• Britain’s £225m Isambard-AI supercomputer goes live – 10x faster than next-best machine

    Britain’s most powerful supercomputer, the £225m Isambard-AI, has been officially launched in Bristol with promises that it could enable breakthroughs in areas such as medicine, robotics and climate change. The supercomputer went from conception to deployment in just under two years and houses a colossal 21 exaflops of AI performance, powered by 5,448 NVIDIA GH200 Grace Hopper Superchips. Isambard-AI is more than 10 times faster than the UK’s next fastest supercomputer and has more computing power than all other UK supercomputers combined. Scientists at Bristol University believe it could open the door to a range of applications, such as faster, more accurate cancer diagnoses and new clean energy innovations. It is already being used to analyse recordings from wearable cameras and other…

  • Industry insight: Demystifying quantum technology

    This is article was written for E+T Magazine by Matt Himsworth, chief scientific officer at Aquark Technologies. In engineering, we’re always searching for more precise tools, more accurate measurements, and more innovative approaches to solving complex problems. The good news is that quantum technologies are emerging as powerful additions to our toolkit. Quantum is not merely a series of distant theoretical concepts; it’s providing us with practical applications ready for implementation across a range of engineering disciplines right now. Although quantum computing captures most of the headlines, the immediate use cases for quantum technologies in engineering lie elsewhere. Unlike in quantum computing, where valuable applications are still a few years away, quantum sensing and quantum…

  • Satellite data reveals how climate change is accelerating glacier melt

    Glacier monitoring using satellites is helping scientists to track ice melt and launch early warning systems to prevent climate-related disasters. Formed from snow that has accumulated on land over centuries, glaciers store around 70% of the planet’s fresh water. Their high reflectivity has a regulating effect on the climate as they reflect the Sun’s rays back into space, reducing the absorption of solar energy on the Earth’s surface. Climate change and rising temperatures are causing glaciers to melt at an alarming rate, the consequences of which scientists have warned us about for some time. A study published in February 2025 in Nature reported that between 2000 and 2023 the world’s mountain glaciers on average lost 6,542 billion tonnes of ice. This glacier ice loss has directly contributed…

  • Drax emissions rise 16% as power station remains UK’s top carbon emitter

    Drax power station has been crowned the UK’s “largest single source of carbon emissions” yet again, with emissions rising 16% from last year. Located near Selby in North Yorkshire, Drax started life as a coal-fired power station when it was opened in 1974, but started co-firing biomass by 2010 in response to government concerns about the UK’s carbon emissions. According to a report from think tank Ember, Drax has now been the UK’s top emitter for the last 10 years running. It was found to emit more than the next four largest polluters combined and more than the six most emitting gas power plants combined. Its emissions are equivalent to over 10% of the UK’s total transport emissions and nearly 3% of the country’s territorial total. The wood pellets burned by the power plant have an equivalent…

  • Entangled blackworm ‘blob’ that moves as one inspires robotic platform

    A robotic platform inspired by California blackworms, known for tangling together into a moving blob, has been built by researchers at Harvard University. When California blackworms are exposed to dry conditions or other environmental stressors they will clump together to form an entangled blob. Doing so helps conserve moisture and regulate temperature. Just as quickly as they entangle, they can also disentangle when they sense danger, such as the approach of a predator. A research team led by Harvard John A Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) used this blackworm behaviour as the inspiration for the design of a robotic platform that similarly features robotic worms that join together to accomplish tasks, such as crossing gaps or climbing walls. “We look at the…

  • Nuclear and SMRs to play ‘important role’ in UK’s decarbonised power grid by 2050

    Decarbonising the UK’s energy system by 2050 could feature numerous credible pathways, as outlined in a report by the National Energy System Operator (NESO). NESO’s Future Energy Scenarios (FES): pathways to net zero 2025 report explores the routes to reach net zero in 2050 for energy demand and supply. NESO expects to see electricity demand increase from 290 Terawatt-hour (TWh) today to as much as 785TWh by 2050. Meeting this demand with clean, renewable electricity will be a challenge. The report outlines three potential pathways to reach a net zero energy system. Each has varying reliance on the speed of technology uptake such as battery storage solutions, electrification from various sources including nuclear power, low-carbon fuels such as hydrogen and the level of consumer engagement…

