goal

a goal from Spain is enough

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The Spanish National Team has once again given us another historic moment to remember with its 1-0 victory against Argentina in the World Cup final, proclaiming itself world champion for the second time. And the curious thing is that the celebration has not only been seen and heard, it has also been measured. The seismologist Jordi Díaz Cusí, researcher at Geosciences Barcelona (GEO3BCN-CSIC), have shared on your X account a graph with the records of the institute’s Educational Seismic Network during the final between Spain and Argentina. In it, vibration peaks can be seen right at the moments of the first goal, Mikel Merino’s disallowed goal and the final whistle, captured by seismometers distributed by different institutes and centers in Catalonia. What exactly does the graph show? In it we can see the records of nine stations, from the GEO3BCN building itself in Barcelona to institutes in Santa Coloma de Farners, Sabadell, Olot, Banyoles, Mollet, Santa Coloma de Gramenet or Torroella de Montgrí, over a period of just over half an hour. Vibrations generated by the moments of Spain’s goal, Merino’s disallowed goal and the final whistle. Image: CSIC Three arrows indicate the key moments of the match: Ferran’s goal, the disallowed play and the end of the match. In some stations, such as that of the Vallès institute in Sabadell, the lines are triggered very visibly at those moments; In others, the change is much more discreet. The difference, above all, depends on how many people were celebrating near each sensor. The same happened with the measurements detected by the seismic sensor of the Royal Observatory of Madrid. And just as share the National Geographic Institute-OACNIG in its X account, the Argentina-Spain match made the city of Madrid vibrate last night. How a seismometer notices a goal celebration. They are designed primarily for earthquakes, but they also have other uses, since they are devices so sensitive that they register any vibration that is transmitted through the ground, as well as that generated by our activity. Jumps, shouts, applause or firecrackers produce mechanical waves that travel through the terrain and reach the sensor, just as the passage of the subway or traffic on an avenue does. This was already documented years ago in a study from the institute itself (then ICTJA-CSIC), which analyzed how the seismic station installed at its headquarters “detected the vibrations generated by phenomena such as subway circulation, traffic and the celebration of goals during the matches played at the Camp Nou.” In that same study, for example, the signal generated by Barça’s three goals against Bayern Munich in the first leg of the 2015 Champions League semifinals was analyzed. What network has captured this data. The GEO3BCN-CSIC Educational Seismic Network is a scientific dissemination project that has been underway for several years. It is made up of Raspberry Shake seismometers installed mainly in secondary schools in the provinces of Barcelona and Girona, which they manage together with the teachers of each center. According to explained Jordi Díaz himself, when the network was expanded a few years ago, the objective was “to make seismology known to the students of the centers involved.” According to collect the Tutiempo.net portal, there are around 18 stations of this type spread across the network. It’s not the first time. This type of publication has almost become a tradition at the institute every time there is a high-profile match. It already happened in the 2024 Euro Cupbecause when Spain was proclaimed champion, the seismometers in Madrid and Barcelona recorded the vibrations associated with the goals of Nico Williams and Mikel Oyarzabal. Beyond the anecdote. Although a goal graph does not contribute anything to earthquake research, the institute itself has pointed out in the past that these educational stations also have real scientific utility. And if a local earthquake occurs, they can provide complementary data to that of permanent seismic networks. Cover image | RTVE In Xataka | A century of tectonic energy released in just 39 seconds: the unusual “seismic double” that has shaken Venezuela

Microsoft set a climate goal for 2030. Becoming an AI company has blown up the plan

