• Road upgrades could go billions over budget

    A new NAO report has identified inflation and delays as the reasons behind National Highways' likely inability to adhere to the budgets set for dozens of road upgrade projects.   National Highways, which manages motorways and major roads in England, was given a total of £14.1bn by the Department for Transport (DfT) for 69 enhancement schemes in the second road investment strategy (RIS2). According to NAO, the government-owned company has completed less work and at a higher cost than anticipated.  The report warned it will cost an estimated £3.3bn more than planned to complete the projects due to take place between April 2020 and March 2025. It also stated that projects due to be in construction during the subsequent five years are likely to cost £6bn above previous expectations, although…

  • View from India: Initiatives to fast-track growth of Karnataka’s IT-BT industry

    The State of Karnataka, the IT hub of the country, is on a mission to promote faster and more inclusive growth across the IT and biotechnology (BT) sectors through investments and initiatives. Basavaraj S Bommai, the Chief Minister of Karnataka, has announced that six new cities will be set up in Karnataka to ensure that the know-how of technology and its services percolate into various parts of the state. The upcoming cities have been visualised as being well planned with high-tech facilities. Furthermore, newer cities could join the dots in terms of connectivity as well as open out new vistas for employment. This in itself can add to the growth of the IT-BT industry, besides encouraging newer start-ups. A move in this direction is the announcement of a dedicated Startup Park. This multi…

  • Water firms still making ‘potentially illegal’ sewage discharges, say campaigners

    Its 2022 Water Quality Report uncovers “potential illegal” sewage discharges alongside more than 700 cases of illness that are attributed to the releases. The report used rainfall data to investigate potentially illegal “dry spills” – sewage outflows are typically only permitted in unusually heavy rainfall when infrastructure is unable to cope. Southern Water was responsible for four times as many dry spills as the next worst offender, South West Water, SAS said. The analysis also shows that some water companies offloaded untreated sewage into waterways even when there hasn’t been any rain. This summer, SAS claimed that there were 5,504 incidences of raw sewage being dumped into bathing waters over a period collectively lasting for longer than 15,000 hours. The untreated sewage contaminated…

  • EU nations agree to back £38.6bn chip production project

    European Union nations have supported the European Commission's proposal to boost the domestic production of semiconductors amid a global shortage.  The deal was backed by EU ambassadors, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. This is the latest move in the saga of the  European Chips Act , unveiled earlier this year, which aims to bolster European competitiveness and resilience in semiconductors, with a target of doubling the current market share of the EU to about 20 per cent of global semiconductor production by 2030. Currently, Europe manufactures 8 per cent of the global share of semiconductors.  The agreement would expand the scope of the chip plants considered “first-of-a-kind” and which qualify for state aid, but stops short of allowing all automotive chips to qualify…

  • Book review: ‘There Are No Facts’

    We are in the painful process of understanding our post-truth world: a world, shaped by algorithms and online interaction, which was taking shape long before 2016. Scholars like Shoshana Zuboff, with her theory of surveillance capitalism, have already made great strides in examining this world through the lens of social sciences. In ‘There Are No Facts: Attentive Algorithms, Extractive Data Practices, and the Quantification of Everyday Life’   (The MIT Press, £22.50, ISBN 9780262047470), Mark Shephard, associate professor of architecture and media study at the University of Buffalo, State University of New York, draws from contemporary thinkers like Zuboff and Joy Buolamwini, as well as the likes of Hannah Arendt, Bruno Latour, Friedrich Nietzsche and Michel Foucault, to present a theory…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • UK launches £1.5m AI green innovation programme

    The AI for Decarbonisation Programme is part of the government’s broader £1bn Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, which aims to provide funding for low-carbon technologies to help bring them to market quicker.   The BEIS claimed the programme will not only help the UK achieve its net-zero goals, but also help bring down energy costs and increase the AI technology’s market growth in the country. The programme is made up of two separate streams for grant funding, which will be launched in phases. The first, worth up to £500,000, will be used to co-fund a virtual centre of excellence on AI innovation and decarbonisation through to March 2025. The second is worth up to £1m and is designed to fund projects that will accelerate the development of AI technologies that enable decarbonisation. "The…

