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Playtomic has just lifted one of the largest investment rounds this year in Spain with a peculiar hook: paddle

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Pedro Clavería, Félix Ruiz (CEO) and Pablo Carro, co -founders and maximums responsible for Playtomic, smile in that image. It is not for less: your startup —which is not typical From the Spanish technology sector – it goes like a shot. The surprising thing is not that, but they have achieved it from the hand of the paddle, a sport that has gradually conquered fans in Spain, but now points much higher. Blades everywhere. The popularity of the paddle has grown spectacularly in recent years in our country. Sport is also living a vertiginous professionalization both among players and in the organization of tournaments, sponsors or manufacturers of sportswear or shovels, balls and accessories. In Xataka we continue to miss More support by smart watchesyes indeed. The new tennis. Tennis fans usually also enjoy this sport, which is especially accessible, and the follow -up of professional tournaments is also demonstrating that unique ascending trajectory. After the success of the World Padel Tour now the professional circuit has become called (and be managed by) PREMIER PDELand from an area that focused on Spain, Spain has passed to tournaments that are played in European countries, the Middle East and the entire American continent. The idea: globalize it and become a worldwide phenomenon. Playtomic knew how to arrive at the perfect moment. Playtomic’s emergence in this segment was vertiginous: before each club had its own methods and apps for reservations and the market was much more fragmented. Playtomic emerged as the unified app to review clues in clubs or to organize matches both on those tracks and on private tracks. Little by little more and more clubs have joined, and now in Playtomic there are 6,000 registered clubs and 1.5 million active users a month worldwide. Rounds that drive growth. The startup carries several rounds of accumulated investment, but in recent years the thing has gone more. In 2021 Playtomic he already lifted 56 million euros to continue growing, and now those responsible have just announced a new investment round of 65 million euros. The operation includes 55 million euros in investment and another 10 million in debt financing from Banco Santander. Playtomic’s is one of the largest investment rounds of the year in Spain, although there has been even more striking rounds, like Travelperk’s (200 million dollars). Expansion to the US in sight. This financing round will serve to boost Playtomic’s global presence in European countries, for example, but the focus is clear: to conquer the United States. As Ruiz pointed out Five daysapproximately a third of the money raised will be dedicated to that expansion in the US. There will also be expansion in European countries such as the United Kingdom or Germany. Miami marks the guideline. That American conquest has begun in Miami, where one of the great tournaments of the year is celebrated these days. The American city is being a shop window in that country, and in fact the current number one in the world, Claudio Coello – a part of Agustín Tapia, also number one – has moved there. Possible acquisitions. Those responsible for Playtomic also point to future acquisitions that will further reinforce their relevance in this sector. In 2022 They have already been made With a Finnish competitor, and Ruiz himself pointed to potential operations of this type. Good numbers. The company achieved revenues of 240 million euros in 2024, and it is expected to grow up to 350 million gross billing in 2025. The net net billing results in 2024 were 23 million euros, while the forecast is that it reaches 31 million in 2025. The company has more than 200 employees and the plan is to hire another 15 people throughout 2025. This is going. This investment round confirms the excellent state of health and the projection of the paddle, and here Playtomic has managed to do things very well and take advantage of that popularity to grow (and help to grow) to this sport. Spain is already conquered territory: now it remains to be seen if this new round effectively allows it to become a reference in countries like the US, where by 2026 it is expected that there are already 3,000 paddle tennis courts. Image | Playtomic In Xataka | Swim is fine. I do it with bone driving helmets and the experience is simply fantastic

China has launched the largest military deployment of 2025 against Taiwan. Taiwan has just responded with the same currency

