giant

China has just launched three giant carbon fiber lines: bad news for the US and Japan

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China has taken a new step in its race to dominate the advanced materials sector. And the state giant CNBM (China National Building Material Group) has launched three new high-performance carbon fiber production lines at its Lianyungang plant in Jiangsu province, operated by its subsidiary Zhongfu Shenying Carbon Fiber. The new facilities cover the three main categories of the material (general use, high resistance and high modulus) and add to the advances that the country has been announcing in recent months in this field. Why is it important. High-performance carbon fiber has been around for decades being a strategic material controlled by very few actors. Japan and the United States have historically dominated its production, and for years China has had restricted access to the most advanced variants through international export control agreements. With these three lines, Beijing reinforces its capacity to produce at home a material that is key for sectors such as aeronautics, energy, robotics or consumer electronics. In detail. The three lines put into operation are, according to has reported the Chinese state agency Xinhua, the largest in the world in their respective categories. The first is a high-capacity line for 5,000 tons per year, which uses the subsidiary’s own spinning technology and whose material is mainly used for wind energy and electric vehicles. The second, with a capacity for 1,000 tons per year, produces T1100 grade fiber, designed for aerospace applications that require very light structures with high load capacity. And the third, of 600 tons per year, manufactures SYM40 grade high modulus fiber, aimed at precision applications in the seabed, deep mining, space or competitive sports equipment, according to they collect from Global Times. A relevant fact about this announcement is that, depending on the mediumthe new lines have achieved a localization rate of more than 95% in their main equipment. That is, almost all of the machinery used to manufacture the fiber is domestically manufactured, which confirms that China not only produces the material, but also much of the technology necessary to do so on a large scale. The context. This announcement comes in the midst of a technological pulse with the United States and Japan. According to South China Morning PostWashington and Tokyo have recently tightened controls on the export of equipment and technology to manufacture high-strength carbon fiber, precisely to make it difficult for Chinese companies to produce it. Ma Jie, an analyst at Guoyuan Securities, explained in a report that these restrictions have pushed the Chinese industry to pursue technological self-sufficiency and control its entire supply chain, and recalled that the sector has gone from basic T300 fiber to today reaching standards that are among the most advanced in the world. Furthermore, just as we counted A few months ago, CNBM had presented at the JEC World fair in Paris the world’s first mass production of T1200 fiber, the strongest variant of the scale, with more than 8 gigapascals of tensile strength. Added to this news, at the beginning of June, was the announcement by Shanghai Petrochemical, a subsidiary of Sinopec, about the large-scale production of T1000 fiber using its own process. Supply. Zhou Yuxian, president of CNBM, pointed out Xinhua that these new lines help solve two structural problems in the sector: the shortage of high-end carbon fiber products and the lack of a complete offer that covers all categories of the material. The manager added that the production “will reinforce the security and resilience of the Chinese supply of strategic materials.” It is worth remembering that, until now, the world market has been dominated by a handful of manufacturers. Three Japanese companies (Toray Industries, Teijin and Mitsubishi Chemical) together controlled just over half of the global market in 2025, according to a report from Nikkei Asia. The American Hexcel is another of the major players in the sector, especially in the aerospace and military fields. morenda. China’s push for carbon fiber responds to a demand that continues to grow. And according tothe report According to Guoyuan Securities, global demand for carbon fiber exceeded 220,000 tons in 2025, with a growth of 43.8% compared to the previous year, while in China this growth was even higher, 57%, driven by the manufacturing of the C919 commercial aircraft, humanoid robots and low-altitude vehicles. Cover image | CGTN In Xataka | “It’s not cheating, it’s engineering”: this is how China avoids 2,000 ASML patents with a laser trick