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Microsoft is one of the companies that, a few years ago, set out to be less polluting. There were two goals, the first being to become a company.”carbon negative” by 2030. They began to investigate to create more sustainable buildings and to make better use of water and heat from the Azure hubs to pollute less, but then came the final boss of climate goals. Artificial intelligence. The figures. In it last environmental report, the American company indicates that its total emissions went from about 16 million tons of CO2 to about 20 million net tons in the last fiscal year. As we see in The Vergethat implies that, during 2025, they were 25% more than in the previous period. That “net” thing is explained because they really emitted 34 million, but then you have to subtract the carbon that they paid to remove from the atmosphere, which gives us those 20 million tons. As we see in GeekWirethat places Microsoft emitting as much CO2 as Panama or Lithuania. According to Melanie Nakagawa, director of sustainability at the company, Microsoft continues to focus on the 2030 goal. And what has caused this situation is the push for data centers and artificial intelligence. Scope 3. The report itself points out that the main cause of the increase is investments in new data centers for AI and cloud computing, including integrated OpenAI systems in Microsoft products. And where this carbon footprint accumulates the most is in what they qualify as Scope 3, which encompasses the construction materials of data centers (steel and cement, which we already know are highly polluting), as well as the purchased goods and services, which skyrocket with the massive deployment of AI infrastructure. That Scope 3 concentrates around 96% of Microsoft’s entire footprint, far above the direct emissions from its operations. Electricity. But it is not only due to the construction of the buildings, since these facilities must be maintained. Emissions linked to electricity have increased almost ten times between 2024 and 2025 and, although they pride themselves on reducing direct emissions, they recognize that electricity demand has skyrocketed and it is difficult to cover everything with renewable energy alone. There are already independent analyzes that highlight that Microsoft’s electricity consumption went from 23.6 TWh to 29.8 TWh, 26%, in 2024, and we have to wait to see the independent figures for 2025. If with emissions we have that they are higher than those of Panama, with consumption Microsoft ‘swallows’ the same as Ireland. and it is expected that AI consumption will skyrocket by 2030. braking. Due to this boom and fever for artificial intelligence, Microsoft is deviating from the goal set in 2020, exemplifying the tension between being an AI company and being a company with environmental objectives. But let’s not think that it is the only one because the carbon footprint of amazon increased by 16% last year and that of Google 18%. They remain committed, of course, but right now we are talking about non-terrestrial computing, space but. And for that, many rockets have to be sent into space, with their corresponding emissions. Although the end is good, according to Jeff Bezos: sending all pollution away from Earth to return to the state prior to the Industrial Revolution. Something is something. In Xataka | There is a thing called “Ornn price index”, it is out of control and it is bad news for everyone

“It is sold as the golden goal, but for some it is an existential abyss”

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Leo She is 79 years old and continues to work in the nut store she opened 51 years ago with her husband. Amadeoa 96-year-old “tavernkeeper”, may be the oldest active hotelier in Spain; After a lifetime of working, he continues to proudly say that he is in love with the union and that his thing is “a game” that feeds him spiritually. These two stories have gone viral on the social media profile of @comilonestvwhich takes time recovering people’s stories who “have spent a lifetime working” and continue to do so despite having passed retirement age. The comments that accompany these videos contain a mixture of astonishment and admiration, but above all they make it clear that these cases represent a not so small reality in Spain—dozens of users mention similar examples in their cities and nearby environments. The moment of the retirement It is often imagined as a desired goal after decades of work: a stage associated with more freedom, one’s own time, and the possibility of taking up hobbies or discovering new ones. However, for a part of the population, the arrival of retirement does not imply a total break with their profession. While some people completely disassociate themselves from their work activity, others choose to maintain a certain connection with it or even decide to continue working beyond retirement age. The economic weight The transition from collecting a payroll to receiving a pension implies, in many cases, a reconfiguration of the economy in many homes. Money then appears as one of the possible motivations among those people who choose to continue working when the opportunity to retire arrives. This trend has exploded in the last decade in the United States, where studies They point out how the number of workers aged 65 or over who remain in the labor market has grown. In fact, some statistics They point out that in 2024 just over 22% of adults over 65 were still employed, whether full or part-time. Meanwhile, in Spain, the last Active Population Survey (EPA) of 2025 has placed the employment among those over 65 years of age at historical highs, going from 5% to 14% in the last ten years. There are multiple factors behind this increase, but the economic factor appears recurrently in those who decide to prolong their working life. Antonio, a 67-year-old doctor who continues to practice in the private sector after retiring from the public system — and who prefers to keep his identity private — assures that “the economic issue usually weighs heavily” in this decision. Especially, he explains, because many people reach retirement with children still financially dependent. “It is very rare that at 65 years old people have their children already placed, emancipated and all expenses paid,” he points out. He assures that the situation has changed a lot compared to previous generations: “Before, when the parents retired, the children were already emancipated. Not now.” The delay in emancipation and the cost increase of life means that many families continue to have significant financial burdens even after reaching retirement age, which according to Antonio makes it “so common” in the health sector to maintain activity: “It is very rare for someone at 65 to say: ‘I’ll take my clogs and phonendo forever’.” However, reducing this phenomenon solely to an economic issue would be oversimplifying it for Gema Pérez Rojo, professor at the CEU San Pablo University and psychologist certified by the Official College of Psychology of Madrid. Although money matters—and a lot in some cases—the psychologist believes that it is a multifactorial decision and “it is rarely just about money.” A decision with different “edges” The reasons for continuing to work at retirement age rarely respond to a single reason. For Antonio, in fact, there are several: he mentions financial income, but also the need to stay active and avoid boredom —“What do I do at home 24 hours without any professional activity?”—, continue feeling useful, maintain a routine, continue practicing a profession that he defines as vocational or “wait” for his partner, who is not yet old enough to retire. Rosa María Álvarez Barral, a psychologist active in Venezuela, also does not believe that there is a “specific profile” of a person who chooses to continue their work activity beyond the age of 65. In his opinion, this is a decision that mixes motivational factorssocial and economic. “Work makes you feel important, valuable, distracted and continues to have interesting challenges,” he explains. Furthermore, he maintains that the profession can become an important part of personal identity and provide social recognition, especially in people with long careers or prestige within their sector. “Retirement is often sold as the golden goal of existence, but psychologically it is complex territory. It is not just a change of schedule; it is a metamorphosis of one’s identity.” This is how Professor Pérez Rojo explains how the arrival of retirement can be “for some a haven of peace and for others an existential abyss.” During working life, the profession is part of our cover letter. And after decades dedicated to a position, Pérez Rojo, who is also part of the Aging research group (BUENAVEJEZ), notices how “self-concept merges with role.” So, “when you retire you not only leave a job, you leave an identity.” Psychologist Álvarez Barral speaks of “symbiosis” or “marriage”: a “sense that your identity is linked to your profession.” This is the case of Nacho Valbuena, a journalist who, despite having retired three years ago, continues to collaborate with the media very actively. For him, vocation has been key and age has not represented an impediment, since he claims not to be able to live without practicing journalism: “I don’t think about age, I will be 90 years old and I will continue with this profession (…) It is very deep within me.” And the type of employment is decisive when facing the transition to retirement. Those who have held “jobs with a high load of physical or mental stress … Read more

