dream

The greatest Japanese railway dream is a train that would connect Madrid and Barcelona in 75 minutes at 600 km/h. It’s also your biggest nightmare

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Year 2027, Japan prepares for the first trip of its new Maglev. The train that works by magnetic levitation runs at a speed of 505 km/h and has exceeded 600 km/h in its testing phase. It will barely take 40 minutes to travel between Tokyo and Nagoya, cities that are currently separated by more than an hour and a half of travel. If we move it to Spanish soil, the new Maglev that is about to leave Tokyo station would link Madrid and Barcelona in 75 minutes. Today, the fastest train takes 182 minutes and work is being done to reduce travel time to less than two hours. But all this is a dream. A nightmare, more like. And it is that Japan has been dreaming for years with once again taking the initiative in high-speed rail worldwide. Despite being the pioneers in offering trips on what are known as “bullet trains” and demonstrating to the world in 1964 that they were decades ahead of any competitor, China has surpassed them. A project aims to return them to the top. It is the Chuo Shinkansen line operated by a Maglev. But that project is taking hold and, at the moment, things are not looking too good. A decade of delay and shovelfuls of money When in 2015 the Maglev exceeded 600 km/h We thought that today we would travel by train much faster than we do. Japan then presented a seven-car prototype known as the L0 Series. It was one of the first steps to connect Tokyo and Nagoya in just 40 minutes. He calendar projected the dream described above. In 2027, Japan would have a line operated by trains capable of reaching 505 km/h. It would be a punch on the table on a board, that of high speed, which China dominates right now. The neighboring country and great rival has managed to establish itself as the place where the trains travel the fastest, move more people and They have more kilometers of roads available. But all these plans have been delayed and the new date points to 2036. They explain in the specialized media Japanism that the Chuo Shinkansen was designed as a fast route to link the large cities located on the Pacific coast. Currently, Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka are already linked by the Tokaido Shinkansen, but this new line would serve to decongest roads that circulate at their limits and, at the same time, offer the fastest route possible. So much so that Tokyo and Osaka, today separated by a trip of at least 202 minutes, would become connected in just 75 minutes. That is, an hour and a quarter. This alternative obviously requires the construction of an entire railway infrastructure that is encountering a multitude of problems. One of the big secrets why trains in Japan are so fast and punctual is that they use different infrastructure for their high-speed trains and conventional ones. With the Chuo Shinkansen it would be even more necessary since the train works by magnetic levitation. The Maglev is an old Japanese railway dream that has its roots in the 70s when research began on whether a train could operate using magnetic levitation. The idea is that the train “floats” on the tracks traveling at a very high speed, held by powerful magnets. This way friction against the tracks is eliminated and the ride should be smoother and quieter. Obviously, this prevents the current roads from being reused. To carry out this new infrastructure, Japan has proposed launching its trains underground for about 250 kilometers. Tokyo and Nagoya are separated by 286 kilometers and the project involves burying 90% of the route. And to reduce travel times, the train would go underground in the interior of the country, instead of continuing near the coast like the current Tokaido Shinkansen. High-speed trains have a problem: tunnels. The speed of trains in Japan is limited by the numerous holes that the country has had to make in its mountains to carry out its high-speed lines. With each entry into a tunnel there is a change in pressure that generates discomfort for passengers and enormous noise outside, as well as challenges for the movement of the train itself. The idea with Maglev is to eliminate these entrances and exits with a train that almost always runs underground. In this way, it can also work in vacuum conditions, which reduces the energy needed to reach speeds of more than 500 km/h. This idea has faced countless problems, they explain in Japanism. The project began to take shape in 2011 but has experienced constant delays and setbacks. First there was an important political struggle to decide what the final itinerary of the line was and it was not until 2015 when the ground began to be excavated. The problem is that the new tracks circulate, in some sections, next to current high-speed tracks. They explain in the middle that in the Shinagawa area the conventional train tracks are being replaced by magnetic levitation sections but that they can only advance 12 meters a day because there are only four hours of work left free, which is the interval between the last train of the day and the first of the next day. All this, added to the fights with the land owners and the technical difficulties, has increased the cost of the project. It was estimated that the line between Tokyo and Osaka would cost 9 billion Japanese yen, of which 5.52 billion yen would have to be spent between Tokyo and Nagoya. However, cost overruns have skyrocketed the final figure and in 2025 JR Central, in charge of the project, already estimated the cost of this last section in 11 trillion yen. All these cost overruns and technical problems (barely 2% of traffic will move on land, 86% of the time will travel underground and the rest on viaducts and bridges) have caused interruptions in construction and, as we have seen, an increase … Read more

