Chancellor visit sparks insight into lab's work

WHEN we think about Britain's push to net zero, we tend to think about wind farms and electric cars rather than the cables that connect them.

- ALISTAIR HOUGHTON

Thankfully, a Manchester team is setting off million-volt lightning bolts to make sure our electrical grid is ready for the future.

The High Voltage Lab at the University of Manchester, with its towers and silver donuts, tests the electrical infrastructure that keeps our lights on and brings power to our homes.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt visited the centre to set off a million-volt lightning bolt and learn more about the work of the biggest university high voltage lab of its kind in the UK.

One of the lab's major partners is National Grid Electricity Transmission, which owns the major energy network in the UK. It also works with other electricity transmission and distribution companies and is now working with companies developing electric vehicles from cars to planes.

Ian Cotton, professor of high voltage technology at the University of t Manchester, helped the Chancellor set off a lightning bolt in the lab. It. looked fun, but setting off those bolts serves a very serious purpose.