Volcano on Ascension island in the mid-Atlantic ocean. A project to extract rare minerals and elements from the plumes of a volcano, and another to extract them from mining waste are among nine innovation partnerships that have been awarded £3.5 million of funding from Innovate UK. The projects are: Ascension Earth Resources: A partnership between […]

Water pipes for drinking water supply are visible on a construction site: The EA said 19% of water supplies are still being lost due to leakage before reaching consumers. Almost a fifth (19%) of water supplies are lost by water companies before reaching customers’ taps, a new report from the Environment Agency appears to find. […]

  The Royal Society of Chemistry has welcomed the Drinking Water Inspectorate’s decision to apply stricter limits on PFAS levels allowed in English and Welsh drinking water but cautions there is more to be done to improve chemicals monitoring and regulation. PFAS, more commonly known as ‘forever chemicals’, are a group of chemicals found in […]

Image credit: Recycle Your Electricals. Around £266 million of copper resides in the UK’s unused or binned electricals,1 says charity group Recycle Your Electricals, citing “drawers of doom” that “groan with stashed tech”. New research from the group appears to reveal that the UK’s 1.3 billion unused or binned electricals, including 627m cables, could hold […]

The CGEN team on Mocean Energy’s BlueX wave converter (image credit: Mocean Energy). A new spinout company has developed modular generator technology the founders say could reduce the levelized cost of energy for offshore renewables by 10 to 15 per cent. CGEN Engineering’s lightweight, stackable generator system can be easily transported to onshore and offshore […]

In today’s world, where sustainability has become a watchword for innovation and responsibility, starting a green building business offers an exciting opportunity to contribute positively to the environment while capitalizing on a growing market trend. This venture requires not only a passion for sustainable practices but also a strategic approach to establishing and expanding your […]

University of Edinburgh start-up firm EVA Biosystems has developed a plastic that is described as being able to sense when it’s in the ocean and break itself down without creating microplastics. The solution secured top prize in the SSE-sponsored Net Zero category at this year’s Converge Awards, an annual awards ceremony intended to celebrate and […]

Autonomous and remote-controlled drone boats that can measure discharge flow rate and water quality in rivers are available in the UK, seemingly for the first time, thanks to an exclusive partnership between Xylem and Surfbee Hydrobotics, a marine and aquatic robotic solutions provider. Founded in Australia in 2016, Surfbee is an innovative leader in development […]

Microplastics which have been used in leave-on cosmetic and personal care products are being overlooked by research and regulators, according to a new critical review conducted by scientists at the University of Birmingham. The paper “Beyond microbeads: Examining the role of cosmetics in microplastic pollution and spotlighting unanswered questions” published in the Journal of Hazardous […]

Image credit: AVOXY / Shutterstock.com. New research exploring the effects of the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in Glasgow appears to find that while traffic flow has remained largely unchanged since the Zone was enforced, air quality has improved. The study, undertaken by researchers from the Universities of Glasgow, Auckland and University College Dublin, gathered hourly […]

The global demand for sustainable infrastructure has grown exponentially as the impacts of climate change, urbanization, and population growth become increasingly evident. Engineers, architects, and planners are now challenged to design and build structures that are not only durable but also environmentally responsible. The Role of Sustainable Infrastructure in Modern Society Sustainable infrastructure is defined […]

This post is part of an ongoing “What Is” series from Energy Innovation that answers some of today’s most pressing climate policy questions. The first in this series answered the question–What is Net-Zero?, and the second answered the question What is The Inflation Reduction Act?. What is Clean Energy? Fighting climate change is the challenge of […]