solution

The Tesla Cybertruck is such a sales failure that Elon Musk has only found one solution: buy them from himself

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It could have been a flagship model with short production and huge margin. But Tesla decided that it had to turn it into just another car, a product for which it expected success comparable to any other company model. They have missed the mark so much that Elon Musk’s companies are buying the Tesla Cybertruck to boost sales. Blowing up the numbers. At the moment there are 1,000 units and they could reach 2,000, they say in Electrek. The media specialized in electric mobility in the United States assures that an internal source has confirmed that these are the Tesla Cybertrucks that SpaceX and xAI have already purchased from the car manufacturer. Why does an electric car have less autonomy than advertised? The information expands a publication from the medium itself which already pointed out in October that Tesla was selling its cars to Elon Musk’s other two companies. Then they pointed out that the movement could be interesting for companies because the purchase of this type of automobile was subsidized. If SpaceX and xAI had to buy cars, at least they were helping to make the hole in Tesla’s accounts a little less deep. Click on the image to go to the original tweet 80 million dollars (at least). However, we must not overlook the fact that SpaceX and xAI have spent more than 80 million dollars in buying Tesla cars. And that is in the best of cases because the company is selling the electric pick-up in versions of $80,000 and $115,000. A figure extraordinarily higher than the $39,900 promised the first day of its announcement. And the company started selling the most expensive versions of its pick-up like hotcakes. So much so that the price of the car skyrocketed on the second-hand market for those who wanted to skip the line and others made a splash by ordering several units and ordering them for days. Months later, the bubble burst to the point that Tesla cannot sell its production. There is no way out. And the company is having real problems putting its Cybertruck on the street. First, it is not easy how many you actually sell because in your accounts Tesla groups sales by category. One is for the land vehicles (Model 3 and Model Y) and the rest for its luxury options (Model S, Model Y and Cybertruck). Despite this, in Electrek They point out that they are not selling more than 20,000 units a year. It is a resounding failure because the company has the capacity to produce 250,000 units and Elon Musk even stated that They could sell half a million units of your electric pick-up. As the months go by, however, all we have is news about shopping centers in which they accumulate unsold electric SUVs or vehicle deliveries that carry collecting dust for months in a field There is no market. There is worse news for Tesla: there is no market for the Cybertruck. the car hasn’t shown much on their off-road excursions but, in addition, the very idiosyncrasies of the country in which it is sold means that this enormous electric pick-up that promises to be able to go anywhere is unusable for use as a work vehicle. And the Cybertruck has remained an exotic vehicle in urban areas. In a country where charging points are scarcea high-consumption electric pick-up (imagine its use on a ranch, towing another vehicle…) is useless. Much more if we review all its design and reliability problems. And it’s not just a Tesla thing. Ford has had to cancel production of its F-150 Lightning because you can’t sell the car once the most passionate customers have already purchased it. The alternative will come with a extended range system to function most of the time as an electric vehicle but extend its range by hundreds of kilometers. Photo | Maxim In Xataka | Those who don’t know a C15, pray to any Tesla Cybertruck: Twitter has been filled with videos of Citroën humiliating the off-roader

Óscar Puente wants to connect Madrid and Barcelona in less than two hours. The fastest solution goes through China