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A few days ago the news in Taiwan was not around the island, it was somewhat further. A series of images next to a video showed that, in an unidentified coast, China had displayed artificial platforms that they remembered too much to Mulberry ports with those who the allies invaded Normandy. The island has been found in the last 24 hours with a Chinese military army in the surroundings, and this time they have decided to replicate. A phrase as a trigger. China held on Monday The greatest military exercise On a large scale so far this year, and he faced Taiwan mobilizing 59 aircraft and drones, along with nine vessels, in a clear sample of force in response to the recent comments of President Taiwanés, Lai Ching-Te, who He described Beijing as a “foreign hostile force” and promised to strengthen national security against its infiltration attempts. The unusual in this case is that Taiwan has responded To the exhibition deploying aerial and maritime patrols, in addition to defensive missile systems, while its Minister of Defense, Wellington Koo, accused China of being the “disturbing of peace and stability” in the region. Increase tension. Last Thursday, Lai hardened his speech After a national security meeting, accusing China of seeking Taiwan’s annexation through influence tactics. In response, he announced stricter measures to regulate trade, travel and residence of Chinese citizens on the island. Beijing, who considers Lai and his party, the DPP, as separatists, reacted with virulence: the spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of China, Chen Binhua, He described it of “destroyer of peace in the Strait” and accused him of pushing the island “towards a scenario of war and conflict.” Since the inauguration of Lai last May, China has intensified its military pressure. We have been counting it: in December, it deployed more than 90 ships from the Navy and the Coast Guard in an operation that Taiwan described as Its greatest maritime mobilization In recent history. The growing military activity China reinforces that fear that Beijing is preparing a direct confrontation scenario. The Described bridges A few days ago it is a “spicy” more to tension. The “Gray Zone”. The truth is that all these military activities of the Popular Liberation Army (EPL) of China around Taiwan is what experts describe as a “Gray Zone” strategythat is, coercion tactics that do not reach the direct armed conflict but that wears out the defensive capacity of the adversary. So that? This campaign would seek to increase the Psychological pressure On Taiwan, force their Armed Forces to operate in a constant state of alert and weaken the perception of security on the island. The United States position. Irremediably, the situation leads to Washington. Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency has added A layer of uncertainty To the equation. In the middle of the commercial war with China, Trump seeks increase your investment In defense. In addition, its administration has expressed discomfort for the impact of the island on the American semiconductor industry, threatening new tariffs to strengthen local production. No doubt, contradictory signals from Washington have generated restlessness in Taiwan. While the island’s government has expressed Your willingness to collaborate With Trump in the construction of a “democratic supply chain”, key companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) have promised investments up to 100,000 million of dollars in the United States to relieve tensions. Attempts of calm (and commitment). Amid all this uncertainty, the director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), Raymond Greene, tried to reassure Taipei. In a statement Posted on FacebookHe said that the Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, has reiterated his commitment to Taiwan, ensuring that Trump seeks world peace and strengthening deterrence in the Indo-Pacific to avoid conflicts. Greene emphasized that Washington cannot guarantee security of the region alone and needs allies like Taiwan to reinforce its defensive capacity. He also stressed that a conflict in the Taiwan Strait would have devastating economic consequences, with an impact greater than 10% of global GDP, “more serious than World War II,” he said. Be that as it may, the current increase in Chinese military activity and the surprise Taiwanese response mark a new critical point in the already tense relationship between both parties. With a most unpredictable Trump, the future of American support to the island is still uncertain. Meanwhile, Beijing continues to press with demonstrations of strength and rhetorical threats, in a context where any calculation error could serve as a fuse to trigger a conflict of unpredictable proportions. Image | 總統府 In Xataka | China has a plan with six options if things “twist” with Taiwan. World War II advocates all In Xataka | Taiwan lives an unprecedented situation in three decades: there is an army of 53 planes and 90 Chinese ships in front of the island

The SS United States was the largest and most rapid transatlantic of the ocean. Now it will be a gigantic submarine reef

