• The UK’s manufacturing sector drops to 12th in world rankings, analysis shows

    Make UK, which represents manufacturers in the UK, has released its annual analysis of UK manufacturing in its report UK manufacturing: the facts 2024. The latest analysis of UK manufacturing from Make UK, formerly the Engineering Employers’ Federation, includes a wide variety of data about the contribution of UK manufacturing to the economy including exports, sectoral breakdown, R&D investment, salary levels and how the UK compares to other nations. The data reveals that the sector contributed £217bn in output to the economy last year, supporting 2.6 million jobs. Firms are investing more than in 2023, with £38.8bn worth of investment taking place. China remains the largest manufacturing nation with output worth $5.06tn (almost a third of global production), followed by the US with …

  • This summer marks the humble barcode’s 50th ‘scanniversary’

    The first modern barcode was scanned 50 years ago on a pack of Wrigley’s chewing gum at the checkout of a supermarket in the US city of Troy, Ohio. Taking inspiration from Morse Code, the barcode – with its series of narrow and wider lines – was first invented in 1948. A few years later a ‘barcode reader’ was developed but it wasn’t until the 1970s when the technology was commercially feasible to be used in the public sector. In the early 1970s, grocery executives hoping the barcode would provide an automated solution to rising labour costs through easily tracking their stores’ inventory, created a committee that developed the Universal Product Code (UPC) data standard. This committee chose the IBM barcode symbol over a half-dozen alternative designs. The first ever barcode scanned…

  • Data drives Dutch sailing at Olympics

    Sport has become obsessed with data, using it to gain the fine margins on which success rests. However, it is new to dinghy class sailing, and the Dutch team at the Paris Olympics is taking a data-driven approach in its quest for medals. Annemiek Bekkering is now retired from competitive sailing. She sailed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and again in Tokyo 2020, where she won a bronze medal in the women’s 49er FX. Her career spanned two decades, competing in multiple elite sailing events and rapidly establishing herself as a leading light in the Dutch sailing scene. Yet, in spite of complete dedication to sailing, and maximising her training opportunities and potential, there was a gap, a hole that, if filled, she knew would further enhance her performance and unlock greater…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Sustainable hydrogen gas produced using aluminium cans, seawater and caffeine

    Researchers have developed a new, sustainable method to produce hydrogen gas that uses easily accessible materials including aluminium soda cans, seawater and coffee grounds. The team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, believe the process could be a good, low carbon way to produce hydrogen for use in vehicles. The risk with powering vehicles with a tank full of hydrogen gas is that it is volatile and highly explosive, so the team looked for ways to use the fuel without having to transport it onboard. They discovered that when aluminium comes into contact with water, it undergoes a straightforward chemical reaction that generates hydrogen and heat. However, as soon as the aluminium is out the water and exposed to oxygen, the surface immediately forms a thin layer…

  • Martian rock discovered that contains signs of microbial life

    Nasa’s Perseverance rover has analysed a rock on Mars that has “some indications” it may have hosted microbial life billions of years ago. The vein-filled, arrowhead-shaped rock was nicknamed “Cheyava Falls” by the Nasa team. In an analysis by Perseverance’s instruments, it found the rock exhibits chemical signatures and structures that could possibly have been formed by life billions of years ago when the area being explored by the rover contained running water. But other explanations are also being considered and future research steps will be required to determine whether ancient life is a valid explanation. The rock was collected on 21 July, as the rover explored the northern edge of Neretva Vallis, an ancient river valley measuring 400 metres wide that was carved by water rushing…

  • Lack of data infrastructure threatens UK’s AI boom, report finds

    The UK’s AI boom could be hampered by a lack of data infrastructure, the Open Data Institute (ODI) has warned in a report. The non-profit research body, which was founded by internet creator Tim Berners-Lee, argues that AI technologies have significant potential to transform numerous industries including diagnostics and personalised education. But it predicted the potential gains could be impeded by “significant weaknesses” in the UK’s tech infrastructure and urged the government to take a number of actions to remedy the situation. This includes broader access to high-quality data from both the public and private sector; greater enforcement of data protection and labour rights in the data supply chain; updates to intellectual property laws to ensure AI models are being trained in a fair…

