power

In 2024, an eclipse wiped out 14 gigawatts from the Texas power grid. It is the best clue of what awaits Spain

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On April 8, 2024, at 12:15 noon, 13.8 gigawatts of sunlight entered the grid in Texas. Forty five minutes later 800 megawatts left: The Sun had gone out. It is true that the gas covered the gap, that the batteries helped overcome the pothole and that no one found out about anything. But that eclipse and everything we learned from it are the best possible information to understand what is going to happen to Spain’s electrical grid this August 12. What will happen? That’s the curious thing. On August 12, 2026, when the shadow of the Moon cross Spain from A Coruña to Mahónnothing is going to happen. Absolutely nothing. And not because we have a model electrical grid, nor because (since the blackout) we have done our homework. Nothing will happen because it will be half past eight in the afternoon. What happened in Texas. According to ERCOT datathe Texan operator, photovoltaics went from 27.6% of the electricity mix to 1.7% and then back to 27% in just two hours. The gas filled around 80% of the gap and the batteries helped as well (with, around, 1.4 GW). The thing is that during the Texan midday there is a lot of sunlight. Between 8:28 p.m. and 8:32 p.m., the Sun It will be just 12 degrees above the horizon in Galicia and only 2 in the Balearic Islands: Solar energy available on the grid will already be very scarce. That is, the eclipse will arrive in Spain when the photovoltaics will already be turning off by themselves. So nothing will happen? Although there are no official forecasts yet published, calculations indicate that the eclipse will add a second-order disturbance: the loss it can cause (between 4-5 GW) is in the order that the network usually handles on August afternoons. Shouldn’t cause too many problems this August. And “this August” are the key words. Because if we are wondering about the impact of the eclipse in Spain, perhaps we are looking at the wrong eclipse. On August 2, 2027, between 10:45 and 11:20 in the morning, we will see how The Moon will cover a minimum of 70% of the solar disk throughout the national territory (85% in Madrid and close to 100% in Cádiz and Málaga). That will be a test for the electrical grid because 65% of Spain’s photovoltaic park is in Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura and, at that time, it will be in full ascending ramp. And are we prepared? To tell the truth, it shouldn’t catch us by surprise. The Government has already created a commission with thirteen ministries for the trio of eclipses 2026-2028. However, today, we do not have a public plan for the network in 2027 and it would not be bad if someone started talking about this. Image | Luis Olmos | Martijn Baudoin In Xataka | A unique opportunity of 1 minute and 40 seconds: what citizens can contribute to science during the eclipse

There is something in which Uruguay is a true and overwhelming world power: generating elite footballers