how the Asian giant is becoming the new world champion of foie gras

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“France is the country of foie gras. It is a hallmark of French gastronomy. An American or Asian tourist visiting Paris will want to see the Eiffel Tower, the Elysées and eat foie gras.” The phrase It is from Fabien Chevalier, president of CIFOG, the French association of the industry dedicated to preparing the famous delicacy based on the liver of ducks and geese. And although what he says is true, Chevalier is also aware of something: French producers have faced a formidable rival 7,000 kilometers away, in the Chinese farms of Shandong and Anhui. After all, foie gras may be associated with France, but some estimate that China has already become its second main producer. Chinese foie gras? Exact. And there are more and more. Estimates of China’s production capacity do not always coincide, but the trend they show does: the Asian giant is producing more and more foie gras, a business it has launched into so decisively that it already stands out as one of its heavyweights. In fact, is closing distances with France. The figures are clear. a few days ago The Wall Street Journal cited a report from the state-owned company China International Capital that suggests that domestic producers produce 11,000 tons a year, roughly 45% of global supply. The same headline cites a company that produces about 3,000 tons. Is there more data? Yes. And they point in a similar direction. During an interview recently with RFI, Chevalier, who in addition to being president of the French employers’ association is responsible for the company Lafitteestimated that in 2024 12,000 tons of foie gras would leave Chinese farms. And he believes that the balance was even greater in 2025, unlike what happens in France, whose production fell 3%. “Knowing that French production was around 15,000 t in 2025, Chinese production is quite significant,” acknowledges Chevalier. After consulting half a dozen analysts, Reuters calculate that Chinese production could reach 14,000 tons last year, seven times more than just a decade ago. How is that possible? For a sum of factors. One of them is that the Chinese foie gras industry not only has the support of ranchers and businessmen. The State has also gotten involved to give it a boost. Reuters speaks of “generous subsidies” that, in the specific case of a goose farm located in eastern China, cover more than 50% of infrastructure and vaccines. In addition to a new potential market, Beijing has seen foie gras as a lifeline for rural areas affected by the exodus to the cities, which explains that the Government have decided to support it through loans. Is it the same foie gras? That is another of the keys that explain why the Chinese sector is growing so quickly. Chevalier explains that Chinese farms are betting “mainly” on geese, something that, he admits, fascinates him. “It is much more difficult to make foie gras from geese than from ducks.” Whether for that reason or others, everything indicates that China has found a way to make its production as profitable as possible. If in France, where they work mainly with ducks, producers manage 500 g livers (or 700 if they opt for geese), in China those numbers skyrocket. There a liver can reach two kilos. Is there that much difference? Reuters interviewed the manager of a farm in eastern China who claims that the pieces coming out of his pens weigh at least a kilo. In fact, he showed journalists a specimen weighing about 2.9 kg. “Europeans can no longer raise a large number of geese because it is very hard work,” boasts the businessman, Li Fengshan, who explains that the ten days before the slaughter of the birds his employees work tirelessly, sleeping very little, to feed the geese with six meals a day. The way birds are fattened to produce foie gras (ducks or geese) has generated a strong controversy in recent years and has given rise to accusations of animal crueltya controversy to which they are not foreign the Gallic farms. Where does that foie gras go? Especially to the domestic market. At least for now the production of Chinese foie gras seems oriented basically to its own national market, although in the sector there are those who already expect that the weight of exports will grow in the future. Whether I achieve it or not, the reality is that in 2025 less than 5% of Chinese production was directed to external consumers. It is not a surprising percentage if one takes into account the legislative restrictions, which begin in the Chinese customs themselves, and that there are local producers who are betting on products such as foie gras ice cream and with different flavors or shapes in an attempt to gain share in their own market. The price plays in its favor: The Wall Street Journal interviewed recently a distributor in Macau that worked with European product that sold for $28 per pound, now deals with Chinese suppliers who sell it for $17. Is it a unique case? No. This is not the first time that China has demonstrated its ability to gain a foothold in new sectors, even those in which European producers are well established. It has already happened in the wine sectorbut also with others such as the trade of truffles or caviar. “For decades, among Western consumers, the ‘Made in China’ label was associated with cheap, low-quality and simple products,” remember Even Payby Trivium China. “In the last decade we have seen a lot of brands made in China with quality products at a lower price.” Images | Martin Baron (Unsplash), Arthur Wang (Unsplash) and GOETZ Jean-Pierre (Unsplash) In Xataka | One more day, Peru has woken up to a disturbing sight in its seas: thousands of Chinese ships devastating its fishing grounds

