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The world’s rare earth reserves, laid out in this graph showing the brutal dominance of a single country

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The rare earths They are neither earth nor are they rare. It is a set of 17 chemical elements that have become the lever that moves both geopolitics like practically any technology and energy sector today. As important as knowing how to produce it is knowing where the reserves are, and in both things there is a name that dominates the international scene: China. And in this graph we can see which countries have the upper hand. Or “the country”, rather. China, prominent name. Prepared by Visual Capitalist from the data of the United States Geological Survey -USGS-, the graph is very clear when it comes to visualizing the estimated rare earth reserves. China has more than twice as much as the next on the list, which in turn has three times as much as the third. The Asian giant would have reserves of 44 million metric tons, Brazil with 21 million and India with 6.9 million. Far on the list are countries like Australia (5.7 million), Russia (3.8 million), Vietnam (3.5 million), the United States (1.9 million) and Greenland (1.5 million) if we take into account those that exceed one million. The crazy thing is that the world total is estimated at about 92 million metric tons, so China has approximately 50% of the reserves. Importance. Rare earth elements are present in practically anything we can imagine. From the most subtle things such as smartphone elements or the magnets in the headphones that we use every day to the most complex things such as space telescopes, aerospace technology or guidance systems for military radars and advanced weaponry. They are also crucial to manufacturing the elements of energy change: batteries both of electric cars as accumulators for renewable energy and the internal systems themselves of both solar panels like wind turbines. And there’s something important here: you can have reservations, but if you don’t process them, those reservations are worthless. Rare earths as a weapon. The problem is that these rare earth elements do not appear isolated in nature, but rather attached to other minerals. It is necessary to separate them, something that is done through an extremely expensive and, above all, polluting refining process. Due to Western environmental policies, for years we relegate that task to a China with a more lax regulation (although it has been changing recently), and with the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump To the Asian country we have seen how China has taken advantage of his position. Same as with Soy. They have the technology and knowledge for processing rare earths, and they have been responding to the new tariffs, cutting off the supply of metals and elements that the west needs to create weapons or to make that technological paradigm shift through renewables. The West, for years, financed its own strategic and technological vulnerability. Even the western mines, such as Mountain Pass in the United Statessent his material to China to refine it there. Examples of affected productions? Suzuki had to stop production of the Swift due to a shortage of components, the European automobile industry has also shouted to the sky and Elon Musk does not have the money to manufacture his robots. making friends. As China has turned rare earths into its most powerful lever of power, the West has had to move and different countries have undertaken missions to search for new rare earth deposits. It is a strategy that is bearing fruit, finding promising deposits in Spain, Norway, Greenland either Japan. It is also being studied how to restart the rare earth producing arm in the West, although the difficulties are there both due to the technique and, above all, due to the restrictions on emissions. Searching under the stones. And that is a big problem that In Spain we are experiencing first-hand. There are several deposits found in our country, but due to this problematic and polluting extraction, mining projects have encountered opposition from neighborhood platforms and city councils. An example is Torrenueva, in an important site found in Campo de Montiel. And that is why there are several projects and research underway that are not favoring the refining of rare earths, but the recycling of these elements to, as far as possible, stop depending so much on a country that has a monopoly both for reserves and production capacity and for contracts with the most powerful mines on the other side of the world. For example, that of Serra Verde that sells exclusively to China until 2027. In Xataka | Sweden believes it has the largest reserve of rare earths in Europe: one more step towards our independence from China

The average price of Mb/s in each country in the world, arranged in a graph in which there is a unicorn: United Arab Emirates

