fuel

Fuel prices are so high that airlines are at risk of disappearing, according to Deutsche Bank

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On February 28, the United States and Israel bombed several cities in Iran, starting a conflict that has already spread to other countries in the Middle East, when Iranian missiles responded to Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait or Dubai and other emirates. One of the consequences has been the rise in fuel prices at a dizzying pace due to the paralysis of a key corridor for global energy: the Strait of Hormuz. The days go by, prices continue to rise and when something as strategic as oil rises, it is a matter of time before the accounts come together. Deutsche Bank warns: the sword of Damocles is on the neck of the airlines. The context. Bloomberg collects the information sent by the German financial institution to its clients: while the price of crude oil has increased by 50% so far this year, it is aviation fuel that takes the cake. The British Argus Media collects the price of the jet in recent days for the hubs of Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and New York, where we see how it goes from 2.17 dollars per gallon on January 5 to 2.29 on February 5 until approaching 4 dollars per gallon on March 5 (3.95). In the United States, the price differentials between jet fuel and the price of crude oil range between $85 and $95 per barrel, equal to or higher than the cost of oil. That huge gap between the price of crude oil and that of refined products (called the crack spread) wreaks havoc. The last time a crack spread like this occurred was in 2005, when hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Why is it important. Because as the German entity highlights, 20 years ago the crack spread caused significant and widespread damage to the airline industry, which was the trigger for airlines to Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines filing for bankruptcy. The historical precedent sets off all the alarms. And Deutsche Bank is not alone: the CEO of United Airlines At the moment it has already warned that the increase in jet fuel prices will have a “significant” impact on first quarter results and that there could be an increase in air fares. Deutsche Bank analyst Michael Linenberg is forceful: Without immediate price relief, “some of the most financially vulnerable airlines could halt operations” and “airlines around the world could be forced to ground thousands of aircraft.” In detail. At the moment, airlines have plummeted on the stock market since the beginning of the conflict. American Airlines has lost 19% so far this year, but the blow is global: a group of 29 airlines, hotels and travel companies from Europe, Asia and North America together lost $22.6 billion in market capitalization in a single day, according to Reuters. In Xataka | The rocket and the pen: the theory that explains why the rise in gasoline is here to stay In Xataka | There is a hidden war to sell us the cheapest possible gasoline. One that Ballenoil and Plenergy already dominate Cover | Dawn McDonald and Daniel Shapiro

