• Return of direct ferry between Scotland and Europe edges nearer to reality

    The reinstatement of a direct ferry route between Scotland and France is closer to reality after a £3m commitment from the government. The new route will be launched 15 years after the last passenger service ended between the Scottish port of Rosyth and Zeebrugge in Belgium. It was discontinued in 2010 because of falling passenger numbers, competitive pressure from budget airlines and increased running costs. The route continued for a few years as a freight-only service, before that was also discontinued in 2018. The newly proposed service would operate from Rosyth and land in Dunkirk, offering both freight and passenger services. It would improve links between Scottish exporters and Dunkirk’s state-of-the-art rail terminal, which connects the port to major centres across the EU. The EU…

  • Unique skull vibrations could act as password for headset users

    In the future, headset users could log into platforms simply through the distinct vibration patterns of their skulls, according to a study. Tiny vibrations, generated by breathing and heartbeats, resonate through the skull in patterns unique to each person’s bone structure and soft facial tissues. A software security system developed by researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey, US, detects these vibrations, enabling users to seamlessly log in to virtual and augmented reality platforms without the need to disrupt the immersive experience by taking off their headset to type in passwords or personal identification numbers. Yingying Chen, a distinguished professor and chair of the department of electrical and computer engineering at the Rutgers School of Engineering and a corresponding…

  • Flexible hydrogel could power your wearables using just body heat

    A soft material that converts body heat into electricity could pave the way for self-powered wearable devices, according to a new study. Researchers at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia, found that a soft hydrogel was able to capture wasted heat and turn it into usable electrical power with “record efficiency”. Low-grade heat is widely distributed in industrial processes, the environment and even the human body, accounting for a significant share of global energy loss. In their research, the team investigated how efficiently a soft hydrogel material could convert this wasted heat into electricity using the thermal diffusion process known as the Soret effect. The hydrogel achieves this by controlling how charged particles move through a soft polymer network…

  • Heathrow’s plan for major increases to landing fees blocked by the regulator

    The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has rejected efforts from Heathrow to significantly raise its landing fees to fund a series of upgrades to the airport. While Heathrow Airport is privately owned and run, it is strictly regulated by the CAA as it has an effective monopoly on many international long-haul flights, which could lead to steep price increases without government intervention. With the current regulatory period coming to an end, the CAA has just published its initial proposals for the next period covering 2027 to 2031. While Heathrow wanted a 17% increase to landing charges (around £33 per passenger), the CAA set the cap on airport charges at between £27.20 and £30.50 per passenger. The airport is currently undergoing a £10bn transformation plan that will see the demolition…

  • External displays on driverless vehicles could reduce risk to runners and pedestrians

    Driverless cars could be fitted with external displays to help them communicate with vulnerable road users such as runners and cyclists. Researchers at the University of Glasgow and KAIST in South Korea have used augmented reality tech to explore how runners’ behaviour differs from walkers’ when crossing roads and junctions. They found that runners are much more likely to take risks when negotiating traffic than walkers and often took less time to process the road conditions around them. On several occasions, they were ‘struck’ by virtual vehicles in the team’s simulated road tests. The team suggested that displays of lights on the exteriors of cars called external human-machine interfaces, or eHMIs, could enable them to communicate their intentions more quickly and effectively. These…

  • Supply chain deal brings Rolls-Royce SMR a step closer to roll-out

    Rolls-Royce SMR has partnered with Swedish nuclear technology firm Studsvik AB to support its small modular reactor (SMR) programme, marking another step towards deployment. Studsvik, an established supplier of nuclear analysis software and specialised services to the international nuclear industry, is the latest in a string of collaborations Rolls-Royce SMR has signed over the past year as it moves towards commissioning its modular, ‘factory-built’ nuclear power plant. In a bid to kickstart what energy secretary Ed Miliband called the “golden age” of nuclear energy, the government confirmed last summer it was to invest £14.2bn in the upcoming Sizewell C nuclear plant, as well as a further £2.5bn for SMRs. It also confirmed that it had selected Rolls-Royce SMR as the preferred bidder to…