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Unless you are a real data and statistics machine, when asked about Which country produces the most elite footballers? Surely most of us would answer that Brazil, a country that has had five World Cups and is also a true exporter of talent with the ball at its feet. But not. Although the answer differs depending on the time frame you choose, there is one place in the world that has taken the world by storm in the last century: Uruguay. Uruguay has barely 3.5 million inhabitants, a figure similar to that of Madrid or Berlin, and despite being a small country, it has two World Cups, two Olympic medals and 15 Copa América to its credit. And an incredible reality: Uruguay is, per capita, the country that has produced the most famous soccer players in the entire history of soccer. Below these lines we attach a screenshot of the data project “The Atlas“, an interactive visualization that calculates, for each country, how many top (male) soccer players in the world by historical popularity there are per million inhabitants. We highly recommend playing around, since you can sift through countries, regions, number of soccer players and years. It doesn’t matter what you choose because Uruguay almost always wins. The data is devastating: Uruguay produces 11.3 elite football figures per million inhabitantsa very long way from the second, Croatia, which has 4.81. Third and fourth are the Netherlands (4.58 figures per million inhabitants) and Argentina (3.82). If you move the time bar to the year 1999, Spain takes over the gold in a timely manner. Uruguay produces more famous footballers per capita than any country in the world. The Atlas This interactive graph is the work of Argentine economist Daniel Schteingart and for its preparation he used two sources: on the one hand Pantheon from the MIT Media Lab, which measures the historical fame of each footballer according to their presence on Wikipedia and on the other, population data from Our World in Data, which allows us to calculate how many famous figures each country produces per inhabitant. However, the fact that Uruguay is an absolute winner is something that has also been documented The Observer with data from the CIES Football Observatory and RT. Three different analyzes with different methodologies and the same result: Uruguay wins by a landslide. The country that produces the most famous soccer players in the world is not Brazil or France The question is clear: what Uruguay that does not have the rest. According to ESPN Deportesthe key is in training: Uruguay has 28 professional clubs that train young people. For Argentina or Brazil to have that same proportion per inhabitant, they would need 336 and 1,624 clubs respectively, well above what they currently have, 103 and 168, respectively. This exhaustive commitment to young talent allows the Latin American country to detect and exploit that potential that would perhaps go unnoticed in other larger countries. The author of the chart explains There is also another reality that gives South American countries an advantage: “there is almost no competition from other sports for young talent. Here everyone wants to be a soccer player, while in Europe and the United States talent is distributed among several disciplines.” Of course, regarding the future he has a warning: “The technicalization and globalization of football may favor rich countries, but as long as South American footballers continue to return to their national teams, the tradition will continue.” The limitations of the graph are those of its bases: the graph indicator measures fame on Wikipedia, which does not necessarily imply measuring football quality objectively, which favors more recent players or those who are very popular and plays to the detriment of veteran stars, with a smaller footprint on the internet. In Xataka | We still don’t know who will win the 2026 World Cup, but we do know who is left without sleep: the devastating graphic of FIFA schedules In Xataka | 24 years ago Oliver Kahn sued EA and won. Then a new goalkeeper appeared in football games: Jens Mustermann

The most powerful solar installation in the world is in the Pyrenees, it reaches 3,500 °C and is not a power plant

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In the middle of summer and with the heat wave upon us, frying an egg on the hood of a car parked in the sun is a reality that gives us an idea of ​​the thermal potential of the sun. But that sensation falls far short of what happens in the heart of the French Pyrenees: there, a building embedded in the side of a mountain concentrates sunlight until it becomes a source of artificial heat so intense that it would be capable of melting steel. The great solar oven. It is the Odeillo solar oven, in Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via, and it is one of the two largest and most powerful installations of this type in the world along with that of Parkent, in Uzbekistan. The most striking thing about the installation is the colossal curved mirror measuring 54 meters and 48 meters wide that is integrated, composed of 9,000 facets. This design has a reason for being: it concentrates sunlight up to 10,000 times its natural intensitywhich allows you reach temperatures of between 3,300 and 3500°Caccording to data from the facility’s operating laboratoryPROMES-CNRS. The system combines two optical elements: a field of 63 motorized flat mirrors that follow the path of the sun and constantly return its light to a large fixed parabolic reflector with a surface area of ​​1,830 square meters. All that light converges on a focal tower, that point barely 40 centimeters in diameter where it develops a thermal power of one megawatt. The Odeillo installation. Philipendula via Wikimedia Context. The origin of the Odeillo solar oven dates back to the 1940s, when the chemist Félix Trombe, who at that time He was director of the Meudon rare earth laboratorymanages to concentrate sunlight with a reused anti-aircraft defense mirror. In 1949 the first prototype is built in the citadel of Mont-Louis, just over 10 kilometers from Odeillo. After several increasingly powerful attempts, between 1962 and 1968 is built the current oven. Its location was chosen with complete intention: the French Cerdanya offers a high number of sunny days per year and an atmosphere of great optical purity at altitude, ideal conditions to minimize radiation losses. In figures. Throughout the article we have broken down some of the most impressive numerical data of this solar oven, which we condense here: Main reflector height: 54 meters Parabolic mirror area: 1,925 square meters Rated thermal power: 1 megawatt Maximum temperature: 3,500 °C Solar concentration factor: 10,000 times normal solar radiation Why is it important. Because this oven has been in operation since 1969 and constitutes the first serious attempt towards the large-scale exploitation of solar energy for industrial purposes, long before the today so common solar plants existed. Although pioneering, its function is more research than energy. Thus, it paved the way for one of the first solar tower plants on the planet, that of Thémis in the early 1980s. Today it has essentially two applications: the study and manufacture of materials resistant to extreme conditions with applications such as the aeronautical industry and the development of solar fuels. A recent example: Sunfuela research project that uses heat from the solar furnace to produce alternative fuels by heating metal oxides to generate gases that are then converted into clean fuels. Yes, but. Taking into account its figures and the fact that it is 50 years old, the Odeillo solar oven is a true engineering prodigy and the precursor of the solar energy boom that we are experiencing. Of course, it is worth remembering that it is not an electricity generation plant: it does not produce electricity significantly nor is it part of the current renewable mix. As for its comparison with Parkent, both are the only two theoretical 1,000 kW solar ovens in the world, with similar focus temperatures. Of course, Odeillo wins in real power: although the Uzbek park has a slightly larger mirror (1,840 square meters compared to 1,830), its lower altitude (1,050 m compared to 1,600 m) reduces the available solar intensity, limiting its useful power to 700 kW compared to Odeillo’s 1,000 kW, according to SolarPACES. In Xataka | Macron believes that Spain has “a problem” with renewables. What it really means is that they are “competition” In Xataka | The wind industry has been dreaming for years of a turbine that can be assembled without concrete or machinery. France has said ‘hold my cubata’ Cover | Rabatakeu

