UK Business News

Software firm Micro Drainage have said that a computer model that it has built for West Berkshire town of Thatcham had corresponded with the location of households submitting claims for last summers storm.

Managing Director Aiden Millerick claims that in just two weeks, “We identified the major pluvial flow paths, the vulnerable areas, the speed and depth of the flow.”

The more extreme the event, the less detailed the information needed to be, he said. The contribution of the underground drainage system to reducing overland flows during an extreme event was ‘likely to be minimal’.

The Environment Agency is developing a new flood-mapping strategy to improve the quality and coverage of data on flood risk. It is taking on board the finding from government research that a targeted approach to urban flood risk modelling and mapping was needed.

Micro Drainage believes that a significant amount of information useful for reducing flood water quickly, can be obtained by modelling storm water flow.

Edinburgh based Microsphere Technology have signed a deal with Swedish company Trelleborg Engineered Systems, to develop a revolutionary paint additive aimed at the aerospace industry.

The technology firm, based at the Pentlands Science Park outside Edinburgh, has been developing microsphere-related technology for use in a series of applications. In this case, the technology is aimed at weight reduction of aircraft paints with the subsequent advantage of significant savings in fuel consumption and carbon foot-printing.

Tom Johnston, Microsphere Technology’s Operations Director, said that the deal signed with the help of Glasgow based IP specialists Metis Partners, provided yet another opportunity to push the company’s innovative research towards full commercialisation: “Signing a license deal with a company of the reputation and standing of Trelleborg is an invaluable validation of MTL’s low density pigment technology. The environmental and economic requirement for weight-reducing technologies in the aerospace industry is clearly understood and Trelleborg have seen the value of MTL’s new material in addressing these requirements. We look forward to working closely with Trelleborg to move the technology towards the market as rapidly as possible.”

“MTL is currently pursuing other exciting opportunities in the areas of water treatment, cosmetics and fluid dynamics. Our coated microspheres offer innovative solutions across many sectors and we have been very encouraged by the level of interest we have received to date.”

Microsphere Technology uses hollow glass microspheres as a platform on which to layer other materials such as metals and pigments for specific technology applications. Technology products under development include titania-coated microspheres for use in sunscreen, fluorescent microspheres for use in the flow visualisation design industry, as well as coated spheres for breaking down many organic and inorganic pollutants in wastewater.

About microspheres

Microspheres come in a variety of different forms; solid, porous or hollow, plastic, ceramic or glass, coated or uncoated. They can be man-made or mined from natural sources. Some are recovered from the ash produced in power stations while others can even be harvested from volcanoes.

Microspheres are already present in a wide range of consumer products, including many cosmetics, paints, fillers, insulators, buoyancy aids, sealers, adhesives and plastics. Coating a single large aircraft requires hundreds of kilos of paint, and given that these large aircraft also burn prodigious amounts of fuel, even modest savings in the weight of paint on the surface will have considerable knock on effect on fuel consumption.

It is feared that the agreement by Saudi Arabia to increase oil production will have little effect in the short term following the attacks on Nigeria’s pipelines and subsequent loss of fuel and production.

Saudi Arabia confirmed at emergency meetings yesterday that it would increase oil production to it’s highest level in 30 years in a bid to curb the excessive cost of crude oil, but further rebel hits on the Nigerian pipework, left Western leaders concerned that it would have little effect on the market prices.

Germany’s economy minister Michael Glos said “There is the danger that the markets will be disappointed and the price will increase again.”

OPEC president Chakib Khelil also expressed what we all believe to be true, when he said it was not the lack of supply but rather speculative investment that was driving up oil prices. He did not expect prices to fall after the meetings yesterday.

The price of crude rose this morning to $136 per barrell.

Jaguar Land Rover are creating six hundred jobs at its plant in Gayden, Warwickshire, as part of a £700million project to develop less thirsty, less polluting cars.

The EU directive that average emission for all new cars will be reduced to 120 grams per kilometre by 2012 or face a per gram penalty, has sent the luxury car maker into overdrive.

Perhaps more of an immediate problem to the company is the cost of fuel, its largest export base is the USA where sales of the thirsty Hummer have halved during the last twelve months, leading its manufacturer General Motors to launch a review of the business which could lead to it’s sale or closure.

Jaguar Land Rover were recently sold by Ford to Indian car giant Tata for £1.2million. Tata have approved the plan but will not be sending extra personnel to the UK to run the scheme.

UK Tanker drivers have agreed a deal with their employers after a few days of strike action sent the country into the usual panic last weekend.

Despite pleas from Gordon Brown to the public, not to panic buy, the message as always had the reverse effect, with basements and garages being stockpiled across the country, to be on the safe side.

The tanker drivers are believed to have agreed to a 14% pay deal over two years, although details are sketchy currently.