Germany

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”

700 tons of nuclear waste have arrived in Germany from England. Germans are not quite happy

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A very particular shipment has landed on the German coasts. The special ship for the transport of nuclear waste Pacific Grebe docked in the port of Nordenham, northwest of Germany, transporting highly radioactive waste from the United Kingdom. Upon arrival, It was received by antinuclear activists and a strong police device. The controversial delivery. In total, seven castor nuclear containers, each four meters long and with a weight of more than 100 tons. More than 700 tons of nuclear waste in total only with this shipment. It’s about high -level waste (HLW) subject to a vitrification process. That is, mixed with liquid silicates and sponsored in stainless steel cylinders that are sealically sealed once the glass solidifies. These cylinders are then introduced into Castor containers, made of cast iron and stainless steel, a robust armor against radiation. They are German waste. The remains of the reprocessing of nuclear fuel used in former German centrals, which until 2005 was sent to facilities such as Sellafield’s in the United Kingdom and Hague, in France. Although Germany closed its last nuclear centrals in 2023, it has the contractual obligation to recover waste. This is the second of the three shipments planned from Sellafield to complete the repatriation of German nuclear waste. The first arrived in 2020 and was stored in Bibliis. Shipments from France concluded in November 2024. Once in Nordenham, Castor containers are moving with cranes to a special train. Before embarking on the ground, technicians make measurements to ensure that radiation levels comply with legal limits. The train takes the remains to a Intermediate storage In Narderaichbach (Bavaria), next to the old nuclear power plant in ISAR. The exact route remains a secret for security reasons. Why protests? The arrival of new waste has revived the debate and nuclear opposition in Germany. Groups like Ausgestrahlt (“Irradiada”) and Castor-Stoppen (“Stop the Castor”) have organized the protests. They argue that every movement of these materials “entails a huge risk” and criticize that the waste moves to Temporary storesinstead of waiting to have a deep geological cemetery definitive. Move them now, They say“only postpone the problem and do not solve it”, and ask that the waste only transports once towards their final destination. More protests are expected along the route that will presumably follow the train, including cities such as Bremen and Göttingen. There is a strong police deployment around these transports. The temporary stores. Germany faces the challenge of managing about 27,000 cubic meters of accumulated radioactive waste for 60 years of nuclear energy. For now, these materials are stored in 16 temporary stores distributed throughout the country. The search for deep geological storage to bury them definitively is underway, but it is a long and complex process, As Finland has demonstratedwhose example now follows countries that are closing their nuclear plants; Germany and Spain at the head. In short. Germany is fulfilling its international obligations by bringing its own nuclear waste back. It is what promised the United Kingdom and France. But each shipment reopens the wound of an unresolved problem: the lack of a permanent and safe home for the most delicate legacy of its nuclear era, which generates restlessness and protests between part of its population. Image | Download a Castor container in 2001-Dennis140 (CC-BY-SA) In Xataka | Switzerland will come true the invention of Nobel Carlo Rubbia: a nuclear power plant that reduces 80% of radioactive waste In Xataka | France has presented a striking plan for its nuclear waste: converting them into forks and pans