Spain is burning and its nuclear power plants notice it. This is your strategy to endure

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Spain is sweating again. extreme temperatures At the end of June, alarm bells have gone off in a good part of the country, and the Spanish nuclear park, responsible for about 20% of electricity what we consume, is not alien to this phenomenon. However, it is worth clarifying something from the beginning: whether a plant reduces its power or stops during a heat wave has nothing to do with a security failure. The seven nuclear reactors in operation in Spain (Almaraz I and II, Ascó I and II, Cofrentes, Trillo and Vandellós II) have been dealing with demanding summers for several decades, and their cooling systems were designed precisely with scenarios like this in mind. The Nuclear Safety Council publishes in real time the operational status of each plant, so anyone can check how they are responding. The key is in the external cooling circuitresponsible for evacuating the heat dissipated by the electricity generation process into the environment. In pressurized water plants, such as Almaraz, Ascó and Vandellós II, this circuit is the third in the installation, independent of the primary (which surrounds the core) and the secondary (which moves the turbine). Cofrentes, the only Spanish plant with a boiling water reactor, has a different architecture, a direct cycle, but it also depends on that same external circuit to cool the condenser. And this is where each plant plays its own cards depending on its geographical location. Three ways to beat the heat Ascó I and II, Cofrentes and Trillo are fed by river water, but they do not return it directly to the riverbed after using it. First, it passes by the cooling towers, those structures more than 160 meters high that we have described so many times when explaining the internal workings of a nuclear power plantand that dissipate heat into the air by convection and evaporation before any pouring. This drastically reduces the amount of water they need to extract from the river, up to twenty or thirty times less than if they did not have that tower. The sea has a thermal stability much greater than that of a river Almaraz represents a particular case because it does not depend on the flow of a natural river. It uses the artificial Arrocampo reservoir, conceived as a closed system that acts as a large heat exchanger. This independence of the river regime allows it continue operating normally even when temperatures soar, something especially relevant in a plant that will be the first to shut down: Almaraz I will close in November 2027 according to the current government calendar. Vandellós II draws on another resource: the water of the Mediterranean. The sea has a thermal stability much greater than that of a river, so it absorbs heat without its temperature rising appreciably. And, what’s more, it varies much less during heat waves. It is the same thermodynamic logic that explains why so many power plants in the world, from those that are cooled with seawater to those that use closed circuits like the one in Almaraz, prioritize the thermal stability of the cold source over any other consideration. When safety forces you to stop What can happen, and in fact happens quite frequently during the strictest summers, is that a nuclear power plant reduces its power or stops temporarily. The reason is not to protect the reactor, but the aquatic ecosystem. And the regulations limit the temperature at which water can be returned to a river or the sea, and if these limits are close to being exceeded, the facility prefers to slow down rather than breach them. It is an environmental decision, not a safety emergency. Meanwhile, the clock of the Spanish nuclear blackout continues to tick in parallel to these episodes of extreme heat. The current calendar starts in 2027 with Almaraz I, followed by Almaraz II in 2028. In 2030 it will be the turn of Ascó I and Cofrentes; Ascó II will close in 2032; and The process will be closed in 2035 with Vandellós II and Trillo, the last two plants to go out. Until then, each summer will be another test of resistance for a park that continues to provide a fifth of the national electricity. Image | Nuclear Forum More information | Nuclear Forum In Xataka | SMR reactors are going to make the never seen a reality: the first floating nuclear power plants