  • ULEZ expansion sees London’s air quality improve faster than the rest of England

    The expansion of London’s ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) is working better than predicted, with the capital’s air quality improving at a faster rate than the rest of England’s. According to a report from the Mayor of London’s office, pollutant emissions in 2023 reduced “dramatically”, with PM2.5 exhaust emissions from cars in outer London falling by around 22%. Within the outer London ULEZ area, nitrogen oxide emissions from cars and vans are estimated to be 13% and 7% lower than a scenario without the expansion. This is equivalent to removing 200,000 cars from the road for one year, the report claims. Since the expansion, 96% of vehicles seen driving within the zone are now compliant, with a 53% reduction in non-compliant vehicles in six months. It’s estimated that London sees around…

  • Great British Energy to develop ‘20-30GW’ of offshore wind farms with the Crown Estate

    Great British Energy will partner with the Crown Estate to build up to 20-30GW of new offshore wind developments, the Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced. The Great British Energy Bill was announced last week in the King’s Speech to enable the creation of the new publicly-owned energy company that will oversee the government’s push to further expand the UK’s carbon-free energy programme. The company will be backed by £8.3bn of new investment over the next parliament, with a goal to leverage a further £60bn in private investment. The Crown Estate, which ostensibly belongs to the monarchy, already has a £16bn portfolio of land and seabed. While it operates independently, all profits generated are returned to the Treasury. It estimates that the new partnership will lead to the creation…

  • National Highways starts trial of carbon-negative aggregate on stretch of M11 motorway

    National Highways is trialling a carbon-negative aggregate on a stretch of motorway in Essex in the hope of reducing the carbon footprint of our roads. According to the Asphalt Industry Alliance, asphalt roads account for over 95% of all UK roads, with 25 million tonnes produced nationally each year. It is also one of the largest sources of carbon emissions. In a bid to find solutions to help reduce its carbon footprint, National Highways, the government body overseeing England’s motorways and major roads, launched a low-carbon innovation competition last summer to find next-generation construction materials to help achieve its net zero targets. Four firms emerged as winners and received up to £80,000 each to move their products forward. Seaham-based Low Carbon Materials was the first…

  • 3D-printed blood vessels could improve heart bypass outcomes

    Researchers at the University of Edinburgh are undertaking research into the development of 3D-printed blood vessels, which closely mimic the properties of human veins, to improve the treatment of those living with cardiovascular disease. According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally, killing an estimated 17.9 million people each year. Coronary heart disease, which occurs when the coronary arteries that supply the heart with oxygen become narrowed by a gradual build-up of fatty material, is the most commonly diagnosed cardiovascular disease worldwide. The British Heart Foundation estimates that around 200 million people are living with the disease globally and it is now the cause of one in six deaths. Coronary artery bypass…

  • Lack of data hampers efforts to fix UK’s pothole problem, watchdog finds

    Britain’s pothole crisis is continuing to worsen and the Department for Transport (DfT) does not have enough data on local roads to allocate funding effectively, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said. In a report, the body said that given limited money, it is vital the DfT secures “maximum value from the funding it has available”. But at present the DfT does not have a good enough understanding of the condition of local roads or whether the funds it allocates are delivering improvements in road condition. While local authorities are supposed to report the proportion of their road networks that should be considered for maintenance each year, they do not provide all the data that the DfT mandates. For example, one-fifth of authorities did not share data on the proportion of their A roads…

  • London’s Kew Gardens could lose half its 11,000 trees to climate change, new report finds

    Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG) Kew has revealed the effects the projected future climate will have on the Garden’s 11,000 trees, 50% of which will be at risk. Kew Gardens, founded in 1840, consists of gardens, botanical glasshouses and Grade I and II listed buildings set over 330 acres in south-west London. RBG Kew says it houses the “largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world”. Spurred on by the loss of 400 trees during the drought of 2022, and the realisation that climate change is only going to bring about more such heatwaves and droughts, scientists at Kew decided to map and chronicle the climate risk to its vast collection of trees and woody shrubs over the coming decades. As much of Kew's planting took place more than 100 years ago, the species it…