The business ‘Dream Team’ repeats as the best company and the highest valued manager in Spain

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If we think about which Spanish company is the best ratedit is very likely that Inditex, Mercadona, Banco Santander or Repsol are among the most repeated. The same thing happens when we talk about entrepreneurs who have founded them or managers who direct them. Names like Amancio Ortega, Juan Roig or Ana Botín are the first that come to mind. For the last 25 years, the corporate reputation business monitor Merco make a ranking with the best valued companies and managers in the country. In its 26th edition of Merco Empresas, the duo Inditex and Juan Roig have remained immovable on the podium as a company and manager best rated from Spain. Inditex, again at the top One more year, Inditex tops the list of the 200 companies with the best reputation in Spain. They are closely followed by Mercadona and Grupo Social Once, which complete a podium that barely changes from one year to the next. The Merco Empresas study is prepared based on 65,000 surveys, seven evaluations and 29 different sources, as detailed by the Merco Empresas study. Merco report. In fact, the top 5 of 2026 has not moved one place compared to the 2025 edition. But from sixth place onwards changes do appear. Caixabank rises two positions compared to the 2025 ranking and enters the top 6. The insurer Mapfre also improves its rating, going from tenth to eighth place, achieving 7,111 points from the experts. Coca-Cola, on the other hand, loses four positions and falls to tenth place. Repsol, Iberdrola, Caixabank, BBVA and Santander complete the top 10 best valued Spanish companies. Juan Roig, eight years unbeatable Something very similar happens in the leader ranking. Juan Roig, president of Mercadona, repeats as the highest-rated executive in Spain for the eighth year in a row, as confirmed by himself leader ranking. Ana Botín, executive president of Banco Santander, follows closely behind. Closing the top 3 is Amancio Ortega, followed by Marta Ortega, founder and non-executive president of the Inditex group respectively. This block already has several editions without changing ordersomething unusual in a ranking that measures public perception and not just the figures on a balance sheet of financial results. From fifth place onwards there are new developments. Josu Jon Imaz (Repsol) rises to sixth place and Pablo Isla (Nestlé) enters seventh. Isidre Fainé and Gonzalo Gortázar (CaixaBank) also climb positions compared to the previous year. Antonio Huertas (Mapfre) slips into tenth place after climbing five steps. Florentino Pérez (ACS Group) and María Dolores Dancausa (Bankinter), on the other hand, leave the top 10 this year. From the analysis of this reputation list, two clear conclusions can be drawn. The first is that both Mercadona and Inditex, as well as their directors and founders, are two examples of business success not so much for its good growth figuresbut for having achieved connect with your customerswhich are those that are taken into account in this type of listings. On the other hand, it is striking how the personality or image that a manager projects can even be above the perception levels of the company he or she directs. That is to say, the public recognizes the work of a manager like Ana Botón, placing her in second position but, on the other hand, Banco Santander has not achieved the same connection with users than its president, maintaining ninth position in the company ranking. Amancio Ortega, the boss who no longer commands but continues to weigh Amancio Ortega left the executive presidency of Inditex in 2011 and does not even have a management position in its investment arm Pontegadea. Since then he has lived away from the spotlight in La Coruña. But its shadow is still very long. Ortega continues to be the largest shareholder of the group, with more than 59% of the capital through Pontegadea, and will collect this year a record dividend of more than 3,234 million euros. Furthermore, he remains the only Spaniard among the ten richest in the world, according to the Forbes list of 2026. Ortega no longer signs decisions on a day-to-day basis at Inditex, however, even after his retirement, his name continues to occupy a prominent place in the ranking of managers best valued by the public. In Xataka | Mercadona is doing the opposite of other large companies: freezing Roig’s salary to reinvest it Image | GTRES, Mercadona

The Solar Impulse made the dream of the solar airplane a reality. Now it has ended up destroyed after an accident

