Europe

Storing CO2 is now a business and the first submarine reservoir is in Europe

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Europe already has its first large underwater warehouse of carbon dioxide. The Northern Lights projectdriven by equinor, Shell and totalenergies, just Inject the first tons of CO2 in a reservoir located 2,600 meters under the seabed on the western coast of Norway. Why is it important. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is emerging as one of the few ways to reduce emissions in difficult sectors of decarbonizesuch as cement production, steel or energy from waste. Until now, these technologies looked as experimental or too expensive. With this project, Europe thus opens a commercial system for CO2 transport and storage. As assured Anders Opedal, CEO of Equinor, “This demonstrates the viability of carbon storage as a scalable industry.” In detail. The stored CO2 comes from the cement of Heidelberg Materials in Brevik, south of Norway. After being liquefied and transported by boat until Øgarden, it was pumped by a 100 -kilometer pipeline to the submarine reservoir known as Aurora. The first phase of the project will inject 1.5 million tons per year of CO2, although this same year Northern Lights gave green light to an expansion of the project thanks to a commercial agreement with Stockholm Exergi. A larger bet. The investment of 7.5 billion Norwegian crowns (about 740 million euros) will be the trigger for that expansion with a second phase that The capacity will increase More than 5 million tons per year from 2028. In addition to Stockholm Exergi, among the first clients is also the Danish Ørsted, the Dutch Yara and the Heidelberg Materials itself. “With the beginning of Northern Lights operations, we enter a new phase for the carbon storage industry in Europe,” affirmed Arnaud Le Foll, Vice President of Carbon Neutrality Business in Totalenergies. And now what. Although it is of course a true turning point, the doubt remains in the air about whether the model will scaling enough to contribute in a real way to the climatic objectives that are proposed by Europe. Norway opens the way, but the key will be especially in how much business, and how much reduction of emissions, these reservoirs can generate in the coming years. Cover image | Equinor In Xataka | The Era of Petroestados is ending: China is the first “electrostate” of the world and not because of its climatic moral

Intel has gone from mastering the world to being a forced partner of the United States. They are bad news for Europe

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Intel has just sold 10% of your company to the United States government for 8,900 million dollars. The operation confirms what many suspected: the most iconic chips manufacturer in the world can no longer survive without state help. The panoramic. For three decades, the ‘Intel Inside’ stickers glued to millions of computers symbolized US domain in semiconductors. Intel and Microsoft created The era “wintel” that defined personal computing. In 2009, the Obama administration even presented antitrust charges against Intel for its dominant position. Today, the company is worth 108,000 million dollars while Nvidia, its former subordinated, reaches 4.3 billion. What has happened. Last Friday, Donald Trump announced that the United States acquired 10% Intel in exchange for promised funds under the CHIPS ACT They never arrived. It is not technically a rescue, but it looks a lot. Trump sold it as a big business: “I paid zero for Intel, it is worth approximately 11,000 million dollars” (capital letters are yours). The reality is more complex: Intel had been waiting for those 8.9 billion already committed by the previous administration for months. The company desperately needed money: Its foundry division lost $ 13.4 billion last year. He has fired between 8,000 and 10,900 workers. And the most worrying: not even Intel’s own product teams want to use their factories, preferring that TSMC manufactures their chips. Why is it important. This operation marks a turning point on three critical fronts: For Intel, It means losing business autonomy. 76% of their income comes from abroad, with China representing 29%. Now each decision will be under the political scrutiny of his government. As the company itself warns in regulatory documentsthis could “cause adverse reactions of investors, employees, clients, suppliers, foreign or competitors.” For the United Statesrepresents the return of state capitalism in technology. It is the first direct government intervention in a company from the rescue of the 2008 automobile industry. Trump has already suggested that there will be more: “I will make agreements like this for our country constantly.” For Europethis is especially worrying. The European Union partially depends on Intel for its ambitions of technological sovereignty in semiconductors. If the largest Western chips becomes an instrument of American industrial policy, Europe is in an even more vulnerable position against Asia. The Trump government has already asked TSMC to help rescue Intel factories. Also He took a “golden action” in Nippon Steel and Plan to stay with part of the sales that Nvidia and AMD make to China. The message is clear: the semiconductor industry is now a national security issue. Between the lines. Intel’s fundamental problem is not solved with public money: Intel failed in smartphones when he rejected to make chips for the first iPhone. He was late to AI while Nvidia was ahead. And he lost his leadership in manufacturing against TSMC, which not only has better technology but A superior business model As a pure foundry. As pointed out Intel’s CEO himself, Lip-bu Tan, “twenty or thirty years ago we were leaders. Now the world has changed. We are not among the ten main semiconductor companies.” Its survival depends on the success of the 18A manufacturing nodehis latest technological commitment. And now what. Intel is now a company supported by the State, something that its own managers warned could scare customers. Meanwhile, Trump promises more similar agreementseven suggesting the creation of an American sovereign fund with participations in technology companies. For competitors, this creates a scenario of unfair competition: AMD, Qualcomm and other companies now compete against a rival that has the US government as the main shareholder, with all that that implies in terms of government contracts and political decisions. Senator Rand Paul He summarized it With irony: “If socialism is the Government possessing the means of production, wouldn’t the government be having part of Intel a step towards socialism?” Paradoxically, Bernie Sanders, a declared socialist, applauded the measure. Intel went from being the symbol of American technological capitalism to become his first large semi-nationalized company of the 21st century. For Europe, which struggles not to be behind the technological career, it is an alarm signal: the era of the free market in semiconductors is over. In Xataka | Intel’s fall symbolizes the end of an era: the model that dominated technology for 50 years has died Outstanding image | Xataka

