Europes

Spain continues refining oil and, once again, is once again Europe’s energy lifeline

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The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused panic in Asia and set off all the alarms in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Energy Agency (IEA). Faced with this global shortage, the Spanish system has done its homework. According to Agency EFEour country’s refineries have made their operations more flexible to maximize the production of petroleum derivatives, backed by a supply of crude oil that, for now, remains secure. Gonzalo Escribano, principal researcher at the Elcano Royal Institute, explains in statements to EFE that Spain has “specialized and better adapted refineries” than most of its neighbors. The contrast is blatant: Italy or Germany made the strategic mistake of closing 20% ​​of their refining capacity in recent years, outsourcing production to the Persian Gulf or to chinese refineries. Today, that decision is taking a historic toll on them. The real crisis is in the derivatives. It is easy to look out the window and think that the energy apocalypse has not arrived because there is still fuel at the gas stations. But it is a logistical mirage, maritime supply lines they move at the speed of a bicycle by the sheer inertia of the gigantic supertankers (VLCC) that were already sailing before the closure. The jam of more than 800 ships in the Gulf has already erased hundreds of millions of barrels from the market, and the real problem facing the world is not the lack of crude oil, but of already processed products. The first sector to suffocate has been aviation, which acts like the canary in the mine. global airlines They are canceling thousands of flights in the face of kerosene that has soared above 170 euros per barrel. At this point, the Spanish Fuel Industry Association (ACIE) corroborates EFE that the current bottleneck is in distillates such as diesel and kerosene. The Spanish lifeguard. By keeping its refineries at maximum performance, our country not only covers its demand, but also establishes itself as a logistics node capable of helping its neighbors. The contrast is abysmal: while the United Kingdom is forced to import 80% of the kerosene that its planes burn, Spain is capable of producing 80% of what it consumes. This not only protects the internal market from shortages, but also positions the peninsula to export the surplus to a thirsty Europe. In a scenario where the barrel maintains a “war premium” that inflates prices, having the final product already processed makes the Spanish plants the great emergency supplier. Those countries that decided to outsource their production of derivatives to Asia today depend on Spanish capacity so that their carriers and airlines do not remain grounded. The strategic “bunker”: the ace up CORES’ sleeve. How is it possible for Spain to hold its own if it imports practically 100% of the crude oil it consumes? The answer lies in our emergency reserves. Spain counts with an autonomy of about 105 dayswell above the 92 required by international law, managed through a mixed system between the industry and the Strategic Reserves Corporation (CORES). But the real “trick” of this bunker is not the quantity, but the quality: more than half (54.4%) of CORES’ reserves are already refined diesel fuel. Even if Saudi Arabia manages to bypass the Hormuz blockade by sending crude oil through its pipelines to the Red Sea, Europe has a serious problem if it does not have enough factories to distill it. By having the refining duties done in advance, the Spanish tanks buy the country more than three months of logistical peace to prevent the trucks from stopping. There is another safe passage: the “green shield” exception. Added to this fossil shielding is the electrical part, a front where Spain plays with a structural advantage. More than 60% of our generation mix It is already renewable, supported by massive solar and wind deployment and a solid hydraulic cushion. In the European electricity system—where the most expensive technology, usually gas, dictates the final price of all electricity—this green park acts as a retaining wall. During the central hours of the day, the massive injection of clean energy manages to sink wholesale market prices, reaching zero or even negative values. This protects us from the brutal gas increases that are suffocating bills in Germany or Italy. In practice, it allows the national industry to maintain a vital respite and a huge competitive advantage during sunny hours, cushioning an economic blow that is devastating manufacturers in the rest of the continent. A life preserver that floats, but is not immune. Spain has become a fortunate energy island, but not by chance. It is the result of not having succumbed to the temptation to dismantle its hydrocarbon infrastructure while, in parallel, investing massively in the transition towards sun and wind. However, it would be a mistake to become complacent. The life jacket floats, but the sea is rougher than ever. Fatih Birol, director of the IEA, has warned that this crisis exceeds those of 1973, 1979 and 2022 combined. And our country is not without cracks: we still lack massive batteries to store our renewable energy (which makes us vulnerable to gas every time it gets dark) and our external dependence on crude oil remains almost absolute. We have gained precious time, but the hyper-connected economy of the 21st century reminds us that when the world slows down, no one is completely unscathed. Image | Gregorio Puga Bailón Xataka | First it was the automotive industry, now Europe is going to lose another of its star industries to China

Lace Lithography is Europe’s opportunity to surpass the US and Asia in chip manufacturing. From Barcelona

