Case Studies

Advancing technology has increased demand for access to highspeed telecommunications. First generation mobile phones, introduced in the 1980s, utilised the 800 MHz part of the radio frequency (RF) spectrum with maximum data speeds of ~2.4 kilobits per second, increasing to 2 megabits per second in 2001, almost a thousand times ...

Trace water is the most common contaminant in ultra-high purity (UHP) process gases and one of the most difficult to remove. These gases, such as argon, nitrogen and hydrogen, are used in sensitive industrial processes, including semiconductor fabrication or manufacturing pharmaceuticals, where gas purity strongly affects produ...

The EU’s Energy Efficiency Directive of 2023 committed all member states to a further 11.7% reduction in energy consumption by 2030.Fully transitioning to lighting using light emitting diodes (LEDs) could save Europe €65 billion in energy costs annually and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 51 million tonnes. White LEDs are u...

Since the building of the first power stations in the 1950s and 60s, nuclear power has grown to contribute 9–17 % of worldwide electricity every year. These ‘first-generation’ stations are now approaching the ends of their lives and must be decommissioned. Across the EU, over 200 power stations are due to be decommissioned by 2...

At the quantum level, fundamental particles have counterintuitive properties. They can exist in multiple states simultaneously, a phenomenon, termed “superposition” (electrons or photons can be both “1” and “0” at the same time), or be correlated in a nonclassical way, no matter how far apart they are (the so-called “entangleme...

Urban electronic waste (e-waste) contains elements critical to both modern technology and the European economy. Many of these, such as lithium used in batteries, or samarium used in permanent magnets, are produced outside of Europe. As these elements are responsible for the functionality of a technology, they are often referred...