Engineering Matters

In this Engineering Matters Awards episode, we celebrate the winners of the Health & Safety Champion category, which recognises engineers who are changing how we protect people in some of the world’s most challenging environments. Engineering is often measured by what we build: the bridges, tunnels, infrastructure, and systems that shape our world. But true engineering excellence is also defined by how we build, and how we protect the people who make it possible. This episode explores how innovation, preparation, and predictive technology are helping to reduce risk and improve safety across the board. Our two award-winning entrants are: Scott Shipley, Director of Swiftwater and Whitewater Parks at Caliber Engineering, who is transforming emergency response training by creating realistic, controlled environments where first responders can prepare for extreme flooding scenarios. Monica Calle, co-founder and CTO of Geprode, is using predictive analytics to address one of underground construction’s biggest challenges: geological uncertainty.The post #369 Health & Safety Champion – Engineering Matters Awards first appeared on Engineering Matters.

This episode is part of the Engineering Matters Awards series, recognising individuals and organisations making an outstanding contribution to the engineering profession and wider society. Engineering is often judged by technical achievements: better products, more efficient processes, and breakthrough innovations. But some of the industry’s most meaningful contributions happen beyond the core aims of the work itself. The role of engineers in society is to solve problems and create a more liveable world. Through the development of a project or a product an engineer may have the opportunity to bring about a wider community benefit, beyond solving the primary problem. It is those choices that this award recognises. In this Engineering Matters Awards episode, we celebrate two Bronze-level winners in the Community Champion category: Dremere Woods of Honda Development and Manufacturing of America, and Gaurav Mittal of Thermo Fisher Scientific. Join us as we explore why engineering excellence is not only about solving problems, but also about improving lives. Guests: Gaurav Mittal, Data Science Manager, Thermo Fisher Scientific Dremere Woods, Supplier Quality Engineer, Honda Development and ManufacturingThe post #368 Community Champion – Engineering Matters Awards first appeared on Engineering Matters.

For decades, infrastructure design has relied on ‘grey’ engineering: concrete flood walls, steel structures and rigid systems designed to control the environment. But with climate pressures intensifying, engineers are increasingly looking to work with nature rather than against it. This episode looks at the growing role of nature-based solutions in building climate-resilient infrastructure that can help manage flood risk, restore ecosystems, improve biodiversity and create more resilient communities. Nature itself should be considered critical infrastructure and an entire generation educated to undertake work differently to that which has been done before. Guests Hannah Joyce, Senior Fluvial Geomorphologist, AtkinsRéalis Laura Liddaman, Associate Director of Nature Based Solutions, AtkinsRéalis Resources To access the paper discussed in this episode, a forward-looking vision for the role of nature-based solutions in future-resilient infrastructure, click here Partner AtkinsRéalis is a world-leading professional services and project management company dedicated to engineering a better future for our planet and its people. Employing over 37,000 people across Canada, the US and Latin America, the UK and Ireland, and Asia, the Middle East, and Australia, AtkinsRéalis creates sustainable solutions that connect people, data and technology to transform the world’s infrastructure and energy systemsThe post #367 Nature Based Solutions: The End of Grey Engineering first appeared on Engineering Matters.

In this special Engineering Matters Awards episode, we celebrate excellence across the industry, highlighting our Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners in the Diversity & Inclusion Champion category.  Engineering suffers from a ‘leaky pipe’ problem, where a great many potential professionals count themselves out of a career long before university. It is a problem that has been clearly identified, but that the industry has long struggled to correct. Our featured guest and Gold Winner is Stuart Naismith, primary teacher, STEM communicator, and Gold Award winner, and the creator behind STEM with Mr N, a platform bringing accessible science and real-world STEM stories to young audiences worldwide. Click the link below to find out more about Stuart’s great work. Special thanks to our judges from Engineers Without Borders UK, and from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Guest Stuart Naismith, STEM with Mr NThe post #366 Diversity & Inclusion Champion – Engineering Matters Awards first appeared on Engineering Matters.

A wise asset owner builds on solid ground. Unless ground risks are clearly identified, projects can easily be delayed or delivered over budget. Some risks may not even be fully understood until an asset begins operations. In this final episode of three on ground risks and the asset life cycle, Karim Khalaf explains how one major European vehicle manufacturer only learned how the soil beneath their new manufacturing plant would act, once steel presses started working—effectively inducing a series of small earthquakes and setting foundations floating off the apparently solid sand they stood on. Assumptions about ground conditions can lead to costly and time-consuming emergencies during construction. An unexpected cavity, for example, may mean that work has to stop until the site is properly modelled. In the past, that could involve substantial costs and lengthy delays, as heavy geotechnical equipment is deployed. But, with the careful use of geophysical screening, answers can be delivered quickly, and work resumed, with costs kept under control. Rod Eddies describes how these two sets of techniques, namely broad geophysical screening and strategic geotechnical investigations, can be used together to create a detailed 3D model of the subsurface. This can be shared and used by those making strategic decisions, as well as by technical specialists and other stakeholders. Matt Waddicor of Fermi Development, who we heard from in the first episode, rounds up the advantages of using this approach throughout the asset life cycle, and shares how early investigations may support on time and on budget delivery, across the infrastructure sector. Guests Matt Waddicor, Development Programme Director, Fermi Development Rod Eddies, Solutions Director, Land, Fugro Karim Khalaf, Regional Business Line Manager, Middle East, Fugro Partner Fugro is the world’s leading Geo-data specialist, collecting and analysing comprehensive information about the Earth and the structures built upon it. Through integrated data acquisition, analysis and advice, Fugro unlocks insights from geo-data to help clients design, build and operate their assets in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner.The post #357c Well-Grounded Decisions: Construction and Operations first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Without a clear understanding of ground conditions, unquantified risk can be transferred from project owner to lead contractors when a contract is signed. In the first episode of this three part series, we explored how geophysical screening, using non-intrusive methods, can be used to reduce uncertainty in site selection and provide clarity on construction costs and delivery schedules. In this episode, we move past the final investment decision, to the development of project designs. Karim Khalaf, Regional Business Line Manager, Middle East, at Fugro, explains how one client commissioned a new method of site screening, ambient noise tomography, to check subsurface conditions before starting work on building a stormwater pumping station in Doha, Qatar.  Not every project owner performs this sort of early geophysical investigation. However, as Rod Eddies explains, the Geo-Risk Management Framework can still be applied by lead contractors as they complete designs and schedule construction work. We learn how early screening can provide a basis for more detailed geotechnical techniques, using boreholes and cone penetration testing. This approach gives clients the answers they need, when they need them, while minimising the need to deploy heavy equipment. Guests Rod Eddies, Solutions Director, Land, Fugro Karim Khalaf, Regional Business Line Manager, Middle East, Fugro Partner Fugro is the world’s leading Geo-data specialist, collecting and analysing comprehensive information about the Earth and the structures built upon it. Through integrated data acquisition, analysis and advice, Fugro unlocks insights from geo-data to help clients design, build and operate their assets in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner.The post #357b Well-Grounded Decisions: Design Development first appeared on Engineering Matters.