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Lace Lithography is not just another startup. And it is not because it is developing a new photolithography technique that seeks to break down all the barriers that limit the performance of ultraviolet light technology used by the machines manufactured by the Dutch company ASML. And they are used by TSMC, Intel, Samsung, SK Hynix or SMIC, among other semiconductor manufacturers. A priori, the most prudent thing to do when faced with news like this is to adopt a skeptical stance, but Lace’s work deserves to be taken very seriously. Otherwise it would not have the support of Microsoft nor would it have raised $40 million in financing. The founders of this company are the Norwegian physicist Bodil Holst and the Spanish physicist and engineer Adrià Salvador Palau. These two scientists created Lace Lithography in 2023, and although their headquarters reside in Bergen (Norway), an important part of their research and development team operates from Barcelona. Be that as it may, the most important thing is that the strategy that this company has devised to solve the lithography of the next generation of integrated circuits does not resemble nor to ASML technology nor to any other innovation we have heard of so far. The first prototypes are already ready and the test plant will be ready in 2029 The itinerary that Lace Lithography seeks to follow is very ambitious. Its first prototypes, according to Reutersare already prepared, and intends to develop a test tool and a cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturing pilot plant in 2029. In any case, in addition to their plans, we know some details about their technology that are worth investigating. In the integrated circuit manufacturing equipment that ASML designs and produces, ultraviolet light is responsible for transporting the geometric pattern described by the mask so that it can be transferred with great precision to the surface of the silicon wafer. Lace Lithography uses a beam of helium atoms to transfer the pattern described by the chip to the silicon wafer The light used by high-aperture extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment, which is the most advanced machine that ASML has Currently, it belongs to the most energetic portion of the ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In fact, its wavelength extends in the range that goes from 10 to 100 nanometers (nm). The problem is that it is not easy to generate and deal with this form of electromagnetic radiation. And it is not, among other reasons, because it is so energetic that it alters the structure of the physical elements with which it interacts inside the lithography machine. Lace’s technology solves this and other problems that are closely linked to the use of ultraviolet radiation to manufacture chips. And instead of using light, the engineers at this company use a beam of helium atoms to transfer the pattern described by the chip to the silicon wafer. However, the most striking thing is that this beam has the width of a single hydrogen atom (around 0.1 nm), so on paper this solution will make it possible to produce semiconductors ten times smaller than the smallest ones that TSMC, Samsung or Intel are currently manufacturing. “Our technology opens a path that potentially has the ability to expand (chip makers’) agenda, as well as make things possible that otherwise would not have been viable,” Bodil Holst declared. John Petersen, scientific director of lithography at IMEC (Interuniversity Microelectronics Center), the most experienced laboratory in developing new integration and nanotechnology technologies that we have in Europe, maintains that the main advantage of using the helium atom beam is that it allows creating much smaller transistors than the current ones. “They are almost unimaginable,” Petersen pointed out. It sounds really good. Image | Generated by Xataka with Gemini More information | Reuters | Lace Lithography In Xataka | China needs to develop a new type of chips immune to US sanctions. And your scientists have just achieved it

Light and gas have become luxury items. Europe’s plan is to intervene in prices no matter what the cost