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There was a time when the Solar Impulse 2 It seemed like it came from a simple question: how far can a plane go if we leave out conventional fuel. The answer was not a commercial product, but an experimental aircraft powered by solar energy and batteries that ended up flying around the world. That is why the news has a special charge. That plane that symbolized a different way of imagining aviation has ended crashed in the Gulf of Mexico during an autonomous test. The coup came on May 4. According to Aviation Safety Networkthe Solar Impulse 2 was conducting an autonomous test flight when it lost power and ended up crashing into the water. The least bitter part of the news is that there were no injuries or deaths, something important because the plane was already flying without a crew in this new stage. The most symbolic part is another: the device that for years turned a technological promise into something visible has been reduced to the remains of an accident. Behind the project was Bertrand Piccarda figure marked by a family tradition of explorers: his grandfather Auguste Piccard was a pioneer of the depths and his father, Jacques Piccardarrived at the Mariana Trench. In 2003 started to imagine a solar aircraft capable of going around the world to draw attention to the “sustainable energy“First came Solar Impulse 1, with its initial flight in 2009and then the final jump. The plane that converted the sun into flight energy What is striking is that this ambition was not based on a gigantic machine in the traditional sense. The Solar Impulse 2 had a huge wingspanabout 71 meters, higher than that of a Boeing 747, but it weighed around 2.3 tons thanks to its carbon fiber structure. The energy came from 17,248 photovoltaic cells distributed throughout the plane, with a maximum power of 66 kW to drive four electric motors and charge four lithium-ion batteries. The moment that made it more than a technological oddity came in 2016. That year, the Solar Impulse 2 completed the first trip around the world of a fixed-wing plane powered entirely by solar energy, a journey that It lasted for more than 15 months. Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, co-founder of the foundation, alternated at the controls during the tour. It was not a demonstration of speed, of course: the plane was moving between 31 and 62 miles per hour, slowing down during the night sections. After that feat, the story changed tone. In 2019, the Solar Impulse Foundation announced the sale of the plane to Skydweller Aero for an undisclosed amount. The Spanish-American company did not view the project from exactly the same place as its creators: its interest was in exploring the potential of the aircraft as a surveillance and communications platform, a very different destination from the original message of energy awareness. With Skydweller the technical transformation of the device also began. After incorporating numerous modifications, the plane completed in Spain his first autonomous flight in 2023and the following year it carried out its first completely unmanned operation at Stennis International Airport, near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The company’s stated goal was to develop a fleet of solar aircraft capable of non-stop flights at certain latitudes, between Miami and Rio de Janeiro. The ambition was evident: almost continuous operations for military and commercial contracts, at a much lower cost than satellite-based options. A huge promise that has ended underwater. Images | Solar Impulse (1, 2, 3, 4) In Xataka | While we all look at Iran, something is moving in the Arctic Circle: Russia is sending bombers with missiles

your dream of putting AI data centers in space is probably not feasible

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The possibility of setting up data centers for artificial intelligence (AI) in space is very attractive. So much so that several CEOs of some of the largest technology companies in the US have not hesitated to get wet and ensure that support this strategy. Jeff Bezos predicted in early October 2025 that data centers will reach space over the next two decades with the purpose of solving in one fell swoop the power supply problems currently posed by these facilities on Earth. Elon Musk did not take long to encourage the discussion even more. Shortly after Bezos’ statement posted a tweet in X in which he assured that SpaceX only needed to scale its Starlink V3 satellites equipped with high-speed laser links to bring this idea to fruition. In fact, he closed his tweet with a forceful statement: “SpaceX is going to do it”. However, the laws of physics are implacable. And SpaceX has had no choice but to acknowledge to its investors the daunting challenges that this project entails. Orbital data centers may not come to fruition According to ReutersSpaceX has delivered an official document to its investors in which it recognizes that both orbital AI data centers and human settlement on the Moon and Mars depend on technologies that have not yet been developed or tested, and that, therefore, may not be viable from a commercial point of view. SpaceX is preparing its IPOand this evaluation puts on the table the caution required by the legal obligation to be extremely honest with the risks to avoid future lawsuits from new shareholders. “Our efforts to develop orbital AI computing and in-orbit, lunar and interplanetary industrialization are in the early stages and involve significant technical complexity and the use of technologies that have not yet been tested. For these reasons they may not be able to achieve commercial viability,” SpaceX clarifies. There is no doubt that the challenges that need to be solved for data centers to reach space are colossal. The challenges that need to be solved for data centers to reach space are colossal One of them is the impact of the ionizing radiation about the hardware. This form of radiation is a type of high-frequency energy, such as X-rays, gamma, alpha or beta, which is capable of tearing electrons from atoms, thus altering the structure of molecules. In space, server chips are not protected by the Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field, which makes them very vulnerable to ionizing radiation, which has the ability to permanently degrade them. To solve this problem it will be necessary to develop some type of shielding capable of protecting the hardware of the servers of the cosmic radiation. This requirement leads us to the next critical challenge: in space it is not possible cool servers using convectionas on Earth, because in the vacuum of space there is neither air nor water. In addition, it would be necessary to use enormous radiators. It is possible to propose several solutions to these problems, but we must not overlook that it is crucial to minimize the weight and complexity of the material that needs to be put into orbit. Otherwise its commercial viability will be non-existent. The two challenges we just delved into are probably the most difficult to solve, but orbital data centers pose more difficulties. One of them is that to deliver the gigawatts per hour they require, it would be necessary to use enormous solar panels. Furthermore, in some applications the latency that these space installations would introduce would probably be unaffordable. And, on top of that, maintaining an orbital data center would be extremely expensive. In fact, it probably wouldn’t even be economically feasible, forcing its owners to introduce massive redundancy that would push it away from profitability. Image | freepik More information | Reuters In Xataka | Elon Musk knows that TSMC is overwhelmed: Terafab is his idea to completely change the global chip industry

