• UK’s first intercity battery-powered train begins passenger testing

    The first battery-powered train to run on UK tracks has begun testing on routes from York to Manchester Airport and Leeds to Liverpool Lime Street. Over the next eight weeks, a variety of important tests will take place, including the battery’s ability to improve performance on hills, regenerative charging via braking, fuel and emission savings, and zero-emission battery mode in train stations. According to Hitachi Rail, not only will the train reduce emissions and fuel costs by as much as 30%, it will also improve air quality and reduce noise pollution when entering and leaving stations. The TransPennine Nova 1 trains are designed to be able to run on 100% battery power for up to 100km. At this range, the battery technology could be deployed to cover the final non-electrified sections…

  • Debt-laden Thames Water says without steep bill increase it is ‘neither financeable nor investible’

    In its reponse to Ofwat’s draft decisions as part of its price review, Thames Water has claimed it would need a 59% increase in customer bills to survive its funding crisis. In recent years, Thames Water, the UK’s biggest water company, has increasingly found itself in hot water – mostly due to the £14bn debt it has accrued. To help claw its way out of this debt, the private firm stated earlier this year that it would require an increase in customer bills of 40% (59% after accounting for inflation). In July 2024, water regulator Ofwat unveiled its draft proposals as part of Price Review 2024 (PR24). This sets the price, investment and service package for water companies in England and Wales over the period from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2030. These PR24 draft decisions outlined how water…

  • Japan’s first lunar lander mission ends after months of silence

    Japan’s space agency has abandoned efforts to revive communications with its lunar lander mission after failing to receive a signal for several months. Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (Slim) was originally launched in September 2023 by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) and landed on the lunar surface in January this year. The main purpose of Japan’s first lunar surface mission was to achieve a precise lunar landing. Although Slim touched down successfully, it landed on its side, with the solar panels oriented westwards, facing away from the Sun at the start of the lunar day, thereby failing to generate enough power. Slim was put into standby mode, although a change in lighting conditions in its landing area caused the solar panels to begin generating again some weeks after…

  • Global carbon storage capacity shortfall threatens 1.5°C climate target, study warns

    Efforts to rapidly scale up carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology will be significantly hindered by a global lack of underground storage, an Imperial College London (ICL) study has found. Current international scenarios for limiting global warming to less than 1.5°C by the end of the century rely on technologies that remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the Earth’s atmosphere faster than humans release it. The most aggressive emissions reduction projections from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will require the removal of between six and 10 billion tons of CO2 per year by 2050 to stick to the 1.5˚C warming pathway. But the new findings suggest that existing CCS projections are unlikely to be feasible at the current rate of growth. The study found that while…

  • New onshore wind farm in Scotland enables UK to hit 30GW wind power milestone

    The UK has reached a historic milestone of 30GW of wind generation capacity with the opening of the Viking Wind Farm on the Shetland Islands. Viking Wind Farm, developed by SSE Renewables, has been in development for more than 15 years, at a cost of approximately £1.2bn in private investment. According to SSE, because of windy conditions in Shetland, which lies 110 miles north-east of mainland Scotland, it will be the “most productive” onshore wind farm in the UK, generating around 1.8TWh of renewable electricity annually – enough to power almost half a million typical British homes. With all 103 Vestas turbines installed, together with a 260km high voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea cable, green electricity will now be delivered from Shetland to the UK grid. “Delivery of both the…

  • 5 minutes....Generative AI

    When people get excited about AI, it is generative AI specifically that sets the pulse racing. Q Start with the basics... what is artificial intelligence (AI)? It is the ability of machines to ‘think’ or perform functions, like humans, but it comes in different shapes and sizes. Q So AI is not all the same beast then? It is not. Machine-learning algorithms use existing data to learn how to do a task, and gradually get better at it as time goes on – the more data, and the better that data, the better the result. Generative AI (GenAI) uses more sophisticated large language models (LLMs), based on the way neurons work in the human brain. They can learn more from bigger data sources and, dare I say it, have more ‘creative’ outputs. Q AI can be creative? Maybe it appears creative because…

