• NATS to conduct ‘full investigation’ into UK flight crisis

    National Air Traffic Services (NATS) has launched an investigation into a recent technical failure that saw more than 2,000 flights cancelled and 330,000 passengers impacted across UK airports. The glitch, which was first reported by NATS on the afternoon of 8 September, effectively meant that air traffic control had to switch to manual operations, limiting the volume of aircraft allowed into UK airspace. An update an hour later confirmed the breakdown had been traced to its flight processing system at the Swanwick Centre in Hampshire. While a fix in the form of a software patch was implemented, the issue was not fully resolved until that evening. In the space of less than five hours, the domino effect of so many flights being unable to take off led to travel chaos across 15 major airports…

  • Apple finally enters foldable smartphone market with £1,999 iPhone Duo

    Apple has finally announced its much-anticipated iPhone Duo, the company’s first-ever foldable smartphone. The tech giant has opted for a passport style form factor when the device is shut rather than the typical rectangular shape found on most smartphones. The firm’s recently-appointed CEO John Ternus called it the “most transformational change to iPhone since the original.” The new device sees Apple playing catch up with rivals like Samsung which released its first foldable smartphone all the way back in 2019. While the segment still remains niche – representing just 1.5% to 2% of total global smartphone shipments – it is currently the fastest-growing in the mobile industry. This year, analysts expect foldable shipments will increase by around 30% year-on-year compared to the largely…

  • LG smart TVs caught ‘spying’ on users even when offline or on standby

    The South Korean tech giant LG is alleged to be using its smart TVs to harvest extensive household data even when screens are turned off. The allegations come after a three-month investigation by YouTube channel Gamers Nexus, which worked with technology platform Level1Techs and independent cybersecurity researchers to analyse the tracking capabilities of LG’s retail OLED models like the G3 and G5 series. In their resulting 135-minute investigative video, Gamers Nexus editor-in-chief Steve Burke claims that LG is operating "216,000,000 spy TVs". “LG TVs are able to be utilised as eavesdropping listening devices in part because of the advertising functionality that’s built into them,” said Burke in the video. This is not the first time that smart TVs have been accused of tracking and…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • UK data centre boom could create just a quarter of promised jobs

    The rapid expansion of data centres in the UK will only lead to around a quarter of the number of jobs currently cited by the government, the environmental thinktank Verdant has said. The UK government and the data centre industry has frequently cited claims from lobby group techUK that over 40,000 new jobs could be generated by 2035 due to the rapid proliferation of data centres. But Verdant says the figure isn’t grounded in actual employment data from new facilities and is instead an extrapolation from older aggregate figures that don’t hold up to scrutiny. Drawing on a database of planned data centres, Verdant believes that a more realistic estimate for UK data centre employment is just 10,400 total direct jobs nationally, a fraction of the number claimed by techUK. TechUK uses a jobs…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Audi unveils compact £32,200 EV with up to 400 mile range to rival Chinese models

    German automaker Audi has revived its early 2000s premium entry-level car, but this time it’s all-electric. The A2 e-tron will serve as Audi’s entry-level EV - with prices starting at £32,200 in the UK - replacing the retired A1 supermini and Q2 crossover. It is a revival of the A2 supermini, but while it maintains its namesake’s distinctive bubble-like silhouette, much of the technology is all new. Built on the VW's MEB modular electric platform, the 4.3m long, rear-wheel-drive hatchback achieves low energy consumption of just 12.8 kWh per 100 km, with power outputs ranging from 168 bhp up to 322 bhp. The figures suggest the EV is significantly more frugal in terms of energy usage than most compact rivals like the Nissan Leaf or Peugeot e-308, and instead rivals aerodynamic sedans like…

  • Straw offers low-carbon route to meeting UK’s 300,000 homes annual target

    The UK could meet housing targets of building up to 300,000 new homes each year by swapping high-carbon building materials for locally produced straw. The UK produces around 9.9 million tonnes of straw every year, far more than would be needed as a construction material to meet the government’s housebuilding targets. According to researchers at the University of Bath, agricultural straw could replace high-emission materials such as concrete and steel, while storing carbon in buildings. Using straw in construction could also help to bolster the agricultural sector by diversifying farmers’ revenue streams by turning an underutilised byproduct into a higher value building material. Currently there are a number of factors holding back the use of straw in construction. Most prominently, there…

