Germany

The big problem of marine wind is cables. Germany has a plan to avoid them

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In the middle of the North Sea, an anchored barge off the German coast does not transport merchandise produces fuel. It is not science fiction: it is the first floating floor that converts wind, seawater and air into energy for the future. Short. In the port of Bremerhaven, Germany floats a rare platform. At first glance it looks like another industrial barge, but in reality it is a floating laboratory that prepares for something unpublished: to manufacture synthetic fuels directly in the sea. More in depth. The project His name is PTX-Wind and is part of the national H2Mare initiative, focused on the production of clean energy on the high seas. It is promoted by the Institute of Technology of Karlsruhe (Kit), together with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Technical University of Berlin. The installation has not yet left the port, but it is already ready for its next phase: operating in real conditions against Helgoland. The purpose of the kit with this test is clear: show that e-combustible in the high seas can be generated, without electricity or land infrastructure. No cables, network or land firm. One of the most striking things of this platform is that it is not connected to any electricity grid. It works totally autonomously, using only wind energy, seawater and the surrounding air. What you get from there transforms it into liquid fuels ready to use, without net emissions of CO₂. According to Professor Roland Dittmeyer, director of the Institute of Microprocess Engineering of the Kit and project coordinator, this installation not only seeks to demonstrate the technical viability of the system, but also learn to climb it for future large industrial platforms. The heart of the barge. Inside, this platform integrates several advanced technologies that, together, form a Power -to-X (PTX) chain (PTX). In other words, they convert renewable electricity into fuels or other chemicals. The giant laboratory has a first phase of Direct air capture (DAC)which extracts carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. After that, desalination to transform seawater into water suitable for electrolysis. That water is divided into hydrogen and oxygen using electrolysis fed by wind energy. Finally, a synthesis is used Fischer-Tropsch to combine hydrogen with CO₂ and generate liquid hydrocarbons, also known as e-combustible. The entire system has been designed to operate in a modular, flexible and disconnected way of the electricity grid, adapting to the natural intermittency of the wind. This allows maintaining active production even in variable conditions, a key aspect for its replication at an industrial scale. First in your class? While there are other hydrogen production projects on land or offshore wind platforms, none until now had gathered all these pieces in a single floating and autonomous structure. According to Interesting Engineeringthis is the first plant that converts marine renewable energy into liquid fuel without depending on the mainland or electrical networks. The point is that not everything can plug. Today, many sectors already advance towards electrification: cars, heating, even some trains. But there are industries – as aviation, maritime transport or heavy chemistry – that still depend on liquid fuels with high energy density. The e-fuels, like those produced by this platform, They are a neutral alternative in carbon that could replace diesel or kerosene without the need to completely redesign airplanes or ships. And the best: they do not compete for agricultural lands nor consume fresh water. When operating directly in the sea, they take advantage of the wind potential and avoid costly terrestrial infrastructure. According to the Federal Ministry of Investigation of Germany (BMBF)also helps relieve pressure on local electrical networks. Not only diesel. Although for now the main objective is liquid fuels, the team behind PTX-Wind is also investigating other possible production routes, such as Synthetic methane (compatible with current gas networks), The green methanol (useful for maritime transport or chemical industry) and renewable ammonia (It works as a hydrogen bearer or as fertilizer without emissions). The sea as a new energy border. More than a prototype, the PTX-Wind platform represents a scalable and adaptable model for the production of fuels in the high seas. Its modular design would allow to replicate this technology in different coastal areas of the world, creating a distributed network of floating refineries of clean energy. At a time when climatic solutions are urgent and promises often stay on paper, this floating barge is a tangible example that innovation is already out there, literally floating in the sea. Image | Unspash and Kit Xataka | There is a place where Spain is losing a good part of the renewable electricity that generates: the Toledo-Ciudad Real-Granada axis

Germany believes having found the most German solution to its productivity problems: work more

