• Study finds genetically engineered fruit flies and zebrafish could help tackle mercury pollution

    Researchers at Australia’s Macquarie University have genetically modified fruit flies and zebrafish to break down toxic methylmercury into a diluted gas. Methylmercury is one of the world’s most dangerous pollutants. It is a highly toxic organic form of mercury that is released into the environment via industrial activities such as gold mining and the burning of coal. It poses health threats to humans and other forms of wildlife due to its high bioavailability. This means that once it has been ingested by a small aquatic organism, for instance, it can easily cross the digestive tract and make its way into the tissue, where it accumulates. When this creature is eaten by another organism, the mercury becomes increasingly concentrated as it moves up the food chain. Eventually it could pass…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • First space weather monitor in the UK for 40 years installed in Cornwall

    A ground-based neutron monitor has been installed at a Met Office site in Cornwall to help understand and mitigate the impacts of space weather. The new NM-2023 monitor, the first to be built in the UK in more than four decades, will provide real-time data and new measurement capabilities to help better understand and mitigate the impacts of space weather. Space weather is a consequence of the behaviour of the Sun, the nature of Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere, and our location in the Solar System. Space weather can drive changes in the electromagnetic and radiation environment in near-Earth space, in the atmosphere and at the surface. As such, it can represent a real threat and can have an impact on human technology, including satellites, power grids, communications, navigation…

  • UK government launches funding scheme to boost offshore wind capacity

    The Clean Industry Bonus (CIB) is a new incentive scheme aimed at encouraging offshore wind developers to invest in industrial communities and low-carbon supply chains. In December 2024, the UK government published its Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, setting out a roadmap for decarbonising the energy grid by 2030. Offshore wind is the cornerstone of Britain’s clean energy strategy, and the plan is to expand current capacity from 15GW to between 43GW to 50GW by the end of the decade. As part of this Action Plan, the CIB will provide an initial £27m in funding for every gigawatt of capacity to successful offshore wind project bidders. That means if developers commit to 7-8GW of offshore wind, up to £200m of funding could be made available. There are certain caveats, however. Developers…

  • From the archives: From static to moving

    Tanya Weaver looks back at the birth of the steel-making process, the first public demonstration of the TV and clever computer chess. 168 years ago What a steel American inventor William Kelly filed a patent on 20 January 1857 for a blast furnace for manufacturing steel. In this pneumatic process of steelmaking, air is blown through molten pig iron to oxidise and remove unwanted impurities. Around the same time, on the other side of the Atlantic, Sir Henry Bessemer (pictured) in the UK had discovered a similar process to produce inexpensive steel. While he patented his invention in 1855, the story goes that due to financial panic in 1857, a company that had already licensed the Bessemer process was able to purchase Kelly’s patents, and licensed both under a single scheme using the Bessemer…

  • E+T Podcast: Episode 10 | Are we losing engineers due to burnout?

    Hosted by: Tim Fryer, Jack Loughran and Tanya Weaver Special Guest: Simon Swales, Senior Consultant, Mindset Practice Engineers don’t have it easy. Barely manageable workloads, zero tolerance towards making mistakes, frequently morphing into roles that go beyond their engineering roots - like management, finances, logistics etc - excessive travel and yet solitary nature of the task - all are contributory factors in making engineering a mentally tough occupation. It is no surprise then that engineer burnout is not just a recognisable condition, but a growing problem. In this podcast we discuss why it is problem that can no longer be ignored. Regulars Tim Fryer, Jack Loughran and Tanya Weaver are joined by guest Simon Swales, Senior Consultant, Mindset Practice

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Industry Insight: How helium is fuelling the future of clean energy and sustainability

    Helium may be invisible to the naked eye, but its impact on renewable energy and sustainability is anything but. Thomas Abraham-James, president and CEO of Pulsar Helium, a primary helium exploration and development company, discusses helium’s role in renewable technologies, battery manufacturing, data centres and next-generation computing. As we witness the global acceleration of efforts to decarbonise our communities and alter the trajectory of climate change, renewable energy storage solutions are taking centre stage. Helium is vital for the manufacturing and testing of next-generation batteries used for grid-scale energy storage systems, a cornerstone of the ‘Green Energy Transition’. These systems are crucial for managing intermittent energy generation from solar and wind sources,…

