• Smart motorway rollout paused for five years over safety concerns

    A ‘smart motorway’ is intended to alleviate road congestion by utilising live traffic-management measures, such as opening up the hard shoulder as a traffic lane. Sections of the M1, M4-6, M25, M42 and M62 can operate as smart motorways but safety concerns have been raised recently following fatal incidents involving broken-down vehicles being stranded in live lanes and subsequently struck from behind by a fast-moving vehicle. In November, the Commons Transport Select Committee called for the rollout to be paused on account of safety concerns. The DfT has announced that as well as pausing the rollout for five years, it will invest £900m to improve safety on existing all-lane running (ALR) motorways. After this point, the government says it will assess the data and make an informed decision…

  • Toshiba launches high-energy, high-power rechargeable lithium-ion battery

    Key innovations claimed by Toshiba for its new 20Ah-HP SCiB rechargeable lithium-ion battery cell are heat-generation control, long life and compatibility. The amount of heat generated through battery usage or charging has been reduced, the company says, whilst simultaneously extending the lifespan in the same 20Ah form factor. This makes it a good candidate for situations where battery cells must suppress heat and operate continuously, such as during the rapid charging of commercial vehicles, regenerative power systems for rolling stock, and industrial equipment. Suitable use cases include electric vehicles, logistics and other types of transport such as hybrid electric trucks. Toshiba observed that the market is increasingly demanding batteries that deliver both high-energy and high-power…

  • Idealism needs to be backed with realism to cut carbon emissions

    A Western guy, let’s call him Doug, walks into a rural African village. Horrified, he runs over to a woman cooking over a wood-burning stove. “You can’t do that,” he says, “think of the pollution!” Doug offers her a solution: “From now on you must use this bright and shiny hydrogen stove, and I’ll even come back every week to sell you the hydrogen fuel. By the way, that’s £250 for the stove – I know it’s expensive, but think of all the good you’ll be doing the planet!” Doug’s position is clearly inappropriate, but if we extend the perspective to a country-to-country level, perhaps, that isn’t so apparent. Let’s consider international oil and gas and its evident clash with a net-zero global agenda. Can we legitimately demand, Doug-like, that all countries stop extracting fossil fuels? If…

  • 3D-printer customised to make OLED displays

    Researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities believe the discovery could result in low-cost OLED displays in the future that could be widely produced using 3D printers by anyone at home, instead of by technicians in expensive microfabrication facilities. The OLED display technology is based on the conversion of electricity into light using an organic material layer and are widely used in both large-scale devices such as television screens and monitors as well as handheld electronics such as smartphones. “OLED displays are usually produced in big, expensive, ultra-clean fabrication facilities,” said Michael McAlpine, senior author of the study. “We wanted to see if we could basically condense all of that down and print an OLED display on our table-top 3D printer, which was custom…

  • HS2 trains will run solely on zero-carbon energy

    This commitment is part of broader aims to make the project net-zero carbon from 2035, with targets of diesel-free construction sites and major reductions in carbon emissions from the steel and concrete used to build the railway. HS2 minister Andrew Stephenson said the decision would help the government fulfil its climate ambitions including a greener transport network. The first diesel-free construction sites are expected sometime this year, while carbon emissions from the steel and concrete used in the project will be reduced by 50 per cent by 2030 compared with 2021 levels. To help achieve this, HS2 is collaborating with research organisations to accelerate innovation in low-carbon technologies such as alternative fuels and renewable energy. A major trade union criticised the government…

  • Climate change again tops ranking of global concerns as pandemic subsides

    The climate crisis was already topping the survey prior to the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. But with the global economy slowly recovering from the impact of the virus, climate concerns have topped the Global Risks Report once again. Between 2017 and 2019, weapons of mass destruction were the biggest concern among polled experts as North Korea ramped up its nuclear programme. The WEF said the most frequently documented risks associated with climate action failure are physical risks, such as an increase in the frequency and severity of severe weather. But the risks linked to the transition to a net-zero future are also getting more attention. The report claims that a “disorderly transition” would have wide impacts businesses that could cause significant economic volatility and…

