• New UK projects grow nuclear sector workforce by 20 per cent in one year

    The annual jobs map from the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) shows that the sector employs 77,413 people across the UK, a 20 per cent year-on-year increase. However, the NIA warns that the UK must train tens of thousands of additional workers to deliver the government’s 24GW nuclear target by 2050. The first project on course to be completed is the oft-delayed and over-budget Hinkley Point C. The Somerset power station is expected to start generating in 2028 after more than a decade of construction. It should provide enough electricity to power around six million UK homes as part of plans to decarbonise the grid. According to the NIA, Hinkley Point C is one of the biggest employers in the sector, with 9,500 people working at the largest construction site in Europe, up from 8,000 in…

  • One of Europe’s fastest supercomputers to be built in Bristol for AI research

    To be known as Isambard-AI, plans for the supercomputer have been backed by a £900m investment to transform the UK’s computing capacity and establish a dedicated AI Research Resource (AIRR). The facility will be used by a wide range of organisations from across the UK to study AI, including areas such as accelerating automated drug discovery and climate research. Professor Simon McIntosh-Smith, project lead at the University of Bristol, said: “Isambard-AI will be one of the world’s first, large-scale, open AI supercomputers, and builds on our expertise designing and operating cutting-edge computational facilities, such as the incoming Isambard 3.” Science minister Michelle Donelan said: “We are backing the future of British innovation, investing in a world-leading AIRR in Bristol that…

  • Government grants £88m to ‘future proof’ the UK mobile network

    The UK is investing £88m in research and development projects in the connectivity and telecoms sector to ensure the country is not “ overly reliant on any one form of technology”, the government has announced.  The funding will be awarded to 19 projects through the Open Networks Ecosystem (ONE) competition. The initiatives were designed to  develop and demonstrate Open Radio Access Network (RAN) solutions that could improve the connectivity in places with some of the biggest demand on mobile services, such as cities, airports and stadiums.  The chosen projects include iconic sports and entertainment venues such as Sunderland’s Stadium of Light, Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, the National eSport Arena, the Cambridge Corn Exchange and Shelsley Walsh motorsport venue.   Other winning initiatives…

  • Work begins on HS2’s longest ‘green tunnel’

    The 2.7km Greatworth Tunnel is being built using a ‘cut and cover’ process, which involves excavating a cutting, building the tunnel and then burying it. The tunnel structure will be made from more than five thousand giant concrete segments made at a specialist pre-cast factory in Derbyshire and then assembled on-site by EKFB, HS2’s main works contractor. The modular approach to building the tunnel was taken instead of a traditional process of pouring the concrete on-site in order to boost efficiency and cut the amount of embedded carbon in the structure. Designed as an M-shaped double arch, the tunnel will have separate halves for southbound and northbound trains. Five different concrete precast segments will be slotted together to achieve the double arch, which is the height of two…

  • iPhone 12 sales halted in France over radiation fears

    France’s wireless communications watchdog, the Agence Nationale des F réquences (ANFR), has temporarily blocked sales and could order a recall if radiation concerns are not addressed.  The regulator took the decision after carrying out tests that showed the iPhone 12’s specific absorption rate for radio frequency exposure was 5.74W/kg. This is slightly higher than the limits imposed by European legislation: 4W/kg for a device held in a hand or pocket and 2W/kg for a device held in a jacket or bag. As a result, the ANFR said that Apple “ must immediately take all measures to prevent the affected phones present in the supply chain from being made available on the market”.  “For phones already sold, Apple must take corrective action as soon as possible to bring the affected phones into compliance…

  • UK may have broken environmental laws regulating sewage releases

    The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) accused the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), regulator Ofwat and the Environment Agency of breaking the law that regulates sewage releases.  The OEP said there may have been “misinterpretations of some key points of law” that have allowed discharges to occur more often than permitted. In response, Defra said it did not agree with the OEP’s “initial interpretations”, but admitted that “ the volume of sewage discharged is completely unacceptable ” . Meanwhile, the EA and Ofwat welcomed the investigation.  “ Water companies’ performance on the environment is simply not good enough,” an Ofwat spokesperson said. “We will keep pushing for the change.” The OEP said it began its investigation into the matter last June…

