• Bell unveils experimental jet-powered aircraft with helicopter-like mobility

    An experimental aircraft that achieves a level of mobility akin to a helicopter but with subsonic speeds powered by a jet engine has been unveiled by aerospace manufacturer Bell Textron. The company, which manufactures military rotorcraft in Texas, has completed wind tunnel testing of the new aircraft in support of DARPA’s SPRINT programme – the research arm of the US Department of Defense. The SPRINT program was launched to design, build and fly various experimental aircraft – dubbed X-planes – that are intended to ensure that the US military’s aviation capabilities remain cutting-edge. Bell’s aircraft is able to take off using a rotor blade system, similar to a traditional helicopter, but once in flight the blades are designed to fold back into the body. In their place jet engines take…

  • New Zealand’s largest ferry operator adds ‘world first’ electric hydrofoiling tourism vessel to fleet

    The Vessev VS—9 electric hydrofoiling vessel in Auckland, New Zealand, will accept its first passengers from 29 January 2025. Sustainable marine technology company Vessev has announced its VS—9 hydrofoil vessel has received commercial approval from Maritime New Zealand. It will now join the fleet of tourism vessels operated by Fullers360, an Auckland ferry operator, and New Zealand’s largest, making it the world’s first certified tourism electric hydrofoil. Designed and built by Vessev, the nine-metre vessel can transport up to 10 passengers at a cruising speed of 25 knots. With precision-engineered hydrofoiling technology adapted from race-winning America’s Cup yachts, the VS-9 is able to achieve a range of up to 50 nautical miles (93km). According to Vessev, the propulsion system…

  • Industry insight: Ditch factory downtime with proactive maintenance

    Article contributed by Lee Todd, head of sustainability advisory services at ABB Traditional ‘reactive’ maintenance is failing manufacturers. A modern ‘proactive’ approach can have transformative benefits in efficiency, reliability and productivity, while also rapidly accelerating the wider transition towards net zero. For industrial facilities, the single biggest risk to operations and profitability is the unexpected loss of production. If a failure occurs, the race is then on to react quickly, identify and fix the issue or issues that caused it, and mitigate any resulting damage – as fast as possible. Typically, electrical asset management is reactive; responding to problems that have already been identified, or manually finding and fixing nascent issues before they develop into full…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Panasonic retrofits Cardiff factory to be powered 100% by hydrogen, solar and battery storage

    Japanese electronics giant Panasonic will power its UK manufacturing facility through the integrated control of three types of energy sources: hydrogen fuel cell generators, solar photovoltaic (PV) generators and energy storage batteries. It has invested £113m to develop ‘Panasonic HX’ – an energy solution utilising hydrogen – and launch the technology in a demonstration plant in Cardiff. This technology will then be extended to a further European plant in 2025. The retrofit to the 50-year-old Cardiff facility, which manufactures microwave ovens and small appliances, will enable the plant to be powered by 100% renewable energy. The decentralised system will be optimised for the amount of electricity used by the factory. The system includes 21 units of 5kW pure hydrogen fuel cell generators…

  • Nasa delays crewed mission to the Moon to 2026 and beyond

    Nasa has delayed its Artemis programme – a series of missions that will take US astronauts back to the Moon for the first time in over 50 years – to 2026 and beyond. The Artemis programme was formally established in 2017 and launched its first uncrewed mission in November 2022 using the long-delayed Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Artemis II was originally planned to take place this year and would have been the first scheduled crewed mission since 1972, with four astronauts performing a flyby of the Moon before returning to Earth. This would have been followed by a crewed landing on the Moon for Artemis III in 2025. However, in a press conference the agency confirmed that it is now targeting April 2026 for Artemis II and mid-2027 for Artemis III. The delay will give Nasa time to ensure…

  • UK government pledges to turbocharge planning decisions on 150 infrastructure projects

    The UK government has committed to building major infrastructure projects over the next five years – to make that happen, it has pledged to fast track planning decisions. In her Budget speech, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said building new infrastructure is vital for productivity and various investments will be made to “get Britain building again”. The Budget confirmed that the government investment in housing will increase to £5bn for next year, with the aim to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years. The Budget also committed to investing £100bn to bolster infrastructure, development and essential public services. However, delivering infrastructure projects in the UK has been notoriously wrought with challenges – one of the biggest being the time it takes to secure planning permission…