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Germany has been considered for decades as The economic locomotive from Europe. However, currently It crosses a crisis that has surprised analysts and experts. The model that allowed the country to prosper with reduced working hours and shoot its productivity, seems to have reached its limit. German leaders They look for new formulas To recover lost growth and have found a possible solution: work more. Germany works little. In recent months, the economic debate has intensified without the German responsible having found the key to getting out of the economic stagnation. However, from the business circles of Bavaria, southeast of Germany, they point out that it could be something as simple as increasing annual work hours. The formula: eliminating one of the religious holidays of the German calendar. According to published the newspaper Welt, Federal Foreign Minister Friedrich Merz would agree with this statement: “In this country we have to work more and, above all, more efficiently,” said the president in a few words that Later he clarified “But in Germany we have groups, especially among the youngest generation, which work a lot.” They have tried everything. The pilot tests of the four -day work week They have not achieved the Productivity impulse that the country needs. Foreign Minister Merz recently warned: “With the four -day week and the balance between professional and personal life we ​​will not be able to maintain the prosperity of this country,” declared The German Chancellor to I monde. This statement has generated discomfort in a society that has always been considered hardworking and disciplined. For decades, German workers have enjoyed shorter working hours compared to other European countries, especially those in the south. This situation was justified by high productivity and added value of German products and services, which allowed “doing a lot.” However, the economy fails to take off and the government now points to “lack of work” and “preference for leisure” as factors that are ballasting economic growth. Eliminate holidays. Before this panorama, some voices of the business have proposed concrete measures to increase the working time Without increasing working days daily, which in many cases are already more than 40 hours due to the enormous load of overtime. According to published BildBertram Brossardt, general director of the Bavarian Business Association, suggested to eliminate, at least one of the holidays that the Germans have. “Easter Monday, Monday of Pentecost and San Esteban. My colleagues in France and Italy are constantly surprised that we have those free days. Removing one of those free days would greatly benefit the German economy and would not mean a heavy burden for employees,” said Brossardt, adding that “religious festivities should not be taboo in the debate.” The data support it. The proposal is not just symbolic. Christoph Schröder Researcher at the German Economic Institute (IW) He maintains that Eliminating a holiday could increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Germany by up to 8,600 million euros. According to published The avant -gardeMichael Hüther, director of the IW, gave as an example the case of Denmark, which had recently eliminated a holiday “that was an additional income of 400 million to the state budget,” said the economist. The problem is that all federal states in the country, regardless of setting their own holidays, should agree to abolish it. Germany to the tail at hours worked. Brossardt’s arguments rely on blunt data. In 2023, a German employee worked an annual average of 1,343 hours, which is 92 hours less than in Austria, 186 hours less than in Switzerland and 391 hours less than in Italy, According to OECDE data. “We are not productive enough. If we want to be competitive, we have to return to work more!” said The businessman to the newspaper Bild. Despite these figures, Germany is not the country with more holidays. On average, the Germans enjoy 9 national holidays, although in some southern regions such as Bayern, Basen-Württemberg or Saarland can reach 12 holidays. In comparison, Austria and Malta enjoy thirteen holidays. In Spain, the usual are twelve, with some autonomous communities such as Catalonia, Community Valencian and Navarra add 13 holidays; Ceuta has 14 holidays a year, while the Canary Islands conform to 11 days. Average weekly hours worked in each country The problem is not the days. Such and as he published The confidentialsome experts do not believe that eliminating a holiday is the solution for the German economy, but that the country must face a change in its labor market to recover the productivity of yesteryear. Germany is the second European country where less hours work a week in full -time jobs, and the figure drops even more if the Part -time contracts. According to official dataone in two women works part -time in Germany. Therefore, some economists propose Encourage the incorporation of women to the full -time labor market and facilitate the arrival of more foreign workers to relieve the shortage of qualified labor. The key, according to these experts, is a deep review of the German labor market to adapt to the new challenges economic and demographic that supposes the Agence of the active population. In Xataka | Some researchers have analyzed the working day in Spain: the same thing that 40 years ago is worked, but in worse jobs Image | Unspash (Mashkumar Painam, Spencer Davis)

One day, all Germans in Germany appeared closed on Google Maps. The problem is that nobody knows why

