is another step in the MODERNIZATION OF MINES. It is precisely in this work environment that the electrification It seems very necessary not only to reduce emissions and that companies meet their objectives, but to improve the health of workers. In recent years we are seeing Betting for electric trucks and even automatedand the ‘infinite train’ adds to the trend, but with the great point against that it is a possible vehicle in extremely concrete situations. Image | Fortescue In Xataka | France has thousands of kilometers of unused train tracks. So you are covering them with solar panels

There is a way for a truck to go from Italy to Madrid without spending a diesel euro. Mounting it on a train

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From Italy to Madrid in truck but without stepping on the road. It is the concept of the railway highway that unites the transalpine country with the Spanish capital and that allows moving low -cost merchandise with a reduced impact on polluting emissions. A project that has already been tested in Spain but now seeks its extension even Portugal. From Italy to Madrid. That is the route that the trucks moved by Tramesaa company that keeps an exceptional service in our country alive. Specifically, to put in Madrid some trucks with origin in Italy that on the road have hundreds of kilometers but have not spent a drop of diesel. And it is that these trucks, as explained in The countryThey arrive at the Valencian port where they are collected by a huge crane that deposits them on a railway platform. The truck becomes a merchandise container that travels to Madrid railway. Already in the capital, return to the road to distribute the merchandise. What is a railway highway? This system is what is known as a railway highway. That is, the use of railways to transport trucks that, in normal circumstances, should travel on the road. A system that, currently, is only active between Madrid and Valencia but wants to project to reach Portugal. And makes sense? Yes, and a lot. First because it is a less polluting system. Adif calculates That using trucks as rail containers is almost five times less polluting than circulating along the road, which entails tire wear, brakes … and huge diesel consumption. But, above all, it is interesting for the transport company. And the train trip can be done with or without a cabin. Without it, driver expenses is minimized since trucks travel alone on the train. In this way, the driver handles a tractor head at the origin, deposits the trailer there and a second conductor, already at destination, collects the merchandise with a second tractor head. In this way, the number of hours at the wheel and the distance traveled is drastically reduced. The Spanish case. As we said, at the moment, the railway highway that connects the Valencian port with Madrid is the only one that is active. However, the system is not much less new. In the past we have already had similar attempts and, in fact, we must not retrieve far back in time. In 2019, Renfe merchandise and VIIA, SNCF subsidiary, launched a service with up to six trains by direction and week between Barcelona and Bettembourg (Luxembourg). The project was canceled shortly after with the crisis of Coronavirus and reactivated in 2022. However, ended up closing operations A few months later. In Trenvista They point out that this case is the last but not the only one we have had in our country. At the end of the 80s a railway highway between Madrid and Barcelona was also opened. However, an accident resulted in the closure of past two years. In Europe. Outside our country, the transport of goods using railways is not new either. VIIA, the company that wanted to exploit the connection between Barcelona and Luxembourg, Keep active Four lines that explode exclusively and four other lines in collaboration with other operators. Their business extends almost exclusively by France (they have one that ends in Italy) and most of them collect merchandise that arrives through the Eurotunnel, demonstrating the advantage of the system when combining large ports and cities with good rail connections. In fact, it was in France where a railway highway began for the first time in 1936. After World War II, services would continue to be expanded with the services with the Alpine railway highway which is the one that crosses between France and Italy (already near Turin). And in the future? At the moment it remains to be seen but from the institutions you are trying to close more projects. There are currently a total of 15 in progress that are in different phases. In service with metric width we have Valencia-Madrid and underway you are already working on: Algeciras-Zaragoza Zaragoza-Tarragona Huelva-Madrid-Zaragoza Seville-Madrid-Zaragoza Valencia-Badajoz-Contrancamento (Portugal) Madrid-Badajoz-Contrancamento-Suporto (Portugal) In study phase are: Tarragona-Barcelona Madrid-Valladolid-Burgos-Vitoria Murcia-Madrid Cádiz-Madrid Tamarite of Litera-Irún Zaragoza-Pamplona-Vitoria In addition, a standard width is already underway between Barcelona and Le Perthus (France) and the following lines are projected: Murcia-Le Perthus (France) Tarragona-Le Perthus (France) Vitoria-Irún Photo | Ministry of Transportation and Tramesa In Xataka | Two years after Renfe competition entered, the data indicate something: trains are cheaper than ever