Buying US technology has always been more expensive in Europe. Fairphone 6 is a sweet revenge

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He Fairphone 6 It is the last of the members of a very special family. One that has always been characterized by its modularity and repability, but that now others leaves us a unique detail. This mobile designed in Europe is a sweet revenge for users of the old continent. We are normally used to paying more for our devices than users pay in the US, but in this case the opposite happens. How much does an iPhone cost here and there. Let’s put a simple example of the situation of electronic devices prices in the US and in Europe. An iPhone 16 Pro of 128 GB Cuesta $ 999 In the US. At that price we must add state taxes, which vary between each State and that can become 10%. Thus, the price can amount to about $ 1,100, taxes included. To the current change that would be equivalent to about 944 euros. The price of that same device in our country, taxes included, is currently 1,219 euros. It is 29.13% more expensive. A different mobile. And now let’s talk about Fairphone 6. We are facing a smartphone that is very different from its competitors. Not so much for its benefits – always more modest than its competitors in the same price range – but for an approach that bets to the maximum for modularity and repair. In Europe the price of Fairphone 6 with Android 15 (8/256 GB) is Available for 599 eurostaxes included. Long live the right to repair. Fairphone 6 are not going to win any career for the power or the best cameras, but the Right to repair. Simply remove conventional screws – still of strange or owner heads – to access the interior and be able to extract up to 12 parts of the terminal, from the screen to the battery through the speakers or the camera. The normal thing is that technology is more expensive in Europe than in the US. With Fairphone 6, the opposite is the opposite. Own elaboration with Apple and Fairphone data. The Fairphone 6 with E/OS. And here comes the interesting thing, because in addition to the Android version the Fairphone 6 is also sold by the Murena company. In this case he does Preinstalling E/OSa version of Android AOSP that “releases” us from Google’s services and applications although we can later urge them thanks to the Microg support. In Europe Murena sells its Fairphone 6 with E/OS for 649 euros, and that is precisely the model that is available in the US. This mobile is expensive in the US. Murena also offers Fairphone 6 with E/OS in the United States, but in that case the price of is $ 899. If we apply the same state rate, which can reach 10%, that price becomes about 989 dollars, which the change involves 849 euros. That is: in the US this mobile costs $ 200 more, 30.82% more than it costs us in Europe. Duty. There are several reasons for that difference between the price of Fairphone 6 in Europe and in the US, but One of them is that of tariffs. This mobile is manufactured in China but is barely affected by tariffs when marketing it in Europe. On the other hand, the commercial war with the US makes them apply Export tariffs from Chinawhich suppose an important extra cost for companies that want to offer these products in the North American country. Sweet revenge. And to that fact is added another: in Europe we usually pay more for electronics products than they do in the US even taking into account the Euro-Doming parity (which now favors us) or the different state taxes of that country. But it is also in Europe, we usually “earn less” than in the US and therefore “it costs us more than our money” to buy those products. In 2023 According to the World Bankthe GDP per capita in the US was $ 86,000, while for example in Spain it was $ 56,000. Image | Fairphone In Xataka | In the middle of the war against the right to repair, there are some brands giving you the instructions for you to fix your little pots yourself