  • English roads plagued with potholes as resurfacing works fall to five-year low

    The RAC said that 2021/22 figures, based on government data, show that just 1,123 miles of all types of road were resurfaced compared with 1,588 in 2017/2018. This equates to a 29 per cent reduction in repairs (465 miles). The amount of surface dressing, a technique that extends the life of roads and helps prevent the need for full resurfacing, also fell: 3,551 miles in the last financial year compared with 5,345 five years ago – a 34 per cent drop. This tallies with RAC research from earlier this year that found a 39 per cent increase in the number of drivers falling foul of potholes on UK roads. Those findings suggest that in 2023, drivers are 1.6 times more likely to break down because of repeated wear caused by potholes than they were 17 years ago, when breakdown data started being…

  • Apple bends to EU rules by adding a USB-C port to the iPhone 15

    During its ‘Wonderlust’ event, Apple unveiled its four new iPhone and two new Apple Watch models, featuring better cameras, faster processors, a new charging system and a price hike for the higher-end model. The most significant announcement was Apple’s decision to equip the new iPhone 15 model with a USB-C charging port, in line with EU rules.  EU law mandates that, by the end of 2024, all mobile phones, tablets, cameras and other small- or medium-sized electronic devices sold in the bloc will need to be equipped with a common charging port . The change was made to reduce hassle for consumers and help cut electronic waste by removing the need to buy a new charger each time a device is purchased.  Apple – the only major smartphone maker that did not use USB-C – had historically opposed…

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  • BAE Systems signs agreement to use Airlander blimp for defence operations

    The Airlander 10 is a 44m-wide, 26m-high airship originally developed for the US government as a long-endurance surveillance aircraft. However, the US scrapped the programme as part of defence funding cuts, prompting HAV to redesign the aircraft for civilian purposes . HAV said Airlander could be used for “long-endurance airborne communications and surveillance” with the ability to carry up to 10 tonnes of logistics payload. Filled with helium, the blimp creates lower emissions than other aircraft and has the potential to stay airborne for up to five days while fitted with computing, communications, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment. Its ability to operate from any reasonably flat surface, including water, with minimal infrastructure, also offers significant mobility for defence…

  • Heat pumps outperform fossil fuel heating even in icy conditions, study finds

    A heat pump takes heat at a low temperature from the air or ground and increases it to a higher temperature, before transferring it into homes for central heating and hot water. This heat extraction method means that the efficiency of heat pumps declines in colder temperatures. However, experiments from researchers at Oxford University and the Regulatory Assistance Project think tank have shown that, even at temperatures as low as -30°C, heat pumps still outperform fossil-fuel-powered systems. Heat pumps have emerged as a key tool in the global transition towards clean and reliable energy as they can be powered by renewables such as solar and wind, which are carbon neutral. However, concerns have been raised that their declining efficiency in cold weather presents a barrier to their adoption…

  • GlobalFoundries opens $4bn chip plant in Singapore

    The world’s third-largest contract chipmaker, GlobalFoundries, has opened a $4bn (£3.2bn) semiconductor fabrication plant in its existing Singapore campus as part of a major global manufacturing expansion. The facility is 23,000 square metres (248,000 square feet) and expected to create 1,000 jobs, of which 95 per cent will comprise equipment technicians, process technicians and engineers, the company said. “If we run [the Singapore campus’s] capacity to the fullest, that will probably be [around] 45 per cent of revenue for GlobalFoundries,” said the company's Singapore general manager, Tan Yew Kong. The company’s Singapore operations, which serve 200 clients worldwide, also include two fabs that produce 720,000 300mm wafers and 692,000 200mm wafers a year respectively. With this large…

  • Repurpose existing buildings to cut new construction carbon emissions, UN says

    The sector is already responsible for 37 per cent of global CO 2 emissions, and it will need to curtail this rapidly if goals to reach net zero by 2050 are to be achieved. In a new report, Building materials and the climate: constructing a new future, the UN said that repurposing existing buildings typically achieves a 50-75 per cent saving on emissions. It also called for construction attempts to use fewer materials and embrace those with a lower carbon footprint, such as timber, bamboo and biomass. While the shift towards bio-based materials could lead to compounded emissions savings in many regions of up to 40 per cent in the sector by 2050, significant policy and financial support is needed to ensure the widespread adoption of the materials. The report also said that more action…