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Turning on the heating, running a washing machine or keeping a factory blind up has become, overnight, a luxury. Faced with the economic asphyxiation that threatens citizens and companies, the European Union has crossed the Rubicon: the free energy market, as we knew it, cannot sustain this crisis, and Brussels is preparing a drastic intervention to lower the bill at any cost. ORn global market on fire. The epicenter of this new financial earthquake is in the Middle East, as we have been counting these days in Xataka. The price of oil in international markets continues to suffer shocks; as the firm points out Sparta Commodities to EUobserverit is the “largest daily movement since 1988.” Investors assume that the blockage in the region will cause real cuts in the global supply of crude oil, leaving behind the idea of ​​​​a simple logistical delay in ships. Gas has not been left behind. As detailed BloombergEuropean natural gas futures—the Dutch benchmark—soared 30% in a single day, reaching €64/MWh. Europe emerges from the winter with its reserves depleted and is now facing an all-out war with Asia to obtain the scarce shipments of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) available for the summer. The daily roller coaster of the bill. To understand why this crisis punishes the consumer so much, we must look at how the price of electricity is formed hour by hour. An analysis of Finance Times shows how prices in Europe now suffer wild volatility. The example of last March 4 is devastating: at the height of the solar peak (2:00 p.m.), a megawatt hour in Denmark cost just 26 euros; Just three hours later, after the sun set and the gas plants came into play, the price catapulted to 430 euros. This “roller coaster”, with jumps of up to 1,700% in one afternoon, has been replicated with the same harshness in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. Gas thus imposes a “law of luxury” every time the sun disappears, preventing the industry from planning its production. Intervene “whatever the cost.” With a heavy industry (steel, chemicals, aluminum) on the brink of the abyss – it is worth remembering that, according to a document from the European Commission cited by Euronewsindustrial electricity in the EU was already twice as expensive as in the US and China before this crisis—Europe has decided to act. According to the documents discussed by the European leaders to whom has had access Euronewsthe emergency plan seeks quick relief by putting the scissors directly into the bill in three ways: National tax cuts: Which currently vary enormously and can amount to up to 22% of the electricity bill. Cap on tolls and network charges: Which represent 18% of the bill for large industrial consumers. Review of carbon emission costs: Which add 11% to the cost of electricity generation. The intervention beyond of tax cuts. The Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, has toughened her tone towards companies. In statements cited by Euronewswarned: “We will do everything possible to stop speculation. I am ready to react, if necessary, including by increasing taxes on companies that speculate on prices through energy bills.” Furthermore, the panic button for strategic reserves has been activated. As explained Reutersthe finance ministers of the G7 and the EU are negotiating to release part of the 1.4 billion barrels of strategic reserves that Europe keeps to flood the market and artificially sink prices. The impact of not intervening in time. Bloomberg details the case of Domo Chemicalsa plant in the German industrial city of Leuna, which has had to declare insolvency consumed by energy costs. This erosion of the industrial fabric also coincides with a delicate political moment in Germany, where the conservative party (CDU) of Chancellor Friedrich Merz has just suffered an electoral setback against the Greens in the regional elections in Baden-Wuerttemberg. The Spanish shield. Despite the urgency, the overall European response is being fragmented. EUobserver points out that Ursula von der Leyen has proposed as a patch to expand the Caspian Sea oil and gas corridor. Ironically, the only royal coat of arms right now is Spain. As highlighted by this same medium, the Spanish market has registered the lowest and most stable prices this week thanks to its gigantic previous investment in renewable energies, partly isolating its system from fossil volatility. Finally, the markets have experienced a slight respite thanks to geopolitics. According to the latest update of BloombergEuropean bonds rebounded and gas fell 17% on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump predicted the conflict with Iran would be resolved “very soon.” However, investors assume that if the war drags on, prices will remain high for a long time. Waking up to reality. With 67% of its consumption still tied to imported fossil fuels, the bloc is aware that depending on Middle Eastern trade routes is a huge risk for its economy. Until now, the European Union trusted that the free market would solve consumer problems and guarantee the best prices. This energy crisis has shown that this is not always the case. The authorities now assume that, in extreme situations, intervening in bills, capping profits and emptying state reserves is the only viable solution. Whatever the cost, Europe has decided to take control to ensure that turning on the lights is not a privilege reserved for times of peace. Image | freepik and Haydn on Unsplash Xataka | Neither oil nor gas: if a total war breaks out between the US and Iran, the definitive weapon will be desalination plants

In London more and more people lose money when they sell their house. The question is whether it is the canary in Europe’s mine

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Located north of the Thames, Tower Hamlets is one of the districts most emblematic from London. In fact, it covers a large part of the East End, the historic center of the capital. For years (like most of the city) it also represented something else: a juicy market for those who wanted to invest in housing and achieve high returns. Not anymore. In 2025 about 30% Of the owners who got rid of their homes in that neighborhood (mostly apartments) had to do so for less money than they paid at the time. And it’s not just something that happens in Tower Hamlets. What has happened? That in London housing is no longer an infallible business. This is suggested at least by the latest study published by Hamptons, which reveals that in 2025 Londoners were the Britons most likely to lose money from the sale of their properties. Even more than its neighbors in the northeast of the United Kingdom, who have spent years leading the ranking. “Rising London house prices are no longer the safe bet they once seemed,” concludes the report, which is supported by the Property Registry. What do the figures say? that last year 14.8% of people Those who sold their home in London did so for less money than they originally paid. It may seem like a modest percentage, but it is striking for several reasons. To begin with because it is the largest in the entire United Kingdom. The national average is 8.7% and there are British regions where this indicator is much lower, such as Wales (6.2%), East Midlands (6.7%) or West Midlands (6.9%). London has effectively ousted Nort Easth, which had dominated the sales ranking with losses for the last decade. Is Tower Hamlets a unique case? No. Tower Hamlets is the London district where the trend is best appreciated, but is not the only one in which a significant proportion of homeowners (28.2%) have lost money by getting rid of their homes. In the City, 26.2% of sellers closed transactions in “red numbers”, in Kensington & Chelsea 22.4%, in Westminster 22.1% and in Hammersmith & Fulham 20.8%. Curiously, in the cheapest district of London, Barking & Dagenham, only that indicator is much lower: 5.3%. “In some cases, even homeowners who bought a decade ago risk getting back less than they paid, something almost unthinkable in 2015. And for many the sums are small,” the study insists. “In the coming years it is likely that more sellers will have missed out on the price boom that London experienced between 2012 and 2016, as they bought at the peak of the market.” Is there more data? Yes. The Hamptons report raises some interesting ideas. For example, most of the sales with losses (close to 90%) were carried out by apartments. If we talk about houses, the photo is somewhat different. Hamptons technicians recognize that in 2025 the average seller in London pocketed 172,500 pounds more than what they originally paid when purchasing their home, but they insist on the increase in sales at a loss: if in 2019 they represented 5.9%, in 2025 “red” operations already represented 14.8%. Is it the only report? No. Over recent months, more analyzes have been published showing that the London property market is not going through its best moment. There is talk of a price drop of 5.1% at the end of 2025 (which takes the market even further away from the 2022 data) and even from a sluggish prime housing market that will not rise until at least 2028. “In London, the growth of house prices is no longer a safe bet,” he explains to Financial Times Aneisha Beveridge, Hamptons manager. There is studies which show that prices are declining in half of London’s neighborhoods, leaving a “two-speed” market: that of the most expensive (and volatile) areas and the cheapest, which has demonstrated greater resilience. In December Bloomberg warned that homes worth more than two million run the risk of depreciating, losing almost 5% of their value in one year. What is the reason? The big question. When explaining the London trend the analysts they point out several factors. One of the main ones is the regulatory change, marked by the end of discounts to the purchase of housing and a greater penalty for the purchase of second homes and houses as investments. The authorities have also focused on the prime segment, rethinking the status nom-dom for large foreign fortunes and raising local taxes for the most expensive properties. Added to the above is the influence of Brexit, the exorbitant prices that London reached in 2022 or how difficult it is for families to access the market, partly because the cost of rent neutralizes the ability to save. The question that some are already made is whether London is an isolated case or should be understood as a canary in the mine for other European capitals. Image | Benjamin Davies (Unsplash) In Xataka | Housing is getting so expensive that in the United Kingdom there are already people opting for plan B: living on boats