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Accessing the Internet is a necessity. In an increasingly connected world and in which we trust practically all aspects of our lives to online applicationshave a good coverage and speed It has become something essential. In fact, a server “blackout” like him recently lived with those from AWS demonstrates to what extent we depend on this connection. However, although the Internet is global, there is a huge digital divide. To the point that there are some who pay a cent per Mbps… and others exceed four euros for the same amount. The graph. With data from We Are Socialthe graph prepared by Visual Capitalist compare the price of megabit per secondor Mbps, in more than 60 countries in 2025. Before commenting on individual cases, because there are very striking ones, it must be said that the estimate is that the average price of Mbps worldwide is around 45 cents. The global average is also around 40 euros, but as we can see in the data, there are countries above and below that completely distort that average. And something important to understand is that the price of Internet responds to infrastructure and population density (it is expensive to bring broadband Internet to remote populations), but also to factors such as competition and tax policies. One question: United Arab Emirates. The United Arab Emirates perfectly exemplifies those last two points. It almost seems incredible, but the price of Mbps in the country exceeds four euros. Data from We Are Social puts it at $4.31 per Mb/s, almost double what is paid in the next most expensive country: Ghana with its $2.58 per Mb/s. On average, an Emirati pays between 100 and 140 dollars just to have Internet, and the big question is what is happening to make that happen. The answer? Politics and competition. In the UAE there are only two companies that provide the service, so this lack of real competition means that they do not have a need to lower the price. Do you want Internet? Well, take it or leave it. Plus, there is the political part. The State forces operators to transfer up to 30% of their profits to the country’s coffers, and it is something that directly affects the price of the final bill for the consumer. The speed not bad (an average of 300 Mbps), but it is evident that the price is prohibitive for many, potentially generating the aforementioned digital divide. The Romanian secret. In it opposite side On the spectrum we have the countries of Eastern Europe, specifically in a country whose flagship company we know well in Spain: Romania and DIGI. The average prices for fiber optics in the country are around 10 euros and the price of Mb/s is just 0.01 dollars. Russia and Poland are not far behind, and what has caused this is precisely the opposite of what is happening in the UAE. After the fall of communism, dozens of private operators They began to deploy decentralized fiber optic networks. Taking advantage of community wiring in cities and building blocks, the “last mile” problem was solved, allowing Internet to be offered to a large number of people with minimal costs. It is estimated that almost 90% of Romanian homes have high-speed Internet and DIGI has exported that “policy” outside its borders, offering the longed for 10 Gbps at the price of 1 Gbps in countries like Spain. Above the dollar. Commenting on each country is a complex process because there are multiple factors that come into play, but I find it almost more interesting to see which countries are whose Mbps exceeds the dollar. In fact, these countries perfectly exemplify everything that comes into play when it comes to offering a cheap connection: Swiss: The average price is just over two dollars per Mbps due to the dominance of a single operator and the country’s salary structure: high salaries and, therefore, high maintenance costs. Kenya: averages about $1.54 per Mbps due to its poor fiber infrastructure that makes the country depend to technologies like starlink or the google balloons. Now, the competition is increasing little by little. Morocco: its $1.16 is explained by uneven infrastructure and just three companies that dominate the market. Australia: At its $1.33 per Mbps, the tremendously dispersed geography comes into play, with rural areas very far from each other. Germany: It is the one that is around a dollar per Mb/s and is not the fastest connection in Europe, far from it. In fact, it is a paradoxical situation as it is a power in Europe while having a worse cost/speed ratio than its neighbors. Reason? A large operator that dominates the sector and an old infrastructure, with many areas in which copper continues to be the trend. The Spanish situation. Within our borders, Spain has a comfortable position. There is enough competition so that prices are affordable, with an average of about 10 cents per Mb/s and 1 Gbps packages that are around 30-40 euros per month, depending on the company. Unlimited data is not uncommon on smartphones either. There are many companies that compete in a controlled and regulated environment, with obligations such as sharing infrastructure, and all of this has caused Spain to be a benchmark in the fiber deploymenteven in rural areas. In Xataka | How to improve your WiFi signal in seven easy steps

The countries with the most kilometers of high-speed train, displayed in a graph with a brutal dominator: China