Turning plastic into fuel profitably was a pipe dream. A new process just made it possible

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A team from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in the United States, has achieved convert plastic bags and kitchen boards into gasoline and diesel without having to resort to high temperatures or expensive materials. The discovery, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, has raised some eyebrows and below we tell you all the details. The problem they are trying to solve. The plastic is one of the most difficult materials to recycle profitably. Specifically, polyethylene (the polymer that makes up supermarket bags, white plastic containers or kitchen cutting boards) accumulates millions of tons in landfills each year. Until now, the only technically viable way to turn it into fuel was through a process called pyrolysis, which requires heating the material to temperatures between 450 and 500 degrees Celsius. An expensive, energy inefficient process that is difficult to scale to an industrial level. What does the new method consist of?. Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have opted for a different path: introduce the plastic into a mixture of molten salts with aluminum chloride, which acts both as a solvent and as a catalyst. These salts are inorganic compounds that remain stable even under demanding reaction conditions. The key is that the aluminum atoms in the mixture bind to the polymer and generate areas of high acidity that break the long molecular chains of the plastic into smaller fragments, which are transformed into molecules typical of gasoline or diesel. And all this at less than 200 degrees Celsius, a temperature comparable to that of a conventional domestic oven. Why it represents a relevant technical leap. Beyond the reduction in temperature, the process dispenses with three elements that make traditional methods more expensive and complicated: noble metal catalysts (such as platinum), organic solvents and external contribution of hydrogen. According to Zhenzhen Yanga scientist at ORNL and one of the lead authors of the study, “this is the first time that molten salts have been used as a means to produce high value-added chemicals from waste without any catalytic initiators or solvents, and at a temperature below 200 degrees Celsius.” Gasoline efficiency reaches approximately 60% in moderate conditions, a result that the researchers themselves describe as promising for its future industrial application. As they verified that worked. To understand exactly what happens during the reaction, the team used a combination of advanced analysis techniques, including soft X-ray spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, neutron scattering, and gas chromatography. Thanks to isotopic labeling, they were able to track how carbon behaves during the process and confirm that the simplest polymer chains produce gasoline-like fuel, while the more complex ones derive into diesel molecules. By having this level of detail, the process could be optimized depending on the type of fuel you want to obtain. What remains to be resolved. The system is not ready to scale immediately. The main obstacle is that the aluminum salts used are hygroscopic, that is, they absorb moisture from the environment, which compromises their long-term stability. The team working now on ways to confine or protect these saltspossibly using halides or carbon materials, to make them more durable under real industrial conditions. Mbeyond the laboratory. If the process manages to scale successfully, the implications are considerable. Polyethylene is the most produced plastic in the world, abundant and cheap to obtain as a raw material. Aluminum salts, for their part, are low-cost commercial materials. According to Liqi Qiua postdoctoral researcher at the University of Tennessee, “the starting material is abundant in consumer waste, and our catalyst system, molten aluminum salts, is very cheap.” The result could be a cost-effective route to converting plastic waste into high-quality transportation and industrial fuels, while also clearing up our landfills. At the moment the patent is pending, so we will have to wait to find out if this remedy ends up coming to fruition. Cover image | Elbert Lora and Marek Studzinski In Xataka | An 11,000 km ring around the Moon: Japan’s incredible plan to light up the Earth

A gasoline engine that uses 3L per 100km is a dream come true. And only Spain could manufacture it.