  • Floating platform aims to produce synthetic fuels using wind, seawater and air

    A floating platform is being developed that can produce low-carbon synthetic fuels from a combination of wind energy, seawater and ambient air. Researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany have installed a modular plant on a barge designed to act as a testbed for larger floating platforms that could eventually sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Climate experts believe that preventing additional global warming will require both slashing the use of fossil fuels and permanently removing billions of tons of CO2 from the atmosphere that have already been emitted. But technologies for carbon removal remain costly, energy-intensive – or both – and unproven at large scale. The test platform is equipped with a direct air capture plant (DAC) for recovering CO2 from…

  • World’s largest human imaging project hits milestone of 100,000 body scans

    UK Biobank has completed its goal of collecting the brain, body and bone scans of 100,000 volunteers. UK Biobank is a large-scale biomedical research database and resource. Launched in 2006, it aims to gather detailed health data of people’s bodies to support research into the causes, prevention and treatment of diseases. Between 2006 and 2010 it had recruited 500,000 volunteers between the ages of 40 and 69 to take part in its research. These volunteers completed baseline assessments, helping the project to build a detailed profile of each participant’s health, lifestyle and biology. In 2014, UK Biobank started piloting an imaging project in which a person’s entire body would be scanned. Following the pilot’s success, the main phase of the project kicked off in 2016. It aimed to invite…

  • Engineering ambition is powering a new era of UK start-ups

    Entrepreneurs - the risk takers and visionary’s - have more support than ever if they want to sow start-up seeds. It seems like entrepreneurs are everywhere – from the BBC’s Dragons’ Den to the world’s richest man appearing in a baseball cap in the Oval Office. It wasn’t always that way – particularly in the UK, where the second half of the 20th century saw a focus on ‘a steady job and a solid pension’. Back then, starting your own business was seen as the province of a small cabal of industrialists. But as the gig economy has expanded, enterprise has become the fashion. It seems everyone wants to be their own boss. It’s become particularly prevalent in deep tech: if you have a good idea, then go for it. Rupert Baines, most recently CEO of UK tech start-ups UltraSoC and QPT and entrepreneur…

  • £650m UK government scheme to slash EV upfront costs and boost adoption

    A new £650m grant will enable drivers across the UK to purchase dozens of new electric vehicle (EV) models at discounted prices. Under the Electric Car Grant (ECG) scheme, a discount of £3,750 will be available at the point of sale for new eligible EVs priced at or under £37,000. Recent months have seen a surge in EV adoption, with a total of 46,700 new electric cars registered across the UK in June 2025, marking a substantial 45.5% increase on the same month in 2024. The government hopes this new scheme will see that number increase even further, particularly since the upfront costs required to switch to EVs are often seen as a key barrier to adoption. With the government maintaining its pledge to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, the ECG had been preceded by calls…

  • Lunar soil breakthrough offers path to fuel, water and oxygen for Moon missions

    Scientists have developed a technology to extract water from lunar soil and use it to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into oxygen and chemicals for fuel. The team from the Chinese University of Hong Kong believes the technique could make a manned base on the Moon a more viable option while potentially making it easier to conduct future deep space exploration using the lunar surface as a launchpad. “We never fully imagined the ‘magic’ that the lunar soil possessed,” said researcher Lu Wang. “The biggest surprise for us was the tangible success of this integrated approach. The one-step integration of lunar H2O extraction and photothermal CO2 catalysis could enhance energy utilisation efficiency and decrease the cost and complexity of infrastructure development.” Currently, the cost of transporting…

  • Construction on Port Talbot electric arc furnace begins as UK steelmakers pivot to low-carbon

    Construction has begun on Tata Steel’s electric arc furnace (EAF), which will eventually allow one of Britain’s remaining steelworks to transition to low-carbon production. In 2023, the government struck a deal with Tata to invest £500m of taxpayer funds in the Port Talbot plant to help fund construction on the EAF. The deal helped to keep the loss-making plant open, with the firm saying it was losing £1.7m a day – a figure that was disputed by unions at the time. EAFs use an electric current to melt scrap steel or iron to produce new high-quality steel, whereas traditional blast furnaces use coke – a carbon-intensive fuel made from coal. The technology could allow carbon emissions at Port Talbot to be reduced by 90%, as long as the energy is generated by renewable sources. The government…