China is preparing to be the only power with its own space station, but NASA does not want to make it easy for it

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The International Space Station (ISS) He is not in his best days. The increasingly frequent leaks in the Russian module and the failures of systems that increasingly require more maintenance have led NASA to set a date for its deorbitation. It will possibly be in 2030 or 2031. When that happens, the largest space station in Earth orbit will be the Chinese Tiangong. Even if it remained as it is today, it would be a step forward in the space race between the Asian country and Western agencies. However, by that time Tiangong will be even larger, as China has recently announced its plan to double the size of its facilities. Three modules and a large observatory. Currently, the Chinese space station It has three moduleswhich were assembled in orbit between 2021 and 2022. However, they are falling short for all the missions and experiments that are beginning to be carried out. For this reason, the installation of three others has been planned: a 20-ton multifunctional module coupled to the main module and two experimental modules. In total, Tiangong would go from 90 tons to 180 tons. But that’s not all. Even before the installation of the first of these modules, the Xuntian observatory will be launched, which will also be closely linked to the space station. More sky than Hubble. Xuntian will have a 2-meter main mirror, slightly smaller than Hubble’s. However, it also includes a 2,500-megapixel camera with sensors that cover a much larger area of ​​the sky. Specifically, the Chinese observatory has a field of view 300 times biggerwhich will allow it to map 40% of the sky in the 10 years that it is expected to remain active. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily better than Hubble. Hubble is more precise in the details, but it will carry out very interesting work in much larger spaces of sky. The relationship with Tiangong. Although Xuntian will not be directly in Tiangong, they are closely related, since it will be placed in a very close orbit, so that it can dock with the Chinese space station when it needs to be repaired, upgraded or refueled. More ports. Docking the observatory will be possible because the new Tiangong modules will also include new spaceports. Thus, more ships can be docked simultaneously, improving the volume of work at the space station and making its arrivals and departures more flexible. Besides, in case of emergencyit will be easier to have a ship ready to protect itself or leave the facilities. Xuntian’s field of view is 300 times larger than Hubble’s The International Space Station comes to an end. All this occurs while the International Space Station prepares for his retirement. It is expected to be in 2030 or 2031 when it will join the deorbitation vehicle developed by SpaceX that will be responsible for removing it from its orbit in a controlled manner. NASA right now has its vision much more focused on the lunar bases. However, they must also think about how this station will be replaced when its days end. Initially, NASA had planned for private companies to take charge this time. However, this same year the strategy changed and proposed the construction of a main government module in which various private companies could be attached. Axiom or Blue Origin are the ones that, at the moment, best fit the requirements of this project. The reason for this plot twist has been, in fact, China’s progress in its particular space race. The United States does not want to lose its leadership due to the retirement of the ISS, but to do so it needs to maneuver quickly. The problem is that sometimes hasty decisions can lead to wrong moves. We will have to wait to see what happens with all this in the end. Images | Shujianyang | 中国科学院长春光学精密机械与物理研究所 In Xataka | Western scientists have been debating the origin of Kamo’oalewa for years. China went looking for him

Powerplanet starts its Power Days with discounts on cell phones, TVs, projectors and more

