• Industry insight: Why new grid connection rules favour ready-to-build energy projects

    This article has been provided by Matthew Ling, business development director at Leep Utilities. When the National Energy System Operator (NESO) announced a new pipeline of deliverable energy projects at the end of last year, it was the next step in a massive overhaul of the grid connection process. The biggest change grid connection in decadesNESO’s shift from a first‑come, first‑served model to a first‑ready and needed, first‑connected approach represents the most significant overhaul of the grid connection process in years. The need for reform was clear: capacity hoggers with no genuine projects would secure a 100 MVA connection, then attempt to sell it on at inflated values. These companies would often lack the knowledge and expertise of more experienced partners, for example trying…

  • Satellite-powered mobile data from Starlink goes live on Virgin Media O2 network

    Virgin Media O2 has switched on its ‘Direct to Cell’ satellite mobile connectivity, which will rapidly expand data coverage to underserved, primarily rural areas of the UK. The firm, which was formed last year in a £31bn merger, said the service will expand O2 coverage to an area around two-thirds the size of Wales, taking the network’s landmass coverage from 89% to 95%. The technology provides coverage using a satellite constellation operated by Elon Musk’s Starlink. The Direct to Cell satellites were initially launched in 2023 and connect over laser backhaul to the Starlink constellation, which provide the data connectivity. The system works on all handsets supporting 4G without any other specialised hardware. Virgin Media O2 said that customers would be automatically connected via…

  • UK’s first geothermal power plant switches on in Cornwall

    The UK’s first ever geothermal power plant will be going live today, bringing a new source of low-carbon energy generation onto the electricity grid. The United Downs power station, which is being developed by GEL Energy, is based in Cornwall and will produce around 3MW of power. While the amount of energy produced is relatively low compared to other baseload generators, GEL has two additional deep geothermal sites under development, which will deliver a further 10MW by 2030. The British Geological Survey has calculated that more than 200GW of thermal heat, hot enough to generate power, could be produced from onshore geothermal sources. To put that in perspective, the upcoming Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant will generate around 3.2GW when it comes online in the early 2030s. Nevertheless…

  • UK start-up Wayve raises further $1.2bn to scale its AI self-driving vehicle platform

    Wayve’s latest $1.2bn funding round includes investment from major global firms, valuing the London-based start-up at $8.6bn. The Series D equity round was led by global financial investors, with participation from Microsoft, Nvidia and Uber, alongside investment from global automakers Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Stellantis. This funding will allow the start-up to roll out its end-to-end AI platform for self-driving vehicles on a global commercial scale. Alex Kendall, co-founder and CEO of Wayve, said: “This investment accelerates our path to widespread commercial deployment and positions us to build the autonomy layer that will power any vehicle everywhere.” The start-up, which has previously received funding from big-name investors including a $1.05bn funding round in 2024, was founded…

  • First coordinated hydrogen network in Britain could pave the way for larger-scale roll-out

    Four energy firms are joining forces to build the UK’s first hydrogen network in the Humber, linking hydrogen production with industrial customers and power stations. The prototype system for producing, transporting, storing and distributing hydrogen as an energy carrier could underpin larger-scale hydrogen deployment in the UK in the future, the firms said. The Humber Hydrogen network will be built by National Gas, Centrica, Equinor and SSE Thermal. National Gas already has extensive experience in gas pipeline infrastructure, Centrica will contribute knowledge in energy storage, Equinor has large-scale hydrogen production experience, and SSE Thermal adds expertise in power generation and integrating hydrogen into industrial and energy systems. No country has yet implemented a nationwide…

  • Reddit fined £14m for failing to protect UK children’s data

    Reddit has been fined £14.47m by the data regulator for failing to protect the privacy of children using the platform. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said that Reddit, the fourth most-visited social media platform in the UK, had used the personal information of children “unlawfully” and did not adequately check the age of its UK users. Websites operating in the UK typically use a mix of self-declaration, technical checks and third‑party verification services to attempt to verify the age of users. Reddit generally relies on a provider called Persona that checks selfies or ID photos when users try to access age‑restricted content. But users are still able to create an account without any form of age verification to check areas of the site deemed inappropriate for children. …