  • Aircraft fitted with 5G antenna array could provide internet in disaster zones

    A group of UK companies have trialled an airborne 5G system that can provide internet coverage on the ground from an overhead aircraft. Cambridge-based Stratospheric Platforms Limited (SPL) is leading the design of the new technology with demonstration flights provided by manufacturer Britten-Norman. SPL said the technology could offer numerous valuable applications, such as quickly restoring networks after major disasters including earthquakes or tsunamis, where traditional mobile network infrastructure has been disrupted. A trial was conducted last week by Britten-Norman’s Flight Test Organisation that aimed to demonstrate the aircraft’s capability to operate safely with a large 5G phased array antenna installed. The trial tested aircraft performance and handling in both normal and…

  • Rolls-Royce secures further funding to progress its space nuclear reactor technology

    Rolls-Royce’s space nuclear power technology is one of a number of national projects to secure funding from the UK Space Agency (UKSA). The £4.8m awarded to Rolls-Royce under the UKSA’s National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP) will help it advance the development and demonstration of key technologies in the space nuclear micro-reactor. The Rolls-Royce NSIP, with a total project cost of £9.1m, aims to bring the nuclear micro-reactor closer to a full system space flight demonstration before 2030. Over the next 18 months, in collaboration with academic partners from the University of Oxford and Bangor University, this funding will help accelerate the programme further. The limiting factor for long-term space exploration is ensuring there is sufficient power onboard a spacecraft. Unlike…

  • Ofcom promises to crackdown on deepfakes as new detection method is discovered

    Ofcom has warned it will penalise online platforms that fail to tackle the rising number of illegal deepfakes as researchers develop a new process for detecting them using techniques normally deployed in astronomy. The regulator commissioned research that showed that two in five people have seen at least one deepfake in the last six months that includes depictions of sexual content, politicians and scam adverts. Concern over their proliferation on social media is ramping; in January, research was published revealing that more than 100 deepfake video ads impersonating Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had reached 400,000 people on Facebook as part of a concerted smear campaign ahead of the general election. According to Ofcom, among adults who say they have seen deepfake content, one in seven…

  • Latest Typhoon successor concept unveiled at Farnborough Airshow

    Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) partners have unveiled a new concept model of its next-generation combat aircraft. In December 2023, Britain, Japan and Italy signed an international treaty to set up the GCAP, a next-generation fighter jet programme. The aim of this strategically important partnership is to bring together the three governments and their respective industry partners – BAE Systems (UK), Leonardo (Italy) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (Japan) – to collaborate on shared military and industrial objectives in the development of the next-generation fighter jet. “The pace of the programme is extraordinary, building on a solid foundation and industrial legacy in each country and government-led partnership,” said Guglielmo Maviglia, chief global combat air programme officer…

  • Aviation sector faces sustainable aviation fuel mandate from January, government confirms

    A mandate on the aviation sector to supplant 2% of its jet fuel demand with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) will be in place from 1 January 2025, the government has confirmed. The mandate was first introduced by the previous Conservative administration in 2022 and requires the sector to ramp up its usage of SAF until at least 10% of UK aviation fuel is derived from sustainable sources by 2030. In a written statement to parliament, transport minister Louise Haigh said the Labour government would to stick to the previous government’s plan after introducing a bill to support SAF production in the King’s speech last month. SAF is considered a major tool in helping to lower climate change emissions from air travel – widely regarded as one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonise. SAF can…

  • Global electricity demand set to rise strongly in 2024 and into 2025, IEA report finds

    The International Energy Agency (IEA) Electricity mid-year update report forecasts that global electricity demand will grow by 4% in 2024 and continue to rise in 2025. Solar is expected to meet roughly half of this growth in demand. The report explores the latest data for 2023 and 2024, and uses it to forecast global electricity demand for 2025. The report also explores supply by fuel type and CO2 emissions from the power sector, and analyses the latest developments in major markets, including China, the US, the European Union and India. The findings reveal that global electricity demand will grow by around 4% in 2024, up from 2.5% in 2023 – the highest annual growth rate since 2007. This 4% growth is set to continue into 2025. Global economic growth, intense heatwaves and increasing…

  • Vertical Aerospace announces testing programme of next-gen eVTOL at Farnborough Airshow