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Now officially summer and before starting the month of July, Powerplanet is starting its new Power Days. This sales period comes with a ton of offers in different categories, many of them with devices marking their all-time low prices. But the star of this event is the flash offers that are going to happen one after another. We tell you more about them. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links How do Power Days work? This Powerplanet promo comes, as we say, with discounts on all types of devices. We will find, for example, mobile phones, tablets, headphones or smart watches. There will also be room for offers on televisions, home and even gaming offers. These will be available throughout the duration of the Power Days, something that will not happen with the flash offers. Every 48 hours, a new flash deal will appear on Powerplanet. This will only last two days and, when this period is over, it’s over. Stock is also limited, so there is a chance that the offer will end even before that deadline. In other words, more simply: if we are interested in something and we like the price, it is better not to think about it too much. Both for the flash offers and for the rest of the discounts that exist in all Power Days, it is worth mentioning that we will have free and fast shipping (as well as three years warranty). Four devices that are already on sale at Powerplanet Below we leave you four products that already have a discount and that are a very good example of what we are going to find at Power Days. Xiaomi Mix Flip 5G We start with the Xiaomi Mix Flipa folding mobile phone with very good quality-price. It has a 4.01-inch 120 Hz exterior screen that occupies almost the entire external surface of the phone and a 6.86-inch interior screen. It has the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with 16 GB of RAM inside, so we can expect very good performance from it. In addition, it has a 4,780 mAh battery and a dual camera system. It is available for 549 euros. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Xiaomi Redmi Watch 6 If you are looking for an affordable smartwatch, this Redmi Watch 6 from Xiaomi could fit you very well. It has a 2.07-inch screen and aluminum frame. It is quite light (weighs 31 grams) and has autonomy for up to 24 days, so you will only have to charge it once a month. You can use it in water (it resists 5 ATM) and it has more than 150 sports modes, as well as sensors to measure blood oxygen or heart rate. Costs 91.50 euros. Xiaomi Redmi Watch 6 2.07″ AMOLED 24 days GPS 5 ATM Gray The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Xiaomi Gaming Monitor G27i 2026 The Xiaomi Gaming G27i 2026 monitor is a very interesting option if you are looking for a screen to play and don’t want to spend too much. It uses a Fast IPS panel, Full HD resolution and a 200 Hz refresh rate, which makes it ideal for competitive games (also its 1 ms response time). A very complete gaming monitor that comes out 129.90 euros. Xiaomi Gaming Monitor G27i (2026) 27 Full HD IPS 200Hz FreeSync Premium The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Wanbo Cube 1 Projector Finally, we have this Wanbo projector. It is a very interesting option for this summer to be able to watch TV, movies or even the World Cup wherever you want. You can have a screen of up to 110 inches with it and it has Android TV 11, so it is easy to install apps like Netflix or Prime Video. It has a built-in speaker, Bluetooth and costs 109 euros. Wanbo Cube 1 350 Lumens HD Wi-Fi Projector Alpine White The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Powerplanet In Xataka | Best televisions in quality price. Which one to buy and seven recommended 4K smart TVs In Xataka | Best mobile phones in quality price. Which one to buy based on use and ten recommended models

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

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

Raquel González, director of Airbus Space in Spain, on the challenge of Spain as a space power: “We lack people”