This Europe map is the test

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There is still almost a month ahead, but the summer of 2025 will already be remembered as The fire. You have to go back three decades ago, to 1994to find a year in which the flames will devour more forest area. The fire has devastated hectares, lives have been charged, He has calcined houses and Farms and has affected natural icons such as Las Médulasin the region of El Bierzo, now dyed black. Despite the strength of all these images there is one that even more resounding the scourge of fire in Spain: The map that compares the open surface this year in our country with the burned in other nations, such as France or Italy. What happened? If we talk about forest fires, the saying that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ is more true than ever, although the strongest images do not always show flames, calcined trees or smoke columns. Recently The World in Maps, a community with more than 700,000 followers on Instagram, published A map of Europe in which the surface razed in several countries of the continent. And the difference from Spain with respect to some of its closest neighbors, such as Portugal, Italy or France, is overwhelming. Click on the image to go to Tweet. Why’s that? Because it shows that on August 19 in Spain more than 348,000 hectares had been burned compared to 216,200 in Portugal, the 125,400 of Romania, 65,100 of Italy or 35,600 in France. Each nation has a different extension (only quintuplica peninsular The surface from Portugal), but still the comparison is eloquent. Spain is the one that has seen carbonized more hectares, surpassing other more extensive countries from afar, Like France. Where do the data come from? The World in Maps does not need it, but its estimates correspond more or less with those of Effisthe European Forest Fire Information System, included in the Copernicus program. The graph was prepared with data a week ago and EFFIS table It is constantly updated, so that the drawing has changed slightly since then, but the differences between nations remain more or less stable. What do they show? Right now Effis speaks of 415,300 hectares in Spain, 271,000 in Portugal, 126,000 in Romania, 72,100 in Italy and 35,600 in France. Eduardo Rojas, spokesman Official College of Engineers of MontesRemember that these figures should be handled with some caution. At the moment it is only “an advance”, an area estimation affected by the flames made with satellite data but that may not correspond exactly with reality. “Not everything has burned and not everything is forest terrain, there are reservoirs, roads …”, he warns. Effis also shows that, beyond the number of hectares razed, if we talk about the percentage of national surface affected Spain It is not the worst stop. In that case, the most tragic balance has it Portugal and Chipre. But … how is the difference explained? They are more or less precise, which reflects the map of The World in Maps (and The tables of EFFIS) is the clear difference of burned surface in Spain and other countries in Europe. So the question is obvious … What is the reason for that challenge? Rojas recalls that a key factor in the case of the Iberian Peninsula is climatology. Drought and heat waves like those suffered throughout July and August “exacerbate” fires. “Meteorological severity has a huge effect and causes hectares to vary.” Spain is not in fact the only one that has suffered fires more voracious of the usual. In early August, in full heat wavesouthern France saw them with its worse forest fire since the end of the 1940s. And it is not the only one. Portugal has also dealt with a Historical scourge In their mountains. The climatic, temperature and humidity differences in the different regions of the continent are an important factor that influences the voracity of the fires. Is it the only explanation? No. Rojas remembers that “the basic problem” is really another: progressive abandonment from rural and the accumulation of biomass and weeds that, at a given time, can feed the flames. The spokesman of the College of Engineers of Montes dimiates in fact to go beyond the data of each year and assess “the trend”. And in that case what is observed is a more or less stable number of fires and the effect of the effort to reduce landfills and control agricultural burning, although they are still present in Spain. Recently the Professional College itself He pointed out as a successful model the “ancestral forest management” of the Pinares regionbetween Soria and Burgos, where despite the enormous wooded surface there are no fires as devastating as those he has suffered The triangle formed by Ourense, León or Zamora. The reason? Partly the system of “Good luck of pines” That its inhabitants apply, a method that traces its roots to the Middle Ages and allows local communities to favor the care and management of forest masses, while also reinforcing their link and feeling of belonging. Is it something expected? The answer is affirming again. Javier MadrigalMontes engineer and researcher at the Institute of Forest Sciences of the CSIC, insists on the importance of meteorology but points to “structural reasons” in the background. “It is summarized in the abandonment of forest and agricultural management in Europe, which in a climate change scenario makes a year of adverse meteorology as this is being in the Iberian Peninsula we have broken surface records burned since 1994,” slides: “This trend was predicted by all models.” “The one in different parts of the Mediterranean is a cyclical process that depends on the meteorology,” abounds the ICF-CSIC expert, who remembers that already There are studies which show that the fire regime is not the same in different Mediterranean countries. “At country scale, the meteorological reasons more influence than socioeconomic, also seeing very aggressive fire regimes in Algeria, Greece and Türkiye, for example,” he concludes. Images | Ume … Read more