Why giant rockets could become a flop

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SpaceX, Blue Origin, NASA… There are many companies, public and private, that want to build the largest rocket in history. Currently, the largest is SpaceX’s Starshipwhich together with its propellant, the Super Heavy, is 121 meters high. However, this has not yet passed the testing phases. The highest one in operation is the SLS that NASA has used to advance the Artemis missions, 98 meters high. The goal is to build bigger and bigger rockets. However, a new report warns that there may actually be a limit beyond which larger rockets become too expensive to be profitable. A fuzzy limit. The reportpublished on June 29, was carried out by The Aerospace Corp. It points out that it is true that, in principle, larger and heavier rockets can initially be more economical in the sense that they maximize the payload that can be carried into orbit for the same price. However, starting from a specific size, these savings would be offset by manufacturing and operating costs. We might think that the problem is solved with the use of reusable rockets, like those manufactured by SpaceX, but the operating costs are still there. In the report they do not indicate exactly what that size would be, but they explain that, by exceeding it, it would go from a decreasing launch price per kilogram to an increasing one. An example to understand it better. In the report they cite the case of the Airbus A380, a superjumbo aircraft that at the time was considered a technical success, but a commercial failure due to the high costs of a flight compared to those of smaller planes. When they are necessary. In the future there will be increasingly larger payloads, which will depend on large rockets for their launch. For these cases, the increase in cost would be justified. These would be, for example, satellites for broadband constellations or orbital data centers. The problem is that it is not clear that demand will be high enough to justify so many companies wanting to have their own large rocket. Those who are and those who will come. In this report, large rockets are considered those that are capable of releasing payloads of 50 metric tons into low Earth orbit. Today there are only two rockets in operation that meet these criteria: the Falcon Heavy from SpaceX and NASA’s SLS. There are others that are not yet fully operational, such as SpaceX’s Starship, the New Glenn from Blue Origin or the Long March 9 and 10 from China. Starship would currently be the largest rocket It should be noted that the Falcon Heavy has only made 12 flights since it was inaugurated in 2018. This could justify that, effectively, there is no demand for such large rockets. Although perhaps there will be one in the future. We’ll have to see it. For now, what is clear is that companies should take all factors into account, instead of jumping en masse to see who has the biggest rocket. That doesn’t always turn out well. Images | NASA | SpaceX In Xataka | Blue Origin now has a golden opportunity to overtake SpaceX on trips to the Moon. And he is taking advantage of it

Amazon celebrates the end of June by lowering the MacBook Neo to 649 euros and a giant Xiaomi TV, among other bargains

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Once the Prime Day hangover is over, it is easy to think that there is nothing worthwhile left on Amazon, although it is a mistake to think that way. Although the great discount party officially ended a few days ago, there are still offers on technology, home and gadgets at the e-commerce giant. Today we have browsed your online store to be able to collect the best offers and these are the bargains that are worth it amazon today. Apple MacBook Neo 13-Inch with A18 Pro Chip The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Robot vacuum cleaner Roborock QV 35A by 299.99 euros: with 8,000 Pa of power and base all in one. Notebook computer MacBook Neo by 649 euros: 13 inches and with A18 Pro chip. Smart TV Xiaomi TV F Pro 75 inches by 569 euros: 75 inches and with Fire TV operating system. V16 beacon Hibron Extrastar by 14.89 euros: with free connectivity until December 2038. ceiling fan Leduni by 59 euros: with four retractable blades and controllable from the app. Roborock QV 35A Robot Vacuum Cleaner With a 49% discount compared to its recommended RRP (589.99 euros), you can now get the best-selling robot vacuum cleaner on Amazon, this Roborock QV 35A by 299.99 euros (even cheaper than on Prime Day). This model stands out for its 8,000 Pa HyperForce suction power and for its LiDAR laser navigation system to map your home in 360 degrees. It has a double rubber brush specially designed to avoid annoying hair tangles. Furthermore, one of its main assets is its all in one basewhich completely automates maintenance by taking care of the self-emptying of dust, as well as the automatic washing and drying of its two rotating mops. roborock Robot Vacuum Cleaner QV 35A The price could vary. We earn commission from these links MacBook Neo laptop Now that Apple has announced that will increase the prices of some of its devicesthis Amazon offer is perfect if you were looking to buy the cheapest laptop from the apple firm, the MacBook Neo. Now, you can take it at its minimum price: 649 euros. This cheap Apple laptop has a 13-inch Liquid Retina display. He MacBook Neo It is available in four colors and its brain is the A18 Pro chip. It is designed for Apple Intelligence and comes with 256 GB of storage. Apple MacBook Neo 13-Inch with A18 Pro Chip The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Smart TV Xiaomi TV F Pro 75 inches If you are looking to renew your home TV and have thought about one with a large diagonal, this Xiaomi TV F Pro 75 inches is now reduced to 569 euros on Amazon. Assemble a panel QLED with 4K resolution and it is a model from this year. It stands out for integrating the Amazon Fire TV operating systemso it includes a remote control with direct access button Alexa. In addition, it has an elegant design with minimal aluminum frames and incorporates sound technologies such as Dolby Audio and DTS-HD. XIAOMI TV F Pro 75, 75 Inch (190 cm), 4K UHD QLED The price could vary. We earn commission from these links V16 Hibron Extrastar beacon The most desired moment for many is approaching: summer vacations. If you are going to travel by car and you are still one of the laggards who still do not have the V16 beacon obligatory, on Amazon you now have this Hibron Extrastar at a price that is worth it for not pay fines: 14.89 euros. This emergency light It is approved by the DGT and has automatic and free connectivity until December 2038. It offers 360º maximum visibility and up to a kilometer away and is resistant, stable and easy to install. HIBRON EXTRASTAR Emergency Light Beacon V16 Approved DGT The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Leduni ceiling fan If you are tired of sleeping with him air-conditioning and you don’t want your electricity bill to increase greatly in summer, this Leduni ceiling fan It is a good purchase option now on Amazon. It has gone from costing 79 euros to 59 euros in these moments. This ceiling fan with LED light, it offers three color temperatures: warm, cold and neutral white light, and has four retractable blades with ABS system that operate silently at six speeds. You can control it through the remote control or app and comes with the kit for easy installation. LEDUNI ® Ceiling fan with light 66W+30W MotorDC The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Javier Pastor (Xataka), Xiaomi, Apple, Leduni, Baliza V16 Hibron Extrastar and Roborock In Xataka | Best Amazon Fire TV. Which one to buy and recommended models to convert your TV into a smart TV depending on use In Xataka | Best televisions in quality price. Which one to buy and seven recommended 4K smart TVs