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Last month we learned that the Ministry of Transport tendered for 2.3 million euros two studies that analyzed the possibility of increasing the speed in the Madrid-Barcelona corridor to 350 km/h. Minister Óscar Puente’s promise was to reduce the travel time between both cities to less than two hours. However, to achieve this it is not enough to improve the infrastructure. Rolling stock capable of running at those speeds is needed, and that is where the capacity of China’s trains comes into play. The problem is in the deadlines and prices. In Spain and Europe we have a large railway industry, although delivery times are reducing the local choice compared to other alternatives such as China. Deliveries are around 60 months and the prices offered by European manufacturers are higher. “Chinese manufacturers deliver trains at half the price within six months to two years,” counted Bridge to the SER Chain. Renfe urgently needs to renew its fleet, especially after the Avlo disaster in the Madrid-Barcelona corridor, and China seems the only viable alternative according to the searched criteria. China dominates global high speed. With 48,000 kilometers of high-speed roads compared to 4,000 in Spain, the Asian country leads the sector by far. Its star manufacturer, CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles, produces the Fuxing platform and has developed the CR450 prototype, capable of reaching 400 km/h. These trains already circulate in China at 450 km/h, although they would need adaptations to operate on the Spanish network. The minister and the president of Renfe, Álvaro Fernández Heredia, recently made a visit to the facilities of the Chinese giant to learn first-hand about its production capabilities. Europe looks askance the entry of china. The European Commission investigate CRRC for alleged state subsidies that would allow it to compete with artificially low prices, a case similar to that of Chinese electric vehicles. Bulgaria already tried to buy 20 trains from the Asian company for more than 600 million euros, but the investigation by the European organization forced the manufacturer to withdraw from the contest. Spain, however, is pressing to facilitate the entry of these trains or, failing that, to create an “Airbus model” that improves the competitiveness of the European railway industry. European alternatives are on the table. In addition to CRRC, Renfe is considering options such as Siemens’ Velaro Novo trains, which can reach 400 km/h but have yet to demonstrate mass production. There is also Hitachiwhose ETR-1000 is used by Iryo in Spain, although underused because the network does not allow speeds to exceed 300 km/h. Alstom, CAF and Talgo complete the list of candidates for the tenders that the public operator will launch at the beginning of 2026. It is estimated that each unit will cost around 27 million euros and that Spain will go to the European Investment Bank to finance the purchase. The infrastructure also needs changes. The studies They include new variants of access to Madrid and Barcelona, ​​a high-speed station in Parla with connection to Cercanías, another in El Prat de Llobregat linked to Rodalies, and a direct Lleida-Barcelona section that avoids passing through Camp de Tarragona. The current route is already designed to withstand 350 km/h, according to the Ministry, and Spanish Aerotraviesa technology will be used to allow these speeds without increasing maintenance costs. The renewal of the line will begin when the Madrid-Seville line ends. It remains to be seen whether Europe will allow it. Puente’s institutional trip to China has served to strengthen commercial ties and explore cooperation with the manufacturer. The Ministry of Transport defend that the country is “at a time of enormous expansion” of its railway network and needs quick solutions. And right now China is possibly the only country that can offer the material in the desired times. Cover image | Miguel In Xataka | In the race for autonomous driving, China is ready to literally take the next leap: L3

V-16 beacons run the risk of being left without connectivity if their manufacturer goes bankrupt. Don’t worry, there is a solution

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You may have read it on social networks: you buy a connected V-16 beacon, you go years without using it and, before you know it, the company that sold it to you has gone bankrupt, has stopped paying for its servers and now you have a nice paperweight because, without connectivity with DGT 3.0, that beacon has become illegal. It’s true? No. Plain and simple. When we buy a connected V-16 beacon, the manufacturer assures us that the connectivity is guaranteed for at least 12 years. The manufacturer may offer more connectivity time, as an incentive to purchase, but it cannot offer less. This, like the luminosity of the beacon or the 30 minutes that it must be in operation for at least, is one of the demands that Traffic has set to manufacturers so they can sell their beacons and we let’s buy them with enough peace of mind to be following the rules. Sure, but… what if the company goes bankrupt? It is one of the questions that some users have asked and that has been answered by accounts on social networks like Twitter. It is stated that when a connected V-16 beacon is activated and the required 100 seconds pass, the following process is launched: Protocol A: the beacon sends the data exclusively to the manufacturer’s servers Protocol B: Data leaves the manufacturer’s servers and is forwarded to the National Access Point for Traffic and Mobility Information which is where all activations and any other type of emergency are reflected. The response points out that, in the event that the manufacturer stops selling the connected V-16 beacon, the connection would be broken and therefore we would be left with a luminous paperweight because without connectivity that light is not legal. Insured. To confirm these details, we have contacted some of the companies that manufacture or sell these types of beacons. César Basterrechea explains to us from Atressa Automotivewho have their own beacons, that the information is not true and clarifies what would happen if their company went bankrupt and stopped paying for the beacons. First, he points out, the manufacturer has to register in DGT 3.0 and request a connectivity license. When this requirement is met, the following happens: “My operator sends me the data generated by one of my beacons through an APN and which is protected within a private VPN, the information reaching my Cloud once received, we send it through a VPN with a digital certificate to the DGT 3.0. If my company closed tomorrow, my operator would redirect the data emitted from my beacons to another APN of its own and through its own VPN it would send the data to the DGT cloud” With these words he explains, therefore, that it is the operator that offers its support if the company stops paying for the servers and, therefore, cannot offer the service. They confirm it to us. Asked to the other party, the answer is the same. In Xataka We have contacted Orange, an operator that offers connectivity in different connected V-16 beacons on the market. The company confirms the above, although it points out that, exactly, it is not that the operator keeps the servers of the bankrupt company, it only guarantees that the signal reaches DGT 3.0. “The communication architecture has been defined so that there are two ways to send the data to DGT 3.0: through the manufacturer’s cloud services (which must always be used if there are no incidents) or directly from the operator if the manufacturer’s cloud service is not operational (manufacturer bankruptcy or massive drop in its cloud service)” It’s not easy. The truth is that although we have confirmation from this beacon manufacturer And getting there is not easy. In the Resolution of November 30, 2021 which details the requirements that a V-16 beacon must have connected to be valid, it specifies that the manufacturer must have support to offer the service if it cannot be performed, but nowhere does it specify whether this company should be the operator, as Atressa Automotive tells us. This text explains the above-mentioned details of protocols A and B. Subsequently, the following is stated: The implementation of a device with these characteristics requires having a standard channel and a common language. Additionally, defining this standard also makes it easier for a third party to perform these functions if necessary due to the existence of a problem in the information systems of a manufacturer. The data model that the messages that V-16 devices send to their manufacturers’ information services must comply with is defined below. a hoax. Although with the connected V-16 beacons we have had a lot of controversy and we know that there are even those who has demonstrated cybersecurity risksThe truth is that this time we are facing a hoax. The DGT has actively repeated that when we buy a connected V-16 beacon we are guaranteed access to DGT 3.0 for 12 years. And although the protocol does not clearly detail whether a specific company must take charge (operators, other manufacturers…), it does specify that it must guarantee backup to keep the service active. Photo | DGT In Xataka | V16 beacon without eSIM or connectivity: what the DGT says about them from 2026

