Science and Engineering

Fracking’s back on the menu, but is it half-baked?

By Laurence Stamford Filed Under: All posts, British Politics, Energy and Environment, Renewables, Science and Engineering Posted: September 30, 2022

The UK and other European countries are facing a severe energy crisis, with the potential to place more than 8 million UK households in fuel poverty this winter. This ‘energy’ crisis is more accurately a natural gas crisis, driven mostly by restrictions on Russian gas supply to Europe. In one of her first initiatives as […]

The skills gap for long term nuclear future

By Aneeqa Khan Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: July 22, 2022

The world’s climate and energy crises continues to worsen with extreme weather, heatwaves and increasing global energy prices. The IEA’s net zero by 2050 pathway has identified the need for nuclear, including SMRs growing support for this in the UK, Canada, France and the US. In this blog, Aneeqa Khan discusses the steps needed to […]

Electrification – technology and people

By Mike Barnes Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: July 4, 2022

The drive to achieve Net Zero is underpinned by the principle that as a society we should ensure that we leave this planet better off, and indeed make it better for the next generation. Smart electrification is a key part of this. This is the combination of technology and human behaviour; it means electricity can’t […]

Taking action on hot air: Why agriculture is the key to reducing UK methane emissions

By Ian Plewis Filed Under: Energy and Environment, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: May 24, 2022

While much of the global discussion on climate change focusses on cutting CO2 emissions, methane is around 25 times more potent as a greenhouse gas in trapping heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. At COP26, the UK Government committed to reducing methane emissions by 30%. In this blog, Emeritus Professor Ian Plewis lays out the scale […]

The Energy Security Strategy: Going nuclear

By Francis Livens Filed Under: Energy and Environment, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: April 7, 2022

The government has today announced plans to build eight new nuclear reactors in the UK, alongside strategies to boost wind, hydrogen, and solar production. These new reactors are intended to improve the UK’s energy self-sufficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as creating thousands of new jobs. In this blog, Professor Francis Livens of […]

Smart (and Safe) Homes – public-private partnerships to mitigate the digital harms of smart home devices

By David Buil-Gil, James Nicholson and Steven Kemp Filed Under: All posts, British Politics, Digital Futures, Science and Engineering Posted: March 31, 2022

In recent years smart devices have become a feature of people’s, increasingly complex, home ecosystems. This brings new opportunities for users and may improve energy efficiency, but it also poses new threats to the privacy and security of end users. While there is emerging evidence of attacks against home devices and data misuse, there is […]

Building nuclear for a greener future

By William Bodel, Gregg Butler, Juan Matthews, Francis Livens and Adrian Bull Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment, Science and Engineering Posted: March 7, 2022

The UK’s ambition to achieve net zero by 2050 is an enormous undertaking, and many acknowledge that achieving such a goal requires an increase in nuclear energy capacity and therefore an increase in the number of nuclear sites across the UK. In this blog, colleagues from the Dalton Nuclear Institute; William Bodel, Adrian Bull, Gregg […]

Can we use autonomous robotic systems in hazardous environments?

By Michael Fisher, Louise Dennis and Matt Luckcuck Filed Under: All posts, Digital Futures, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: March 1, 2022

Autonomous systems are becoming increasingly commonplace across all facets of modern life, including hazardous environments, where the choices made by machines have the potential to cause harm or injury to humans. But how well do we understand the decision-making process of artificial intelligence, and how does this affect trust in autonomous systems? In this blog, Professor […]

Carbon Capture and Storage and Greenhouse Gas Removal – Essential ingredients for net zero

By Sarah Mander and Clair Gough Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment, Science and Engineering Posted: February 7, 2022

Our planet is heating up, and the impacts of climate change are already being felt across the world. We all know reducing greenhouse gas emissions is essential for our planet’s future. However, research shows that, given the scale and urgency of the challenge of reducing emissions across the entire economy, meeting climate change targets will […]

Sustainable engineering – not just engineering for sustainability

By Michael Fisher Filed Under: Digital Futures, Energy and Environment, Renewables, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: January 25, 2022

Net zero now forms the heart of policies and strategies across government, from “levelling up” to “build back better”. Combined with the UK’s National Infrastructure Strategy, it is clear that engineering – particularly new technologies such as robotics and AI – has a core role in our decarbonisation efforts. But how green are the technologies […]