  • Nato to create fleet of marine drones to protect coastlines and underwater infrastructure

    Nato has revealed that it will develop its own fleet of unmanned surface vessels (USV) to patrol the coastal waters of member states and protect undersea cables across the Baltic and Mediterranean seas. There are countless cables running along our seabeds. These include power cables carrying electricity and communication cables carrying telecommunication signals between continents and countries. If these cables were severed it would lead to huge upheavals. Just last month, two cables were severed in the Baltic Sea – one between Sweden and Lithuania and the other between Germany and Finland. These attacks immediately raised concerns among Nato member states that it was deliberate sabotage. A joint statement from foreign ministers of Germany, France, Poland, Italy, Spain and the UK called…

  • New natural gas projects threaten global climate goals with massive emissions – report

    Efforts to stymie the pace of climate change are under threat from an explosion in the number of new liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminals, which have received $213bn (£167bn) of funding in recent years, a report claims. Climate group Reclaim Finance, which keeps tabs on the activities of financial actors to understand how much money is flowing into fossil fuel projects, said the $213bn distributed to new LNG projects between 2021 and 2023 will ultimately lead to the release of 10GT of “climate-wrecking” greenhouse gas emissions. The group further warned that emissions from these projects could be more damaging than coal – considered the most carbon-emitting fossil fuel – due to the amount of methane that is released from the production and transport of LNG. The report found that…

  • Vodafone and Three given approval to merge – but only if 5G commitments are met

    Mobile networks Vodafone and Three have been given the go-ahead to proceed with a merger, on the understanding that the firms sign binding commitments to invest billions in enhanced 5G infrastructure across the UK. In 2023, the two firms announced they were set to merge in a £15bn tie-up that would reduce the number of mobile network operators from the ‘big four’ to three, with the other two being Virgin Media O2 and EE. But the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) put a stop to the deal while it launched an 18-month investigation over concerns that it would leave consumers worse off, alongside Three’s connections with China. But in its final decision, the group leading the investigation said it was satisfied that the merger could go ahead due to the commitments to bolstering infrastructure…

  • Diamond battery able to power devices for thousands of years unveiled

    Scientists and engineers from the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and the University of Bristol have teamed up to create the world’s first carbon-14 diamond battery. One of the biggest challenges in developing clean and low-carbon technologies is the batteries required to power them. Many of these batteries require rare minerals – and then there is the issue of how to environmentally dispose of or recycle them at the end-of-life. With this in mind, UKAEA and materials researchers at the University of Bristol have collaborated to create a diamond battery that has the potential to power devices for thousands of years. Having such a long-lasting energy source could drastically reduce the waste batteries tend to generate. Sarah Clark, director of tritium fuel cycle at UKAEA, said: “Diamond…

  • Researchers combine data and digital tech to identify First World War wreck in the Irish Sea

    Researchers at Bangor University are confident they have identified the wreck site of HMS Stephen Furness, sunk in 1917 after being torpedoed, with the loss of over 100 lives. For more than a century, the precise resting place of HMS Stephen Furness in the Irish Sea has remained a mystery. The research team, from the university’s School of Ocean Sciences, combined existing marine archives and scientific data with new digital techniques. They are now say the ship’s remains have been located 10 miles off the east coast of Northern Ireland. The ship was en route to Liverpool for repairs. But it didn’t reach its destination as a torpedo from a German U-boat hit the starboard side of the vessel, causing it to sink within three minutes. Of the more than 100 sailors on board, only 12 survived…

  • Lifespan extensions announced for four of the UK’s ageing nuclear power stations

    EDF has extended the lifespan of four nuclear power plants in the UK as part of efforts to boost domestic energy security. Heysham 2 (Lancashire) and Torness (East Lothian) will keep producing zero-carbon electricity for an additional two years, until March 2030, while Heysham 1 (Lancashire) and Hartlepool (Teesside) will produce power until March 2027, an extension of one year. EDF said it made the decision to extend after inspecting the four stations’ graphite cores and judging that it was safe to extend their operating lifespan. The decision comes as the Hinkley Point C project faces repeated delays. The project, which will be the UK’s first new nuclear plant in a generation, was originally estimated to begin operations by 2023. But EDF now says the first generator won’t be ready until…