The giant Jinko Power is preparing a solar complex of almost 400 MW in Huelva

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The energy transition that Spain is experiencing towards much cleaner energy continues to attract international interest, and the south of the peninsula is consolidating itself as one of the great European epicenters for photovoltaic deployment. The last thing we have heard is that the Asian company Jinko Power is strongly expanding its footprint in Andalusia, advancing simultaneously with two energy macroprojects that will add hundreds of megawatts to the national grid. The case of Huelva. The most recent movement in the offices has the province of Huelva as the protagonist, since Jinko Power has obtained prior administrative authorization for the installation of the new PV La Puebla 3. A movement that is vital for the project to go from paper to reality. We are talking about a plant that will inject 150.08 MW of power, although this park will not be alone, since, as specialized publications detail, the facility is the centerpiece of a huge complex grouped under the name “La Puebla” and that will be located between the Huelva municipalities of Alosno and El Cerro de Andévalo. They are going to go much further. In this way, the Chinese company’s master plan in Huelva includes up to four interconnected photovoltaic projects with powers of 100 MW, 80 MW, 150 MW and 59 MW that, together, will reach close to 400 MW of total capacity. Although for now they have to continue with the bureaucracy, since this authorization allows them to continue with the processing that still presents different filters at a technical and environmental level, although we already see that the previous experience that this company has indicates that the project in the south of the peninsula will be a reality. The Malaga case. This advance in Huelva clarifies Jinko Power’s roadmap in Andalusia, separating this new file from its other big bet in the region, which is already much more advanced. We are referring to the Antequera macroplant, in Malaga. And to put into perspective the financial and technical muscle that is being deployed by the company, the Malaga project has an investment of 135 million euros with an installed power of 175 Mwp ​​and an area of ​​329 hectares. Here the objective is to reach almost 65,000 homes annually. Images | American Public Power Association In Xataka | Three times as powerful as the Three Gorges: this is the hydroelectric colossus with which China “is trying to tame nature”