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He common sense It is the best guide to avoid mistakes. The problem is that it is easy for us to leave it aside while We blindly trust technology As if it were infallible. And if not, they tell the German German drivers because, just before a national bridge, they saw in Google Maps What half country had become a forbidden area. Short. On Thursday, May 29, the Ascension Dayeither Christi Himmelfahrt. It is a national holiday whose previous day is one of those who more displacements record. HE esteem That, at that time, there are between six and eight million displacements, but although many concentrate the day before the holiday, there are also millions of displacements the day in question. The surprise came when drivers who use Google Maps in your vehicle They ran into With this image in which you can see a “prohibited” symbol on the main roads that join the four cardinal points of the country and cities as important as Berlin, Hamburg or Frankfurt. Inutschland in GanzChaos Bei Google Maps: Dienst Zeigt Unzählige False Sperrungenhttps://t.co/qefirrihx3 – Peter Berger (@leosgeminix) May 29, 2025 Alternative road collapse. It may have happened to you that seeing a sign of “prohibited the step” and your common sense dictates that you should pay attention to that signal, but the GPS Indicates that you can go through that street and, for a moment, you lean to browse. We trust them because they do not usually fail, but given that vision of the main cut roads, and how we read in The Guardianthere were those who did not play it and decided to go on secondary roads. The result was expected: collapse in some of them, delays, travelers trying to find deviations to those main routes and many calls to the police and the traffic control authorities asking about the situation. Also speculation about a cyber attack (as with the blackout in Spain) or a terrorist attack. Citizen collaboration. There was also the case of people who did not attend to those stop signals and dared to circulate on those roads, supposedly, cut. When they could do it without problem, they began to report their cases and that was when Google began to act. The company began to eliminate those notices in the application and traffic was restored as the rest of the people undertook their trips and consulted a route on Google Maps that no longer had the warning symbols. Engadget He assures that the error only lasted two hours, but it is more than enough time for that avalanche of drivers on secondary roads. Ok, but … what caused it? Google’s response was extremely vague. As we read in Arstechnicathe company did not comment specific details and, in fact, a Google spokesman confirmed to German media that the company would not give details about the case. They limited themselves to saying that a technical problem had been investigated that showed temporary road closures inaccurately, but that it had already been solved. They also commented that Google Maps baby from three sources: user reportspublic sources and external suppliers. And there may be the “guilty” (among many quotes). The German Automobile Club is one of the largest automobile associations in Europe and, in the face of the holiday, He warned on possible retentions on those roads. The speculation is that the Maps failure was related to a “hallucination” of the application due to jamsstill, non -existent. Not all GPS. Now, those who had to drive with total tranquility that day were the users of Apple Maps and Waze. Although the latter is owned by Google, both showed the traffic data correctly, without any closing signal on those roads. Being so marked for the exits in Germany, the drivers who were guided with those apps had to drive quieter than ever. In the end, it was at anecdote and in travelers who arrived something later to their destination, but can also teach a lesson: having several alternativestaking an eye on each of them before leaving is not a bad idea. Image | Xataka assembly In Xataka | Register or pay the fine: Spain already has a toll road where you cannot pay in the window

Without the rare earths of China, lasers will end in Europe. Germany has found a way to do without them

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The applications of Rare earths They are potentially unlimited. To this peculiar group of chemical elements belong some metals as elusive and with names as suggestive as neodymium, promised, gadolinium, ititrium or scandio, among others. Some of them They are relatively scarceand, in addition, they are not usually found purely in nature, but what makes them so special are their physicochemical properties. Its characteristics are beyond the reach of the other elements of the periodic table, which has caused that during the last decades they are consolidated as A very valuable resource In numerous industries, especially in electronics and renewable energies. They are involved, for example, in the manufacture of hybrid and electric cars engines, batteries, semiconductors, catalysts, optical fiber, LCD panels, and even in wind turbines. Europe wants to stop being in the hands of China once and for all China dominates the rare earth industry with an indisputable forcefulness. According to him US Geological Service For many years it has produced more than 90% of this valuable resource. In 2022 its market share was reduced to 70%, but did not do so because of a decrease in production; This fall had its origin in the increase in rare earth production quota experienced Australia, Vietnam and Myanmar, among other countries. In addition, the country led by Xi Jinping also dominates the processing industry to which it is necessary to submit rare earth so that they can be used. So much so that according to Xincaifu Its quota if we expressly stick to the global processing industry ascends 90%. And with a 70% production of the global market and a 90% control of the Chinese rare earth processing industry has this absolutely controlled market. The Chinese government is using its control of rare earths to defend their strategic interests in full confrontation with the US The government of this Asian country is using its control of these chemical elements to defend their strategic interests In full confrontation with the US, Europe and its allies. In this context, the old continent needs to bet on its independence and the consolidation of its own supply chain. And it is in it. In fact, Germany has just made a very important contribution in a scenario of fundamental use of rare earths: the manufacture of lasers. These devices are used to produce medical equipment, in scientific research, in the manufacture of consumer electronics, and even in the tuning of Quantum computersamong many other industries. Rare earths are used to dopar the crystals That, very broadly, they are responsible for amplifying the light before emitting it with a fixed wavelength. The problem is that if these chemical elements are not available the production of high quality lasers is not viable. Well, it really wasn’t until now. And it is that the Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, which is located in Karlsruhe (Germany), has found a way to manufacture the crystals involved in the production of lasers without using rare earths. In fact, we can see some of these crystals in the cover photography of this article. During its manufacturing process it is essential to minimize impurities and preserve the polarization properties of the crystals, but, apparently, the researchers of the Fraunhofer Institute have given in the Diana. Your plan now goes through developing production processes that guarantee the supply of these crystals that Europe requires. Image | FRANHOFER INSTITUTE OF OPTRONICS More information | Interesting Engineering In Xataka | We already know what is the best natural factory of the precious rare earths: a cosmic kilonova