Almería has been the great “plastic sea” of Europe for years. Now he wants to be another sea: that of solar panels

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During the First Andalusian Congress on Agriculture, Energy and Water held at the University of Almería, a path that begins to materialize today was already glimpsed. In that meeting, Professor Ángel Carreño He stressed that the use of photovoltaic plates In greenhouses, intensive agriculture could revolutionize. “With just 1% shadow with solar panels on the roof, the energy needs of a greenhouse could be covered,” he said. Seven years later, this forecast is specified in a pioneering project that aims to make a qualitative leap to the Almeria agricultural model: Dynamic Aquasave. From the plastic sea to the energy sea. The scenario of this innovation cannot be more unique. NASA confirms that the “plastic sea” Almeria is one of the few human constructions visible from space. According to the BBCunder its 32,000 hectares of white plastic, about four million tons of foods are produced every year to export them to Europe, generating about 5.1 billion dollars annually, which represents 40% of the GDP of the province. It is in this context where Dynamic Aquasave arises, with the promise that the plastic sea can be transformed into an energy sea, capable of producing not only food, but also electricity. How will it be? The University of Almería, together with Barre greenhouses, the Technalia Technology Center, the Uual-Anecoop Foundation and with CDTI financing, leads this project. The contract was signed in November 2024 and was ratified in February 2025 In the official act of the Department of Engineering of the UAL. The system consists of installing transparent or semi -transparent solar panels on the greenhouse cover, which are automatically oriented thanks to an algorithm. These panels fulfill a double function: they act as a dynamic shade to control excessive radiation and, at the same time, generate electricity. As He explained Professor Diego Luis Valera to Diario de Almería, “integrates, in the same system, photovoltaic generation and dynamic shadow governed by algorithms, something that does not exist in the market with the parameters required by a greenhouse adapted to the southeast of Spain.” The planned benefits are clear: up to 30% water savings, less needy need, a more stable microclimate, energy for self -consumption or sale and better working conditions within greenhouses. Forecasts The Dynamic Aquasave prototype will be installed at the Uual-Anecoop Foundation, where a greenhouse will also be enabled to compare yields. The experimentation phase is scheduled for the fall of 2025 and will last at least two agricultural campaigns. The project also has the collaboration of the University of Córdoba, which develops specific software and hardware for the control of the orientable panels. The combination of agricultural engineering, artificial intelligence and renewable energy makes it a unique proposal in the international scene. The digital layer. Dynamic Aquasave is not just solar energy. According to has detailed Valera to Diario de Almería, also seeks to provide the field of an artificial intelligence layer. With sensors and automatic learning algorithms, the system can predict dates and kilos of harvest before cutting, adjusting irrigation and nutrient supply in real time, and reducing the water and carbon footprint. In addition, the equipment works in passive microclimate systems: low -cost solutions that allow regulating temperature and humidity without spending energy, favoring biological pest control and reducing inputs. The project also supports international research and transfer networks, which seek that these innovations do not stay in laboratories, but arrive as soon as possible to real farms. Although the problems are not going to go. The European garden also drags criticism. Technology can relieve some challenges, but not solve them all. No algorithm can, by itself, reverse the overexploitation of aquifers or the social problems of the Almeria field. On the one hand, academic investigations cited by the British environment They remember that growth has been sustained thanks to the overexploitation of underground aquifers, some in deficit for more than two decades, and that 30,000 tons of plastic waste are generated every year. On the other hand, The newspaper El Salto The other face denounces: migrant workers living in precarious settlements, with low salaries and marathon days. Although Dynamic Aquasave represents a technological leap, but the Almeria model also needs to face its social and environmental side. A challenge beyond energy. Although We have already explained in Xataka As solar panels can be an improvement for crops, the challenge, however, goes beyond engineering. The key will be that the plastic sea not only becomes a sea of ​​solar panels, but an agricultural space that combines innovation with social justice and environmental sustainability. Only then, Almería may go from being a green miracle to become a world agriculture model of the future. Image | Kallerna and Unspash Xataka | How much electricity produces each country from the map with renewable energy, exposed in a graphic

