• Samsung invests $100m in nuclear reactors to power Google’s AI data centres

    Samsung C&T is investing up to $100m in US nuclear start-up Kairos Power to develop small modular reactors (SMR) destined to power Google's AI data centres. In 2024, Google signed a deal with Kairos to develop a fleet of SMRs capable of generating 500MW of nuclear power by 2035. These reactors will inject clean electricity directly into the local grids that supply Google’s energy-hungry data infrastructure. The start-up is developing a type of SMR called a fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR). Unlike traditional nuclear plants that rely on high-pressure water as a coolant, the KP-FHR combines “meltdown-proof” TRISO fuel with a low-pressure molten fluoride salt coolant, which supposedly limits the risk of high-pressure blowouts. The modular, compact design also supports…

  • Cutting aircraft contrails could delay aviation warming by 10 years, study finds

    Reducing the formation of aircraft contrails in the sky could delay aviation-related climate heating by up to a decade, a report by Transport and Environment (T&E) has said. Condensation trails, or contrails, form when water vapour from an aircraft’s exhaust mixes with very cold air in the upper atmosphere. Under the right atmospheric conditions, the water vapour freezes into tiny ice crystals, creating a visible cloud-like trail. When these trails persist, they develop into clouds that trap heat radiating from the Earth, and so contribute to overall climate warming. Trying to ensure that aircraft can avoid the areas where contrails are more likely to form could help make air travel more sustainable. Aviation’s contribution to global warming could reach 0.08°C in 2050 rather than in 2040…

  • Enhanced wave farm design could harness 95% of ocean energy

    The strategic arrangement of wave-energy buoys within a wave farm could vastly improve their ability to harness energy from ocean swell, according to a new study. Ocean waves contain an enormous amount of energy. Floating buoys, some as big as a small house, have the potential to harness the motion of the waves to generate vast amounts of electricity. However, deep sea deployment of these arrays is challenging, with their performance affected by the variable nature of ocean waves. Researchers from the Universities of Augsburg, Adelaide, and Melbourne believe they have designed a solution to increase their efficiency. Using computer simulations, they fine-tuned the interaction between buoys to maximise the energy yield of a wave farm. The concept behind wave energy devices is relatively…

  • Fungi-based leather offers sustainable route to fireproof clothing

    Mycelium leather could offer a more sustainable material for the next generation of protective clothing, researchers have said. Mycelium has long been a subject of research for its use as a sustainable alternative for all manner of materials, from building insulation to packaging. Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus that grows underground and consists of a network of thin thread-like strands called hyphae. A team at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University developed their mycelium leather in the lab from fungal networks cultivated using agricultural waste and water. Unlike animal and plastic-derived leathers, it uses fewer hazardous chemicals during its production and releases less carbon into the atmosphere. The resulting fabric looks and feels like these other…

  • Police drones take to the skies across UK rail network

    British Transport Police (BTP) has introduced drones into its daily policing operations across the UK rail network. Trespassers are one of the most significant causes of disruption on the railway. According to BTP, in 2023/2024 more than 19,300 trespass incidents - or one every 30 minutes - occurred across the network. When an incident is reported, a drone can be deployed to the site, helping police officers assess the situation remotely. This enables faster decision making and can reduce train delays as a result. Fitted with BT’s Drone SIM and using EE’s network, the drones are launched from strategically located 'drone in a box’ (DIAB) stations and piloted from a London-based control centre. Operators can securely fly the drone and stream real-time, high-definition video, even in remote…

  • Autonomous Joby aircraft completes 3,199-mile flight across US

    Joby Aviation has pulled off an entirely autonomous, 3,199-mile flight from the West to the East coast of the United States. The firm said it is the first time such a feat has been achieved, with the aircraft making the journey with zero control inputs from the onboard safety pilot including autonomous taxi, take-off, cruise and landing. The whole journey was supervised remotely from Joby’s Autonomy Headquarters in California, which was up to 2,323 miles away from the plane at the furthest point. The aircraft – a converted Cessna Caravan – began the flight at the Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. Joby said the flight demonstrated that its technology can work on pre-existing aircraft not originally designed for full autonomy which could enable it to be deployed relatively quickly…