  • Semi-autonomous robots could speed up hunt for life on Mars

    The ongoing search for life on Mars could be sped up through the use of semi-autonomous robotic explorers that can carry out investigations of the surface, researchers say. Communication delays between Earth and Mars rovers can range between four and 22 minutes and impose data transfer constraints because of uplink and downlink limitations. These limitations force scientists to plan operations well in advance. Rovers are designed for energy efficiency and safety, and to move slowly across hazardous terrain. As a result, exploration is typically limited to only a small portion of the landing site, with rovers traveling up to a few hundred metres a day, making it difficult to collect geologically diverse data. A team at the University of Basel in Switzerland have been testing a semi-autonomous…

  • Fourth Scotland–England subsea link reaches £3bn contract milestone

    Eastern Green Link 4 (EGL4) has secured £3bn in major contracts for its 640km electricity transmission link between Scotland and England. The contracts cover the high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) converter stations and the subsea and underground electricity cables. Siemens Energy will deliver the converter stations in Fife and Norfolk, while Italian subsea cable manufacturer Prysmian will provide the cable system, including 530km of subsea cable and over 116km of underground cable. EGL4, a joint venture between SP Energy Networks and National Grid Electricity Transmission, will transmit up to 2GW of electricity. The converter station in Fife will change alternating current into direct current, the most efficient way for high-voltage electricity to travel across large distances. Once converted…

  • Private 'underwater hypercar' completes sea trials ahead of first delivery

    Dutch submersible manufacturer U-Boat Worx has revealed it will deliver the “world’s fastest submersible” for private use to its first client following successful sea trials. The 6.5-metre-long Super Sub can carry three passengers on a journey of up to 10 nautical miles (around 18.5 km), reaching depths of 300 metres. Powered by a 62kWh battery, it offers up to eight hours of exploration time underwater. According to U-Boat Worx, testing in the waters near the Caribbean island of Curaçao revealed what its engineers intended: “A private submersible that behaves less like a traditional underwater craft and more like a performance vehicle designed for three-dimensional freedom.” Super Sub’s propulsion system features four proprietary thrusters that deliver a total of 100kW of horizontal…

  • Thawing permafrost risks unleashing billions of tonnes of locked-away carbon

    Climate change could be exacerbated by thawing permafrost that releases large amounts of greenhouse gases once it has defrosted. Permafrost is soil that has been frozen for extensive periods and is found over large areas of the Arctic. Historically, it has acted as a vital barrier against climate change, as it contains roughly 1,700 billion tonnes of carbon, around three times the amount currently in the atmosphere. But rising temperatures has led to thawing, which could lead to the release of large amounts of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, creating a self‑reinforcing process. Professor Paul Glover from the University of Leeds, who led the research, said: “It is now widely recognised that climate change is leading to significant thawing of permafrost, with a 42%…

  • EV interest jumps sharply as Iran war sends fuel prices surging

    Interest in electric cars has jumped amid rising fuel prices since the Middle East conflict began, according to Autotrader. Autotrader, an online marketplace for buying and selling cars, has reported a sharp increase in enquiries for both new and used electric vehicles (EVs) since the Iran war began at the end of February. A significant share of the world’s oil comes from the Middle East. Missile strikes and drone attacks have meant traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime shipping route for global oil supplies, is effectively at a standstill. This is driving up fuel prices worldwide. While not quite at the extremes of 2022 yet, the instability of what might be in store and further fuel price rises is driving people to consider EVs. Autotrader saw a 28% jump in EV enquiries…

  • Quantum navigation system fitted to London train offers alternative to unreliable GPS

    Network Rail is introducing quantum navigation technologies that can measure the position of trains with extreme precision. The location of trains on the network is typically determined using an electric track circuit that runs a current from one rail to the other through a relay. When a train runs on a section, it causes the current to bypass the relay, which is picked up by the signalling network. This is also supplemented by various technologies, including GPS and automatic warning systems that can monitor the exact position of carriages. But these technologies are vulnerable to a number of faults that can cause major delays including broken rails, a blown fuse, faulty electrical parts, cable theft or loose connections, all of which form a break in the track circuit. Network Rail is…

  • UK must back North Sea oil and gas drilling alongside renewables, says industry body