Europe and Japan advance unstoppable towards nuclear fusion. His last achievement reminds us why we don’t have it yet

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The experimental reactor of nuclear fusion JT-60SA resides in Naka, a small city not very far from Tokyo (Japan). Its construction began in January 2013, but did not do it from scratch; He did it taking as a starting point the JT-60 reactor, his precursor, a machine that came into operation in 1985 and that for more than three decades has reached very important milestones in the field of merger energy. The JT-60SA assembly ended at the beginning of 2020, and since the end of 2023 it is ready to start The first tests with plasma. This machine is a device Tokamak that like jet and The future iter It resorts to the magnetic confinement of the ionized plasma that contains the deuterium and tritium nuclei to trigger nuclear fusion reactions. Whatever this machine is titanic. Colossal. In fact, it has a height of 15.4 meters and a diameter of 13.7 meters. However, the most shocking are the “specifications” that allow us to train an idea about their performance. And it is able to confine a plasma with a volume of 130 m³, as well as to generate a 2,25 teslas toroidal magnetic field and hold a current inside the plasma of 5.5 mA (5.5 million amps). These figures are shocking, and presumably when Iter is ready to start the first tests with plasma their figures will be even more impressive. Of course, during the next months already measure that the reactor JT60-SA deliver its first results we will develop with great detail. JT-60SA already has one of the most advanced diagnostic systems that exist On April 22, the latest components needed by Japanese and European engineers who work in the reactor to assemble the Thomson dispersion diagnostic system arrived at the JT-60SA facilities. Every time the researchers operating this very complex machine carry out an experiment with it need to know with the maximum possible precision the temperature and density of the plasma electrons. The components of the Thomson Dispersion Measurement Team have been designed and manufactured in Italy, Romania and Japan The main problem they face is that it is not possible to obtain this data taking direct measures. In order for the merger of the deuterium and tritium nuclei to take place, it is necessary that the plasma that contains them a temperature of At least 150 million degrees Celsiusand any sensor that contacts him at this temperature will not survive. This is the reason why the engineers of the JT-60SA reactor have been forced to set up an extraordinarily sophisticated diagnostic system. The components of the Thomson dispersion measurement team have been designed and manufactured in Italy, Romania and Japan. Broadly speaking, this ingenuity manages to measure the temperature and density of plasma electrons analyzing the light that emits with a high -power laser beam dispersed, precisely, by the plasma electrons themselves. Somehow the interaction between the laser and plasma is what allows engineers indirectly calculating temperature and density. The JT-60SA reactor will have two diagnostic systems of Thomson’s dispersion. The nucleus has been developed in Japan, and the edge of the plasma has been devised in Europe. Both are currently being installed, and, if everything goes well, this machine will have in a few months one of the diagnostic and measurement equipment more advanced that exist. The nuclear fusion no longer raises any challenge from the point of view of fundamental physics. If we still have no commercial fusion energy reactors, it is due to the fact that this technology still requires solving several challenges in the field of engineering. The tuning of this diagnostic system was one of them. Image | QST More information | Eurofusion In Xataka | The Jet reactor has successfully completed its final tests with deuterium and tritium. It is a crucial milestone for nuclear fusion

Europe manufactures in Algeria with the same method that criticizes China and Algeria has been tired