220 meters in length and three giant sails of 1,500 square meters

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When someone says “the largest sailboat in the world”, one immediately thinks of the whim of some millionaire. Jeff Bezos paid $500 million to build his schooner koru 127 meters long and the Russian oligarch Andrey Melnichenko also paid a fortune for his impressive Sailing Yatch A 142.8 meters of length. However, all those luxury sailboats pale when compared to the new titan of sailing that has just been launched in Saint-Nazaire. This is not a private yacht, but a new concept of luxury cruise for millionaires Equipped with three gigantic masts to recreate old-fashioned navigation. The Orient Express leaves the tracks. If we think about great classic luxury trips, it is inevitable to mention the Orient Express as a reference for luxury and glamor trips at the beginning of the 20th century. Now, the hotel company Accord, which also operates one of the lines of the Orient Express, has thrown away the Orient Express Corinthian in the shipyards of Chantiers de l’Atlantique, the same ones where the mythical Normandie liner. The Orient Express Corinthian is not only the largest sailing ship in existence. It is also a form of sea travel that has not been seen for a long time. This is a cruise where 110 passengers sail through the Mediterranean without rushing, assisted by personal butlers on board, with Guerlain spa and avant-garde cuisine with Michelin stars. Three sails, no anchor and an AI looking out to sea. What makes the Corinthian technically unique is not that it has the wingspan of an ocean liner, but rather its propulsion system. It carries three rigid sails of 1,500 m² each, developed by Chantiers de l’Atlantique with a technology called SolidSail. The masts of the Orient Express Corinthian rotate 360 ​​degrees and tilt up to 70º to capture the wind from any angle and make the most of its thrust force. This technology has already been tested successfully in huge freighters to reduce their emissions. Another peculiarity of this luxury supersailboat is that there is no anchor. Instead, the boat uses a dynamic positioning system that keeps it still without touching the bottom. This avoids damaging Posidonia meadows or protected reefs. It also has an artificial intelligence system that continuously monitors the water to detect marine mammals and drifting objects. As support, the sail propulsion system uses a hybrid liquefied natural gas engine. The result, according to the buildersis that it avoids about 9,000 tons of CO₂ per year compared to a conventional cruise of the same size. The luxury of slow travel, from trains to the sea. For a few years now, a part of high purchasing power tourism has turned towards what they call “slow luxury“. A simple idea that recovers all the luxury of the great voyages of yesteryear, where the important thing was not to arrive, but enjoy the journey with the calm that the fast-paced modern lifestyle steals from us every day. The legendary Orient Express train has been the symbol of that spirit of luxury on railsbut now they propose an alternative on the sea. The luxury supersailboat has 54 luxury suites spread over four decks. Each of them is decorated with leather, fine woods and marble. The service includes an exclusive personal butler and you can enjoy the best dishes of avant-garde cuisine in the five restaurants run by chef Yannick Alléno with several Michelin stars to his credit. Vacations within reach of very few pockets. You can now find combined packages where you travel on the Corinthian on routes along the Côte d’Azur, the Italian Riviera and the Adriatic. By 2027, Orient Express introduces new itineraries through Greece, Türkiye, the United Kingdom and northern Europe. To give an example, a seven-night cruise along the Adriatic coast departing from Venice and arriving in Malta in one of the Orient Express Corinthian Suites costs around 39,900 euros. If you opt for one of the most exclusive suites, such as the Agatha Christie Penthouse Suiteof 225 m2 and a 180 m2 terrace and capacity for four guests, can cost up to 198,800 euros on an all-inclusive basis. In Xataka | The latest trend among millionaires is not to buy a yacht. It’s sharing a luxury mini cruise Image | Accor

