• UK government must act now to capture fusion’s £5bn global economic opportunity – report

    The Fusion industry Association (FIA) has laid out policy recommendations to ensure the UK attracts fusion investment and secures its position in the global fusion race. The UK aims to be a global leader in clean energy innovation. At the end of last week, energy secretary Ed Miliband outlined ‘ambitious reforms’ as part of the government’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. While fusion power is still in the research phase and will not be part of the 2030 decarbonisation goals, it has been predicted that it will be on the grid by 2040. Fusion is a potential source of almost limitless clean energy, which its seen as vital for energy security and the climate crisis. The UK’s Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is currently building the UK’s first prototype fusion energy power plant, the Spherical…

  • E+T | Expert Engineering - Restoring Notre Dame

    In April 2019, French hearts were broken as Notre Dame de Paris was devastated by fire. But five years of restoration work are nearing completion, work that has combined traditional techniques and materials with some of the latest engineering technology. Now, as the historic cathedral is opening its doors to the public again, we look at how the team in Paris engineered this remarkable achievement.

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Tech to conserve carbon-storing mangroves gets under way in the United Arab Emirates

    Climate tech start-up Nabat is using AI and autonomous robotics to conserve natural ecosystems, beginning with mangroves and expanding to other habitats. Mangroves are often referred to as nature’s carbon storehouse. These salt-tolerant trees and shrubs grow in lattice formations in shallow and brackish ocean water. According to the Centre for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry, mangroves remove and store about 10 billion tons of carbon as biomass, more than most other ecosystems on Earth, including rainforests. They can be found in tropical and subtropical climates throughout the world, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In a bid to restore these vital biomes within its borders, the UAE has committed to planting 100 million more mangrove trees by 2030 as…

  • Italy developing small nuclear reactors to power future settlements on the Moon

    Italy’s national space agency, ASI, has kicked off its Selene project, which aims to develop small nuclear fission reactors to provide power on the lunar surface. There are many Moon missions currently under way – from collecting samples from the lunar surface, such as India’s Chandrayaan-4 mission to the Moon’s south pole, to having a human presence on the Moon. For instance, Nasa expects to return humans to the lunar surface by 2030 and intends to build a permanent research station near the south pole shortly after. This human presence will require resources, one of which is energy. Selene (Sistema Energetico Lunare con l’Energia NuclearE) has received €2m in funding from ASI to develop alternative energy infrastructures on the Moon that overcome the limitations of traditional technologies…

  • Social media firms given three months to tackle illegal content or face fines

    Online firms have been given a three-month period from today to put in place a robust system to tackle illegal activity on their platforms or face financial punishments from the regulator. As part of the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA), Ofcom has published the first edition of its codes of practice and guidance on tackling illegal harms, which includes terror, hate, fraud, child sexual abuse and assisting or encouraging suicide. The government finally signed the OSA into law last year after a series of lengthy delays. In its original form, the bill gave regulators wide-ranging powers to sanction digital and social media companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok, although later revisions watered down some of the proposals. As well as social media firms, search engines, messaging…

  • German railway launches hydrogen-powered trains amid diesel phase-out

    The German railway has begun using a suite of state-of-the-art trains that run on hydrogen power in a bid to make the service more sustainable. Developer Siemens Mobility said its Mireo Plus H hydrogen trains will save an estimated 1.1 million litres of diesel fuel per year and reduce CO2 emissions by 3,000 tons. The trains will be powered by locally produced hydrogen and water vapour will be the only emitted by-product while in service. In addition, recovered braking energy will be used to further increase the trains’ energy efficiency. The trains are replacing the older, diesel-powered models, but will be rolled out in stages starting with selected runs in the East Allgäu-Lechfeld network. Operations will later be expanded and the train will then also run on the Ammersee-Altmühltal…

  • Miliband outlines ‘ambitious reforms’ as part of the government’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan