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With gasoline and absolutely shot dieselsreduce a few tenths (or liters) to 100 It is the wish of practically every Spaniard. Although the efficiency of current engines is increasing, and gasoline consumption is not as high as it was two decades ago, giants like Repsol are struggling to develop ultra-efficient engines that run on renewable fuel. And they have achieved it. They are not alone. Repsol has the fuel, but needs a partner to develop the engines. That partner is horse powertrain, a Joint Venture between Renault and the Chinese group Geely. This is dedicated to designing, manufacturing and selling thermal and hybrid propulsion systems, something that allows both Renault and Geely to continue exploring the combustion vehicle of the future without abandoning their electrification plans. Horse H12 Concept. This is an engine that promises less than 3.3 liters per 100km in the WLTP cycle, with a reduction in consumption according to the company of 40% compared to the average of new gasoline vehicles registered in the last two years. The best of all? The engine has been developed in Spain, and runs on 100% renewable Repsol gasoline. Horse has its operational headquarters in Madrid, engine factories in Valladolid and gearbox factories in Seville. Why is it important. The Horse H12 Concept is not a shot in the dark. It is an evolution of an already existing engine: the HR12. It is a 1.2-liter three-cylinder produced in Romania, and used in models such as the Dacia Duster. What makes this Concept version special is its exhaust gas recirculation system, a specially optimized ignition system and a hybrid gearbox. This Concept version, in alliance with Repsol, shows how far these engines can go with the help of synthetic fuel. It is not an experiment with an engine designed from scratch, it is the refinement of something that already exists. The other 50%. Repsol is now capable of producing gasoline of 100% renewable origin on an industrial scale at its Tarragona plant. According to what it indicates, it is compatible with all current gasoline vehicles, without requiring any type of modification. It’s your Nexa fuelcurrently available at 30 of Repsol’s stations. The same happens with its diesel, which promises to reduce net CO₂ emissions by up to 90%. And if you’re wondering how much the joke costs, approximately 10 euro cents more per liter compared to conventional fuels. Combustion is not dead. The comings and goings of Europe with combustion cars in 2035 They make it clear that the future will involve electrification. But the plans of giants like Geely and Repsol to try to keep more environmentally responsible combustion solutions alive are a clear indication that gasoline and diesel still have life ahead of them. In Xataka | The question is no longer whether diesel will continue to rise: it is whether it will become an expensive fuel forever.

Tecno has finally seen a future for the old modular dream

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Being able to update the phone without having to change it for a new one is the dream of many of us who love telephony. Throughout history there were several brands that tried it, such as Motorola: Project Ara to the commercial materialization of that format, the Moto Z and its Moto Mods. Currently, one of the manufacturers that has most opted for modularity It’s Fairphone. Now, Tecno has decided to skip what is established and take that dream one step further. Although with a difference from the original Ara: Tecno proposes a magnetic, not structural, modularity. Techno It is not a manufacturer that we know in Europe for its smartphones. Even so, it is one of the brands that the more it grows in share and distribution at a global level. Despite having a clear orientation towards accessible mobile phones, Tecno is characterized by being one of the most innovative and risky. Apart from those two adjectives, there is a third that occurred to me while holding the modular mobile: surprising. But can you still add more things? There are LEGO boxes that have fewer pieces than this mobile When I approached the Tecno stand, and saw all the phone pieces scattered on the table, I thought about the LEGOs I had when I was little and how I was combining the parts to make new figures. What Tecno brought to MWC is more or less the same, at least in essence. The base is an extremely thin phone that features a small camera module in the upper area. Tecno has provided all the components with a good number of magnets, it surely used up the store’s stock. Because everything comes together through magnetism. You can add a telephoto camera module by simply “gluing” this piece to the base lens, for example. Everything fits into place with magnets, just like the external battery module, microphone, speaker… Or the SLR camera accessory. When asked how many modules you can put on the phone at most, Tecno said: “Yes.” I have not put the parallel with LEGO at random: the phone supports a good number of pieces on top. Furthermore, there is another important point: The modules can also be combined without having the base telephone. And they work independently You can put a clip on the microphone and use it as a tie microphone. The same for the speaker, for example. Or use the stand to support the pieces outside the mobile. Everything is anchored by magnetism and in its place. With the drawback that it has to be placed correctly the first time, the system does not offer a visual guide to know how to build the LEGO. An idea that seems extravagant and yet works Modular mobile phones were already invented. And Tecno has come to give the concept a twist to take it to the extreme. Because the mobile works, the parts make sense, the entire concept transcends experimentation to become a product that could be viable. Wow, I could totally buy it. The pieces are solid and well thought out, it shows that Tecno has designed each component with precision. And maturity. Now, it’s not perfect, because the pieces can come apart somewhat easily. The magnetic anchor is strong, but it is still that: magnetic. If the camera gets caught in your pocket, it gets left behind. And if the modular phone falls to the ground… Instead of a phone you have a puzzle. Still far from being able to be bought It is beautiful, it is impressive and it appears solid beyond doubt due to the magnetic union between the pieces. Even so, it probably won’t see the light of day in the near future. Tecno is characterized by experiments, by trying to make smartphones show a different face. Many of their concepts end up as a hook to attract the real catalog, the one that really works. I thought that modular mobile phones, as designed by Motorola with Project Ara, would have no future. Tecno has shown me the opposite: apart from being feasible, with a little imagination you can achieve use cases that no one imagined before. That something like this is so refreshing says more about the current stagnation of the smartphone than about modular phones themselves. Images | Ivan Linares In Xataka | The best mobile phones (2026), we have tested them and here are their analyzes