The big problem with putting solar panels on crops is shade. The University of Jaén has found a solution

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In search of fulfilling the decarbonization goalswe are filling the field with solar panels. Giants like China can do it combining other activities well, but in the case of smaller countries, things change. Spain is an examplewith a field irrigated by crops that is also being plagued by panels. Now, a research team from the University of Jaén has found the key to continue deploying solar panels without interfering with crops. A panel with minimal shading that does not compromise its energy generation. The agrovoltaics. Different reports have pointed out how the temperature will increase by 1.5 to 3.2 degrees If we continue the same as until now. For this reason, the European Union marked the milestone of 30% of its energy comes from renewables by 2030 to, in 2050, achieve climate neutrality. Wind is important, but what almost all countries are embracing is photovoltaics. The price of the plates has fallen to the ground thanks to the China overproduction and it has begun to be deployed massively. The problem is what we mentioned: it takes up a lot of space, which opens a direct conflict with the farmland. There, agrovoltaics is becoming established as a solution to place panels that do not interfere with the cycle of some crops, and mixes with beekeeping and the livestock. But if we want to continue expanding photovoltaics, panels that provide less shade are needed. Panels and photosynthesis. That is where the solution devised by the University of Jaén comes into play. In a study Published in Science Direct, researchers detail a technology that allows a panel to efficiently generate electricity, while allowing crops to receive enough light to perform their optimal photosynthesis cycle. To do this, the team has taken into account two technical parameters: the average visible transmittance and the average photosynthetic transmittance. In practice, they indicate the amount of light useful to the plants that reaches them after passing through the panel, and they point out that different studies estimate that, for most crops, the minimum value should be around 60%. In that spectrum, plants produce normally. Status of the “transparent” panels“The photovoltaic industry has been working on this for some time. There are two approaches: Non-wavelength selective panels: They are those that absorb a large part of the solar spectrum and achieve transparency by reducing the color of the material or leaving gaps between the cells. With them, transparency is not adequate. Wavelength Selective Panels: They are those that absorb, above all, ultraviolet and near-infrared radiation, but allow a large part of the visible light to pass through. It is what the plants need and, in this case, the transparency of the panels is greater and more suitable for crops. RearCPVbif. In the two groups the industry is testing very different technologies, from polycrystalline silicon to organic cells and color-sensitized panels, but the Spanish team’s approach is somewhat different. The semi-transparent photovoltaic modules They are the STPVs, but what is proposed by the University of Jaén is a system called RearCPVbif, or “Bifacial Rear Concentrator Photovoltaic.” Unlike conventional semi-transparent designs, this technology concentrates and redirects reflected light towards the back of the bifacial cells, generating an increase in electrical production without reducing optical transparency, which is what allows light to reach the plants. It is an STPV, but with rear optical concentrators. In statements to PV-MagazineÁlvaro Varela-Albacete, co-author of the research, points out that STPV technology is being underused and that, with these rear concentrators, there is “a substantial increase” in energy generation without compromising optical transparency. “And how much is the transparency factor? 60%, according to the study, so it would be suitable for most horticultural crops. Next steps. In the study they also mention that they have taken into account that a crucial aspect for agricultural viability is thermal behavior, indicating that, in their tests, the cell temperature was below 70 degrees. This is important so that the panels do not create a “greenhouse” that affects crop patterns. And most importantly: this technology has already attracted attention. Numerous promising studies are published throughout the year, but their application is not always clear. In the case of this ReadCPVbif technology, the co-author of the study, Eduardo Fernández, points out that they are already engaging in conversations with different organizations to accelerate the development of the technology. Now, the route hour includes an evaluation of the benefits for crop growth, with different test campaigns on real crops. In any case, it aims to be a particularly relevant technology in the intensive horticulture that occurs in regions of Spain such as Almería, where apart from the sea of ​​plastic, also the photovoltaic sea is rising. If the two things can be combined, it would be a great step for both sectors. Images | University of Jaen, Σ64 In Xataka | Almería has been Europe’s great “sea of ​​plastic” for years. Now it wants to be another sea: that of solar panels