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It is not usual to cross the doors of Airbus Space in Getafe and tour a facility where the space industry stops being a succession of proper names and becomes something physical. During the visit organized by the 60 years of Airbus Espacio in Spainthe tour revealed production areas, clean areas, parts linked to launchers and satellite technologies and components that will end up operating outside of Earth. The first impression was not of a corporate celebration, but of an industrial chain much broader than its separate programs suggest. Rachel Gonzalezdirector of Airbus Space in Spain, summed it up with a very direct phrase during the presentation: “Spain is a space power.” He did not present it as a pending aspiration, but as a reality that, in his opinion, is explained by the accumulation of capabilities developed in the country. Satellites appeared on the table like PEACE, PEACE-2, Wit, CHEOPS either LSTMsecure communications programs such as Spainsat NGparticipation in European launchers such as Ariane 6 and even antennas made in Spain to communicate with the rovers Curiosity and Perseverance on Mars. The statement had weight because it did not rest on a single project, but on a sustained presence in various layers of the space sector. The Spanish space muscle and its challenges With that statement on the table, the next question was almost obligatory: if Spain has reached that position, How do you maintain yourself in an industry as competitive as the space industry?. The pressure does not come only from access to space, although launching more frequently and at a lower cost has become one of the great battles in the sector. Also important is the ability to design, manufacture and prepare increasingly complex systems, to respond to strategic needs and to do so on a board where pace has accelerated. SpaceX is the most visible symbol of this change, but not the only one: the US maintains a very active commercial ecosystem, China accelerates its commercial and state capabilities, India opens more space for private participationand Europe tries to strengthen its autonomy. Structure manufacturing area for Ariane 6 at Airbus Espacio España, within the Getafe facilities That was the question I asked González: what challenges now appear to remain in that position and what the next step should be. The director of Airbus Space in Spain opened the focus to the entire European space industry, but the response immediately landed on the terrain she knows first-hand. “There’s a talent challenge now. Budgets are increasing, programs keep coming up. There’s a lot of ambition.” “Now there is a talent challenge. Budgets are increasing, programs continue to emerge. There is a lot of ambition” The idea became even clearer when he condensed it into two words: “people are missing” González then turned the diagnosis into a call to those who are still deciding their educational path. His message was aimed at university students, but also at younger students who are beginning to choose where to direct their studies: space needs scientific, technological and engineering profiles, but not only that. Professional training trajectories and profiles linked to production are also needed, because an industry like this is not sustained solely by design on paper. Between an approved mission and a technology ready to leave Earth there are years of specialized work, and that quarry does not appear from one day to the next. Raquel González, director of Airbus Space in Spain, during the meeting with the press at the Getafe facilities The dimension of the problem is better understood by looking at the figures that Airbus put on the table. According to the company, Airbus Espacio in Spain closed 2025 with 295 million euros in turnover and 530 direct employees, but its impact does not end with its own workforce. Around 30% of this turnover goes to subcontractors, a fact that helps measure the extent to which space activity is distributed across a broader ecosystem. That is why the lack of talent does not only affect a specific company: when programs grow, pressure also increases on suppliers, specialized technicians and teams capable of supporting high-value-added work. This activity is better understood when you go down from the figure to the type of work behind it. Airbus maintains that its space division in Spain is the only company in the country capable of designing, building, integrating and delivering complex satellites into orbit, a statement that places the focus on high-level industrial responsibilities. González took it to the field of accumulated capacity during the presentation: “Everything that is satellite construction, that is where we are as a leader in Espacio España.” PAZ appears as one of the examples already in service within that trajectory, while PAZ-2 and LSTM show where that capability is now moving. Another part of the journey led to a less visible, but equally important layer: the technology that allows a mission to observe, measure or transmit useful information from space. Airbus spoke of radars, microwave radiometers and active antennas as areas in which its Spanish division has been accumulating knowledge. They are not elements designed to attract attention outside the sector, but they can make the difference between a space platform and a mission with real service capacity. Airbus Espacio España personnel work in the Getafe clean room, where the company assembles highly complex space systems The map was completed with another sensitive piece for Europe: access to space. Airbus recalled during the presentation that its activity in Spain has been linked to the family for decades. Ariane already Vegawith structures and subsystems that are part of the European launchers. In the case of Ariane 6, the company also noted that it is increasing production to supply 27 complete setsknown as shipsetsincluding large lightweight carbon fiber structures for Ariane 6 in the coming years. It is not necessary to go into the detail of each component to understand the relevance of this line of work: without reliable launchers and with sufficient cadence, a good part of European … Read more