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A transatlantic of 301 meters in length. It is a figure that perhaps does not impose today when we talk about cruises, especially having moles such as the Oasis of the Seas of more than 316 meters or the Harmony of the Seas With its 362 meters, but if we go back to 1950, the thing changes. In the middle of the last century it is when the SS United States was over, an imposing transatlantic that did not go to the History like Titanicbut it should. Merits are not missing, but after a more than remarkable service, it was abandoned in a shipyard in which it was gradually oxidizing without anyone paying or attention. And so for almost 30 years … until now, since he will be given a deserved tribute at the bottom of the sea. The other cold war missile. During the Cold warcountries like the United States invested a lot, a lot of money in Improve your weapons. Specifically its nuclear arsenal that, together with that of Russia, grew uncontrolled. But other things had to be done and, in 1950, in the Newport News Shipbuilding shipyards in Virginia, the world’s largest transatlantic was being cooked: the SS United States. A ship postcard A Burrada. Its construction term In 1952 and that was when the world knew an absolute beast of 301 meters in length, a 31 -meter sleeve and a displacement of more than 47,000 tons. The Titanic, as colossal as it was, measured 269 meters in length and a couple of meters less manga. Interestingly, he displaced practically the same tonnage, but the protagonist is now the American ship. Not only was it the largest built in the United States: it also moved like a fish in the water. It had a cruise speed of 39 knots (about 59 km/h) and I reached A surprising maximum speed of 38.38 knots (70.97 km/h). Its deposits allowed to travel more than 18,500 kilometers at a sustained speed of 64 km/h, which allowed rescue or long -distance missions to be carried out if there was any emergency. It was much faster than current cruises. The Titanic II. Its construction cost about 78 million dollars, but there was a trick: the United States contributed 50 million because the ship could be used in military missions, moving until 15,000 soldiers if the situation required it. It was never used for that purpose, but that the government entered the equation not only allowed to finance most of the ship, but also to improve construction materials. On his inaugural trip in 1952 he showed what pasta he was made, getting the speed record in both directions when completing the trip in three days and ten hours. He continued to carry out passengers until 1969, being the pride of the United States during the Cold War. Retirement without gallons. His iceberg, however, came in the late 60s. The rise of transatlantic commercial aviation caused no sense to invest money in the maintenance and operation of a ship so huge that it took much longer to bring passengers from one destination to another. After just 17 years of service, he was removed from it and was lying from one port to another until, in 1996, he tied in the port of Philadelphia. Interestingly, in view of the whole world while their helmet was more and more oxidizing. Since then, I know tried Give a second life to the pride of the nation, which went through several owners, but attempts to turn it into a hotel or a floating museum did not prosper. Oscar posthumous. It was a sad end to a symbol like this, but the SS United States Conservancy achievement become with the ship and have planned to remove it the way it deserves. After 28 years, a few days ago he undertook his last trip helped by several tugs and, after a journey of about 3,000 kilometers, arrive to the coast of Mobile, in Alabama. Recreation of the SS United States for the Terrestrial Museum. The radar tower and other elements will be the originals The plan, now, is to sink it at some point in 2026, and will be at the bottom of the sea where it will become a huge artificial reef that will delight the submarine. On the coast there will be A museum and visitors center in which the story of a ship that marked a naval era will be remembered and was sadly set aside due to progress. Now, you can rest with dignity. Images | Ssusc, Chuck Homler D/B/A Focusonwildlife In Xataka | The largest passenger ships in history, ordered in a fabulous infographic

The world’s largest amphibious plane

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China is The country of megaconstructions. Although in recent years Arabia Saudi and Emirates Arab are trying to monopolize all eyes with impossible skyscrapers and the POLETIC CITY THE LINEtalking about really huge constructions is talking about China. From indescribable tunnels until Pharaonic bridgesthe Asian giant surprises us from time to time with a project that can only be described with one word: colossal. Within that category There are also vehiclesand China can already boast of having the largest amphibious plane in the world. AG600. That is the official name of an airplane that, during its 16 years of development, We met like ‘Kunlong’, or “Water Dragon”. It is the work of the Chinese Air Industry Corporation (or Avic), a Chinese consortium dedicated to the manufacture of airplanes, and it really huge: You can house 50 passengers. You can take off with a total weight of more than 53 tons. It has a range of 4,500 kilometers and its four turboheric engines can sustain a speed of 570 km/h. All this, measuring 36.9 meters long and with a wingspan of 38.8 meters. Is similar to a Boeing 737which is said soon. Multifunction. The AG600 design phase began at the end of the first decade of the 2000s and was an Avic task. In 2014, with the design ready, they began to manufacture the first unit. The idea was to perform the test flight in 2015, but the plans were delayed and it was in December 2017 when this mole made Your inaugural flight. During these years in the test phase, and how we read in Motorpasionthe AG600 has made maneuvers in all types of weather scenarios and has accumulated 3,560 flight hours to earn certification. This hard training responds to the function that the aircraft will have: strategic and rescue missions in conditions that can be adverse. The ship is designed to perform maritime search and rescue missions, maritime patrol and is also able to support forest fire extinction. You can collect up to 12 tons of water in just 20 seconds and download it at intervals of 12 to 20 seconds. In one of the tests it could see How water poured about 230 km/ha altitudes between 30 and 50 meters. Strategic importance. As we say, the AG600 has already been certified and can start surrendering after a simple path. Only the nose has been working for three months and in 2020 we already commented that deliveries were planned for 2022 (To see the delay that the project carried), and something interesting is that this plane can be key in China’s new commercial dream: the New Silk Route. With that capacity to travel for 4,500 kilometers without the need to reproduce, the AG600 is insurance for the maritime route closest to the Asian giant. In addition to this, it is an achievement for a country that is looking for a way to reduce the dependence on western aircraft and technology, something that is applying so much to its Commercial aircraft Like his Combat aircraft and vehicles. Only. Once the serial production of the final model begins, we can say that the Ag600 is the largest amphibious aircraft in the world, but although its size is imposing, it has distant cousins ​​that exceeded it. And as much. On the one hand, the Spruce Goose With a wingspan of 97.54 meters, a madness that was canceled after a single flight of 1.5 kilometers just 21 meters high. On the other, the Martin Marsa transport plane of the Second World War which was reconciled in HidroAvion, but which was also removed years ago, having a wingspan of 61 meters. Images | Avic, Alert5 In Xataka | Xi Jinping also has its particular “Air Force One”: how China has advanced to the US on its presidential plane