  • Slower renewables transition risks 95,000 offshore jobs in UK, report warns

    A new report by Robert Gordon University (RGU) found that the sector could thrive with the right investment environment, but a slower transition away from the oil and gas extraction industry that has dominated the North Sea for many years presents risks. It said that a successful transition to renewables relied on the UK being able to retain the offshore oil and gas supply chain, its workforce and associated skills over the next five years. This is because there is currently limited capacity for the offshore renewables sector to host the quantity of skilled oil and gas workers impacted by the predicted decline in the sector until later this decade. The Powering up the Workforce report estimates that a successful transition could see the offshore energy workforce increase by up to 50 per…

  • Google goes to court in landmark competition trial

    Over the next 10 weeks, US officials will aim to prove that  Google relied on anti-competitive agreements to become the dominant search engine in a trial that could have significant repercussions for Big Tech firms.  The court case has been described as the  most high-profile monopoly trial since the DoJ accused Microsoft in the 1990s of seeking to quash web browser Netscape through illegal, anti-competitive tactics, such as pre-installing Internet Explorer.  Google – which has denied any wrongdoing – is being accused of paying billions of dollars annually to device-makers, wireless companies and browser-makers to keep its search engine as the default option. In addition, the company is said to have illegally rigged the market in its favour by requiring its search engine to be bundled with…

  • Uber launches new hybrid ferries along the Thames to cut emissions

    The firm, already well known for its sometimes controversial ride-hailing service, partnered with Thames Clipper in 2020 and transports around 10,000 passengers a day. From today, the first of three new zero-emission ferries takes to the waves in central London. The ‘Earth Clipper’ achieves an almost 90 per cent reduction in CO2e compared with running solely on conventional diesel, Uber said. The hybrid boat will operate solely on battery power while transporting commuters and sightseers through the centre of the capital, between Tower and Battersea Power Station piers. Image credit: Uber It will then recharge while using biofueled power outside central London. It’s claimed this offers an emissions reduction of 16.5 per cent compared with running on biofuel alone…

  • Digital landline uptake begins in Northern Ireland

    Telecoms giant BT has announced the roll-out of its new home phone service Digital Voice across the region. BT, among other telecoms companies, has pledged to equip all homes with digital voice-over-internet phones by 2025 as part of a much-needed update to the UK’s communication infrastructure. Northern Ireland will be the third UK region in which the service will be rolled out, the company has revealed. Eligible customers will be contacted four weeks in advance to help prepare for the switch, with BT holding Digital Voice roadshows and having a presence at town halls and on high streets this month. “This once-in-a-generation upgrade to future-proof the UK’s landlines is essential and will replace technology that is fast becoming obsolete,” BT said in a press release.  “The landline…

  • Capped landfill site transformed into one of UK’s largest solar farms

    The site is the largest solar farm in Europe to be built on a closed landfill site and is now providing an additional 59MWp (Megawatt peak) of renewable electricity capacity – enough to meet the energy demand from 15,000 homes. The site at Ockendon, Essex, has been developed using the latest photovoltaic modules and is using 107,000 bi-facial solar modules, each rated at either 540Wp or 545Wp. Waste company Veolia, which owns the site, said the modules absorb light on both sides to maximise the power density and are linked to inverters that convert DC to AC electricity. This is then fed to the National Grid via an on-site 132,000V transformer connected to the nearby Warley substation. Capped landfill sites have become increasingly attractive locations for new solar power installations…

  • UK pledges £1.6bn for international Green Climate Fund

    During the G20 summit in New Delhi in India, the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the UK would commit a record £1.6bn to the UN-backed Green Climate Fund.  The investment is part of the country’s £11.6bn pledge for international projects that have a positive impact on climate change, and it would become the biggest single funding commitment the UK has made to date to help the world tackle climate change, a government statement said. The fund was set up during COP15, becoming the largest global fund dedicated to channelling money needed by poor states to meet their targets to reduce carbon emissions and develop cleaner energy sources.  “The UK is stepping up and delivering on our climate commitments, both by decarbonising our own economy and supporting the world’s most vulnerable to…