In Germany, more than 3,000 employees have responded

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The only gigafactoría that Tesla has in Europe is going through a deep labor conflict that has unions and directive of the unions and directive of the Tesla Factory in Berlin. The company doubts the Veracity of the casualties due to employee disease and the wick of a conflict has been ignited in which payrolls are being blocked and demanding from salaries already subscribed. 3,000 employees asking for labor improvements. Reuters He informed that 3,086 workers of the Tesla plant in Grünheide had signed A claim of the IG Metall union in which better working conditions were required. The signatories suppose more than a quarter of the entire workforce of the German plant, asking More restbetter staffing and the end of harassment that employees are suffering from the management of the factory. The union indicates in its statement the urgency of applying these claims: “The vote of the workers is clear and unequivocal: the address must introduce without delay the brief pauses paid, such as the norm in various ways in all other automotive plants. Often, there is not even time in the assembly line to take something or go to the bathroom,” IG Mall said next to their claims. Tesla denies the discomfort of the template. According to Financial Timesa union survey among Tesla employees in Germany assured that more than 91% of employees had suffered some kind of physical injury or problems As a direct result of his work, the most frequent back pain being. In contrast, Reuters said that Tesla had conducted her own survey between 7,500 of the 11,000 factory employees in which 80% claimed to be satisfied with her work. Dirk Schulze, regional director of IG Malll, said through A statement Extended by the union, that the petition was a sign that the employees were “defending their demands of better working conditions” and challenged the “disinformation of management”, in clear allusion to some satisfaction results under suspicion of being rigged. Labor absenteeism: the elephant in the room. In the background of claims and the satisfaction of the working conditions are the high loss of the disease that has been registering German gigafactoría for months. Tesla employees have been denouncing the Directive harassment of the factory. According to published the German newspaper Handelsblattthis pressure now has been done Extensive doctors They have signed their casualties. The company would have urged its employees to reveal the diagnosis of “any certified disability to work” and to free doctors who deal with their confidentiality duty. You do not work, there is no salary. The union He has denounced that Tesla is holding the salary of some workers who are discharged, generating a great concern between the template. “With this unacceptable attitude, the company is leading colleagues again and again,” said Dirk Schulze. From the union they ensure that some employees have received letters in which they are required to return part of the wages already perceived by referring to alleged “debts” or “overpagos” that do not correspond to them. “I demand the direction of the Grünheide plant that ends this practice immediately. The intimidation, totally unacceptable, to the companions must cease,” Schulze wrote in his statement. Musk’s anti -unionism. It is no secret that Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has a marked RESTICENCE TO UNIONS. Its anti -union posture is a key factor in the work problem that is lived in German gigafactoría. In fact, the Financial Times stands out A peculiarity in the functioning of the Tesla factory in Germany: its company committee is led by a personnel member not affiliated with a union, an anomaly in the German automotive industry. Elon Musk has been contrary to the presence of unions in their companies in the US. The employees of their factories denounced that they had been dismissed as retaliation for his attempt to union at the plant that the manufacturer has in Buffalo (New York). In Xataka | Byd’s new ultra -grape load system has made millionaires to many investors: those who bet in short of Tesla In Xataka | A judge blocked Elon Musk’s Millmillonario salary bonus complying with a law: Musk’s lawyers want to change that law Image | Tesla

China is improving both its wind turbines that Germany only finds an explanation: spies

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Espionage is an art that requires adequate ingenuity, strategy and tools. But if we talked about using wind turbines to obtain information, it would seem science fiction. However, reality exceeds fiction, China has been accused of spying on Germany. Short. A group of German experts has detailed In a report that Chinese manufacturers could be using sensors in wind turbines to collect unauthorized data in Germany. In detail. The report, commissioned by the German Ministry of Defense, suggests that Chinese companies They could use sensors of turbines to extract confidential data or turn off the turbines remotely. In addition, they have recommended suspending wind projects that have a Chinese signature, the first being the Waterkant Marine Park. And what does China say? China’s Chamber of Commerce (CCCEU) has described the report as “technically unlikely and lacking a factual basis.” From the Chinese agency they have assured that companies are complying with European regulations. In addition, they have argued that concerns about security, related to data collection or remote control, are a pretext to block Chinese companies in the European market, which could affect loyal competition and international commercial relations. But can the turbines be used to spy? According to the CCCEU and Chinese experts, wind turbines They are not equipped to spy. The sensors are designed to optimize performance, monitor failures and protect wildlife. In addition, the remote control and management systems of wind farms, such as Waterkant, are managed by German and European companies. From the Chinese part they reinforce the idea that these allegations are unfounded and part of an attempt to protect the local market. But in defense. Marine wind projects have been suspended for military security concerns such as It happened in Sweden. The reason is because a wind farm can affect the arrest and monitoring of missiles due to the dimensions of a wind turbine. However, other countries are using them in their favor as the case of Poland, which has installed radar and sound systems among wind turbines. In addition, a similar strategy is addressing Windeurope together with NATO and the European Defense Agency (EDA) with the creation of a new project: Symbiosis. In it they seek to deploy marine renewable energies in the maritime defense space and create synergies to address them. Other accusations of espionage to China. It is not the first time that the Asian giant is accused in the German country, less than a year ago, three suspects They were arrested for stealing military technology. He was also accused of Early Europe With its secret space plane. It should be added, all the material you are designing to improve your espionage skills as Use Starlink signals to detect spy and drones airplanes, or A camera that identifies faces 100 kilometers. Finally, the Asian country It is developing A espionage agency, the Guoanbu, to become the first world power by 2049. The approach is based on economic and technological intelligence, along with cyberspage capabilities. Forecasts. Right now the US tariff replication has left a vacuum In global trade, which China is taking advantage of exporting its exports. For that reason, China wants to continue investing and working with the European Union. Despite this friction, bilateral shops They have reached The 5,591 billion yuan (771 billion dollars) in 2024, reflecting an interannual increase of 1.6 percent. Image | Pixabay Xataka | Finland has a problem with renewables. You will solve it by building a storage megabattery