Vodafone displays the largest public Wi -Fi network in Spain connecting all Andalusia. Even the Alhambra

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Vodafone and the Junta de Andalucía have announced in the MWC 2025 – and among mutual praise – the implementation of the largest public Wi -Fi network in Spain, connecting 3,100 administrative venues in 700 Andalusian municipalities. The Vuela Plan offers free Internet access for 8 million citizens and public employees through an infrastructure that has required 27,000 access points and 800 km wiring. Why it is important. The network guarantees universal Internet access throughout Andalusia, in view of “overcoming the digital divide” and modernizing public administration. The infrastructure allows any Andalusian to connect to the Internet for free to any of the administrative venues, from small municipalities to hospitals, through historical buildings such as The Alhambrawhere the installation works were extended for almost a year to respect their patrimonial value, according to the announcement of the Teleco. In figures. The project has meant a massive technological deployment that we do not remember precedents in the Spanish public administration. 27,000 Wi -Fi access points. 4,500 concentrators installed. 800 kilometers of wiring. 700 connected municipalities. 82 Coordinated organizations in the deployment. In detail. The plan flies, announced by Antonio SanzDirector of the Presidency, Interior, Social Dialogue and Administrative Simplification of the Junta de Andalucía, Structure connectivity in three different networks that fulfill specific functions according to the type of user. The Vuela network offers public access with safe authentication for citizens. The corporate network connects public employees in the 5,500 headquarters allowing mobility between buildings. The third is dedicated to IoT devices to manage sensors, hospital equipment and asset location. During the presentation, the counselor has talked about increasing the utility for the citizen and “being more agile”, coming to talk about the ability to attract Digital nomads. “No one is left behind.” Between bambalins. The deployment has had to overcome several technical and logistics challenges to respect the characteristics of each space. It has been necessary to adapt the installation to hospitals with strict protocols, remote municipalities or protected historical buildings. The network has a dedicated core that guarantees professional benefits, similar to those of any commercial operator. And now what? The network solves the poor connectivity that affected many administrative buildings, as stated during the presentation, and responds to the demand for a Wi -Fi network. Now citizens will have internet in health centers, libraries and public offices where there was not before. O It was limited to the cable for employees. Outstanding image | Xataka In Xataka | European telecos in front of their existential battle: “If our hands unleashed, we will score goals”

We have discovered the largest underground thermal lake in the world. It is at the bottom of a more than 100 meters aser in Albania