    Labour has published a report setting out a roadmap for how to decarbonise the grid by 2030. In its manifesto, the party set itself a lofty goal of entirely decarbonising the UK’s energy grid by 2030 – bringing forward the already-ambitious 2035 target. Its roadmap for how it plans to achieve this is set out in the 138-page Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. The report includes not only how this will be achieved through investment in low carbon generation, but also the energy infrastructure required to deliver that decarbonised system. Energy secretary Ed Miliband said: “A new era of clean electricity for our country offers a positive vision of Britain’s future with energy security, lower bills, good jobs and climate action. “This can only happen with big, bold change, and that is why…

  • Virgin Galactic sets sights on European expansion with possible spaceport in Italy

    US space tourism company Virgin Galactic has revealed it is evaluating the prospect of future spaceflight operations from Grottaglie Spaceport in the Puglia region of southern Italy. In cooperation with Italy’s civil aviation authority Ente Nazionale per l’Aviazione Civile (ENAC), Virgin Galactic will begin conducting a feasibility study to evaluate the necessary technical requirements for suborbital spaceflight operations at Grottaglie Spaceport. Grottaglie Spaceport, which was designated a commercial spaceport by Italy’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport in 2018, primarily operates as a base for suborbital spaceflights, including private and commercial suborbital transportation as well as a hub for various research activities. Following a recent Euro70m funding boost from the Italian…

  • From the archives: The invention of Christmas tree lights, the first steam train ride

    Tanya Weaver looks back at a fiery start for the steam locomotive, the beginnings of a Christmas tradition and ‘genius’ Hertha Ayrton. 223 years ago All puffed out On 24 December 1801, British mechanical engineer and inventor Richard Trevithick took seven of his friends for a test ride on his recently completed steam-powered passenger vehicle, marking the first ever successful journey by a steam locomotive. The Puffing Devil or Puffer, so named on account of the steam it created, set off on its journey travelling up a hill in Camborne, Cornwall. A few days later, while the locomotive was being taken out for further tests, it was damaged on the road and broke down. Trevithick and the other passengers sought refuge in a pub. While they were having a meal and drinks, the Puffing Devil…

  • Google reveals its new AI data centres will be powered by on-site clean energy sources

    Google, Intersect Power and TPG Rise Climate have partnered to ensure Google’s data centre growth is powered with clean power generation. Data centres are energy hungry. This is not only due to their 24/7 computational-heavy operation, but also the air conditioning systems needed to cool down the signifiant heat generated during computation. With the growth of AI technology, data centres are set to consume even more electricity in the coming years. Indeed, in July 2024 Google reported that its reliance on data centres to power its new AI products caused its carbon emissions to soar by nearly 50% in five years. However, the tech giant recently announced that it is partnering with clean energy company Intersect Power and dedicated climate investing platform TPG Rise Climate to use on…

  • Moon mining mission to extract helium-3 in bid to alleviate extreme supply shortages on Earth

    Two space firms have signed an agreement to start mining “commercial quantities” of helium-3 isotopes on the Moon and bring them back to Earth where there is an extreme supply shortage. In a joint statement, Japanese firm ispace and Magna Petra said their mining activities would utilise “non-destructive” and “sustainable” techniques to harvest the resources from regolith (the layer of unconsolidated solid material covering the bedrock of a planet) on the lunar surface. Helium-3 is a stable isotope of helium and is predominantly used for nuclear fusion reactions with deuterium (heavy hydrogen) to produce large amounts of energy. Because helium-3 is not radioactive, the fusion process doesn't produce nuclear waste or greenhouse gas emissions. For many years, the supply of helium-3 from…

  • Designing Next-Generation Carbon Dioxide Removal Technology for Better Life in Space

    NASA combines thermal modelling and experimental testing to find the best compressor design for the system that keeps the air breathable at the International Space Station. The International Space Station (ISS) is made livable in great part thanks to a system that captures and removes carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. The workhorse inside that system is a compressor, which fulfills its CO2-capture duties, but at a cost: it is both noisy and requires frequent maintenance. Engineers at NASA used modelling and simulation together with experimental testing to analyse the next generation of compressor designs that get the job done more quietly, with fewer maintenance needs and at lower fabrication cost. Contaminant Removal Technology Lets Astronauts Breathe on the ISS Astronauts signing up…