  • Regular cross-Channel rail freight to return through the Channel Tunnel

    A new £15m deal will restore regular container services through the Channel Tunnel, shifting freight from trucks to trains. The government-backed deal will help boost trade between the UK and continental Europe. While cross-Channel freight trains never completely stopped, regular container services have largely disappeared in recent years. What does pass through is limited to bulk, single-customer orders. As a result, most freight is transported by ship and then on lorries, substantially increasing road traffic and pollution. The return of regular scheduled freight train services will ease traffic on the road network, particularly in the south-east at the Dartford Crossing and M20/M2 corridors, and decrease carbon emissions. It will also enable British businesses to directly import and…

  • Air conditioning could emit more carbon than the US by 2050

    Air conditioning systems around the world have the potential to produce more carbon dioxide a year by 2050 than the US does today, researchers have said. The study from a team at the University of Birmingham anticipates that air con usage will double over the next 25 years as increasingly high temperatures force people to remain indoors to stay cool. Even mid-range predictions suggest that electricity for cooling could reach 4,493TWh annually, and in the worst case be responsible for more carbon emissions globally than the modern-day US. Today, regions that need cooling the most, such as South Asia and Africa, have the least access to air con whereas wealthier regions such as Europe and North America have lower cooling needs but higher usage. In future, most of the extra emissions are…

  • European quantum project to test secure multi-user quantum networks over 20km

    A €6m German research project aims to move quantum communication networks out of the lab and into real-world, multi-node infrastructure. Currently, quantum communication can only take place through a direct link between two specific points. The QCyber project, led by the University of Stuttgart, aims to develop secure quantum network applications for multiple users. Professor Stefanie Barz of the University of Stuttgart, who is coordinating the project, said: “Quantum networks studied so far typically connect only two users. But in practice, often multiple parties need to communicate securely at the same time.” The €6m QCyber project, which will run until the end of 2028, is being funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space over three years. It will field-test…

  • Scrapping business class could halve aviation emissions, according to study

    Higher load factors and less premium-class seating could make air travel far more efficient, according to a University of Oxford study. Aviation is widely recognised as a hard-to-abate sector. Although there are mandates in place for the use of sustainable aviation fuels and much research into hydrogen-powered and electric aircraft – as well as other designs and technologies including blended wing aircraft – much of these remain in the early stages. In an international study led by the university, researchers set out to discover what impact could be made to reducing aviation’s carbon emissions by simply using planes more efficiently. For instance, this could be by ensuring they aren’t flying with empty seats by scaling back on premium-class seating and replacing older, inefficient aircraft…

  • From the archives: Time zones, microchips and Teflon

    Tanya Weaver looks back at standard time zones, Teflon products and the birth of microchips. Teflon as we know it today was discovered by accident in 1938. Chemist Roy J Plunkett was experimenting with refrigerant tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) in the labs of US chemicals company DuPont. During these tests he noticed that one cylinder of TFE gas failed to release as expected when its valve was opened. Cutting the cylinder open, he found that the gas inside had solidified into a white, waxy substance. Intrigued, he did some tests that led him to the conclusion that the gas had polymerised spontaneously, forming polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) resin. This slippery solid had several remarkable properties including being inert to virtually all chemicals and an extremely high melting point. Having…

  • Tech firms must remove non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours – or face UK block

    The UK government has proposed new plans requiring tech platforms to remove non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours, or risk fines and potential blocking. Under the plans, victims would only have to report the image once to ensure its removal across multiple platforms, rather than having to contact each platform individually. Once flagged, tech firms will not only be legally required to remove the content within 48 hours but to ensure it’s automatically blocked at every future upload. Failure to do so could result in fines of up to 10% of the platform’s qualifying worldwide revenue or having its services blocked in the UK. The government said that intimate image abuse should be treated with the same severity as child sexual abuse and terrorism content. The new law is being made…

  • ATLAS-1 satellite to demonstrate high-speed, secure laser communication from space