Germany gets serious with nuclear fusion. His energy model shouts that this ‘Stellarator’ reactor works

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The experimental reactors of nuclear fusion of type Stellarator They represent a very solid alternative to Tokamakas ITER either JET. And they are not precisely the result of a recent investigation. In fact, both designs were designed During the 50s of the last century. He Stellarator It was designed by the American physicist Lyman Spitzer and exercised as the foundations on which the Plasma Physics Laboratory of Princeton University (USA) was built. The design TokamakHowever, it was devised by Soviet physicists igor Yevguénievich Tamm and Andréi DMítrievich Sájarov from the ideas proposed a few years before by his colleague Oleg Lavrentiev. Both reactors were conceived with the purpose of confine Stellarator He received great support from the scientific community in the West due to its enormous potential. However, when Soviet and American scientists published their results and compared them, they realized that Tokamak design performance It was one or two orders of magnitude better than that of Stellarator. From that moment on, this last design was largely marginalized. The most obvious difference between one and the other lies in its geometry, but it is enough to investigate both to realize that the reactors Stellarator They still have a lot to say. Proxima Fusion has put a date to its demonstration fusion plant Type reactors Tokamak They have a toroid form (or donut), and Stellarator They have a more complex geometry that resembles them to a twisted donut on itself. However, the fundamental difference between these two designs is that the reactors Tokamak They require that the magnetic fields that confine plasma be generated by coils and induced by plasma itself, while in the reactors Stellarator Everything is done with coils. There is no current within the plasma. This means, in short, that the latter are more complex and difficult to build. In February 2023, the Wendelstein 7-X reactor managed In Europe we have a type fusion reactor Stellarator extraordinarily promising: el Wendelstein 7-X. It is installed in one of the buildings that the Max Planck Institute has for Plasma Physics in Greifswald (Germany), and its construction concluded in 2015. The first tests carried out in this fusion reactor between 2015 and 2018 came out as planned, so in November of this last year An important moment arrived in his itinerary: It was necessary to modify it to install a water cooling system that was able to evacuate more effectively the residual thermal energy of the vacuum chamber walls, as well as a system that allowed the plasma to reach a higher temperature. The works that required these modifications concluded successfully in August 2022. And in February 2023 the Wendelstein 7-X reactor reached an important milestone: it managed to confine and stabilize the plasma for 8 uninterrupted minutes in which it delivered a total energy of 1.3 gigajultos. During the last two years everything learned in the development and the first tests carried out in this machine has been used by the German emerging company Proxima Fusion. In fact, its founders come from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics. His work is being financed by Germany, the European Union, and also by several private entities of venture capital. And it’s going very well. In fact, fusion physicists and engineers have published a scientific article in Fusion Engineering and Design which has already been reviewed by pairs and in which they detail the design of Stellaris, its reactor prototype Stellarator commercial. Your next step requires Build a demonstration power plant From its design that should be ready in 2031. Yes, in just six years. I hope you get it. If Alpha, which is what this test power plant will be called, the commercial fusion energy will be a reality before the next decade is completed. This is the authentic purpose of next fusion. Image | Proxima Fusion More information | Fusion Engineering and Design In Xataka | In France, an alternative to Iter in Nuclear Fusion is being cooking: a commercial ‘Stellarator’ reactor

Japan had found in ramen a way to raise its economy. They did not have two problems: Denmark and Germany