The data suggests that Germany works less hours than Spain. The reality of your labor market tells another story

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The reduction of working hours and how to face it is an issue on the debate table in a good part of the world. In Spain, the reduction of working hours is in Parliamentary Processing Phase and it is expected that at the end of the year a working day of 37.5 hours per week will be carried out. Countries like Germany, United Kingdom or Portugal have performed pilot tests of the four -day work week to evaluate The effect of that reduction. However, why is the reduction of working on if, according to 2023 data of Eurostat, in Spain the Real workday Average is already 36.4 hours a week, while in Germany is 34 hours a week? The key after that figure is in the quality of the employment of each country and reveals that, even if it may seem, a worker in Germany does not work less hours than in Spain. The middle days. In response to Eurostat data, indeed, the days in Germany seem to be shorter than in Spain, with 36.4 hours a week in front of the 34 hours of Germany. However, if we segment that data by type of day, the expected thing would be for working hours to maintain the same proportion. Nothing is further from reality. By differentiating the Eurostat data Between full time and part -time day we find that the average number of usual weekly hours in the main employment in full -time is 40.2 hours a week in both Spain and Germany. Something similar happens when differentiating the part -time Where Spain leaves an average of 20.3 hours a week, while on average part -time workers in Germany do 21.8 hours. So, if the days of Spain and Germany are not so different, why is there such a remarkable difference in the average? The key is in the quality of the labor market. Precariousness. According to him Press report Prepared by an expert council appointed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy in 2022, 42% of workers in Spain suffer some kind of precariousness (Submployment, temporary contracts, low wages, etc.). Despite that, after the 2022 labor reform, it changed The contract model expanding the use of the contract full -time indefinite. According to the 2023 INE data13.3% of the workforce in Spain worked part -time. That is, the data indicate That in that year, 15,454,000 employees worked full -time, while 2,580,900 did it part -time in Spain. Instead, the German labor market is much more fragmented in that aspect. In 2023, 31% of this country’s workers worked part -time, According to data of the Federal Statistics Office. This difference in full -time employment and part -time contracts makes a big difference in the calculation of the final average of weekly hours worked, since both variables are taken into account. Active retirement. To this is added the enormous success in Germany of the model of “Minijobs“, in which workers complement studies or retirement with part -time jobs for a few hours a week. official dataaround 13% of retirees between 65 and 74 years in Germany, they continue working, either out of economic necessity or by personal choice. On the other hand, in Spain that percentage drops to 4.08% of the retirees who choose to continue working with some or none modification in your workday. Average working life in Europe. Source: Eurostat That makes, according to Eurostat dataGermany’s working life is 39.6 years, while in Spain it is 36.3 years on average. That is, a good part of German workers work less hours a week in part -time jobs, but they do it for more years than Spanish workers. In Xataka | Some researchers have analyzed the working day in Spain: the same thing that 40 years ago is worked, but in worse jobs Image | Eurostat

TSMC will open a chip design center in Germany. It will not be enough to avoid the failure of Europe