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The train is the backbone of many countries. For centuries it has been key to mobility in Europe, in Japan it is essential, China has experienced a railway revolution and even the United States or Latin America begin to bet on passenger mobility by train. However, it is one thing to have a railway and quite another to have a rich high-speed network. And this graph shows the countries with the most kilometers of high-speed trains and their plans for the future. China, undisputed queen. The Olympics They are an event in which countries “sell” themselves to the worldbut in the case of China, it involved a profound renovation of its infrastructure. It was in 2008 when China launched its high-speed railway line: barely 120 kilometers between Beijing and Taijin, and 17 years later, it is the country with the most kilometers of high-speed lines in operation. According to the data of World Population Review and as we can see in the graph prepared by Visual CapitalistChina has more than 40,000 kilometers of tracks on which its trains go at 250 km/h or more. They have another 12,800 kilometers under construction and more than 11,000 planned. In total, some 64,000 kilometers of high-speed rail. In addition, they are moving forward to make their network the highest speed thanks to the maglev advancesmagnetic trains, with tracks that already link cities like Beijing and Shanghai to speeds of more than 430 kilometers per hour. And it is this network that is putting the airlines in check. Spain and Japan. The train is vital in a country as huge as China and the numbers speak for themselves, but there are two other countries that, without being the ones with the most kilometers in total (operational, under construction and planned), complete the podium of those with the most high-speed kilometers currently operating. There are no surprises here. Spain has a total of 5,632 kilometers of high speed, of which more than 3,700 are already operational, followed by China the country with the most kilometers of high speed currently holds. There are another 1,040 kilometers under construction and another 862 kilometers planned. For its part, Japan, another example when we talk about fast trainshas a total of 3,700 kilometers divided into 3,050 operational kilometers, 402 under construction and 193 planned. Promises, promises. At a time when the train is emerging as the alternative to international flights, especially to low cost and among short-distance points, it is striking that, in reality, there are no more countries with high-speed lines. In Europe, apart from Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, Finland or Italy, they have hundreds of operational kilometers, but outside of the ‘Old Continent’ and cases like South Korea, things are very different. For example, India. It is the second country in the graph, but of the 8,000 total kilometers, only 508 eare under construction and the remaining 7,400 are planned. They do not have high speed, and the same thing happens in Egypt (with 3,400 kilometers planned), Australia (1,700 planned) and European countries such as Latvia, Estonia, Norway or the Czech Republic: all with plans to create high-speed lines, but not one operational kilometer. America. And if in China the train is essential due to its dimensionson the American continent we should think that things are the same. And no, not at all. The United States, a gigantic country, has only 735 kilometers of high speed, 273 under construction and almost 5,000 planned, but nothing more. Spain tried to bring the AVE to the North American country and there are demands for high-speed trains to expand, but their internal mobility continues to have the plane as the protagonist. Canada has 1,500 kilometers planned and not one kilometer built, Mexico is in the same situation with 210 kilometers on the table, Brazil the same with 510 kilometers planned and Argentina does not even appear on the graph. But, although high speed is complicated on the continent, the truth is that there are many plans to expand the railway network, even creating international trains that go from one ocean to another, like the one planned between Brazil and Peru. And who is behind many of these projects? Well, who has gained experience at a forced pace in recent years ‘pulling’ thousands of kilometers of tracks: China. In Xataka | China wanted to be the queen of high-speed trains. So he built all the longest bridges in the world

The countries that consumed the most oil last year, exposed in a graph that is a blow of reality

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Despite the renewable boomoil remains the source of energy that moves the world. Such is the level that, although the main oil companies The path of decarbonization began supporting renewable energies, a few months ago announced a change of coursediscovering that It was the best possible bet. The estimate is that the oil market continues to grow. And this chart illustrates what the largest oil consumers were during the past year. A Burrada. With data from Energy Institutethe graph prepared by Visual Capitalist Plasma the 25 countries with the highest daily oil consumption of 2024. The estimated total was 101.4 million barrels per day, and the graph leaves no doubt: the United States with 19 million barrels per day and China with 16.4 million leads. And a lot of distance from the rest. By colors, we can easily differentiate which area (Asian includes Australia) is the one that most consumes, and also see differences by region. For example, removed the monster that are the two powers, we see that Only a South American country appears In the top or that consumption in Europe, removing Russia, is quite even. The top 10> the others. The striking thing is that the first ten consumers (USA, China, India, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Canada and Germany) represented 61% of the global fee. Among the first 20 countries, that figure increases to 80% and, in general, an annual 0.7% increase worldwide was observed. Because, as we said, despite the impulse of renewables, oil remains the main source of energy worldwide. A few months ago, the IEA (the International Energy Agency) reviewed its world supply forecasts for this year, projecting an increase of 1.6 million barrels per day and estimated that the oil demand in 2025 would be 103.9 million barrels per day. Where is it consumed? The case of India is tremendous, since in the last decade it has grown to one of the fastest rates worldwide, with 3.8% per year. And, if we see what the main oils spend on that oil, we see that the United States, for example, uses 70% of its 19 million barrels per day in the transport sector, followed by 24% in industrial use as raw material. Just 3% is consumed in residential and commercial use. In China, se esteem that half of the oil is used in transport and another large part in the industrial sector. Now, to generate electricity, although it remains a country very dependent on oil (even after Huge impulse to renewables), In its energy mix, oil is marginal, prioritizing coalthe Hydroelectricthe nuclear and the mentioned renewable. The future. And that dependence on oil is not only not being renewable, but it will go to more. If a few months ago IEA projected that increase of 1.6 million barrels per day, now OPEC+ says, as we read in Reuterswhich has more manga and can increase crude oil. And, in addition, China is also focused on becoming a Important actor in oil production. In the end, It is a very volatile market that depends on both internal tensions and conflicts and the not few active wars at the moment. But what seems clear is that, when we have the complete data of 2025, those 101.4 million barrels of last year will have been exceeded. And it will be interesting to see where the Indian brand leaves. In Xataka | How much electricity produces each country with renewable energy, exposed in a graphic