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Albania has just been crowned on the world geological map. And big. There, on the border with Greece, a tens of meters deep, an expedition has identified the largest underground thermal lake on the planet. His name, Neuron. Its figures: more than 183 m long, 42 wide and sufficient water to fill A few Olympic pools. The finding confirms the scope of a discovery that dates back several years ago but whose relevance has only been confirmed now, with the help of a Lidar scanner. Its history is as curious as its size. “A steam column”. To understand the scope of the discovery you have to go back a few years ago, at 2021 and 2002, when a team of Czech scientists launched Vromoner, in southern Albania, near the border with Greece. The area resulted especially interesting For geologists because for years the convulsive political context of Balkans had hindered that scientists could thoroughly examine it. There the experts found a vast underground system of thermal sources thanks to a curious track: a steam stream. “From the high vapor column that rose from the limestone massif we managed to locate a chasm of more than one hundred meters deep,” Marek Audy tellsHead of the expedition. They called her atmos. When exploring it, they took an even greater surprise (literally): they found an intense thermal activity and a “great lake.” How large and broad it was, however, it became an unknown that then, for technical issues, they could not clarify. A (huge) suspicion. Which I was clear Audy team was that it had found something big, huge. And again both words can be understood in their most literal sense. The team suspected that the water extension that had been located in Albania was the largest underground thermal lake in the world, at least among those known today. Hence, later the researchers returned to the Sima in a new expedition provided with a reinforced technical arsenal. Thanks to the support of the Neuron Foundation, which contributed funds, the geologists achieved a special lidar scanner and the software necessary to measure the area. The objective of the researchers –The Neuron Foundation reported Before the expedition left – it was to make a map, a 3D model of the underground cave and the lake and even collect samples of animals from the banks. The result of that incursion has been waiting, but it was worth it: today those responsible presume having identified the largest underground thermal lake in the world. A “unique” lake. In a wink to the foundation that supported the project to the lake, Neuron has been baptized. What surprises however is not its name, but its size: 138.3 meters in length by 42 wide with a circle of 345 m. Inside it hosts around 8,335 m3 of thermal mineral water and those who have had the opportunity to visit it highlight the show of its dome, three times greater than that of the main room of the Prague National Theater. “The phenomenon has been subject to a thorough hydrogeological study to confirm its singularity,” The Foundation stands outwhich emphasizes that it is a “unique” lake. And how did they measure it? The team did not start from scratch. Richard Bouda, photographer and member of the expedition, Explain to Euronews that during the first visit they had already prepared a “basic map” with the resources they had. When they returned they did it, however, with a mobile lidar scanner and the system Geoslam which allowed them to precisely probe the cave and the lake. Not just that. They also traced a detailed map of Atmos, including other caves, such as sulfur. “We believe that this discovery will help protect the area and to better understand hydrological flows. Until now, nobody knew precisely how these groundwater connect to the surface,” Bouda comments. The team also trusts that the finding has an impact on the hydrological and geological studies of the region. Images | Neuron 1 and 2 In Xataka | A cave in France hid a strange rock formation. Some researchers believe that it could be a 3D map

It was inaugurated in 2014 as the largest solar thermal energy plant in the world. Will close after setting fire to birds

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The huge Ivanpah thermosolar energy plant, opened in 2014 in the Mojave desert, will close after just 11 years of operation. An accelerated end for its history of technical, economic and environmental problems. Context. The thermal concentration energy, once considered one of the most avant -garde technologies for clean electricity generation, is not going through its best moment. Especially in Nevada, where Crescent Dunes fiasco was already very popular. The concentration thermoso use thousands of mirrors, or “heliosteats”, which follow the trajectory of the sun to concentrate its light on central towers. In these towers, extreme heat is used to heat water and produce steam, which drives turbines connected to electric generators. The Ivanpah case. The Ivanpah plant was built with an investment of 1.6 billion dollars in loans from the United States Department of Energy and long -term contracts for important electrical companies. It was the world’s largest solar thermal energy Until the inauguration of Port Augusta In Australia. 11 years after its inauguration, the huge thermosolar has begun to close by not fulfilling its initial expectations. The lack of profitability condemned her. A succession of failures and complaints from environmental groups for their impact on wildlife accelerated their end. A complex technology. One of the main problems has been the difficulty of maintaining mirrors aligned precisely. Technology, which requires an exact monitoring of the sun, has proven unstable and unreliable in practice, says a CNN report. The maintenance of the complex mechanisms and the management of the turbines in turn generate high operating costs, which has made concentration thermosar loses competitiveness compared to other renewable technologies, especially photovoltaic solar, whose prices have collapsed. A Bird Incinerate Machine. Criticisms are not limited to technical aspects. The Ivanpah plant has been questioned for years for its environmental impact, especially in the wildlife of the desert. Environmental groups denounce the irreparable damage in the habitat of species such as desert turtle. But also The death of birds that are incinerated by intense rays concentrated by mirrors. A second Crescent dunes. The case of Crescent Dunes, also occurred in Nevada, reinforces this image of failure of the thermosolar energy. This project, which was intended to be one of the milestones in energy innovation and storage through molten salts, ended up becoming a multimillionaire waste. Developed By the Spanish group ACSpromised continuous production of electricity, even during the hours without light, thanks to the thermal storage in salts. In practice, Crescent Dunes never managed to deliver the amount of promised energy and ended up breaking due to engineering and management problems. In the shadow of the photovoltaic. In short, the rapid drop in photovoltaic technology and its lower impact on wildlife have obsolete concentration thermos. While solar panels have gained efficiency and reducing their installation and maintenance costs, thermosolar plants have lagged behind in terms of competitiveness, which has led to investors and electrical companies reconsidering their bets in this type of projects. In Xataka | The first solar plant of Central Torre to explode commercially is in Seville: a pioneer that has survived more ambitious

