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A TECHNIQUE based on the principles of MRI and NMR has allowed researchers to observe not only how next-generation batteries for large-scale energy storage work but also how they fail. Developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, the new tools will help scientists design more efficient and safer battery systems for grid-scale energy storage. In addition, the technique may be...

IN an industry first, two British companies have successfully trialled selling ‘heat-as-as-service’, in a move that experts believe will pave the way for the low carbon retrofit revolution. Energy Systems Catapult runs innovation trials in their Living Lab – where 100 homes spread between Newcastle, Manchester, the West Midlands, Gloucestershire and Bridgend in Wales – are fitted with ‘smart heating...

THE LEGISLATION to ban the supply of plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds will be laid in Parliament today. In England, it is estimated that we use 4.7 billion plastic straws, 316 million plastic stirrers and 1.8 billion plastic-stemmed cotton buds every year. An estimated 10% of cotton buds are flushed down toilets and can end up in waterways and oceans and threaten...

A NEW report has found that more than a third of the British public believe climate change is the most serious problem of our time - ahead of any other global issue such as war, conflict, poverty or economic recession. In the study by Vattenfall people in Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, France and the United Kingdom answered a...

DOZENS of community groups will receive funding to transform neglected urban spaces into thriving green havens for the whole community to use, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick announced today. Announced on the UN World Wildlife Day, the £1.35 million funding will help community groups to create 19 brand-new parks and refurbish 49 currently unused plots of land, breathing new, green life...

A PARTNERSHIP is aiming to forge a more sustainable approach to mattress design and disposal, tackling the estimated 600,000 mattresses disposed of in Scotland each year. Zero Waste Scotland and the National Bed Federation work together on a three-year research project to increase mattress recycling and encourage more sustainable design. Iain Gulland, Chief Executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said: “The scale...

A NEW Hydrogen Task Force, which wants the UK Government to commit £1bn towards hydrogen projects, was launched in Parliament today. The coalition is backed by the major companies Arup, Arval, Baxi, BNP Paribas, BOC, BP, Cadent, DBD, ITM Power, Shell and Storengy. The Taskforce has agreed a collective position on the next steps that must be taken to ensure the...

A LARGE fatberg and a skip full of wrongly flushed items have been removed by Northumbrian Water from a clogged North East sewer. A large, hard, fatberg made up of congealed fats, oils and greases, was found at one of the company's sewage treatment works in the Cambois area, along with wrongly flushed items including wet wipes, nappies, cotton buds,...

HOUSING Minister Christopher Pincher has today launched a competition to design the homes of the future. Small businesses, designers and manufacturers are invited to come forward with ideas for new low carbon, age-friendly homes, meeting the highest standards of design. These homes will be aimed at meeting the needs of the country’s growing elderly generation, using technology and the latest innovations...

A NEW Contracts for Difference auction will allow cheap renewable sources like onshore wind and solar to compete for contracts which enable new projects to be financed – the first such auction since 2015. Details of the new round of the Contracts for Difference scheme, which opens in 2021, have been set out today, Monday 2 March. The scheme will also...