• UK poised to build ‘record’ number of new offshore wind farms, says RenewableUK

    A record 14 offshore wind projects are eligible for the upcoming contract for difference (CFD) auction, potentially adding nearly 10.3GW of new capacity to the UK’s energy grid. CFD auctions invite companies to bid to develop UK-based renewable energy projects. As part of the deal, they receive a guaranteed price from the UK government for the electricity they will generate. In its report EnergyPulse Insights: offshore wind October 2023, industry body RenewableUK said the upcoming auction this summer could set a new record for additional capacity. Last year’s auction was labelled a “disaster” after no new projects submitted bids as the price for energy generated was deemed too low. The rectify the situation, the UK raised the price it would pay for offshore wind energy by 66%, as well…

  • £4.7bn from HS2’s scrapped northern leg will be redirected to local transport projects

    Under pressure to address the lack of a northern leg and amid accusations of the HS2 project being “very poor value for money”, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced that £4.7bn from the HS2 pot will be redirected into improving local transport connections in the North of England and the Midlands. The Local Transport Fund will be used by local authorities in the North and Midlands to invest in transport projects that ‘will benefit more people, in more places, more quickly than HS2 ever would have done’. The promise of HS2, first envisaged by the Gordon Brown government in 2009, was to connect the North of England to London with a new zero-carbon high-speed railway. Fast forward 15 years and HS2 is nowhere near completion. Residents across Oxfordshire and Warwickshire have experienced…

  • Ofgem confirms price cap will fall to lowest level in two years

    Ofgem has confirmed that the energy price cap will fall to £1,690 – the lowest level in two years. In recent years, UK households have had to contend with record-high energy prices due to surging demand following the relaxation of Covid-19 lockdown rules, and then the war in Ukraine, which effectively took fossil fuels of Russian origin out of the market. Compared with other European countries, the UK has been particularly affected by high wholesale costs as the privatised energy sector left households open to the full brunt of high market prices coupled with very limited gas storage following the closure of several sites by the government. The price cap, as set out in law in 2018, reflects what it costs to supply energy to our homes by setting a maximum that suppliers can charge per…

  • Confidential comms from quantum satellites

    With its Micius satellite, China proved it possible to use individual photons sent from space to communicate in almost total secrecy. Now, other countries are playing catch-up. Time is running out for our encryption – although no one knows quite when that will be. This threat is posed by quantum computers, which are ideally suited to cracking classical encryption schemes like RSA through sheer brute force. Any data being sent place to place is vulnerable – from military secrets to the financial and medical records of private citizens. “If you’re interested in the long-term security of data that has been transmitted … you should probably be concerned about the future emergence of quantum computing technology, because of the ‘harvest now, decrypt later’ attack that could be present on any…

  • US-built spacecraft lands on the Moon for the first time in 50 years

    A spacecraft made by a US firm has landed on the surface of the Moon for the first time in over 50 years. Intuitive Machines, which is based in Texas, launched its robotic lunar lander last week atop a SpaceX rocket. The 1,908kg Nova-C lander – known as Odysseus or ‘Odie’ – comes equipped with a range of payloads from Nasa and commercial partners that are designed to carry out a diverse array of scientific tasks on the surface of the Moon. “After troubleshooting communications, flight controllers have confirmed Odysseus is upright and starting to send data,” Intuitive Machines said in an X (formerly Twitter) post early this morning. “Right now, we are working to downlink the first images from the lunar surface.” Over the last 24 hours, the firm issued a “lunar correction manoeuvre” to…

  • Nuclear fusion stabilised with AI controller

    A study from Princeton University and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory researchers has described the use of AI to forecast and prevent instabilities in plasma, in what could be a significant step towards viable nuclear fusion power. Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or more nuclei are fused together – for low-mass nuclei, this usually results in the release of energy. Harvesting this energy to boil water and turn steam turbines could provide an almost unlimited source of green power, but nuclear fusion power remains unviable after decades of work. Nuclear fusion reactions have not been sustained for longer than seconds, with a new record being set earlier this year by researchers at the Joint European Torus in Oxfordshire, who sustained fusion for five seconds. Most nuclear…

  • E+T Deconstructed: Can the UK turn a non-existing satellite launch sector into a £40bn industry?