    UK domestic oil and gas production in the North Sea should continue alongside the expansion of offshore wind capacity to secure energy supply, according to an Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) report. In its Business outlook report 2026, OEUK warns that the UK “urgently” needs to produce its own oil and gas because without it the country risks becoming reliant on “energy imports at a time of rising global instability”. According to its analysis, oil and gas still supplies around 75% of the UK’s energy needs and is expected to meet around one-fifth of demand by 2050. David Whitehouse, chief executive of OEUK, said: “This is not an either renewables or oil and gas scenario. We urgently need greater supplies of secure, domestically produced energy including oil and gas, which will remain a critical…

  • UK injects £100m into mothballed CO2 plant due to shortages from the Iran war

    A mothballed factory in Teeside that produced carbon dioxide will be reopened with £100m in government funding because of fears the UK could face shortages of the gas following the war in Iran. The Ensus plant primarily manufactured bioethanol and outputs CO2 as a by-product, but it was shuttered last year after a trade deal removed tariffs on ethanol imports from the US. CO2 is a vital component in healthcare and food production, where it’s used to make fertilisers and packaging that keeps food fresh. But the war in Iran is increasingly disrupting the production of fertiliser in Europe, leading the government to reopen the plant to ensure supplies remain secure. The Department for Business and Trade said it had intentionally kept the facility on standby after its closure in the autumn…

  • ‘Wetware’: Is your next computer a living one?

    From brain organoids and neuron/microchip hybrids to fungal networks, computers made using living cells are forcing a rethink of traditional IT systems and could result in more sustainable and efficient AI. As tech firms look to build data centres half a mile long to power their AI, fuelling massive energy demand in the process, others are asking if a new breed of ‘living’ biocomputers can provide a more sustainable and effective alternative to traditional computers based on silicon. Recent advances underscore the potential of so-called ‘wetware’ as a medium for computation. The world’s first commercial biological computer, CL1 launched by Australian start-up Cortical Labs last year, merges human neurons grown from stem cells with a traditional silicon chip to create dynamic neural networks…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • OpenAI to close Sora video generation platform as rivals gain ground

    OpenAI has confirmed it will shut down its AI video generation platform Sora after just two years as the firm looks to refocus its resources on its core product ChatGPT. Sora was first launched in February 2024, but it wasn’t until the introduction of Sora 2 last September that the platform hit the mainstream, with users creating highly realistic video content based on single text prompts. But despite its initial popularity, daily users have fallen in recent months, stabilising at roughly 750,000 – a relatively low number compared to other OpenAI products. The platform also required vastly more computing resources per user interaction than a typical text-based interaction with ChatGPT. Some estimates suggest that a single 5-10 second video generation consumes roughly 1kWh of electricity…

  • Battery electric vehicles to dominate HGV market by mid-2030s

    Battery electric heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) could become a viable alternative for long-distance and heavy-duty applications by the mid-2030s, according to a new study. The study, published by the Faraday Institution, provides an assessment of the UK’s current HGV market and its transition to zero-emission technologies. The HGV sector is a significant part of the UK’s economy, supporting thousands of jobs and contributing substantially to the logistics industry. However, it is also a major source of emissions with 99% of the existing HGV fleet relying on diesel engines. With the average HGV travelling around 100,000 miles a year, the sector accounts for 16% of carbon emissions in the transport sector and 6% of the UK’s overall carbon emissions. The HGV industry is transitioning towards…

  • Nasa to land humans on the Moon every six months while it builds a lunar base

    Nasa is planning to make manned trips to the lunar surface every six months from 2028 as part of efforts to lay the groundwork for a permanent Moon base. The agency said it would begin to incorporate more commercially procured and reusable hardware in its lunar trips in a bid to lower the cost of the Artemis programme. Artemis was formally established in 2017 and launched its first uncrewed mission in November 2022 using the long-delayed super heavy-lift launch rocket Space Launch System. Artemis II, the programme’s first crewed flight, was originally planned to take place in 2024, followed by a crewed landing on the Moon for Artemis III in 2025. However, in December 2024 the agency confirmed it would target April 2026 for Artemis II and mid-2027 for Artemis III, which will now involve…