  • EVs produce fewer non-exhaust emissions than fossil fuel vehicles, study finds

    Electric vehicles (EVs) generally emit less non-exhaust particulate matter through tyre wear and braking compared with combustion engine vehicles. While most vehicles’ environmental impact is due to exhaust emissions, fine particles are also generated by tyre and brake wear. Airborne particulate matter, from visible pieces of tyre rubber to nanoparticles, can have negative health impacts on humans. Every year, billions of vehicles worldwide shed an estimated six million tonnes of tyre-wear particles. In London alone, 2.6 million vehicles emit around nine thousand tonnes of tyre-wear particles. EVs may solve the problem of localised fuel emissions, but they still create pollution in the form of tyre and brake wear. The degree to which they do so and how that compares to internal combustion…

  • UK taskforce to tackle subsea cable reliability and performance

    The UK Subsea Cable System Forum will aim to improve cable reliability and influence standards surrounding subsea cables. Subsea cable systems are critical elements of offshore wind infrastructure, essential for transmitting electricity from offshore wind farms to the grid. If the UK is to hit its ambitious target of 50GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, there needs to be a substantial investment in the installation and maintenance of thousands of kilometres of subsea cables. Trade and development body Global Underwater Hub (GUH) has identified cable performance and reliability as a major challenge – especially as floating offshore wind, which requires even more complex dynamic cables, becomes an increasing percentage of the overall installed base. Neil Gordon, chief executive of…

  • Major electrical engineering project under way to connect the UK’s biggest gigafactory to the grid

    National Grid has started work on connecting the UK’s largest electric vehicle (EV) battery factory to the grid. Tata Group’s £4bn gigafactory is being built on a former munitions works near Bridgwater, Somerset. Agratas, the subsidiary firm overseeing the new project, said the 40GWh factory on the 620-acre Gravity Smart Campus will create up to 4,000 direct jobs and many more as part of the supply chain. Due to open in 2026, the gigafactory aims to supply almost half of the batteries needed by the UK’s automotive industry by the early 2030s. National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) is building two interim 33kV connections to power the facility until a new high voltage 400kV transmission substation at Woolavington, built by National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET), is complete…

  • Baltic states disconnect from Russian power grid to join EU grid

    The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have cut ties with Russia’s power grid and switched to the EU continental grid. During a ceremony held in Vilnius, Lithuania, ministers from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to officially connect their electricity grids to the European grid. A few days earlier, they had disconnected from the Russian power grid. These states will now rely on connections with Finland, Sweden and Poland. The Baltic states split from the the Soviet Union in 1991; however, they have remained reliant on Russia’s power grid. While they had announced their attention to achieve energy independence from Russian in 2018, this process was sped up following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. While they stopped…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Underground climate change damaging city foundations

    Climate change could be having significant effects below the Earth’s surface that are only just starting to receive the attention they warrant. Warnings about the possible consequences of climate change tend to focus on the most dramatic and visible effects. The ice caps diminish, major cities flood as sea levels rise, urban areas become uninhabitable due to increasing temperatures – all are easy to depict even if the scenario is decades away. Increasingly, scientists are warning that we should start looking down and assessing how human activity and the extreme weather conditions attributed to it are slowly but surely undermining the infrastructure we rely on. Whether it’s making buildings unstable, corroding pipes and cables or disrupting road surfaces, underground climate change is an…

  • Ultrasonic waves guide electric sparks through the air and around obstacles – new study

    A new study has demonstrated how ultrasonic waves can be used to transport electricity through the air and around obstacles. The formation of electric sparks is chaotic, with branches splitting out in random directions. The path of the electrical current is guided by subtle differences in air density and charge, and attraction to conductive materials, such as metal. For these reasons, electricity is difficult to precisely control. Take a lightning bolt, for example. However, a new study has demonstrated a way to guide electric sparks through the air. Researchers at the University of Helsinki, the Public University of Navarre in Spain and the University of Waterloo in Canada have shown how ultrasonic beams can direct high-voltage sparks. The researchers claim that the method allows sparks…