    The UK has come up with a plan to build seven domestic spaceports in a bid to make it one of Europe’s most enticing countries for the rapidly expanding satellite industry. But investing in space can be risky business – in the past even experienced players have had to contend with failed launches and expensive accidents. E+T asks whether the UK will be able to turn a non-existing satellite launch sector into a £40bn powerhouse.

  • China risks missing climate targets due to post-Covid energy demand boom

    China’s soaring carbon emissions are making it increasingly difficult to meet the government’s own ‘carbon intensity’ targets, an analysis has found. Using official data, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) found that carbon dioxide emissions increased by 5.2% in 2023, which means a reduction of 4-6% is needed by 2025. Rapid growth in electricity demand and low rainfall – which affected hydropower output – boosted demand for coal power in 2023, while the economic rebound from zero-Covid policies increased oil usage. China’s CO2 emissions increased by 12% between 2020 and 2023, after a highly energy- and carbon-intensive response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The country is also at risk of missing all of its other key climate targets for 2025, including pledges to strictly…

  • Retired ESA satellite burns up over Pacific Ocean

    An uncontrolled satellite, ERS-2, has re-entered Earth’s atmosphere almost 30 years after its launch. ERS-2 underwent a ‘natural’ re-entry, meaning that it was not being controlled by humans – this made it impossible to pinpoint exactly when and where it would occur. However, the European Space Agency (ESA) was able to provide more precise estimates as it approached Earth, within a 4.5 hour window of uncertainty. ESA released images of the satellite falling towards the atmosphere earlier this week ahead of its re-entry. The photos were taken between 14 January and 3 February when ERS-2 was still at an altitude of above 300km. It has since been falling more than 10km every day, and accelerating rapidly. At around 80km, it was due to reach the ‘critical altitude’ at which atmospheric drag…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Labour urges end to ‘dither and delay’ over Newport Wafer Fab

    Jo Stevens, the shadow Welsh secretary, has called on the government to take action to protect jobs at the south Wales chipmaking plant. Newport Wafer Fab is the UK’s largest chipmaking plant and produces chips that can be found in everyday devices such as kettles, hairdryers, smartphone chargers and cars. Built in 1980, it has since passed through several owners. In 2021, it was sold for £63m to Nexperia, which is headquartered in the Netherlands and owned by partially state-owned Chinese company Wingtech Technology. This acquisition thrust Newport Wafer Fab into the ongoing ‘chip wars’. In November 2022, the government blocked the sale following a national security probe. Then business secretary Grant Shapps wrote on social media at the time: “I’ve issued a Final Order under the [National…

  • UK quits treaty that gave fossil fuel firms power to sue governments over climate policy

    The UK is pulling out of a multi-country energy agreement that allowed fossil fuel firms to sue governments when their profits were negatively impacted by net zero policies. The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) was signed in 1994 as a way to incorporate energy sectors in Russia and Eastern Europe after the fall of the Soviet Union. It was signed before climate change had become a major political issue globally, and fossil fuel firms would often use it as a way to recoup some lost revenue when national policies hampered their extraction efforts. But the ECT has faced ramping criticism in recent years for its ability to act as an obstacle to policies designed to combat climate change, and for actively disincentivising national governments from complying with international climate treaties such…

  • EU lawmakers agree on certification scheme for carbon removal projects

    The EU has provisionally agreed on a framework that defines technologies used to remove carbon from the atmosphere as part of climate change mitigation efforts. The voluntary framework is intended to speed up the deployment of carbon removal and soil emission reduction activities across the EU. Carbon removal technologies are often seen as a solution to the challenge of limiting global warming to within 2°C above pre-industrial levels. They could be particularly useful for hard-to-abate sectors such as aviation and certain industrial processes. The European Commission initially proposed regulations to create the framework in November 2022 as a first step towards the further integration of carbon removal schemes into EU climate policy. With lots of possible technologies falling under…

