Physics: Energy and efficiency in the news

Engineering stories whose deep dive explains energy and efficiency, ready to use as a starter, a reading task or a real-world example. Each one links to the GCSE and A level curriculum.

Energy & EnvironmentBreakthroughs

Offshore Geothermal Energy: First Seafloor Power System

Endurance Energy has generated electricity from a geothermal well drilled 1,500 metres beneath the Pacific Ocean, the first offshore geothermal power system ever deployed.

Deep dive: The Organic Rankine Cycle and Subsea Power Generation

6 min read

Construction & Infrastructure

Small Modular Reactor Wylfa: UK’s First SMR Takes Shape

Arup leads the engineering team designing the UK's first small modular reactor at Wylfa, where three Rolls-Royce SMRs will generate 1.5 GWe of clean…

Deep dive: Building Nuclear Power in Sections

6 min read

Construction & Infrastructure

Kinmel Bay Coastal Defence: 66,500 Tonnes of Rock

How Jones Bros used 66,500 tonnes of Welsh rock armour to build the Kinmel Bay coastal defence, protecting 2,000+ homes from the sea.

Deep dive: How Rock Armour Absorbs a Storm

6 min read

Construction & InfrastructureInnovation

Force-Regulating Fuses Could Prevent Building Collapse

Engineers have developed force-regulating fuses that prevent building collapse propagation, isolating damage like an electrical fuse before it cascades.

Deep dive: Progressive Collapse, Structural Mechanics, and the Design of Force-Regulating Fuses

7 min read

Energy & EnvironmentInnovation

Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor Contract Signed for Wylfa

A Rolls-Royce small modular reactor contract has been signed for three 470MW units at Wylfa, Anglesey, creating 8,000 jobs and powering 3 million homes.

Deep dive: Inside the Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor

5 min read

Energy & EnvironmentBreakthroughs

Compressorless Hydrogen Gas Turbine Beats NASA Record

KIT engineers built a compressorless hydrogen gas turbine that ran for 303 seconds, beating NASA's record and generating electricity without mechanical compression.

Deep dive: Gas Turbines

4 min read