  • Keir Starmer urged to reject new North Sea oil field over climate concerns

    Climate researchers have called on Keir Starmer not to approve the development of a major new oil field in the North Sea. The Treasury has reportedly been considering giving the project the go-ahead as part of plans to maximise the UK’s economic growth. But the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment warned that the project would jeopardise efforts to keep domestic carbon emissions in check while undermining the UK’s reputation for climate leadership. After the Oil and Gas Authority gave the go-ahead for developing the Jackdaw project in May 2022, experts warned the previous Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, that “if the UK allows any new development of oil and gas fields, it will severely undermine … claims of leadership by contributing to further oversupply of…

  • Researchers identify bacteria that break down at least three types of ‘forever chemicals’

    Researchers have identified a strain of bacteria that can eat PFAS or “forever chemicals”, as well as some of their toxic byproducts. Since their invention in the 1940s, poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) have spread worldwide. They represent a group of around 12,000 different chemicals and are known as ‘forever chemicals’ because of their unbreakable chemical structure. Due to their handy water-repelling properties, PFAS have been widely used for decades in non-stick cookware, waterproof cosmetics, firefighting foams and clothing. A study led by researchers at the University at Buffalo in New York has identified a strain of bacteria that can break down at least three types of PFAS, as well as mop up some of the toxic byproducts created in the bond-breaking process. Having…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • EU-backed project to protect marine ecosystems from underwater noise pollution

    Partners in the LOWNOISER project aim to “address the critical environmental challenge of underwater noise pollution from shipping”. Underwater radiated noise from shipping is a significant source of continuous underwater noise pollution. It has been found to impact marine species that rely on sound for survival such as whales, disrupting their communication, navigation and reproduction. The European Commission has highlighted this issue in its Marine Strategy Framework Directive, which requires 80% of habitat sizes for target species to remain free from biologically harmful noise levels. The four-year LOWNOISER project led by Norway’s Maritime CleanTech is an initiative aimed at tackling noise pollution. Funded by €6.3m from the EU, the project brings together 15 partners to develop…

  • MPs warn £22bn carbon capture plan is an unproven gamble that could raise energy bills

    The UK government should reassess its decision to spend £22bn on “unproven” carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have said. Britons are currently facing some of the “highest energy bills in the world” alongside other cost of living challenges. CCS, the capture and underground storage of carbon before it is released into the atmosphere, is viewed by the government as essential to its 2050 net zero goals. In particular, it is considered to be a useful tool for sectors such as shipping and aviation where reaching net zero is very challenging with current technology. In December, two major carbon capture projects in Teesside were greenlit, with construction expected set to start in mid-2025. But the PAC said there are no examples of CCS…

  • Ultra-thin graphene smart sensor shows potential in remotely tracking healing wounds

    Researchers have developed a laser-induced graphene sensor material that when embedded into a bandage could enable improved tracking of healing wounds. Wearable sensors have many applications, one of which is to remotely monitor a patient’s wound while it heals. The challenge, however, is that these sensors are not able to distinguish different signals when they occur at the same time – for instance, between temperature and physical strain. Researchers from Penn State University and China’s Hebei University of Technology have addressed this issue by developing a new type of flexible sensor material using graphene that can accurately measure different signals, such as temperature and physical strain, simultaneously. Huanyu ‘Larry’ Cheng of the department of materials science and engineering…

  • Government must track data centre water usage to meet sustainability goals – report

    The government needs to keep track of the water and energy use in the UK’s data centres to ensure the sector is growing in a sustainable way, a report has urged. Data centres typically use water for cooling purposes as heat can be dissipated through evaporation, which is more energy efficient than air conditioning. They also consume a significant amount of energy to keep large numbers of servers online. But, in a new report, the National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC) has urged the government to ensure companies are accurately reporting the environmental impact of their data centres as the sector grows rapidly, in large part because of the broad adoption of AI services. It said data centres should be designed to use a minimal amount of water and critical raw materials. The government…