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  • UK manufacturing output surpasses pre-pandemic levels for the first time

    All English regions and the three devolved nations have seen manufacturing output rise back above 2019 levels for the first time, according to a report from Make UK. Make UK, which represents UK manufacturers, and accountancy and business advisory firm BDO have published their annual Regional manufacturing outlook report. It marks the 11th annual review of manufacturing activity across UK regions and nations. The standout takeaway from the report, based on the latest data on output to the end of 2023, is that all regions are back above 2019 levels. The South West is the strongest performing region with output more than a quarter (27%) above 2019 levels. This was followed by the East of England (21%) and the North West, which had output up by a fifth. According to the report, this is…

  • Large solar farms deplete Britain’s prime agricultural land, threaten food security – report

    CPRE, the countryside charity, has called for new solar farms to be banned from the UK’s highest-grade farmland over concerns that they impact domestic food security. A report from the body claims that 59% of England's largest operational solar farms are located on productive farmland, while almost a third (31%) of the area they cover is classified as the nation’s ‘best and most versatile’ (BMV) agricultural land. Solar power is one of the primary forms of energy generation that the UK will need to utilise if Labour’s plan to decarbonise the grid by 2030 is to be achieved. However, figures from last year showed that solar was responsible for just 5% of energy generated, compared with 30% from wind. CPRE is calling for 60% of the UK’s solar to be generated on rooftops, alongside a ban…

  • Cleaning up smog in east Asia could be speeding up climate change

    Efforts in east Asia to tackle air pollution might have led to a further acceleration in global warming, a study has found. China, the largest economy in the area, has significantly cut air pollution over the past decade, with harmful smog reducing by 41% between 2013 and 2022. It achieved this primarily through placing limits on coal plants as well as implementing desulphurisation technologies. But while the burning of fossil fuels increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the sulphate aerosols emitted have a cooling effect by shading Earth’s surface from sunlight. Researchers at CICERO Centre for International Climate Research have found that air pollution therefore inadvertently held in check some greenhouse gas-driven warming. According to a 2021 study by the Intergovernmental…

  • Major 100MW battery project to stabilise and decarbonise UK grid gets green light

    British renewable energy company RES has received consent from Rushcliffe Borough Council to build a 99.9MW battery energy storage system (BESS) near the defunct Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station. The Winking Hill BESS in Nottinghamshire will connect directly into the substation that previously served the Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station. After 60 years, this power station – which was the UK’s last remaining coal-fired power station – closed for good on 30 September 2024. The BESS facility will be located on land off West Leake Lane, near Ratcliffe-on-Soar. The battery system will store surplus electricity and then release it during periods of high demand. This way it will provide stability services to help grid operators balance supply and demand. It will also help reach the government…

  • ‘Woefully’ handled PFI deals leave UK taxpayers with £136bn bill and crumbling assets

    The UK lacks a “credible pipeline” for infrastructure projects, which has led to a “drain of skills overseas” and billions of pounds owed to ongoing private finance initiative (PFI) contracts, MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have said. In a report, it warned that overuse of PFI has led to poor-quality assets being handed back to the public sector. The system was first introduced in 1992 under John Major’s Conservative government. The idea was to involve private sector investment in public infrastructure projects such as hospitals, schools, roads and prisons. From 1997 onwards, Tony Blair significantly expanded the use of PFIs, particularly for NHS and education projects. But criticisms of PFI grew over time, with concerns that the projects offered poor value for money. In 2018…

  • More sections of London Underground get 4G and 5G coverage ahead of full roll-out in 2026

    Mobile phone coverage has been expanded to more areas of the London Underground network, with further stations and tunnels to go live in the coming months, Transport for London (TfL) has announced. Further stretches of the Piccadilly, Northern and Victoria lines will now have 4G and 5G coverage as TfL and Boldyn Networks, TfL’s partner in delivering the connectivity, work on expanding mobile coverage across the entire Tube network. Coverage has been expanded along the Northern line, including the tunnelled section between Balham and South Wimbledon, as well as Kennington, Oval, Tooting Broadway and South Wimbledon stations. Passengers in south London travelling along the Northern line from South Wimbledon to Stockwell also now have continuous coverage. The Bank branch of the Northern…