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In July of last year many regions of Japan They adopted the same formula to lift their economies. The idea did not seem bad: if you get tourists as it is happening to the Japanese nation (monthly absolute record with three million last March), opportunities ariseand the ramen was a “must” for every tourist toile. The problem: that if everyone did the same and in each corner there was a ramen place, the opportunity became a battle. Thus, perhaps what has happened at the beginning of the year: Bankruptcies throughout the country map. To this we must add a problem that nobody saw thousands of kilometers. A cultural symbol. None of this would be news if we did not speak “of the dish” in capital letters of the nation, or one of them. Ramen is one of the most emblematic Japanese gastronomy and occupies a special place in the country’s culinary culture. Traditionally considered a basic and affordable food for students, workers and families with a tight budget, it represents more than a simple dish of noodles: it is a reflection of the accessible spirit of Japanese cuisine. However, this symbol of modesty and practicality faces a growing challenge with the increase in operational costs and psychological barriers in prices, Like that “wall of 1,000 yen”, a symbolic limit that rarely crossed until recently. The perfect storm. Since 2020, the costs of basic ingredients such as algae, noodles and onions have increased significantly, With a 10% rise in just three years. This adds to the increase in energy, The weakness of the Yen against the dollar and supply problems caused by war in Ukraine. All pressures that have led restaurants such as Tetsuya Kaneko and Taisei Hikage to make difficult decisions: increase the prices of their menus or face the possibility of closing. In many cases, price increases, although modest, They are accompanied by public apologiesreflecting the delicate balance between business sustainability and respect for customers. And the other problem: meat. Yes, in addition to the rise of basic ingredients, the other fundamental problem It’s pork. Ramen restaurants in Japan are dealing with growing pressure due to the rise in animal prices, a key ingredient for His iconic chashu. Denmark. The import prices of the European pig, particularly from Denmark, they have risen 6% in the last yearreaching between 810 and 830 yen per kilogram. The reason? The increase here is also due to a combination of factors: as in the basics, the feeding costs raised by the Russian invasion to Ukraine, but also because of the closure of processing plants in Europe, the weakening of the Chinese economy that has reduced The demand and the depreciation of the Yen that we comment, a whole that further imports imports. The effects have been translated, again, in Wholesale prices and finally in the menus Of the restaurants, with many businesses breaking that psychological barrier of the 1,000 yen for a bowl bowl, which could scare away customers. And Germany. It is the second big problem derived from meat. The recent detection of Afitosa fever in Germany has generated a new challenge, because although Japan no matter pork there, Countries like South Korea and the United Kingdom did, and now they are resorting to alternatives In other European suppliers, which increases pressure on global pig prices. Using Brazil. Yes, this cultivation broth has made Japan is resorting to Brazil as a new suppliertripling its imported pork imports from the country to 10,131 tons in November 2024. However, the change does not seem to have mitigated the costs at all, since the price of the pig, along with the rest of the essential ingredients we were talking about at the beginning, such as pork fat, Nori, fresh noodles and green onions, follows up. Onions, for example, have experienced a 29% increase in the last year. Impact and bankruptcy. The crisis not only affects ingredients. Nikkei said this week That labor costs and rentals have also increased, leading many small and medium businesses to the limit. In 2024, 72 Ramen restaurants operators with debts greater than 10 million yen declared bankruptcymarking a record and exceeding the levels reached during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Not only that. About 30% of respondents by the firm Teikoku Databank reported losses, reflecting the difficult situation of the industry. Answer and impact on consumers. In front of this panorama, Chains like Yamaokaya They have opted for increasing prices, but only from some menusincluding Ramen with Chashu, while looking to keep prices under control in collaboration with their suppliers. However, the measures do not seem to have been enough to relieve the financial pressure of many establishments, which struggle to balance quality, affordability and sustainability in a highly competitive market. Ramen, until recently An opportunity to raise economies From the nation, it is taking many businesses to bankruptcy, threatening the road to a whole symbol of Japanese gastronomy. Image | Sodai Gomi In Xataka | Japan is suffering a bankruptcy record from Ramen. And in part it is the result of the “1,000 yen barrier” In Xataka | The cities of Japan have begun a fierce struggle to lift their economy. THE KEY RECIPE: Ramen

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