  • Berry-harvesting robot can detect fruits once they reach perfect ripeness

    A UK firm has unveiled an agricultural robot designed for berry-picking that it believes can harvest at the same speed and quality as human pickers. Cambridge-based Fieldwork Robotics said it is already working with Costa Group – one of Australia’s leading producers of fresh fruit and vegetables – to deploy its new model at various berry farms on a trial basis over the next year. Dubbed Fieldworker 1, the new robotic model allows for more accurate detection of berry ripeness than previous models, as well as a heightened picking speed. The new robot supposedly provides growers with a “predictable cost per berry” and can work alongside human labourers. If successful, the technology could be a vital lifeline for British growers of strawberries and raspberries. According to a survey by British…

  • Teachers to use AI for marking and lesson planning in £4m government initiative

    Teachers could soon be utilising AI technology for marking homework and planning lessons under proposals from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). The £4m project will pool government documents including curriculum guidance, lesson plans and anonymised pupil assessments to train tools to generate creative content for lessons and workbooks. The content store is targeted at technology companies specialising in education to build tools that will help teachers mark work, create teaching materials for use in the classroom and assist with routine school admin. According to a government analysis, the project will make classroom AI 92% accurate, compared with the 67% rate for current commercial alternatives. DSIT believes that greater use of AI in the classroom could…

  • EU sued by climate campaigners for failure to meet emission targets

    Climate campaigners are suing the EU over its climate ambitions, saying they are “alarmingly off-track” from the 1.5°C limit of the Paris Agreement. According to Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe and the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), European executives have set “unlawful annual emission limits” by 2030 for a number of key industries across the continent. These include the buildings, agriculture, waste, small industry and transport sectors that cover an estimated 57% of total greenhouse gas emissions from the 27 member countries. The lawsuit, which was originally filed earlier this year, has been fast-tracked ahead of an oral hearing in 2025. The NGOs have also called on EU decision-makers to accelerate climate action and take actions that would enable a 65% gross emission reduction…

  • Uber fined €290m for GDPR breach

    Ride-hailing firm Uber has received a €290m (£245m) fine for improperly transferring the personal data of European taxi drivers to the US. The Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) said the firm had failed to appropriately safeguard the data of the drivers, which constitutes “a serious violation” of the EU’s GDPR rules. Uber has already ended its violation of the rules. The sizeable fine is based on GDPR rules that allow for fines of up to 4% of global annual turnover to be levied for non-compliance. With Uber making around €34.5bn last year, the level of sanction is well below the possible maximum limit. However, the firm only achieved profitability last year for the first time since it became a public company in 2019, making around $1.1bn. Dutch DPA chairman Aleid Wolfsen said: “In…

  • Nasa looks to expand the use of its free-flying robots aboard the ISS

    Nasa intends to expand the use of its Astrobee free-flying robots that carry out various activities aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The cube-shaped robots – named Bumble, Honey and Queen – have been helping astronauts and researchers perform technology demonstrations, scientific research and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) activities in space since 2018. The battery-powered robots fly around the space station’s modules using electric fans for propulsion and can ‘see’ their surroundings using lights, cameras and other sensors. They have interchangeable ‘arms’ that allow them to hold objects or remain steady for tasks requiring stability, and magnets to ensure they stay securely docked when recharging. Nasa is now seeking input from US companies for…

  • Engineering a quiet place

    We look at efforts to understand sound perception and restore a sense of peace and quiet. It was – and still is – the spookiest experience of my life. I was standing in an anechoic chamber, designed to cut out all noise, and it felt deeply disturbing. There was absolute silence. Even my breath was silent. Speech sounded weirdly muted because there was no echo at all. The hairs rose on the back of my neck and tingled. After a while, I realised I could hear my own pulse, which was a small comfort. No one stays in an anechoic chamber for long: the sensory deprivation makes people hallucinate. An anechoic chamber is insulated from external noises and designed to minimise the reflection of sound waves inside. It’s the opposite of everyday life. If you’re sitting in a quiet room right now, pause…

