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Carmakers boost output as semiconductor shortage eases

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), factories made an additional 8,050 cars year-on-year during the month after two years of difficulty acquiring enough semiconductors. The chip shortage was largely caused by Covid-related supply chain disruptions and the increase in demand that followed the move to remote working. The ongoing trade war between the US and China also played a role in restricting supply. Last year, US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo warned that the sector would continue to struggle to meet demand through 2023. The SMMT report also showed that sales of hybrid and battery electric vehicles continued to increase, up 72.2 per cent year-on-year, accounting for two in five cars produced in the month. A survey of the body’s members showed that…

E+T Magazine in Automotive Engineering
Company prepares world's first artificial meteor shower

The project, named Sky Canvas, aims to study the path and light emission of shooting stars to help scientists develop better weather models. ALE had originally scheduled the launch for 2020, but it was forced to cancel the firework show after detecting a malfunction in one of the satellites. The company has now announced the meteor shower will take place in 2025, when “ALE hopes to give Brits and others all over the world the opportunity to view the world’s first live human-made meteor shower”. Artificial meteor shower over Shangai/ Astro Live Experiences Image credit: Astro Live Experiences Meteor showers occur when dust from space objects – such as asteroids and comets – enter the Earth’s atmosphere and heat up due to friction from the air. The heat causes…

E+T Magazine in Space
UK unveils multi-million green energy scheme

The UK has presented a new, more detailed plan for investing in affordable, clean, homegrown power to mark what has been informally dubbed 'Green Day'. The government was required to present one such scheme after a court ruling found that the country's net-zero strategy is "unlawful", as it failed to show how the policies included in the plan would contribute to achieving the legally-binding 2050 emissions targets. Nonetheless, the government has aimed to downplay the "green" aspect of the strategy, preferring to centre the focus on energy security. "We are stepping up to power Britain and ensure our energy security in the long term with more affordable, clean energy from Britain, so we can drive down energy prices and grow our economy," said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. "That’s…

E+T Magazine in Sustainable Development
Qantas and Airbus to fund biofuel refinery to reduce emissions

SAFs are typically derived by combining jet fuel with alternatives such as biofuels or recycled oils from industrial food facilities to cut the carbon impact of flying. The money for the new project will be used to conduct a detailed feasibility study into a facility that will use alcohol-to-jet technology to produce up to 100 million litres of SAF per year. Qantas and Airbus have previously committed to investing up to $200m to accelerate the establishment of a SAF industry in Australia. Construction on the facility is expected to begin in 2024 and it will be the first project funded under the partnership. Qantas Group chief sustainability officer Andrew Parker said the early project funding was an important first step towards building a domestic SAF industry, which will power flights…

E+T Magazine in Aerospace
Rural businesses struggle with local infrastructure, transport and skills

According to a survey of more than 900 SMEs from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), 27 per cent expect their turnover to decrease over the next year, while only 30 per cent plan to increase investment in technology and R&D Almost two in three (64 per cent) believe they don’t have access to sufficient skilled labour in their local area while 58 per cent feel let down by their local transport services. The BCC said these factors are “entrenching” a rural-urban divide among UK SMEs. When assessing the suitability of local infrastructure, the rural-urban divide was particularly notable in public transport. Well over half (58 per cent) of SMEs in rural areas do not believe their area has reliable and well-connected trains, compared with just 39 per cent in urban areas. Rail network…

E+T Magazine
Experts call for a pause on ‘out-of-control’ AI race

Over 1,300 people, including several notable technology experts, have asked AI labs to pause all large-scale AI experiments for at least six months, in an open letter issued by the Future of Life Institute. The letter stresses that AI labs are currently locked in an “out-of-control race” to develop and deploy machine-learning systems “that no one – not even their creators – can understand, predict, or reliably control.” Notable signatories include Tesla and Twitter owner Elon Musk, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn, Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque, politician Andrew Yang and DeepMind researchers Yoshua Bengio and Stuart Russell. "Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable…

E+T Magazine in Ethical Aspects
AI could affect around 300 million jobs, study finds