the refinery that supplies 90% of its fuel is owned by Russia

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If you travel north of Berlin, in Schwedt you come across a landscape of chimneys and rusty metal that seems stuck in the sixties. It was there that communist Germany and the former USSR sealed their energy alliance, and the amazing thing is that this heritage continues to fuel the Berliners’ tank today. Although the official rhetoric speaks of a total break with the Kremlin due to the invasion of Ukraine, the reality at the PCK plant is different: the majority of the property remains in Russian hands, a Soviet vestige that Germany has not yet dared to completely expropriate. It literally depends on the operation of PCK Schwedt that Berlin does not stop. The plant pumps 90% of the gasoline and kerosene consumed by the capital and the state of Brandenburg; It is the energetic heart that powers everything from domestic heating to airplanes at the international airport. As pointed out by an analysis of Financial Timesany stoppage in their machines – no matter how brief – would cause an immediate strangulation. It is not just a question of figures, but a real threat to the daily lives of millions of people that the energy sector monitors closely. A trapped refinery The PCK situation is a direct result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Following the start of the war, Germany decided to withdraw to the Russian state oil company Rosneft operational control of the refinery, placing it under state trusteeship. The measure was adopted under the Energiesicherungsgesetz (Energy Security Law) with the explicit objective of guaranteeing supply and avoiding an operational collapse of critical infrastructures, as explained by the German Government itself. The guardianship affects the subsidiaries Rosneft Deutschland and RN Refining & Marketing, through which the Russian group controls stakes in three German refineries: PCK Schwedt, MiRo (Karlsruhe) and Bayernoil (Bavaria). On the whole, according to OSW datathese assets represent about 12% of Germany’s total refining capacity, making Rosneft one of the main players in the sector in the country. However, Berlin avoided expropriation of the shares. Rosneft retains 54% of PCK, a decision made out of fear of Kremlin retaliation against German companies in Russia and the risk of international litigation. as explained in the Financial Times. Since then, the German Executive has been forced to renew the guardianship regime every six months by parliamentary vote. The State runs the plant, but cannot sell it freely, nor invest on a large scale in its modernization, nor offer stable legal guarantees to banks and suppliers, a legal limbo. which analysts consider unsustainable in the long term. However, the fragility of this balance was revealed in 2025, when the United States imposed new sanctions on Rosneft as part of its policy of pressure on Moscow. The measure, adopted without prior coordination with Berlin, had immediate effects: banks blocked payments, suppliers suspended contracts and the refinery was on the brink of insolvency. as reconstructed Financial Times. To avoid a collapse of supply in the German capital, Washington granted a temporary exemption of six months, which allows PCK to continue operating until April 29, 2026. At the same time, he made it clear that Germany must once and for all resolve the issue of ownership of Rosneft assets on its territory. Since then, Berlin has been negotiating against the clock with the US administration to achieve a new extension or design a legal framework that avoids future sanctions. Among the options studied is the conversion of the current guardianship into a public law trustlinked to the sanctions regime of the European Union. The goal is to demonstrate that Rosneft lacks effective control over the refinery without resorting to formal expropriation. A key piece of the German energy system Schwedt’s case is not anecdotal. A forced closure would force fuel to be transported to Berlin by thousands of trucks a day, coming from other regions of Germany, a scenario that industry sources describe as logistically chaotic and economically unfeasible. In an economy already hit by high energy prices, the industrial slowdown and the costs of the energy transition, the impact would be immediate. Furthermore, PCK is the main economic engine of Schwedt, a city of about 33,000 inhabitants in the northeast of the country. It directly and indirectly employs thousands of people and is perceived by the local population as a matter of survival. “All buses, all police cars, all rescue services run on PCK fuel,” he explained. to Financial Times the social democratic mayor Annekathrin Hoppe. But the question everyone will be asking: How is it possible that Germany still has a Russian refinery? The answer is in history. PCK Schwedt built in the sixtieswhen the then German Democratic Republic was integrated into the Soviet bloc. The refinery was designed to process Russian crude oil transported through the Druzhba – “friendship” in Russian – pipeline. a pipeline of more than 4,000 kilometers designed to seal energy interdependence between Moscow and Eastern Europe during the Cold War. For six decades, the system operated without interruption. Even after German reunification and the fall of the Soviet Union, the flow of Russian crude oil continued, reinforcing a dependence that today weighs like an uncomfortable legacy. Unlike gas—where Germany nationalized strategic assets like Gazprom Germania, today renamed SEFE—, in oil, Berlin chose not to cross the line of expropriation. Breaking that bond has proven more difficult than expected. Although PCK no longer processes Russian oil and sources mainly Kazakh crude and marine supplies through Poland and Germany, the transition has been more expensive and technically complex. As explained by the public channel Tagesschaualternative supply is largely dependent on the ports of Rostock and Gdansk, and doubts remain as to whether these routes allow sufficient plant load to be maintained. Possible exits: sale, expropriation or permanent patch Given the expiration of the US exemption, Germany is considering three main scenarios. The first is for Rosneft to voluntarily sell its stake. In recent years there have been conversations with the Qatar Investment Authority, … Read more

The Inditex rally has been its best fuel

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Amancio Ortega is once again among the ten greatest fortunes on the planet according to Forbes monitor in real time thanks to the rise in the stock market of Inditex and the solidity of its real estate holding Pontegadea, which have catapulted the fortune of the Spanish millionaire up to 143.5 billion dollars. This renewed stock market push has allowed him to re-enter the ‘Top 10’ of greatest fortunes on the planet, and even compete for ninth position with veteran investor Warren Buffett although, as how I collected Digital Economyonly occasionally. From the 2025 bump to the return to the ‘top 10’. In June 2025, the combination of Inditex’s weaker stock market performance and global market volatility ended removing Amancio Ortega from the exclusive group of the ten largest fortunes in the world by Forbes, falling below fourteenth place. The textile giant’s stock went on to chain several months of declines after quarterly results that grew, but not at the pace that the market expected, and that sharply cut the valuation of its assets, closely linked to the evolution of the company that it founded and of which it still retains 59.294%. The Inditex rally. However, as of December the situation took a 180 degree turn after the presentation of Inditex’s third quarter results and investors once again showed their confidence in the textile multinational. To put this boom in context, at the beginning of December, each share of Zara’s parent company was trading at just over 49 euros, and its capitalization was around 152,934 million euros. However, weeks later, the title is already trading at just over 56 euros and Inditex’s stock market value exceeded 172.2 billion euros. ​…And the solidity of Pontegadea. In parallel, Pontegadea, which channel and invest most of his participation in Inditex and the dividends generated by the textile empire he founded, acted as an amplifier of his wealth by closing some of the largest real estate transactions in its history. Pontegadea closed the year with a portfolio that has not stopped adding assets in offices, logistics and luxury residential in large international capitals, which has only increased the strength of your assets. ​The temporary “surprise” of Warren Buffett. The meteoric rise of Ortega, who has risen several positions at once, has reached its peak when the Forbes real-time index placed him in ninth position on the global list of fortunes, just ahead of the investor Warren Buffett retired. That day, the founder of Inditex closed the session with a fortune valued at 146.9 billion dollars, slightly above that of the Omaha investor, whose fortune was weighed down by a fall in the stock market, resulting in a cut of about 654 million euros. However, the stock market is what everyone else plays. While Buffett wins, so the veteran investor recovered his position the next day. Ortega, Ballmer and the new order among the ultra-rich. Ortega remains in tenth place, with a fortune estimated at 143.5 billion dollars. That level places him just ahead of Steve Ballmer, whose wealth linked to Microsoft The Los Angeles Clippers are now worth over $140 billion. The geographical distribution of the ‘top 10’ leave a photograph in which Ortega is once again the only great Spanish fortune in a select club dominated by American technology giants and the European figure of Bernard Arnaultat the head of the luxury conglomerate LVMH. In Xataka | Amancio Ortega: the billionaire who lives like another neighbor. Except for private jets and superyachts Image | GTRES, Flickr (Fortune Live Media)

