Electric.ie January/February 2022

ELECTRIC.IE • The Magazine & Website for the Irish Electrical Industry • 19 Industry News New National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland ർ The Department of Transport has recently published a new transport investment framework to help Government deliver its vision for the sustainable development of Irish society. T he National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland (NIFTI) sets out clear principles for the consideration of future transport investment and is closely aligned with key Government policy priorities and commitments, such as the Climate Action Plan and the National Development Plan. Transport investment is a significant driver of population and settlement patterns. NIFTI seeks to ensure that the transport sector is closely aligned with the development targets set out in the National Planning Framework, including more compact urban growth and balanced regional development. This new framework replaces the previous Strategic Investment Framework for Land Transport (SIFLT), which was published by the Department of Transport in 2015. NIFTI establishes four strategic investment priorities to address the transport challenges ahead. These priorities, which have equal weighting in the framework, include Decarbonisation, Protection and Renewal, Mobility of People and Goods in Urban Areas, and Enhanced Regional and Rural Connectivity. Unlike the previous framework, which had ranked the maintenance of the network as the foremost priority, the NIFTI priorities are unranked – thus allowing for greater flexibility in the consideration of projects and for the support of new investment projects where appropriate. While NIFTI will be an important tool in future decision making by capturing critical data for assessment purposes, it will be only one element of a wider process that will inform decisions of Government on transport projects. Investment decisions will also continue to reflect the 2:1 ratio of expenditure between new public transport infrastructure and new roads in the Programme for Government, as well as the guaranteed €360m per annum in investment in active travel. https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/cfae6-national-investment-framework-for-transport-in-ireland-nifti/ Most Powerful Space Telescope Ever Built Successfully Launched ർ Irish technology and innovation play important role in landmark project. T he James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) is an international project led by NASA with its partners the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Webb is the next great space science observatory following Hubble, designed to answer outstanding questions about the Universe and to make breakthrough discoveries in all fields of astronomy. Webb will see farther into our origins: from the formation of stars and planets, to the birth of the first galaxies in the early Universe. The Irish contribution to the project included providing the infrared filters on one of the telescopes four instruments and the corresponding imaging software, the onboard video system to monitor successful separation of the telescope from the launcher, and structural supports for the engine that powers the Ariane 5 rocket. Professor Tom Ray of DIAS is Co- Investigator for the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI), part of the telescope’s instrument suite. Out of the four instruments, MIRI is the only one covering the mid-infrared wavelength range (from 5 to 28.3 microns). MIRI will produce mid- infrared images and spectra with an unprecedented combination of sharpness and sensitivity. Prof Ray and his team were responsible for providing MIRI’s infrared filters, which breaks up the light into its various components, and also for developing imaging software that will be used to analyse the instrument data sent back to Earth by the spacecraft and produce scientific images. Réaltra Space Systems Engineering designed and manufactured the video system mounted on the Ariane 5 launch vehicle which relayed high-definition video images of the separation of the launcher’s fairing (that encloses and protects the Webb telescope during launch) and of the telescope separation as it headed on the start of the journey to its final orbit location. This is the first time the video system has been used, having originally been developed for the Ariane 6 launch vehicle, the successor to Ariane 5, due for its first flight in 2022. Nammo Ireland also provided structural supports for the Vulcain engine that powers Ariane 5, and will also manufacture components for both the Vulcain and Vinci engines on the new Ariane 6 launch vehicle.