power for local AI and an increasingly clear obsession with weighing less

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There are many good laptops on the market, perhaps too many for a brand to differentiate itself with a list of specifications alone. That is why each manufacturer ends up defending a personality: some rely on the ecosystem, others on design, others on power and others on price. LG, with the gram, has tried to occupy a very recognizable place: that of large laptops that weigh surprisingly little. He LG gram Pro 2026 It was born within that same logic, but with added pressure: now it also has to talk about AI locally. With the LG gram Pro 16Z90Uthe idea is understood quite quickly. The company talks about a 16-inch device weighing 1,199 g, compared to the 1,239 g of the previous model of the same inches, the 16Z90TS, according to the official Spanish file. The difference is not huge on its own, but it helps to understand the movement: LG is trying to maintain a wide screen, a Pro proposal and more declared autonomy without abandoning the gram’s historical obsession with mobility. LG Gram Pro (2026) technical sheet LG Gram Pro 2026 16Z90U LG Gram Pro 2026 Dimensions and weight 357.0 x 255.2 x 16.4mm 1,800 grams 357.0 x 255.2 x 16.4mm 1,800 grams screen 16 inch OLED WQXGA+ (2880 x 1800) 500 nits Contrast 1,000,000:1 16:10 aspect ratio 16 inch OLED WQXGA+ (2880 x 1800) 500 nits Contrast 1,000,000:1 16:10 aspect ratio processor Intel Core Ultra X7 358H16 cores: 4 high performance + 8 efficiency + 4 low consumptionUp to 4.8 GHz18MB Intel Smart CacheNPU up to 50 TOPS Intel Core Ultra X7 358H16 cores: 4 high performance + 8 efficiency + 4 low consumptionUp to 4.8 GHz18MB Intel Smart CacheNPU up to 50 TOPS graphics Intel Arc graphics B390 Graphics Intel Arc graphics B390 Graphics memory 32 GB LPDDR5X (Dual channel, 8,533 MHz) 32 GB LPDDR5X (Dual channel, 8,533 MHz) ports 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2×12 x USB-C USB 4 Gen 3×2 with fast charging, DisplayPort and Thunderbolt 41 x HDMI 2.11 x 3.5mm headphone and microphone jack 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2×12 x USB-C USB 4 Gen 3×2 with fast charging, DisplayPort and Thunderbolt 41 x HDMI 2.11 x 3.5mm headphone and microphone jack wireless connectivity Wi-Fi 7Intel Wireless-BE211 2×2Bluetooth 6.0 Wi-Fi 7Intel Wireless-BE211 2×2Bluetooth 6.0 wired network 10/100/Gigabit Ethernet via RJ45 adapterRJ45 adapter not included 10/100/Gigabit Ethernet via RJ45 adapterRJ45 adapter not included storage 512GB M.2 (NVMe Gen.5) 1TB M.2 (NVMe Gen.5) battery Up to 27 hours, 4 cells and 77 Wh of Lithium-Polymer Up to 27 hours, 4 cells and 77 Wh of Lithium-Polymer sound HD Audio with Dolby AtmosBuilt-in 3W x 2 stereo speakersSmart AMP up to 5W HD Audio with Dolby AtmosBuilt-in 3W x 2 stereo speakersSmart AMP up to 5W webcam and microphone 2 MP FHD IR camera at 30 FPSDouble microphonefacial recognition 2 MP FHD IR camera at 30 FPSDouble microphonefacial recognition price PVPR 2,649.00 euros PVPR 2,849.00 euros The battle is also on the scale The obvious question is how to achieve that fit without making the laptop smaller. That’s where it comes in Aerominumthe new magnesium alloy that LG has introduced in this year’s gram Pro line. The company presents it as a way to reduce weight, reinforce the resistance of the chassis and achieve a more premium metallic finish. They claim that this improvement comes with up to 135% more scratch resistance. Comparison within one’s own family helps put the data in context. The LG gram 16U55 and 16U55Ualso 16 inches, weigh 1,800 g. They are cheaper models and do not belong to the Pro line, so they do not play exactly on the same level. Even so, the contrast serves to see something important: the most aggressive commitment to slimming the laptop is not distributed equally throughout the range. In 2026, the showcase of that strategy is clearly in the Pro surname. The LG gram Pro 16Z90U mounts an Intel Core Ultra X7 358H with an NPU of up to 50 TOPSaccompanied by 32 GB of LPDDR5X memory and Intel Arc B390 graphics. What is relevant is not only that it complies with the fashion of Copilot+ PCbut LG tries to bring certain tasks to the computer itself with the help of gram chat On-Device, its own layer designed to search and summarize documents offline. On paper, that execution on the computer itself can help with privacy, latency, and availability, although the actual scope depends on each feature and how it is implemented. The fine print matters too. LG introduces gram chat On-Device does not support continuous conversations or Internet searches. That is, we are not facing a universal assistant that solves everything from the laptop, but rather a specific layer of local AI for limited scenarios. That precision is important because in 2026 almost all manufacturers talk about AI, but not all of them explain in the same way what it can really do. LG gram Link also enters the scene, an application designed to connect the computer with iOS and Android mobile phones, as well as integration with LG devices with compatible webOS. The idea is not new in the industry, but it does help to understand where LG wants to go: that the gram Pro is not just a light machine with a good screen, but a device capable of better integrating with the rest of the devices we use daily. The rest of the file accompanies that reading of a premium laptop. LG talks about a 16:10 OLED screen of 2,880 x 1,800 pixels, with a variable frequency from 30 to 120 Hz and 100% DCI-P3 coverage, a combination designed to work with more space and better image quality. It also mentions a dual-fan system with 21% more airflow compared to the previous year’s LG gram model used by the company in its internal tests. LG Gram Pro 2026 price and availability The LG gram Pro 2026 arrives accompanied by a broader renewal of the family, with new LG … Read more