  • Pavement gullies trialled to make EV charging safer and easier at home

    A system designed to ease electric car charging by routing cables through pavement gullies is being trialled by Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council. Public walkways often prove to be an impediment to electric vehicle (EV) charging as cables strewn across the pavement present a health and safety risk to pedestrians. The council wants to trial a new scheme that would allow residents who don’t have access to off-street parking the ability to charge their EV using cable channels embedded within the pavement. This allows them to use their cheaper, domestic energy supply as opposed to relying on commercial chargers. Councillors will discuss the proposed trial next week and, if approved, residents wishing to charge their vehicles from home can apply for the installation of a “discreet…

  • ‘World first’ hybrid solar-powered cargo vessel launches in German inland waterways

    The Blue Marlin has become the world’s first hybrid solar-powered inland shipping vessel. Equipped with 192 solar panels, the dry goods vessel feeds solar power directly into its diesel-electric propulsion system. The cargo vessel, developed by HGK Shipping, will be used by Salzgitter AG, the German-based steel and technology group, to transport steel and bulk materials along the network of canals in north-west Germany. At 86 metres long and 9.50 metres wide, and with a navigable draught of 1.10 metres, the vessel can transport loads weighing up to 3,110 tonnes in shallow waters. Its solar panels were developed by Dutch maritime solar firm Wattlab, and the solar module system generates up to 37,500kWh of electricity a year. This not only provides power to the vessel’s onboard systems…

  • Human-built dams have caused Earth’s poles to drift

    Earth’s magnetic poles have been shifted away from the planet’s axis of rotation because of the huge amount of water stored behind man-made dams, a study has found. The Earth’s crust sits atop a molten rock core, which means it can shift in different directions relative to the magma below it. Any time that mass is redistributed around the planet’s surface, as when ice sheets grow or shrink, causes the outermost rock layer to move around. This means that different areas of the surface end up sitting directly over the axis of rotation. The geographic poles then pass through different spots on the surface than before, a process called true polar wander. A study published in Geophysical Research Letters finds that the construction of nearly 7,000 dams from 1835 to 2011 shifted the poles about…

  • UK-led satellite mission aims to boost Europe’s space weather forecasting

    A UK-led mission aims to launch scientific instruments into low-Earth orbit (LEO) to mitigate risk from space weather phenomena. 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. It drives 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 to human technology, including satellites, power grids, communications, navigation and transport infrastructure. The most severe solar radiation storms can travel from the Sun to Earth in as little as 10 minutes. Observations are critical to implementing timely strategies for mitigating potentially damaging space weather effects. At the Royal Astronomical…

  • EDF cuts stake in Sizewell C to just 12.5% amid soaring nuclear costs

    French energy giant EDF has confirmed it plans to take just a 12.5% stake in the upcoming Sizewell C nuclear power plant once negotiations with the UK government are finalised. The project started in 2015, with EDF planning to take an 80% share and the China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) funding the remaining 20%. But in 2022, security concerns about China caused the UK government to buy out CGN from the development for just over £100m and increase its stake to 50%, with EDF retaining the other 50%. Since then, EDF has been slowly reducing its stake in the project, which coincided with major losses suffered during the building of Hinkley Point C. EDF confirmed that it now plans to invest just £1.1bn in Sizewell C, in return for a 12.5% share in the project. “This investment would…

  • Life-saving organ transplant tech wins top UK engineering award

    A breakthrough technology preserving livers and kidneys outside the body has won the Royal Academy of Engineering’s 2025 MacRobert Award. At an awards ceremony in London last night, organ medical technology company OrganOx was presented with the MacRobert Award gold medal and a prize of £50,000 by science minister Lord Vallance. The award judges described OrganOx’s technology as “medical brilliance powered by engineering magic”. Spun out of the University of Oxford in 2008, OrganOx was founded with the aim of helping improve outcomes for patients with acute or chronic organ failure. Designed and built in the UK, its devices have been approved in the US, Europe, Canada and Australia, where it has been utilised in over 6,000 liver transplants to date. The devices work by maintaining…

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