Europe had chosen the electric car as the only solution for the future. Germany is about to knock him down

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There is no official confirmation. It should arrive on December 10, but there is already a first warning that it is possible that the communication will be delayed until January 2026. “For good reasons,” the political leaders assure us. The same people in charge who already advance the guidelines that the review of the 2035 objectives will follow: allowing cars with combustion engines to remain alive. A preview. This is what Apostolos Tzitzikostas, European Commissioner for Transport, gave to the German newspaper Handelsblatt. Like almost everything in this life, neither the time nor the place chosen is coincidental. In this interview, the European official points out that in the European Commission “we are open to all technologies”, which already suggests that this ban on selling combustion engines in 2035 is close to falling. In the absence of knowing all the specific and official details, what it does say is that “the role of zero-emission fuels (known as efuels) and with low emissions and advanced biofuels.” And this is where some doubts arise. Why does an electric car have less autonomy than advertised? No emissions? What the European Union has to resolve is to what extent it is willing to open its hand. The efuels or synthetic fuels They have been sold as an alternative solution because, it is assumed, they do not generate CO2 emissions. When the car burns said fuel it does generate these emissions but they are neutral because the same or greater amount of CO2 is trapped in their production. The European Union has already opened the door to this possibility changing the wording of the ban. We went from talking about banning combustion engines that produced emissions to combustion engines that were not carbon neutral. The difference is subtle but key because with the burning of any fuel (including hydrogen) polluting emissions beyond CO2 are produced, such as NOx or the dangerous ones fine particles which, in both cases, are harmful to humans. “Low emissions”. Now the European Commissioner also speaks of “low-emission fuels.” It remains to be known what these low emissions are and in what quantities they will be allowed. And the alternative that was put on the table was to allow the sale of combustion engines as long as they were associated with highly electrified options. This would lead, for example, to extended range electric. Cars with long electric ranges but that, in essence, are plug-in hybrids because they have a gasoline tank for emergency use. One of the latest proposals is that the car itself, through software, cape the power when a specific number of kilometers has been traveled without recharging the vehicle. Another technically viable possibility is to geofence the cities. That is, using the vehicle’s navigator, the car always moves in completely electric mode when passing through a city or especially sensitive areas of it (hospitals, schools…). This alternative has been contemplated by some plug-in hybrids for years, like BMW’s. And why all this? Because, according to Tzitzikostas, Europe is risking part of its industrial and economic future. “We want to maintain our objectives, but we must take into account all the latest geopolitical events. We must try not to jeopardize our competitiveness and, at the same time, help European industry maintain its technological advantage,” he points out in the interview. In reaching this conclusion it seems that German pressures have had their effect. “Chancellor Merz’s letter has been very well received,” he told the German media. And Germany has been pushing for some time to go back in the face of the “all electric” that seemed decided for Europe. The German industry is facing one of the worst crises in its history and it is estimated that, in just the last two years, about 55,000 jobs have been lost. When will it be official? The idea is that in December we should already know what will happen to this ban in 2035. In recent days the idea had gained strength that it would be December 10 when the European Commission would confirm all these details but the person in charge of transport has already announced that it is possible that this communication will be delayed until January 2026. Photo | Sophie Jonas and Angelo Abear In Xataka | The Government presents the Auto Plus Plan to forget MOVES III: direct aid for the purchase of electric cars with doubts to clear up