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Just a few hours ago Paul de Bot, the president of the European subsidiary of TSMC, has announced that your company will build a semiconductor design center in Munich (Germany). This installation will be ready in a record time: During the third quarter of 2025. In fact, this Taiwanese integrated circuit manufacturer, The Major on the Planettrust that this installation starts its operations in just three months. The construction and tuning of a avant -garde chips factory requires investing at least four years in these processes before starting large -scale production, but the installation that TSMC will be tuned is not a factory: it is a design center. This is the reason why it is credible that may be ready in just three months. In fact, as its purpose is not to manufacture semiconductors does not need Nor lithography equipment No wafering processing machines. Paul de Bot has confirmed That this center will be dedicated to helping European customers from TSMC to design integrated high density, high performance and high efficiency circuits. These chips can be used by automobile industries, telecommunications or artificial intelligence (AI), among others. However, this project runs in parallel to the semiconductor production plant that TSMC is already building in Dresde (Germany). This factory is underway, but presumably will not start the operation until the end of 2027. This integrated circuit design center does nothing for Europe The arrival in Germany of this TSMC installation is good news, there is no doubt about that. However, his contribution to the aspirations of the old continent in the matter of chips production is irrelevant. On February 8, 2022 Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, announced that Europe wants to be a fundamental actor in The semiconductor industryand the first step to achieve this requires manufacturing 20% ​​of the planet chips in 2030. The new TSMC Chips Design Center will not produce semiconductors, so it will not quantitatively contribute to European aspirations It is evident that in the delicate current geopolitical situation Europe needs to be ambitious if it wants to increase its relevance in the semiconductor industry. Have ASML and Intel, Globalfoundries and TSMC facilities within its borders plays in its favor. However, The speech of European leaders It seems to be focused on quantity, and is not enough. The quality understood as the capacity of a chip to deliver added value is also fundamental. The new integrated circuit design center of TSMC presumably will deliver value to European companies, but, as we have seen, it will not produce semiconductors, so it will not quantitatively contribute to the aspirations of the old continent. It is better to have it than not to have it, there is no doubt about that, but its role in the objective of which we have spoken two paragraphs above will be inconsequential. In fact, it is very unlikely that Europe achieves its purpose. We do not say it, although we share it; The European Court of Accounts holds itwhich is nothing other than “the financial guardian” of the European Union. In The report that published At the end of last April he defends that the objective of achieving a fee of 20% in the world market for integrated circuits in 2030 It seems unattainable Because Europe is very far from the rhythm of production necessary to fill its ambitions. To achieve this production capacity, it would have to be four times higher in less than five years and is far from achieving those figures at the current development speed. Image | TSMC More information | Digitimes Asia | SCMP In Xataka | We already know what the chips that will arrive until 2039 will be. The machine that will manufacture them is close

Germany is installing giant concrete spheres under the sea. You have a good reason: store renewable energy