  • Europe’s largest cross-border carbon capture project opens

    Norwegian chemical giant Yara International has officially inaugurated its carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in Sluiskil, the Netherlands, making it Europe’s largest commercial cross-border operation of its kind. The project will capture CO2 produced during manufacturing at the Yara Sluiskil plant, liquefy it and ship it to Norway, where it will be permanently stored deep beneath the seabed. Yara Sluiskil is a major producer of nitrogen fertilisers, which are used to support global food production. To make these fertilisers, the plant manufactures ammonia, a process that releases vast amounts of greenhouse gas. The CCS project aims to capture and liquefy up to 800,000 tonnes of CO2 yearly from its ammonia production. This will be transported by Northern Lights to a permanent storage…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Rail freight to increase by 40% by 2040 under new government target

    By 2040, the government wants a 40% increase in goods moved by rail freight, transport minister Heidi Alexander has told the Commons. Rail freight is considered to be a key part of decarbonising Britain’s transport system. A single train can replace up to 129 heavy goods vehicles, helping to cut down on road congestion. While a tonne of freight moved by rail produces about a quarter of the carbon emissions it does by road. But despite its environmental benefits, it is estimated that rail freight only accounts for around 10% of surface freight across the UK today. The government had previously set a target of boosting rail freight by 75% by 2050 from 2022/2023 baseline traffic levels, but has now set an interim target of 40% by 2040. Goods carried by rail freight are already worth almost…

  • London Underground-style ‘Tube map’ used to model nuclear fuel cycle options

    Researchers have applied London’s iconic Tube map to help visualise the complexities of different nuclear fuel cycle options. Nuclear energy is already considered a sustainable energy source. However, the simplest fuel cycle option - the Once-Through Cycle (OTC) - has an environmental question mark over its end-to-end sustainability, particularly over the permanent disposal of used radioactive fuels. Other options involve different degrees of closing the fuel cycle by recycling and reusing materials from these used fuels. In their study, a research team based at the Dalton Nuclear Institute at The University of Manchester, wanted to examine how six different options for the nuclear fuel cycle, all with different degrees of materials recycling, could improve the sustainability of nuclear…

  • Electric aircraft-boat hybrid takes its first manned flight

    An electric aircraft capable of simultaneously operating as a boat has completed its first human crewed flight. Regent Craft’s Seaglider is a 12-passenger vessel that flies just above coastal waters using wing-in-ground effect technology. It can float like a boat before rising onto retractable hydrofoils for wave tolerance near docks, and low-altitude flying. While it only has 160 nautical mile range with existing batteries, Regent Craft says it can be upgraded to have a range over 400 nautical miles with next generation technology. Its first manned flight took place at Regent’s headquarters in Rhode Island, USA. With a crew of two captains aboard, the Seaglider flew a distance of 596m at a height of 10m above the water for 30 seconds. The Regent team spent the summer increasing the…

  • Does screen time create as many problems as we believe?

    The UK government’s proposed ban on social media for under-16s has widespread support – but will it solve the problems we perceive social media creates? For the first time, a large-scale experiment intends to find the answers. At social gatherings, Professor Amy Orben tries to avoid revealing what she does for a living, because often it’s all parents want to talk about – and no wonder. For a decade she has investigated how digital technology affects children and adolescents, and the evidence is murky. Trying to find clear answers is a long-term, complex endeavour, whereas every parent wants to know what to do right now. New tech emerges far faster than scientists can study it. “Many parents feel they are making high-stakes decisions about their children’s development with very little clear…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Nuclear waste ‘cows’ could provide lifesaving cancer care

    Waste uranium is a treasure trove of valuable radionuclides – including thorium, which can be ‘milked’ for cutting-edge medical use in fighting cancers. In the century-and-a-bit since their discovery, radionuclides have found a welcoming home in medicine. The unstable atoms that undergo radioactive decay are widely used in diagnostic procedures such as PET and SPECT, where they light up cancers like beacons and illuminate the function and dysfunction of various organs. Much less usual is their therapeutic use, accounting for fewer than 5,000 procedures in the UK in 2015. However, therapeutic radionuclides are stirring up commercial interest for their potential to treat cancers. They work on a simple principle: radiation ionises cancer cells, damaging their DNA and preventing them from replicating…