Spain has started its most ambitious defense program. It is not a tank or a drone, it is the brain to control Europe’s troops

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Spain built its land defense looking outward, integrating into foreign programs and adapting doctrines from when the tank symbolized power, deterrence and industrial sovereignty. From joining NATO in 1982 to the missions in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army was accumulating operational experience, but always with one constant: the key technology came from outside. Today, the debate no longer revolves around how many vehicles you have, but rather What role do you want to play? now that the war changes again. From cannon to code. The Ukrainian experience has finished burying the idea of ​​the battle tank as an isolated and self-sufficient platform, pushing Spain to rethink its land doctrine from the roots. Instead of investing in more armor and weight, the Ministry of Defense has opted for a conceptual leap: prioritizing information, connectivity and speed of decision as key factors of survival in a “transparent” battlefield, saturated with sensors, drones and smart munitions. In that context PAMOV is bornnot as a new tank or a combat drone, but as the nervous system that must govern all those that come after. PAMOV, the brain. The Superior Ground Combat System program, awarded to Indraseeks to define the digital architecture of the future Spanish armored combat beyond 2040. We are talking about an initial investment around the 45 million euros and a strong R&D component, one whose objective is not yet to manufacture platforms, but design and mature subsystems that will allow the integration of manned and unmanned vehicles, sensors, weapons and command and control into a single cooperative tactical network. The tank, therefore, stops being the physical center of combat and becomes just another node within a distributed “system of systems.” INDRA The tactical cloud. One of the pillars of PAMOV is the creation of a combat tactical cloud capable of fusing in real time information from on-board sensors, aerial and ground drones and external sources. As? Through artificial intelligencethe system detects, classifies and prioritizes threats, reducing crew cognitive overload and accelerating decision-making in high-pressure environments. The 360 degree visionsupported by AI and augmented reality, allows you to “see through” the armor and regain freedom of maneuver against the proliferation of drones and loitering munitions. Less tons, more platforms. Plus: the lessons of Ukraine have highlighted the limits of the continued growth in weight of battle tanks, some already close to 80 tons, with enormous logistics costs and restrictions of mobility. In this sense, Indra’s approach is committed to distribute capabilities between multiple lighter platforms, many of them unmanned, that operate in tandem with the main tank. Here are names that are common today in the Ukrainian war, such as UGVs and UASwho would advance ahead “taking on the most exposed missions and acting as extenders of ISTAR capability“, in addition to (obviously) reducing human risks. Modularity and weapons of tomorrow. The PAMOV is conceived as an open architecturemodular and scalable, one capable of being integrated into different present and future vehicles. This allows on paper to progressively incorporate new technologies, from advanced active protection systems to directed energy weapons and, in more distant phases, even future hypersonic systems without having to redesign the entire platform. Hence, it is emphasized that the key is not in the specific weapon, but in the system being able to govern, coordinate and exploit it within the tactical network at the right time. Technological sovereignty. The concept is going to be repeated more and more in the old continent. In the case of Spain, with a 95% of national developments and the participation of SMEs, startups, universities and technology centers spread across several autonomous communities, PAMOV is presented as a strategic commitment for the country. As we remembered yesterday, the nation seeks to stop being just a simple buyer or late integrator to become technology provider criticism in European programs like MARS and, in the long term, the MGCSseeking to be on par with France and Germany. The final objective is that the Spanish contribution to the European car of the future is not only steel, but intelligence that governs it. Another way to fight. Finally, and if you will, beyond technology, the impact of PAMOV points above all to doctrinal. For the Army it means moving from individual platforms to cooperative networkschange the way we command, train and operate, and prepare for high-intensity scenarios with fewer personnel and greater dependence on software. From that perspective, the future Spanish battle tank will not be defined by its caliber or its weight, but by its capacity. to connect systemsdominate the information and decide faster than the opponent. Image | Rheinmetall Defense, Oscar in the middleIndra In Xataka | Spain has been a weapons exporting power for decades. Now he has made a decision: keep them In Xataka | Ukraine has found what it needed in an unexpected ally. Spain had the missing piece against the shahed drones

