• Government gives green light for major nuclear power plant in Wylfa, North Wales

    The UK government has announced that Wylfa is its preferred site for the UK’s third mega-nuclear power station and will now launch talks with global energy firms to explore its construction. A gigawatt-scale nuclear energy plant in Wylfa – an island off the coast of north Wales – has been in the works for a number of years with the project stuck in limbo since 2019, when Hitachi abandoned the project. The site was already home to a nuclear power station that operated for over 40 years until decommissioning began in 2015. The government is now considering replacing this plant by building two evolutionary power reactors (EPRs), which are based on a pressurised water design. While there are a number of other potential sites that could host civil nuclear projects, following today’s announcement…

  • UKAEA renews engineering framework agreement to boost fusion energy’s commercial future

    The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has renewed its four-year £9m Engineering Design Services Framework with nine companies. Following the successful delivery of various engineering and design desk-based projects, the UKAEA will work closely with these companies for another four years in its mission to develop commercial fusion energy, while also helping to grow the UK economy by ensuring industry is fully involved. The nine companies are Assystem, AtkinsRealis, Demcon, Eadon, Frazer Nash, IDOM, Jacobs, M5tec and Optima. “This framework has enabled UKAEA to work collaboratively and with maximum efficiency with the fusion supply chain,” said Colette Broadwith, strategic procurement business partner for UKAEA. “By renewing it for another four years, UKAEA can continue to leverage the…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Underwater microphones could locate crashed planes such as MH370 – study

    Signals captured by underwater microphones, or hydrophones, may play a crucial role in locating aeroplanes that crash into the ocean such as Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, Cardiff University research shows. The study, published in Scientific Reports, analysed more than 100 hours of data from hydrophones following 10 historical aircraft accidents and the disappearance of a submarine. The findings offer recommendations for further investigation of the aircraft’s last known location and establishes a framework for addressing similar incidents in the future. MH370 vanished in 2014 during a journey from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Extensive rescue operations were undertaken, but the main body of the plane is still missing despite several pieces of debris washing up in the years since the flight…

  • Self-driving cars could hit UK roads by 2026 after milestone law comes into force

    Self-driving vehicles could hit the UK as early as 2026 after a new law permitting the technology on UK roads was given Royal Assent. The Automated Vehicles (AV) Act, which became law on Monday (20 May), will allow self-driving vehicles on the roads as long as they achieve a level of safety as high as “careful and competent” human drivers. The vehicles will also be required to meet rigorous safety checks. The Department for Transport (DfT) said the sector could create over 38,000 new jobs and generate £42bn for the UK economy by 2035. Both MPs and the automotive sector had recently issued warnings that the UK risks squandering its lead in the technology if the legislation to make their operation possible was not quickly passed. A major element of the law makes companies, rather than…

  • Human faeces in our public waters: new report outlines actions to tackle health risks

    A new report calls on upgrades in wastewater infrastructure to protect those who enjoy recreational activities in our rivers, lakes and seas from coming into contact with human faecal matter. The report – Testing the waters: priorities for mitigating health risks from wastewater pollution – published by the National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC), examines the actions required to mitigate public health risks associated with the recreational use of public waters polluted with human faeces. Ageing infrastructure, together with growing urbanisation and increased rainfall due to climate change, has only increased the pressure on our wastewater system. Additionally, there has been a surge in recreational activities in coastal and inland open waters across the UK, such as ‘wild swimming’…

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    E+T Magazine

  • E+T Off The Page: Is population growth the elephant in the room?

    Dr Joe Strong, Joe is a Demographer and currently a Teacher on Health and International Development at the Department of International Development, LSE Chris Edwards is a freelance writer and regular contributor to E+T and the E+T editorial team.