On any project, uncertainty creates risk. Decisions that are made without a good understanding of site conditions can result in overengineering or threats to safety. Delivery may be delayed, and unexpected costs incurred. To avoid these risks, project owners and other stakeholders should question their assumptions and get real, actionable insights throughout the project lifecycle. In this three-part series, we explore a key source of risk to any project, subsurface conditions, and a new approach that builds certainty from the ground up. In this first episode, Rod Eddies, Solutions Director, Land, at Fugro, explains the development of the Geo-Risk Management Framework, a way of thinking about subsurface risks that builds on research on cognitive bias. We learn about GroundIQ®, a new approach to ground risk management that provides earlier, faster, and better site characterization. Early screening allows project developers to identify suitable sites and more accurately predict delivery times and costs before a final investment decision is made. Fermi Developments is a privately-funded nuclear developer, working to deliver ‘Ready to Build’ small modular reactor sites across the UK. The company recently formed a strategic partnership with Fugro, under which the geo-data specialists will support their work from site selection all the way through to delivery. In this episode, Fermi’s Matt Waddicor explains how this new approach to risk will help the developer identify suitable sites and prepare well-grounded proposals for investors. Guests Matt Waddicor, Development Programme Director, Fermi Development Rod Eddies, Solutions Director, Land, Fugro Karim Khalaf, Regional Business Line Manager, Middle East, Fugro Partner Fugro is the world’s leading Geo-data specialist, collecting and analysing comprehensive information about the Earth and the structures built upon it. Through integrated data acquisition, analysis and advice, Fugro unlocks insights from geo-data to help clients design, build and operate their assets in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner.The post #357a Well-Grounded Decisions: Site Selection first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Wastewater treatment is an overlooked lifesaver. While the medical advances of the last 100 years—penicillin, chemotherapy, and, more recently, mRNA vaccines—have transformed healthcare, keeping our water supplies free from pathogens like cholera and dysentery, has saved many more lives. The systems developed to treat wastewater are so successful that we can afford to flush and forget. But this is infrastructure we must not overlook. Growing populations, increased use by industry, and regulations that get tighter as we learn of new threats to human life and the environment, are putting wastewater treatment facilities under strain. Existing plants are often tucked away on constrained sites, and work as part of a sprawling network of sewage systems that make it extremely difficult for them to be relocated. This is very much the case at Ringsend in Dublin. Here, on a site bounded by other facilities and the sea, the waste produced by millions of Dubliners—and the city’s industry and commerce—must be processed before being discharged into the Liffey Estuary. To update the plant, its owners had considered building a 9km pipe to discharge waste outside of the sensitive areas of the estuary. But a new solution was identified. By implementing a novel form of biological treatment, developed by Haskoning, Egis was able to ensure that the effluent discharged was so clean, it would be safe for wildlife. But installing this would take careful planning and scheduling, in order to complete the work in tight constraints, without any pause in plant operations. Guests Marisa Buyers-Basso, associate director, Haskoning Marcus Fagan, chartered engineer, Egis Partner Egis is a leading global architectural, consulting, engineering, operations and mobility services firm with 22,000 employees across more than 100 countries. The company designs and operates intelligent infrastructure and buildings that both respond to climate emergencies and contribute to balanced, sustainable and resilient development.  Egis has operated in Ireland since 1994 and is the largest multi-disciplinary consultancy, engineering and operations firm in the country. Its current activities in Ireland include operating the Dublin Tunnel and the Jack Lynch Tunnel in Cork, overseeing 1,200km of Ireland’s motorways. It is also active in the design and delivery of major transportation programmes, renewable energy and water and waste water projects. With over 600 staff in Ireland across 16 offices and sites nationwide, it is committed to enabling sustainable economic development and responding to the requirements of population growth while addressing climate change and reducing carbon emissions. The post #356 Making Space for Wastewater Treatment first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Green-grey engineering combines nature-based solutions with traditional civil engineering. It can be used in flood protection, with mangroves acting as a first line of defense rather than relying wholly on seawalls or earthen berms. As parts of the world face dual threats of flood and drought, the same systems can incorporate drainage and water collection. Unlike traditional civil engineering, nature-based solutions offer a wide range of additional benefits. Mangroves act as fish nurseries feeding local communities and boosting economies. They sequester carbon, helping limit climate change. They provide opportunities for tourism. And they provide significant flood protection, boosting resilience.  But there is a need to scale and accelerate funding to address the loss and protection of coastal ecosystems and the true value they represent. A new analytical framework, Net Ecosystem Value, offers a tool to inform this need. Rich geodata insights, analysis and scenario modelling combined with local knowledge and academic research. This environmental and economic accounting demonstrates the true value of investing in these solutions, as well as the cost of doing nothing.By providing more granularity, rather than relying on global assumptions, this supports the development of relevant financial mechanisms such as blue bonds. By taking a whole-of-ecosystem approach, Net Ecosystem Value is able to show the true value of investing in coastal zones as critical infrastructure that accounts for blue carbon, fisheries, resilience, biodiversity, livelihoods, and social and cultural values In this episode, Alpa Bhattacharjee and Rod Braun explain the broad range of benefits these ecosystems offer, and the progress that is being made to incorporate them alongside traditional civil engineering solutions. Guests Alpa Bhattacharjee, Climate and Nature – Blue Finance Advisory, Fugro Rod Braun, Senior Director, Conservation International Image credit Alex Mustard / Ocean Image Bank Partner Fugro is the world’s leading Geo-data specialist, collecting and analysing comprehensive information about the Earth and the structures built upon it. Through integrated data acquisition, analysis and advice, Fugro unlocks insights from geo-data to help clients design, build and operate their assets in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner.The post #355 The Real Value of Nature first appeared on Engineering Matters.