The countries with more nuclear bombs in 2025, gathered in this graph with two protagonists: China and India

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In January 2007, the Watch of the Last Judgment remained at five minutes of the devastation. In January this year, I was barely 89 seconds of midnight. This clock represents, symbolically, if we are close to a nuclear devastation, and the data of 2025 was the most bleak in its 78 to those of history. Although the United States and Russia continue to dismantle nuclear arsenal, they are still the powers that more atomic bombs have. However, China is putting the batteries And another country wants to demonstrate that it has no qualms about arming: India. And this graph perfectly represents the situation of world nuclear arsenal in 2025. The photo in 2025. Prepared by Visual Capitalist From data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or Sipriin the graph we can eloquently see the state of the nuclear arsenal until January this year. The United States and Russia evidently dominated The world nuclear arsenal during the Cold War and, although they are still the two nations that have the most ojas in their possession, that arsenal has been diminishing. During the last months, it is estimated that the United States would have discharged eight eyes while Russia would have ‘retired’ another 71. France and the United Kingdom, which recently confirmed actions to combine their arsenalThey are maintained, like Pakistan, Israel and a North Korea that has a secret arsenal, but with an estimated 50 heads. As can be seen in the image, the US and Russia continue to dominate the segment incontestable, but there is a third country that, also evident, is taking leaps and accelerated to get a good arsenal. China. About a year ago, A SIPRI report He surprised everyone by showing that China was increasing its nuclear arsenal at a stupid speed. Now is in a position that allows Ask for both the US and its allies With nuclear arsenal and that Chinese expansion has been the perfect excuse for the “Rearme” that the Pentagon has asked for. Of the 500 estimated heads of China in 2024, we went to 600, which represents 20% more in a few months that allows to see in an evident way that the Asian giant has taken the renewal of its forces seriously. Nuclear weapons investment is not the only thing we have witnessed, since China boasts electromagnetic catapults of his new warships, of latest generationof New combat fighters and Even a huge poaching plane. India puts the batteries. Despite those 600 heads, it is estimated that they have less than 30 strategically deployed (those that are ready to launch). The United States and Russia have less than 2,000 deployed, France has almost all lists to launch and the United Kingdom half, more or less. The one estimated that it has zero deployed bombs is India, but the new SIPRI report shows that the country’s nuclear investment is paying off. In fact, and without knowing really how things are going in North Koreait would be the only country that has increased its arsenal, adding another eight heads in recent months. They have reached 180 and arrive just at a time of high voltage in the Indo-Pacific region, with continuous demonstrations of force As the other big in the contest does, China. New generation of bombs. The current situation is … complex. With the invasion of Russia to Ukraine the Fear of nuclear war. With the recent conflict between Israel and its neighbors, Those drums have sounded again And, meanwhile, China promotes pacts not to attack first with nuclear arsenal while the treaty expiration is approaching START III which limited the amount of strategic weapons deployed by nuclear powers. Russia se He disconnected of that treaty, directly, in 2022. We will see in a few years how graphics of this type evolve, since France confirmed In 2024 a program to produce Nuclear bombs New generation and more recently they bet on new Actions to consolidate your role as one of the pillars of nuclear deterrence in the West, something that blocks with the Objectives of Rearme launched by Europe. In Xataka | In the Cold War, China feared a Soviet nuclear attack: its response was the largest underground nuclear base on the planet

This graph shows how eighteenth -century corporations already doubled their value