whoever controls the fuel will control the AI

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In the deep mines of Kazakhstan and the data centers of Northern Virginia, two worlds that should never have touched are colliding. The digital speed of Artificial Intelligence faces the heavy inertia of nuclear physics. We have discovered, the hard way, that AI does not live in “the cloud” but on the ground. It has a ravenous hunger of a material that the world ignored for decades: uranium. The end of the myth of efficiency. For years, the official Silicon Valley narrative was that chip efficiency would offset energy consumption. However, cHow an OilPrice analysis explainsthis idea has died because of the “Jevons paradox“Basically, the more efficient we make a chip, the more units we deploy and the more complex the models become. AI not only consumes data, but incinerates energy to create them. This reality has forced a paradigm shift. According to a global survey to more than 600 investors, 63% already consider that AI electricity demand is a structural change in nuclear planning. It is not a temporary peak, it is the foundation on which the economy of the 21st century will be built. The gap between the code and the steel. The fundamental problem is that software is moving at the speed of light, while the uranium supply remains “stuck in the mud” of 20th century industrial timelines. This temporary disconnection reveals an uncomfortable reality: the world has run out of room to maneuver. For two decades, humanity survived thanks to secondary supplies —reusing old Cold War warheads and surplus inventories—, but these strategic warehouses are practically exhausted today. This shortage is a deep structural deficit. Uranium.io data reflect an alarming gap where the uranium coming out of the mines will cover less than 75% of what the reactors will need in the short term. This is what Sprott Asset Management define as a market that lives at “two speeds”: a superficial volatility that hides a deficit that widens like a canyon. “AND“The silence of the electric companies”. On the Sprott Radio podcastexpert John Ciampaglia explains that, although 2025 seemed like a stagnant year for the price of physical uranium—anchored between $77 and $80—mining stocks rose 40%. This disconnection reveals that, while investors are already betting heavily on what is to come, electricity companies (utilities) are at a “stalemate”. They are delaying signing new contracts and burning down their last reserves in the hope that prices don’t skyrocket, but the pressure from AI is such that sooner or later someone will have to blink first. Uranium as a strategic asset. If the semiconductors were the battlefield of the last decade, nuclear fuel is that of the next. Whoever controls the uranium will control the computing capacity. On the one hand, how the analyst describes for Oilpricewhen a tech giant signs a 20-year power agreement (PPA) with a nuclear plant, it is “locking up” the best clean electrons for private profit. The risk is the socialization of the cost, the companies take the clean energy, but the citizen pays to update the electrical network. On the other hand, “Atoms for Algorithms”. The Director General of the IAEA describe this union as a “structural alliance”. AI doesn’t just need nuclear; The nuclear industry needs AI for the predictive maintenance of reactors, the design of new materials and the improvement of safety. The strategy of the giants. The hyperscalers (Google, Microsoft, Amazon) have understood that to dominate AI they must secure the atoms before the competition. Vertical Integration: Google took a turn of the rudder by acquiring Intersect Power for $4.75 billion. The objective is to control the availability and cost of supply near your data centers, without depending on the public network. Modular Reactors (SMR): The International Atomic Energy Agency bet on SMRsmall reactors that allow a technology company to add nuclear power as it adds servers. It is literally bringing scalability from software to power. Sovereign AI: Companies like VivoPower they are redirecting capital towards markets such as Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates. There, where the electrical grid is a bottleneck, the solution is to create computing infrastructures with its own energy generated “behind the meter.” China: the provisional winner. While the West debates, China pours concrete. The Asian giant build reactors at a rate that no one else reaches, between ten and eleven per year. In fact, half of all the reactors being built in the world are in Chinese territory. According to the CNEAthe country will surpass France in nuclear capacity in 2026 and the United States in 2030. Beijing not only seeks firm energy to sustain its renewables, but also total technological independence. It already produces 100% of its nuclear equipment and leads the fourth generation with high-temperature modular reactors. They are even “fishing” uranium from the sea with new absorption technologies to ensure centuries of autonomy. China has understood that nuclear energy is both a tool of decarbonization and energy diplomacy. The wall of reality. In the software world, problems are solved by injecting capital or code; In the world of atoms, money cannot buy time. There are three physical obstacles that Silicon Valley capital will not be able to solve immediately: The bottleneck of enrichment. There is no point in extracting the mineral if you cannot convert it into fuel, and that industrial capacity in the West is at its limit. As they warn in the podcastmuch of this vital process remains tied to Russian state interests, making AI power a national security issue. The talent crisis. For an entire generation, the global message was that nuclear power was a dead technology. The result it’s a shortage criticism from engineers and specialists; There are simply no qualified “hands” to operate the new mines or manage the reactors. We have lost the know-how industrial while we were distracted with the digital world. The “asking price.” Although uranium aims for the range of $100-120/lb by 2026, the figure of $135 is the one that it really marks desperation of the sector. That … Read more