The infrastructure sector is adopting AI with enthusiasm. A new whitepaper from Bentley Systems, Pinsent Masons, Turner & Townsend, and Mott MacDonald, The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Built Environment, surveyed the sector, and found the 48% of the infrastructure companies they spoke to were trialling AI, or had already implemented it. But only one fifth had a comprehensive AI policy, more than a third had no organisational policy, and 37% had only limited project controls, or none at all. As part of Bentley Systems Year In Infrastructure series of events, Mark Coates hosted a panel discussion on the white paper. Bringing together key members of the infrastructure sector—engineers, contractors, and lawyers—the panel discussed how infrastructure businesses can implement a project management approach to AI implementation. In this episode, Mark Coates joins us to offer a comprehensive look at AI adoption, examining not only the risks associated with it, such as ‘stealth adoption’ happening outside of organisational guardrails, but also the opportunities and strategies for successful integration. The panel discussion members bring their own perspectives, explaining how AI can be used successfully now, and the organisational, data management, and contractual steps needed to ensure its safe, ethical, and efficient use across complex supply chains. Guests Mark Coates, vice president of infrastructure policy alignment, Bentley Systems Yeunjin (YJ) Kim, AI technical lead, group AI, Mott MacDonald Anne-Marie Friel, partner, infrastructure, Pinsent Masons Guy Beaumont, director, digital lead, Turner & TownsendResources The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Built Environment, PartnerInfrastructure is too big to fail, so you need AI you can trust. Bentley Systems is delivering infrastructure-ready AI across design, construction, and operations. As the partner of choice for engineering firms and owner-operators worldwide, Bentley’s software and digital twin solutions span engineering disciplines, industry sectors, and all phases of the infrastructure lifecycle, unlocking the value of data to transform project delivery and asset performance.The post #354 AI in Infrastructure: Adoption and Guardrails first appeared on Engineering Matters.

This week, the UK House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, or EAC, released a report on environmental sustainability and housing growth. The UK government is striving to meet a target of building one and a half million new homes, and has raised concerns about the risk that environmental objections could delay their construction. But, the EAC says, the UK must balance these needs. One tool to do this is the Whole Life Carbon Assessment guidelines, produced by the RICS, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. In the absence of a national programme for measuring the carbon impact of construction, the EAC recommends that this tool should be adopted into the planning process. In this episode, first aired in 2023, we talked to Simon Sturgis, lead author of the guidance, as he and his colleagues worked to produce its second edition.  Guests Simon Sturgis, founder, Targeting Zero LLP Matthew Collins, senior specialist, construction and infrastructure management, RICS Resources Simon Sturgis’s paper Redefining Zero, which helped spur debate on the carbon costs of buildings. An earlier UK House of Commons environmental audit select committee report Building to net zero: costing carbon in construction. The Bath University Inventory of Carbon and Energy (Bath ICE) database. The post #353 Carbon Assessment in a Time of Housebuilding first appeared on Engineering Matters.

From blood pressure monitors and smart watches, to MRIs and step counters, many of us make tracking health metrics part of our daily routine. Armed with data, we can take steps to extend our lives. And this approach can also be used to extend the life of key components of our energy infrastructure. The offshore wind industry is entering a period of transformation. The first stages of development are over—now wind farm owners must focus on efficiently extending the lives of their assets. In other offshore industries, this could be achieved by inspecting assets on a fixed schedule. But with thousands of turbines being built, and tens of thousands of kilometres of cables laid, the energy transition will require a transformation in maintenance and practice. The industry must move from a reactive approach to a more efficient and proactive approach to inspection and monitoring. Fugro is steering a new course through emerging wind farms, with a fleet of low-emissions uncrewed surface vessels and remote operations vehicles. With a wealth of sensors, these can collect data on the health of every component of a wind farm. This data can be tracked over time, enabling tailored schedules of checks and interventions to be developed for each asset, reducing costs and extending their life. Guests Joel Ferreira, Global Solution Director for Inspection and Monitoring, Fugro  Joe McCabe, Global Solution Manager – Offshore Wind Inspection & Monitoring, Fugro Nick Simmons, Regional Director, Uncrewed Surface Vessels and Remote Working, Fugro Partner Fugro is the world’s leading Geo-data specialist, collecting and analysing comprehensive information about the Earth and the structures built upon it. Through integrated data acquisition, analysis and advice, Fugro unlocks insights from geo-data to help clients design, build and operate their assets in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner.The post #352 Health Monitoring for Offshore Wind  first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Around the world, climate change and shifting alliances are opening up new theatres of geopolitical competition. In the Arctic, Canada must be ready to patrol a new coastline; in the Pacific, Australia faces increased tension with China.  Naval defence will be a key component of these nations’ security planning. But the so-called ‘exquisite’ capabilities of modern navies—such as submarines and frigates—are often beyond the technological and supply chain capacities of any single nation. They require new global partnerships between friendly nations. And these require careful synchronisation of major engineering projects, spanning the globe.In this episode, we consider the engineering challenges of these partnerships.  In Australia, engineers are contributing to the development of a new nuclear regulator, ahead of the construction of new shipyard facilities able to safely handle nuclear powered submarines, delivered under the AUKUS deal. In Britain, we see the challenges of building new infrastructure, and recruiting new skilled workers, for the construction of these submarines and the reactors that power them. And in Canada, we learn about the challenges of building new naval bases to support patrols of newly accessible Arctic seaways. Guests David Eyles, defence market lead, Australia, AtkinsRéalis David Clark, global head of defence, AtkinsRéalis Antonella Tomaro, VP, defence, Canada, AtkinsRéalis Samira Braund, defence lead, ADS Group Partner AtkinsRéalis is a world-leading professional services and project management company dedicated to engineering a better future for our planet and its people. Employing over 37,000 people across Canada, the US and Latin America, the UK and Ireland, and Asia, the Middle East, and Australia, AtkinsRéalis creates sustainable solutions that connect people, data and technology to transform the world’s infrastructure and energy systems.The post #351 Rough Seas and Reliable Defence Partnerships first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Dr Meganne Christian is a scientist and adventurer. In her research, she has studied the performance of novel materials including the use of nanoscale metals for hydrogen storage, and the use of graphene across a diverse range of applications. But her career has taken her far from the traditional university lab. In 2018-2019, Meganne was a member of the over-winter research team at Concordia Base in Antarctica. Here, she managed experiments in one of Earth’s most extreme environments. The view of the stars she experienced during the weeks of polar night, inspired a new goal: to work in space. After an 18 month selection process, in which she was one of 22,500 applicants, Meganne was chosen to take part in European Space Agency’s training programme, as reserve astronaut representing the UK Space Agency.In this episode, Meganne shares her story, explains the many reasons why we should continue to build our presence in space, and the diverse roles that will need to be filled for this new era of space exploration. At the end of the episode, Meganne answers questions posed by a group of schoolchildren, a generation who will one day see many more of us living in space. Guest Dr Meganne Christian, reserve astronaut in training, UKSA/ESAThe post #350 Living in Space: The Next Generation of Astronauts first appeared on Engineering Matters.

The tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in west London demanded new ways of thinking about professionalism and ethics in the engineering sector. However, since that awful night in 2017, which saw the loss of 72 lives, fatal incidents and near misses have continued to happen: in Genoa, in Toddbrook, in Miami, and on many more buildings and structures around the world, we have seen regular reminders of the way risks can accumulate dangerously on engineered projects. The ICE first reviewed safety in the sector in 2018, with the release of the report In Plain Sight. This emphasised the importance of understanding the ‘Swiss Cheese Model’ of risk, and established a need for a change in the culture of engineering. In 2019, Sir Martin Moore-Bick released Phase 1 of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s report, looking at the events of the night of the fire. This was followed in 2024 by Phase 2 of the report, considering how the tower had reached a condition where such a loss of life could occur. The UK government released its response to the inquiry’s recommendations. At the same time, the Institution of Civil Engineers began work on its second report on the steps the sector should take to build a culture of safety, Building Safeguards. The authors, led by Paul Sheffield, described three key changes the sector should make: a new way of considering competence; an emphasis on sharing and learning from near misses; and a new approach to ethics and professionalism. The report’s recommendations are now being put into effect by a group of engineering professionals, led by Ohis Ilalokhoin.  In this episode, Paul and Ohis join Engineering Matters to explain the recommendations in Building Safeguards, and to explain how the sector will take them forward. Next month, Engineering Matters will turn its attention to further efforts the sector is taking to ensure that those working on higher risk buildings are suitably qualified and experienced. Guests Ohis Ilalokhoin, trustee, ICE; engineering director, Cardinal Engineering Paul Sheffield, lead author, Building Safeguards; past-president, ICEThe post #349 Never Again: Embedding Safety in Engineering first appeared on Engineering Matters.

In Europe, and around the world, renewable electricity generation is being built at pace. However, these sources of energy create a new challenge: they are intermittent, and will not generate power on dark, windless days. One solution to the challenge is to install grid scale storage. If you’re building an offshore wind farm, with a view to serving distant industrial centres, megawatt- and gigawatt-scale storage may be the answer.  But much of our energy use happens in the home, or in smaller businesses. Often, with the growth of domestic solar, the power we use in our kitchens is balanced by that generated on our rooftops. As energy supply and demand is increasingly distributed, wouldn’t it make sense to also make use distributed storage? That’s the question that Mattia Secchi of the Technical University of Denmark is trying to answer. Many of us already have plenty of battery storage available in our electric cars. But these will require the adoption of standardised bidirectional charging, and new metering and grid technology. His work, and that of his colleagues, models community-based V2G, establishing how distributed storage can bring benefits across the economy. Guest Mattia Secchi, Department of Wind and Energy Systems, DTU References Secchi, M., Macii, D., Barchi, G., & Marinelli, M. (2025). Centralised vehicle-to-grid smart charging supported by PV generation for power variance minimisation at the transformer: A user’s perspective analysis. eTransportation, 24, 100394. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ETRAN.2025.100394 Secchi, M., Zepter, J. M., & Marinelli, M. (2025). Centralised Smart EV Charging in PV-Powered Parking Lots: A Techno-Economic Analysis. Smart Cities 2025, Vol. 8, Page 112, 8(4), 112. https://doi.org/10.3390/SMARTCITIES8040112The post #348 Modelling Distributed Energy Storage first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Last week, at the end of September 2025, a study by Regen, commissioned by the MCS Foundation, found that biomethane had a limited capacity to replace natural gas in the UK’s domestic heating. The study emphasised the importance of focusing on electricity and heat pumps to keep our homes warm. This means that much of the UK’s gas pipeline networks may not be viable in the coming decades. However, the backbone of the network and some local distribution infrastructure does have a future. In this episode, first aired in April 2024, we look at the development of hydrogen generation and captured carbon storage, with a focus on Teesside, in England’s industrial north east. Here, existing pipeline infrastructure is being used for a new generation of gas transport projects. These will carry carbon dioxide and hydrogen, along with ammonia and biogas. They will enable carbon capture, local hydrogen for fuel intensive industry and transport, and for export. Governments around the world have struggled to develop these networks. The UK’s strategy is to create clusters of carbon emitters to make use of offshore carbon storage. These can take advantage of legacy pipeline infrastructure in historic industrial regions, and bring new opportunities to struggling economies. In this episode, we speak to pipeline and energy experts about the technical and project management challenges of building these new networks. Guests Laure Hughes, energy sector director, Costain Sean Gleeson, project manager, PX  Niku Nobakhti, project manager, Costain Ewan Brodie, consultancy and advisory manager, CostainThe post #347 Revisited: The Pipeline to Net Zero first appeared on Engineering Matters.

It’s a simple fact of chemistry that cement cannot be produced, without also producing carbon dioxide. But this does not mean that the sector—and its clients in the construction industry—cannot decarbonise. The equally simple solution is just to capture and store the carbon dioxide, before it can enter the atmosphere. The challenge is how to deliver those carbon capture systems. To fully decarbonise the sector, new chemical processing facilities will need to be installed at every cement plant in the world. In Brevik, Norway, Heidelberg Materials’ first cement plant with carbon capture attached is now operational, and carbon dioxide is being loaded onto ships for storage.The next plant to be built will be Padeswood, in Wales. Here, Heidelberg Materials UK will be capturing carbon dioxide, and piping it directly into the HyNet storage hub. This hub is one of a series of carbon storage clusters around the UK, each bringing together a number of tough-to-decarbonise industries. This work will take considerable investment, in equipment, in construction and logistics, and in people. To fund this work, Heidelberg Materials needed to find a way to sell carbon-free cement around the world. It is doing this with a new product, evoZero, that matches locally-produced cement with reliably tracked carbon credits.It’s an approach that is winning the support of major public sector clients, including the UK’s National Highways. The agency aims to reduce the carbon emissions from one of its largest new projects, the Lower Thames Crossing, by as much as 70%. The lessons learned from this project, and from Heidelberg Materials construction of these first carbon capture plants, will be spread throughout the supply chain, establishing a scalable part to carbon free cement. Guests Iain Walpole, Head of Process and Sustainability – Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage, Heidelberg Materials Nina Cardinal, Technical Strategy Director, Heidelberg Materials Andrew Kidd, Director of Environmental Sustainability, Lower Thames Crossing, National Highways Partner Heidelberg Materials is a leading supplier of heavy building materials to the construction industry, producing aggregates (crushed rock, sand and gravel), ready-mixed concrete, asphalt, cement and cement related products, and recycled materials. Through ground-breaking innovation, Heidelberg Materials pioneering carbon capture and storage, and transforming the construction industry. By introducing the world’s first carbon captured net zero cement, evoZero, construction partners have the opportunity to build a better tomorrow.The post #346 Scaling Carbon-Free Cement first appeared on Engineering Matters.