    Space start-up Astrolight is preparing to launch its first laser-based communication satellite, which can provide data rates of up to 1Gbps from space without the use of radio waves. With the Earth’s orbit getting increasingly crowded, operators of smallsats – compact, low-mass spacecraft typically weighing under 500kg – are struggling with radio spectrum licensing. The limitation means they often have to sacrifice downlink speed to afford missions and face a higher risk of signal interference. While big players such as Starlink already use laser communication as an alternative means of communication, very few smallsat-friendly solutions have been proven in orbit. The Lithuania-based Astrolight has been developing a satellite dubbed ATLAS-1 with a focus on keeping the size, weight and power…

  • Green hydrogen to fuel construction at Lower Thames Crossing as project targets net zero

    Over 2,500 tonnes of green hydrogen from UK hydrogen supplier GeoPura will power construction machinery at the Lower Thames Crossing project. The hydrogen will replace more than 12 million litres of diesel at the site in Essex. According to National Highways, which is managing the project, the use of hydrogen is expected to save an estimated 30,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions during construction. Approximately 23km in length, the £10bn Lower Thames Crossing will connect Kent, Thurrock and Essex with two tunnels – one northbound and one southbound – running beneath the River Thames. The project was given the go-ahead by the UK government last year, with an expected completion date of 2031. National Highways has said that it will be the first major British infrastructure project to be carbon…

  • Hinkley Point C faces further delays as costs continue to mount

    Hinkley Point C, the UK’s first nuclear plant in a generation, is now not expected to start generating electricity until 2030 at the earliest in yet another delay to the project. French energy giant EDF, which has been overseeing construction on the nuclear plant, blamed the delay on lower-than-expected productivity on its major electromechanical installation programme. The programme includes installation works such as piping, cabling and system integration for both reactor units – although only Unit 1, the first reactor, is expected to begin generating in 2030. Unit 2 is generally expected to come online about one year after Unit 1, which suggests it will be the early 2030s based on how the project timeline is currently understood. Workers only lifted the 245-tonne steel dome onto Unit…

  • Proximity to US nuclear plants linked to 115,000 cancer deaths since 2000

    People living near nuclear power plants in the US face a higher risk of cancer compared to the average across the country, researchers at Harvard University have said. The study is the first this century to compare the proximity of nuclear power plants with cancer mortality across all facilities in the US and across every county. It also comes as countries around the world are looking to ramp up installations of nuclear power plants as a low-carbon source of baseload energy on the electricity grid. The researchers looked at data collected between 2000 and 2018 using “continuous proximity”. Advanced statistical modelling was used to capture the cumulative impact of all nearby nuclear power plants, rather than just one, even those located across the Canadian border. The data also took other…

  • Nasa blames leadership failings and technical faults in Boeing Starliner investigation

    The disastrous maiden voyage for Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft has been described as a “Type A mishap” by Nasa. Nasa’s original intent was to partially fund two projects – Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX’s Dragon – so that it would have multiple options for an astronaut transfer vehicle. After a lengthy and troubled development period, Starliner finally underwent its first launch in June 2024 as part of a mission to send astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station (ISS). But once it reached the station, the capsule suffered thruster failures and helium leaks during the docking procedure that meant Nasa was not confident enough to let the passengers it had transported take the return trip. Wilmore and Williams were originally scheduled to spend just 10 days…

  • Microsoft etches terabytes into everyday glass for 10,000-year data storage

    A glass-based form of data storage that could preserve information for 10,000 years has been developed by researchers at Microsoft. Long-term preservation of digital information has long challenged archivists and data centres. Magnetic tapes and hard drives typically degrade within decades, meaning the data has to be copied over to new mediums every few years to keep it readable. Microsoft’s research arm has been trying to encode data on glass plates since 2019 as part of Project Silica, which aims to develop a more viable alternative to long-term data storage. As a storage technology, Silica offers volumetric data densities higher than current magnetic tapes, with over 7TB capable of being stored in a square glass platter the size of a DVD. While magnetic tapes are also prone to environmental…