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While France and Germany reinforce their energy alliances with a renewed bet For nuclear energy, within the German country they are developing a completely different system. The focus is on marine depths, with the aim of redefining the way in which renewable energy is stored. Under the sea. A group of researchers the Fraunhofer Institute of Germany They have created the Stensea project (Stored Energy AT Sea acronym). Since 2011, the equipment has worked in a solution to reduce land use, reaching the conclusion of sinking huge concrete spheres into the seabed to store energy. The operation. These spheres sink at 600 and 800 meters deep, where water pressure is so high that it can rotate turbines with great efficiency. Each one measures about 9 meters in diameter and weighs about 400 tons. The idea is that they work as giant batteries: by letting the sea water in, it moves a turbine connected to a generator. To recharge it, water pumps out, using network energy to overcome environmental pressure. A design of what a Stesea plant would be A real test. The system has already been successful at Lake Constanza, and now the next step is marked in the calendar by 2026. It is expected to install a prototype real and 3D printed on the coast of Long Beach, in California. This model can generate about 0.5 megawatts and store up to 0.4 megawatts-Hora, which would be enough to cover the consumption of a middle home in the United States for about two weeks. The future idea is ambitious: building much larger spheres, up to 30 meters in diameter, capable of storing much larger amounts of energy. The objective is to climb the system with spheres up to 30 meters in diameter, which would allow a much larger storage capacity. According to They have detailed Newatlas researchers, the estimated storage cost around the 5 cents per kilowatt-hora, a very competitive figure compared to other current solutions. Renewables in Germany. Although it seems contradictory for its climate, the country has been strongly betting on solar energy, especially In self -consumption facilities. However, it faces an important challenge: intermittent production, or Dunkelflaute. For this reason, projects such as Stesea can act as a shock absorber of the electrical system, because it stores excess renewable energy and releases it when it is most needed. So hydroelectric plants? Unlike traditional pumping storage –which requires mountains and large fresh water reserves-, this system does not need limited elevations or water resources. Its modular design allows it to install it on coasts around the world. In addition, this system has raised An economic advantage since it allows energy arbitration, buying electricity when it is cheap and selling it in moments of high demand. Forecasts The researchers They believe that this technology He has barely shown the tip of the iceberg. They estimate that, if it was deployed on a large scale, it could reach a global storage capacity of about 817,000 gigawatts-Hora. Translated to something more tangible, it would be enough to supply about 75 million homes in Europe for a whole year. However, although the project is presented as a solution to avoid intensive soil use, it does not stop moving that occupation to the seabed. Until now, the approach has been mainly technical, but it would be expected that in future phases rigorous environmental evaluations will be included that analyze its impact on oceanic ecosystems. Image | Stesea Xataka | Europe’s turn to nuclear: Germany and France have signed a pact to reconfigure the continent

Germany and France have signed a pact to reconfigure the continent

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The debate on nuclear energy It seems more alive than everbut it is not something new. He has been on the table for a couple of years and began to intensify with the closure of nuclear plants. Two years ago, Germany hill its last three nuclear centrals within politics, Energy. This measure was taken by the to an accident similar to Fukushima And it was reinforced by The Ukraine Wara cocktail that generated an intense national debate. Now with the arrival of the new Friedrich Merz Chancellor, the situation has taken another course. The firm. At a time where the European Union It is focusing All its efforts towards the energy transition, two countries have sealed an alliance that will change the paradigm of the contain. Germany has stopped blocking France’s efforts so that nuclear energy receives the same treatment as renewables in EU legislation, according to He has reported Financial Times. This decision marks a radical change regarding German position, which until now opposed to consider nuclear energy as a green source. THE PACT. The agreement has established three key points for nuclear energy. First, the Pink hydrogenproduced from nuclear energy, is classified as “green”, granting the same status as renewable hydrogen. Second, pejorative references against nuclear in EU legal texts will be eliminated, facilitating its inclusion in future energy regulations. Finally, this covenant could be key for nuclear energy to receive EU financing. A reactivation. The German Foreign Minister Friedrich Merz is using this agreement to reactivate Franco-German cooperation and advance in European energy policy. All this, motivated under the need of the German country to maintain competitive electricity prices and ensure stable energy supply. As They have detailed In the London environment, the agreement would open a door to future conversations about the possible integration of Germany into the French nuclear shield, a deterrent to the Russian threat. And the renewable boom? If something characterizes Germany It is his commitment to self -consumptionsurpassing Spain. In fact, last year more than 60% of electricity consumption came from clean sources, but the dependency by Gas remains highespecially during periods of Dunkelflautewhere renewable intermission can threaten the stability of the electrical system. So are they going to reopen centrals? No, there will be no reopening of conventional nuclear power plants. However, new nuclear technologies are being explored that could position Germany as a European reference. According to Financial Timesone of the technologies will be the small modular reactors (SMR), which have advantages in terms of safety, flexibility and smaller scale. In addition, the development of nuclear fusion is being promoted, with the announcement of firm support to the plant of Proxima Fusiona project that seeks to move towards a safer nuclear energy and No long -term radioactive waste. But wasn’t there a controversy? In 2022, the EU implemented green taxonomy to classify sustainable investments. However, since its approval, this regulation already includes nuclear energy and natural gas as transition energy sources, a movement that generated great controversy at the time. In this way, this new pact can bring a tail, because Austria remains the only member state that strongly opposes nuclear energy, while Belgium and the Netherlands are reconsidering their nuclear policies, as They have pointed out In Financial Times. Forecasts At the moment this pact has two approaches. In the short term, the agreement wants to stabilize energy prices and guarantee shared nuclear infrastructure. In the long term, Germany aspires to position itself as a leader in advanced nuclear technologies, especially in nuclear fusion and SMR, in addition to consolidating itself as a European reference of green hydrogen. This new turn that is taking Germany will transform the European energy balance and is another ingredient for the debate of the nuclear, which remains latent in the continent. However, in this context, one might ask if this position will not even intensify the divisions between the Member States, fueling tensions around common energy policy and complicating the transition to a more sustainable model. Image | Lnbiggs Xataka | A power in nuclear energy is emerging as the best alternative to Russia and China for the West: South Korea