A year ago the world’s largest olive oil company was clear that it was going to continue expensive. Now he has just shown up

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In 2022 deoleo, the largest marketer of olive oil in the world, He won 5.5 million euros of benefits. In 2023, lost 34. It is the best metaphor of the earthquake that the olive oil industry has lived in recent years. Above all, because we are not talking about a lost oil mill in Sierra Morena, we talk about the bottling brands such as Hojiblanca, Carbonell or Koipe. Therefore, if we are interested in olive oil, we must follow them closely. One year of transition. During 2023, drought, a short harvest and the increase in costs (derived from the situation in Ukraine, the inflationary scenario and high interest rates) caused a very serious problem in the oil. We know that well. The problem is that, although They themselves recognized that they had transferred “partial (mind) to customers the increase in prices experiments throughout the chain”, it had not been enough. And that deoleo was (at least, on paper) one of the marketers that More margins had for the ‘premium’ positioning of its brands. 2024 was, then, the year of transition. What happens is that ransition has been faster than anyone expected. In fact, I was not sure what was going to happen. And, at some point, they bet because prices They were going to stay up. His analysis said that if prices at origin did not fall sufficiently, the industry would have to contain the decrease of finalist prices (or expose to bankruptcy). That It is something that has happened: prices at origin have collapsed, while in supermarkets the descent is being very soft. However, with estimates that They tell us 1.4 million tons They have already realized that there is no way to contain the price in the medium term. Preparing for 2025. Hence Víctor Roig, general director in Spain of Deleo, has explained that “the logical thing is that this returns the price of the Aove to levels similar to those of 2021 and 2022, standing between three and four euros per liter.” In this context, the battle has begun to be another. Recover the oil culture. In the last decade, the consumption of olive oil It has been falling year after year. Crisis after crisis (and with the mediation of A deep cultural and gastronomic change), wide layers of the population have dropped from olive oil and the vast majority of them have not returned. It is true that demand has not fallen into that same proportion That prices have grown. But consumption has decreased 44.5% Less in the last three years and, following the previous logic, nobody knows if the industry will recover it. And if in recovering from the losses there was a short -term survival of the industry, in bringing all those consumers back is the future. Image | Vincent Eisfeld | Senate agency In Xataka | Spain faces its greatest agricultural challenge of the century: turn 1,901,529 hectares of olive grove before it is late

a record submarine tunnel with the largest diameter in the world and a colossal machine to drill it

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In the city of Jinan, just over four and a half hours by Beijing’s car, China Railway 14th Bureau Group It is leading the construction of the higher diameter submarine tunnel. When the work is finished, residents and visitors of The capital of Shandong They will be able to move from one side of the Yellow River to another through a two -level road with six lanes in total. But before this happens, workers must complete the drilling tasks they started months ago. Behind this project is a huge tunnelador baptized as “Shanhe” of 163 meters, with a diameter of 17.5 meters and a weight of 5,200 tons. This sophisticated engineering piece left the mounting line in May 2024 and began to function and the aforementioned work in September last year. As Xinhua collectsevery two meters a dozen segments are assembled to form a support ring that separates groundwater, two meters are drilled and the task is repeated. A tunnel to better connect the city of Jinan As the cutting head progresses, several members of the work control parameters such as the movement of the pieces, the advance of the cylinder and the mud level. The machine also needs constant maintenance tasks and even repairs. In this case, specialists direct an army of workers who manipulate hydraulic mechanisms, water pipes and tools for the work to be at the end of this year. “Shanhe” has advanced around 15 meters per day and has exceeded 1,000 meters perforated. This powerful machine has 306 cutters of different types of teeth, designed for higher cutting yield. In addition, it incorporates advanced technology such as a pressurized compound head, main telescopic drive and a telescopic chamber for the excavation tank. But that’s not all. It is also equipped with advanced geological forecast, gas environment monitoring, tool wear detection, synchronous grout detection and an auxiliary support system. China Daily highlights a very interesting fact: 7 out of 10 tunneladoras sold in the world are Chinese, and within the country, 95% of these machines are also of national manufacture. China leads this sector, as also occurs in port infrastructure and Batteries for electric vehicles. With little competition, local production marks the rhythm and consolidates its position in strategic industries, reflecting a strong commitment to self -sufficiency and technological domain in key areas that goes beyond its borders. Images | Xinhua In Xataka | Saudi Arabia is waste so much money in The Line that has entered deficit