  • Construction ahead of schedule for UK’s first vertical rocket launch site

    Work on the £43m SaxaVord spaceport began earlier this year on the Lamba Ness peninsula in Unst, an island off the coast of Scotland. Three launchpads will ultimately be built at the spaceport, allowing for the launch of small satellites into either polar or Sun-synchronous low-Earth orbits. Current efforts are focused on constructing two of the three approved launchpads, named Fredo and Elizabeth, with the third, Calum, to be built in phase two. SaxaVord Spaceport chief executive Frank Strang said that progress on the site had been “phenomenal” despite the project’s constraints and challenges it has faced. “It is a testament to the huge efforts of our spaceport team, main contractor DITT and sub-contractors such as Unst Plant, a local company created specifically to work on our project…

  • Sponsored: What goes around, comes around

    Synchronous condensers have been around for many years. In the 50s and 60s, they were commonly used to provide almost all grid stability in the UK, but fell out of favour towards the end of the 20th century with the rise in power electronics. However, in recent decades, and particularly as more renewables come online, synchronous condensers have roared back into fashion as an “enabler of renewables”. A synchronous condenser is a large rotating machine, however its shaft is not attached to any driven or driving equipment, and so it is neither a motor nor generator. It produces or absorbs reactive power for voltage control on the grid. As well as being widely used by grid operators, synchronous condensers can also serve a useful purpose in providing stability and continuity of power for larger…

  • Transport secretary says ‘reform is vital’ amid bid to avert rail strikes

    Transport secretary Mark Harper told MPs that he “will do everything I can to end these damaging and unnecessary strikes” ahead of planned meetings with trade union leaders. Speaking during Commons transport questions, Harper said: “I want a sustainable, thriving rail network, but with 20 per cent of passengers not having returned following the Covid pandemic, reform is vital. “I would urge all trade union leaders to get back around the table with employers to hammer out the detail of that reform. The government will work to facilitate this and to that end I will be meeting with trade union leaders in the coming days.” His comments came as Labour’s Sam Tarry (Ilford South) urged Harper to do more, saying: “It’s in his hands to end those strikes and to do so today.” Tarry said: “The…

  • Energy price cap increase will see government support rise to £5bn a month

    This will see the government spending up to £5bn a month on subsidies to billpayers from January as it is obliged to keep bills for the average household under £2,500, rising to £3,000 in April. The price cap sets a maximum that suppliers can charge per unit of energy to someone on a dual-fuel tariff for both gas and electricity prices. It was a measure introduced under Theresa May’s government, with the goal of preventing excess profiteering by the electricity companies, particularly in times of crisis. It used to be adjusted biannually to reflect movements in the wholesale price of energy and prevent energy companies from trading at a loss. Following a raft of energy firm collapses last year in the wake of soaring wholesale costs, Ofgem moved to quarterly updates of the cap. Cornwall…

  • European Parliament website hit by ‘sophisticated’ cyber attack

    The European Parliament's website was unavailable for several hours on Wednesday, 23 November, immediately following the controversial vote.  The attack is what's known as a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, in which massive amounts of traffic are sent to servers in an attempt to block internet users from accessing websites, Marcel Kolaja, European Parliament member for the Czech Pirate party, confirmed.  A pro-Russian group called KILLNET appears to have claimed responsibility for the attack in a Telegram post.  The availability of @Europarl_EN website is currently impacted from outside due to high levels of external network traffic. This traffic is related to a DDOS attack (Distributed Denial of Service) event. EP teams are working to resolve this issue as quickly as…

  • UK’s biggest fraud sting takes down ispoof site linked to 200,000 victims

    Members of British law enforcement were part of a global operation to bring down ispoof.cc, a website described by police as an online fraud shop. They worked with Dutch law enforcement who managed to tap the website’s servers in the Netherlands to secretly listen to phone calls. At one point, as many as 20 people every minute were being targeted by callers using technology bought from the site. Criminals – who found out about the site from adverts posted on channels on encrypted messaging app Telegram – used the site to buy technology that allowed them to mask their phone number. This meant they could trick victims into thinking they were being contacted by their bank and persuade them to pass on personal details that allowed the fraudsters to steal cash. One victim alone lost £3m…