Generative artificial intelligence tools (AI) could replace a quarter of work tasks in the US and Europe, according to a report by the investment bank. However, the researchers have also predicted that new technologies would bring in new jobs and a productivity boom that could eventually increase the total annual value of goods and services produced globally by 7 per cent. The report describes g enerative AI's ability to create content indistinguishable from human work - as platforms like ChatGPT can do - as "a major advancement". "If generative AI delivers on its promised capabilities, the labour market could face significant disruption," the report said. In the United States and Europe, approximately two-thirds of current jobs “are exposed to some degree of AI automation,” the bank…

E+T Magazine in Control and Automation
New regulations will ensure AI is developed ‘safely’, government says

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said the plan has been designed to help the UK capitalise on the economic benefits of AI, which already contributes £3.7bn to the economy. Five principles, including safety, transparency and fairness, will guide the use of AI as part of a new national blueprint to be adopted by regulators. However, DSIT also said it wanted to avoid heavy-handed legislation that could “stifle innovation”. Advances such as the ChatGPT app could improve productivity and help unlock growth, but there are concerns about the risks it could pose to people’s privacy, human rights or safety, the government said. Britain is currently home to twice as many companies providing AI products and services as any other European country, and hundreds more are…

E+T Magazine in Ethical Aspects
China's Alibaba to split into six business groups

Alibaba Group will reorganise itself into six separate companies in what has been described as "the most significant governance overhaul" in the platform company’s 24-year history. The Hangzhou-based firm is one of China's most prominent tech giants, with business operations spanning cloud computing, e-commerce, logistics, media and entertainment, and artificial intelligence. The decision to split it was therefore said to have been made to unlock shareholder value and foster market competitiveness. Following the breakup, Daniel Zhang will continue to serve as chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group, which will follow a holding company management model, while each of the six business groups will be managed by a separate CEO and board of directors, the company has revealed . The six new…

E+T Magazine
Britain faces climate change hardship due to adaptation failures, report warns

A new report from the Climate Change Committee (CCC) assessed what is needed to build climate resilience across the economy and the extent of policies needed to meet them. Despite some evidence of improved planning for key climate risks, a “fully credible” climate change plan is only found for five of the 45 adaptation outcomes examined in the report. Furthermore, it found that none of the adaptation efforts were happening fast enough to manage the predicted risks appropriately. The UK saw its first 40°C day last summer in a record-breaking heatwave that caused deaths, wildfire incidents and significant infrastructure disruption. The impact of climate change is expected to intensify over the coming decades, leaving the UK vulnerable without better resilience planning and preparation…

E+T Magazine in Climate Change
Government ‘must act urgently’ to stop the sale of unsafe electricals online

A recent survey by Electrical Safety First (ESF) found nearly four in ten (37 per cent) people are using online marketplaces to compare prices in a bid to get the best deals as the cost-of-living crisis bites. But a new investigation by the charity has revealed that people are more at risk of buying dangerous products online than ever before. ESF investigated listings of electrical goods across five leading online marketplaces, including Amazon Marketplace, eBay, Facebook Marketplace, AliExpress and Wish.com. It found more than 50 listings of products for use all over the home, from the driveway to the kitchen, were unsafe. One EV charging cable purchased from eBay presented a risk of electric shock and overheating when it was tested by a specialist lab. Two other EV charging cables purchased…

E+T Magazine in Research and Innovation
US and Japan reach deal on critical EV battery minerals

The deal aims to "facilitate trade, promote fair competition and market-oriented conditions for trade in critical minerals, advance robust labour and environmental standards, and cooperate in efforts to ensure secure, transparent, sustainable, and equitable critical minerals supply chains", according to the Office of the US Trade Representative. Under the deal, both countries are prohibited from enacting bilateral export restrictions on the minerals most critical for EV batteries, including lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and manganese. The agreement will also allow electric vehicles made from metals processed in Japan to qualify for tax credits under President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. The Act will allow households to receive up to $7,500 (£6,140) in tax credits to buy an…

E+T Magazine in Power Conversion
Hands-on review: PreSonus Studio One 6 Professional DAW