  • Reducing air pollution lowers dementia risk, study finds

    Previous studies have shown that exposure to air pollution later in life is connected to a higher risk of developing dementia, but until now it has been unknown how improving air quality would impact brain health. The researchers analysed the link between reductions in air pollution and the development of dementia among women aged 74 to 92 using third-party data. The women, who did not have dementia at the beginning of the study, were given annual cognitive function tests from 2008 to 2018 to determine whether they developed dementia. Using participants’ home addresses, the study group created mathematical models to estimate air pollution levels at these locations over time. Among women living in locations with the greatest reductions in two types of air pollutants — fine particulate…

  • View from Washington: Theranos 5 - We ain't done yet

    So Elizabeth Holmes has been found guilty. Just over a week ago, a jury found convicted the former CEO of failed blood-test company Theranos on four of 11 counts brought by the US government, three of wire fraud and one of conspiracy to defraud investors. Holmes was found not guilty of four other charges and the jury could not reach a decision on three more. After a four-month trial, the verdicts appear to set boundaries on how far you can go in faking it until you make it. Moreover, while Holmes introduced allegations of abuse by her former partner (and fellow C-level Theranos exec) Ramesh ‘Sunny’ Balwani, an apparently sympathetic jury decided they were largely irrelevant to the actual charges. What might surprise you on that last point is how much of Silicon Valley’s ‘me too’ community…

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    E+T Magazine

  • View from India: Agile approach drives manufacturing recovery

    Budgetary allocations have trimmed during the pandemic. It means that manufacturing units have to cut down on the time taken to deliver goods. Consequently, tech tools are being deployed at various stages of manufacturing to fast-track go-to-market plans with products. While the manufacturing industry has always leveraged technology, this time the focus is on solutions that offer precision and updates to mitigate risk. Data analytics are being tapped for gauging the activities in the manufacturing plant through the dashboard. Simulations are happening through AR-VR (augmented reality/virtual reality).    Diverse verticals are likely to reorient their production units. It may be inclusive in nature and the products are expected to be multifunctional. Over time, the inclusive approach of…

  • Lower public transport usage risks Londoner’s health, Sadiq Khan warns

    According to Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, pollution leads to 4,000 Londoners dying early each year, increasing the economic and resource burden on the health service. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, public transport usage has fallen and has yet to recover to 2019 levels as people try to avoid crowded spaces that put them at risk of contracting the virus. The share of trips by public transport in 2020 dropped fourteen per cent compared to 2019, while car use remained high. Car travel has been the most resilient transport mode throughout the pandemic, with usage close to pre-pandemic levels for much of the latter half of 2021. Meanwhile, according to the Mayor’s office, more than a third of car trips made by Londoners could be walked in under 25 minutes and two thirds could…

  • 50 US airports get 5G buffer zones as controversy continues

    Early last week, AT&T and Verizon Communications agreed to buffer zones around 50 airports to reduce the risk of 5G-related disruption from potential interference to sensitive aircraft instruments such as altimeters. The two companies also agreed to delay deployment of their their 5G plans for two weeks, averting an aviation safety stand-off. The FAA's list includes airports in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Detroit, Dallas, Philadelphia, Seattle and Miami. The FAA said the list does "not necessarily" mean that low-visibility flights cannot occur at airports that are not among the initial 50. AT&T and Verizon, which won nearly all of the C-Band spectrum in an $80bn auction last year, declined to comment when invited by Reuters. The FAA subsequently renewed…

  • Goldfish learns to drive lidar-equipped vehicle

    The team at Ben-Gurion University developed an FOV - a fish-operated vehicle. The robotic car is fitted with lidar, a remote sensing technology that uses pulsed laser light to collect data on the vehicle's ground location and the fish's whereabouts inside a mounted water tank. A computer, camera, electric motors and omni-wheels give the fish control of the vehicle. "Surprisingly, it doesn't take the fish a long time to learn how to drive the vehicle. They're confused at first. They don't know what's going on, but they're very quick to realise that there is a correlation between their movement and the movement of the machine that they're in," said researcher Shachar Givon. Six goldfish, each receiving around 10 driving lessons, took part in the study. Each time one of them reached a target…

  • Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope completes full assembly

    The $10bn telescope was finished years late at a cost far higher than planned, but was finally launched on Christmas Day and is already more than halfway towards its destination approximately one million miles from Earth. This initial deployment phase sparked anxiety in the teams of engineers that designed it as it had 344 single points of failure when it left the Earth and no way to correct any physical problems should anything go wrong. The most complicated and critical task, unrolling and stretching out its tennis-court-sized sunshield, was completed last week . This included pins that had to release, latches to lock into place and a host of other mechanisms that needed to perform as planned. With the full deployment of its 6.4 metre, gold-coated primary mirror over the weekend, Nasa…

  • High-intensity pulses of light found to eliminate water contaminants

    This photodegradation process was already known to be feasible, its use was limited by the long treatment times it required. But researchers at KAUST in Saudi Arabia have now demonstrated that it can be dramatically sped up by using high-intensity light pulses generated from a xenon flash lamp. “An interesting aspect of this work is that we combined the expertise and technologies of two different fields,” said researcher Luca Fortunato. The team used a pulsed light system that was previously used to process semiconductor materials for transistors and solar cells. Organic micropollutants (OMPs), which are known as emerging contaminants, include a long list of pharmaceuticals, hormones, compounds in personal care products and industrial chemical additives. They are an increasing problem…

  • Microbiome research boosted with £10m ‘Centre for the Holobiont’

    The Centre, which has been awarded £10m in funding over ten years by the Leverhulme Trust, is led by a network of researchers across Imperial College London and includes partners at the Wellcome Sanger Institute; the EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI); the Natural History Museum; Royal Botanic Gardens Kew; CABI; the Rosalind Franklin Institute; the Mary Lyon Centre; ZSL London Zoo, and the Tara Oceans Consortium. ‘Holobiont’ is a term given to a larger organism, such as a human, animal or plant, and its associated community of microbes. Many of these microbial communities, often called ‘microbiomes’, are relied upon by the host organism, for example the ‘good bacteria’ that live in our guts and keep us healthy. Professor Thomas Bell, from the Department of Life Sciences…

  • Dear Evil Engineer: Can I put sunglasses on the Earth and plunge it into darkness?

    Dear Evil Engineer, I am a creature of darkness, by which I mean that I am nocturnal. I suffer from extraordinary light sensitivity, which forces me to restrict my waking hours to between dusk and dawn. This is of great inconvenience to me, particularly in summer. I resent being unsynchronised with the rest of the world. I live in a town in East Europe and its nightlife scene consists of some kebab shops, the second-nicest gym in town, and a golf-themed bar. Diurnal normativity has caused silent suffering for my kind for many centuries. The rest of the world must be forced to experience this life of darkness. Could you tell me how to put a big pair of sunglasses on the Earth, so the sun no longer shines on the world? Yours, A vampire   Dear villain, Your letter touches on a controversial…

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    E+T Magazine

  • View from Brussels: Atom-smashers and gas guzzlers

    Last year, EU officials published a set of guidelines for investors that spells out what should be considered a sustainable option for their cash injections. It essentially doles out green labels and could unlock billions in investments. But the guidelines - known as the taxonomy, a classic piece of incomprehensible EU jargon - omitted two major issues: nuclear and gas power. The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, said that particular chapter would be filled in at a later date. Well that later date ended up being the 31 December, just a few minutes before midnight. The Commission, in some sort of mad rush to get it off its 2021 books, published its plan before the new year clock started to strike twelve. Nuclear and gas power both should be included in the taxonomy, according…

  • Manufacturers express positive outlook for 2022, despite reservations

    Britain’s manufacturers are more positive about the growth outlook as they enter 2022, with greater confidence in the prospects for their own companies than either the global or UK economies, according to the survey, published today. However, despite the positivity expressed, the overall picture remains clouded with conflicting issues and pressures demanding attention. The ' 2022 Make UK/PwC Senior Executive ' survey shows the scale of uncertainty facing business in the current turbulent global environment, with more than half of companies saying the biggest challenges facing them had changed in the last twelve months. The optimism expressed by those polled is tempered by the ongoing fight to attract and retain talent, along with escalating input costs generally. While two-thirds of companies…

