Engineering news
'An important milestone': power station starts capturing carbon
Energy Live News
Another week, another step forward for carbon capture. A £400,000 bioenergy carbon capture and storage demonstration has started sequestering CO2 at the Drax wood-burning power station in North Yorkshire. The technology only captures one tonne of the greenhouse gas per day, a small fraction of the total emissions – but it could lead to wider use of the method elsewhere.
3D-printed engine heading into orbit
The Engineer
Last year, Orbex was selected as the launch provider for the UK's first vertical take-off spaceport. Now it has unveiled some of the technology that will lift payloads into orbit, including the world's largest 3D-printed rocket engine. The second stage was reportedly manufactured in one piece and it is hoped that it will withstand the temperature fluctuations and pressure changes of space travel better than previous engines.
Keeping CubeSats in space
New Atlas
Small satellites will be the most frequent payload on launches from Sutherland in Scotland. This week, researchers at Purdue University in the US unveiled technology that could help CubeSats stay in orbit for longer, using a technique known as Low Energy Surface Flashover. The process involves firing incredibly short bursts of plasma – pulses last less than 200 nanoseconds, or billionths of a second.
Nissan drives X-Trail manufacturing away from Sunderland – and Brexit
The Guardian
Seven weeks to go until 29 March, and business concerns are growing about Brexit's potential impact on UK manufacturing. Nissan said Brexit "uncertainty" was a factor in its decision not to build its X-Trail SUV in Sunderland. The company's car factory in the north-east employs almost 7,000 people, and is the largest in the UK.
All aboard the hydrogen train for Vivarail
Rail Technology Magazine
The discussion over hydrogen trains kept moving this week, with a new IMechE report calling for "urgent action" to introduce the vehicles outside the electrified network. Manufacturer Vivarail also unveiled plans for new hydrogen trains, which will have a projected range of 650 miles and will use regenerative braking to capture lost energy.
Tornadoes fly home
BBC
After almost four decades of missions, RAF Tornado jets returned to the UK this week ahead of their retirement. The aircraft, built by the UK, Italy and West Germany, will be replaced by six Typhoon jets remaining in Cyprus.
Boeing and Aerion go supersonic
New Atlas
Boeing and Aerion hope a new collaboration will bring their own iconic jet. The partners hope to return commercial supersonic flight to the skies, aiming to bring a 12-passenger business jet into service by 2025.
You wait for an ultra-low emission bus, then 263 come along at once...
Professional Engineering
The number of ultra-low emission buses on UK roads will double to more than 500 thanks to a new £48m government investment. The money, from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles, will fund 263 new green vehicles and infrastructure such as charging points in 19 local authority areas in England and Wales.
Bailing-out oil and gas?
E&T
A report has called for an 'industry deal' to help the oil and gas sector extract a remaining 10-20bn barrels of fossil fuels from the UK Continental Shelf. But with climate change warnings becoming increasingly urgent, will the government offer support to the polluting industry?
Shape-shifting artificial 'muscles': could they 'transform how mechanical devices work'?
Professional Engineering
Ambitious researchers behind a shape-shifting sheet with power density similar to natural muscles have claimed it “could transform the way that mechanical devices work”. The research report's first author, Ehsan Hajiesmaili, said: "This actuation method opens the door to novel devices that [were] deemed too complicated to pursue due to the complex deformations required, such as a shape-morphing aerofoil."
Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily reflect the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.