Certain digital audio workstations (DAWs) have captured a specific niche by way of a future-facing concept - such as the grid-based Ableton Live , a firm favourite of the loop-based scene - while other DAWs seek to virtually emulate the sound and feel of working on a large-format analogue console (e.g. Harrison Mixbus 32C) to attract and reassure those familiar with old-school recording studios. For its part, Studio One's primary appeal has long been about providing an all-in-one music production environment: your brother in audio arms for everything from initial tracking through mixing, mastering, online distribution of the finished product and live performance. Practically all of its features take place within a single window. Streamlining operations from start to finish has always been…

E+T Magazine in Computing
British coastal waters feature 100 times more microplastics than six years ago

The high levels of the pollutant represent a dramatic increase on similar surveys carried out just six years ago. Research also showed the presence of a species of shrimp not normally found this far north, which could be an indicator of climate change and warming seas. The data was collected during summer 2022 by teams competing in the GB Row Challenge, a 2,000-mile event that circumnavigates Great Britain. The aim of the research project was to build a picture of the many challenges facing British coastal waters. Using specialist equipment, the rowers gathered data on microplastics, temperature, noise pollution and biodiversity. In 2017, Cefas (Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science) published microplastic data from many of their offshore trawls. It found just…

E+T Magazine in Air Pollution
US generated more energy from renewables than coal for the first time in 2022

In 2022, renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro, biomass, and geothermal, produced more electricity than coal for the first time in the United States. Additionally, renewable generation surpassed nuclear generation for the second time, the first time being in 2021. In total, the US electric power sector produced 4,090 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity last year, according to new figures released by the EIA. The figure was mainly attributed to a significant increase in wind and solar power, which contributed 14 per cent of the electricity produced domestically in 2022, an increase from 12 per cent the previous year. Natural gas remained the largest source of US electricity generation, increasing from a 37 per cent share in 2021 to 39 per cent in 2022. Hydropower…

E+T Magazine in Renewable Energy
Global energy transition ‘in need of fundamental course correction’

Global green energy investments must quadruple to reach the target set by the Paris climate accords, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has said. The agency's World Energy Transitions Outlook 2023 Preview has warned that the global energy transition is "off-track" and in need of a "fundamental course correction", which would include a significant increase in funding. In 2021, $1.3tn (£1tn) was invested in renewable energy sources. However, the IRENA claimed that this figure must rise to around $5tn (£4tn) annually to limit global warming to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels by 2030. According to the agency, the world requires $35tn (£28tn) to be invested in the sector by 2030 in order to be able to reach a "successful energy transition". "A successful energy transition…

E+T Magazine in Renewable Energy
OneWeb-Eutelsat merger to be listed on London stock market this year

OneWeb runs a constellation of satellites which is designed to enable access to broadband speed internet connectivity anywhere on the planet. The UK government bought a stake in OneWeb in 2020 after the latter entered bankruptcy after failing to raise the requisite capital to complete the build and deployment of the remaining 90 per cent of the network. French satellite operator Eutelsat already owns around 23 per cent of OneWeb and proposed a potential merger of the two firms last year when OneWeb was valued at around $3.4bn. According to The Times, Sunil Bharti Mittal, the executive chairman of OneWeb, said that a secondary listing on the LSE was a commitment negotiated by ministers in a bid to boost the domestic space and tech sector. “The benefit is that you have a varied investor…

E+T Magazine in Satellites
Sponsored: Refining automotive battery management systems

India is a fast-growing market for electric vehicles (EVs), with one study predicting that over 30% of the vehicles sold in India will be electric by 2030. The battery packs that power EVs are one of the main drivers of the electric mobility revolution in India. In order to monitor and manage battery pack performance and safety, packs are usually equipped with a battery management system (BMS). A BMS is an electronic system that monitors a battery's voltage, temperature, coolant flow and health and predicts a number of other performance parameters, such as current variation and heat generation, helping to extract optimum performance from a battery pack. The Role of Simulation in Developing Accurate BMS Exicom Tele-Systems Pvt. Ltd. designs, develops and deploys energy solutions, including…

E+T Magazine in Power Conversion
Windfall taxes curtailing investment in fossil fuel extraction, sector warns

