• National Grid details £35bn upgrade to double UK transmission capacity

    The National Grid has detailed £35bn in “unprecedented” upgrades to the UK’s power network that will help the country decarbonise by allowing full electrification of key industries. The UK is building huge amounts of new renewable energy facilities, led by a series of major wind power projects that are ultimately designed to wean the network off fossil fuels entirely. However, a report earlier this month suggested that the grid was not ready for the major influx of green energy coming online in the next few years. BloombergNEF data suggests that for every pound invested in renewable energy, the UK should be investing at least £1 in the grid. Then the current ratio is more like 25p to every £1. National Grid has now revealed its infrastructure plans to March 2031, which will include upgrades…

  • Two Nasa astronauts stuck in space since June 2024 face further delays

    Nasa has announced its SpaceX Crew-10 will launch in late March 2025 to return the stranded astronauts to Earth. The two astronauts – Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams – have been aboard the International Space Station (ISS) since June 2024, having arrived there aboard Boeing’s Starliner. However, the mission was only ever meant to last 10 days. Following years of delays, Boeing’s Starliner eventually lifted off in June 2024 and successfully docked with the ISS. But plans went awry when, during docking, Starliner suffered thruster failures and helium leaks. This forced the two astronauts to remain on board the ISS while Nasa figured out how to get them home. In August, Nasa announced it was considering bringing them back on a SpaceX Dragon capsule in 2025. This return flight is now…

  • Tech predictions for 2025: AI boom or bust?

    AI has been on every technology watch list for the past few years. Will its rise continue into 2025? In mid-2023, market analyst Gartner put GenAI beginning its slide into the ‘trough of disillusionment’ in its hype cycle. Life on the AI frontier is proving hard as problems build up on multiple fronts: cost, the supply of data, applications and – perhaps most importantly – the underlying architecture. Will 2025 mark the pinnacle of AI’s dominance? Or is the over-hyped AI bubble about to burst? Here are five predictions for AI in the year ahead: Heading for a bust A report by tech consultancy Strategy Insights has found that concerns among the company executives surveyed indicate that AI’s rise will be tempered by some practicalities in 2025. These concerns and challenges include…

  • Tech predictions for 2025: cyber security

    What will the cyber-security and data security landscape look like in 2025? Summer 2024 saw one of the biggest global IT outages in history. With many organisations unable to operate their Microsoft PCs, mass disruption ensued across governments and industries. The meltdown stemmed from an update issued by global cyber-security firm CrowdStrike to its Falcon Sensor software, which caused Windows devices to crash. It was the most significant cyber-security event of 2024, with estimated losses reaching $1bn. It was also a stark reminder of the importance of cyber resilience in an increasingly interconnected world. The event may have had something to do with the UK government in September 2024 elevating data centres to critical national infrastructure status to ensure they are less likely…

  • Heathrow to invest further £2.3bn to upgrade airport over the next two years

    Heathrow’s £2.3bn investment over the next two years will be the “largest private sector capital investment in UK transport infrastructure”. The investment will be used to enhance capabilities across all terminals, including baggage delivery and projects to support punctual departures and arrivals. The £2.3bn, which Heathrow says is an uplift of £244m on previously forecasted investments, will be divided into £1.05bn to upgrade the airport’s infrastructure in 2025 and £1.29bn in 2026. This compares to the £1.1bn investment in the airport in 2024, including £191m on upgrading security lanes. The announcement comes after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and French investment firm Ardian completed a €4bn deal to acquire a combined 37% stake in the airport from Spanish construction…

  • Airbus to build 100 next-gen satellites for OneWeb’s expanding network

    Airbus will launch 100 new satellites to expand OneWeb, the low-Earth orbit communications constellation partly owned by the UK government. OneWeb operator Eutelsat said the firm would help to build the constellation’s second generation of satellites that will include various upgrades, including integration with 5G networks back on Earth. Around 100 new satellites will be built by Airbus, which will also be designed for compatibility with Europe’s upcoming IRIS2 (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) constellation. Once complete, the €6bn IRIS2 will provide secure communications, location tracking and security surveillance services to governmental agencies, although it will not have the capacity for broader coverage provided by similar services such…