  • SSEN Transmission unveils £22bn plan to bolster UK grid for green energy push

    Energy firm SSEN Transmission has unveiled plans to invest “at least £22bn” in the UK’s grid infrastructure, which could help the UK meet its green energy targets. A report earlier this week suggested that the domestic grid is not ready for the influx of green energy coming online in the next few years. BloombergNEF data suggests that for every pound invested in renewable energy, the UK should be investing at least £1 in the grid, but the current ratio is more like 25p to every £1. SSEN hopes that its investment plan will enable the north of Scotland transmission network alone to have the capability to meet 20% of Great Britain’s demand for clean power. Due to considerable wind power infrastructure in the area, the north coast of Scotland will play a key role in the full-scale decarbonisation…

  • Lockheed Martin’s missile-warning satellite on track for 2025 launch

    Global defence technology firm Lockheed Martin has progressed to system-level testing of its missile-tracking satellite at its manufacturing facility in California. The Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) programme was initiated in 2018 by the US Space Force to enhance missile threat detection from space. With an estimated cost of $14bn, the planned multi-orbit, multi-layer missile-warning and tracking architecture aims to protect the US and its allies against ballistic missiles, hypersonic vehicles and other emerging threats. The Next-Gen OPIR programme consists of two types of satellites: geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin and polar-orbiting satellites developed by Northrop Grumman. While the first of Northrop Grumman’s satellites…

  • Two major carbon capture projects in Teesside greenlit, with construction set to start mid-2025

    Two carbon capture projects expected to bring thousands of jobs and wider socioeconomic benefits to the North East of England will proceed to the execution phase. The Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) and Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power) have reached financial close. The NEP is a joint venture between BP (45%), Equinor (45%) and TotalEnergies (10%). It serves as the operator of the full, end-to-end CO2 transport and storage system for the East Coast Cluster (ECC). First announced in 2021, the ECC aims to transport and store carbon emissions from two industrial regions of the UK – Teesside and Humber. The NEP infrastructure will initially serve three carbon capture projects in the Teesside region: NZT Power, H2Teesside and Teesside Hydrogen CO2 Capture. Infrastructure includes…

  • Smart TVs take screenshots of user content for targeted advertising, study finds

    Smart TVs made by the likes of Samsung and LG routinely screenshot the contents on display and send the data back to the manufacturers in order to create detailed profiles of their customers, researchers have found. As well as screenshots, the team from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid found audio was also being collected as part of an Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) system. This data is then periodically sent to specific servers, even when the TV is used as an external screen or connected to a laptop. This data is used to build up a profile of the consumer that is then used to tailor advertisements at them based on their behaviour. “ACR works like a kind of visual Shazam, taking screenshots or audio to create a viewer profile based on their content consumption habits. This technology…

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  • General Motors announces exit strategy from its Cruise robotaxi business

    US automotive giant General Motors (GM) has said it will now “refocus autonomous driving development on personal vehicles”. The company has not had the easiest of rides with the roll-out of its Cruise robotaxi. Set up in 2013 as a subsidiary of GM, the aim was to build a fleet of robotaxis with advanced self-driving technology to enable residents in city centres to take driverless trips. Cruise began testing its robotaxis in San Francisco in 2023 and in the summer of that year the California Public Utilities Commission granted permission for the operation of autonomous taxi services at any time of the day throughout San Francisco. However, a series of unfortunate incidents soon ensued, including a pedestrian being run over by a Cruise taxi and another involving a collision with a fire…

  • EU should ban climate change-mitigating geoengineering techniques, scientists say

    Europe should ban the use of solar geoengineering over concerns that the untested methods could lead to unintended consequences, EU scientific advisers have said. Methods proposed to reduce or counteract global warming by reflecting sunlight away from the Earth include stratospheric aerosol injection and cloud brightening. Climate modelling suggests that some of these technologies might have the potential to prevent further global warming and reduce some of its effects, such as extreme weather events and rising sea levels. But the EU’s Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM), which provides independent scientific evidence and policy recommendations, warned that deploying them could have a range of effects both intended and unintended that would be difficult to predict. For example, it could…