  • Forever blowing bubbles: Why hype is an integral part of the tech business

    Tech bubbles grow, fuelled by hype, and often they burst. But despite their bad rep, do these bubbles play an important part in progress? For a company that built its reputation on rocket launches, SpaceX proved surprisingly keen to downplay that aspect as it prepared for its initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq stock exchange in June. Instead, the story the company told was designed to support a valuation well over $1tn. A chart in the prospectus summed up the company’s view of its ‘actionable total addressable market’. The chart showed digital advertising to be worth almost twice as much as the ‘space-enabled solutions’ that made it famous. Even its Starlink satcoms operations were deemed to be far smaller than the estimates for the AI infrastructure the company apparently aims…

  • The seven breakthroughs that built modern photography

    Two hundred years ago, a French inventor fixed the first permanent photograph on a pewter plate. Since then, engineering advances have transformed that eight-hour exposure into two trillion images a year. Here, E+T identifies the most significant and rates their influence today. The chemical process: making photography repeatableOn 7 January 1839, the French Academy of Sciences announced that Louis Daguerre (pictured) had perfected a process for fixing camera images on silver-coated copper plates with extraordinary sharpness and detail. The technical specifics were withheld, but the news reached England on 19 January. William Henry Fox Talbot, who had been developing his own paper-based photographic process since 1834, responded immediately. On 25 January, he exhibited paper photographs he…

  • How geopolitics is reshaping technology supply chains

    Technology supply chains have been twisted and torn in the new geopolitical era, and are now dependent on emerging national alliances. But are we all choosing the right friends? Supply chains used to be boring. They appeared stable, resilient and self-managing. Not anymore. Today, they are central to a major geopolitical realignment. Part of it is driven by great power rivalry; part of it by technology, particularly AI. However, these chains are proving resistant to change. Like the politics that surround them, they are fragmenting. Until recently, there was little need for new diplomatic alliances and supply agreements around critical minerals, energy and, moving up the digital stack, access to advanced technology. These chains reflected the apparent maturity of globalisation and the…

  • Health groups call for EU fossil fuel phase-out over air pollution

    The European Union Healthy Air Coalition (EUHAC), along with over 30 health organisations, has launched an appeal calling for a phase-out of fossil fuels. The joint statement calls on EU policymakers to immediately transition away from fossil fuels. “Climate change and air pollution are the greatest environmental threats to health in Europe, and burning fossil fuels is a major driver of both,” it reads. The EUHAC argues that Europe is the fastest warming continent in the world, with air pollution resulting in “hundreds of thousands of premature deaths annually.” Poor air quality affects the lungs and other organs, it has also been shown to have an impact on mental and neurological health. The statement cites a recent European Commission report which found that health damages from air…

  • ‘Lose weight or lose your job’: North Sea workers face helicopter limit

    Hundreds of North Sea offshore workers who exceed new helicopter safety limits are being offered weight-loss jabs to save their jobs, according to a report by The Telegraph. From 1 November 2026, any worker arriving at a heliport who weighs more than 124kg in their clothing and shoes will be barred from flying out to sea. The Safe Weight Limit Policy was introduced by trade body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) a year ago, with the mandatory compliance coming into force in less than two months. It was introduced because search and rescue helicopters in the UK, Norway and the Netherlands use winches with a strict maximum lift capacity of 249kg. If a worker has to be evacuated, when accounting for the weight of a rescue winchman, a stretcher, and emergency gear, their weight cannot exceed 124kg…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • US to build $100m rare earth magnet recycling plant amid China export restrictions

    US Strategic Metals (USSM) will build a $100m recycling plant for rare earth magnets in the US state of Missouri, as China continues to restrict their export. Built in collaboration with Ionic Rare Earths USA, the plant will recycle Neodymium-Iron-Boron (NdFeB) and Samarium-Cobalt (SmCo) – the two main types of rare-earth permanent magnets. As the materials have different magnetic strengths and temperature limits, they are typically used in slightly different products. Among other things, NdFeB is used in traction motors for electric vehicles (EV) – components that are in increasingly large demand as sales of EVs grow year-on-year. Rare earth magnets are also critical minerals in the development of wind turbines, as well as medical equipment, pumps, robotics and electronics. China has…