  • Tata Steel UK and JCB strike deal for ‘green’ steel supply from Port Talbot plant

    Construction equipment giant JCB has signed a memorandum of understanding for the supply of low-carbon steel from Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant. At the end of last year, the UK government struck a deal with Tata Steel to invest £500m in the Port Talbot plant to help it transition over to electric arc furnaces (EAFs). This will replace the existing coal-powered blast furnaces and in the process cut the site’s CO₂ emissions by up to 90% and the UK’s overall carbon emissions by about 1.5%. An EAF uses an electric current to melt scrap steel or iron to produce new high-quality steel, whereas blast furnaces use coke – a carbon-intensive fuel made from coal – to produce steel. The new deal with JCB marks the first supply agreement Tata Steel UK has made since announcing its transition to…

  • UK government must act now to capture fusion’s £5bn global economic opportunity – report

    The Fusion industry Association (FIA) has laid out policy recommendations to ensure the UK attracts fusion investment and secures its position in the global fusion race. The UK aims to be a global leader in clean energy innovation. At the end of last week, energy secretary Ed Miliband outlined ‘ambitious reforms’ as part of the government’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. While fusion power is still in the research phase and will not be part of the 2030 decarbonisation goals, it has been predicted that it will be on the grid by 2040. Fusion is a potential source of almost limitless clean energy, which its seen as vital for energy security and the climate crisis. The UK’s Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is currently building the UK’s first prototype fusion energy power plant, the Spherical…

  • E+T | Expert Engineering - Restoring Notre Dame

    In April 2019, French hearts were broken as Notre Dame de Paris was devastated by fire. But five years of restoration work are nearing completion, work that has combined traditional techniques and materials with some of the latest engineering technology. Now, as the historic cathedral is opening its doors to the public again, we look at how the team in Paris engineered this remarkable achievement.

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Tech to conserve carbon-storing mangroves gets under way in the United Arab Emirates

    Climate tech start-up Nabat is using AI and autonomous robotics to conserve natural ecosystems, beginning with mangroves and expanding to other habitats. Mangroves are often referred to as nature’s carbon storehouse. These salt-tolerant trees and shrubs grow in lattice formations in shallow and brackish ocean water. According to the Centre for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry, mangroves remove and store about 10 billion tons of carbon as biomass, more than most other ecosystems on Earth, including rainforests. They can be found in tropical and subtropical climates throughout the world, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In a bid to restore these vital biomes within its borders, the UAE has committed to planting 100 million more mangrove trees by 2030 as…

  • Italy developing small nuclear reactors to power future settlements on the Moon

    Italy’s national space agency, ASI, has kicked off its Selene project, which aims to develop small nuclear fission reactors to provide power on the lunar surface. There are many Moon missions currently under way – from collecting samples from the lunar surface, such as India’s Chandrayaan-4 mission to the Moon’s south pole, to having a human presence on the Moon. For instance, Nasa expects to return humans to the lunar surface by 2030 and intends to build a permanent research station near the south pole shortly after. This human presence will require resources, one of which is energy. Selene (Sistema Energetico Lunare con l’Energia NuclearE) has received €2m in funding from ASI to develop alternative energy infrastructures on the Moon that overcome the limitations of traditional technologies…

  • Social media firms given three months to tackle illegal content or face fines

    Online firms have been given a three-month period from today to put in place a robust system to tackle illegal activity on their platforms or face financial punishments from the regulator. As part of the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA), Ofcom has published the first edition of its codes of practice and guidance on tackling illegal harms, which includes terror, hate, fraud, child sexual abuse and assisting or encouraging suicide. The government finally signed the OSA into law last year after a series of lengthy delays. In its original form, the bill gave regulators wide-ranging powers to sanction digital and social media companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok, although later revisions watered down some of the proposals. As well as social media firms, search engines, messaging…