There was a time when we thought the birds migrated to the moon. Until an arrow released in Africa fell in Germany

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Spring is a time that I always liked. Not for the Horrible processionarybut for the return of the swallows And, above all, of the storks. After a long winter, They return home to nest. Imagine the surprise if, one day, one of those stork appears in your locality with the neck crossed by an 8 -centimeter arrow. Stop imagining because that happened in 1822 in a German city. And far from being an anecdote, it became a key event to unravel the mystery of why birds They disappeared in winter. The doubt. Now it is no mystery and it is something that we learn at school since childhood, but not so many centuries, people did not know why, good at first, the birds were in autumn and reappeared in spring. Those Migratory processes in which even the smallest of the birds rEcorren thousands of kilometers without stopping They were not understood, which forced the thinkers of the time to launch hypotheses and theories that, in the absence of evidence, since they were accepted without further ado. One of the answers was evident. And it could be none than … Alien birds. That is what thought Charles Morton, a Harvard academic who, in the seventeenth century, suggested that the reason why some birds disappeared in winter was because they migrated … to the moon. Most likely you have raised your eyebrow thinking something like “impossible, they could not be so illusory”, but you have to put into the skin of someone who had no way to check the phenomenon and it was still an answer to a real mystery. Because what they knew was that they disappeared for months, but not the place they were going to. And as they saw the moon from Massachusetts, but not Colombia, because the answer was clear. But don’t believe it was the only crazy theory of the time. Aristotle, already in the IV AC theorized about the possibility of being transformed into other species or even shuffled over his hibernation underwater. Morton rejected this idea because it was too fantasy (not like his, of course). The arrow. Morton even calculated that the trip to the moon had a month away and another back, sleeping much of the time and surviving thanks to his body fat. The truth is that, in the absence of better theories, it was not bad (despite my jocular tone, we talked about the seventeenth century and the media they had). However, little by little the idea that these European birds were going to other places during the winter. And the definitive test was brought by a stork. A good day of 1882, north of Germany, someone shot a stork, who fell down and with a capital surprise for those present: he had an 8 -centimeter arrow through his neck. The question was no longer how I could fly with such a breakdown, but where the arrow had come from. Brava PFEILSTORCH. Thus, they took the body of the stork to the University of Rostock, where the researchers examined the projectile and concluded that it was an arrow belonging to some group in the center of Africa. As it was impossible, or tremendously unlikely, that someone launched something like that on European soil, the response became evident: that stork had traveled more than 3,000 kilometers from the point in Africa in which winter had passed and where it was killed in Germany. Baptized as PFEILSTORCHIt was dissected and preserved in perfect condition in the Zoological Collection of the University of Rostock thanks to its undeniable importance in the world of science and ornithology: it was confirmation to the suspicions that, indeed, migratory birds or became anything else, nor slept four months underwater or went to the moon: they traveled to the warmest places during the European winter. Clue. After Pfeilstorch (which means “Flechy stork” or “storks crossed by an arrow”), they found more specimens In Europe with the same characteristics: arrows stuck somewhere in your body. This is not so uncommon in large birds, which show great resilience to wounds that do not compromise flight or its basic functions. Once they are injured, if not seriously, the wound stabilizes and the bird can continue with its life. With the inclusion Of the rings on the legs of the birds by the Danish HC Mortensen in 1899, the researchers systematized the study of specimens to verify that those who flew from Europe before winter, disappeared and then returned, were the same. Thus, we can say that this arrow launched in Africa that landed in Germany was the first bird monitoring system, a coincidence that allowed obtaining the first conclusive data on the migratory practices of the birds. Images | Thula Na In Xataka | Modern cities have become authentic “headlights.” For thousands of birds it is a problem

