ENGGtalks Newsroom

13 Mar 23

Geothermal energy could provide electricity while capturing carbon emissions

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

Using Geothermal-Bioenergy and Carbon Capture and Sequestration (BECCS) as an energy source could positively impact the environment, new research has shown. Karan Titus, UC civil and natural resources engineering PhD student, has investigated this type of energy, and how it can be harnessed to remove carbon from the atmosphere. The…

13 Mar 23

UK risks ‘squandering’ its electric vehicle lead, industry body warns

Civil, Structural & Architecture, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said that while almost every EV component is already built in UK plants, the capacity needs to be scaled up rapidly to secure the sector’s long-term future. The SMMT wants the government to shore up Britain’s ability to compete as other countries…

13 Mar 23

Interview: Matheu Parr, ACCEL project lead, Rolls-Royce

Civil, Structural & Architecture, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

Describing the event as “a momentous occasion” and an “incredible achievement”, Matheu Parr recalls how Rolls-Royce Electrical’s demonstrator aircraft Spirit of Innovation set three world records. On 16 November 2021 the ACCEL (short for Accelerating the Electrification of Flight) project delivered top speeds over distances of 3km and 15km, and…

13 Mar 23

Dott to refurbish its rental e-scooters in bid to cut emissions

Civil, Structural & Architecture, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

Initially taking place in Lyon, Dott’s e-scooters will undergo a complete refurbishment, extending their current three years of service by a further four years. By reaching a total lifespan of seven years, the programme avoids manufacturing and transporting new vehicles, which will reduce Dott’s carbon emissions by nearly 50 per…

12 Mar 23

The EV Battery Wish List

Civil, Structural & Architecture

Electric cars barely existed in 2010, when the Tesla Model S was still a glint in Elon Musk’s eye. Now more than 20 million EVs girdle the globe, according to BloombergNEF—and that count is expected to nearly quadruple to 77 million by 2025. A battery will be the high-voltage heart…

11 Mar 23

False Starts: The Story of Vehicle-to-Grid Power

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation

In 2001, a team of engineers at a then-obscure R&D company called AC Propulsion quietly began a groundbreaking experiment. They wanted to see whether an electric vehicle could feed electricity back to the grid. The experiment seemed to prove the feasibility of the technology. The company’s president, Tom Gage, dubbed…

11 Mar 23

Optical Algorithm Simplifies Analog AI Training

Computer & Information Technology

Researchers have developed a range of analog and other unconventional machine learning systems in the expectation that they will prove vastly more energy efficient than today’s computers. But training these AIs to do their tasks has been a big stumbling block. Researchers at NTT Device Technology Labs and the University…

11 Mar 23

Video Friday: Agilicious

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclusion.HRI 2023: 13–16 March 2023, STOCKHOLMRobotics Summit & Expo: 10–11 May…

10 Mar 23

Ultrathin Metasurface Displays Take Aim at the LCD

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation

Currently, LCD screens are the most dominant and popular display technology for televisions and monitors, but they are unlikely to get significantly better in the future. Now a new study finds the kind of physics that make microscopic “invisibility cloaks” possible may lead to next-generation “metasurface” displays roughly 1/100 the…

10 Mar 23

World’s Largest Biofuel Program Places a Risky Bet

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency runs the world’s largest biofuel program: the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). On its surface, the RFS requires providers of U.S. transportation fuel to blend in a certain quota of fuels from renewable sources.But when is a renewable fuel not renewable? On 23 February, ProPublica reported…