  • German railway launches hydrogen-powered trains amid diesel phase-out

    The German railway has begun using a suite of state-of-the-art trains that run on hydrogen power in a bid to make the service more sustainable. Developer Siemens Mobility said its Mireo Plus H hydrogen trains will save an estimated 1.1 million litres of diesel fuel per year and reduce CO2 emissions by 3,000 tons. The trains will be powered by locally produced hydrogen and water vapour will be the only emitted by-product while in service. In addition, recovered braking energy will be used to further increase the trains’ energy efficiency. The trains are replacing the older, diesel-powered models, but will be rolled out in stages starting with selected runs in the East Allgäu-Lechfeld network. Operations will later be expanded and the train will then also run on the Ammersee-Altmühltal…

  • Miliband outlines ‘ambitious reforms’ as part of the government’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan

    Labour has published a report setting out a roadmap for how to decarbonise the grid by 2030. In its manifesto, the party set itself a lofty goal of entirely decarbonising the UK’s energy grid by 2030 – bringing forward the already-ambitious 2035 target. Its roadmap for how it plans to achieve this is set out in the 138-page Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. The report includes not only how this will be achieved through investment in low carbon generation, but also the energy infrastructure required to deliver that decarbonised system. Energy secretary Ed Miliband said: “A new era of clean electricity for our country offers a positive vision of Britain’s future with energy security, lower bills, good jobs and climate action. “This can only happen with big, bold change, and that is why…

  • Virgin Galactic sets sights on European expansion with possible spaceport in Italy

    US space tourism company Virgin Galactic has revealed it is evaluating the prospect of future spaceflight operations from Grottaglie Spaceport in the Puglia region of southern Italy. In cooperation with Italy’s civil aviation authority Ente Nazionale per l’Aviazione Civile (ENAC), Virgin Galactic will begin conducting a feasibility study to evaluate the necessary technical requirements for suborbital spaceflight operations at Grottaglie Spaceport. Grottaglie Spaceport, which was designated a commercial spaceport by Italy’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport in 2018, primarily operates as a base for suborbital spaceflights, including private and commercial suborbital transportation as well as a hub for various research activities. Following a recent Euro70m funding boost from the Italian…

  • From the archives: The invention of Christmas tree lights, the first steam train ride

    Tanya Weaver looks back at a fiery start for the steam locomotive, the beginnings of a Christmas tradition and ‘genius’ Hertha Ayrton. 223 years ago All puffed out On 24 December 1801, British mechanical engineer and inventor Richard Trevithick took seven of his friends for a test ride on his recently completed steam-powered passenger vehicle, marking the first ever successful journey by a steam locomotive. The Puffing Devil or Puffer, so named on account of the steam it created, set off on its journey travelling up a hill in Camborne, Cornwall. A few days later, while the locomotive was being taken out for further tests, it was damaged on the road and broke down. Trevithick and the other passengers sought refuge in a pub. While they were having a meal and drinks, the Puffing Devil…

  • Google reveals its new AI data centres will be powered by on-site clean energy sources

    Google, Intersect Power and TPG Rise Climate have partnered to ensure Google’s data centre growth is powered with clean power generation. Data centres are energy hungry. This is not only due to their 24/7 computational-heavy operation, but also the air conditioning systems needed to cool down the signifiant heat generated during computation. With the growth of AI technology, data centres are set to consume even more electricity in the coming years. Indeed, in July 2024 Google reported that its reliance on data centres to power its new AI products caused its carbon emissions to soar by nearly 50% in five years. However, the tech giant recently announced that it is partnering with clean energy company Intersect Power and dedicated climate investing platform TPG Rise Climate to use on…

  • Moon mining mission to extract helium-3 in bid to alleviate extreme supply shortages on Earth

    Two space firms have signed an agreement to start mining “commercial quantities” of helium-3 isotopes on the Moon and bring them back to Earth where there is an extreme supply shortage. In a joint statement, Japanese firm ispace and Magna Petra said their mining activities would utilise “non-destructive” and “sustainable” techniques to harvest the resources from regolith (the layer of unconsolidated solid material covering the bedrock of a planet) on the lunar surface. Helium-3 is a stable isotope of helium and is predominantly used for nuclear fusion reactions with deuterium (heavy hydrogen) to produce large amounts of energy. Because helium-3 is not radioactive, the fusion process doesn't produce nuclear waste or greenhouse gas emissions. For many years, the supply of helium-3 from…