  • Online Safety Bill could take years to implement by Ofcom, MPs warn

    Ofcom needs to work quickly to implement the Online Safety Bill as it could take years before the public starts to see its benefits, MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have said. The Online Safety Bill finally passed in September after years of delay from the government. It aims to make the UK “the safest place in the world to be online” by ensuring that online companies do not subject their users to racism, sexual abuse, bullying, fraud and other harmful material often found on the internet. But Ofcom, which will enforce the new regulations imposed by the bill, has significant work to do in producing the legislation and documentation needed as guidance. Questions also remain over how it will manage public expectations for what the regulatory regime will achieve, the PAC said. …

  • UK offshoring emissions through used car exports

    A University of Oxford study has found that exported used vehicles generate far more emissions per mile than those kept in the UK. Researchers used MOT results for all 65 million used vehicles on British roads between 2005 and 2021 to compare the pollution and emissions intensity of vehicles exported to those scrapped, destroyed or driven in Britain. The data revealed considerably higher rates of carbon dioxide and pollutant emission in exported vehicles – of the seven million vehicles exported legally, these generated at least 13% more CO2 per kilometre than scrapped cars and 17% more than used vehicles kept on British roads. Significantly more nitrogen oxide (53%) was emitted per kilometre from exported compared with scrapped cars. Exported vehicles also had poorer fuel efficiency by…

  • US government announces $1.5bn grant for chipmaker GlobalFoundries

    In the first major award from its $39bn fund to help boost domestic chipmaking capacity, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) is to give $1.5bn in subsidies to GlobalFoundries. In recent months, the DOC – which is overseeing the fund – has announced two smaller awards: $162m for Microchip Technology and $35m for BAE Systems. GlobalFoundries, which ranks among the world’s largest contract chipmakers, will use the funding to build a new chipmaking facility in Malta, New York state – which aims to ensure a steady supply of advanced chips for automakers including General Motors – while also expanding its existing operations at that site and in Burlington, Vermont. This Vermont site will be home to the first US facility capable of producing a type of chip used in electric ehicles, the power grid…

  • Wind-assisted tanker with aluminium sails goes to sea

    The MT Chemical Challenger, the world’s first chemical tanker ship to be equipped with rigid aluminium ‘sails’, has left Rotterdam on its maiden journey. Chemship’s 16,000-tonne tanker aims to reduce its fuel consumption with the assistance of four 16m-high aluminium sails, which more closely resemble aircraft wings than conventional sails. It is hoped that this will cut fuel consumption by 10 to 20%, with an annual reduction of 850 tonnes of CO2. The Chemical Challenger will undergo trials during its first journey, which ends at Istanbul. “Today, we launch the first wind-assisted chemical tanker, which we hope will serve as an example to the rest of the world,” Chemship CEO Niels Grotz told AFP at the ship’s unveiling. The vast majority of international shipping is powered by oil-based…

  • Tap water could be freed from chlorine and ‘forever chemicals’ with cold plasma system

    Chlorine and ‘forever chemicals’ could be removed from drinking water in the future thanks to a new technique that uses cold plasma for disinfection. The technology – which looks like a strobe-lit coffee pot – requires no added chemicals or replacement parts, has low energy usage and could help to cut the carbon impact of cleaning the UK’s water supplies. The technique also helps to remove PFAS, otherwise known as forever chemicals, before water enters the wider environment. PFAS have been associated with negative impacts on human health in the past. Cold plasma is the electrical impulse – the jumping electrons – that spark when you ignite a gas hob. The spark is visible because it charges the air producing light and heat – this is plasma. The team developing the technology is one of…

  • Proposed relaxation of drone rules could enable remote inspections of infrastructure

    The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has proposed new rules for drones that would allow them to be used for inspecting infrastructure such as railways, powerlines and roads, or make crucial medical deliveries. The regulator has launched a consultation to allow drones to operate beyond the line of sight of remote pilots. While some drones have been flying beyond visual line of sight in the UK for several years, these flights are primarily trials under strict restrictions. The proposed measures could enable beyond line of sight operations of drones by remaining at low heights and close to buildings or infrastructure. This means drones can fly where it is anticipated there would be fewer aircraft operating. “Our proposals are a positive step towards unlocking the next stage for drone flying…