The British skipped fuel tax by switching to an electric car. The Government’s solution: create another tax

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The British Government recently announced a new tax for electric vehicles in which drivers would pay per distance traveled (miles), with the intention of it coming into force in April 2028. The measure, which is included in this documenthas drawn criticism from many citizens and experts, and comes at a key moment, as the United Kingdom plans to ban the sale of new gasoline and diesel cars in 2030. Its public coffers are losing revenue from fuel taxes while the adoption of electric vehicles grows. How the system is planned so far. Electric car drivers will pay 3p per mile traveled (about 3.4 euro cents), while plug-in hybrids will pay 1.5 pence. The calculation will be made through an annual mileage estimate that drivers will declare when renewing their road tax, and will subsequently be verified during the technical inspection of the vehicle. According to the Government, an average electric car driver who travels 13,680 kilometers a year you will pay about 255 pounds additional (approximately 295 euros). Why this change matters. Just like share According to The Telegraph, Finance Minister Rachel Reeves justifies the measure as necessary to compensate for the drop in fuel tax revenue. According to Dan Tomlinson, MP and Secretary of the Treasury, if no action is taken, by 2030 one in five drivers will not pay fuel tax while others will continue to contribute an average of £480 annually. According to the media, the Office of Budget Responsibility predicts that this new tax could reduce sales of electric vehicles by 440,000 units in the next five years. Industry reactions. Manufacturers such as Ford and the British manufacturers’ association SMMT have harshly criticized the measure. Ian Plummer, Commercial Director at Autotrader, declared that “we need more carrot and less stick if we are serious about the electric transition.” From Ford they pointed out that the budget sends “a mixed message” about the government’s goal of driving the shift to electric vehicles. Implementation problems. The system presents several practical challenges. Drivers will have to estimate their annual mileage without it necessarily coinciding with the date of their MOT (the equivalent of the MOT in the UK), which complicates the calculation. New cars, which do not require inspection for the first three years, will need additional checks. Furthermore, the Government recognize which could increase odometer fraud, a practice which, according to The Telegraph, already affects 2.3% of British vehicles. A controversial issue. As the current regulations are stated, drivers who use their vehicles outside the United Kingdom They would also pay for those milesdespite not using British roads. The Government justifies this decision by arguing that the percentage of drivers traveling abroad is small, although it recognizes that it will especially affect residents of Northern Ireland, as they frequently cross into the Republic of Ireland. The impact on the pocket. Although the Government insist With the rate equal to half of what gasoline and diesel drivers pay, many electric vehicle owners are already starting to worry. Stephen Walton, a driver who bought an electric car in 2023, counted to the BBC that “it will be my first and last electric vehicle because there are no tax advantages for electric car drivers.” A unexpected advantage for China. Analysts such as Sam Goodman, from the China Strategic Risks Institute, warn that the new tax could encourage British consumers to opt for cheaper Chinese models such as the BYD Dolphin Surfwhich sells for 18,650 pounds compared to the more than 26,000 that some eligible European alternatives cost. During the third quarter of 2025, Chinese models They already represented 11.8% of the British new passenger car market, according to Schmidt Automotive Research. What’s coming now? The Government has opened a consultation period to define the final details of the system before 2028. It also announced an additional investment of 1.3 billion pounds in aid for the purchase of electric vehicles, although only four models currently qualify for the maximum subsidy of 3,750 pounds, the cheapest being the Ford Puma Gen-E (£26,245 applying subsidies). The Office of Budget Responsibility esteem The new tax will raise £1.1bn in its first year and £1.9bn by 2030-31, although the actual figure will depend on how many Britons decide to buy electric cars in the coming years. In Xataka | Your car windshield has hundreds of small black dots. It is not decoration, it is technology to save our lives