23 years later, Western Europe’s largest swamp is completely full

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When in the mid-1950s, someone thought about building a dam in one of the driest areas of Portugal, the criticism was very simple: make a reservoir in Alquevassimply absurd: “it will never be filled.” And that prejudice meant that (for more than fifty years) the project was put in a drawer. But, at the end of the century, the Portuguese country decided to take it back and its floodgates closed in 2002. What happened next showed that those critics had no idea. A huge work of engineering. Of course, the skepticism was well founded. ‘Alqueva’ means precisely ‘fallow land’, ‘desert’. But that did not mean that it was meaningless, quite the opposite: that a much greater ambition was needed. And that’s what they did: with a total capacity of 4,150 hm³ and a surface area of ​​250 km², it not only regulates the Guadiana. It provides water to supply the consumption network (200,000 inhabitants), to produce energy (520 MW) and to irrigate hundreds of thousands of hectares (130,000, it seems). It is the largest reservoir in Western Europe. A monster that now has to be unpacked. That is what is striking, that had to unpack. Not because it’s the first time: between 2010 and 2013 he did it on several occasionsbut the deep drought of recent years meant that there was no fear that it would not happen again. Although it is happening: these days, Alquevas has been draining at the rate of an Olympic swimming pool every two seconds. Is there much left to do? Although seeing the monstrous Alquevas reservoir full it is inevitable to think about what more projects are still to be done, the truth is that we do not have much room for maneuver. The majority of “easy” reservoirs are already built and most of those that could be built would have great technical, social and economic problems to carry out. So we will have to go a little further: think about how we approach this possible “new normal” if it ever occurs. Image | Ceinturion In Xataka | Andalusia anticipates the storm and has already canceled in-person classes and activated the UME. The doubt is placed on the workers

Europe’s passenger car industry, in a revealing map that makes it clear who is the real “engine” of the EU

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Even though it is submerged in a deep crisis of competitivenessIt’s no secret that The automobile industry is one of the driving forces of the European Union. Thus, it is responsible for 8% of its GDP (figures collected by CCOO) and employs 13,000 million people, including direct and indirect jobs. Of course, the EU is large and the distribution of its factories presents enormous divergence. Although there are things that don’t change. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association has an interactive map which is quite good to see what the distribution is like quantitatively, insofar as it shows even the few electric battery plants on the old continent, but if you are more interested in the qualitative and only passenger cars, there is a clearer map: that of World Wide Mobility. And beyond a barrage of concentrated icons that are difficult to distinguishshows in general terms the main brands that are produced or assembled there, production volumes and the percentage they represent of the total. Which countries are the engine of Europe in the automobile industry The data on the map dates back to 2024 and shows a figure of 11.4 million passenger cars manufactured in the European Union, which are essentially concentrated in three states in a non-uniform manner: Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic. World Wide Mobility Germany, 12 points. The leading country in the old continent when it comes to motors is, of course, Germany: it is not only the largest producer by volume with more than four million passenger cars and a 35.7% share, but also the one with the densest network of high-tech factories. Own brands stand out such as Volkswagen and its five factories that include the headquarters in Wolfsburg, BMW with four factories, the three of Mercedes – Benz or the two of Audi, Porsche or Opel (Stellantis). But it also has plants from foreign companies, such as Tesla in Grünheide (Berlin) or the North American Ford in Cologne. Much lower but still outstanding silver is Spainwith a share of 16.4% and almost two million cars assembled in the state. With the high efficiency per flag (in the words of the Spanish Minister of IndustryJordi Hereu), has fewer of its own brands but in exchange it is the nerve center for foreign groups. Thus, in addition to Martorell’s own SEAT/Cupra, legendary highlights include the Volkswagen factory in Landaben in Navarra, Stellantis distributed in three plants, both of which are Renault, Ford in Almussafes, and the Mercedes-Benz manufacturing plant in Alava. And be careful because it does not take into account the reactivation of the old Nissan factory for Chery/Ebro EV, already operational. Third place belongs to the Czech Republic with 12.7% and almost 1.5 million passenger cars, which together with Slovakia (fourth with 8.7% and almost a million cars) form “the Detroit of Central Europe“. A bronze achieved thanks to the importance of Škoda and the growing impact of Hyundai and Toyota. In fact, Slovakia It has the highest car production per capita on the planet: over there Large SUVs in the most premium segment are manufactured of the Volkswagen group in its factory in Bratislava, but it also houses manufactures of Kia, Stellantis or Jaguar and Land Rover. Romania and Hungary below demonstrate a reality: the strength of the Central European axis in this industry. France deserves special mentiona country with historically mythical brands that have been relocating production, but which still houses five plants of the Stellantis group and four of Renault, as well as foreign brands such as Fiat. And if we go to luxury, Italy and Sweden appear on the map, with high-end brands such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Koenigsegg or Volvo, although their figures are lower. In Xataka | There is a Europe that is suffocating to pay for housing and another that lives in peace. And this map shows the differences In Xataka | All the car plants in Europe (including the few battery-electric ones), on a map Cover | World Wide Mobility