  • ‘World’s first’ lab-grown meat pet food goes on sale

    UK start-up Meatly has launched a cultivated meat product for pets – the first company to sell cultivated meat in both the UK and EU. Meat production is extremely carbon intensive, contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. While the vast majority of meat is eaten by humans, a significant amount also makes up the 10.5 million tonnes of pet food sold in Europe each year. In a bid to feed pets more sustainably, Meatly – in collaboration with plant-based dog food brand The Pack – has been working towards producing lab-grown meat products for pets. The company claims the new Chick Bites product has been produced from a single sample of cells taken from one chicken egg, from which enough cultivated meat could be produced to feed pets forever. This process, it says, produces…

  • Starmer slashes red tape on planning rules in bid to attract raft of new nuclear power plants

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer has unveiled plans to build a new suite of nuclear power plants in the UK, alongside a revamping of the planning rules to prevent local interests from derailing nationally significant projects. In particular, the rule changes are aimed at making it easier to build small modular reactors (SMR), which are easier to scale and more affordable than traditional nuclear power plants, albeit with a lower power output. The entirely factory-built facilities can be transported as modules and assembled on-site, radically reducing construction activity and making SMRs a commodifiable product. In September, Great British Nuclear shortlisted Rolls-Royce SMR alongside entrants GE Hitachi, Holtec Britain and Westinghouse Electric Company to build the new plants. Each Rolls-Royce…

  • Industry insight: Big business and start-ups collaborating to push innovative tech forward

    The ABB Startup Challenge is bringing innovative start-ups and ABB together to co-develop solutions to complex energy and climate challenges, says Massimo Muzzì, head of strategy, business development and sustainability at ABB Electrification. What is the ABB Startup Challenge and how does it promote innovation? The ABB Startup Challenge is an annual competition for start-ups to develop novel and more sustainable solutions to our most pressing challenges, primarily in the electrification space. It’s been running for five years, and we look for start-ups with strengths that can amplify our core competencies. For example, in 2024, we focused on how AI solutions could enhance energy industry systems, from dynamic grid management to decarbonising commercial buildings. Winning entrants are…

  • Cellular concrete offers viable environmental alternative in earthquake-prone areas

    Researchers in Ecuador say cellular concrete is a sustainable and structurally resilient alternative to traditional concrete for earthquake-resistant buildings. The construction industry significantly contributes to global energy consumption and carbon emissions. This is predominantly through the structural materials used, mostly cement and steel. The production of cement, the key ingredient of concrete, generates around 2.5 billion tonnes of CO2 every year – about 8% of the global total. Finding viable alternative materials is challenging, not least in earthquake-prone areas. A team of researchers in the faculty of sciences, engineering and construction at UTE University in Ecuador studied whether cellular lightweight concrete (CLC) offered both an environmentally friendly and earthquake…

  • MOD successfully trials robot dogs for bomb disposal

    In a trial by the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MOD), advanced robotic systems – including robot dogs – have successfully demonstrated their capability to detect and defuse bomb threats. Bomb disposal operations are extremely hazardous. To significantly reduce the risk to military personnel, the MOD is trialling a new approach to performing bomb disposal operations. In trials led by the MOD’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), bomb disposal robot dogs were used to detect and defuse bomb threats. In a series of scenarios, the robot dog was asked to perform tasks including opening and closing doors autonomously, navigating stairs, inspecting improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and firing disruptors at the IEDs to render them safe. Other robotic systems used in the trial included…

  • Government pledges £2.65bn to strengthen UK flood defences amid rising climate risks

    The government will commit £2.65bn to shoring up the UK’s flood defences as climate change threatens homes in low-lying areas. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the money will benefit around 52,000 properties by March 2026 when the new defences are expected to be completed. The frequency of extreme weather events in the UK and around the world is continuing to rise as climate change warms the planet. But the UK is particularly susceptible because of its geographical location, sitting between warm tropical air from the south and cold polar air from the north. According to a study last year, extreme UK rainfall experienced during autumn and winter 2023/24 was made 10 times more likely because of human-induced climate change. Defra said the Labour government…

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