• Airbus inaugurates new supercomputers for next-gen aircraft design

    European aerospace giant Airbus has deployed new supercomputing infrastructure across two sites to help its engineers accelerate the development of future aircraft. The supercomputing infrastructure has been supplied by French high-performance computing (HPC) provider Bull. The contract covers the installation of supercomputers and their respective data centres across two sites. The first was delivered to Airbus’ site in Toulouse, France, in 2025 and the more recent was delivered to its site in Hamburg, Germany. According to Bull, this latest delivery paves the way for the inauguration of a fully operational, multi-site supercomputing infrastructure. This upgrade to Airbus’ existing HPC infrastructure will provide the aerospace giant with a “more powerful and flexible solution”, Bull said…

  • Worldwide growth in coal plants continued in 2025 despite lower generation

    The number of coal-fired power plants continued to grow on a global basis in 2025 but, despite the increase, the amount of energy generation from fossil fuels fell. A new report from Global Energy Monitor (GEM) found that while global coal capacity increased by 3.5% in total 2025, coal-fired generation fell by 0.6%. This divergence was most pronounced in China and India, where record-breaking wind and solar additions met almost all new demand, displacing coal even as plant commissioning reached decade-highs. Coal produces significantly more CO2 per unit of energy than other fossil fuels, such as oil and natural gas, because it contains a higher carbon content. Climate experts have said that countries need to move away from coal or risk failing to reduce carbon emissions enough to tackle…

  • Emirates starts construction on $5.1bn aviation engineering facility in Dubai

    A mega-complex dedicated to airport maintenance and engineering for Emirates has officially begun construction at Dubai South. The Dubai-headquartered airline, and one of the two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates, is building a $5.1bn maintenance, repairs and overhaul facility located on the outskirts of Dubai, near Al Maktoum International Airport. Delivered by China Railway Construction Corporation, a construction and infrastructure company, the new 1.1 million square metre site will feature a hangar complex capable of servicing 28 wide-body aircraft simultaneously, alongside the “world’s largest” dedicated landing gear workshop. Other facilities include: Two advanced aircraft paint hangars77,000m2 of repair workshops380,000m2 of logistics and storage50,000m2 of office space…

  • HS2 costs could top £102.7bn as opening faces 2039 delay

    The total cost of HS2 could now top £102.7bn and trains may not start running until 2039 – six years later than the most recent target of 2033, transport secretary Heidi Alexander has admitted. The project has since been beset by a string of failures and budget overruns since its inception, including the cancellation of routes ending in Leeds and Manchester. It was originally expected to be completed by 2033, but Alexander had previously said this date was unlikely due to a “litany of failure”. The government has now announced that the project will cost anywhere between £87.7bn and £102.7bn, with two-thirds of the increase due to works being missed from the scope of the original project plan, underestimation by previous governments and inefficient delivery, and the remaining third due to…

  • Sizewell C investors expected to reap £4bn in profit from UK energy bill levy

    The government will need to “closely” monitor the finances of the Sizewell C nuclear power station during its construction due to the risky nature of the project, and consumers might not see the financial benefits of the project until 2060. A report from the National Audit Office (NAO) outlined the potential risks of the project’s funding model, which sees the government provide the majority of the money needed for its construction, while only taking a minority share in the company. Last July, a deal was reached with private investors to help spread the cost of the £38bn project due to its massive scale. In total, the taxpayer will take an initial 44.9% stake and EDF 12.5%, while the new shareholders include investment group La Caisse with 20%, Centrica with 15% and Amber Infrastructure…

  • UK government must ‘step up and protect our way of life’, warns climate watchdog

    The government’s climate advisers have published a new report outlining the actions needed to ensure that the UK is prepared for the growing impacts of climate change. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) warned that the UK urgently needs to adapt to climate change and outlined the risks brought by a hotter, wetter climate, with climate resilience being important for food, energy and economic security. The committee’s Well-adapted UK report found that, based on the current trajectory of global greenhouse gas emissions, warming will reach around 1.5°C by the early 2030s and around 2°C by 2050. In such a scenario, heatwave temperatures would regularly exceed 40°C in large parts of the UK, with some of the hottest areas peaking at 43°C or higher. By 2050, 92% of homes will overheat, peak river…