  • Fibre-optic system detects dangerous currents before grid failure

    A fibre-optic system can track and detect unwanted electrical currents in high-voltage power grids in real time, according to a study. Developed by a research team at the Graz University of Technology in Austria, the system is a simple and instantaneous solution for calculating exact current levels in power grids, including normal alternating currents (AC) and problematic direct-current (DC) interference. Today’s AC power grids are increasingly under strain. While renewables feed energy into the network, the proliferation of electric vehicle chargers requires increasingly powerful inverters and rectifiers to convert power back and forth. This conversion process inadvertently leaks DC into the grid. Natural phenomena, including solar or geomagnetic storms, can also cause this DC to find…

  • Google to buy digital 'green credits' from Swedish hydrogen steel plant

    Google has agreed to support Swedish start-up Stegra in green hydrogen steelmaking. Spread across 270 hectares in Boden, northern Sweden, Stegra’s facility will incorporate iron and steelmaking with a 740MW hydrogen plant. Using green hydrogen in its steelmaking results in the facility producing near-zero emissions. Google will purchase environmental attribute certificates (EACs) from Stegra for a volume of up to 91,000 tonnes of steel for the first year, with the possibility of increasing this volume. This book-and-claim system allows Google to claim the environmental attributes of lower-emission steel separately from the physical product. So while the tech giant won’t purchase the physical steel, buying EACs effectively helps it offset the carbon emissions from its own operations, including…

  • Industry insight: Getting to grips with upcoming changes to the Building Safety Act?

    This article has been provided by Nigel Thomas, national specification & projects manager at ABB Electrification. The Building Safety Act (BSA) introduces the most significant overhaul of building regulation in a generation. We debunk the biggest misconceptions surrounding the latest regulatory changes — and what they actually mean for those involved in a building’s construction. Formed in 2022 in response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the BSA is a fundamental rework of how building safety is designed and implemented. Gone are the days of the check-box list and the stack of paperwork handed over after delivery. Safety must be embedded, proven, and carried through from a project's inception to its completion. And yet, despite its significance, there's a worrying amount of misunderstanding…

  • DNA computer performs 100-bit calculations without electricity

    A molecular DNA-based computer has executed complex mathematical equations completely without electricity, according to a study. The research team at Ireland’s Maynooth University says the breakthrough offers potential for powering future energy-efficient data centres or even operating inside living human cells. Currently, conventional computers and data centres rely heavily on energy-hungry silicon chips. In contrast, this molecular computer uses a collection of interacting DNA strands in salt water to solve complex equations. It does this without a continuous electricity supply, requiring only a little heat to kick-start the chemical computation. “Silicon-based computers use so much energy – 23% of Ireland’s electricity goes into computing and data storage. We’ve been blinkered by only…

  • EU proposes total social media ban for under-13s with limited access until 15

    The European Commission has unveiled sweeping legislation outlining a total social media ban for children under 13 and restricted access for teenagers until the age of 15. The proposed EU Kids Act is the result of much pressure on policymakers to act on growing evidence of the effects that social media and screen addiction have on children’s mental health. “It is time for Europe to act,” said commission president Ursula von der Leyen during her annual keynote address to the European Parliament when the act was formally unveiled. “It is we who decide our rules, not Big Tech.” Under the proposals, children under 13 are banned from accessing all forms of social media. This also includes online video games, video-sharing platforms and AI companions. They can, however, use video-sharing platforms…

  • AI companies cannot be trusted to self-regulate, says Autodesk CEO

    Despite comments from tech bosses like Sam Altman and Elon Musk, AI companies cannot be trusted to self-regulate themselves, the CEO of Autodesk has said. In recent days, there have been calls for the industry to slow down following incendiary comments from a safety researcher at Anthropic, developer of AI chatbot Claude, who said there is a greater than 10% chance that AI “could kill all humans” within the next decade. But Andrew Anagost, who leads Autodesk, said that the idea that any of these companies are going to self-regulate themselves “is ridiculous, they’re not going to.” Speaking at the firm’s annual conference, he said: “I think some of this is a little bit of political theatre designed to pump up [their tech]. ‘Look how great our tech is, it’s so dangerous there’s a 10% chance…