  • Rail nationalisation: public ownership of first three operators announced for 2025

    The government’s plan to renationalise the UK’s railways has officially begun with the announcement that South Western Railway’s (SWR) services will be the first to transfer into public ownership next year. In its manifesto, the Labour Party committed to the creation of Great British Railways (GBR) – an effective renationalisation of the UK’s rail system that will happen gradually as existing private contracts elapse. The Department for Transport (DfT) has confirmed that SWR, which operates London commuter services from stations such as Farnham, Alton and Woking, will transition to public control once its current contract with FirstGroup and MTR expires in May 2025. Franchises C2C and Greater Anglia will also be transferred into public ownership next year, with C2C moving in July 2025…

  • Norway’s industrial-scale CCS plant to capture 400,000 metric tons of CO2 annually

    The Brevik CCS facility, which is based at Heidelberg Materials’ cement facility in Brevik, Norway, is expected to become operational in 2025. While researchers warn that carbon capture and storage (CCS) is not expanding fast enough to meet the 2°C climate target set out in the Paris Climate Agreement, there are organisations around the world where this technology is becoming operational. For instance, at the end of September 2024 Norway’s Northern Lights project announced that its commercial service offering CO2 transport and storage – which it refers to as “CCS as a service” – was officially open. Now, another Norway-based carbon capture plant – Brevik CCS – has announced it will be operational in 2025. Based at Heidelberg Materials’ cement facility in Brevik, Norway, this industrial…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • UK’s biggest defence company invests £1bn in early-career jobs

    BAE Systems is set to hire thousands of new apprentices and graduates in 2025 as its investment in skills is expected to reach £1bn. Since the start of the decade, the firm has recruited thousands of apprentices and graduates each year. This will continue into 2025 with the company announcing it will recruit a further 2,400 trainees. This will bring the total number of young people in training at the company to 6,500, who make up approximately 15% of BAE’s UK workforce. Training these newcomers will see BAE invest a further £230m in education and skills, bringing the total investment in skills to over £1bn since 2020. The funding is spent primarily on UK apprentices, graduates and experienced employees, as well as education outreach. Many of its early-career recruits are trained at its…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Jaguar finally unveils electric-powered concept car after online backlash

    Jaguar has finally unveiled concepts for its upcoming electric car, following a controversial advertising campaign. The firm faced backlash online last month after it released a 30-second teaser trailer that featured models walking around an alien-looking landscape but with no sight of the redesigned vehicle itself. According to one study by Junk Car Medics, the campaign was so poorly received it led to broad falls in the resale price of Jaguar vehicles in recent weeks. But the firm has now shown off its new four-door electric GT, dubbed the Type 00. The aerodynamic design features a long hood, sweeping roofline and a fastback-style rear. The car rides on 23-inch alloy wheels and incorporates distinctive details like a panoramic glass roof and a ‘glassless’ tailgate. The interior uses…

  • EE named UK’s best mobile operator for 10th year in a row

    EE has been named the best mobile operator in the UK for the 10th time in an annual study assessing network coverage. According to engineering consultancy Umlaut, EE has the best coverage and data rates in both big cities and smaller towns, and along the UK’s transport network, including road and rail. The results show EE coming out on top in almost every metric tested, with the other networks Virgin Media O2 (VMO2), Vodafone and Three vying for second place depending on the test. Since the merger between Virgin Media and O2 in June 2021, VMO2 is the biggest mobile operator in the UK, with around 45 million mobile connections, with EE servicing around 26 million customers. Vodafone and Three are in third and fourth place. But despite VMO2’s size, its network infrastructure was ranked…

  • Feeding cattle with seaweed shown to cut methane emissions by 40%

    Feeding cattle with seaweed helps to reduce their methane emissions by nearly 40% without affecting their health or weight, a study has found. Livestock accounts for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with the largest portion coming from methane that cattle release when they burp. Grazing cattle also produce more methane than feedlot cattle or dairy cows because they eat more fibre from grass. In the US, there are nine million dairy cows and over 64 million beef cattle. Researchers at the University of California, Davis, found that feeding grazing beef cattle a seaweed supplement in pellet form reduced their methane emissions by almost 40%. While this is the first study to test seaweed on grazing beef cattle, it follows research that showed seaweed can cut methane emissions 82% in…