  • Czech Republic plans to phase out coal by 2033

    The country plans to replace most of the lost energy output by ramping up its nuclear and renewable energy facilities. The election in October 2021 saw incumbent Prime Minister and billionaire populist Andrej Babiš lose out to a centre-right coalition led by Petr Fiala. “We will create such conditions for the energy transformation and development of coal regions to make it possible to phase out coal by the year 2033,” Fiala said. The country has long been reliant on coal, which is the most carbon-producing fossil fuel. It currently accounts for almost 50 per cent of Czech energy production. Other European countries including Spain and Finland have pledged to end the use of coal in energy production by 2030, while the UK plans to phase it out by 2025 . Environmentalists are concerned…

  • BMW unveils ‘colour-changing’ car made of e-ink

    Called the BMW iX Flow, the prototype vehicle allows drivers to adapt the exterior colour of the vehicle to different situations. The colour changes are made possible by a specially developed body wrap that is tailored to the contours of the all-electric Sports Activity Vehicle from BMW. When stimulated by electrical signals, the electrophoretic technology brings different colour pigments to the surface, causing the body skin to take on the desired colouration. E-ink, or ePaper technology, is typically found in e-readers like Amazon’s Kindle and other devices. Its use on the IX flow means that the vehicle is limited to switching between black and white and shades of grey in between. Image credit: BMW Unlike conventional flat panel displays that emit light,…

  • Cell cultures offer sustainable alternative to egg protein

    Powder from the whites of chicken eggs is a commonly used ingredient in the food industry, due to the high-quality protein it contains. The annual consumption of egg white protein in 2020 was around 1.45 million tonnes, and the market is expected to expand further in the coming years. This growing demand raises questions about both sustainability and ethics. Parts of the egg white production chain, such as rearing chickens for egg laying, generate large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to water scarcity, biodiversity loss, and deforestation. Additionally, intensive chicken farming has resulted in outbreaks of zoonotic disease by serving as an important reservoir for human pathogens. This is not to mention the many animal welfare issues associated with poultry farming. …

  • Scottish nuclear plant Hunterston B shuts down after 46 years in operation

    The station, which cost around £143m to build, first came online in 1976 and is located six miles south of Largs on Scotland’s west coast. The French-state owned EDF Energy, which runs the plant, announced last summer that defueling the station would begin no later than today as the first step in the nuclear decommissioning process. In 2012, EDF estimated that the plant could technically and economically operate until 2023, but it hastened its closure by a year with the defueling announcement. It has faced a series of technical faults over its lifespan, with the first incident occurring in 1977, just 18 months after it first started generating. In that incident it was reported that seawater had entered the reactor through a modification of the secondary cooling system which was designed…

  • E3 2022 to be held virtually amid Covid-19 surge in US

    E3 is still months away, usually taking place at California’s Los Angeles Convention Centre in June and attracting more than 50,000 industry and public delegates. It is, of course, impossible to predict the state of the pandemic at that time given the many factors affecting the spread and severity of the novel coronavirus. However, as rapid spread of the Omicron variant pushes the rolling seven-day average of new Covid-19 cases in the US above 500,000 this week, accompanied by a surge in hospitalisations, event organisers are practicing caution and making early calls to scale down, postpone, or digitise upcoming events. The latest announcement adds to a list of tentpole events being disrupted by the highly transmissible Omicron variant. Organisers of the Grammy Awards and the Sundance Film…

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    E+T Magazine

  • Money & Markets: Taper Tightening and Tantrums

    In normal times it is still the case that industry cannot survive without a never-ending supply of debt from which to borrow. With the pandemic, the only way economies could survive pandemic countermeasures was for governments to artificially create great quantities of new money, forcing it into the financial system to bail everyone out. There is hardly an engineering company in the world that would survive the freezing of the debt markets because without the ability to roll the bonds and loans all large companies carry, they would become insolvent and fall into bankruptcy. This is why when central banks speak, everyone listens, because they control the levers of that system and even small changes have big impacts. As I write it is not proven but it is definitely hoped that the Omicron variant…

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    E+T Magazine

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