In Nepal they have begun to fill their streets with tons of plastic waste. Their goal: to be more sustainable

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In Nepal they have begun to fill their streets with garbage. Kilos and more kilos of discarded plastic, old open noodle packages, cookie containers and other synthetic waste that (due to their characteristics) it’s not always easy recycle. The prospect of walking or driving on trash-strewn asphalt may not seem too appealing, but it makes perfect sense and is something that has been done before (or at least tried out) in other parts of the world. Asia, Europe, Africa either America. Of course, usually in a timid way. The key is that plastic waste is not dispersed directly on the pavement. No. They are part of it, of its structure. Even there are those who maintain that improves it. Pavement with garbage? Exact. If every year we produce more than 400 million tons of plastic, much of it destined for single-use packaging and which is then difficult to recycle, and we also build (and repave) kilometers and kilometers of roads every year… Why not connect both things? What if we used the most difficult to recycle synthetic waste to make pavement? What if this material was also better than conventional asphalt? The idea It’s not entirely new and there are those who question whether it is really as sustainable and good as it seems, but the truth is that over the last few years it has attracted the interest of entrepreneurs and institutions from different countries. Usually (not always) in a timid, almost experimental way, with pilot projects and in more or less short periods, but it has managed to stay in the limelight. Click on the image to go to the tweet. Where has it been tested? A quick search on Google shows that over the last five years, “plastic paving” has convinced a few entrepreneurs and institutions from around the world. We see examples in Philippines, Thailand, South Africa, Netherlands, USA, Singapore either Indiaone of the countries that has opted most decisively for this solution. In 2024 Business Standard informed that in the Asian country they had built almost 40,000 kilometers of rural tracks that included plastic waste, 13,000 of them completed in recent years. In Singapore the idea too seems to have curdled and has received the endorsement of the Public Works area. And Nepal arrived. Nepal is one of the latest to join the list. In 2025 the AFP agency published an extensive report in which he explained how the idea has reached the Asian republic, where it has already been used on at least one highway in Pokharaa city of 600,000 inhabitants that serves as the capital of Gandaki province. There the plastic flooring formula has the support of Green Road Waste Managementan organization that is trying to expand it in Nepal. Step by step. In 2025, the founder of the entity, Bimal Bastola, he assured AFP who had completed around a dozen projects totaling just over a mile. It’s not much, but the organization maintains that each kilometer of pavement uses about two metric tons of shredded plastic to build. Bastola advocates going further and carrying out projects at the government level. “We try to collaborate with the highway office.” A priori it seems that the Government does not take a dim view of the measure. Arjun Nepal, an engineer at the capital’s highway department recognize that the country “is interested in testing the technology in pilot projects,” but warns that to move forward it is necessary to first guarantee a series of quality standards. Hence the authorities wanted to carry out a test in Kathmandu. “We saw possibilities”. Bastola defends the virtues of paving with synthetic waste and remembers that it even allows lower value waste to be reused. “We saw possibilities in using these plastics as raw materials, partially replacing tar in road construction,” argues to AFP. The new system does not dispense with this material, but first covers the pavement components with crushed plastic. In addition to providing an outlet for part of the tons of plastic that are generated every day in Nepalese urban areas, Bastola assures that the system saves certain materials, reduces costs and has extra advantages for the pavement itself. “It prevents water infiltration and increases the useful life of the track,” claims. There are studies that endorse These surfaces can last longer than normal ones. Perfect, right? Depends. Although the system has sparked interest in several countries, including Nepal and its neighbors Bhutan and Bangladesh, not everyone is sure it is such a good option. Or at least it has proven to be so. From the World Bank have admitted that there are “promising” pilot studies, but they lack more research: What and how many emissions are produced during the production of the pavement? How does it actually behave in practice? Does it release microplastics? What is their impact once the plastic tracks are removed? “Garbage in for garbage out”, they warned in 2020 at GAIA on solutions such as asphalt and cement with crushed plastic remains. Images | Laurentiu Morariu (Unsplash) In Xataka | We have been thinking for decades that plastic recycling was worth something. Maybe we were wrong