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In recent years, some technology companiesThey have climbed their capitalizations Meteorically to the point that, those known as the “7 magnificent”, already match or exceed the GDP of many countries. Every time one of the companies of this select group, formed by Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla, Reach a new record The idea is reinforced that there have never been such powerful companies. However, history reminds us that this throne It is not new: There were corporations in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that, adjusting their value to inflation, doubled and even tripled the value of the current “7 magnificent”. Seven giants today, very great … but not so much In 2025, Nvidia has reached a capitalization of 4.2 billion dollars, Microsoft of 3.8 billion, Apple 3.2 billion, Amazon 2.4 billion, Alphabet 2.2 billion, goal 1.8 billion and tesla 1.1 billion. Together, the seven largest technological companies in the world total 18.7 billion dollars (European billion in a long scale). A huge figure, which represents The stock market weight Combined of the seven largest technological companies on the planet. However, if the graph prepared by Visual Capitalistleave a much more visual idea, and these figures pale when comparing them with the large business corporations that monopolized the lucrative trade between old Europe and their respective colonies. The data represented in the graph are extracted from the respective capitalizations of the companies in July 2025, as well as the research published in The Motley Fool In 2012. The figures of the companies of the seventeenth and eighteenth century are adjusted to inflation, which leaves us an approximate idea of the enormous power of these commercial corporations, causing the “7 magnificent” to seem mere startups to their side. The Dutch Company of the Eastern Indies: The Bubble of Flowers Founded in 1602 and financed by the Dutch government, the Dutch Company of the Oriental Indies (VOC, for Dutch) was the corporation more powerful of his time. During the speculative boom of the “Tulipomania“In 1637, which gave rise to the first economic bubble in history. During that time, the Dutch company of the Eastern Indies reached an estimated value of 78 million Dutch florins, which adjusted to inflation, would result in more than 10.2 billion dollars. That means that, a single company of the seventeenth century, came to be more than double the sum of Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft together. Unlike modern technological ones, the VOC not only traded with products, but also administered territories, negotiated treated, maintained its own army and even had the power to coin its own currency, functioning de facto as a overseas government. In modern terms, it would be a mixture of megacorporation, central bank and state geopolitical arm. The Mississippi company and the South Sea Company The 18th century also saw the corporate colossi flourish that, in the same way that they flourished, they withered to the pressure of the financial bubbles. The Mississippi company, managed by the Economist John Law Under the support of the French monarchy, it reached a value equivalent to 8,350,000 million dollars in 1720 (8.35 billion). Your model It was based on the exploitation of resources and commerce in the French colonies of North America, but ended up collapsing in one of the largest Stock bubbles of history. For its part, the South Sea Company was created in 1711 by the British Government with the intention of consolidating and refinancing public debt in exchange for exclusive commercial rights with South America, especially in the territories under Spanish rule. In theory, its business model was based on opening new routes and exploiting transatlantic maritime trade. In practice, their commercial activities were minimal. The promise of enormous future benefits promoted a stock market who triggered the value of his actions at exorbitant levels. Exactly the same as centuries later was lived with the Puntocom bubblea scenario that many compare already With investments in AI. In 1720, the South Sea Company reached a capitalization equivalent to more than 5,520,000 million dollars. However, the lack of real income, financial secrecy and unbridled speculation precipitated the collapse. He bubble burst It caused an economic crisis in the United Kingdom, dragging private, parliamentarians and members of the nobility, and forcing legislative reforms in financial markets. In Xataka | The best paid CEOs of the technology industry, gathered in a simple graphic Image | Visualcapitalist

If the question is “how much caffeine each cup of coffee or tea has”, this graph offers revealing responses