The British skipped fuel tax by switching to an electric car. The Government’s solution: create another tax

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The British Government recently announced a new tax for electric vehicles in which drivers would pay per distance traveled (miles), with the intention of it coming into force in April 2028. The measure, which is included in this documenthas drawn criticism from many citizens and experts, and comes at a key moment, as the United Kingdom plans to ban the sale of new gasoline and diesel cars in 2030. Its public coffers are losing revenue from fuel taxes while the adoption of electric vehicles grows. How the system is planned so far. Electric car drivers will pay 3p per mile traveled (about 3.4 euro cents), while plug-in hybrids will pay 1.5 pence. The calculation will be made through an annual mileage estimate that drivers will declare when renewing their road tax, and will subsequently be verified during the technical inspection of the vehicle. According to the Government, an average electric car driver who travels 13,680 kilometers a year you will pay about 255 pounds additional (approximately 295 euros). Why this change matters. Just like share According to The Telegraph, Finance Minister Rachel Reeves justifies the measure as necessary to compensate for the drop in fuel tax revenue. According to Dan Tomlinson, MP and Secretary of the Treasury, if no action is taken, by 2030 one in five drivers will not pay fuel tax while others will continue to contribute an average of £480 annually. According to the media, the Office of Budget Responsibility predicts that this new tax could reduce sales of electric vehicles by 440,000 units in the next five years. Industry reactions. Manufacturers such as Ford and the British manufacturers’ association SMMT have harshly criticized the measure. Ian Plummer, Commercial Director at Autotrader, declared that “we need more carrot and less stick if we are serious about the electric transition.” From Ford they pointed out that the budget sends “a mixed message” about the government’s goal of driving the shift to electric vehicles. Implementation problems. The system presents several practical challenges. Drivers will have to estimate their annual mileage without it necessarily coinciding with the date of their MOT (the equivalent of the MOT in the UK), which complicates the calculation. New cars, which do not require inspection for the first three years, will need additional checks. Furthermore, the Government recognize which could increase odometer fraud, a practice which, according to The Telegraph, already affects 2.3% of British vehicles. A controversial issue. As the current regulations are stated, drivers who use their vehicles outside the United Kingdom They would also pay for those milesdespite not using British roads. The Government justifies this decision by arguing that the percentage of drivers traveling abroad is small, although it recognizes that it will especially affect residents of Northern Ireland, as they frequently cross into the Republic of Ireland. The impact on the pocket. Although the Government insist With the rate equal to half of what gasoline and diesel drivers pay, many electric vehicle owners are already starting to worry. Stephen Walton, a driver who bought an electric car in 2023, counted to the BBC that “it will be my first and last electric vehicle because there are no tax advantages for electric car drivers.” A unexpected advantage for China. Analysts such as Sam Goodman, from the China Strategic Risks Institute, warn that the new tax could encourage British consumers to opt for cheaper Chinese models such as the BYD Dolphin Surfwhich sells for 18,650 pounds compared to the more than 26,000 that some eligible European alternatives cost. During the third quarter of 2025, Chinese models They already represented 11.8% of the British new passenger car market, according to Schmidt Automotive Research. What’s coming now? The Government has opened a consultation period to define the final details of the system before 2028. It also announced an additional investment of 1.3 billion pounds in aid for the purchase of electric vehicles, although only four models currently qualify for the maximum subsidy of 3,750 pounds, the cheapest being the Ford Puma Gen-E (£26,245 applying subsidies). The Office of Budget Responsibility esteem The new tax will raise £1.1bn in its first year and £1.9bn by 2030-31, although the actual figure will depend on how many Britons decide to buy electric cars in the coming years. In Xataka | Your car windshield has hundreds of small black dots. It is not decoration, it is technology to save our lives

We have a problem with cardboard recycling. In the United Kingdom they believe that the solution is to use it in a power plant