When launching a satellite into orbit, getting the positioning right is of paramount importance. As humanity sends more satellites into space, the vast space above our heads has become hazardously busy. State-of-the-art positioning technology has helped to counter this problem, with existing systems able to track the location of satellites to an accuracy of metres. Now, a new approach, Fugro’s SpaceStar technology, works with GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) to enhance that accuracy to a matter of centimetres. The technology optimises safety and minimises risk in space by improving collision avoidance. But it also goes way beyond that, enhancing earth observation applications and enabling faster and more accurate positioning of satellites. It helps detect GPS spoofing, a problem that has been seen with increasing frequency over recent months. And SpaceStar has the potential to open up whole new business opportunities for companies willing to invest and innovate. One such possibility is to establish a permanent and stable platform in orbit, where satellites can—thanks to the ability of SpaceStar to pinpoint locations—be docked to receive automated maintenance. Guests Simon Baksh, VP Product Development, Javad GNSS David Barnhart, CEO and Founder, Arkisys James Bartle, Business Development Manager, SpaceStar®, Fugro Cyril Botteron, CEO and Founder, SpacePNT  Partner Fugro is the world’s leading Geo-data specialist, collecting and analysing comprehensive information about the Earth and the structures built upon it. Through integrated data acquisition, analysis and advice, Fugro unlocks insights from geo-data to help clients design, build and operate their assets in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner.The post #345 Pinpoint Precision in Space Positioning first appeared on Engineering Matters.

When flooding happens, damage and disruption ripples out across assets and infrastructure. Private businesses and homeowners can insure themselves against direct damages to buildings. But the impacts on the local economy go much further: debris can block transport networks, causing businesses to fail and reducing tax revenues, at a time when increased local government spending is needed to finance recovery. New approaches to public sector insurance can provide cash for debris removal and infrastructure repairs. Parametric insurance pays out within days when specific conditions—flooding depth, rainfall—are met, without the need for damage assessment. To purchase adequate cover, and to build resilience ahead of incidents, local governments need to have a clear understanding of the risks they face. In New Jersey this spring, Fathom provided catastrophe modelling tools to Grid Advisors, who employed them within a systems engineering analysis, to understand the risk to assets owned by the New Jersey Department of Transportation. In this episode, Grid Advisors’ Rallis Kourkoulis joins Fathom’s Peter Slater and Olivia Sloan, to explain how this analysis is developed and used. Jackie Higgins, head of public sector solutions for Fathom’s parent company, Swiss:Re, in the US, describes the challenges facing local authorities, and how the insurance industry can support their resilience planning and risk assessment. Guests Peter Slater, account manager, engineering and the public sector, Fathom Jackie Higgins, head of public sector solutions, North America, Swiss:ReRallis Kourkoulis, managing partner, Grid Advisors Olivia Sloan, catastrophe model product manager, Fathom Partner Fathom gives risk management professionals the most scientifically robust intelligence to understand the climate’s effects on water risk. By publishing cutting-edge peer-reviewed academic research and applying it to real-world challenges, Fathom enables stronger decision-making for (re)insurance, civil engineering, corporate risk, financial services, disaster response and government.The post #344 Networks Under Water: Transport, Flooding and Resilience first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Joseph-Marie Jacquard invented the punch card as a means of inputting control data to one of the earliest automated technologies, the weavers’ loom. A generation later, Charles Babbage used this innovation as part of his design for an ‘analytical engine’, and Ada Lovelace demonstrated how sets of instructions could be written for the engine to enable any computing task.  Almost two centuries on from Babbage and Lovelace’s invention of computing hardware and software, IT (information technology) and OT (operational technology) have evolved into parallel threads. On the production line, automation engineers use visual languages, based on electrical relays, on rugged computers, or PLCs, that lack connections to the wider internet. In the office, software developers write code using text-based languages, with sophisticated systems for deploying updates, and the ability to connect over the internet to AI powered services. Now, the warp of IT and the weft of OT are being woven together. Software-defined automation links machinery on the production floor to IT systems, and the wider Internet. Control code can be written in text-based languages using object-oriented programming, and deployed to factories around the world at a click. Automations, human-machine interfaces, and all other aspects of control systems can be developed and tested on simulated equipment, rather than waiting for prototypes to be built.  Easy data exchange fuels efficiency and value. In this episode, we learn how automation engineers like Loupe are using a software-defined approach to speed the development of cutting edge industrial systems. We discover how a new organisation, SASE, or the Society of Automation Software Engineers, is helping define this new interwoven specialism. And we explore how one industrial automation specialist, MTS, is openly sharing open source frameworks they use to engineer their machines, allowing for industry to be transformed by the same community development approach that has driven the success of the tech sector. Guests David Nichols, CEO, Loupe; founder, SASE, the Society of Automation Software Engineers Jan Bajorat, head of business line, efficient engineering, Siemens Peter Kurhajec, CTO, MTS Partner Siemens Digital Industries (DI) empowers companies of all sizes in the process and discrete manufacturing industries to accelerate their digital and sustainability transformation across the entire value chain. Siemens’ cutting-edge automation and software portfolio revolutionizes the design, realisation and optimisation of products and production. And with Siemens Xcelerator – the open digital business platform – this process is made even easier, faster, and more scalable. Along with our partners and ecosystem, Siemens Digital Industries enables customers to become a sustainable digital enterprise. Siemens Digital Industries has a workforce of about 70,000 people worldwide.The post #343 Weaving Software into Automation first appeared on Engineering Matters.