everything for a giant battery

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The energy transition has accustomed us to focusing on what is most visible: solar panels on roofs, wind turbines on mountains, renewable parks spread across the territory. But a decisive part of the electric future is not only in producing more, but in better managing what we already produce. It is not enough to generate more clean energy if we are not able to store it when there is excess and return it when it is needed. That is the logic behind the project being built in Laufenburg, Switzerland: an underground battery designed to store electricity on a large scale and help stabilize the grid. The project. FlexBase, the Swiss group behind the project, is building that facility in Laufenburgin the canton of Aargau, next to the German border and on a site that plans to connect to the national high-voltage grid. The group is digging a 27-metre-deep pit, longer than two football fields, to house the storage system underground. The battery will be part of the future Laufenburg Technology Centera 20,000 square meter complex with computing infrastructure, offices and laboratories. A grid-scale battery. The Laufenburg project has been defined with a planned capacity of 1.5 GWh of storage after the choice of Invinity Energy Systems as technology partner. The comparison helps ground the figure: this would be equivalent to storing enough electricity to supply about 200,000 average homes in the United Kingdom for one day. In subsequent phases, the installation could grow to 2.1 GWh, if FlexBase moves forward with this expansion. How this technology works. The easiest way to understand a redox flow battery is to forget about a mobile phone battery for a moment. In a lithium-ion battery, the energy is stored within a fairly compact structure. In a redox flow battery, however, the energy is in liquid electrolytes stored in large tanks. When the system has to deliver electricity, these liquids are pumped into stacks of cells, where the reaction occurs that converts that chemical energy into electricity useful for the grid. The tanks are, to put it graphically, the place where the energy is stored. The cells are the part that allows it to be removed and used. The Swiss system will be recharged with renewable surpluses, mainly solar and wind. But no one talks about AI? Maybe you were missing a word that lately appears in almost any technological conversation: artificial intelligence. And yes, it’s here too. Not because the battery will “work with AI” but because the Laufenburg complex will include an artificial intelligence-oriented data center that will operate within the Laufenburg Technology Centre. The storage system is designed to smooth out the variable electrical demand associated with this computing and, at the same time, offer stabilization services to the network. Partner enters the scene. FlexBase will not develop the technological part of the battery alone. As we say, the Swiss company has selected Invinity Energy Systems as a strategic partner to design and deliver the Laufenburg vanadium flow system. According to FlexBase, the British-Canadian company won the selection process for its entire technical proposal. The main argument is a combination of lifetime costs, safety, non-flammability, cycle stability and modularity. Now the project enters the engineering phase, where the teams will have to adjust the control software and the electrical connection with the existing network. The next step. Swissgrid wants to connect the national high-voltage grid to the Laufenburg site, in what would be the first connection of its kind in Switzerland. For the operator, large batteries can become a relevant piece of the future of the network because they allow electricity to be moved over time: absorbing it when it is abundant and delivering it when it is needed. It is not a battery for everything. The very logic of a redox flow battery helps to understand its limits: if you need large tanks to store energy, it will hardly be the best option when space and weight rule. Its lower energy density makes it less suitable for applications such as electric vehicles. It should also be noted that vanadium flow batteries remain at an earlier commercial stage and are usually more expensive than lithium-ion ones. Its promise is not to replace all batteries, but to fill a very specific niche: stationary, durable and long-lasting storage. The calendar, for now, looks to 2029. FlexBase plans to launch the facility that year and expects to generate around 300 jobs linked to the future Laufenburg Technology Centre. The company presents the project as a privately financed initiative, with an estimated investment between 1,000 and 5,000 million Swiss francs (between 1,090 and 5,450 million euros). If the deadlines are met, Laufenburg will not only house a huge underground battery: it will also become one of Europe’s most ambitious bets to store electricity where the grid begins to need it. Images | FlexBase In Xataka | We will run out of space on dry land one day. So Spain is already putting solar panels into the sea

China has found a giant “tunnel” to introduce its cars into Europe without Europe. And it is facing Spain

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In 2007, when Morocco inaugurated the port from Tangier Med off the Spanish coast, many saw it as an ambitious logistical gamble. Less than two decades later, that port has not only become the largest of the Mediterranean and Africabut has begun to surpass historic European giants like Algeciras in traffic. What seemed like a regional infrastructure ended up becoming one of the main commercial gateways to Europe. A half-open door to Europe. Europe has been trying for years reduce your dependency China’s industrial sector and, more recently, protect its manufacturers against the avalanche of electric vehicles from the Asian giant. The tariffs imposed by Brussels, in fact, respond precisely to that objective. However, I remembered the weekend the financial times that, while attention was focused on Chinese ports and factories in the country’s interior, Beijing began to build a much closer alternative: an industrial network located on the other side of the Strait of Gibraltar. The growing concern in Brussels does not arise because China is exporting more cars from its territory, but because it is transferring part of its production capacity to a country that enjoys privileged access to the European market. Map of the surroundings of Tangier, with Tanger Tech City (to the south), Tanger Automotive City and the port of Tangier Med Morocco as an industrial platform. It explained the means that the transformation is visible around Tangier and Kenitrawhere Chinese investments in tires, brakes, electronic components, battery materials and future gigafactories are multiplying. What is emerging are not simple isolated plants, but a supply chain increasingly complete capable of feeding the European electric car industry. Morocco offers practically everything you are looking for manufacturers: geographical proximity to Europe, competitive labor costs, renewable energy, tax advantages and an extensive network of trade agreements. For many Chinese companies, producing there is more attractive to continue manufacturing in China and then face the growing European trade barriers. The fear of Brussels. European concern does not lie solely in foreign investment. What is worrying is the possibility that Morocco will become in an indirect way so that products backed by Chinese capital, technology and subsidies enter Europe with much more favorable conditions. The European Commission already has detected cases in which components manufactured with Chinese financial support end up benefiting from preferential agreements. The challenge is to distinguish where it ends an authentic Moroccan industrialization and where a strategy designed to circumvent tariffs begins. Put another way, the more complex supply chains become, the more difficult it becomes to answer that question. Beijing’s geographical advantage. If you like, China too. has understood that geography can be as important as technology. Off the Spanish coast is a country connected by trade agreements with Europe and the United States, equipped of modern ports and increasingly integrated into global production chains. From the Chinese perspective, installing factories in Morocco does not mean abandoning Europe, but rather get even closer to her. Instead of shipping finished products from thousands of miles away, companies can manufacture components and vehicles a few hours of the main European markets. The strategy reduces costs, limits commercial risks and makes the application of protectionist measures difficult. A battle for European industry. What happens in Morocco reflects much broader economic competition. Europe tries to protect an industrial base that consider strategicas China looks for new ways to keep its huge manufacturing capacity running despite increasing Western restrictions. The result is that North Africa is becoming a space increasingly disputedwhere the interests of Brussels, Rabat and Beijing intersect. For Morocco, investments mean jobs, infrastructure and growth. For China, they represent a privileged platform next to the gateway to the European market. And for the European Union they constitute a uncomfortable question: If Chinese production can be installed just on the other side of the Mediterranean, to what extent are tariffs really capable of slowing its advance? Image | Adam Cle, The Spanish Monkey In Xataka | China and Europe do not trust each other when it comes to electric cars. And someone is taking advantage of it: Türkiye In Xataka | The Chinese auto industry is moving to colonize Africa and Latin America. Also to be your springboard

