Articles in ‘Innovation’

JCB’s £100 million hydrogen programme has crossed an important threshold: its hydrogen combustion engine is no longer simply an experimental alternative to diesel. Full European type-approval, a production hydrogen-powered backhoe and the first commercial generator deliveries suggest hydrogen combustion could become a practical option for some of the world’s hardest-to-electrify machinery. INR Report: Based on reporting by Max Carter for…

The Government has committed up to $50 million towards two West Coast critical minerals projects, helping fund processing facilities designed to add value to New Zealand's mineral resources before export. Ministers say the investment will support regional jobs while strengthening New Zealand's role in an increasingly strategic global industry. Report by eLocal · Government backs two projects · Two critical minerals developments on the West…

A remotely operated robot has retrieved artifacts from a 16th-century shipwreck more than 1.5 miles beneath the Mediterranean, offering a glimpse into how precision deep-sea robotics is transforming underwater exploration. Guided from a support vessel above, the system used camera-fed navigation and robotic pincers to maneuver across fragile debris fields, capture high-resolution imagery, and recover centuries-old objects without disturbing the…

By Adam Williams · West Georgia Street is a futuristic supertall skyscraper that's inspired by the sponge reefs found in the waters of British ColumbiaHolborn Group · This remarkable skyscraper draws inspiration from the most unexpected of sources: sea sponges. The ambitious building will rise to a supertall height and will be topped by a publicly accessible tree-filled park. · The skyscraper is slated for Vancouver, Canada, and is…

By Abhimanyu Ghoshal · After thousands of miles of testing and setting up a manufacturing facility, McMurtry is finally ready to begin producing the 1,000-hp Spéirling PureMcMurtry Automotive · Ten years since the company formed, the mad lads at McMurtry Automotive are bringing the record-setting Spéirling Pure hypercar to life. It's going into production at an all-new manufacturing facility in Wotton-under-Edge, England, and the first…

By Michael Franco · Sodium-ion batteries, like those imagined in this generative image, are emerging as a safer, cleaner alternative to lithium-ion technologiesChatGPT · Sodium-ion batteries offer multiple advantages over their lithium-ion cousins. Energy storage, however, isn't one of them. That might be set to change thanks to a new method of creating the batteries involving water-rich cathodes. · Currently, there's really no beating…

Air taxis might be the next big thing but they can't get very big if there's no place for them to land. AutoFlight Aviation Technology is developing a vertiport that's essentially a solar-powered barge that can go where it's needed – water permitting. VTOL air taxis based on a new generation of multi-rotor craft might fulfill the promise of the old helicopter passenger services that emerged in America and Britain in the 1940s and 50s, only to…