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Every day, millions of cardboard boxes leave our homes heading to the blue container. They are the last link in an accelerated consumption cycle in online commerce. However, this material, so everyday that we don’t even look at it twice, could be on the verge of an unexpected second life: becoming fuel to generate electricity on a large scale. A residue that enters the energy map. A team of engineers from Nottingham University has shown for the first time that used cardboard can be used as an effective source of biomass in power plants. The investigation, published in the journal Biomass and Bioenergycompares cardboard with a common reference for industrial biomass: eucalyptus. The engineers didn’t just watch the cardboard burn. They crushed it, studied its shape, broke down its chemistry and analyzed how it reacted to heat and what type of carbon it left behind. They even developed their own method—based on thermogravimetric analysis—to measure exactly how much calcium carbonate each sample contains. This component, common in printed cardboard, gives rigidity to the material but also conditions its behavior when burning. Thanks to this procedure, they can predict which type of cardboard will work well in an industrial boiler and which could cause problems. The science behind cardboard that burns “better.” The study did not stop at theories. He tested the combustion of cardboard in two types of systems equivalent to those used in power plants: Drop Tube Furnace: Simulates the rapid combustion of pulverized biomass.Here, the researchers observed that cardboard particles develop chars (the carbonaceous remains that remain after the first combustion phase) highly reactive, with a predominance of fine and porous structures that favor a burnout accelerated. Muffle Furnace: Simulates fluidized bed or grate systems. Even with longer residence times, the paperboard maintained its excellent combustion profile. In addition, the size and shape of the particles were characterized through an analysis with more than one million particles per sample; The tendency of cardboard to form “spongy aggregates” during grinding was observed—a challenge for its industrial handling—and characteristics such as sphericity and aspect ratio were correlated, something that could improve future combustion models. As the academic study explains, this detailed analysis allows predicting combustion efficiency and designing industrial strategies to integrate cardboard into the fuel flow. The result was very favorable. Thanks to this experiment, the engineers managed to demonstrate that cardboard has less carbon (38%) than eucalyptus (46.7%) and its calorific value is also lower (15.9–16.5 MJ/kg versus 21 MJ/kg). However, its chars are finer, porous and reactive, which accelerates combustion; In addition, it contains much more ash (8.9–10.6%, compared to 0.6% for eucalyptus), a critical aspect for boilers. What remains to be resolved? Although the technical potential is evident, the study makes it clear that cardboard is not ready to enter the boilers of a power plant tomorrow. There are three fundamental challenges that must be addressed: Management and processing problems. When ground, cardboard does not behave like wood: it forms spongy lumps of very low density that make internal transport difficult, complicate the continuous feeding of boilers and can increase the risk of blockages and accumulations. The study warns that it will be essential to adapt the grinding and feeding systems to guarantee a stable and safe flow. The behavior of calcium. Cardboard contains very high levels of CaCO₃, especially when printed. This calcium can behave in different ways depending on the temperature and type of boiler. In certain cases it raises the fusion temperature of the ashes – which is positive -; In others it can favor the formation of slag or alter the quality of the fuel. The study recommends analyzing the behavior of cardboard according to the type of plant, because not all technologies tolerate these variations in the same way. Large-scale industrial validation. Laboratory tests are promising, but the decisive step is missing: testing the cardboard in real operating conditions. According to the researchers, the industry will have to carry out tests on different technologies in boilers, evaluate emissions, study the accumulation and composition of ash and check their compatibility with existing biomass mixtures. Only then can it be determined whether the cardboard can be safely and stably integrated into the mix of biomass. An everyday material with an unexpected future. Cardboard protects pizzas, televisions, books and appliances. We recycle it without thinking too much about it. But this research from Nottingham suggests that this everyday waste could become another piece of the energy transition, helping to diversify fuels and take advantage of an abundant and local resource. Today we see it as garbage. Tomorrow it could help produce electricity. The spark has already been lit: now we need to know if the industry wants – and can – convert it into real energy. Image | Unsplash and Geograph Xataka | Selling smoke is now a business in Soria: it purifies it and sells it as CO2 to make soft drinks

Anti-abuse bracelets were going to be a technical solution to a social problem. They are generating chaos of incidents