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • British chip sector boosted by new independent Semiconductor Institute

    One year on from the launch of the £1bn National Semiconductor Strategy, the UK government has now announced the UK Semiconductor Institute, which will bring together government, universities and the private sector to support key components laid out in the strategy to grow the UK’s semiconductor sector. Over a trillion semiconductors are manufactured each year, and the global semiconductor market is forecast to reach $1tn by 2030, with these chips underpinning future technologies, such as AI, quantum and 6G. Taiwan holds the lion’s share of global chip production, but its proximity to China has seen governments of some Western nations take a closer look at financing their own chipmaking plants and consider the cost to be worth bringing at least some production home. For instance, in the…

  • The AI Safety Institute to open US office as the second AI Safety Summit kicks off in Seoul

    The UK government’s AI Safety Institute (AISI) is to open a new office in San Francisco to enable it to tap global talent on both sides of the Atlantic. This news comes as the second international AI Safety Summit is to be held this week in Seoul, South Korea, where governments are expected to press tech firms on AI safety. AISI was set up a year ago as a research organisation within the UK government’s Department of Science, Innovation and Technology. Its mission is to measure AI safety risks so as to equip governments with an empirical understanding of the safety of advanced AI systems. Ian Hogarth, chair of the AI Safety Institute, said in a post on AISI’s website that there was “a strong belief that AI is a transformational technology that has an incredible capacity to improve our lives…

  • Onshore wind farms offset their carbon emissions within two years, new study finds

    A new study, which finds that onshore wind farms are capable of offsetting the carbon emissions generated across their entire lifespan within two years, “underscores the environmental efficiency of onshore wind farms and their important role in the energy transition”. According to a new study from the Sustainable Energy Systems research group at the Wellington Faculty of Engineering, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, an onshore wind farm is capable of offsetting the carbon emissions generated across its entire 30-year lifespan within two years when compared to thermal power plants. Additionally, the study found that within six months a turbine can generate all the energy consumed across its life cycle. For its research, the team studied the Harapaki onshore…

  • ESA and Nasa team up to land rover on Mars

    The European Space Agency (ESA) and Nasa have announced a partnership for the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin mission to enable the Rosalind Franklin rover to get to Mars by 2030. The Rosalind Franklin rover is on a mission to find out whether life exists or has ever existed on the red planet. However, its development and original launch date has been hampered by delays. The rover is part of the ExoMars programme, which comprises two missions: the first – the Trace Gas Orbiter – launched in 2016 while the second, carrying the Rosalind Franklin rover, will launch in 2028. The ExoMars mission was initially pushed back from 2020, because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the need for more tests on the spacecraft. Then in 2022, it was announced it would not go ahead that year as planned because of…

  • The amount of copper needed to build EVs is ‘impossible for mining companies to produce’

    Copper cannot be mined quickly enough to keep up with current policies requiring the transition to electric vehicles (EVs), according to a University of Michigan study. Copper is fundamental to electricity generation, distribution and storage. According to GlobalData, there are more than 709 copper mines in operation globally, with the largest being the Escondida mine in Chile, which produced an estimated 882,100 tonnes of copper in 2023. This may sound like a lot but with electrification ramping up globally it is not. The Michigan study, Copper mining and vehicle electrification, has focused on the copper required just for the production of EVs over the coming years. Many countries across the world are putting forward policies for EVs. For instance, in the US the Inflation Reduction…

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    E+T Magazine

  • Armed Forces developing weapon that disables drones using radio frequencies

    The UK’s armed forces are developing a new weapon that uses radio waves to disable enemy electronics and take down multiple drones at once. According to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the system can neutralise a swarm of drones for just 10p a shot. The system, which is defined as a Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon (RFDEW), is capable of detecting, tracking and engaging with a range of threats across land, air and sea. It will be able to affect targets up to 1km away, with further development in extending the range ongoing. It beams radio waves to disrupt or damage the critical electronic components of enemy vehicles, causing them to stop in their tracks or fall out of the sky. The MoD said that due to its cheap operational costs, the device is a significant cost-effective alternative…

  • UK ATC to start building scientific instruments for the world’s ‘biggest eye on the sky’