  • Nasa’s Perseverance produces breathable oxygen on Mars

    Nasa has concluded its oxygen-generation experiment on Mars, with promising results for the future of space exploration.  The achievement was made by the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) device, which generated oxygen by converting carbon dioxide in periodic bouts over two years. MOXIE is a device aboard the Perseverance rover, which first touched ground on Mars in February 2021. Two months later, the lunch box-sized device was able to extract 5g of oxygen from the martial atmosphere. In the past two years, MOXIE has generated oxygen on 16 separate occasions, amounting to 4.3 ounces (122g) – enough to sustain an astronaut for three hours or a small dog for 10. “MOXIE’s impressive performance shows that it is feasible to extract oxygen from Mars’ atmosphere …

  • UK’s maritime sector needs £2bn annually to meet 2050 net zero target

    Maritime UK has called for a combination of private and public sector investment to deliver its 2050 decarbonisation target. It said that this level of funding would help the industry develop green fuels, port infrastructure and new types of technology to reduce carbon emissions from the sector. The shipping industry, which moves approximately 90 per cent of world trade, contributes an estimated 3 per cent of the world’s annual greenhouse gas emissions – more than aviation – and will need $2tn to $3tn in total to reach net zero. Shipping is considered a ‘hard-to-abate’ sector because it’s prohibitively expensive to meaningfully reduce emissions and the technologies are not yet widely available. Furthermore, due to the continued expansion of international trade, the volume of goods shipped…

  • UK’s first EV-only manufacturing plant begins production

    The company has invested £100m in the site, which will now produce a number of small electric vans and passenger car variants for Stellantis’ various brands. The plant was first opened in 1962 and produced Vauxhall Astra models from 1981 until 2022. The Cheshire plant will now produce the Vauxhall/Opel Combo Electric, Peugeot e-Partner and Citroën ë-Berlingo sister models.  The Fiat E-Doblò will also be produced at the plant, due to increased demand for electric vehicles (EVs) across Europe. From 2024, the facility will also expand its production portfolio to include a range of electric passenger vehicles, including the Vauxhall Combo Life Electric, Peugeot e-Rifter and Citroën ë-Berlingo MPVs. “Today’s announcement, in which Ellesmere Port becomes the UK’s first EV-only manufacturing…

  • First of London’s West End tube stations get 4G and 5G coverage

    Customers travelling through Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road stations can now get coverage within the ticket halls, on the Central line platforms and in the tunnel connecting the two stations. The Northern line platforms at Tottenham Court Road also get coverage for the first time. All four mobile network operators – Three UK, EE, Vodafone and O2 – are supported, and the roll-out is set to continue across some of London’s busiest locations in coming weeks Transport for London awarded a contract to BAI Communications in 2021 to build out the infrastructure needed to bring mobile networks underground. Uninterrupted mobile coverage was first introduced on the eastern half of the Jubilee line in 2020 ahead of plans to bring it to the rest of the network by the middle of this decade…

  • ‘Energy disaster’: offshore wind farms absent from government auction

    The UK’s renewable energy strategy has suffered a blow as no new offshore wind projects have been bought by developers at the latest Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction.  Industry experts had warned that this might be the case after ministers refused to increase the maximum price for the auction despite a 40 per cent increase in the cost of manufacturing and installing turbines.  The auction price led the t hree biggest offshore wind developers in the UK – SSE,  ScottishPower and the Swedish company Vattenfall – to sit out the bidding. As a result, no  energy companies submitted bids for offshore wind projects. “This is a multibillion-pound lost opportunity to deliver low-cost energy for consumers and a wake-up call for government,” said Keith Anderson, chief executive of ScottishPower…

  • Rural areas get first dibs on £129m fund for new zero-emission buses

    It has prioritised the first £25m for rural communities where building the infrastructure needed for the buses is more expensive. The Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) 2 scheme is now open for bids from all local authorities in England outside London, with applications to be prioritised from those that did not receive funding in the previous funding rounds. The first round of ZEBRA funding saw 1,300 zero emission buses introduced onto local bus routes as part of an initial target of 4,000. Eventually, the government wants the UK’s entire fleet to be fully decarbonised. Transport secretary Mark Harper also announced the launch of a new research hub, backed by £10m in taxpayer funding, to develop ideas to ensure future transport infrastructure is low-carbon and resilient. “Today…

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