  • Sustainability must be embedded at core of UK’s nuclear sector, according to report

    The UK nuclear sector risks falling behind unless sustainability becomes central to investment, delivery and public trust, according to a report by the Next Generation Nuclear Industry Council (NGNIC). The expansion of Britain’s nuclear energy capabilities are considered to be a key part of the long-term decarbonisation of the UK’s energy grid. Last year energy secretary Ed Miliband said the government aims to kickstart the “golden age” of nuclear energy. Amid this increased government investment and Rolls‑Royce SMR’s recent deal to deliver the UK’s first three small modular reactors (SMRs) at Wylfa, the NGNIC argues that sustainability should be seen as an opportunity, not as an additional burden. Its report – Sustainability in the nuclear sector – sets out how the industry can strengthen…

  • Lasers placed in the Moon’s darkest cavities could offer GPS-like lunar navigation

    Scientists have proposed building an “ultrastable laser” in one of the Moon’s darkest craters to provide GPS-level navigation on the lunar surface. Many craters in the Moon’s south pole never receive direct sunlight and lie in permanent shadow, which makes them an ideal place to construct the laser technology. Highly stable lasers provide a source of coherent light that has a nearly unwavering frequency, or colour that could provide a master time signal in a GPS-like lunar navigation system. Multiple copies of these lunar lasers could precisely measure the distances between objects and potentially detect exotic physics phenomena such as ripples in spacetime. To construct a lunar laser, astronauts would first install a key component known as an optical silicon cavity – a block of silicon…

  • Fungi turn toxic wood waste into low-carbon insulation material

    Hard-to-recycle construction waste can be transformed into a sustainable, bio-based insulation composite using a common fungus, according to researchers at the University of Bath. The construction industry creates an enormous amount of waste, a large proportion of which is wood waste. While its deemed a natural material, much of this wood has been treated with resins, making it hard to recycle. If left to decompose in landfill, it releases toxic chemicals into the environment. To tackle this issue, researchers at the University of Bath turned to Trametes versicolor, a wood-rotting fungus found throughout UK woodlands and commonly known as turkey tail. As it grows, its mycelium network breaks down the material and binds it together, transforming it into a thermally insulating and fire-resistant…

  • Social media sites urged to deploy revenge porn detection tech

    Ofcom has said social media platforms should start implementing automated detection technology to stop the spread of revenge porn online. The recommendation is part of the regulator’s Illegal Content Codes, which is being strengthened to include provisions designed to tackle the issue. It said that protecting women and girls online was now an “urgent” matter that major tech firms need to address in the short term. In February, the government introduced an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that orders tech firms to take down intimate images shared without a victim’s consent within 48 hours. It described the issue as a “national emergency” and pledged to halve the number of crimes of this nature over the next decade. The UK’s Revenge Porn Helpline has recorded a staggering rise in…

  • 6G system achieves record 112Gbps wireless speeds at 560GHz

    An ultra-fast 6G wireless communication system has transmitted data at 112Gbps using ultra-high-frequency 560GHz radio waves. As the successor to 5G technology, 6G promises ultra-high-speed connectivity, ultra-low latency and AI integration to power smart cities, advanced healthcare and next-generation industrial automation. To achieve this, 6G networks will need to operate across a range of frequencies, from standard microwaves to much higher frequency terahertz waves. Conventional electronic technologies face limitations when generating stable high-frequency signals above 350GHz. As these very high radio frequencies are notoriously difficult to generate and control reliably they hinder the development of ultra-high-speed wireless communications in the terahertz range. A key issue…

  • Organ-on-chip technology to study link between diabetes and dementia

    An ‘organ-on-chip' device that replicates connections between the brain, gut and pancreas could lead to insights into how glucose affects brain function. The GlucoBrain project, led by researchers at the University of Bath, will track how signals move between the organs to uncover why diabetes may lead to changes in memory and cognition. While diabetes is widely known to affect the heart, kidneys and eyes, growing evidence suggests it is also linked with problems in memory, learning and brain function. Most current knowledge on this link between diabetes and dementia comes from animal studies, simple cell cultures and patient studies, which don’t fully capture all the complex interactions between organs, hormones and cells. The aim of this study is to create a connected system on a chip…