  • £70m project aims to beam mobile coverage from the stratosphere

    The UK’s Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) is investing £70m to develop autonomous aircraft that could provide continuous mobile coverage from high above the UK. The initiative will look to develop aircraft known as high-altitude pseudo-satellites (HAPS) that can operate reliably and cost-effectively in the stratosphere. These autonomous, solar-powered gliders would provide high-performance communications infrastructure to support AI and digital services, while extending connectivity to underserved and remote regions. The stratosphere – the second-lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere extending from an altitude of roughly 10-50km – is being scoped as a location for such infrastructure as it offers a cheaper, low-latency alternative to orbital satellites. Flying at around 20km above…

  • Interview: James West - the man behind the microphone. Every Microphone!

    Born into a world that told him scientists did not look like him, James E West co-invented the technology inside virtually every microphone on Earth. At 95, he hasn’t stopped yet. Pick up almost any device that records or transmits the voice and you are holding the life’s work of James E West. The laptop on your desk; the smartphone in your pocket; the wireless earbuds on your commute; the audio sensor in your car’s GPS navigation system; the automatic speech recognition that tells Alexa to order something from Amazon. They all include microphones. Nine in every 10 microphones made anywhere in the world use a technology that West developed with his colleague Gerhard Sessler at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, US, in 1962. So why isn’t he a household name? “That’s a good question…

  • McLaren to invest £500m in scaling UK operations and launching SUV

    British luxury supercar brand McLaren Automotive has announced that its Abu Dhabi owner will invest £500m to expand its UK operations and bring new models to market at scale. The investment will see McLaren expand out of its niche as a low-volume supercar manufacturer to become a broader player in the automotive market. The first model to be confirmed as part of this shift is a performance SUV. While little information has been released about this new vehicle other than its supporting the company’s hybrid strategy, McLaren has revealed it is being designed as a high-volume luxury model. This means it will enter the premium utility sector to compete directly with models from the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Aston Martin. The investment will also see the firm expand its manufacturing…

  • Nuclear power capacity could more than triple by 2060, IAEA predicts

    Global nuclear power capacity could more than triple by 2060, with small modular reactors (SMRs) expected to be a major driver of the increase. For the sixth year in a row, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has revised up its predictions for the expansion of nuclear power plants across the world. At the end of 2025, 413 nuclear power reactors were operating worldwide, providing 377.1 gigawatts electric (GW(e)) of global nuclear generating capacity. In the IAEA’s high case projection, capacity reaches 1045 GW(e) by 2050, compared with 992 GW(e) projected last year, before increasing further to 1284 GW(e) by 2060 – approximately 3.4 times the 2025 level. Countries are rapidly scaling the technology up, as it provides climate-friendly baseload generation that is less prone to…

  • MOD develops 3D-printed turbojet engine in less than seven months

    Digital design and manufacturing techniques have enabled the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to fast track the development of a turbojet engine from concept to flight in under seven months. The engine model, which has been designed, built and tested entirely in Britain, forms part of a family of turbojet engines spanning the 30N to 2000N thrust range. These engines will be used to power everything from small drones to larger uncrewed aircraft. Their development is the result of a new UK sovereign defence technology co-development programme, a public-private initiative to establish sovereign propulsion capability for future weapons and aircraft, reducing reliance on overseas supply chains. Led by the MOD’s strategic capabilities office, the programme combines government investment with matched…

  • Pubs and licensed venues will be able to adopt digital ID age checks for over-18s

    The government has introduced new rules allowing pubs, off-licences, nightclubs and restaurants to let customers prove their age using a digital ID app on their smartphones. The new rules allow licensed businesses across England and Wales to accept digital proof-of-age IDs. However, for the time being, adoption is not mandatory, with digital checks running alongside traditional physical IDs such as passports or driving licences. Rather than using a government-issued app, customers download a certified third-party app – including Luciditi, Yoti or Post Office EasyID – officially registered under the UK’s digital verification services trust framework. The app generates a secure QR code that is then scanned by a business via a free checker app downloaded onto an existing device, such as…