  • Comment: How to mass produce medical parts economically using additive manufacturing

    The healthcare industry has benefited from additive manufacturing (AM) technology for many years, particularly for producing patient-specific dental and orthopaedic implants. Enrico Orsi, AM product manager at global engineering technologies company Renishaw, explores how the healthcare industry can now move from small-scale production of customised parts towards volume manufacture. When compared to traditional manufacturing methods, AM is a relatively new technology, which presents some barriers to its mass adoption. AM was originally developed to manufacture high-value products in small batches, so before investing this process often requires a careful cost assessment. None more so than in the healthcare industry, which is a highly regulated industry, and any qualification process will…

  • Evil Engineer - How high do I turn my loudspeakers to be heard across the nation?

    This month, the Evil Engineer comes to the aid of a correspondent set on very public revenge. Dear Evil Engineer, I hope you don’t mind a villain industry outsider writing to you with a very particular plea for help. I have spoken to friends, my sister and my therapist, and none of them have been able to give me what I need – so I’m reaching out to someone who might. Earlier this month, I discovered my husband of 20 years has been having an affair. First came the denial, then the grief, then the resolution to give him what he deserves. I’m going to buy the biggest speaker system I can find – price is no object – and announce to the entire country that he is a cheating b*******. Could you help me as the others have been unable to: by telling me how loud I need my system to be in order…

  • Teardown - Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1

    Are AI-led, voice-based devices capable to standing up to smartphones? Not yet, on this evidence. Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, the buzz around conversational AI – or large language models (LLM) – has reached fever pitch. Now two firms – Humane and Rabbit – have attempted to cash in on the trend with standalone devices designed to convince buyers to drop their smartphones in favour of something primarily designed to be interacted with through voice. The motherboard is densely packed to fit its diminutive size Hardware-wise, Humane’s AI Pin is probably the most interesting of the two, and is designed to be clipped onto a shirt or jacket and operated using voice commands. While it lacks a traditional screen, it does come with a tiny laser projector that beams information…

  • GCSE results show increase in crucial engineering subjects – but uptake of D&T still lagging

    Science and maths remain the top two subjects in GCSEs taken, but significant increases have occurred in statistics and computer science, and there has been a small uplift in design and technology (D&T). Students across England, Wales and Northern Ireland today received more than 5.6 million GCSE results. While the pass rate has fallen for a third year running (67.6%), results are similar to those in 2019 – the last year exams were taken before Covid-19. There has also been an increase in engineering gateway subjects. Figures released by the Joint Council for Qualifications reveal that science (980,786 entries) and mathematics (878,165 entries) had the highest number of entries. There continues to be an uptake in computer science with an increase at 5.8% – from 90,558 last year to 95…

  • Broad-ranging rail review recommends new northern train routes

    A review into the future of the UK’s railways commissioned by the Labour Party has recommended a new railway route connecting various northern cities together in a mirror of similar services in the south of England. The Rail and urban transport review was commissioned by Labour last December while it was still in opposition, although its recommendations have only just been published. It calls on the new government to approve an ambitious strategy to increase journeys by public transport, walking and cycling by 2035, and to double the mode share of rail within a decade. It follows the recent cancellation of various infrastructure projects by the Labour government, including the Restoring Your Railway Fund, which would have reopened lines and stations that had been previously shuttered…

  • China drastically cuts coal power approvals as renewables soar

    China has slowed down approvals of new coal power projects as its renewable energy adoption soars, a report from a think tank has found. Nevertheless, while the number of new coal power permits has decreased, the existing pipeline of projects “remains substantial”, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said. It warned that the upcoming projects mean that China’s climate targets and energy transition ambitions are at risk. China undertook a surge in coal power permits in 2022 and 2023, with 100GW in approvals annually in both years. But in the first half of 2024, China reduced the number of permits by 83% compared to the same period last year, permitting only 9GW of new generation. The country still undertook construction on over 41GW of coal projects in the first half…