  • One in seven turning to AI chatbots for health advice instead of GP

    More than 15% of the UK public have used AI chatbots for health advice instead of seeing their GP or another NHS service, according to a study by King’s College London. In the study over 2,000 people were interviewed about their attitudes towards AI in healthcare – both its personal use and its role in clinical settings. While 15% said they had used AI chatbots for health advice, one in 10 (10%) said they had used them for mental health support instead of seeing a trained professional. The most common reasons people give for turning to AI chatbots is convenience (46%), curiosity (45%) and uncertainty about whether their concern was serious enough to contact a GP (39%). A quarter (25%) said they did so because they were waiting too long for NHS services. Among those who have used AI…

  • UK and US data centres now consume around 6% of national electricity

    Data centres in both the UK and US now consume roughly 6% of each country’s electricity supply, according to a report by think tank the International Data Centre Authority (IDCA). The rapid growth in the number of data centres in countries across the world, driven by the AI boom, has seen electricity demands grow. This is adding pressure to local grids and, in some instances, has seen household electricity prices rise. The 2026 Global Data Centre Report, published by the IDCA, aims to provide a comprehensive view of the global data centre landscape, covering energy consumption, connectivity, security and the rise of AI-driven infrastructure. Data centres are energy guzzlers, requiring a significant amount of electricity for computation. According to figures from the report, their total…

  • JCB targets new land speed record with hydrogen-powered car

    UK engineering firm JCB aims to break the land speed record with a hydrogen-powered vehicle, 20 years after setting the diesel land speed record. In 2006, the JCB Dieselmax, driven by RAF Wing Commander Andy Green OBE, broke the diesel engine land speed record with a speed of 350mph (560km/h), a record that still stands. The firm will now return to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah but this time with the JCB Hydromax and, once again, Green will be behind the wheel. Anthony Bamford, chairman of JCB, said: “Britain has a proud heritage of setting speed records and, as a British company, I’m excited to challenge for a new one using hydrogen.” In July 2020, JCB announced its first ever digger powered by hydrogen instead of diesel. Bamford has spearheaded this hydrogen programme, which is…

  • King’s Speech 2026: Key measures for engineering and technology

    The government used the annual King’s Speech to outline a series of proposed engineering- and technology-related bills for the next parliamentary session. Yesterday King Charles III delivered the ‘King’s Speech’ at the State Opening of Parliament, a ceremonial event marking the start of a new parliamentary year. Although delivered by the monarch in his role as the UK head of state, the speech itself is written by the government, laying out its policies and proposed laws for the year ahead. King Charles set the tone for the government’s agenda at the start of his speech by warning that “an increasingly dangerous and volatile world threatens the United Kingdom, with the conflict in the Middle East only the most recent example”. He said the government would “respond to this world” by making…

  • Starlink-style satellite constellations could drive 42% of space pollution by 2030

    ‘Megaconstellation’ satellite systems, such as SpaceX’s Starlink and China’s Qianfan project, will be responsible for nearly half of all air pollution from the space sector by 2030, University College London (UCL) researchers have said. As of early May 2026, there are over 10,000 active Starlink satellites in low-Earth orbit, easily the largest system of its type so far. While China’s Qianfan has only launched 504 so far, and Amazon’s Project Kuiper only 300, they are aiming for around 15,000 and 3,236 orbiting satellites respectively to complete the constellations. But a combination of rocket launches, and pollution caused by dead satellites falling back to Earth, is quickly racking up to be the space sectors’ largest individual source of air pollution. The UCL team said the black carbon…

  • Reactor system turns carbon dioxide into storable methane using renewable electricity

    A scalable reactor system uses renewable electricity and microbes to turn carbon dioxide into methane efficiently and cost-effectively, according to a study. In the study, led by researchers at the Pennsylvania State University, a process known as microbial electrosynthesis is used to convert renewable electricity into methane that can be stored over long periods. This bio-electrochemical technology uses microorganisms as biocatalysts to convert carbon dioxide and electricity into useful chemicals and fuels. Using electricity from renewable sources such as solar or wind, the process offers a sustainable, low-energy way to produce fuel. In their microbial electrosynthesis system, the researchers used renewable electricity to split water and generate hydrogen. Microorganisms then rapidly…