A huge fuel tank has fallen from heaven in Argentina. And we already have suspicious: a Chinese rocket

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The afternoon is almost always quiet in the small Chaco town of Puerto Tirol, north of Argentina. On Thursday, that tranquility was interrupted by an object fallen from heaven. He had appeared on a rural property whose owner did not hesitate to call the police. The police cordoned off the area waiting for firefighters. All the investigations are already made on the Internet. What is known. The object measures 1.70 meters long by 1.20 meters in diameter. It is metallic, has a cylindrical shape and is covered with carbon fiber or a similar compound material, so it is surely a pressurized propellant tank, a piece of the space rockets known as Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel (COPV). When a satellite or a rocket re -enters the atmosphere, most of its body is burned by pressure. These containers, on the other hand, are designed to support very high pressures, so it is not strange that they survive intact. Or judging by the photos, somewhat chamuscados and frayed. What is suspected. The first identification came from the hand of the Caribbean Astronomy Society (SAC) in A Facebook post. They confirmed that it looks like a piece of space vehicle, specifically a COPV. And they pointed out that, of the most recent releases, the main candidate is a Chinese rocket released the day before. The analysis of the trajectory seems to confirm suspicions. The astrophysic and renowned Jonathan McDowell satellite tracker He corroborated this hypothesisstating that the object is “probably” the tank of the fourth stage of a Chinese jielong-3 rocket. From China to Chaco. The private company China Rocket had launched on Wednesday the eighth mission of its Jielong-3 rocket. The Y8 mission took off From a maritime platform At 07:56 UTC to put 12 satellites of the Geely Future Mobility constellation in orbit, a positioning and communications service of the Chinese automotive giant Geely. After displaying the satellites, the fourth stage of the rocket continued to orbit the earth until 9:00 UTC of the next day, when It was sighted disintegrated in the sky 15 kilometers from Puerto Tyrol. Most likely, it will not be completely burned and the deposit survived the fall. A questionable history. China has earned in recent years. The most notorious case is that of the CZ-5B state rocket, whose central stage of more than 20 tons is designed to reach the orbit and then fall to the earth unpredictably within a period of days or weeks. The reality is that this behavior is changing, and both state and private companies are actively providing their rockets on the ability to actively extend, keeping some fuel and after deploying satellites. The problem is not that. But the space garbage, and that is that the Earth’s orbit has become a landfill. There are all kinds of dead satellites and rockets in the terrestrial orbit that gradually approach the earth due to atmospheric braking. With the rise of satellite megaconstellations, every day they re -enter the atmosphere an average of three large pieces of space garbage. And in this case they do it without any control. As a result, incidents in inhabited areas are increasingly frequent. In March 2024, a fragment of a battery pallet discarded from the International Space Station crossed the roof of a house. In January 2025, A half ton ring He appeared in a town in Kenya. In February, several fragments of a spacex rocket They fell near the city of Poland. The Earth is very large and mostly depopulated or covered with water, but it is a matter of time that something happens. Therefore, space agencies such as ESA They are promoting a commitment of “zero waste” to harden the regulations of their own missions. It is necessary, yes, a global consensus. Images | Llitory region In Xataka | The fireball that crossed Spain on Sunday will not be the last one: with 8,000 Starlinks in orbit, it will be a habitual show

This Barcelona bus has been working with a fuel that we all produce: our excrements