15 years ago, diesel got the best record in the history of Le Mans

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In a few hours they will start 24 hours from Le Mans. A year ago, in Xataka We had the opportunity to be there. I remember the expectation of the minutes before. We arrived with hours of advance but in Le Mans you breathe nervousness from the early morning. Those nerves that cause a smile contained halfway between illusion and fear. I wasn’t there 25 years ago But I’m sure something very similar was lived. The 2000 race served to collect the new millennium with open arms. What we did not know is that one of the most dominant eras in the history of the competition was beginning. One that starred Audi. One that began, like all, with a victory but that completely changed the idea of ​​understanding Le Mans. One that began with the smell of gasoline and ended with the smell of diesel. The golden years of Audi in Le Mans Although it was in 2000 when Audi won for the first time in Le Mans, the previous year he had already served the company of the four hoops to take temperature with the most famous resistance race in the world. In 1999, BMW had managed to impose itself as the last winner before the millennium change. No one predicted that during the next 18 editions a team got the victory in thirteen of them. And of these, nine joined consecutively. For the year 2000, Audi appeared again with his R8. He did it with a 3.6 -liter V8 engine with which they had already tried luck the previous year but made changes in the transmission. From the beginning it was confirmed that the three Audi were going to have very few rivals. Courage, Oreca, Dams and Panoz were not rivals for some Germans who added 368 laps with the unit piloted by Frank Biela, Tom Kristen and Emanuele Pirro. Audi copied the podium and his third unit added 368 laps. To understand the domain, the fourth classified was the C52 Courage that mounted Peugoet motor and only managed to add 344 turns. The distance was sidereal and would be certified in later years. Between 2000 and 2008, Audi scored each and every one of the victories of its LMP900 and, later, LMP1. Of the 24 possible drawers of the podium, Audi copied 19 of them with his official team or a private team that mounted any of his audi r8. The domain was overwhelming as we see but after three years dominating as an official team, the Germans left the competition and the Audi that were put in the starting line did it with private equipment. The situation was repeated between 2003 and 2005. But in 2006, the thing changed. Audi showed his interest again in the queen category of Le Mans but did it with surprise. He arrived with a diesel engine to show that fuel efficiency had no rival. The strategy was simple: less consumption involved less reposses and, therefore, longer on track. A diesel record And the strategy worked. In 2006Audi appeared at the starting line Of the 24 hours of Le Mans with two cars instead of the usual three to focus efforts. However, he managed to occupy two places of the podium, adding a 1-3 to his record and growing his private prustle account between 2000 and 2008. The car mounted a supercharged V12 with two turbocharger that could generate a maximum of 659 hp. According to its initial calculations, without shocks, the Audi R10 TDI He could take two more turns to the circuit of the pan than his predecessor before reproducing. That implied that he could travel 26 more kilometers before stopping. Although there had been previous attempts, that was the first year in which a car that used diesel fuel was made with the victory. It would not be the last because Audi repeated Victoria in 2007 and 2008. However, the fence was narrowed and in 2007 Peugeot also appeared in the output line with a diesel engine. In this case a Peugeot 908 HDI FAP that repeated the structure of the German: 5.5 -liter V12 engine and supercharged with two turbos. That year, the Peugeot went to 700 hp. In spite of everything, in 2007 Audi dominated again and put ten laps away to Peugeot. But the following year the competition matched so much that Audi and Peugeot added both 381 laps. However, the best would come. In 2009, Peugeot He finally managed to get the victory and did it with sufficiency, with the end of six laps above the Audi. A year later, the Germans would compensate getting one of the most spectacular records in history. In 2010, Audi returned to the three seats of the podium, already without Peugeot in the competition. The domain was so overwhelming that the first LMP1 No Audi It was a oreca that ended 26 laps from the winner. It was not for less, Mike Rocknfeller, Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas managed to complete the cross circuit 397. They matched the number of turns achieved by Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep with a Porsche 917K In 1971 but there was a small difference. In the 70s, the circuit measured 13.47 kilometers, while in 2010 it had lengthened 13.63 kilometers. Those almost 200 meters apart, return to turn, made, since then, Audi shows the record of distance covered in the 24 hours of Le Manswith 5,410,713 km. The record was achieved with the Audi R15 TDI Plus. The car then rode an engine V10 5.5 -liter TDI that gave a maximum of 600 hp. It was an evolution of the previous year and served to find a winning path that extended until 2014, with change to hybridization along the way. The second half of the past decade became dominated by Porsche and Toyota (with that victory of Fernando Alonso included). The year 2014 closed, therefore, Audi’s most glorious story with Le Mans. Photo | Audi In Xataka | The most … Read more

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