  • IET announces the winners of the annual Young Woman Engineer Awards

    Three young women have been recognised at the IET’s Young Woman Engineer (YWE) of the Year Awards for their work in the automotive, defence and nuclear decommissioning sectors. IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year: Marisa Kurimbokus (34) is a chartered engineer with a career spanning over a decade in product design and systems engineering within the automotive and power electronics industries, including Jaguar Land Rover, Triumph Motorcycles and Lyra Electronics. Most recently, Marisa was head of engineering and product development at Aeristech, where she led a multi-disciplinary design team to create high speed air compressors, primarily for hydrogen fuel cell applications. IET Mary George Memorial Prize for Apprentices: Alexia Williams (25) is a through life technical lead at Rolls-Royce…

  • Shell follows BP in scaling back renewables ambitions

    Shell will step back from new offshore wind developments but “remain interested in offtakes where commercial terms are acceptable”. Last month, Oil giant BP announced that as part of its cost-saving ambitions it has “focused its portfolio”, which includes killing off 18 early-stage hydrogen projects. Two months prior, it revealed that the business was also halting new offshore wind projects. Now, another oil giant Shell is also stepping back from new offshore wind investments. A spokesperson for the company told Reuters: “While we will not lead new offshore wind developments, we remain interested in offtakes where commercial terms are acceptable and are cautiously open to equity positions, if there is a compelling investment case.” Shell also told Reuters that it is splitting its power…

  • Google reveals quantum computing chip that marks ‘truly remarkable breakthrough’

    Google’s 105-qubit Willow quantum chip has brought large-scale quantum computing closer to practical use. At Google Quantum AI’s purpose-built lab in Santa Barbara, the company’s team of engineers and scientists has created a quantum chip that demonstrates “state-of-the-art performance across a number of metrics”. While the field of quantum computing technology is still in its infancy, scientists believe that with its ability to solve problems that are unsolvable on classic computers, the technology could help power innovation in a range of fields – from drug discovery and smarter encryption software to manufacturing and AI. The challenge, however, is that quantum computers are currently too error-prone for most commercial or scientific applications. In other words, they are unable to…

  • UK urged to cut methane emissions that warm climate 80 times faster than CO2

    The UK must urgently get its methane emissions under control in a bid to tackle climate change in the near term, government advisers have said. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to climate change. Over a 20-year period, methane is estimated to be more than 80 times more potent than CO2 in its climate warming potential. However, its effect also dissipates in decades – unlike carbon dioxide, which can last for centuries. This makes it a prime target for emission reduction in a bid to meet climate targets. A report from the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee has urged the government to produce more robust plans on how to tackle the UK’s methane emissions. The previous government failed to sign up to the Global Methane Pledge (GMP) which…

  • Iron-making gets 3,600-fold productivity boost with ‘explosive’ method

    Chinese researchers have developed a new method for making iron that they claim is not only faster and cheaper, but also better for the environment. In the steel manufacturing industry, the blast furnace is the primary method of producing iron. However, it is extremely environmentally intensive – not only due to the heat the furnace generates, but also the carbon emitted during the process. However, for the past 10 years Chinese researchers have been developing a new method known as flash iron-making. According to the project lead Professor Zhang Wenhai, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the method “can complete the iron-making process in just three to six seconds compared to the five to six hours required by traditional blast furnaces”. Talking to the South China Morning…

  • Mineral deficiency: Solving the shortage in rare earths

    Due to a dwindling supply of ‘rare earth’ metals, vital in green technologies such as wind turbines, new approaches to design, sourcing and recycling are now required. While the main cause of climate change – excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere – is well understood, finding a solution is highly complex. Weaning the global economy off fossil fuels will not happen overnight. And while many low-carbon technologies already exist, they are not problem-free. Technologies such as wind turbines and electric vehicles (EVs) use powerful magnets, which rely on rare earth (RE) metals such as neodymium and dysprosium. However, these minerals are in short supply, with China dominating the entire supply chain from mining through to magnet manufacture. In addition, their extraction can have a negative…

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