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A bus of line V3 has been circulating through the streets of Barcelona that has been operating exclusively with a renewable fuel generated from what we least imagine: human waste. And best of all, the experiment has been considered a success. A project that has managed to evolve. This project was baptized as’Nimbus‘, and is the result of a collaboration agreement between The local water management company VeoliaMetropolitan Transport of Barcelona (TMB) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). Together they have turned the concept of circular economy into something very tangible: transform the sludge of wastewater into biomethane for public transport. Five years later, and with good results in the hand, the project is ready to move on to the next level and start with large -scale production thanks to European funds. The ultimate goal is to make the production of this fuel based on the solid waste of the city to end in the deposits of the buses themselves in the future that is not very distant. This creates this fuel. The heart of this innovation It is found in the purification of Baix Llobregatone of the largest in Europe. Every day, this plant processes about 400,000 cubic meters of wastewater. While 95% of the water is regenerated for agricultural or urban uses, the remaining solid waste, known as sludge, usually end as dry material for agriculture. The Nimbus project has given it a new purpose. Using an innovative process, researchers have managed to transform four cubic meters of mud per hour into high purity biomethane. This gas is pure enough to be used in vehicles with natural gas engines without any modification. The secret is to refine the initial biogas. Initially, gas contains 65% methane and 35% carbon dioxide. Instead of separating gases, Veolia’s team Combine carbon dioxide with hydrogen that is obtained in renewable sources. In this way, almost all the biomás becomes biomethane, making the resulting fuel emit so much carbon dioxide. A fuel responsible with the environment. The figures that result from this first phase have shown that this biomethane works very well. It emits 80% less carbon dioxide than traditional natural gas and complies with strict regulations of EU euro VI emissionsalthough it produces nitrogen oxide to very small amounts. An alternative to electric buses. Right now, Barcelona’s periphery routes need a bus that has a high passenger capacity and greater autonomy. This is something that electric buses cannot offer today, but biomethane, maintaining the reduction in the emission of carbon dioxide. The future: more buses and production at an industrial scale. After five years of success, the Nimbus experiment gave way to a new phase: the project Sempre-Bio. The objective is now climbing production, going from generating biomethane for a bus line to do it for two. For this they have a budget of more than eleven million dollars, with financing from the European Union. As detailed in the project, with this budget they will “reduce the investment and exploitation costs of biomethane production plants and expand the biomethane production potential through new routes of waste valorization.” Many projects to find the ideal fuel. Synthetic fuel It is one of the great research results for finding an alternative to natural oil. One of the examples is The e-diéselwhich is based on “water and air” for conventional engines, or even Toyota He already works with hydrogen to turn it into an alternative To keep the combustion engine. But the reality is that right now combustion cars are in danger of extinction. Electric cars They don’t stop growingand the Chinese market Not stop driving this sector on other continents Like Europe. Images | Wang Xiong In Xataka | Aid of the Moves III 2025 Plan to buy an electric car: money to receive, since when you can ask for and how to request it

Ferrari has won on land, but now points to the ocean. His new challenge is a ship that works without a drop of fuel

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Ferrari has already conquered the circuits. Now he wants to do the same in the ocean. Its new project has no wheels, nor ailerons, nor a V12 engine. Is called Hypersail And it is a Monohull of regattasalthough that description barely scratches the surface. The Italian brand has decided to build an extreme boat, designed to challenge resistance and engineering. The challenge is not less: to create a 100 -foot monoccasco that literally rises on water, driven only by renewable energies. Without a drop of fuel. A brand that is no longer limited to asphalt For decades, Ferrari has been synonymous with competition, engineering and prestige. Its history has been written in the most demanding paths and in the most select garages in the world. But times are changing. The brand continues to manufacture sports cars, yes, but it is also expanding its playing field. Today Ferrari not only innovates in his vehicles, he also does it in his strategy. Part of that evolution It has to do with the public. The Z and millennial generation They already suppose 40 % of their new buyers. They are younger customers, interested in design and technology, but also in impact and sustainability. And Ferrari is adapting. In that context, Hypersail It does not seem to be a whim or a marketing maneuver. It can be a way to apply everything learned in the asphalt to a different environment, although later also carrying that experience obtained in the water to their cars. Ferrari describes Hypersail Like a floating laboratory. And it is not an exaggeration. The boat, designed by the Naval Architect Guillaume Verdier and directed by the navigator Giovanni SoldiniIt has little to do with a conventional ship. Its structure is designed to keep the helmet out of the water by means of three support points: a foil coupled to a tilting keel, another in the rudder and one side that acts alternately. This provision Reduces friction to a minimum and literally allows “flying” on the waves. The most radical aspect of the project is not seen with the naked eye: it does not carry a combustion engine. All the energy necessary for its operation – from the control of hydraulic systems to navigation computers – is generated on board while sailing. The source is exclusively renewable: solar, wind and kinetic. It is not just about installing panels or captors, but of redesigning each system to be as efficient as possible. There are no hidden generators or plans B. According to the company itself, for many, this combination of total autonomy and oceanic navigation It seemed unfeasible. Ferrari wants to demonstrate that it is perfectly possible. Ferrari not only contributes his name, he actively participates in development. The equipment has applied to the sailboat many of the tools already used in its cars: aerodynamic simulation, advanced structural calculations and a flight control system adapted to the marine environment. That joint work has already resulted in nine patents, with another six in preparation. The ship reacts in real time to sea conditions, adjusting its position as a racing car would make it trace a curve. According to Ferrari, the development of Hypersail is also contributing to the evolution of its sports. The company has not specified specific models, but this technological approach would fit with its current hyper -sports linelike him Ferrari F80a hybrid of 1,200 hp called to continue what Enzo and Laferrari left. Hypersail It is not a finished product. It is an idea under construction. His assembly has already begun in Italy and the launch is scheduled for 2026. For now, Ferrari has shared very few images of the project, and everything indicates that we will have to wait to see more details of its development. Until then, the sailboat will continue to evolve as an open innovation platform. Images | Ferrari In Xataka | In Australia they already have the ‘infinite train’. To batteries, without catenary and unlimited autonomy, but with a great asterisk