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Every day, the world consumes about 2,250 million coffee cups. Let’s drink for their Health effectsbut also for its flavor and for caffeine. This substance surrounded by myths It is the psychoactive more consumed and is present in a lot of products outside coffee such as tea, sodas or energy drinks. Now, not all caffeine drinks have the same amount, and in this graph we can see how much caffeine your favorite coffee or infusion has, with an incontestable winner: the espresso. But there are many nuances. The figures. There are many ways to prepare coffee. In the Italian classic, With filterpercolation, infusion and even with unthinkable supplements until not as much as Protein either Fungi. And the amount of caffeine of each elaboration depends both on the caffeine of the grains of each variety of coffee, its roasted process and the way of cooking it. Caffeine for 30 ml of drink Espresso coffee 62.5 mg Filter coffee 22 mg infused coffee 17 mg Coffee for percolation 15 mg Matcha 8.75 mg mate 4-6 mg Black or green 4-6 mg Instantaneous 1.9 mg MILK CHOCOLATE 1 mg Decaffeinated instant coffee 0.6 mg Very roasted coffee decaffeinated 0.4 mg As the graphic prepared by Visual Capitalist With studies data from Health Canada and Consumer Reportscoffee with a greater concentration of caffeine is the espresso. As much, in addition: in 30 milliliters of drink, it has almost four times more caffeine than the following elaboration, and twelve times more than a black tea. The rest of coffee elaborations are quite pair, but we continue to see a greater concentration of caffeine than in the Matcha tea so popular latelyin the mate or in other tea infusions. If the Italians already knew … That the espresso has the greatest concentration is not a surprise and, in fact, it is an essential part of this elaboration. In it, by the extraction method itself, both flavor and intensity are intensified, increasing that concentration of caffeine. And it is something with a practical function. In the Italian traditionthe espresso was born to be fast. The coffee had to be extracted in the shortest possible time, standing at the bar of the bar and continuing with the day. Traditionally, it is taken without milk, as if it were a sucking sucking that is rapidly sipping, implying a break on the workers’ day, but also that energy ‘chute’ thanks to caffeine. It is a more practical drink than anything else, or it was. The ‘deception’. But of course, we must bear in mind that there is a very important factor in these data: The size of the cup. 30 milliliters is scarce, and it is the amount of an espresso. The coffee size that is usually taken is much larger, so it ends up compensating for the lower concentration of caffeine in other elaborations. An example is the Cold Brew, which is a Perfect infusion for summer that we take in a long glass of more than 300 milliliters. Adding the quantity and long extraction times, the caffeine goes to 200-280 mg per cup. The filtered coffee is also taken in high volumes, contributing between 95 and 150 mg per cup, and something similar occurs with the French press and its contribution of between 80 and 100 mg of caffeine. If we talk per liter, Newcastle University He found That the espresso is the absolute queen, but in the amount of drink we can take, the easiest thing is that there are many elaborations that exceed that contribution of the espresso. Caffeine per liter Espresso 4,200 mg Cold Brew 2,240 mg Moka 2,192 mg French press 742 mg Drip 692 mg How much caffeine is a lot of caffeine. And although there are more and more studies that suggest that caffeine is not a problem nor is it cause of heart attacksa question that is still on the table is how much coffee is too coffee. A study by the European Food Security Authority revealed that the unique doses of 200 mg are not any problem and that a maximum of 400 mg for an adult is fine. In pregnant women and infants, the thing changes and the figures are reduced, but the general measure is about 5.7 mg/kg of the person to talk about safe amounts. But, as we said, it is something that depends a lot because not only does the elaboration come into play, but The origin, variety and roasted of coffeesince it is something that vary the amount of caffeine in the final elaboration. And that is good or not so healthy depends a lot on the situation, such as If dream is missing or if we are going to do some sport. In Xataka | Eating red or chocolate fruits can make you have a better long -term memory. This says science about it

All solar panel technologies that exist and which are more efficient, in a graph that goes 1975 until today

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The fastest energy transition in history is not the industrial revolution, as many think, but the one that is happening now With renewable energies. Renewables are being installed at a rate five times greater than all other combined energy sources. And although the great habilitator is the worldwide commitment to zero net emissions, it is the brutal evolution of solar panels that has allowed to reach this point. Photovoltaic panels have been so much that solar energy Start leaving wind energytraditionally more efficient. Throughout the last decades, solar cells have experienced a radical transformation, driven both by advances in material engineering and in innovations in manufacturing techniques; mainly from the Chinese industry, although Japan is trying to lead The next generation. The National Renewable Energies Laboratory (NREL) has Published a graph that illustrates at a glance How each photovoltaic technology has advanced since the 70s and which cells are more efficient today. Traditional cells: crystalline silicon Crystalline silicon cells The crystalline solar cells of silicon (blue in the graph) have dominating the market for several decades. The polyristaline silicon (the one used in solar panels with bluish crystals) is cheaper, but monochronic silicon (with black crystals) is the current standard of the industry thanks to continuous improvements in purification and production processes, which have approached their efficiency to an ability to convert 27.6% of sunlight into energy. Thin film technologies (green in the graph) emerged as an alternative to the crystalline silicon for facilities that require greater flexibility, lower weight or a large -scale manufacturing. The most efficient thin film cells are currently those of copper, Indian, Gallic and Selenium (CIGS) with an efficiency of 23.6%, closely followed by those of cadmium teluro (CDTE). The emerging: organic and perovskitas Emerging technologies cells Red in the graph, they are the photovoltaic cells that have tried to remove the throne from the silicon. Organic cells and coloring sensitized cells (DSSC) use organic compounds to absorb light. Its efficiency is modest (around 19%), but they have the advantage of their low cost and the possibility of integrating them into flexible devices and buildings with varied colors. One of the most revolutionary innovations in recent years has been the development of Perovskita cells (red with yellow filling in the graph). Thanks to its crystalline structure inspired by the mineral of the same name, these cells have been achieving exponential increases in efficiency in a short time, even if they were invented in Japan in the 80s. Perovskita cells are already as efficient as silicon, with an efficiency of 27%, but they have the problem of degrading much earlier. The tandem, the best of both worlds Tandem two materials cells The photovoltaic cells that make up silicon and perovskita in tandem are the most promising for generalized use today. The secret of combining both materials is that the upper perovskita layer absorbs high -energy wavelengths and the lower silicon layer captures the rest of the spectrum. With an efficiency of 36.1%, Tandem cells (brown in the graph) have left behind the theoretical limit of traditional silicon cells (33.7%). Although in the laboratories we still try to look for alternatives to the silicon, which is a more expensive material and with a supply chain controlled by China. All photovoltaic cells and their evolution By the latter, triple or more layers (multijunction) unions are the cells that have reached the greatest efficiencies in laboratory conditions: up to 47.6%. Its cost is high and its production is complex, but these cells are useful in solar concentrators, where maximum performance is sought. Images | NREL