If you have 400,000 euros you can finally fulfill the dream of owning your own island. The problem is how to get to it.

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If you like nature, spend hours listening to the birds singing and the rustling of the waves, in Welsh you have a unique opportunity. There, in the Dwyryd estuary, a private island with a charming Victorian mansion is for sale for about what it costs an apartment in the center of Madrid. For around £350,000 you can become the new owner of Ynys Gifftana seven-hectare tidal island with a history connecting it to the Stuart lineage. Of course, the offer has a trick. In a place in Wales… More specifically in the Dwyryd estuary, very close to Portmeirion (Gwynedd), hides a curious island that has just gone up for sale. What is ‘curious’ is not only because of its remote nature, its surroundings or the fact that on its entire surface, of 7.2 hectares, there is a single stone construction. What is really striking is its nature. Ynys Gifftan is a tidal islanda portion of land connected to the rest of North Wales by a spit of land that emerges at low tide and disappears at high tide. Hence, access is not easy and, depending on the time, it must be reached by boat or on foot. Landowner for €400,000. For a few weeks now, the island has added one more peculiarity. The real estate firm Carter Jonas inform that it is for sale for a “guide price” of 350,000 pounds, equivalent to 400,500 euros. The price attracts attention in Spain and even more so in the United Kingdom, where it is not far from what an average home costs. In fact, it is much less than what someone who wants to buy a house in the capital must spend. A few days ago the BBC I remembered that those 350,000 pounds exceed the average house price in the country by just 50,000. If we focus on London, the average price for the last year marks just over 600,000 pounds (£656,694), making getting the Welsh island considerably cheaper. A golden opportunity? More or less. Owning a quiet Welsh island for almost half the price of a house in London sounds good, but Ynys Gifftan has several handicaps that recognize the agency itself. To begin its construction, a country house built with stone is not going through its best moment. “It needs a comprehensive reform,” notes Carter Jonaswhich remembers that the house is divided into two floors and has several living rooms, bedrooms and pantry. Annex has a tool shed. Good landscape, bad services. The truth is that the island takes decades empty and those who embark on the adventure of repopulating it will have to face a series of challenges, beyond renovating the house: there is no electrical connection, the water network channeling dates back to the 80s and the current owners of the land do not guarantee that it is still active. In addition, the drainage system is private. As for the rest of the 17.7-acre (approximately 7.2 hectares) island, it is now partially covered by weeds, almost reaching the house itself. From Jonas they slip that part of the island could be dedicated to grazing. The great challenge. Ynys Gifftan has, however, another more important handicap that any buyer should be aware of. Its inhabitants cannot happily leave and enter the island. Not at least how they want and when they want. During high tide a boat is needed to access the island. When the tide goes out, the way in and out is different: with a short walk along the stretch of land that is exposed. With a walk you reach the continent and from there you can travel to Harlecha town of around 1,600 inhabitants where you will find basic services, such as shops, restaurants or pharmacies. Nature… and history. The future owner of Ynys Gifftan will be able to boast of having an unusual property. To start with its location, in the heart of Eryri National Park (Snowdonia). Second, for his story. Its name, “gift island” in Welsh, is said to be a nod to the island’s past, which was a gift from Queen Anne to Lord Harlech’s ancestors in the 19th century. XVIII. Images | Carter Jonas and Google Earth In Xataka | A century ago Denmark built an island to defend its capital. Now it is full of tourists and is sold for ten million

