Technology

Ministers have vowed to publish a strategy to tackle the semiconductor shortage “as soon as possible” after a high-profile MP branded the delay an “act of national self-harm”.    Darren Jones, chair of parliament’s business, energy and industrial strategy committee, criticised the government following its official response to a report…

Twenty-nine firms have been named on a £10bn offsite framework to help deliver more social housing, new schools and hospital extensions.  The four-year framework, for all public bodies, features six lots covering education, health, residential, justice, defence, and ‘thermal efficiency upgrades’. Among the most high-profile winners are Kier, in partnership…

Plans have been revealed for a new 400km pipeline underneath the North Sea to transport hydrogen produced by offshore wind farms to the continent. Proposals have been put forward by gas transmission firms Gascade and Fluxys that would see the 400km-long AquaDuctus line initially connect from German windfarm SEN-1, which…

The government has commissioned the British Standards Institution (BSI) to develop a universally recognised standard for homes built using modern methods of construction (MMC). MMC covers a wide range of techniques that aim to improve efficiency, including offsite manufacture – but there have been growing concerns that the safety implications of these…

National infrastructure goals are being undermined by the construction sector’s reluctance to modernise, a leading industry figure has warned. Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) chief executive Nick Smallwood said the industry had not changed in 40 years and actively resisted the adoption of new technologies as it was “paid the…

Contractors have only nine days left to join procurement discussions for a megaproject to build more than 1,000km of underground and overhead power lines. National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) published a market engagement document late last week for its New Infrastructure Delivery Onshore Programme (NIDOP). The package of works will…

Gleeds has been picked to deliver procurement, commercial and cost-management services for the UK’s nuclear fusion programme. The Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) programme will see a prototype plant established at a site in West Burton, Nottinghamshire, where work to demonstrate the viability of nuclear fusion will take place…

Offsite construction specialist Merit has announced a 4,000-square-metre expansion of its North East manufacturing plant. The planned expansion would increase the size of its factory in Cramlington, Northumberland, from its existing 25,000-square-metre floorspace. The firm said that the move will allow it to test the stacking of modules on top…

A masterplan for a new prison in Glasgow, designed by Kier, has been submitted for planning. Earlier this year, the Scottish Prison Service awarded Kier the preconstruction services contract to deliver HMP Glasgow, which is set to replace the 19th century HMP Barlinnie. The submission of the masterplan for the…

The cost-of-living crisis and a sharp focus on the need for environmental solutions is expected to accelerate innovation in infrastructure, according to a report by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). The report, Infrastructure in 2023, suggests that the smaller pot of money available for major infrastructure projects during the…