We have small and giant black holes, but the intermediate ones do not appear. Now some scientists have designed a method to search for them and they already have two candidates

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Today astrophysicists have a lot of information about black holes. They have even been photographed. However, there are only two types of black holes for which a multitude of evidence has been found: supermassive black holes, which are colossal in size, and stellar black holes, which are formed by the collapse of a star when it runs out of fuel. Supermassive ones usually have masses between 100,000 and 10,000 million solar masses. The stellar ones are much smaller, with approximately a mass equivalent to that of 3 to 100 suns. So what happens in the intermediate range? Don’t black holes of intermediate mass exist, between 100 and 100,000 solar masses? This is a question astronomers have been asking for a long time. Theoretically, they could exist, but no evidence has been detected. Now, a team of scientists from Yangtze University in China, has devised a method which could be useful to find them once and for all. Gravitational microlensing of fast radio bursts. These scientists have used a method that is based on searching for fast radio bursts that have experienced a gravitational microlensing deformation. These deformations are caused by massive objects that stand between the path of the blast and the Earth. By studying the effects of these disturbances, its mass can be calculated. For this reason, these scientists have analyzed a catalog of these bursts, looking for those that may have been distorted by gravitational microlensing and have been left with two candidates whose mass would correspond to an intermediate black hole. The best? They also fit with primordial black holes, so they could even serve to better understand dark matter. Clarifying concepts. Now let it be understood. Fast radio bursts are short bursts of radio waves, which come from far away, beyond the Milky Way. There is no consensus on its origin, but many have been detected, it even seems that there are a large number in a single day. For their part, gravitational microlensing are formed when a very massive object comes between a light source and the Earth. It is so massive that, due to the action of gravity, it doubles space-time and, with it, the path of light that reaches Earth. As a result, multiple and/or magnified images may form. The point is that fast radio bursts themselves can be altered by gravitational microlensing when a very massive object crosses their path. Gravitational microlensing Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME). This is a Canadian radio telescope initially designed to map the presence of hydrogen in large fractions of the observable universe. Thanks to its large collecting area and field of vision and its bandwidth, over time it was seen that It was also very useful to detect fast radio bursts. They are very fast, but when observing so much sky at once they do not go unnoticed. For all this, the authors of the study that has just been published have analyzed the CHIME catalogwith special attention to bursts that at some point have suffered a disturbance by gravitational microlensing. Two candidates. Of all the distorted bursts they found, there were two whose size matched possible black holes of intermediate size. One had between 539 and 609 solar masses and the other between 1,544 and 2,571 solar masses. Curiously, there were no galaxies or galactic clusters around it. When black holes form through physically well-known collapse processes, they are usually in the centers of galaxies. However, when they are isolated, as is this case, what is expected is that they are primordial black holes. That is, black holes that formed in the early stages of the Big Bang, before there were even stars that could collapse. something unexpected. These scientists expected to find intermediate black holes, but they may also have found evidence of the origin of dark matter. One of the hypotheses about this mysterious matter that makes up most of the Universe is that it is partly composed of primordial black holes. The problem is that the existence of primordial black holes has not been proven. With this new study, two birds could have been killed with one stone: demonstrating that intermediate mass black holes and also primordial black holes exist, in turn helping to unravel the dark matter mystery. Without a doubt, it is a cosmic carom that is worth continuing to investigate. Image | THAT | POT In Xataka | Stephen Hawking made a prediction about black holes in 1971. A new signal has proven him overwhelmingly right