There is a Chinese manufacturer eating the entire electric motorcycle pie. And his next goal is Europe

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The increase of fuel prices caused by the iran war It is being the perfect excuse for one of the most relevant electric motorcycle manufacturers in China to focus away from its territory. Given the growing demand for economical and electric motorcycles outside Asia, the focus is clear: Europe. Yadea. Yadea is, by sales volume, the world’s largest manufacturer of scooters and electric two-wheeled vehicles. Its success is given by the very high demand for this type of motorbikes both in China and in Southeast Asia and South America. And now it’s time to conquer Europe. Since the conflict with Iran raised oil prices and created obstacles to its transit, international sales of Yadea They are growing at a rate of 70% year-on-year compared to 2025. The new. Yadea is not a new player in Europe. They have been present in Spain since 2022, distributing affordable mopeds and electric motorcycles. A discreet operation that wants to begin to consolidate and grow starting this year. Yadea is closing the opening of a factory in Hungary to produce within the European Union and protect itself from tariff tightening. It is not a new practice: China is starting to manufacture in Europe to make their products competitive, and the electric motorcycle is no exception. Why it is important. Of the almost 60 million electric scooters sold in China, 16 million correspond to Yadea. If there is a manufacturer with enough muscle and knowledge to flood Europe with two-wheeled vehicles at an affordable price, it is this one. Why now. Wang Jiazhong, vice president of Yadea, has made it clear in his statements that the current situation is the best possible opportunity to begin expanding into more markets. “The situation in the Middle East presents a good opportunity for us to enter the market and guide consumers towards the use of our electric vehicles, as they can clearly feel how much fuel prices have increased.” Not so fast. Europe is a peculiar and complicated market for electric two wheels. It represents around 9% of global volumes and is skewed towards premium models. It is not a volume market like Asia, at least today. Quite the opposite happens with the combustion motorcycle: China is sweeping and soon the top 3 best-selling motorcycles will be led by Chinese motorcycles. Therefore, the company is exploring joint ventures and collaborations with local companies to adapt their offer culturally and aesthetically. What giants like NIU, Super Soco or Silence have not achieved (example of the resounding failure of the electric motorcycle in Spain, with the SEAT MO), Yadea wants to achieve it. In Xataka | Spain loves one thing: cheap motorcycles. Europe doesn’t like something else: cheap motorcycles.

The goal is for it to last about 200 years.