The aid seemed the only way to sell electric cars. Germany is demonstrating that we were wrong

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Electric car sales do not take off without state aid. And it has logic if we take into account that we are talking about a technology that forces the driver to Make some adaptation And, according to what cars we buy, force him to plan your trips. The electric car has many advantages. In Spain, with current prices and rates, an electric car can be much cheaper That one of combustion shortly time. In fact, The more trips and kilometers dothe car comes out. To this we must add the advantages Undoubted for day to day such as the absence of vibrations, of noise, the comfort of having the entire torque to a throttle pedal … but they are advantages that the client has to discover and that it is normal that it does not encourage it when the disbursement will be of tens of thousands of euros. To foster change, states have focused on giving purchase aid. It is a good way to lower the price and leave it at a cost closer to combustion models, especially when electric were sensibly more expensive than gasoline or diesel. They are decisions for which the reference countries have opted in the electric car market. He did it Norway, he did (and he does) China And Germany did it. And the German case showed us that without purchase aid, Electric car sales are deflated… or deflated. Because they have grows again. What if we have been looking at the wrong place? Direct aid to purchase At the end of 2023 justice forced Germany to withdraw aids to the purchase of electric cars. The reason is that funds had been diverted to combat the crisis derived from the coronavirus to the promotion of the electric car. Without destiny for that money, the government had preferred to reinvest it in the game of electric mobility. For justice, this was illegal and therefore I ordered the aid to immediately withdraw. Overnight, aid fell to the purchase that extended to all cars up to 65,000 euros. Last year, in 2024, a reduction in subsidies was already expected but buyers could expect a mattress of 4,500 euros in cars of up to 40,000 euros and 3,000 euros in which a price of between 40,000 and 65,000 euros appears. The help was complemented by manufacturers with 2,250 euros and 1,500 euros, respectively. That is, savings in the first case could be up to 6,750 euros and in the second of up to 4,500 euros. Figures similar to those we see in Spain with the MOVES III PLANrecently reimputed until the end of the year or exhaust the funds available. Last year, the fall in electric car sales was considerable. In its first year of direct aid to the purchase, Germany enrolled 27.4% less electric cars. A blow to European accounts with the main electric car market by volume falling from 524,219 tuition from 2023 to 380,609 units enrolled in 2024. By market share, the German electric car fell from 18.4% to 13.5%. However, everything has changed in these first months of 2025. They collect in Motorpasion than the 17% of cars Enrolled in Germany are electric. Compared to the month of March of last year, 35.5% have been grown and the trend indicates that it will continue to grow. It is very good news because they lack direct aid to the purchase of cars of this type. What the State is doing is to encourage the purchase of this type of fleet cars. Companies can deduce up to 40% of the value of the car in the purchase of new cars. A decision that has triggered sales since company vehicles reflect 67% of new car registration in Germany. The strategy is not new in Europe and focuses on the importance of aid beyond lowering the price of cars. In Norway, they stood out that if they have made the electric car Your best selling technology It has been because for years they have given themselves constant subsidies related to the property of the electric car. Not paying some taxes or road toll have been definitive attractive for implementation. Yes indeed, 1.8 billion euros have been raised. Belgium has been the other great country where the electric car has exploded in sales in recent months. In Belgium they already exceed 30% quota electric car market. Last year, to February 2024, they exceeded 20% market share and in 2022 they barely exceeded 8%. The secret is in the aids that, again, are given to companies. Depending on income, a company can be deduced up to 100% of the electric car fee. The percentage will fall over the years but prevent maintaining this economic incentive until 2031. In Bloomberg They explain that in a country where the company car is usually used as an incentive when changing work, promoting the purchase of this type of cars is key to popularize them and reach sectors that did not expect to make the leap for a few years (or did not expect it at all, as one of those interviewed in the article recognizes). The strategy contrasts with the one we have been carrying so far in Spain. Our country has also joined the delivery of purchase aids but, in addition to not being direct at the time of signing the contract, Each extension It has been a birth. The suspension for two months In the last extension of the Moves III Plan it has been the best example. Photo | Volkswagen In Xataka | The electric car is sweeping so much in China that the natural step is already raised: stop calling it “electric”

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