the “miracle” of Namibia to fill Europe’s supermarkets with grapes

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The country of ‘Namibia’ may a priori be truly unknown to many people, but the reality is that many of the grapes we buy in the EU come from here. a country practically desert that has been achieved and that a priori is not ready to host cultivation, but that has achieved something unusual: converting one of the most arid landscapes on the planet into a large grape plantation that compete in the most demanding markets. An evolution. In this way, what three decades ago was a silent, sun-battered valley on the banks of the Orange River, Today it is the epicenter of the billion-dollar grape industry.. The Aussenkehr region has not only “greened” the desert, it has redefined the global table grape calendar. The origin. The industry was born from the vision of Dusan Vasiljevican entrepreneur who in 1988 identified Aussenkehr’s hidden potential. The challenge was monumental: an environment with less than 50 liters of annual rainfall, a total lack of infrastructure and no previous experience in growing grapes in the area. A priori, only a madman could build a grape plantation here, since it seemed like a guaranteed waste of money. But in the end it was quite the opposite. Overcoming critical financial obstacles, Vasiljevic planted the first 150 hectares, achieving an initial harvest of 1,000 tons in 1991. Since then, expansion has been constant. Collaboration between the private sector and entities such as the Namibia Grape Company (NGC) and the national government has allowed cultivation to be extended to more than 700 additional hectares, turning the valley into an engine of development that currently exports to a good part of the planet. great growth. Namibia’s quantitative leap in recent decades is an economic case study without a doubt. The country’s ability to take advantage of its ideal climate for early harvests allows it to enter the European market before its competitors, obtaining very good prices. This way, exports have passed from 1,917 tons in 1997 to having 7.5 billion cartons ready to ship this season. All this with a value that in 2023 reached 84.2 billion dollars. Your logistics. Namibian success does not depend only on production, but on robust logistics. Right now the main market for this production company is in the European Union, which absorbs 75% of the production, followed by the United Kingdom and emerging markets in Asia. That is why the company’s focus has been on high-value varieties such as Arra Honey Pop and Arra Fire Crunch that offer greater flavor and, above all, more resistance in transportation. Regarding its exit routes to other countries, the strategic ports of Walvis Bay and Cape Town stand out above all, which guarantee the necessary freshness for European shelves. satellite images. But words can sometimes create confusion or even give rise to the idea that we are completely exaggerating. But the reality is that the satellite images do not deceive, and reveal a great contrast between the bright green of the plantations in contrast with the ocher sand of the Namib. View from Google Earth of the grape plantation in Namibia It is also fantastic for lovers of geometric shapes, since in the images you can clearly see different almost perfect green squares in the middle of an arid background. And the truth is that it seems a miracle that it has been possible to revitalize this land that now supplies the European market with a large quantity of grapes. This is something that in 2010 was the focus of NASA that used he Advanced Land Imager and gave recent scientific studies, like those from WaterWatchwhich highlight that Namibia has achieved these yields with exceptional water efficiency, using precision irrigation systems that minimize waste of water from the Orange River. Socioeconomic impact. Beyond foreign currency, grapes have become the livelihood of thousands of families in this area. Right now, the industry supports 3,500 permanent workers and 7,000 temporary employees during harvest peaks. Furthermore, this model has been praised in international forums such as Davos, where it was presented as an example of how irrigated agriculture can be sustainable and profitable in arid regions of sub-Saharan Africa. In Xataka | In the midst of desertification, Australia has had an idea as strange as it is effective to retain water: covering the land with wool

why 14 municipalities of Guadalajara have rebelled against Europe’s “mineral sovereignty” plan