How the perception of your arrival varies depending on the country, explained in a graph

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Seeing the vertiginous rate at which it is evolving artificial intelligence, it is difficult to look back to realize that, just over two years ago, all that technology did not exist. The rapid evolution of AI models and the wide range of uses that are being given to them is making them obsolete all forecastsand increases the fear that, sooner rather than later, a AI can replace humans in their jobs. The impact of AI on employment according to experts The Report ‘The Future of Jobs Report 2025’which the World Economic Forum prepares every year for its meeting in Davos, has put figures at the impact of AI on the labor market. According to this report, it is expected that by 2030, the process automation that AI will facilitate, will generate the destruction of some 92 million jobs. The majority of these positions will be administrative, financial management, cashier or telephone service personnel positions, which will be replaced by specialized AI systems or AI agents. On the other hand, the same study indicates that the arrival of AI in the workplace will generate 170 million new jobs in professions that They are already beginning to emerge and many others that do not yet exist. However, these are the data provided by economic specialists and technology analysts. But what does the population really think about the impact of AI on employment? a study prepared by Ipsos in 33 countries, asked 23,721 citizens if they believe that artificial intelligence will generate new jobs in their country. The portal VisualCapitalist.com has collected all those answers and created a graph explanatory with them. Will AI create new jobs in your country? The Chinese were the most optimistic when answering this question, to which a 77% who believed that AI would create new jobscompared to 20% who thought that the arrival of AI would leave a negative balance in employment. China is all a superpower in AIso the development of your own chips and AI modelswill place them in a prominent position in the strategic career of this technology, which is why a large increase in the demand for professionals with technological profiles is expected in the coming years. The citizens of Indonesia and Thailand move along the same lines, who believe that the arrival of the will be positive for job creation in their countries. In the case of these two countries, optimism about the arrival of AI in the workplace is not given by their role in the development of this technology, but rather as countries large data center hosts who will need this technology. Microsoft has already announced a $1.7 billion investment in data infrastructure in Indonesia. It is striking that the United States, the country What more are you investing? in this technology, it fails to convince its citizens. 49% of those surveyed do not believe that AI will create new jobs in their country, compared to 36% who trust that it will. In Spain we are a little more optimistic with the forecast for the creation of new jobs. 38% of those surveyed in our country believe that it will be a positive factor for the labor market, compared to 48% who do not believe so. The results show that European countries are the most pessimistic regarding the arrival of artificial intelligence, highlighting Hungary with 65% of respondents disagreeing with the question about job creation, followed by Germany with 59% and a tie between Italy, Poland and Belgium with 58% of its citizens believing that AI will destroy more jobs of those who will create. This perception coincides, although to a lesser extent, with the global average, which is around 46% of the population perceiving that the arrival of AI will have a negative impact on the labor market, while 43% believe that arrival of AI will be positive. In Xataka | “I have three years of work left”: more and more AI managers believe that AI will end up taking their jobs Image | VisualCapitalist.com

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