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On April 18, Helsinki inaugurated a 1.2 kilometer bridge on which no cars will circulate. The bridge it was filled with people almost as soon as it opened, and organizers encouraged visitors to come with crowns, a reference to the name ‘Kruunuvuori’ (literally, crown mountain). Many did. There was music, food stalls, a choir, a samba group and even a bicycle parade. During the opening weekend, More than 50,000 people crossed the bridge. The Kruunuvuori has thus become the longest bridge in Finland, and is designed exclusively for pedestrians, cyclists and trams. It has taken a while to materialize. The project is on the political agenda of Helsinki since 2002although construction did not begin until October 2021. The bridge is part of the ‘Kruunusillat’ (the Crown Bridges) project, a set of three bridges creating a new tram and cycle path corridor to the island of Laajasalo, east of central Helsinki. The Kruunuvuori is the last of the three to be completed, and also the most ambitious. What makes it unique. The bridge connects Korkeasaari and Kruunuvuorenranta, and is the longest and highest in all of Finland. Normally structures of this size are not built only for pedestrians, public transport or cyclists, and in fact there has been a debate for years about whether cars should also circulate there. Daniel Sazonov, mayor of the city, recognized at the inauguration that these large projects usually generate conflicting arguments, although he trusts that the neighbors will integrate the bridge into their daily lives when the tram service starts. In detail. In 2012, as part of Helsinki’s World Design Capital programme, the city held an international competition to design the connection between Kalasatama and Kruunuvuorenranta via Korkeasaari. Of 52 proposals, the jury selected ten, and the winner was the Gemma Regalis projectthe jewel in the crown, a joint work of WSP Finland and Knight Architects. The result is a cable-stayed bridge whose most visible piece is a diamond-shaped pylon 135 meters high, taller than Finland’s tallest residential building, the Kalasatama Tower (134 meters), and significantly higher than the Olympic Stadium tower (72 meters). Construction of the pylon alone required approximately two years of continuous concrete pouring. The design also incorporates details designed for the people who pass through it in their daily lives and adapt its structure to the environment in which it has been built. For example, the route along which its citizens now walk is curved, an idea designed so that the destination can be better perceived. The railings on the south side protect from the wind, and embossed plastic pipes on the cables cause the accumulated ice to break off on its own, a detail that is designed to withstand strong coastal winds and icy winters, when the surrounding sea usually freezes. A large bridge. The Kruunusillat project itself is presented as the longest bridge in the world built exclusively for trams, pedestrians and cyclists. Although no Records organization such as Guinness has yet certified it, the New Atlas media pointed out that has not found any other longer bridge that combines pedestrian lane and light tram (not counting exclusive railway bridges). A bridge with a double objective. The Kruunuvuori Bridge alone represented an approximate investment of 130 million euros. The goal is for tram passenger service to be operational by early 2027 at the latest. Likewise, the distance between Kruunuvuorenranta and the city center goes from 11 kilometers to approximately 5.5 kilometers thanks to this corridor. The project facilitates access for residents of the eastern islands without relying on a private car while also reducing pressure on the eastern branches of the Helsinki metro, in the face of forecasts for population growth in new neighborhoods. Made to last. The bridge It has a projected useful life of 200 yearsa requirement that had not been required before for structures of these characteristics in Finland. This has forced the choice of specific materials, such as stainless steel in the outer layer of the pillar armor in the sea, to resist salt water and freeze-thaw cycles. Cover image | SSAB In Xataka | In 1957, two engineers had a delusional idea: to drill a well 40 kilometers deep offshore.

Europe is taking its technological independence so seriously that it is aiming for the most ambitious goal: NVIDIA