The metaverse is often thought of as an alternative virtual space, a world separate from reality where we can hang out with avatars of our friends and families, or shop at virtual stores. But the industrial metaverse ties the physical and the virtual much more closely together, with a focus that is less on photorealism, and more on using connected data to solve real world problems.  Velia Janetzky is project lead for the industrial metaverse at Siemens Electronics Factory Erlangen. Here, her team has been developing processes that marry the real and the virtual, to achieve ambitious efficiency and sustainability goals. Rather than relying on resource intensive physical methods to train robots, for example, they can now use virtual environments for the same training, cutting implementation times for automation projects. In this episode, Velia is joined by Jon Heidorn, head of analyst relations at Siemens, and Ryan Martin, research director at ABI Research, to explain the innovations being made at the cutting edge of the industrial metaverse. We learn how factory owners can develop their own industrial metaverse strategy, by focusing on productivity gains in the real world. We discover how entire supply chains will soon be viewable through a ‘single pane of glass’, allowing improvements to be made within factories, and informed by data collected from suppliers and customers. Guests Velia Janetzky, project lead Industrial Metaverse, Siemens Electronics Factory Erlangen Ryan Martin, senior research director, digital transformation and AI, ABI Research  Jon Heidorn, VP, analyst relations, Siemens Digital Industries Partner Siemens Digital Industries (DI) empowers companies of all sizes in the process and discrete manufacturing industries to accelerate their digital and sustainability transformation across the entire value chain. Siemens’ cutting-edge automation and software portfolio revolutionizes the design, realisation and optimisation of products and production. And with Siemens Xcelerator – the open digital business platform – this process is made even easier, faster, and more scalable. Along with our partners and ecosystem, Siemens Digital Industries enables customers to become a sustainable digital enterprise. Siemens Digital Industries has a workforce of about 70,000 people worldwide.The post #342 Real Solutions and the Industrial Metaverse first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Alan Lusty founded adi Group, a multidisciplinary engineering business supporting major manufacturers. He is part of a group that offers engineering services in 23 sectors, with over 750 employees. But he left school at 16 without qualifications, instead pursuing an apprenticeship. At adi Group, more than 10% of employees are apprentices: double the rate set as a target by The 5% Club apprenticeship advocacy scheme. As a Platinum member of the scheme, adi Group has a clear track record of supporting apprentices. In 2018, prime minister Theresa May and chancellor Philip Hammond visited adi Group and met some of the apprentices. In the Commons, May noted that this demonstrated the opportunities offered by apprenticeships. But despite these successes, recruiting apprentices was a challenge. Alan’s solution was to establish a pre-apprenticeship scheme, targeting 13- and 14-year olds. As part of the scheme, children would be brought into adi each week, and introduced to engineering. After COVID, the scheme was taken up by the King’s Norton Boys’ School. At the school, deputy headmaster Jonathan Butcher took the lead in organising entry to the scheme. He explains that it has opened up new choices and career path ways for pupils. It has also opened the eyes of parents and teachers to the real world of engineering, showing that this is a sector with real opportunities, that inspires young people’s problem solving skills. Guests Alan Lusty, founder and chairman, adi Group Jon Butcher, deputy head, King’s Norton School for BoysThe post #341 Opening the Door to Engineering – Engineering Matters Awards winners first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Electrification of construction equipment is an ongoing and necessary part of the global effort to reduce carbon emissions and restrict global warming. Sixty years ago, Fugro developed the first commercial cone penetration testing equipment to run on electrical power, and today it is continuing on that journey by electrifying the machine that carries it. What is more, it is employing this battery technology onto a new state of the art machine that goes deeper than ever before to get more data about the ground beneath our feet. This journey of innovation is not one that it has undertaken alone. Working in partnership with Dutch heavy lifting specialist Mammoet, the project benefitted from Dutch government investment to support their investigation into electrification of the CPT equipment. In this episode, we explore this new product and look ahead to how remote operations and innovations in battery technology could be incorporated in future machines. Guests Niek Bezuijen, global sustainability advisor, Mammoet  Femke De Jager, innovation director, Europe, Fugro Peter Salome, engineering manager, Fugro David Tindall, product manager for geotechnical equipment land, Fugro References NEN 9140 Veilig werken aan e-voertuige (Safe working on e-vehicles) Innovation realised with Schoon en Emissieloos Bouwmaterieel (SSEB) subsidy provided by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management Engineering Matters 276: A deep understanding of the ground beneath our feet Partner Fugro is the world’s leading geo-data specialist, collecting and analysing comprehensive information about the Earth and the structures built upon it. Through integrated data acquisition, analysis and advice, Fugro unlocks insights from geo-data to help clients design, build and operate their assets in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner.The post #340 Diving Deep into Electric Machinery first appeared on Engineering Matters.

On two major road projects in the UK work was completed on time and under budget. But not every project can claim such success. Defects, delays and cost overruns plague projects around the world. Projects such as those at Junction 10 on the M25 London orbital motorway, and on a stretch of the A19 near Teesside in England’s north east, are inherently complex. Every change will cause ripples throughout the supply chain, and potentially impact schedules and costs. But this, AtkinsRéalis’s Kelly Burdall argues, isn’t the root cause of the problem. Instead, she explains, we should look at the contract structures used on major projects. Traditionally, each party to a contract—designers, lead contractors, other members of the supply chain—are paid on a time and materials basis. That means that every time a clash creates more work, or a change requires more materials, the parties are paid more. This disincentivises collaboration, and can be seen as rewarding failure and discouraging investment in more efficient ways of working. A new type of contract encourages collaboration and innovation. Integrated contracts, like those developed under National Highways delivery integrated partnership model, set goals based on outcomes: all parties to the contract are rewarded for delivering on time, without defects, and within budget. This aligns incentives, encourages investment in innovation, and can even be adopted before a project is tendered. Guests Joe Chastney, head of digital transformation, Balfour Beatty Scott Shaw, client director, AtkinsRéalis James Butler, managing director of project & programme services (PPS), AtkinsRéalis Kelly Burdall, Programme Lead, Consulting, Strategy and Advisory, AtkinsRéalis References ISO 44001 Collaborative business relationship management systems  Project13 An enterprise model for infrastructure delivery NUAR UK National Underground Asset Register UK National Infrastructure Pipeline Partner AtkinsRéalis is a world-leading professional services and project management company dedicated to engineering a better future for our planet and its people. Employing over 37,000 people across Canada, the US and Latin America, the UK and Ireland, and Asia, the Middle East, and Australia, AtkinsRéalis creates sustainable solutions that connect people, data and technology to transform the world’s infrastructure and energy systems.The post #339 Integrated Contracts and Innovative Delivery first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Nature has long served as a blueprint for engineering breakthroughs from the kingfisher-inspired design of Japan’s Bullet Train to termite mounds that inform energy-efficient buildings. Siemens Digital Industries is taking this concept further by combining biomimicry with digital technology to tackle sustainability challenges across entire industries. Eryn Devola, Head of Sustainability at Siemens, explains how looking beyond individual components to view entire systems can reveal powerful opportunities to reduce waste, optimise processes, and rethink how we measure success. One powerful example is Ekonoke, a company growing hops in fully controlled indoor environments. With Siemens’ support, Ekonoke scaled their production by using digital tools to simulate and refine every element of their process before building physical systems. By designing their operations to be co-located with breweries, they’re able to recycle CO₂ and wastewater, turning industrial by-products into valuable resources. Their approach demonstrates how digitalisation, circular design, and proximity-based supply chains can dramatically lower environmental footprints while improving reliability and yield. Finland-based Spinnova shows similar potential in the textile sector, producing sustainable fibre from wood pulp and agricultural waste without harmful chemicals. Inspired by spider silk and supported by Siemens, Spinnova used digital twins to perfect both product design and factory layout. Their commitment to full traceability and renewable energy sets a high bar for transparency in manufacturing. Both Ekonoke and Spinnova prove that when companies think holistically across the full lifecycle and supply chain sustainability becomes not just an add-on, but a foundation for smarter, more resilient business. Guests Eryn Devola, Head of Sustainability, Siemens Digital Industries Ines Sagrario, CEO and Co-founder, Ekonoke Juha Salmela, CTO and Co-founder, Spinnova Partner Siemens Digital Industries (DI) empowers companies of all sizes in the process and discrete manufacturing industries to accelerate their digital and sustainability transformation across the entire value chain. Siemens’ cutting-edge automation and software portfolio revolutionizes the design, realization and optimization of products and production. And with Siemens Xcelerator – the open digital business platform – this process is made even easier, faster, and more scalable. Along with our partners and ecosystem, Siemens Digital Industries enables customers to become a sustainable digital enterprise. Siemens Digital Industries has a workforce of about 70,000 people worldwide.The post #338 Bio-Inspired Innovation & Systemic Sustainability first appeared on Engineering Matters.