  • Rise in deadly electrical faults increasing risk of fires across UK

    Reports of broken PEN (protected earth and neutral) conductors increased from 57 in 2003 to 474 reports last year, according to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. As incidents are often not reported, the real figure is likely to be much higher and each incident can affect 50 properties, meaning tens of thousands of properties are likely at risk in the UK. *not including Northern Ireland Image credit: The number of reported broken PEN incidents has increased by more than eight times since 2003 *not including Northern Ireland PEN conductors serve as both a protective earthing and neutral conductor and are used on the PME (TN-C-S) network, which was introduced as an alternative to TN-S and TT in the 1970s. The T stands for terra, Latin for earth. The PME (protective…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Exeter tops UK’s greenest city centre list; Glasgow bottom

    The study compared the greenness of tree cover, vegetation and the presence of parks – factors that have been linked with positive outcomes for health, the economy, education and crime. Researchers from Flinders University, University of Sheffield, University of Melbourne and Environmental Protection Authority Victoria evaluated urban centres with larger populations of more than 100,000 people to create a metric of urban ecosystems, vegetation and human health, social equity and biodiversity. Five cities in southern England were ranked highest: Exeter, Islington (in London), Bristol, Bournemouth and Cambridge. Five in the previously industrial north had the lowest: Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Middlesbrough and Glasgow at the bottom.  “While previous studies have measured greenness in…

  • Decommissioning North Sea wells could cost £20bn

    The North Sea has witnessed an increase in decommissioning projects within the last year, a trend that is expected to significantly accelerate in the next decade, according to a new industry report.  Offshore Energies UK (OEUK)'s annual Decommissioning Insight report has found that a number of decommissioning projects in the North Sea have been brought forward in an upsurge in decommissioning activity that is expected to continue over the next three or four years. The report estimated that 2,100 North Sea wells will be decommissioned over the next decade – about 200 per year – at an average cost of £7.8m per well. This would bring the total cost to £20bn, an increase from last year's estimated £16.6bn. “The UK’s decommissioning sector is snowballing and will continue growing for years…

  • Engineers become Britain’s second most-trusted profession

    Out of a list of 30 different professions, engineers are the second most-trusted in Great Britain, rising up from sixth place (with a score of 84 per cent) in 2021. Engineers are also one of only three professions whose trust score has improved since 2021, according to the data.   The IET worked with the 2022 Ipsos Veracity Index – which has been tracking the latest movements in Britons’ trust in key professions since the 1980s – to include engineering for the fifth year running. The profession, which makes up 19 per cent of the UK workforce, is trusted to tell the truth by almost nine in 10 people (87 per cent of the population), coming in at second place closely behind nurses in the number one slot (89 per cent). Engineers have moved ahead of doctors, teachers and museum curators this…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Introducing Jac, the dog that sniffs out faults in energy networks

    Jac is able to smell oil and hydrocarbon gases through earth and tarmac, saving engineers from digging a number of holes as they try to find the source of the problem. While cables are typically buried at 40-80cm below ground, the springer spaniel has been known to discover a fault two metres deep and his sensitive nose can sniff out as little as a couple of drops of oil. He has been trained at a substation in the town of Renfrew near Glasgow, under Spen's supervision.  Overall, Jac has had a 100 per cent success rate in finding faults on 30 occasions, according to Scott Mathieson, planning and regulation director at Spen. When a fault is identified, Jac pinpoints its location by pointing with a front paw .  When a fault is identified, Jac pinpoints its location…

  • London council abandons plans to scrap traditional gas lamps for LED bulbs

    Following a wide consultation with heritage bodies, gas lamp enthusiasts and residents, Westminster City Council decided to halt the proposed conversion. The 174 gas lamps include 138 Grade II-listed gas lamps and 36 non-listed gas lamps in prominent positions across the city that will continue to light the streets of Westminster. In a change to its proposals, the council will now convert 94 non-listed gas lamps to LED. They will be fitted with the most recent LED lighting developed by specialist manufacturers which replicates the soft ‘honey’ lighting glow, as well as replica mantles, piping and clocks. In addition, the designs of the three replacement lantern styles will be enhanced to reflect more of the detail of the original lanterns, following consultation with Historic England…