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The Cometa system, which manages anti-abuse control bracelets, registered this Tuesday a new technical incident which ended up causing an overload of the service for several hours. The ruling forced the Ministry of Equality to implement the emergency protocol to guarantee the safety of the approximately 4,500 women who use these devices. In recent months, these bracelets have been the talk of the town. the problems that have caused. And while they promised to solve a big problem, they are also generating other parallels. What exactly has gone wrong. This last problem has been located in a router that distributes alert messages according to the type of incident (entry into exclusion zones, manipulation of the device, low battery, etc.). According to Equality, around 10% of these messages has generated incidents recurring events that have collapsed the system. The failure was detected at 4:30 in the morning and the service did not regain stability until 5:25 p.m., although complete normalization did not arrive until 9:00 p.m. During this time, the panic button, emergency calls and Bluetooth alerts remained operational, according to informed the ministry. The Government’s response. From the moment the incident was detected, the protocol planned for these situations was activated: the 4,500 users of the service received text messages informing them of the problem and the Security Forces and Bodies were alerted to reinforce surveillance. Minister Ana Redondo and the Government delegate against Gender Violence, Carmen Martínez-Perza, traveled to the headquarters of the Cometa service and maintained direct contact with the Vodafone-Securitas UTE, the company responsible for the system. “No victim has been unprotected at any time during these hours of crisis,” has assured Round in a message spread through social networks. A device that accumulates problems. This incident comes just two months after the State Attorney General’s Office uncovered an even more serious mistake: During the transfer of management from Telefónica to Vodafone, access to the geolocation data of hundreds of attackers was lost for several months. This caused, according to the annual report of the Prosecutor’s Office, “a large number” of dismissals and acquittals in cases of violation of restraining orders, since the judges could not have the necessary evidence. That episode generated a strong political controversy, with the PP asking for resignation de Redondo, who defended that the victims were never in danger and criticized the “lack of prudence” of the Prosecutor’s Office in making the ruling public without providing concrete data. A technology in question. What was presented at the time as an effective technological solution to protect victims of gender violence is showing that it also has important limitations. The Government has announced that the next tender for the service, scheduled for spring, will include “technical improvements” and that an audit is currently being carried out to check whether Vodafone is complying with the contract. “We will investigate until the end and, if necessary, we will take appropriate action,” has warned Round. Beyond technology. Despite the incidents, anti-abuse bracelets continue to be considered a valuable tool. Since their implementation in 2009, no woman wearing one of these devices has been murdered. The ministry insists that the protection system goes beyond technology and includes an “institutional network” of professionals that guarantees the safety of victims. However, we have also witnessed that technology fails, and it is precisely in these cases that we must prevent this from happening at all times. Cover image | EFE (Herbert Neubauer) and National Police In Xataka | How to share location with your entire family permanently with your mobile

If the solution to the housing crisis in Madrid is to build, there is a municipality that has taken the lead: Alcobendas

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Madrid begins the countdown to have a new and large pool of apartments in the north, relevant news if you take into account how tense its market is and the serious deficit of housing that drags. The Alcobendas City Council has just given green light to the partial plan of the new neighborhood of Los Carriles-Valgrande, a new (and enormous) area of ​​​​the town that will have around 8,600 homesa good part of them (more than 4,600) protected. We will still have to wait before seeing the new blocks built, but its promoters are already anticipating that it will be “the largest urban development project in the north of Madrid”, with a wide range of residential, services and parks. What has happened? That Madrid is a little closer to reinforcing its residential offer with an injection of 8,600 homesa good part of them under protected regime. And that is always news in a market like the capital, marked by the price escalation (both in sales and rentals), certain access conditions each time more draconian and the imbalance between supply and demand. In fact in one of his latest reports The Association of Real Estate Developers of Madrid (Asprima) states that to meet the demand of the community it is necessary to create 40,000 homes per yearwell above the volume of new construction that is being generated right now. As a reference, remember that last year “a maximum peak” of 23,500 homes was delivered and everything indicates that the pace of completions will not reach that mark in the coming years either. Where will they be built? These 8,600 new homes will be built in Los Carriles-Valgrandea new (and ambitious) neighborhood planned in the municipality of Alcobendas. The initiative is interesting for several reasons. In addition to reinforcing the offer, its promoters they boast that it will be “the largest urban project” in the north of the community and one of the developments “with the highest proportion of affordable housing.” In addition, it will “complete” Alcobendas up to its limit with the capital. The new buildings will arrive accompanied by hectares of green areas, two new parks and more than 55,000 m2 dedicated to the tertiary and commercial sector. Its implementation will also generate employment: Alcobendas City Council speaks of 4,000 positions during construction and more than a thousand once the neighborhood is completed. In terms of mobilized capital, it is estimated that the investment will be around 2,300 million euros and the return for the municipality will be around 511 million. Do you know anything else? Yes. Of the 8,600 homes that will be built, around 4,600 (54%) will be protected and 40% will be built on municipal plots. The project also includes the creation of 570,000 square meters of green areas and open spaces, which will include two new and large parks, one next to Monte de Valdelatas and another near the Valdelacasa stream. “Each one will have dimensions that are equivalent to six times the Andalusia parkin Alcobendas”, they need the promoters of the project, who remember that all trees that are affected by the urbanization will be replaced. In fact, they estimate that the area will go from having 2,555 to more than 6,700. He dossier The urban planning area specifies that in total it will occupy about 2.17 million square meters, of which about 57% will be public surface. 25% will be dedicated to green areas and almost 20% to equipment and services. Once it goes ahead, its promoters estimate that it will be able to accommodate around 25,800 inhabitants, a considerable population injection for the area if one takes into account that right now Alcobendas has (according to the INE) 121,400 registered. Why is it news? The project is not new. In fact, Leopoldo Arnaiz, manager of the Valgrande compensation board, remember that there are people who have been working on it for more than 20 years. If it is news now it is because it has just overcome a key obstacle at a bureaucratic level: on Tuesday the local plenary session of Alcobendas gave the green light to the new partial plan, which will allow further progress in the processing of the urbanization. The approval has also been majority: the plan went ahead with the favorable photo of 26 of the 27 councilors of the corporation. “With the approval of the new partial plan we offer legal security for buyers, investors and to continue with the urbanization project in the area and maintain the action schedule,” stands out the mayor of the town, Rocío García Alcántara. Among other issues, the document details the distribution of homes, public spaces and parks, marks the location and layout of roads and what land will be reserved, for example, for green areas. And from now on? The step is also important because it helps urbanization overcome the legal obstacles those he had encountered. In his day the Supreme delayed it due to a technical defect after noticing a failure in the strategic environmental evaluation of an artificial mountain. Once the urbanization works allow it, the idea is to start the work to build blocks and have the first homes “as soon as possible”although the Consistory does not specify dates. “The final approval of the partial plan is great news,” claims Arnaiz. “Today we take a decisive step. We continue to advance and comply with the roadmap that we announced in June. And we reaffirm our commitment to this development, because it is viable, sustainable and necessary, since it responds to a real demand from the residents of the municipality and the north of Madrid.” Images | Valgrande and Alcobendas City Council In Xataka | Madrid needs to decentralize its tourism if it does not want to suffocate. So he’s betting on a “Chinatown” in Usera