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Europe cannot continue to be the technological vassal of the United States. With that powerful message, the CEO of Mistral presented a few days ago a roadmap with which he considers that Europe can take the pulse in the technological race of artificial intelligence. The warning came just when several companies are defining the future of European technological sovereigntyand one of those companies is Euclyd. It is seeking 100 million euros, is backed by one of the ASML bosses and has a clear objective: to stop depending on NVIDIA. And it’s not the only one. Euclyd. We have already talked at length about ASML. Although when we talk about the technology industry we have names like Intel, TSMC, NVIDIA or Qualcomm more present, ASML is the Dutch company that manufactures the most advanced machines for manufacturing semiconductors. Without it, the technology industry would not be what it is to the point that China is investing everything in having its own ASML. Well, Bernardo Kastrup is the former director of ASML and, in 2024, he founded Euclyd. This startup is backed by former ASML CEO Peter Wennink, and, according to CNBCis looking for financing to raise the necessary capital to start mass manufacturing chips. 100 times more efficient than NVIDIA. In this new round of financing, Euclyd is seeking $100 million and the goal is to create inference chips for AI. These chips are designed so that the models use what they learned in the training phase and are optimized for high speed, low latency and, above all, much lower energy consumption than the training ones. And that is where the ambitions are maximum. Euclyd, based in Eindhoven, claims that its ‘Craftwerk’ chip system is 100 times more energy efficient for AI inference than NVIDIA’s Vera Rubin chips. This is very good, but the comparison is a bit bulky because Vera Rubin, which is the new generation from NVIDIA, is not a pure training or inference platform: it is optimized to do both. European movement. But hey, Euclyd is currently raising the money with an eye toward delivering inference chips to its first two customers by 2027. And it’s not the only one. There are others such as the British Olix, Optalysys and Tactile, the French Lago or the Dutch Axelera that have raised more than 800 million euros to date. That is from the private sphere, since Europe has the FAMES pilot program which has 830 million euros to finance this type of projects. It is an extremely modest amount if we take into account what is moving on the other side of the pond, but between financing chip companies, renewables and European data centersis a sign that the feeling that Europe must fend for itself is there. world movement. The interesting thing is that this does not respond only to Europe’s feeling of technological sovereignty. It goes further, pointing to the great whale of AI: NVIDIA. Whatever company we think of, surely part of its hardware – or all – belongs to NVIDIA. own Mistral reached a very juicy agreement with the company led by Jensen Huang to be able to acquire thousands of GPUs, but the industry is already seeing what happens when all the eggs are in the same basket. That is why NVIDIA has its potential greatest rivals among its clients. Goal, tesla either amazon They buy from NVIDIA, but at the same time they are developing their own chips. The Chinese giants want NVIDIA chips, but they also develop their alternatives with local companies. All of this is creating more shadowy companies such as Texas Instruments, Marvell or Broadcom to do business, since they are the ones those who turn to They do not want to depend so much on NVIDIA. Google. In fact, just as startups developing AI chips are appearing in Europe, in the United States an ecosystem of companies is developing that are raising billions of dollars. Two examples They are Cerebras Systems, which is valued at 23 billion or MatXfounded by former engineers from Google’s TPU development team. Google itself, whose TPUs are manufactured by Broadcomthis searching an agreement with Marvell to diversify its inference chip business. NVIDIA responds. There is a phrase that has always made me laugh, that of “you think the police are stupid”, and applies perfectly here. NVIDIA has also been realizing for some time that it must diversify and has stopped injecting obscene amounts of money to only a few companies to go on to support other smaller onesbut promising. This way you get clients in the curious circular AI financingas well as continuing to be the one who leads the segment. But in addition to investing in others, she invests in herself. In March, he invested 4 billion a photonics company to make optical interconnection systems for next-generation data centers. They are also investing more than 18,000 million in R&D and winning juicy contracts with both TSMC as with Samsungwho make the chips for the company’s AI platforms. In the end, if all markets have something in common, it is unbridled spending. Europe, China and the United States have embarked on a race in which there is no end in sight and that will perhaps have its greatest test when Anthropic and OpenAI go public this year. In Xataka | Europe thinks that it is the one who wants to become independent from US technology companies. It’s actually the other way around.

China will bring together more than 300 humanoid robots in a half marathon. The goal goes beyond running

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Seeing more than 300 humanoid robots preparing to run a half marathon in Beijing has something of a futuristic image, yes, but also quite a declaration of intentions. The appointment, scheduled for April 19 within the framework of The Beijing Yizhuang Half Marathon and Humanoid Robot Half Marathon in 2026 is not presented as a simple flashy exhibition, but as an event in which China will bring together dozens of brands, teams and systems to test them before the public. What we have before us is not just a race: it is another way of showing us to what extent humanoid robotics has become an area that the country wants to take very seriously. New edition. Last year, Beijing had already held a half marathon of humanoid robotsbut now the leap is evident: preparation has mobilized dozens of teams and has forced the organization of large-scale night tests to check that everything works on the ground. Xinhua reported that more than 70 teams participated in the last comprehensive test held between the night of April 11 and the early hours of the 12th. More than resistance. The interesting thing about this appointment is not only in seeing which robot can withstand the distance better, but in observing how it travels it. Both autonomous navigation and remote control equipment participated in the previous tests, which will allow different technical architectures to be shown. That nuance matters a lot, because it shifts the focus from the simple spectacular image to something more useful for reading the moment of humanoid robotics in China. What is at stake is not only completing the journey, but also checking what degree of autonomy and what type of control can be sustained in an open environment. The names of this edition. If there are robots that help to better read the level of this appointment, those are the ones that arrive with clearer objectives and a more recognizable profile. The Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center has confirmed the participation of Tiangong Ultra and Tiangong 3.0, with three units of the former competing completely autonomously, without human navigators or external guidance signals. Unitree has also confirmed the return of the H1, in a version adapted for long distances. Added to this is the presence of Lightning and Yuqi Boy, the two models with which Honor enters this race. What China wants to teach. This race can also be read in a much broader way. It is not only about seeing dozens of humanoid robots facing a half marathon, but also about interpreting the message that China projects with that image. Humanoid robotics has become one of the areas in which the country wants to make its position clear.. And few formulas are as effective to do so as taking that bet out of the laboratory, turning it into a public event and showing it on a stage capable of attracting attention inside and outside its borders. Images | Beijing Government In Xataka | Anthropic was the “don’t be evil” of AI for developers. Now he’s squeezing them all