  • VW confirms 100,000 job cuts across its global operation by 2030

    Volkswagen (VW) will cut an additional 50,000 jobs across its global automotive group, bringing the total cuts to 100,000 by 2030, the carmaker has announced. As part of its Future Plan 2030, sweeping cost cutting measures will be implemented across the group, as well as model reductions. While rumours about the 100,000 job cut, which amount to roughly 15% of the group’s global staff, had been circulating earlier this year in the German press, the plans have now been formally approved by VW’s supervisory board. In total, the plan includes 12 “initiatives” designed to make the group and its brands “more resilient and competitive under demanding market conditions”. As well as the additional 50,000 job cuts, the other headline initiative of the restructure includes a staggered phase-out…

  • Onshore wind to save UK billpayers £3bn annually by 2030

    If government targets to reach 29GW of onshore wind by 2030 are met, households could save around £3bn a year, according to research from RenewableUK. As part of net zero goals, the government wants to ensure that clean energy sources will produce at least 95% of Great Britain’s electricity generation by 2030. Since the lifting of the de facto onshore wind ban in July 2024, the UK has seen a dramatic surge in planning applications and project pipelines, though this has not yet translated into a massive increase in physically built, operational turbines due to development timelines. The UK currently has 16.4GW of onshore wind fully operational, generating 12% of domestic electricity needs. According to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), the wholesale price of energy would have…

  • Melting permafrost to cause $261bn in infrastructure damage

    Arctic communities are facing a $261bn (£193bn) bill from infrastructure damage caused by melting permafrost. Permafrost is ground that permanently remains below freezing for at least two consecutive years. It covers about 24% of the Northern Hemisphere including large areas of Alaska, Canada, and Siberia. But in recent years, climate change has caused a significant reduction in permafrost, a pattern that is expected to increase in the coming decades as global temperatures rise. Researchers from the University of Connecticut believe that the damage caused from the melting events has been significantly underestimated, with previous studies only considering a building’s two dimensional structure. This is especially relevant for Siberian communities, with many residents living in multi-story…

  • Apple faces £2bn UK lawsuit over ‘unfair’ app privacy rules

    Apple is facing a £2bn legal action on behalf of thousands of UK app developers who allege its privacy framework hit their ad revenue while favouring its own services. In 2021, the tech giant introduced its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) Framework, a feature that requires apps to obtain user consent through a pop-up window before tracking their activity across other apps and websites. If users opt out, the app is blocked from tracking data used to deliver targeted ads. The claimants, represented by law firm Hausfeld, allege that the ATT framework was designed and implemented unfairly and without proper consultation. They also claim that these strict requirements don’t apply to Apple’s own offerings, with the tech firm using an internal pop-up to request user consent to personalised advertising…

  • London Underground 5G now rivals coverage above ground

    5G availability and signal strength on parts of London’s Underground are now comparable to those above ground, according to UK market analysis firm Ookla. While many other major capital cities around the world have introduced mobile coverage into their underground transport networks, London’s Tube has for many years been known as a mobile not-spot, much to the frustration of commuters. In 2021, Transport for London (TfL) committed to having full 4G or 5G coverage across the Tube’s 121 subterranean stations and tunnel system by the end of 2024. This deadline has been pushed to the end of this year, with more than 60% of the Tube’s network currently having coverage. To evaluate the signal quality in these areas, Ookla analysed over 50 million background signal scans collected across the…

  • Heathrow runway plans incompatible with UK climate targets, study finds

    There is no “credible scenario” where an expansion to Heathrow Airport can go ahead without making it extremely difficult for the UK to meet its legally binding climate targets, researchers have said. Chancellor Rachel Reeves gave the initial go-ahead on the controversial third runway at Britain’s largest airport soon after Labour entered office in the summer of 2024. But last year, MPs on the cross-party Environmental Audit Committee warned that the project, alongside other airport expansions, were inconsistent with the UK’s climate change goals and put the delivery of net zero carbon goals in “serious jeopardy”. Now, new modelling by a team at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at The University of Manchester has concluded that the two technologies relied upon to enable passenger…

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