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When Ebro arrived in Spain, it was said that the intention was to return the company to a fully Spanish past. The truth is that, for the moment, it has little because Ebro S700 and S800 They are, in essence, versions of the Chery Tiggo who are given life through the DKD system. This way of working It resembles that of a puzzle. Instead of having a whole assembly line where the different pieces are assembled and equipped with a driving train, Chery sends cars in almost mounted containers and, here, they finish joining a few parts to leave through the doors of the factory. The system is controversial. At the moment he has helped to boost work in the old Nissan factory in Barcelona for which a clear future was not. But The DKD system is hardly impact on the region since less workers are needed and all pieces (and suppliers) come from China. This way of acting, in fact, It has not been well seen by the European Union that they have already warned Chery that they would not help them save tariffs on their electric cars, understanding that They were bridging They with a minimum investment. A similar situation is what they have in Algeria. And the government has sent a message: the time has come for this to end. “We want to produce cars” “We want to produce global cars locally, and the time of inflating tires is over.” The words have been pronounced by Abdelmajid Tebboune, president of Algeria, In an interview with local media. This metaphor for “inflar tires” refers to the superficial investment that large manufacturers make in the country to “produce” your cars in the country African. Right now, Stellantis is producing fiat cars there. So does the Volkswagen group (with Seat, Skoda, Volkswagen and Audi) or Renault. Hyundai or Chery is expected to also open new plants in the country in the near future. However, Algeria lives a complicated situation with this part of the industry. As in the case of Ebro, the local investments of the manufacturers are minimal and what you really want is to skip tariffs and difficult homologations of imported vehicles that have been created to protect the local economy. Renault, for example, acts with the symbol (his Renault Clio in Algeria) in the same way that Chery does with Ebro in Spain. “The vehicle arrives semi or completely finished, so there is nothing to ride,” says Mohamed Bairi, head of Ival, importer of Iveco, to local media. The intention, therefore, is that the use of pieces provided by local suppliers and the involvement in Algerian plants is greater. Stellantis ensures that the use of local pieces will increase by, minimum, 35% from 2026. What the government wants is that this changing forcing the integration of local parts to be at least 30%. As they collect in L’Automobilejust 5% of pieces used in Algeria come from local supplies. It remains to see how this will affect Hyundai’s plans and, above all, those of companies like Chery who trusted the CKD system to sell their vehicles in the country. This last option increases work rates in the country where you work locally and that is what You want to do with the electric omoda 5 In Barcelona. However, all pieces come from abroad and that is what ampoules has raised in the European Union and want to avoid in Algeria. Photo | Renault In Xataka | Morocco is positioning himself as an opponent to beat in the electric car: China has it clearer and clearer

On his way to become the great resort of Europe, Spain is at the gates of a milestone: 100 million tourists

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There are figures that are more than figures. For some time, the Spanish tourism sector fantasizes with one that says a lot for example about its obsessions, objectives or drift that the industry has followed over the last years: exceed the brand of 100 million foreign visitors annually. In 2024 Spain stayed close, with almost 94 million of foreign travelers, and if things do not twist There are those who believe that this year will grow until the milestone of the three digits will crown. The big question is … What tells us about Spanish tourism? A figure: 100 million. The figures are just that. Figures Sometimes, however, they are loaded with symbolism, as the Spanish tourism sector is checking, it has long immersed in the race for exceed the barrier of the 100 million annual visitors. Last year he stayed close to that round figure, with a balance of 93.8 million of foreign tourists (10.1% more than in 2023), and since then there are many The voices that They have theorized (for and against) on whether the coveted milestone of the three digits will be reached throughout 2025. Is it possible? The million dollar question. At the beginning of summer June observatur I saw it feasible As long as they clarified, the bullish trend is maintained and the market is not shaken by unforeseen events. Others believe that Spain will keep honey on the lips and will not pass from 98 million of tourists or even They slidebased on the INE, which in 2024 was already pulverized by the 100 million mark. A percentage: 4.7%. Vaticinios and elucubrations apart, for now the most reliable track we have to know if Spain will or may not crown the 100 million summit is the statistic of border movements of the INE, which it already brings A ‘photo’ of the first semester of 2025. What does it show us? That there are reasons for optimism. And caution. Between January and June the flow of tourists that visited Spain grew 4.7% to touching 44.5 million, which approximates the country to the annual milestone. Well, right? Yes. And no. That balance hides another less flattering reading. In recent months, the flow of international tourists has clearly slowed down, which shows doubts in turn about the growth rate in the remaining of 2025. Between January and April the influx of international visitors grew between a 3.8% and 10.1%but in May marches until staying in the 1.5% And in June marked 1.9%. Taking into account that in 2024 Spain received 93.8 million tourists, to reach 100 million this year should rise together 6.6%. “The power of banality”. In A column published recently in The country Óscar Perelli of the Master, vice president of Execeltur, took importance to whether the three digits will be crowned this year, the one that comes or the next. “The possibility of reaching in 2025 the 100 million arrivals of international tourists to Spain (not tourists, some visit us several times a year) has raised an exaggerated interest,” warns. “It is the power of round figures and banality.” In his opinion there are other equal or even more relevant parameters, such as domestic demandthe duration of the average stay or the visitor spending. “The important thing is that in 2025 tourism will generate 220,000 million euros in Spain, it will exceed three million jobs, with a daily volume of tourists (Spanish and foreigners) somewhat higher than 7.4 for every hundred residents,” Point out. For now, the Ministry of Industry Calculate that during the first semester the expense of foreign tourists has exceeded 59.6 billion euros. Click on the image to go to Tweet. Beyond the figures. Although it is true that the milestone of 100 million is only that, a milestone, a symbolic brand, actually helps to understand some keys to the tourism sector. The main, saturation. As he is headed towards 100 million visitors or fools with the idea of overcome France and become the busiest destination on the planet (something feasible in 2040, According to Google and Deloitte calculations), Spain dealt with the effects of hypermasification tourist, which has already derived in protests in The streets. Throughout the last months there have been marches in Catalonia, Balearics, Canary Islands either Cantabriabetween Other parts of the countrywhich warn about the effects of massification and cry for a more sustainable economic model. Among other reasons for The impact that has had on the housing market the proliferation of tourist floors, which has even led to local, autonomic and state administrations has moved token for brake to your offer. Going down to detail. The career of the 100 million annual visitors also hides another reality that has marked the tourist drift of the country. As The flights And the accommodation was increasing until reaching record levelsSpain has become more a destination For foreigners than for premises. The reason is very simple: often the latter are already equal or even more profitable travel abroad than to the Canary Islands or Balearic Islands. Prices They have climbed so much that there are even British changing The Spanish coast for Morocco. What do the data say? The INE provides some data that help to better understand that reality. His Frontur statisticson tourist movements at the borders, it shows that in 2024 Spain received 93.8 international tourists10.1% more than the previous year. The growth was led by the British, French and Germans and the most demanded destinations were Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. If we talk about the flow of Spanish tourists the photo is quite different. The Family Statistics that measures the trips made by the population resident in the country reflects that in 2024 the Spaniards we made 184.4 million trips, 0.8% less than the previous year. This setback hides however an even more interesting reading: when we plan our vacations, the Spaniards look more at a time with more interest the destinations located outside our borders. “Internal destination (trips) decreased 2.3% while those … Read more

