Could sewage-powered car be motorsport's sustainability solution?
As motorsport attempts to reduce carbon emissions and become more environmentally sustainable, a group of engineers may have come up with a novel solution - and it's found in human waste.They have developed a prototype race car made from sustainable materials, that is powered by... sewage.Or rather, sewage treatment technology which involves microbes feeding on waste producing hydrogen as a by-product - and it is this hydrogen which produces fuel for the car.The Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), which includes students at the University of Warwick, is behind the prototype, working with sewage treatment technology being trialled at Severn Trent Water.They believe the car could be out in the mainstream in as little as five years, though they acknowledge there are still significant hurdles to overcome."There's been a real push for electric vehicles and it's fairly clear that there has to be other sort of energy in the mix as well, so hydrogen has a part to play," Dr James Meredith, chief engineer at WMG, told BBC Sport."It comes from a long period of research. A microbial electrolysis cell is essentially a device used to clean water and microbes grow on recycled carbon fibre, eating the sewage. During that process, they produce hydrogen as a by-product."WMG will use the car to try to break several land speed records, including fastest standing and flying starts over a mile and a kilometre.Dr Meredith hopes the hydrogen technology will produce the same amount of power as petrol. But the challenge, particularly when developing a car suitable for racing, is reducing the size of the storage tanks."Hydrogen is a good fuel. It's clean burning," he said. "We're starting to scale up the process and seeing just what we can do on an industrial scale. So, then in terms of actually running the car on hydrogen in a race, the biggest challenge with hydrogen is the shape of the storage tanks and how much volume it takes up."
Formula 1 has made steps to make the sport more sustainable in recent years, after announcing in 2019 that it hopes to become carbon neutral by 2030.That includes more efficient engines and tweaks to the calendar to reduce the distance freight travels by plane.In 2026 new regulations will be introduced, which include smaller, nimbler cars and 100% sustainable fuel.In April, the electric car racing series Extreme E will switch from electric to hydrogen-powered cars, renaming itself Extreme H.German manufacturer BMW has announced plans to put a hydrogen car for domestic use on sale from 2028.
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BBC News
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Warning: This story contains spoilers about the University Challenge winnersThe grand final of University Challenge turned into a tightly fought contest when it aired on competition began with 28 teams, featuring students ranging in age from 18 to were playing on behalf of universities and university colleges from all four countries of the United 35 matches and about 3,000 questions, the final two teams were Christ's College - Cambridge and the University of Warwick. The Christ's College team eliminated Exeter College and St Edmund Hall - both from the University of Oxford - in the first two rounds of the tournament. They then beat defending champions Imperial College London, as well as their rivals for the final, in the quarter finals that, they then beat a team from the University of Bristol in the semi-finals, taking an average score of 205 into the final team from the University of Warwick beat the University of East Anglia, Oriel College - Oxford, Queen's University Belfast, UCL and Darwin College – Cambridge to reach the rivals for Monday's programme were the only team to have beaten them on their journey to the final team – Oscar Siddle (Mathematics), Ananya Govindarajan (Engineering), Thomas Hart (Mathematics), and Benjamin Watson (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) – had an average score of 210 going into the final. 'Incredible honour' The match was closely contested, with just five points separating the teams in one of the tightest finals in recent the end, Warwick ended on 170 points with Christ's College finishing on 175."We're obviously crushed by the result but the trophy couldn't have gone to a nicer team," said Mr Watson."We're all very proud of how far we went in the competition. It was an incredible honour to represent Warwick and a great experience."The University of Warwick has previously won the competition in 2007 and president Prof Stuart Croft said he was "incredibly proud" of the team, and described it as a fitting accomplishment for the university's 60th anniversary year."This achievement not only showcases their exceptional talent but also underscores our commitment to academic excellence and ambition," he said."We are thrilled to celebrate with them and the entire Warwick community." Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
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- BBC News
West Midlands city develops new driverless tram technology