  • UK families to trial social media ban and app limits for teens

    The UK government is piloting social media bans, time limits and digital curfews in the homes of 300 teenagers to inform a national consultation on children’s online safety. These trials will assess the impact that limiting social media use has on family life, sleep and schoolwork. Both the children and their parents will be interviewed at the beginning and end of the six-week period. This comes as children’s access to social media is increasingly coming under scrutiny. There have been calls for an all-out ban for under-16s similar to that in Australia. However, three months into the ban and the argument that it would give children their childhood back does not quite stand up: many Australian teens have found workarounds and many are on the apps as much as ever. Rather than a blanket ban…

  • Solar panels and low-carbon heating to be mandatory for all new homes

    It has been announced that the Future Homes Standard (FHS) will mandate that most new homes built from 2028 must include on-site renewable energy generation as standard. While it has been on the cards for some time, the government has now published details of its FHS, moving new regulatory requirements from policy into implementation. Under the FHS, all new homes – with some exceptions such as high-rise buildings – must include on-site renewables, mainly rooftop solar, along with low-carbon heating such as heat pumps and heat networks. This higher standard for new homes will come into force from 2028, a year later than anticipated. As outlined in the updated planning requirements, developers will need to install solar panels equivalent in size to at least 40% of the building’s floor…

  • Radiation-proof wifi chip could transform nuclear decommissioning robots

    Decommissioning nuclear power plants is a long and complex process and presents radiation challenges that often necessitate the use of robots to minimise the risk to humans on site. However, most robots are controlled through wired connections such as local area network cables, which limits how many robots can be used simultaneously and creates operational challenges such as cable management and the navigating of confined spaces. Now, researchers from the Institute of Science Tokyo (IST) have developed a 2.4GHz wifi receiver chip that can withstand radiation doses of up to 500 kilograys (kGy) and enable wireless control of robots in ultra-high-radiation environments. Robots have been routinely used as part of the clean-up of Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant which was damaged by…

  • HS2 trains could run slower than planned to save billions

    The High Speed Two (HS2) railway project could see trains running 16% slower in a bid to drive down spiralling costs and delivery times. In a written statement to parliament, transport secretary Heidi Alexander set out a six-monthly report on HS2. A headline point from the report is how a reduction in the speeds the trains travel at could save “billions” and bring the HS2 into service sooner. HS2 trains were originally planned to run at 360km/h, which would have made them the fastest conventional high-speed trains anywhere in the world. With HS2 officially given the green light in 2020, the project has since been beset by a string of failures and budget overruns, including the cancellation of routes ending in Leeds and Manchester. It was originally expected to be completed by 2033, but…

  • Heat pumps gain traction in the UK as efficiency and installation barriers fall

    Heat pumps have had a sluggish start to life, particularly in the UK. But now the technology is on an upward trajectory. In England, when the north-east winds blow across the Fens to Cambridge, ageing gas boilers within the medieval buildings of the university struggle to keep students warm. To compensate for raw conditions brought by the ‘Beast from the East’ and other cold snaps, radiators run at 80°C, churning out heat that leaks through rattling windows. But nearby there is a source of free heat – from the ground, from the River Cam, even from the air – and if advocates of heat pumps have their way, university buildings hundreds of years old will eventually be warmed by lower-carbon energy. If thermal energy could be stored and recycled here and across the UK, hefty emissions caused…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Seven locations named for government’s proposed ‘new towns’

    The UK government has announced the seven locations that will host large‑scale settlements under its new towns housebuilding initiative. Each of the sites, which range from stand-alone new developments to expansions of existing towns, will deliver between 10,000 and 40,000 homes, according to the government. They include: Tempsford, Bedfordshire; Crews Hill and Chase Park, London Borough of Enfield; Leeds South Bank, West Yorkshire; Manchester Victoria North, Greater Manchester; Thamesmead, London Borough of Greenwich; Brabazon and the West Innovation Arc, South Gloucestershire; and Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. A public consultation on the proposed locations and draft planning policy is open until mid-May, with final locations confirmed later in the year. Labour has repeatedly stressed…

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