Nostalgia has become the true fuel in the car market. The scamoteable headlights are the last test

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There was a day that the headlights were hidden in cars. Deportivo, sharp nose … and some headlights that completely broke the front of the vehicle with two huge bulbs to illuminate what was in front. The Ferrari F40, the Lamborghini Countachhe BMW M1 or the most earthly first Mazda MX-5. There are many examples of all kinds. Some of them extremely shocking such as the Porsche 911 Flatnose. Because yes, Porsche came to offer as extra equipment the sneakable headlights In its most iconic sports car, which some sacrilege will seem to some. And what do we say about Carlos Sainz flying along the sofari rally slopes In Kenia aboard his Toyota Celica? And although when we think of scamotable headlights we look almost automatically at the 80s and 90s, it is a much older invention. It is considered that The Cord 80 was the first car that he used this formula in the United States in 1935. Shortly after, in 1936 he would arrive in Europe with the beautiful Alfa Romeo 8C (attentive to this miniature If you are thinking of spending more than 20,000 euros on one of them). Regardless of where we place its origin, the usual as we said is to think in the decade of the 80s and the 90s when we talk about this lighting system. And how everything comes back: are the sneakable headlights back? Mg cyber x concept They come back … more or less Shanghai 2025, MG presents the Cyber ​​X Concept. The prototype is, in the words of the Chinese company, a “global urban adventure toy.” What our eyes see is an extraordinarily square SUV to generate that aspect of hard off -road. Of course, nothing similar to Joseph Kaban Bugatti Veyron, designer of both products. But, beyond this curiosity … What appears on the front? Yes, small and fine sneaky headlights. With two LED squares in each of them, the Cyber ​​X Concept look is projected through some that hide in the body “as a nod to the classics,” they mention in the brand. Mazda Ionic sp Interestingly, it is not the only prototype that has opted for this formula in recent years or months. Mazda presented the IConic SP at the 2023 Tokyo Salon. There they revealed the prototype of a sports car Halfway between Mazda MX-5 and RX-7. What had both models in common? Yes, the sneakable headlights. At least in the First generation of the mythical Miata. With its rounded and fluid forms, Mazda advanced its concept of what its Sports of the future. An extended rank electric that was projected towards the past with A rotating engine to act as a generator And, in addition, with scamotable headlights that make you drool when you see the figure of the car. The last great manufacturer that has presented his proposal of scamoteable headlights was Honda. In the past CES of January, the company presumed two electrical prototypes that advance the formula of its future models. It was what the company called Honda 0 series. Honda Series 0 The formula was striking because it recovered the flat and acute forms of wedge -shaped eighties. According to the brand, it was “applying the thin, light and wise approach to a SUV.” It was promised that an evolution will be seen in the US market in 2026 and, later, in Japan and Europe. But another thing that caught the attention were the headlights of his front. Their light groups were hidden under a small retractable tab They closed to leave a clean hood and retracted to illuminate what you have ahead. A more logical and realistic solution than those of Mazda and Mg. Because the problem of retractable headlights are safety regulations. In fact, although they disappeared for them, they were also the main reason why they became popular. They explain in Diariomotor that in the United States was forced to take the headlights at a minimum height to the ground. The solution went to use these retractable headlights that allowed the height of the headlights to be raised without compromising a front of the front. To this was added the fashion of playing with this device, popularizing in the 80s. But after this fever, that bump when the headlights were deployed was gradually disappearing. A sum of small details ended up killing them inside the industry. First of all for something very simple: the sneakable headlights are a headache. Compared to a traditional optical group, the lighthouse must have a small electric motor, which makes the frontal and more susceptible to breakdowns more complex. The second is that, although closed the car could significantly increase its aerodynamic performance, deployed were a disaster in this regard. Of course, the solution of a lighthouse wall on the front of the vehicle does not seem the best solution. Finally, in the early 2000s, special attention began to be paid to the consequences of the outrage of a pedestrian. Obviously, two huge flat, sharp and outstanding surfaces In the body they were not going to deliver the best results, so he discouraged the manufacturer to set up a component that was already beginning to go down in history. Today, in this Revival That we live in the automotive market, up to three manufacturers have recently presented prototypes with sneaking headlights in recent months. Will we see them again? I say, hopefully. As long as he was not hit by one of them. Photo | MG and MAZDA In Xataka | This lighthouse costs as much as a Porsche 911: it is no joke, it is the lighthouse of a bugatti chiron

