This veteran-run startup has invented ‘game-changing’ way to recycle Kevlar

Dec10
by on December 10, 2024 at 7:00 am
Posted In: Uncategorized


UK and Luxembourg-based startup Uplift360 has landed €1mn in pre-seed funding to scale up a greener method for recycling advanced materials like Kevlar. Uplift360’s patent-pending process breaks down Kevlar and other composites without compromising the integrity of the fibres and resins. These raw materials can then be reused to make new products. It does this using safe chemicals and at room temperature — making it greener and more energy-efficient than traditional methods, the startup claims.   “It’s a game-changer,” Sam Staincliffe, Uplift360’s co-founder and CTO, told TNW in an interview. “It means we can lower costs and recycle a wide range…

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Tokamak Energy gets US, UK backing for $52M fusion reactor upgrade

Dec06
by on December 6, 2024 at 9:30 pm
Posted In: Insider


Just two weeks since raising $125mn in funding, British scaleup Tokamak Energy has secured backing from the US and UK to upgrade its ST40 fusion energy plant. The US Department of Energy (DOE), the UK’s Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), and Tokamak Energy will jointly sponsor a $52mn upgrade to the fusion facility in Oxfordshire.  “Fusion has the potential to be a clean and sustainable energy source, transforming how we power our country, and countries around the world,” said Kerry McCarthy, Minister for Climate at DESNZ.  “This strategic partnership is therefore crucial to develop this new and…

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Radioactive ‘diamond battery’ could power spacecraft for thousands of years

Dec06
by on December 6, 2024 at 11:08 am
Posted In: Insider, Space


Scientists in the UK have successfully created the world’s first carbon-14 diamond battery, which could power low-energy devices like satellite communication equipment for over 5,000 years. The battery is made of the radioactive isotope carbon-14, encased in a thin layer of synthetic diamond. As the carbon-14 decays it emits electrons. The diamond acts like a semiconductor, converting these electrons into electricity. Since carbon-14 has a half-life of 5,700 years, scientists expect the battery to last for millennia.  The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and the University of Bristol led the development, partly due to the former’s work on fusion energy.…

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Aachen spinout FibreCoat secures €20mn to bring super-fibres to spacecraft

Dec05
by on December 5, 2024 at 11:19 pm
Posted In: Space


German startup FibreCoat has bagged €20mn in Series B funding as it looks to bring its super-resistant materials to the burgeoning space industry.  FibreCoat spunout from RWTH Aachen University in 2020. The startup has developed a patented process for coating fibres with metals and plastics during the spinning stage. This creates fibres that are lightweight and conductive, yet strong and durable — at a fraction of conventional costs. These can then be spun together to form reinforced composites.  So far, FibreCoat has focused on securing clients in the automotive, construction, and defence industries, where the materials are particularly useful for…

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Dr. Rob’s new AI model promises to cut aircraft design time from months to days

Dec04
by on December 4, 2024 at 9:07 pm
Posted In: artificial intelligence, Insider


UK startup PhysicsX, founded by former Formula 1 engineering whizz Robin “Dr. Rob” Tuluie, has unveiled an AI tool that could fast-track the time it takes to design a new aircraft from months to just a few days.  Dubbed LGM-Aero, the software creates new designs for aeroplanes. Using advanced algorithms trained on more than 25 million geometries, the model predicts lift, drag, stability, structural stress and other attributes for each shape. It then tailors the design according to what you want your plane to do. PhysicsX said the AI is the first-ever Large Geometry Model (LGM) for aerospace engineering. A…

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