  • Designing Next-Generation Carbon Dioxide Removal Technology for Better Life in Space

    NASA combines thermal modelling and experimental testing to find the best compressor design for the system that keeps the air breathable at the International Space Station. The International Space Station (ISS) is made livable in great part thanks to a system that captures and removes carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. The workhorse inside that system is a compressor, which fulfills its CO2-capture duties, but at a cost: it is both noisy and requires frequent maintenance. Engineers at NASA used modelling and simulation together with experimental testing to analyse the next generation of compressor designs that get the job done more quietly, with fewer maintenance needs and at lower fabrication cost. Contaminant Removal Technology Lets Astronauts Breathe on the ISS Astronauts signing up…

  • SSEN Transmission unveils £22bn plan to bolster UK grid for green energy push

    Energy firm SSEN Transmission has unveiled plans to invest “at least £22bn” in the UK’s grid infrastructure, which could help the UK meet its green energy targets. A report earlier this week suggested that the domestic grid is not ready for the influx of green energy coming online in the next few years. BloombergNEF data suggests that for every pound invested in renewable energy, the UK should be investing at least £1 in the grid, but the current ratio is more like 25p to every £1. SSEN hopes that its investment plan will enable the north of Scotland transmission network alone to have the capability to meet 20% of Great Britain’s demand for clean power. Due to considerable wind power infrastructure in the area, the north coast of Scotland will play a key role in the full-scale decarbonisation…

  • Lockheed Martin’s missile-warning satellite on track for 2025 launch

    Global defence technology firm Lockheed Martin has progressed to system-level testing of its missile-tracking satellite at its manufacturing facility in California. The Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) programme was initiated in 2018 by the US Space Force to enhance missile threat detection from space. With an estimated cost of $14bn, the planned multi-orbit, multi-layer missile-warning and tracking architecture aims to protect the US and its allies against ballistic missiles, hypersonic vehicles and other emerging threats. The Next-Gen OPIR programme consists of two types of satellites: geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin and polar-orbiting satellites developed by Northrop Grumman. While the first of Northrop Grumman’s satellites…

  • Two major carbon capture projects in Teesside greenlit, with construction set to start mid-2025

    Two carbon capture projects expected to bring thousands of jobs and wider socioeconomic benefits to the North East of England will proceed to the execution phase. The Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) and Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power) have reached financial close. The NEP is a joint venture between BP (45%), Equinor (45%) and TotalEnergies (10%). It serves as the operator of the full, end-to-end CO2 transport and storage system for the East Coast Cluster (ECC). First announced in 2021, the ECC aims to transport and store carbon emissions from two industrial regions of the UK – Teesside and Humber. The NEP infrastructure will initially serve three carbon capture projects in the Teesside region: NZT Power, H2Teesside and Teesside Hydrogen CO2 Capture. Infrastructure includes…

  • Smart TVs take screenshots of user content for targeted advertising, study finds

    Smart TVs made by the likes of Samsung and LG routinely screenshot the contents on display and send the data back to the manufacturers in order to create detailed profiles of their customers, researchers have found. As well as screenshots, the team from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid found audio was also being collected as part of an Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) system. This data is then periodically sent to specific servers, even when the TV is used as an external screen or connected to a laptop. This data is used to build up a profile of the consumer that is then used to tailor advertisements at them based on their behaviour. “ACR works like a kind of visual Shazam, taking screenshots or audio to create a viewer profile based on their content consumption habits. This technology…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • General Motors announces exit strategy from its Cruise robotaxi business

    US automotive giant General Motors (GM) has said it will now “refocus autonomous driving development on personal vehicles”. The company has not had the easiest of rides with the roll-out of its Cruise robotaxi. Set up in 2013 as a subsidiary of GM, the aim was to build a fleet of robotaxis with advanced self-driving technology to enable residents in city centres to take driverless trips. Cruise began testing its robotaxis in San Francisco in 2023 and in the summer of that year the California Public Utilities Commission granted permission for the operation of autonomous taxi services at any time of the day throughout San Francisco. However, a series of unfortunate incidents soon ensued, including a pedestrian being run over by a Cruise taxi and another involving a collision with a fire…

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