Eco Innovation
Trend 2025: energy requirements often depend on the size of the AI model
The enormous energy requirements of artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly becoming the focus of discussion. No wonder, as early as 2019, a US study warned that training a single neural network alone causes as much CO2 emissions as five (conventional) cars.
Why you should care about Clean Energy Day
Today, 26th January 2025, is International Clean Energy Day. This global initiative not only raises awareness of the urgent need to transition from fossil fuels but also calls for inclusive action to adopt clean energy sources, addressing one of the most pressing challenges of our time: climate change.
A robot cleaning up the Hofvijver in The Hague
The Municipality of The Hague has launched a pilot project to keep the historic Hofvijver plastic-free.
Circular Electronics Day sparks action for a more sustainable tech future
Global e-waste levels continue to rise, posing serious challenges to human health and the environment.
£13.7M worth of e-waste generated by 3G switch-off
The 3G switch-off on O2’s network is expected to affect approximately 4.3 million[1] people across the UK. As a result, this could generate an enormous 70,516 kilograms of e-waste, roughly the same weight as 5.9 double-decker buses. And the materials from scrapping these old phones could be worth a staggering £13,769,488.
Coding for a greener Internet
Researchers from the University of Waterloo have found a way to reduce the energy use of some data centres by as much as 30%.
E-waste is a gold mine: research extracts precious metal
Approaches to address electronic waste, or e-waste, have been varied. Some of these approaches that have featured on Electronic Specifier have included recycling electronic components - so they’re not outright discarded into landfill - while others have investigated new materials that are more recyclable, and battery-free applications that remove one major part of e-waste altogether.
Fungi fuelled batteries
Imagine a battery that feeds on simple sugars instead of plugging into a wall – a sustainable alternative to conventional energy storage, powered by the metabolic processes of living organisms. Well, researchers at Empa have brought this very idea to life with a biodegradable battery powered by fungi.
UK lags behind other European nations in e-waste recycling
The UK is falling far behind other European nations in recycling e-waste, despite the growing scarcity of vital components, high carbon footprint, and health impact caused by waste electronics.
£230k to help digital transformation of SME manufacturers
Made Smarter Adoption North West, the trailblazing digital technology adoption programme, has secured an additional £230,000 to help more SME manufacturers access transformational technology.