In this episode, we spotlight the remarkable work of the Lightyear Foundation, the winner of the Engineering Matters Awards 2025 Gold Champion for Diversity and Inclusion. The foundation is the only UK charity dedicated to engaging disabled and neurodivergent young people with STEM.Chief Executive Jeff Banks and Senior Programme Manager Emma Zeale explain how the charity uses immersive sensory science, STEM workplace trips, and specially designed Lightyear Labs to ignite curiosity and boost confidence in children who are often excluded from traditional STEM education. With 75% of their staff and trustees identifying as disabled or neurodivergent, Lightyear leads by example and is working to ensure all young people see a place for themselves in STEM. We also hear from Hannah Ford Tomlinson, who developed the Engineering Lightyear Lab. Drawing on their background in science communication and personal experience as an autistic person, they share how each lab session is tailored for accessibility. The labs promote agency and exploration, allowing students to take control of their learning. A standout moment includes an impromptu adaptation when wet play-doh caused sensory issues for some students, highlighting the importance of flexibility and co-creation in the classroom. Lightyear’s impact doesn’t stop at the lab door. Through initiatives like the F1 Engineering Project, youth forums, and even plans for apprentice trusteeships, the foundation is building pathways into the broader STEM ecosystem. Students are not only learning and experimenting, but shaping how STEM outreach is designed and delivered. By listening to young people’s voices and ensuring they have authentic leadership roles, Lightyear Foundation is creating a future where disability is not a barrier to participation, but a vital perspective in the world of science and engineering. Guests Jeff Banks, Chief Executive, Lightyear Foundation Emma Zeale, Senior Programme Manager, Lightyear Foundation Hannah Ford Tomlinson, Communities and Partnerships Program Manager, Lightyear Foundation Links Lightyear FoundationThe post #337 Breaking Barriers to STEM with Lightyear Foundation – Engineering Matters Awards winners first appeared on Engineering Matters.

At a quarry in Turkey, heavy haul trucks are carrying hundreds of tonnes of materials, with no external power. It’s not quite perpetual motion, but it is removing the need for diesel or cables on a hard working site. NUH Cement commissioned ABB to repower a 30-year-old Euclid haul truck. The truck collects loads from a hill top quarry, carries them downhill, and then returns uphill empty. That gave the team at ABB an idea: rather than losing the gravity energy of the load to braking, why not capture it and use it to power the truck back uphill? The job took careful modelling, to ensure the trucks could be relied on, whatever the circumstances on site. With the batteries being constantly charged and discharged, the impact of this on their lifespan and health also had to be considered. The scope of this work is far wider than might be expected. There are more than 70,000 trucks like this worldwide, and many are working in similar conditions. And the approach ABB took to the project, of careful study of a client’s site condition, offers a method for decarbonising across industry, one win at a time. Guests Thomas Huggenberger, Head of Technical Project Management, ABB Ece Akyalçın Turhan, Service and Project Manager, ABB Traction Fabiana Cavalcante, Global Head of Mobile E-Power, ABBThe post #336 Gravity-Powered Heavy Haul – Engineering Matters Awards winners first appeared on Engineering Matters.

LongPath Technologies has taken Nobel-winning discoveries, and applied them to a key cause of climate change: methane leaks from oil and gas facilities. The sector now turns to LongPath to establish monitoring across facilities. But as LongPath sought to scale from innovation to commercialization, it turned to Red Pitaya for a vital component. In this episode we tell the story of LongPath, and how their laser-based methane monitoring has been developed over the past decade. We learn how this work was enabled by a cheap and highly configurable processing board from Red Pitaya. And we discover why Red Pitaya was chosen as a Gold Champion at the Engineering Matters Awards. This highly configurable board, much like a Raspberry Pi for scientists and engineers, is cheap enough that it can be used by start-ups and school students alike. In an Awards shortlist episode we saw how school students have used it in experiments at CERN. And it is flexible and powerful enough that it can meet the needs of innovators like those at LongPath. Guests Črt Valentinčič, co-founder, CTO, Red Pitaya Robbie Wright, co-founder, Chief Engineer, LongPath TechnologiesThe post #335 Monitoring Methane: The Tech Behind the Tech – Engineering Matters Awards winners first appeared on Engineering Matters.