Coventry's tram network, like much of the city, was destroyed during World War 85 years since the last tram ran in the city, they may be set to return, thanks to new technology called Very Light Rail (VLR).It's hoped the technology, parts of which have been developed in the West Midlands, could make trams affordable for other towns and cities across the world. Here we explain more. What is Very Light Rail? It's like a tram but with different technology that will likely make it more cost effective and greener. Rather than the train-like systems we currently see in cities like Manchester and Birmingham, VLR involves single, battery-powered cars that can each transport around 50 first, they will require drivers – but the aim is for the system to be autonomous. 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There is also no need to electrify routes, making the technology much a VLR track should take less than half the time it would to install a traditional tram system. Why are Coventry doing this? The idea was originally formulated by Coventry City Council as a way of linking up the city with the proposed HS2 stop in Solihull. Trams were seen as a possible solution but, as well as the cost, the city's layout was seen as since then the system has shown potential to be a cross-city transport solution instead, but will need to secure funding in order to be iterations of VLR systems were not suitable for use in urban environments. But new technology changes that by using special weight bearing concrete slabs and vehicles specially designed for tight new system has been developed by the council in partnership with WMG at the University of Warwick and the Black Country Innovative Manufacturing Organisation, which runs the Dudley Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre (VLRNIC). Councillor Jim O'Boyle, Labour cabinet member for regeneration, said: "It's smaller than a bus and it fits very comfortably into a relatively small road area."The good thing, as well, is that it goes around very tight corners and that makes it completely unique."There's no other rail-based system anywhere in the world that can turn the tight corners that this system can – and that is why it's ideal for a city the size of Coventry." Where and when could the trams run? A 220m demonstrator track running between Greyfriars Road and Queen Victoria Road is already under construction and is due to be up and running by the end of of the public will be able to apply to ride on the demonstrator, with details due to be published in the coming lines in the proposed network would link the city centre with the Coventry Building Society Arena to the north, University Hospital to the east, Coventry Airport in the south east and Warwick University to the south city council is targeting 2027 for the first full route to be installed in the city – with the airport route likely to now be prioritised. How much has been spent on the project? A total of £32.1m of public money has been committed to the project since it was first publicly discussed in £26.5m has been spent to date, with that funding being provided by the Government's Department for Transport via the West Midlands Combined money has been spent on developing the vehicles at a facility in Dudley, as well as the track technology. Why aren't other cities doing this? The main reason this hasn't happened before is because the technology to make it hasn't it's now been made possible by a mode of transport it could partly Micallef, Coventry City Council's VLR programme lead, said: "Battery technology that has been developed in the automotive world is what makes a battery-powered tram possible. "In the same way, the concrete that makes our slabs possible is an innovation only available in these last years."He said "the whole point" of the project was to make tram technology affordable for smaller towns and City Council also has a vested interest in making the technology a success as it owns the intellectual property rights to it, which means taxpayers could stand to benefit if it becomes mainstream. There has already been international interest too, with active discussions taking place with interested parties in Canada, New Zealand, Argentina and The Philippines. Is it environmentally friendly? Adding to the technology's appeal are the potential environmental benefits as cities look to cut emissions, as well as introducing a tram network should reduce the amount of vehicles on the road - assuming it is well there would be some environmental impact associated with the production of the batteries and the wider system, those responsible for delivering VLR believe its green credentials are still strong. Hamish Falconer is project manager at Colas Rail, which is installing the demonstrator track. He said: "With efficiency comes time, comes money, comes cost, comes reduction in labour as well."So less people, less machines, less material removed from site - makes this a really green way to deliver light rail."(There is) a lot less imported material as well. The fewer amount of materials we remove, and the fewer amount of materials we bring in, ultimately means a greener construction." Is everyone convinced? 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He said: "There are lots of questions now within local transport circles, and within the local community, about whether this project does represent value for money."He added: "At this moment in time, people are starting to say will this represent value for money, does it actually solve the problems we need to solve?"They were quoting something like £100m just for one leg of it a few years ago, and people have asked the question would that money be better off spent on bus services?"