    The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), currently under construction in the Chilean desert, will feature a range of scientific instruments, the first of which has now entered manufacture. And the UK’s Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC) will play its part. Once complete, it will feature a 39-metre main mirror, enabling it to track down Earth-like planets around other stars and probe the furthest reaches of the cosmos. The project first came about in 2005 through the European Southern Observatory (ESO), which brought together a consortium of international partners to help it bring this feat of engineering to life. The ELT programme was officially approved in 2012, and in 2014 construction of the €1.45bn telescope got underway at Cerro Armazones in Chile’s Atacama desert. A decade later…

  • Airbus shows off its helicopter-plane hybrid vehicle in public for the first time

    Airbus has unveiled its helicopter-plane hybrid vehicle, dubbed the Racer, to the public for the first time. The Racer combines a unique architecture comprised of both a helicopter rotor and fixed wing and propulsive propellers to allow it to take off vertically and fly fast like an aeroplane at speeds of more than 400 km/h. Airbus demonstrated the capabilities of the aircraft to partners in its Clean Sky 2 research project in France’s southern port city of Marseille. The hybrid-electrical eco-mode system allows one of the two Aneto-1X engines to be paused while in cruise flight to cut CO2 emissions. When one engine is not operating, the Racer flies slightly slower but cuts fuel consumption by about 20%. The performance of the wings is also optimised in all phases of flight, thanks to…

  • A localised approach to retrofitting cities will help the UK meet net zero targets, says Arup

    A new report by sustainable development consultancy Arup is calling on city leaders to take a localised or neighbourhood approach with retrofit solutions to meet UK net zero goals. Since June 2022, all new residential buildings in the UK have had to comply with updated regulations. These include designs that are highly efficient, minimising the risk of overheating and are powered in a carbon-efficient way. That’s all very well for newbuilds, but most homes in the UK were built before 1919 and by design are not energy efficient. Indeed, the majority are still powered by carbon emitting gas boilers. According to the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), buildings and infrastructure account for nearly 25% of UK greenhouse gas emissions – and domestic buildings are the largest contributor. …

  • Mentor: Dr Lonnie Johnson

    One invention and JFK’s Moon speech paved the way for an inspiring career. The Super Soaker water gun wasn’t Dr Lonnie Johnson’s first invention, but it was the one that made him famous. Prior to his breakthrough invention, his parents and school had supported his interests in inventing and investigating - and Johnson has never forgotten that this support is a privilege that not every child has. It explains why his passion is split between developing both new technology and young engineers. Johnson’s business activities are based around a team, and at the forefront of that team is his wife, Linda Moore, who is executive director of JSAC – the Johnson STEM Activity Center, based in Atlanta, Georgia. Tim Fryer spoke to both of them at the 3DExperience World event in early 2024. On his individual…

  • The UK’s most powerful supercomputer, Isambard-AI, officially goes live

    The UK’s fastest and most powerful supercomputer officially starts operations at the University of Bristol’s National Composites Centre (NCC). Supercomputers are seen as fundamental to unleashing the full potential of AI applications, such as training large language models at scale. They will enable researchers and scientists to solve extremely complex challenges that involve huge datasets and billions or even trillions of calculations to bring about advances in healthcare, robotics and climate research. UK research can now take advantage of this supercomputing capability as the UK’s fastest and most powerful supercomputer – Isambard-AI at the NCC – has officially come online. Isambard-AI, currently in phase 1, is the result of a £225m investment from the UK government last autumn. The…

  • Riding the population curves

    Is population spiralling out of control, or is growth levelling off? Either way, do we have the resources to maintain the human race? We can breathe a sigh of relief that as 2022 arrived we weren’t reduced to converting the dead to tasty Soylent Green. When filmed in the early 1970s, the writers who penned the line “Soylent Green is people” doubtless considered half a century far enough away to make audiences believe the world could react to overcrowding and overstretched resources by recycling the elderly into food. Science-fiction writers of the late 1960s seemed obsessed with population growth in novels like Harry Harrison’s Make Room! Make Room! – on which Soylent Green was based – and Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner. They were inspired by scientists’ concerns about the pace of population…

  • New testing facility in Blyth to accelerate the development of next-gen super wind turbines