  • ‘World’s largest’ seawater heat pump starts operations in Denmark

    An industrial-scale seawater heat pump from MAN Energy Solutions located at the port of Esbjerg in Denmark, has started delivering sustainable heating to 25,000 households. The Swiss company has developed a 70MW heat pump plant to help Denmark in its transition away from fossil fuel reliance. The plant will replace Esbjerg’s coal-fired power plant, which has ceased operations, and help the city achieve the goal of being carbon neutral by 2030. Operated by multi-utility company DIN Forsyning, the plant is set to supply approximately 280,000MWh of heat, enough to cover the heating needs of 25,000 households in Esbjerg and the neighbouring town of Varde. Utilising renewable energy from nearby wind farms and seawater as a heat source, MAN Energy Solutions estimates that the plant will reduce…

  • E+T Off The Page: E+T Podcast: Episode 8 | Trump's America - what does it mean for the global tech sector?

    Few modern day politicians are as divisive as Donal Trump - but what does his forthcoming presidency mean for the tech sector, both in the US and around the world? Will import tariffs kill trade and result in hyper inflation? Or will they stimulate the tech manufacturing sector within the USA? Will removing red tape help innovation, particularly in areas such as AI, where a tech race is on with China? And will the climate change process take a hit if Trump pulls America out of the Paris Agreement. Regulars Tim Fryer and Tanya Weaver form the E+T editorial team discussed all this with Paul Dempsey, long-time American correspondent and geopolitical expert on the technology and engineering sector.

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Welsh semiconductor industry given a boost with further £51m in Newport Wafer Fab

    US semiconductor manufacturer Vishay Intertechnology is investing £51m in Newport Wafer Fab, the UK’s largest semiconductor facility. The wafer fabrication facility based in Newport, Wales, has had a turbulent past in terms of ownership. Built in 1982 by British semiconductor company Inneos, the facility has been bought and sold numerous times over the intervening years. Located on 28 acres, the 200mm semiconductor wafer fab has a capacity to produce more than 30,000 wafers per month. Most controversially, in 2021 Dutch chip firm Nexperia, which is wholly owned by Shanghai-based Wingtech, confirmed plans to acquire the production facility in a deal valued at £63m. However, in May 2022 this acquisition was called in for a full national security assessment by the UK government. MPs had…

  • Will online voting make the UK more democratic?

    Only 52% of people voted in the UK general election this year. Is that enough in a democracy, and – if not – is online voting the answer to making Britain’s voting system more democratic? Nothing stirs a nation like an election, and for most of 2024 – in over 60 countries – politicians, political parties and their supporters have been at loggerheads as unprecedented numbers of people headed to the polls. Internationalists have faced off against nationalists, liberals against conservatives, confederates against unionists, and wokesters against bigots. In the UK, Keir Starmer’s new Labour government is frequently derided by an enraged far right for being too liberal, while ardent socialists say Starmer is too conservative. In the US, the new President is either a villain or a warmonger, depending…

  • Norway postpones controversial deep-sea mining plan amid environmental backlash

    Norway has suspended plans to open up its seabed and start giving licences for deep-sea mining in 2025. ‘Green technologies’ – including wind, solar and electric vehicle batteries – require critical minerals and metals. These include manganese, nickel and cobalt. While these metal deposits can be extracted from the earth, many can be found on the deep ocean floor, having built up into nodules over millions of years. As such, commercial interest in deep sea mining – which involves the use of gigantic machines to scoop deposits from the sea floor – has been gaining increasing support. Norway, with its vast hydrocarbon reserves, took a lead role in the global race to mine the ocean floor for metals. Its government announced in June 2023 that it was proposing to open up an area of its waters…

  • Nuclear clampdown after Chernobyl increased global carbon emissions by 6% – report

    The global rejection of nuclear power in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster has led to carbon emissions that are 6% higher than they otherwise would have been, the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) has said. The 1986 incident had a significant impact on the construction of new nuclear power plants worldwide as it heightened public fears about the safety of nuclear energy and led to increased scrutiny and criticism of nuclear power plant designs and procedures. As a result, many countries became more cautious about building new nuclear plants, and some even decided to phase out existing ones. The think tank estimates that global carbon emissions would have been 6% lower if energy grids had not instead opted to run on higher-carbon forms of energy generation like natural gas. It said that was roughly…

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