CATL is the largest battery manufacturer in the world and has a new goal: electrify the entire sea

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CATL, the Chinese giant that dominates the global battery market for electric vehicles, it has become entrenched to move towards a new front: the electrification of maritime transport. It makes more sense than it seems, but it is still a great technical challenge. Although the company is not caught by surprise. Below these lines we tell you all the details. What you are already doing. The company, which controls 37% of the global market for batteries for electric cars and 22% of the energy storage market in electrical networks and data centers, has been working in the naval sector since 2017. It has so far deployed its battery systems on about 900 vessels, although mainly on small ships operating near the Chinese coast, in ports or on rivers. Its subsidiary dedicated specifically to powering ships already exists, and this year it plans to more than double the team’s staff, reaching around 500 people, according to confirmed Su Yi, the head of that division, told the Financial Times. Why now. As the media shares, the maritime sector is responsible for 3% of global carbon emissions, and the International Maritime Organization has set itself a goal halve those emissions by 2050. But there is another more recent catalyst that has made many companies reconsider: the recent escalation of war between the United States and Israel against Iran and the temporary closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The war in the Middle East has once again highlighted the fragility of energy supply chains and CATL has a good margin of maneuver there. According to counted To FT Neil Beveridge, an analyst at Bernstein specializing in energy in China, the long-term consequence of this type of situation will be an acceleration of the “global mega-migrant towards electrification.” CATL shares on the Shenzhen stock exchange have risen about 13% since the conflict with Iran broke out. The challenges. Electrifying boats is not like electrifying cars, up to this point I think we are all clear. But seriously, batteries have a much lower energy density than traditional fuels, making them impractical for long-distance ocean crossings. The middle shared the study by the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Navigation, in which they concluded that the most promising approach in the short term is hybrid: combining electric propulsion with combustion engines. Added to this are extra risks that come from the marine environment itself: greater exposure to humidity and salinity, much more difficult evacuation conditions in the event of a fire, and the need for more demanding maintenance than in any car. Replicate the truck business model. CATL does not want to limit itself to selling batteries, as it wants to build an entire infrastructure around it, just as share in FT. It already operates in China a network of battery exchange points for trucks on highways, and now intends to take that same model to the sea. The idea is that ship operators can change their batteries in port without having to charge them, which would also eliminate that cost from the ship’s acquisition price. The company is working with municipalities and ports to develop this ecosystem from scratch; Cities like Guangzhou, one of China’s major shipbuilding centers, already offer subsidies for electric-powered vessels, according to share the middle. A personal story. There is a rather curious detail in all this. And just as account FT, Robin Zeng, founder of CATL, studied marine engineering at university before switching to electronics. “Naval engineering was his original discipline and passion,” Su Yi explained to the outlet. It has its advantages, because over time this discipline could end up becoming the next great industrial transformation of your company. Financial muscle. CATL closed 2025 with a net profit of 72.2 billion yuan (about 10.4 billion dollars), 42% more than the previous year, driven mainly by demand for energy storage. From this position of financial strength, the company has the muscle to invest long-term in a sector where margins are still uncertain. We’ll see how the company ends up doing. Cover image | Wikipedia and Elias In Xataka | In 2022, Europe forced energy companies to swallow the cost of the gas crisis. Now she’s willing to do the same.