    An advanced wind turbine test facility will be built in Blyth, Northumberland, as part of an £86m investment by the UK government in wind power R&D facilities. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has announced a £86m investment in an advanced wind turbine blade and drive train testing facility based at the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult’s National Renewable Energy Centre in Blyth, Northumberland. This new facility will test, validate and certify wind turbines, including the largest 150-metre ‘super’ blades. To put that in perspective, 150 metres is three times the wingspan of the Angel of the North. There is also potential for the facility to be expanded further as the existing 100-metre blade test facility can be repurposed to increase capacity. The investment will also go…

  • Apollo and Intel in talks to finance $11bn chipmaking plant in Ireland

    Investment firm Apollo Global is reportedly in talks with Intel to finance the expansion of the chip giant’s operations in Kildare, Ireland. Everything digital needs semiconductors, and even more so with the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technology. As such, tech companies and governments are scrambling over themselves to invest in chip manufacturing. This has resulted in fierce rivalry between tech companies designing the chips, including Nvidia and Intel, as well as the those building them, including TSMC and Samsung. In a bid to regain leadership in the sector, US-based Intel is overhauling its manufacturing operations to build chips for competitors. As such, various investments have been made in fabrication plants based in Western Europe and North America in a…

  • Construction starts on £350m subsea cable factory in the Scottish Highlands

    As ground is broken on Sumitomo Electric’s new £350m subsea cable manufacturing plant in the Scottish Highlands, it has also been announced that the Japanese company is the preferred bidder for the new Shetland 2 undersea cable. Based at Port of Nigg on the Cromarty Firth, the facility will include a 57,500m2 purpose-built factory for high-voltage cables, long-term site leasing in the area and investments in machinery and equipment. Subsea cables are seen as key infrastructure to enable the energy transition to renewables, and as offshore wind projects ramp up in the North Sea they are in increasing in demand. This facility will help reduce lead times for these cables while also boosting Scotland’s renewable energy supply chain and supporting hundreds of jobs in the region. At a ground…

  • Avocado harvests face major declines as climate change hits growing regions

    The world’s best regions for growing avocados are being threatened by climate change, which could lead to a major decline in harvests by 2050, a report has found. According to Christian Aid, harvests could fall between 14% and 41% in major avocado growing regions like Mexico and Burundi. Mexico is the world’s biggest producer, and could see its potential growing area reduced by 31% by 2050, even if global average temperature rise was limited to under 2°C. It could even be reduced by as much as 43% if global average temperature rises towards 5°C. Michoacán, Mexico’s key avocado growing region, is expected to be particularly affected, with a potential reduction in its growing area of 59% by 2050. The superfood has long been is known for its impact on the environment due to its need for…

  • Apple and Google agree on standard to prevent location trackers being used for stalking

    Apple and Google have teamed up to develop a standard for detecting unwanted location trackers in an effort to prevent the devices from being used for stalking. Apple’s AirTags were launched in 2019 as a way to track devices and bags should they get lost or stolen. Google recently announced it was launching its own network with a similar function that would work across Android phones. But Apple’s implementation of the technology quickly raised several privacy issues from the ability to track a user’s exact location without them being notified. On several occasions AirTags were used for stalking purposes, prompting criticism that the company had not done its due diligence before rolling out the new network. The two firms have now developed a standard that will make it possible to alert…

  • Analysis of the highest-paying tech jobs reveals a demand for AI skills

    New specialist AI roles are on the rise and workers who possess AI skills are dominating the highest-paying UK IT jobs, according to research. New analysis by Thomson Reuters, a global content and technology company, has revealed that 97% of IT jobs in the UK that pay over £100,000 now require AI skills as a core requirement of the role. The company analysed over 5,300 live tech jobs advertised in April 2024 and found that over 73% (593 out of 817) of the top 15% highest-paid vacancies required AI skills. This requirement for AI skills was either explicitly included in the job title itself – for example, director of artificial intelligence and products, generative AI solutions architect and machine learning engineer – or within the role’s primary requirements.Having AI skills also means…

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