An Asturian is setting up a garage with dream supercars in Monaco: Fernando Alonso

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That a Formula 1 driver like Fernando Alonso buys a sports car is not something that should attract attention. However, when these purchases occur over time and refer to some of the most iconic classic cars or the most spectacular hypercars on the market, the result is one of the best collections of cars. Alonso has surprised everyone with his latest acquisition: a Lamborghini Sián FKP 37the Italian brand’s most extreme hybrid supercar, of which only 63 units have been manufactured in the world. This car, which costs more than 4 million euros in the current market, has the license plate number 14, a personal nod from the Asturian driver to the number he wears on his helmet. The Lamborghini supercar joins the two-time world champion’s spectacular car collection in Monaco, where he lives and can be seen behind the wheel of these jewels. Lamborghini Sian FKP 37: the newcomer Alonso has been seen on the streets of Monaco at the wheel of one of the most technological bulls that have come out of Sant’Agata Bolognese: the Lamborghini Sián FKP 37. Lamborghini’s limited edition hypercar combines a 6.5-liter, 785 HP naturally aspirated V12 engine with an electrical system based on supercapacitors that raises total power to 819 HP. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds and exceeds 355 km/h maximum speed. There are only 63 coupes of this model, a number that is not coincidental since it pays tribute to the year 1963, when Lamborghini began manufacturing sports cars. This model began production in 2019 and its selling price was 3.3 million euros. However, its exclusivity and appeal to collectors have caused its price to skyrocket to well over 4 million euros. Tap on the image to go to the original message The Instagram account @monaco_luxurystyle captured the moment in which the Asturian pilot he got off of the exclusive Lamborghini with the 14 on its license plate on the streets of Monaco. Classic vintage Ferraris In recent months, Alonso has expanded his garage with classic cars such as the Ferrari 512 TR as the one Michael Jordan drove in the 90s, which represents his taste for the Italian classics of the firm Il Cavallino. The 512 TR was the evolution of the Ferrari Testarrosa powered by a V12 engine that delivered 428 HP of pure fun. Shortly after, was seen driving another legend through the streets of Monaco: a Ferrari F40 with its license plate F014, a beast from the 80s known for the brutality of its V8 biturbo engine that delivered 478 HP with just over 1100 kg of weight, and for being the last one that had the approval of Enzo Ferrari. There are not only Ferraris: also exclusive Mercedes-Benz and Fords The two-time champion’s garage is not only nourished by the Italian automobile industry. Among its latest additions we also find a Mercedes-Benz CLK GTRone of the most extreme and exclusive cars of the German firm, of which only 26 units exist. Again, the spotters were witnesses of Alonso’s rides behind the wheel of his supercars through Monaco. Mercedes manufactured these units with the sole objective of complying with the regulations for the FIA ​​GT Championship, which is the natural habitat of this hypercar from the late 90s. That is, contrary to what usually happens, the competition unit was first designed to participate in Le Mans, and was later adapted to circulate. The CLK GTR has a 6.9-liter naturally aspirated V12 engine that delivers 600 HP with a six-speed sequential gearbox. In their day, these limited units cost between 1.5 and 2 million euros. Currently, this gem is valued at about 10 million euros. Ford GT Holman Moody Edition He Ford GT Holman Moody Edition It was another of the Asturian pilot’s whims. This limited edition is a tribute to the 1966 Le Mans-winning Ford GT40 Mk II, a version that was developed from an exclusive prototype that was auctioned a few days ago. Aston Martin: playing at home In addition to the great racing classics and classic sports cars, Alonso does not neglect the interests of his team, and it is common to see him at the controls of an Aston Martin model. The most spectacular is the Valkyrie that sports the colors of Aston Martin Racing and its distinctive 014S license plate that identifies it as the property of the driver. The Valkyrie is a brutal hypercar for the track, but which is allowed to circulate on the road, not without drawbacks. Recently the brand gave him an imposing Aston Martin DBX S in black, a powerful SUV with more than 700 HP to get around in your daily life. However, the car with which Alonso feels more comfortable It is an Aston Martin Valiant, with a 745 HP biturbo V12 engine, manual transmission and configuration customized by Alonso among the 38 units that will be manufactured of this model. In Xataka | In Dubai they don’t know what to do with so many abandoned luxury supercars: the less shiny side of getting rich Image | Aston Martin, Ferrari