Mitsubishi built a remote, car-free city in the middle of the sea with one goal: mining coal

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About 15 kilometers off the coast of Nagasaki, in the East China Sea, there is a small island that houses blocks of concrete and semi-ruined buildings, surrounded by a retaining wall that protects them from the Pacific. The island is called Hashimaalthough it is also known as “Gunkanjima”which in Japanese means “battleship island.” and its history It is fascinating and dark in equal parts.. An island that was born from coal. All infrastructure was built for one reason: coal. The mineral was detected on the seabed beneath the island around 1810, but its systematic exploitation did not begin until 1887. In 1890, the Mitsubishi Goshi Kaisha company purchased the island and took control of the underwater mines. Extracting coal from the bottom of the sea was extraordinarily complicated, as the miners worked in tunnels that went up to a kilometer below the surface, with temperatures of 30 degrees and very high humidity. Between 1891 and 1974, the island produced some 15.7 million tons of coal. A decision that changed everything. Moving workers daily from Nagasaki was expensive and inefficient, which is why Mitsubishi made the decision to build an entire city on the island. In 1916, the company erected the first concrete building armed of large dimensions in the history of Japan, and it was precisely on this same island. These types of buildings were the only way for the buildings to withstand the typhoons that hit the region every autumn. A compressed city. During the following decades, Hashima grew upwards because he could not grow sideways. The island measures just 480 meters long and 160 meters wide. And yet, at its peak, in 1959, It housed 5,259 peoplemaking it the most densely populated place on the planet at that time. On that small piece of land there were apartments, schools, a hospital, shops, a cinema, public baths, a swimming pool, rooftop gardens, a pachinko parlor and even a cemetery. Of course, there were no cars, since there was neither space for them nor did it make much sense. a hidden face. Hashima’s story has, however, a deep shadow that for decades tried to ignore. From the 1930s until the end of World War II, Mitsubishi used forced labor at its facilities on the island. There, both Korean conscript civilians and Chinese prisoners of war were forced to work in extreme conditions. According to an academic article published on Tandfonline, around 1,000 Koreans were taken to Hashima between 1939 and 1945. Estimates of the death toll vary. On the one hand, in the book “Life in Gunkanjima 1952-1970: Report of the investigation into the Hashima homes”, by academic Uzō Nishiyama, the death toll is estimated at 137; other non-Japanese sources raise that figure to more than 1,300. The workers descended into the mines during extreme hours, and any resistance was punished brutally. They were not workers, they were slaves, and escape was practically impossible, since the nearest coast was more than 18 kilometers away by open swim. Abandonment. In the 1960s, oil began to displace coal as an energy source in Japan. Mines across the country were closing one after another. Hashima’s was no exception. Mitsubishi officially closed the mine in January 1974. and the residents left the island on April 20 of that same year. The exodus was so rapid that many left behind furniture, clothing, photographs and all kinds of personal belongings. In a matter of weeks, a city of more than five thousand people was turned into a ghost scene. For the next thirty years, Hashima remained closed to the public and was slowly devoured by typhoons and sea salt. movie set. In 2002, Swedish filmmaker Thomas Nordanstad visited the island accompanied by Doutoku Sakamoto, a man who had grown up there as a child, and filmed a short documentary. Years later, Nordanstad met Daniel Craig in Stockholm, while he was filming ‘The men who didn’t love women‘. He told him the story of Hashima. According to collect world, Nordanstad thought for a time that the actor wanted to buy the rights to the documentary, but that was not the case. Two years later it was released skyfall (2012). In the film, the abandoned island serves as the lair of the villain Raoul Silva, played by Javier Bardem. The producers traveled to Hashima to consider filming there, but concluded that the buildings were too unstable and dangerous. Therefore, they ended up building a replica at Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom. The exterior images of the island that appear in the film are the only ones shot on location. World Heritage with controversy. In 2015, the island It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, within the category “Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution”. However, this designation came accompanied by diplomatic problems. South Korea initially objected because Japan did not recognize the use of forced labor on the island. In the end they reached an agreement: Japan agreed to include that part of the story in its materials, but they didn’t do their part. In 2021, the UNESCO Committee issued a resolution in which they expressed regret that Japan had not provided sufficient information on forced laborers. In fact, the Industrial Heritage Information Center, opened in Tokyo in 2020 to lend credibility to that narrative, was criticized for including testimonies that denied the existence of slavery conditions on the island. As of today, the debate has not yet been closed. A tourist destination with scars. Since 2009, Hashima can be visited in small groups organized from the port of Nagasaki. The tour lasts approximately one hour and is strictly delimited for safety reasons. In fact, 95% of the island remains restricted to visitors. Images | Wikimedia Commons In Xataka | The most extreme symbol of the touristification of Madrid are the TukTuk. And there is already an initiative to ban them

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