An island in Japan has revolutionized its vehicles. They have turned cow droppings into hydrogen fuel

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If we talk about hydrogen and mobility, we would possibly have to Add to Japan In the equation. Few companies have tried to make it a real alternative to the electric car like the Japanese Toyota, although it is true that in recent times the idea was Much more than in doubt. An island has shown that technology is still there. Of course, with the invaluable help of tons of cows excrement. The solution in Hokkaido. On the island of HokkaidoJapan, a key region for country production of the countryan innovative project seeks to convert the Hydrogen cow manurethat clean fuel with the potential of feed vehicles, homes and agricultural machinery. With More than one million cows Currently generating 20 million tons of manure per year, this source of waste represents an environmental problem due to its methane emissions and its impact on the Water quality. He Shikaoi Hydrogen Farmlaunched in 2015 by the Ministry of Environment of Japan, addresses this challenge by transforming waste into a sustainable energy resource. As? The manure and urine of cows are Farm collected local and sent to an anaerobic digester, where bacteria break down organic matter to produce biogas and liquid fertilizer. Then, biogas is purified in methane, which later becomes, hydrogen. Sustainable mobility. The plant has a production capacity of 70 cubic meters of hydrogenenough to supply up to 28 vehicles with hydrogen cells per day. In addition to cars, the fuel is currently used In tractors and forklift of the island, whose electrification with batteries is more complex. It is also stored in Canisters that are transported to provide energy to a sturgence fish and Obihiro Zoo. Challenges Several, of course. The main one is logistics, since it must be stored in high pressure tanks, which does so susceptible to leaks and degradation of materials, in addition to requiring specialized infrastructure for transport and distribution. Your acryogenic lmacement at -253 ° C is energetically expensive, which hinders its scalability. In spite of this, the project continues to advance, mainly with subsidies that equate the price of hydrogen with that of gasoline, to promote its adoption in cities such as Sapporo and Muroran. In fact and as we said at the beginning, Japan leads the hydrogen industryalthough the electric cars still They are more profitable than those driven by this gas. Hydrogen from waste. The truth is that the concept of producing hydrogen from waste is not limited to Japan. Other initiatives in the world explore alternative sources such as Pork manurepoultry and even Coconut peels. For example, in Thailand Toyota investigates hydrogen production From chicken excrement. In the United States the University of Illinois developed A METHOD TO MANUFACTURE HYDROGEN With manure, sugarcane residues and corn cobs, significantly reducing the energy consumption of the process. And in Fukuoka, Japan, a wastewater treatment plant produces hydrogen From human wastesupplying a fleet of garbage trucks without emission. All initiatives show that bioenergy from waste can play a key role in the global energy transition. However, the lack of infrastructure and high costs remain barriers for large -scale expansion. Uncertain future. He Project in Shikaoi It is an innovative example of circular economy, where waste becomes energy, reducing emissions and promoting sustainability. However, the viability of hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuels will depend on technological advances that reduce their cost of production, storage and distribution. Although manure and cow droppings will hardly be the main source of hydrogen in the future, especially worldwide, initiatives such as these can lay the foundations for a new energy industry based on waste recycling, with potential applications in transport, agriculture and clean energy generation globally. Image | Japanexpeter, Nara In Xataka | Remote solar self -consumption: When you can’t install panels on your roof, you ask for remote In Xataka | Solar tiles: What are they, what is their price and what they offer in front of conventional solar panels

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