  • SunCable receives another major environmental approval for its flagship solar project

    SunCable’s flagship development project Australia-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink), which aims to deliver 6GW of electricity to Darwin and Singapore, has been approved under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. Australian renewable energy company SunCable, which is owned by a consortium led by Grok Ventures, is another step closer to its ambition of delivering 24/7 renewable electricity to Darwin and Singapore via “the world’s longest overhead and subsea high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission systems”. Its flagship project, AAPowerLink, has now received EPBC Act approval. This regulatory milestone follows last month’s environmental approval granted by Australia’s Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority. The AAPowerLink 12,000-hectare (29…

  • Blood packs delivered by drones in ground-breaking UK trial

    Blood packs have been successfully transported by drone in a series of “beyond visual line of sight” flights, marking the first time such a feat has been accomplished in the UK. The research study, jointly conducted by NHS Blood and Transplant and the medical logistics company Apian, aimed to evaluate the viability of drone transport for blood delivery. Over the course of the trial, 10 units of packed red blood cells were flown across a 68km route over Northumbria, while an identical set of 10 units was delivered by road. Post-flight analysis revealed no significant difference in the biochemical or haematological profiles of the blood transported by drone compared to that transported by road, indicating that the usability of the blood was not compromised during delivery. The trial is…

  • TSMC breaks ground on its first European chipmaking factory in eastern Germany

    Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, is to construct a €10bn computer chip plant in Dresden, Germany, expected to be a key supplier to European industry and car makers. An event was held in Dresden on 20 August 2024 to mark the construction of a new semiconductor chip plant in Dresden, often referred to as the heart of Germany’s ‘Silicon Saxony’ chipmaking region. The plant is the result of a joint venture called the European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (ESMC) between TSCM, German engineering company Robert Bosch, German semiconductor manufacturer Infineon Technologies AG and Dutch semiconductor manufacturing company NXP Semiconductors. To build the €10bn plant, the EU Commission has approved €5bn worth of state aid – the biggest…

  • MoD to build ‘silent hangar’ for military vehicles to combat GPS jamming

    A test facility to help the military counter GPS jamming efforts is being built at the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Boscombe Down site in Wiltshire. The ‘silent hangar’, which has a far greater capacity than existing UK facilities, will be large enough to fit some of the biggest military assets, including Protector drones, Chinook helicopters and F-35 fighter jets. As well as other technologies, planes rely on satellite-based GPS for positioning, navigation and timing. GPS jamming occurs when a frequency transmitting device is used to block or interfere with radio communications that are stronger than the satellite-based GPS signals. GPS jamming or spoofing GPS signals is increasingly used during warfare to disrupt airborne vehicles or critical economic, defence and strategic activities…

  • FAA announces $291m investment to boost development of clean aviation technologies

    The US government’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is allocating $291m to projects that will help the country reach its net zero greenhouse gas emissions from aviation by 2050. The funds, which have been allocated from the Inflation Reduction Act, are aimed at boosting the development and adoption of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other low-emission aviation technologies through a number of grants. Pete Buttigieg, US secretary of transportation, said: “The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to enhancing the safety, sustainability and efficiency of our national air transportation system and reaching our mid-century target of net zero emissions. “These grants will help put the world on a path towards decarbonising aviation while fostering domestic economic growth and ensuring…

  • China is five years behind the West in chipmaking, report finds

    China is about five years behind the market leaders in global chip manufacturing technology, a report from US think tank ITIF has claimed. In 2022, the US imposed sweeping restrictions on the sale of advanced chips and manufacturing gear to China, which has forced the country to seek self-sufficiency in the semiconductor industry. The most advanced chips are considered crucial to stay at the forefront of technological innovation – not least of all AI, which requires vast amounts of processing power. But the ITIF report finds that Chinese firms are roughly five years behind global leaders in high-volume manufacturing of cutting-edge chips and that the country’s efforts to “catch up” across different subsectors has been uneven. For example, Chinese enterprises are thought to be only around…

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