  • US scraps emissions limits on coal and gas power plants

    The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalised a sweeping rollback on major climate regulations limiting pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants. In 2024, the Biden Administration put in place strict greenhouse gas emissions standards for coal and gas power plants. However, the Trump Administration has now repealed these rules, according to an official statement published by the EPA. When Donald Trump came to power a second time he pledged to boost domestic energy production to, in his own words, “drill, baby, drill”. He has also consistently pulled away from international climate commitments, describing the Paris Agreement as a “rip-off” and famously calling climate change a “hoax”. As well as repealing the existing carbon pollution rules, the EPA statement also outlines…

  • Volvo starts series production of its 700km-range electric trucks

    The heavy-duty, long-haul Volvo FH Aero Electric is rolling off Gothenburg assembly lines, offering up to 700km on a single charge. “We are now turning groundbreaking technology into industrial reality. Starting series production of our new electric trucks is a clear proof of our commitment to lead the transformation to more sustainable truck transport,” said Roger Alm, president of Volvo Trucks. The trucks feature a redesigned chassis with new e-axle technology, which effectively frees up space to accommodate significantly more battery capacity onboard. This is combined with a megawatt charging system, which is capable of charging eight batteries from 20% to 80% in approximately 50 minutes. Electric trucks can now realistically compete on long-haul routes that have traditionally relied…

  • £1bn deal to deliver UK’s first mainline battery-electric train fleet

    A fleet of 29 British-built electric trains will enter service along the TransPennine route in northern England by 2034, offering long-distance regional travel. The £1bn contract between TransPennine Express and French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom covers the supply of 29 five-car battery-electric multiple units, station charging infrastructure and long-term maintenance. The trains will be built at Alstom’s historic Litchurch Lane Works in Derby. According to the firm, the project will support more than 350 highly-skilled jobs at the site and over 5,500 roles across its UK supply chain. Manufacturing is expected to begin in 2028, with the first trains scheduled for delivery by the end of 2032 and a full passenger service commencing in 2034. Chris Jackson, managing director at TransPennine…

  • Existing UK laws ‘ill-equipped’ to protect human rights from AI, warn MPs

    A cross-party group of MPs and Lords has urged the government to introduce a new AI bill to address the “scale and seriousness” of AI’s threats to human rights. The report, published by the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR), calls for a new legislative and regulatory approach to AI that is “fit for purpose”, with stronger protections against the human rights risks posed by the technology’s rapid development. AI is “moving with such speed and complexity that its impact is hard to accurately predict,” says chair of the JCHR Alex Sobel MP, leaving the UK “unprepared to deal with its consequences”. When Labour came to power in 2024, the then science, innovation and technology secretary Peter Kyle said the government would prioritise laws around AI and touted that an AI bill would be…

  • Grid upgrade delays risk adding billions to energy bills, NAO warns

    Consumers face rising energy bills without urgent upgrades to the nation’s electricity grid designed to help it accommodate more renewables, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said. In a report, the body said that the grid cannot carry enough electricity “from where it is produced to where it is needed” forcing the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to keep supply and demand in balance by effectively paying wind farms to turn off and gas plants to turn on. These payments, known as constraint costs, ultimately hike up household energy bills. In the 2025-26 financial year these totalled around £1.9bn, an already hefty sum that could increase to £7.8bn by 2030 without concerted action from NESO, the NAO said. Ofgem estimates that £70bn of investment is required in the grid between 2025…

  • Massive 3D-printed model recreates catastrophic Swiss avalanche

    A five-metre-wide scaled model of the Swiss landscape has been constructed to simulate how avalanche debris flows move. In May 2025, a devastating landslide and avalanche struck the Swiss village of Blatten. Massive rockfalls from a nearby peak crashed onto the glacier, triggering ice and debris to thunder down the slope at 200 km/h. Most of the village was completely destroyed by the impact. The disaster inspired researchers at Swiss university ETH Zurich and the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF in Davos to build a detailed, scaled replica of the Blatten region. Using this physical model, the team can assess how landslides move through the mountainous terrain, with the data helping to improve the accuracy of computer simulations. The 1:577 scaled model, which measures…

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