Work absenteeism in ITV workshops has skyrocketed in some autonomous communities. The solution: private detectives

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The public company SITVAL, in charge of managing technical inspections of vehicles in the Valencian Community, has put out to tender a contract of 140,000 euros to hire detective agencies to investigate possible unjustified absences, incompatible activities or fraudulent situations among its staff. Just like inform from El Español, the measure seeks to tackle an absenteeism problem that has skyrocketed since the ITVs went under public management in February 2023. The underlying problem. Since Ximo Puig’s Government reverted service to the public sector, work absenteeism in Valencian stations has skyrocketed to between 16% and 18% on average, according to share the middle. The figure doubles the regional average for absenteeism in the community, which stands at 6.4%, and is well above the national 7%. The result is a collapsed service with waits exceeding eight weeks for heavy vehicles, according to the Valencian Federation of Transport and Logistics Entrepreneurs (FVET). What will the detectives do? The contract, published On October 27 on the Public Sector Contracting Platform, it commissioned the agencies to observe, monitor and prepare documentary and audiovisual reports on SITVAL personnel. Just like share El Español, detectives must collect truthful information about possible unjustified absences and, if necessary, appear before administrative or judicial bodies to ratify their reports. The contract is divided into three lots, one for each Valencian province, with an execution period of two years. It is not an isolated case. The Valencian Generalitat is not the first administration that uses private investigation services to control absenteeism in public ITVs. The Government of Andalusia launched a similar service in August of last year, divided into two lots for the western and eastern areas of the community. Consequences. The middle emphasize That the reversal of the service, which occurred three months before the 2023 regional elections, has generated an unexpected effect: the massive relocation of inspections. According to data Officially, in 2024 a total of 291,662 vehicles chose to pass the ITV in other autonomous communities such as Murcia, Castilla-La Mancha or Tarragona, which means less income compared to the 2,332,087 inspections that were carried out in 2022. Qresion in it transportation sector. The situation has led the Valencian Federation of Transport and Logistics Entrepreneurs (FVET) to announce the departure of its presidentCarlos Prades, from the board of directors of SITVAL at the end of October. “We pay more than in other communities for a less efficient, slower service that generates uncertainty,” denounced Prades, who added that “Valencian stations are no longer a real option for many companies.” The figures don’t add up. Puig’s Government justified the transition to public management arguing that it could generate up to 40 million euros per year in operating income for the Generalitat, compared to the 7 million euros paid by private concessionaires together. Although it seems that the forecasts have not taken into account the impact of absenteeism, the drop in inspections carried out or additional costs such as this investigation services contract. Cover image | FVET In Xataka | Yes, there is a way to check if the V-16 beacon is working correctly. And you are not going to alert the DGT or the emergencies about it.

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