  • GPS on Mars? New system lets Perseverance rover locate itself within 25cm

    Nasa has developed a new technology that allows Perseverance, its most recently deployed Mars rover, to locate itself on the planet with an accuracy within 25cm. Though it carries tools it can use to determine its general location, until now the rover has needed operators on Earth to tell it precisely where it is. Previously Perseverance tracked its position using visual odometry by analysing geologic features in camera images taken every few feet while accounting for wheel slippage. But as tiny errors in the process added up over the course of each drive, the rover became increasingly unsure about its exact location. This can be a problem when, due to planetary alignment, communication with Perseverance can be limited to just twice in a day, meaning it sometimes has to wait hours before…

  • British Steel to supply 36,000 tonnes of rail for Turkish rail line

    British Steel has secured a massive order worth “tens of millions of pounds” to provide materials for a major high-speed electric railway in Turkey. The deal comes amid continued uncertainty over the future operation of its steel production sites in Scunthorpe and Teesside. British Steel is currently in limbo – while it is still technically owned by Jingye Group, the Scunthorpe plant itself has been effectively nationalised and taken out of Chinese control. In April, parliament passed emergency legislation to give the government sweeping powers to control the management of the plant and ensure that production continues so that the UK retains some level of steelmaking capacity as a national security necessity. The latest deal with Turkey will see British Steel supply 36,000 tonnes of rail…

  • Earth-observation missions redesigned to cut risk of space junk strikes

    Earth-observation satellites deliver data that is critical in monitoring the progress of climate change, but they are increasingly at risk as the upper atmosphere becomes more congested. Now, University of Manchester researchers have developed a way to design Earth-observation satellite missions that could help to protect the space environment and minimise the risk of satellites being struck by space debris. There are currently around 11,800 active satellites in orbit, with some predictions suggesting that this could rise to more than 100,000 by the end of the decade. This would raise the risk of collisions exponentially, further increasing the amount of debris in orbit. Lead author John Mackintosh, PhD researcher at the University of Manchester, said: “Our research addresses what is…

  • Antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in ice cave could help in battle against superbugs

    A bacterial strain discovered frozen in an underground cave is resistant to 10 antibiotics, which could give scientists clues on preventing the rise of antimicrobial resistance. Bacteria have evolved to adapt to Earth’s most extreme conditions, from scorching heat to temperatures well below zero. Ice caves host a variety of micro-organisms representing a source of genetic diversity that has not yet been studied extensively. Researchers have carried out antibiotic resistance tests on bacteria found inside a 5,000-year-old layer of ice in the Scarisoara ice cave in Romania. “The Psychrobacter SC65A.3 bacterial strain isolated from Scarisoara ice cave, despite its ancient origin, shows resistance to multiple modern antibiotics and carries over 100 resistance-related genes,” said Cristina…

  • Driverless cars could soon see around corners with HoloRadar system

    The safety of autonomous vehicles could be boosted with a new system that allows robots to see around corners. Developed by engineers at the University of Pennsylvania, HoloRadar enables robots to see around corners by using radio waves that are processed by AI. Robots equipped with the technology were able to reconstruct three-dimensional scenes outside their direct line of sight, including pedestrians. Unlike previous approaches to non-line-of-sight perception, which have depended on visible light, HoloRadar works reliably in darkness and under variable lighting conditions. “Robots and autonomous vehicles need to see beyond what’s directly in front of them,” said assistant professor Mingmin Zhao. “This capability is essential to help robots and autonomous vehicles make safer decisions…

  • A generation of UK railway electrification lost because of intermittent funding

    Efforts to electrify the UK’s railways have been hampered by a boom and bust approach to funding that leaves most of the network still reliant on polluting diesel trains, MPs on the Transport Select Committee have said. In the UK, approximately 38% of the rail network is electrified, equating to around 6,000km of track. This puts the system behind many European contemporaries, despite the UK’s relatively small land mass. In a report – Rail investment pipelines: ending boom and bust – the committee said that fluctuating public investment in railway infrastructure in recent decades has led to long delays in much needed improvements to the network while creating damaging uncertainty in the supply chain. In 2018, Jo Johnson, who was rail minister at the time, promised to take diesel-only…

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