    The five-day Farnborough International Airshow, one of the largest aerospace shows in the world, kicks off today. Among the many debuts, demonstrations and announcements is the news that global aerospace and technology company Vertical Aerospace will commence testing of its next generation VX4 eVTOL prototype. Founded in 2016, Bristol-headquartered Vertical Aerospace is on a mission to develop the “world’s most advanced and safest” Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft. As the Farnborough Air Show kicks off, the company has revealed that testing on its recently announced VX4 prototype – a piloted, four-passenger eVTOL aircraft, with zero operating emissions – has commenced. This will involve powered propulsion testing of the prototype’s powertrain, which includes proprietary…

  • Paris Olympics: enhancing athlete performance with AI

    Advances in AI have made this summer’s Paris Games the most technologically advanced Olympics ever. A modern-day Olympic Games is much more than a sporting spectacle. It’s also a chance for the host nation to parade itself in front of, in this summer’s case, an estimated 15 million travelling fans and another billion watching on TV. The Olympics gives associated businesses an opportunity to promote and present themselves to investors, customers and partners all over the world. And of course, the Games provides a global platform for the latest technologies. “The Olympic Games has always been a facilitator of technological innovation,” says Richard Haynes, professor of media sport at the University of Stirling. “If the Olympics isn’t actually driving innovation, it certainly provides a huge…

  • Major global IT outage involving Microsoft PCs causing mass disruption around the world

    Many organisations across the globe have today been faced with the ‘Blue Screen of Death’ on their Microsoft PCs caused by a faulty cyber-security update. The inability to reboot their systems has led to mass disruption. Earlier today many organisations, firstly in Australia, started reporting “IT issues”. In particular, Microsoft’s Windows 10 PCs were displaying the ‘Blue Screen of Death’, with the user then unable to reboot the system. What started as one or two reports has escalated to a mass global outage, with reports streaming in from firms and institutions from all corners of the globe. Emergency services across the world are affected, flights are grounded at many major international airports, trains are being delayed, broadcasters have gone off air and in-store payments in many…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Case against new Cumbrian coal mine reaches High Court, with owner claiming it is ‘net zero’

    The case against a new Cumbrian coal mine has entered the High Court, with the owner defending it as a “unique net zero” mine – while Friends of the Earth calls it a “zombie coal mine that would be a huge mistake for our environment, economy and international reputation”. In December 2022, more than a year after the International Energy Agency (IEA) indicated in its net zero emissions (NZE) scenario that there was no need for “new coal mines or mine extensions”, the West Cumbria Coal Mine (or Woodhouse Colliery Mine) became the first new deep coal mine to be approved in the UK in 30 years. The previous government granted a development consent order to West Cumbria Mining (WCM) for the development of the large underground metallurgical, or ‘coking coal’, mine at Whitehaven on the Cumbrian…

  • Australian solar project with 2,671 mile undersea cable to Singapore gains environmental approval

    Australian renewable energy company SunCable has announced it has obtained principal environmental approval from Australia’s Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority to develop its Australia-Asia Power Link (AAPowerLink) project. The objective of the AAPowerLink project is to harness energy from solar panel farms in Australia’s reliably sunny Northern Territory, in an area known as Powell Creek in the Barkly region. This renewable energy will be stored in a nearby battery storage facility and then transmitted 24/7 to Darwin and Singapore via a high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system. This includes 800km of overhead transmission to Darwin and 4,300km of subsea cables to Singapore. According to SunCable, AAPowerLink is the world’s largest renewable energy and transmission…

  • Dual-headed floating wind turbine designed for deep sea applications is assembled in China

    A Chinese wind turbine manufacturer is a step closer to installing its giant floating offshore wind turbine platform in deep water following its assembly in the port city of Guangzhou. MingYang Smart Energy has launched OceanX, its new 16.6MW floating wind turbine design featuring a dual-turbine ‘V’ shape and with blade diameters of 182 metres. The firm made the announcement on a LinkedIn post, stating that the “innovative design optimises wind capture and efficiency”. The turbine has been specifically designed to operate in waters deeper than 35 metres. To keep it in place, the V-shaped structure is braced with high-tension cable stays and mounted on a Y-shaped floating platform. The floating platform weighs approximately 15,000 tonnes and is constructed with ultra-high-performance…

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