  • UK to investigate Apple and Google ‘duopoly’

    The   UK competition watchdog's investigation conclusions could eventually force Apple and Google to loosen their grip on mobile systems.  The announcement follows the publication of the CMA's Mobile Ecosystem Market Study report, which found that Apple and Google have an effective duopoly on mobile ecosystems, which was harming UK-based web developers and cloud gaming service providers, holding back innovation and adding unnecessary costs.  The survey concluded that this market dominance allowed the two companies to "exercise a stranglehold over operating systems, app stores and web browsers on mobile devices". The CMA’s findings state that 97 per cent of all mobile web browsing in the UK in 2021 occurred on browsers powered by Apple’s Safari or Google’s Chrome, meaning any restrictions…

  • North Sea flaring and venting crackdown results in fresh probe

    Venting is the discharging of gases into the atmosphere. Flaring is burning the gases before they are discharged and mainly results in CO2 emissions. Flaring and venting of gases are periodically required for safety and operational reasons, but more can be done to reduce the amount. The probe by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) could result in action being taken, including a fine for the as-yet unnamed company or the relevant licence being taken away. Monitoring flaring and venting and reducing emissions are vital parts of the NSTA’s work to help the UK government meet the net zero target. Flaring and venting also wastes gas that could otherwise be used to boost the UK’s energy security. Compliance with consents is both an indicator of good management of fields by licensees and…

  • Singapore researchers use waste paper to make greener battery anodes

    Through a process called carbonisation which converts paper into pure carbon, the researchers turned the paper’s fibres into a carbon foam that could be used for the electrodes used in the rechargeable batteries that power mobile phones, medical equipment, and electric vehicles. To produce the carbon anodes, the researchers joined and laser-cut several thin sheets of kraft paper to form different lattice geometries, both 3D open-cell honeycombs and closed-cell plate lattices, using a sheet lamination process. The paper was then heated to 1200°C in a furnace without the presence of oxygen, to convert it into carbon by pyrolisation. As carbonisation takes place in the absence of oxygen, negligible amounts of carbon dioxide are emitted, making the process a greener alternative to incineration…

  • Ericsson to open multi-million-pound UK research centre for 6G tech

    The Swedish telecommunications firm said it would invest “tens of millions of pounds” over the next decade in the new centre. The programme will employ 20 dedicated researchers with additional support for PhD students who will focus on research areas including network resilience and security, artificial intelligence, cognitive networks and energy efficiency. With 5G still in its relative infancy, 6G networks are not expected to be commercially deployed until 2030 at the earliest. Only around 50 per cent of the UK population currently has access to 5G where they live, with landmass coverage lower than 12 per cent. While finalisation of the standard is still some way off, researchers demonstrated possible 6G technologies last year with the transfer of an uncompressed, 8K ultra-high- definition…

  • View from India: Tap research for societal use

    The nation’s progress on the economic and social front depends on the quality of science and technology research in the country. Therefore, research in science and technology is important for a developing country that aspires to join the ranks of developed nations. Agreed. But research should come out of the lab and reach the masses; it is essential to broaden the footprint of research and ensure that it is oriented towards societal betterment. Research should look at problems that people face and try to solve them through tools or services; support and ideas could come in the form of industry collaborations. Within this, deep tech research calls for patient capital as it needs to be supported for approximately a five to 10-year period.  Research-based studies need support from the government…

  • Faster move to renewables would cut the emissions of building green infrastructure

    A study from Columbia Climate School calculated the fossil fuel usage of building renewable infrastructure and found that, if installed quickly, future expansion can be powered by lower-carbon forms of energy. The researchers looked the cost of the green transition in greenhouse gas emissions rather than monetary expenditure. “The message is that it is going to take energy to rebuild the global energy system, and we need to account for that,” said lead author Corey Lesk. “Any way you do it, it’s not negligible. But the more you can initially bring on renewables, the more you can power the transition with renewables.” The researchers calculated the possible emissions produced by energy use in mining, manufacturing, transport, construction and other activities needed to create massive farms…

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