  • One arrest every 35 minutes during six-month facial recognition trial in London

    A live facial recognition (LFR) technology trial on a busy south London street led to 170 arrests over six months, according to the Metropolitan Police. The pilot took place in Croydon town centre between October 2025 and March 2026. Over this period, the Met said LFR technology led to a 10.5% reduction in crime compared with the same period the previous year. Violence against women and girls offences saw the biggest reduction, falling by 21%. Arrests included a 36-year-old woman wanted for more than 20 years for failing to appear at court for an assault and a 41-year-old man wanted for rape relating to an incident in November. The pilot marked the first time that the Met in London has operated LFR deployments without the need for a police van. Previously, the cameras were mounted on…

  • EV charging method boosts battery life by 23% without slowing charging times

    A new AI-based charging method can adapt fast charging to a lithium-ion battery, extending its battery life without increasing charging times. A key barrier to electric vehicle (EV) adoption is access to fast charging to enable commuting and driving over longer distances. However, fast charging can be stressful for batteries, limiting their lifespan. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed an AI-based charging strategy for EVs that adapts the current during each fast charge to the battery’s chemistry and ‘state of health’. As a result, battery life is extended by around 23% compared to standard methods, while charging time remains largely unaffected. “We show that it is possible to charge more or less as fast as today, but with significantly less long…

  • Keir Starmer announces plan to nationalise British Steel

    Sir Keir Starmer has announced plans to nationalise British Steel in order to address concerns around security and to bolster domestic industries. New legislation will give the government the ability to safeguard UK steelmaking capacity and avoid a sudden halt of production at Scunthorpe while it considers British Steel’s future. The bill will be formally introduced in the King’s Speech on Wednesday and will see British Steel re-enter government hands for the first time since being sold off in 1988. The firm has been in limbo for over a year – while it is still technically owned by Jingye Group, the Scunthorpe plant itself has been effectively nationalised and taken out of Chinese control. Last year, parliament passed emergency legislation to give the government sweeping powers to control…

  • Long-lasting solar-powered system pulls drinking water from desert air

    A hydrogel-based system could offer a long-term solution for harvesting potable water from ambient air, according to a study. Hydrogels have been researched for many years as a means to produce water at low cost almost anywhere. The materials, which are made of salt and polymers, soak up large amounts of moisture from the air, even in desert-like conditions. The water is then condensed back into liquid water and collected for drinking. The challenge is that these solar-powered harvesting systems only last for around eight months or 30 cycles of filling up and releasing water before they degrade. A team at Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability explored why this happened and what they could do to create a longer-lasting system that could be scaled. The hydrogel system they designed uses…

  • Fuel cell harvests energy from microscopic organisms to power ocean sensors

    An underwater fuel cell that recharges itself by consuming microscopic marine life could keep ocean sensors in the water powered for longer. Replacing batteries for underwater sensors can be a tricky endeavour, especially if they are located far out in difficult-to-access locations. Michigan Technological University researchers have developed a system that converts dissolved organic matter and microscopic forms of marine biomass into electrical power. “There are increasing deployments of all kinds of sensors in the marine environment for observing ecological conditions, organism migrations and acoustics relevant to naval defence,” said researcher Amy Marcarelli. “Almost all run on batteries, which have to be replaced.” Some sensing units can run on wave energy, but those devices have…

  • Could AI be the solution to the skills shortage?

    AI is redefining the workplace. The previous article looks at how this pervasive technology could affect the broader jobs landscape, but how will it impact engineers? Industry leaders discuss how AI could be a help, not a hindrance, for skilled professionals. It’s impossible to escape AI these days: it’s part of our daily online experience. But the jump forward in the technology over the past few years has made AI a valuable tool for those involved in design – specifically engineering design. But while there is a doomsday narrative that describes a bonfire of white-collar jobs, it is not just the vendors of the technology that have an alternative and more positive vision about where this is leading. An anecdotal reinforcement of this came at Dassault Systèmes’ 3DExperience World conference…

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