France and Morocco have allied to flood Europe with green ammonia. And compete directly with Spain

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In December 2022, in full energy crisis and with the intention of stop depending on gas and oil from Russia, Spain, Portugal and France joined To define the H2Med green hydrogen corridor. The idea was to start producing green hydrogen for electricity generation, something that Spain can contribute thanks to its reserves and Great surplus of renewable. In April 2024, Europe approved the two axes planned in Spainbut a few months later, France reached a parallel agreement with Morocco. This is the Chbika project, and is as ambitious as controversial. Chbika. Europa presumes being a Power in renewablessomething that has been revealed in recent months, but also wants import a huge amount of energy directly from Africa. According to Europe, it is “essential to meet the objectives of the European green pact And to reinforce energy security ”, and within these agreements is the signed between France and Morocco. In October 2024, taking advantage of the visit of the French president Emmanuel Macron to Morocco, and with the presence of King Mohammed VI, an ambitious plan for the industrial production of green hydrogen and ammonia was signed. Goals. This project is driven For a European consortium formed by TE H2, a Joint-Venture of the French groups Total Energies and Eren, but also with the Danes Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and AP Moller Capital. Their goals are: Build wind and solar infrastructure on land with 1 GW capacity. Green hydrogen production using the electrolysis technique thanks to Desalinated seawater. Use hydrogen to get 200,000 tons of annual green ammonia, mainly for the European market. Green ammonia. Apart from green hydrogen, which is used to generate electricity, the Green ammonia It is a compound formed by nitrogen and hydrogen that is achieved by electrolysis that uses renewable energies. The traditional process to achieve ammonia implies natural gas, so the use of renewables in the process makes it a process without CO₂ emissions. The main use of ammonia is as agricultural fertilizer, but it can also be used as a hydrogen bearer. It has a high energy density and is easier to transport than hydrogen (not needing cooling as extreme as H2), which makes it an energy vector to export hydrogen at long distances. In search of treasure. This agreement seeks not only to strengthen cooperation between Europe and Africa in energy matters, but also consolidates the position of Morocco as a key supplier of clean energy to the European Union. And it is aligned with the Repowereu program that intends to import 10 million tons of green hydrogen before 2030. Although the pact was signed in autumn last year, a few weeks ago the confirmation of land rights in which the plant will be built and advances in technical and legal agreements that settle the bases of the operations that will come below were made. Controversy. Now, the Chbika project is not exempt from controversy. On the one hand, it has been indicated as a Moroccan maneuver to strengthen its position in green hydrogen within Europe, competing directly against Spain. On the other hand, part of the territory destined for the project, in the Guelmim-Oed Noun region, is considered by agencies such as the UN as border or superimposed with areas of the Western Saharaoccupied by Morocco. Activist organizations They denounce that many of these energy projects in Morocco are building On occupied Saharawi territoriesand what is it about *Greenwashing operations* Through clean energy while they continue to oppress the Saharawi people. Spanish plans. Meanwhile … What does Spain do? Well, some of its companies, such as acting or cepsa, They have also signed with Morocco. The objective of the African country is that renewables represent 52% of their installed capacity for 2030 and green hydrogen is a means to achieve it. And, for this, a Moroccan government committee selected five consortiums to develop six green hydrogen projects with the intention of producing ammonia, steel and industrial fuel. Problem? Apart from the competition with Spanish projects, they will be developed in the aforementioned Guelmim-Oed Noun, as well as in Dakhla-Rio de Oro and LaAyoune-Sakia el Hamra, also occupied territories, which can increase diplomatic tensions With Spain and the Sahara. Image | Topsoe Xataka | The price of gas has already reached 2022 levels. Now the European industry depends on one thing: that the cold does not return