  • EU to levy antitrust fine against Apple for music streaming practices – report

    The EU is gearing up to fine Apple €500m for favouring its own music streaming service over competitors, the Financial Times (FT) has reported. Citing five people with knowledge of the ongoing investigation, the FT said the fine is likely to be announced next month. It follows a lengthy investigation over concerns that it was leveraging its iOS operating system to favour Apple Music over alternatives such as Spotify and YouTube Music. The probe is looking into whether Apple blocked the rival firms from informing iOS users that subscriptions would be cheaper if accessed from outside the App Store. If paid for via an app downloaded through the store, Apple takes 30% of all transactions for in-app purchases and 15% or 30% for subscriptions depending on various factors. This has forced many…

  • Long-term rail strategy urged as passenger numbers expected to double by 2050

    The government has been urged to introduce a long-term rail strategy as new research suggests the number of UK rail passengers could double by 2050. On behalf of the Railway Industry Association (RIA), consultancy firm Steer found that rail passenger volumes could grow between 37% and 97% by 2050 compared to the pre-pandemic peak. This equates to between 1.6% and 3.0% average growth per annum. Furthermore, Steer said it was confident that rail demand in the UK will grow beyond today’s network “under any scenario”, regardless of government policy. Rail services and operators will need to accommodate to meet the increased demand. Almost 1.76 billion rail journeys were taken in 2018/19, which was a record high, despite a minor fall in growth the previous year. However, the pandemic saw passenger…

  • Waymo issues recall after two of its autonomous cars crash into the same vehicle

    Waymo, which is owned by Google parent company Alphabet, has issued a recall notice for its self-driving cars after two of them hit the same pick-up truck in an accident in December. The firm currently operates commercial robotaxi services in Phoenix, Arizona, and San Francisco, California, with new services planned in Los Angeles, California, and Austin, Texas. But two accidents that occurred on the same day last year in Phoenix caused Waymo to issue a recall that could potentially involve 444 autonomous vehicles. On December 11, a Waymo vehicle made contact with a backwards-facing pickup truck that was being “improperly towed”, according to a blog post from the firm. Following contact, the tow truck and towed pickup truck did not pull over or stop traveling, and a few minutes later…

  • EDF makes loss in the UK as Hinkley Point C costs soar

    Energy firm EDF has said its UK operations have made a loss for the sixth year running as the UK and France continue to bicker over who should pay for the rising costs of the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant. The firm, which is wholly owned by the French government, is a major supplier of energy infrastructure domestically and is at the forefront of the UK’s plans to ramp up nuclear power. It owns major stakes in upcoming nuclear plants Hinkley Point C (66%) and Sizewell C (50%). But it admitted that it spent £3.6bn on its UK operations last year while only earning £3.4bn before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). It made losses in the five previous years too. Despite the loss, it said its earnings grew from 2022 due to improved sales to medium and large businesses,…

  • Methane satellite will map and monitor leaks on Earth

    Google has partnered with the US Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) on a project using satellite imagery to identify and monitor sources of methane emissions. Methane is the second most abundant greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, produced from oil and gas, landfill, agriculture and other sources. It is extremely potent in the short term, having more than 80 times the warming power of CO2 in the first 20 years after reaching the atmosphere. A major partnership will set out to track sources of methane emissions associated with oil and gas operations. It involves the EDF, Google, Harvard University, the Smithsonian and the New Zealand Space Agency, among others. According to the EDF: “Methane from fossil fuel operations, agriculture and other industries has a massively outsized influence…

  • Hybrid rice containing beef cells could pack a protein punch

    A ‘meaty’ rice containing beef muscle and fat cells could serve as an affordable, sustainable source of protein, researchers have said. The food was developed by Professor Jinkee Hong’s team at Yonsei University, South Korea. The team aimed to combine grain and animal cells to create a “new complete meal”. Each grain of the hybrid rice contains synthetic (lab-grown) beef muscle and fat cells. The grains – which provide the appropriate scaffolding and nutrients for the meat cells to grow – were first coated in fish gelatine and food enzymes to help the beef cells adhere. The researchers allowed the cells to grow throughout the grains for five to seven days, which was followed by placing the rice in a medium that encouraged the cells to multiply within the grains themselves. The result…

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