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The silence that guards the 15,000 hectares of the Sierra Norte of Guadalajara is not empty, it is an inheritance. However, that calm has been disturbed by the flash of a promise as old as it is dangerous: gold. The emergence of Oroberia SLU—subsidiary of the Australian multinational Global Mining Enterprises—has fractured the peace of the region with a request to drill into its bowels that has awakened the ghosts of exploitation. The origin of the conflict. The alarm went off in the spring of last year. Oroberia SLU is a company established only in March 2025 with a capital of only 3,000 euros, what woke up immediate suspicions about its solvency and transparency. Through three projects called “Gua”, “Dala” and “Jara”, the company aims to explore a territory that covers from La Toba to Atienza. This new “mining wave” finds its legal protection in the EU Fundamental Raw Materials Regulation (in force since April 2024), which seeks to cover 10% of the extraction of strategic supplies on European soil. What Brussels sells as “patriotic resilience” in Guadalajara translates into accelerated permits and a disturbing ease in classifying private projects as “strategic.” As Javier Cantero, mayor of La Toba, warns in The World“the companies are not state-owned… They will sell the raw materials to whoever pays the most.” The drilling plan. Thanks to “JARA” Permit Environmental Restoration Planwe know with technical precision the scope of the intervention. The company planned: Deep drilling: Rotational drilling with core recovery between 300 and 400 meters deep. Phases: An initial phase of six surveys per permit, expandable to another six if the results were favorable. Surface impact: Occupation of about 200 square meters for each drilling platform. The real danger, as experts explainis that if the mineral is less than 200 meters away, exploitation would inevitably be open pit. This would involve removing massive amounts of soil, raising dust loaded with microcrystals that can cause silicosis and other lung diseases, in addition to requiring enormous water resources and containment ponds for chemical treatments that could leak into the subsoil. The setback of the Board. Oroberia’s strategy of presenting three different projects has been described as “fragmentation” to avoid controls. However, in November, the Provincial Delegation of Sustainable Development of Guadalajara issued a historic resolution: Mandatory unification: The company must encompass “Gua”, “Dala” and “Jara” in a single project of 14,600 hectares. Ordinary Evaluation: The simplified evaluation (more agile) is denied and an ordinary Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required, much more rigorous and slow. This decision is a victory for the neighbors. As Alberto Mayor points outfrom Ecologistas en Acción, this allows the “synergistic impacts” to be evaluated and forces the company to face the reality that 63% of the affected land contains habitats of community interest and protected species such as the Iberian wolf, the golden eagle and the ricotí lark (the latter in danger of extinction). A total and transversal opposition. The social response has been overwhelming. According to Ecologists in Actionnearly 800 allegations have been filed. The alliance is unprecedented because it includes mayors of all political colors (PP, PSOE, IU), hunters’ associations, environmental groups and even local parishes. The fear is not only environmental, but also economic and patrimonial. The “Jara” project would directly affect to towns such as Sigüenza and Atienza, committing their candidacy to UNESCO World Heritage status for the “Sweet and Salty Landscape”. Furthermore, mining would “a death blow” to already consolidated sustainable tourism projects, such as the Camino del Cid or the seal Starlight Destination. What will happen now? The company has two options according to local media: give up in the face of administrative obstacles and social pressure, or present a new unified environmental study that will be subjected to a new period of public exhibition. However, the scenario is complex. Currently, Spain is experiencing a mining rediscovery. While in Guadalajara the fight against gold is underway, in Galicia work has already begun to extract tungsten in the San Juan mine (Ourense), and in Jaén, the company Osmond Resources (linked to the same directors of Oroberia) has received permissions to investigate rare earths in the “Menipe” project. The ghost of 1973. One of the most critical points is that mining in Spain is governed by a Mines Act of 1973written in the last years of Franco’s regime. This law converts the mineral resource into public domain: if the administration grants permission, the owner of the land is obliged to let the company enter or face expropriation. This legal defenselessness is the fuel that fuels the rage of the fourteen Guadalajara municipalities. The value of what is not seen. The conflict in the Sierra Norte of Guadalajara is the representation of a clash of worlds. On the one hand, an extractivist vision that sees mining grids in the mountains and profits in the Australian stock market (where gold is trading upwards as a safe haven). On the other hand, some towns that, in the words of the mayor of Ríofrío del LlanoMaite Pérez, they only ask that the depopulation laws serve so that people live in their land and not to make it easier for them to be kicked out. For now, the Sierra Norte still stands, guarding a geological and biological heritage that, as your neighbors say“it has no price because it is not a commodity.” Image | freepik Xataka | The problem with Greenland is not that it does not have minerals: it is that getting them out of there is an engineering nightmare

An “invisible” Russian submarine has set off alarms in the Arctic. Europe’s response: Atlantic Bastion