Offshore Energies UK’s (OEUK) Business Outlook report finds that nine out of 10 North Sea operators are cutting back investment citing a mix of high taxes, political climate and inflation as key factors in their decisions. It follows the windfall taxes imposed on North Sea oil and gas operators, under which their overall tax rate has risen from 40 per cent to 75 per cent in the last 10 months. The taxes were put in place to try and mitigate soaring inflation and prices that have caused a cost-of-living crisis for many of the UK’s most impoverished households. Fossil fuel extractors globally have announced record profits in recent months driven by high prices in the wake of the Ukraine war. Both BP and Shell have extensive operations in the North Sea and were subject to windfall taxes but…

E+T Magazine in Fossil Fuels
AI could be key to optimising chip design, Nvidia says

Nvidia Corp, the world's leading designer of computer chips used in AI, has shown new research that explains how artificial intelligence tools can be used to improve chip design. In the paper , called ' AutoDMP: Automated DREAMPlace-based Macro Placement', the Nvidia research team proposed an AI-based methodology to optimise the placement of transistors on silicon chips, thereby improving their cost, speed and power consumption. Billions of tiny switches called transistors are placed on a piece of silicon to create what we know as silicon chips, and so the placement of these switches has a great impact on the capabilities of the chips. At the moment, chip design engineers use complex design software from firms like Synopsys Inc and Cadence Design Systems Inc to optimise the placement…

E+T Magazine in Research and Innovation
Twitter hits back against publication of source code

Elon Musk's platform Twitter has asked a US court to provide information on who was behind the account which leaked parts of the company's source code – the underlying software on which the service operates. The company stated in a filing that the code had been posted by a user named FreeSpeechEnthusiast on GitHub, a Microsoft-owned hosting service where software developers share code. The code has now been deleted by GitHub. However, Twitter has asked the District Court of the Northern District of California to order the Microsoft-owned business to “identify the alleged infringer or infringers who posted Twitter’s source code on systems operated by GitHub without Twitter’s authorisation”. Elon Musk's company claimed the account had infringed copyrights owned by the company. In the court…

E+T Magazine in Cybersecurity
New source of lunar water discovered by China’s Chang’e-5 Moon lander

China’s Chang’e-5, which touched down on the Moon in December 2020, found water at its landing site using spectral reflectance measurements of soil and rocks. Now, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) found that impact glass beads in Chang’e-5’s lunar soils also contain some water. Detailed studies suggest that these glass beads are likely to be a new water reservoir on the Moon reflecting the movement of water into and away from the surface due to solar wind. Solar winds originating from the Sun are capable of changing the chemical composition of the Moon’s surface by causing it to eject oxygen which then combines with hydrogen ions in the same solar winds to create water. Many lunar missions have confirmed the presence of structural water or water ice on the Moon and…

E+T Magazine in Space
View from Brussels: No justice yet for time thieves

Back in 2018, the European Union said that it was high time to do away with twice-yearly clock changes and stick to one timezone all year round. The EU’s executive branch, the Commission, responded to a pan-European survey that showed more than 80 per cent of respondents favoured scrapping the system, which was first deployed by Germany during World War I. A fair majority of the survey’s replies were actually from Germans. No surprise, given the country’s central and northern location within the Central European Timezone, which means that evenings draw in earlier. The Commission did not propose such a radical change just based on what one survey says, of course, as it also referenced numerous studies over the years that have suggested factors like road safety and even human health would…

E+T Magazine in Road transport systems
UK making ‘negligible advances’ on infrastructure initiatives, advisers say

The UK is "moving too slowly" on projects set to push forward economic and climate targets, according to the National Infrastructure Commission's (NIC) latest Infrastructure Progress Review . The country's official independent infrastructure adviser has warned the government is at risk of failing to deliver the aims of its National Infrastructure Strategy unless it picks up the pace with detailed policy design and implementation. The NIC stressed that the UK is "off track to meet its targets and ambitions" across a range of measures such as planning, funding and delivery of many of its infrastructure targets. In particular, advisers criticised the government over its “negligible advances in improving the energy efficiency of UK homes, the installation of low-carbon heating solutions…

E+T Magazine in Power Equipment

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