This Norwegian valley has rocks on either side of the river that act like a giant pile. Maybe that explains your ghost lights

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The Hessdalen lights are a mysterious phenomenon which has been reported in the valley of the same name, in Norway, since 1811. However, it was in the 1980s when they began to be taken more into account, especially in 1984, when the Hessdalen project was established, aimed at monitoring them and trying to explain them. Unfortunately, despite all the efforts that have been put into this, it is currently not known exactly what this is due to. Although it is true that there are some hypotheses. A very disparate phenomenon. Both witnesses who have seen them and scientists who have recorded or photographed them describe the Hessdalen lights as a very disparate phenomenon. Sometimes they are formed at ground level, other times on roofs or at the height of mountain peaks. Sometimes they move more or less homogeneously, other times they move erratically, changing direction for no apparent reason. They are normally white and yellow, although they have been observed in other colors. Some last only a few seconds, while some can remain in the air for more than an hour. Even the shapes vary from an American football to an upside-down Christmas tree. The only thing that most witnesses seem to agree on is that they are about the size of a car. Hessdalen Project. A multidisciplinary team of scientists from several Norwegian institutions launched a project aimed at monitoring the lights of Hessdalen. Since then, they have been monitored thanks to the installation of radioelectric spectrum analyzers, magnetometers, seismographs, photo cameras, Geiger counters and infrared cameras. That is, earth tremors, magnetism, radioactivity and, ultimately, the emission of energy at different lengths of the electromagnetic spectrum are analyzed. This tracking system began operating in 1984 and is still active today. A peculiar hypothesis. One of the most peculiar hypotheses that have been made about the Hessdalen lights is that they could be the visible result of the formation of a wormhole micrometer that connects two points in space time. In reality, this hypothesis was raised in a magazine with little scientific reputation, very given to conspiracy theory and the supernatural, so it is not the most accepted at all. Hypotheses in the air. Thanks to the monitoring of these lights, there are much more plausible hypotheses. To begin with, it is thought that the Hessdalen lights could be due to the decay of radon, a very abundant gas in the Norwegian atmosphere. This disintegration would produce alpha particles capable of ionizing the molecules present in the air and dust, giving rise to structures capable of emitting light, called Coulomb crystals. Hypotheses on the ground. There are also hypotheses that point to the geology of the valley. For example, it is believed that it could be due to the combustion in the presence of air of dust clouds rich in scandium, an element that is abundant in the soil of this Norwegian region. It could also be a piezoelectric effect. This is the effect by which some materials are capable of emitting electricity when pressed or deformed. Quartz, for example, has great piezoelectricity and turns out to be very abundant under the valley floor. Copper is also abundant, which is a great conductor of electricity. And speaking of electricity, a battery effect could also be occurring. On one side of the river in the valley there are rocks very rich in zinc and iron. On the other side, rocks very rich in copper. The former could act as the anode of a battery and the latter as the cathode. In turn, local mines rich in sulfur could be releasing this element into the river, which would act as the bridge of a battery, allowing electricity to flow. If there is electricity, there is light. All these electricity emissions could be causing the ionization of molecules present in the air, giving rise to a process in which light is emitted. It is something similar to what happens with the northern lights, although the origin of the ionizing particles is totally different. The color of light depends on the molecules in the air. That is why it is not always exactly the same, although white and yellow tend to be abundant. In short, it is still not known where these mysterious lights come from, which can be seen both day and night. But that is precisely why they are so fascinating. Image | Bjørn Gitle HaugeØstfold University College, Fredrikstad, Norway In Xataka | Norway works little but produces a lot and that stresses them out. Generation Z has found the solution: the four-day week

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