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The launching of the Khabarovskthe new and ultra-quiet Russian submarine capable of deploying nuclear torpedoes Poseidonhas reactivated a fear that had been latent for decades in cities like London: the possibility that the naval balance of the Atlantic is once again tilting in favor of Moscow. The response from the United Kingdom has been forceful, and it is called Atlantic Bastion. Submarine warfare. Although the public image of the Russian threat usually revolves around research vessels like Yantarsuspected of mapping and potentially manipulating underwater cables and pipes, European specialists know that what is truly disturbing lies much further down. Russia has spent decades reducing the acoustic signature of its submarines to levels that they border on invisibilitycombining new propulsion systems, composite coatings and virtually undetectable cooling pumps. In this environment, where silence is power, a ghost submarine with nuclear capacity alters not only the sea routes, but the very heart of the strategic infrastructures that connect Europe with the world. UK reinvents itself. Faced with the resurgent threat from Khabarovskthe Royal Navy has launched what they have called as Atlantic Bastiona plan designed to restore British strategic advantage in its own and allied waters. Its origin is not new and it we have counted before: the United Kingdom has been monitoring the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom gap (GIUK gap) since before the creation of NATO, and the Second World War already demonstrated that controlling that maritime corridor was essential to prevent enemy forces from slipping into the North Atlantic. But what used to be destroyers and acoustic sweeps is becoming a hybrid framework that combines Type 26 frigates equipped with new generation sonar, aircraft P-8 Poseidon capable of patrolling thousands of kilometers and, above all, swarms of underwater drones equipped with artificial intelligence. According to the Ministry of Defensethis architecture aims to detect, classify and follow any enemy submarine that tries to penetrate British or Irish waters, and to do so constantly, autonomously and with an unprecedented range. The algorithms arrive. The core of the project will be Atlantic Neta distributed network of autonomous underwater gliders equipped with acoustic sensors and guided by artificial intelligence systems capable of recognize sound signatures with a level of precision that until a few years ago was little less than the preserve of science fiction. Unlike the SOSUS of the Cold War, based on gigantic fixed hydrophones placed on the seabed, the new generation will be mobile, expandable and adaptable to the routes and behaviors of increasingly soundproof submarines. The ultimate ambition is to deploy hundreds of cheap, persistent units that together create aa surveillance mesh much harder to evade. The metaphor is revealing: if finding a silent submarine is like searching for a needle in an oceanic haystack, modern technology makes it possible to exponentially multiply the number of searching hands. Khabarovk The technological challenge of hunting shadows. However, even with this technological revolution, experts warn that detecting new Russian submarines will continue to be an extremely complex undertaking. Since the 1980s, Moscow has drastically reduced lacoustic emissions of its fleet, which requires combining passive and active sensors and complex configurations such as bistatic sonar, where one vessel emits a pulse and another collects the echo. These techniques require coordination, multiple platforms, and significant sensor density, something that Atlantic Bastionaims to provide but it is still far from being deployed on a full scale. The arrival of the Type 26 frigates, designed to be the flagship of British anti-submarine warfare, is fundamental to this purpose, as is the cooperation with Norway and other allies that are also strengthening their capabilities in the North Atlantic. The Russian Bastion Puzzle. Even if Atlantic Bastion managed to limit the presence of Russian attack submarines in the Atlantic, there is one dimension that no Western system can solve: Russian strategic submarines already they don’t need to abandon its own bastion in the Arctic to threaten Europe or the United States. Its intercontinental ballistic missiles can hit targets thousands of kilometers without moving from the Barents Sea or the White Sea, protected by layers of defenses and favorable geographical conditions. There they play a hiding place lethal where the West cannot penetrate without significantly escalating the conflict. The paradox is clear: the United Kingdom can reinforce its waters and monitor every meter of the GIUK gapbut it cannot deny the Russian nuclear capacity deployed in its natural refuge, a reality that frames the entire British effort within a logic of containment rather than domination. An underwater chess. If you want, Atlantic Bastion ultimately represents the recognition that underwater competition has returned with a vengeance, now fueled for digital capabilitiesdistributed sensors and autonomous platforms that transform the nature of ocean surveillance. The North Atlantic once again becomes a stage silent maneuvers where Russia and the United Kingdom measure their technological resistance in an environment reminiscent of the Cold War, but with algorithms and autonomy as new weapons. A career that is not decided by great battles, but by the ability to listen better, process faster and anticipate invisible movements. In this theater of shadows, the advantage is not whoever shoots the most, but rather whoever is able to detect first (already happens in Ukraine). Thus, Atlantic Bastion aspires to return that capacity to the British, although the contest that is opening now does not look like it will be brief nor simple: In the depths of the Atlantic, the prelude to the next era of strategic rivalry between Russia and the West is underway. Image | SEVMASH/VKONTAKTE In Xataka | A Russian submarine has appeared off the coast of France. And Europe’s reaction has been surprising: have a laugh In Xataka | Russia’s most advanced nuclear submarine was a secret. Until Ukraine has revealed everything, including its failures

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