2025 broke the dream of cheap electricity

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At the beginning of 2025, Spain’s energy story was one of absolute success, coming to work only with renewables. But the “Great Blackout” of April 28 threw a jug of cold water on the country’s climate ambitions: greenhouse gas emissions rose 0.6%breaking a years-long trend. How is it possible to emit more when we have more solar panels than ever? The answer lies in a technical paradox: the Spanish electrical system entered into “reinforced mode”prioritizing the stability of gas over the cleanliness of renewables. Gas as a “bodyguard.” After that incident, Red Eléctrica (REE) adopted a “reinforced operating mode”. This adjustment involves intervening in the market to ensure that there are always “firm” plants (gas, nuclear and hydraulic) operating to give inertia and stability to the network tension. The problem is that this decision has marginalized cheap energy. As detailed by the Sustainability Observatory (OS)gas consumption in combined cycles shot up 26% after the blackout. Spain has been burning gas preventively to prevent the system from collapsing, even at times when the sun was abundant. This has caused the curtailment (clean energy wasted because the grid cannot manage it) will triple, going from 1.8% to 7.2% between May and July. The third “rate” in history. This forced dependence on gas has directly hit the pocketbook. According to a study by Facuathe electricity bill for an average user with a regulated tariff (PVPC) became 15.5% more expensive in 2025. With an average annual bill of 975.88 euros, 2025 is the third most expensive year in history, only behind the years of the energy crisis due to the War in Ukraine. The maintenance of this “anti-blackout insurance” has cost 422 million euros in technical extra costs, which companies like Iberdrola they have already started to have an impact on the renewed contracts of its clients. So why is there more energy but the price goes up? Herein lies the great technical paradox of last year. Spain installed 8,852 MW of new renewable power last year, according to REE data. However, the network is saturated since 83.4% of the electrical nodes no more connections allowed. The root of the problem is unbalanced investment. While Europe invests 70 cents in networks for every euro in renewables, Spain only invest 30. In addition, the country ranks 13th in battery capacity in Europe. Without storage, the system is rigid: if the sun hits suddenly, only the gas can react in time. Even domestic self-consumption failed in the April blackout: only 33% of homes they have batterieswhich left millions of users in the dark despite having their panels at full capacity. It is not the only one responsible for the emissions. The OS report points out that the rebound in emissions It’s not just electric. Spain approached 100 million of visitors in 2025, skyrocketing the consumption of kerosene (+5%) and gasoline (+8%). Added to this is a year of climatic extremes: fires They burned 400,000 hectaresreleasing 19 million tons of CO2, four times more than the average. Horizon 2026. The immediate future is not simple. For this new year, an increase in tolls and charges from the Government of up to 12%. In addition, the system faces a new challenge: the massive installation of data centers. In Aragon, these complexes are expected to consume so much energy that will further strain the network. To avoid collapse, the Government has activated “capacity markets”. Basically, gas plants will be paid simply for “being there” and not closing, an expensive but necessary insurance until the planned 2,600 MW of batteries or the synchronous compensators that promise to provide stability without burning methane are deployed. Europe’s laboratory. At the international level, Spain has assumed the vice presidency of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to lead the global transition in the face of the departure of the US under Trump’s mandate. But political leadership contrasts with internal fragility. Spain has shown that it is possible to expel coal from the system, but also that the abundance of cheap energy is useless if there are no cables to transport it or batteries to store it. As a source in the sector succinctly summarizes:: “The mistake was not putting up panels, but forgetting about the networks.” Without this investment, gas will continue to be the owner of the Spanish night and responsible for the electricity bill continuing to break records that no one wants to boast about. Image | freepik and Anton Osolev Xataka | The “reinforced mode” that prevents a new blackout will cost us 422 million euros. Iberdrola has already begun to collect it

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