power banks are going to die

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If you have ever thought about buying a powerbank on portals like Amazon, it is more than likely that you have come across the Anker brand. It is a Chinese brand founded in 2011 by a former Google software engineer, currently divided between three pillars: Anker (batteries and chargers), Soundcore (audio) and Eufy (smart home). The company knows very well how to make money and what products will survive the future. Powerbanks seem not to be one of them. The statements. Yang Meng, CEO of Anker, recently declared in an interview that portable batteries will not be one of the most profitable product categories in the coming years. In fact, he let it slip that “they could disappear in a few years.” “Consumer electronics are actually products that come and go quickly. For example, if you bought an MP3 player, chances are you also bought a cassette player or a CD player. The time lag between initially purchasing these products and abandoning their purchase is only about 10 years.” Yang Meng has compared power banks to dead and buried product categories, such as MP3tapes cassette and CDs. In short, they are understood as a temporary product category. Realistic? Yes. The powerbank lived its golden age between 2012 and 2022, beginning to plummet in the last three years. Market projections point to increasingly slower growth, with the emergence of silicon-carbon batteries as one of the main changes in the industry. Because. Yang’s statements have some trapand Anker has gone from being a portable battery company to a giant in categories such as sound. In 2024, Anker had 100 different powerbank models, an uncontrollable saturation for a product category that is no longer the company’s economic engine. Anker is focusing on designing its own chips for its sound products, with the aim of positioning its audio products in the top category. The master plan. The plan fits with a change in philosophy that Yang himself summarizes with an internal label: going from being a “series 5 company” to a “series 7 company” (in Anker’s internal nomenclature, the categories range from 1 to 7, with 7 being the maximum). For a decade, Anker dedicated itself to making affordable and outstanding quality-price products, above some of its direct rivals and noticeably cheaper than more premium brands. Now they want to compete directly against the leaders of each category—Apple’s AirPods—with high-end products and prices that allow them to increase the company’s net profit. Between the lines. The man who built a multi-million dollar empire selling portable batteries is now the one dropping his death sentence. But reading Yang’s words, curiously, has less to do with whether or not powerbanks disappear as a profitable product category: they have to do with the direction of the market. In the case of Anker, powerbanks are no longer a future category as profitable as its other pillars. Something that is not a real translation of the fact that the powerbank market is collapsing, despite the containment of its growth. Now, if the norm in the short term ends up being silicon-carbon, the average user will have very few reasons to carry a powerbank. In Xataka | Silicon-carbon batteries, explained: why more and more mobile phones last up to two days and weigh less

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