China has turned the train into its silent road to Europe. The last shipment marks a new milestone in its commercial strategy

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For years, a constant flow of trains starts from the same Chinese city, Xi’an, in the direction of Europe. The last one did it on Wednesday with 55 containers loaded with solar panels, destined for Baku. With him, the city has overcome the 30,000 trains outputs with European destination since 2013, According to Xinhua. The figure refers only to items from Xi’an, not counting the laps. The data impresses, but says even more if observed in context: China has been using the railroad as a strategic tool to approach the logistics heart of Europe. The image of a train loaded with merchandise based on northwestern China has been repeated thousands of times in just over a decade. This constant flow has made the aforementioned Asian city one of the great nodes of the China-Europe Railway Express. This logistics network exceeded in June the 110,000 accumulated services (round trip) as a whole, According to the Official Portal of the Chinese Government on June 10, 2025date on which the symbolic exit was held from Qingdao. Although it is not the only point of origin, it stands out for its regularity, the variety of routes that operates and the prominence it has won in the land transport strategy to Europe. An essential route. The train to Baku is part of the call Medium Corridor or Middle Corridora route that crosses Kazakhstan, borders the Caspian Sea and continues through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye before connecting with Europe. This alternative to the traditional railway axis via Russia He has won prominence in recent yearsespecially after geopolitical tensions in the region. Baku is not a final destination, but a strategic point of passage within this network: from there, many shipments continue by sea or rail to countries of the European Union. What moves with this transport. The train that departed this week from Xi’an transports 55 containers loaded with photovoltaic modules. It is not a rarity. In fact, products linked to solar energy are a usual part of the rail services that cross Eurasia by this route. China dominates the global market of solar panels, according to the International Energy Agency, with more than 80% of the manufacturing capacity at all stages. Although photovoltaic modules have become frequent, they are not the only thing that comes out of this Asian city. The rail services that start from Xi’an also transport electronic products, appliances, automotive parts, machinery, textiles, medical supplies and consumer goods. According to official data, China-Europe Railway Express moves more than 50,000 types of different products, organized in 53 categories. In March, for example, a convoy with European destination left from Xi’an loaded with cosmetics, automotive components and household needs. The advantages of the railroad. In front of maritime transport, the railroad offers clear advantages in certain sections. According to the EIASoffers less transit time, less port congestion and less exposure to geopolitical bottlenecks. The routes that cross Central Asia and the Caspian Sea allow to reduce in several days the journey between western China and Eastern Europe. In addition, this corridor has gained strategic weight since many companies are looking for alternatives to shipments via Russia. For Beijing, having a more flexible rail network is a way to shield its export capacity against changing scenarios. Images | Xinhua In Xataka | Huawei says that it has resolved a technological challenge that will trigger China’s competitiveness in the United States

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