Philips was the second largest chips manufacturer on the planet. Now it is out of a market led by its creation: ASML

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What we have promised you in the head of this article is strictly true. As Marc Hijink explains in his highly recommended and fresh out of the oven ‘Focus: The Asml Way’during the decade of the 70s of the last century Philips was the second largest manufacturer of semiconductors of the world. The leader in this market at that time was the American company Texas Instrumentsbut the Dutch firm had a long career in the field of innovation and technological development. In the early 70th Philips had more than 400,000 employees, and approximately 90,000 worked in the Netherlands. At that time his business was mainly held on The design and manufacture of televisionsradios, medical equipment, appliances and lighting solutions. His Porfolio was not but that nothing wrong, although his true strength was that absolutely everything was designed and manufactured within Philips. Today this strategy would be impracticable. Anyway, if we stick to the production of integrated circuits, the interesting thing is that the lithography equipment used at that time had also been devised and manufactured by engineers of the company itself. In fact, its first flirting with the semiconductors dates back to the late 50s of the last century. At that time the Philips Board of Directors realized of the enormous potential the chips had And he decided to create several research centers, as well as collaborate with technological universities and laboratories. ASML is the result of an inspired alliance During the decades of the 60s and 70th Philips was already a great technological emporium. In the early 80s he had acquired a lot of experience in the field of semiconductor manufacturing, but the industry sued smaller and capable chips. These requirements represented a technical challenge for company engineers who were responsible for the design of photolithography equipment, so in 1984 the Philips directive dome made a very important decision: he decided to associate with the Dutch company ASM International (Advanced material semiconductor). Currently all companies that produce advanced semiconductors have in their plants the UVP or ASML UVE machines The purpose of this alliance was to take advantage of Philips’s extensive experience in the set -up Design and manufacture avant -garde photolithographic equipment. The result of this collaboration was the birth of ASML (Advanced Materials Semiconductor), the Dutch company that leads the production industry of these machines thanks to the enormous success that their teams have had extreme ultraviolet lithography (UVE). Currently all companies that produce advanced semiconductors have in their plants the machines of deep ultraviolet lithography (UVP) or extreme ultraviolet asml. Some of them are TSMC, Samsung, Intel, SK Hynix, Micron Technology, SMIC or UMC. However, once we have reached this moment it is reasonable that we ask ourselves why Philips is no longer a relevant actor in the integrated circuit manufacturing industry. In ‘Focus: The Asml Way’Marc Hijink tells us that after the creation of Asml Philips he settled. Its chips factories lost competitiveness and little by little they ceased to be able to develop the semiconductors required by the market. Jon Yu, the person in charge of the Newsletter The Asianometrysuggests essentially the same During the conversation who has maintained with Ben Thompson, the author of the interesting publication Stratechery. “As they count on ASML, Philips failed. It was a company with Too much bureaucracy and too much clinging to their customs. It is something similar to what happened with the Japanese in the 90s. Philips had already fulfilled his cycle and deserved to conclude, although he apparently sold his participations too soon. “It is a pity. And it is because there is no doubt that in the Current situation to Europe would have two leading companies in semiconductors. * Some price may have changed from the last review Image | ASML BIBLIOGRAPHY | ‘Focus: The Asml Way’by Marc Hijink More information | The Asianometry In Xataka | 2024 has been a year full of uncertainty for chip designers. So much that the market has changed leader

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