In 2016 management consultants McKinsey released a report that reverberated around the construction and engineering sectors. This sector, the report said, was consistently delivering projects late—often 20% longer to finish than expected—and over budget: by as much as 80%. The report’s authors pointed out that the tools that could resolve these delays and cost overruns, quite simply weren’t being picked up. Now, nearly a decade on, has the sector made progress? In this episode, we speak to three AtkinsRéalis experts about the sector’s progress. Sam Stephens describes the origins of digital construction, explaining how offshore incidents in the 1990s led to the mandatory use of BIM on public sector projects in the UK. Lisa Brown examines the challenges facing construction firms as they adopt digital tools, and explains how AtkinsRéalis has adopted a strategic approach to their adoption and deployment. And Jack Li describes the potential boost AI will bring to the sector, and the need to train young engineers to ensure they can bring human discernment to machine-powered efficiency. Guests Sam Stephens, Head of Digital, Nuclear, AtkinsRéalis Lisa Brown, VP, Transformation and Digital, Canada, AtkinsRéalis Jack Li, Global Head of Future Focus and AI, AtkinsRéalis Partner AtkinsRéalis is a world-leading professional services and project management company dedicated to engineering a better future for our planet and its people. Employing over 37,000 people across Canada, the US and Latin America, the UK and Ireland, and Asia, the Middle East, and Australia, AtkinsRéalis creates sustainable solutions that connect people, data and technology to transform the world’s infrastructure and energy systems.The post #334 Digital Construction’s Past, Present and Future first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Generative AI has swept across our society. In every app, up it pops, eager to offer a helping hand. The opportunity to talk to computer systems as if they are human, or to create memes at unprecedented speed, has great appeal for many. But is it ready to do the hard work at the heart of our economy? Not yet, perhaps, but soon, AI systems will be working alongside humans in industrial engineering offices and on the shop floor. They will present design choices for engineers, guided by a deep understanding of the sector they work in, and appropriately constrained by safety and other requirements. They will identify which parts on a production machine require replacement, finding alternatives for those no longer available, and producing wiring diagrams, bills of materials, and documentation, with minimal human oversight. Unlocking a future industrial sector where dirty, dull and dangerous jobs are performed by AIs, often acting through human-like robots, will demand new approaches to AI development, and to supply chain collaboration. Rather than the ‘one window’ approach of generalist tools, industrial AI will deploy specialist agents, their actions coordinated by orchestrators, trained on engineering data and informed by industry semantics. Guests Boris Scharinger, AI Strategist, Siemens Digital Industries Vlad Larichev, Industrial AI Lead, DACH, Accenture Julius Bockamp, Technology Scout, Advanced Production Technology, Schaeffler Partner Siemens Digital Industries  Siemens Digital Industries (DI) empowers companies of all sizes in the process and discrete manufacturing industries to accelerate their digital and sustainability transformation across the entire value chain. Siemens’ cutting-edge automation and software portfolio revolutionizes the design, realization and optimization of products and production. And with Siemens Xcelerator – the open digital business platform – this process is made even easier, faster, and more scalable. Along with our partners and ecosystem, Siemens Digital Industries enables customers to become a sustainable digital enterprise. Siemens Digital Industries has a workforce of about 70,000 people worldwide.The post #333 Agents of Change – AI in Industry first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Airports are at the forefront of a global transformation, rethinking their role not just as transport hubs but as sustainable, connected cities of the future. In this episode we explore how airports around the world are responding to environmental pressures, technological advancements, and increasing passenger demands. From Hong Kong’s ambitious runway reclamation to Heathrow’s efforts to expand sustainably, we unpack the complex challenges and exciting innovations shaping the future of air travel infrastructure. Our guests George Davies, Meghan Sheehan, and Jeremy Lee, each bring unique perspectives from the UK, US, and Asia, offering a global overview of how different regions are tackling infrastructure constraints, passenger experience upgrades, and the transition to low-carbon operations. Their insights reveal the balancing act between growth, sustainability, and community impact. We learn how airports are embracing flexible, future-ready design, from better integration with public transport to preparing for sustainable aviation fuels like SAF and hydrogen. We’ll hear how digital tools, AI, and biometrics are streamlining passenger journeys and why collaboration across borders is key to delivering smarter, greener airports. Whether it’s reclaiming land from the sea or unlocking bottlenecks in airspace, this episode captures how aviation is engineering a more sustainable and efficient tomorrow. Guests George Davies, Director for Sustainable Aviation, AtkinsRéalis  Meghan Sheehan, Deputy US Aviation Manager, AtkinsRéalis  Jeremy Lee Chartered Civil Engineer, AtkinsRéalis Partners AtkinsRéalis is a world-leading professional services and project management company dedicated to engineering a better future for our planet and its people. Employing over 37,000 people across Canada, the US and Latin America, the UK and Ireland, and Asia, the Middle East, and Australia, AtkinsRéalis creates sustainable solutions that connect people, data and technology to transform the world’s infrastructure and energy systems.The post #332 The Future of Airports Around the World first appeared on Engineering Matters.

In the second half of the 20th Century, the world was transformed through infrastructure construction. New roads and railways, levees and power lines, delivered unprecedented comfort and convenience, and laid the foundation for an economy driven by easy transport and trade. But today, as many governments struggle with budgetary constraints and the need to balance decarbonisation with growth, that infrastructure is reaching the end of its design life. Design life does not set a limit on an assets’ safe and productive use. But it does mark the target the original architects and engineers aimed for when they designed and built this infrastructure. Now, their successors must reconsider each asset’s health, and come up with a plan for its replacement or ongoing use. If a structure must be demolished and replaced, asset owners face heavy carbon and financial costs. But by truly understanding these assets, they can focus this investment where it is needed and will have the most impact. In this episode, we learn how engineers and asset owners can work together to collect this data, and identify cost- and carbon-effective solutions. The Netherlands has led the way in infrastructure development, for hundreds of years. Since 1848, this has been overseen by Rijkwaterstaat (RWS), the agency responsible for the country’s famed canals, as well as its roads.  We learn how RWS has worked with geo-data specialists Fugro to make the best use of existing transport assets, as demand for them has soared; and we hear how cost-effective sensors have been used to monitor the impact of a specific failure mechanism affecting tunnels across the country, allowing them to safely remain open, without unnecessary interventions. Guests Edo Noordermeer, Business Consultant, Monitoring, Fugro Patrick Bakhuizen, Commercial Director, Infrastructure, Fugro Harry Dekker, Senior Adviser, Tunnels and Geo-Engineering, Rijkwaterstaat Diederick Bouwmeester, Manager, Geotech, The Netherlands, Fugro Partner Fugro is the world’s leading geo-data specialist, collecting and analysing comprehensive information about the Earth and the structures built upon it. Through integrated data acquisition, analysis and advice, Fugro unlocks insights from geo-data to help clients design, build and operate their assets in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner.The post #331 Life Extension for Infrastructure first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Helping the next generation achieve their full potential doesn’t just take commitment from their parents or carers, or from professionals like teachers. It takes, as the saying goes, a village. In Derby, nuclear engineer Katie Jarman has assembled the equivalent of a village full of volunteer maths tutors, all recruited from her employer Rolls-Royce, to help local school children achieve their academic and career goals. Working with local schools, Katie and more than a hundred Rolls-Royce volunteers dedicate an hour a week of their time, over six weeks, to support and encourage children as they prepare for their maths GCSEs. These end-of-school exams can be vital to progressing on to further and higher education, and to careers in engineering and elsewhere. In this episode, part of our series on Engineering Matters Awards Gold Champions, Katie tells us how she set the programme up, and why it is helping Rolls-Royce strengthen its business. As she explains, this is a programme that is ready for emulation by engineering businesses around the world.  Guest Katie Jarman, assistant chief engineer, Rolls-Royce Novel NuclearThe post #330 A Village Full of Maths Tutors – Engineering Matters Awards’ winners first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Ben Gibbons and his colleagues at Circular11 are developing ways to add value to hard-to-recycle light plastics. They take packaging, and turn it into a lumber-equivalent, suitable for long term use as post and rail fencing. But to maintain tight loops of circularity, they needed to understand the supply chain they were targeting. National Highways designed a programme to help innovators like Circular11 scale their ideas. The sustainable plastic re-use business, alongside three other start-ups, went all the way through to the final phase—live trials on the UK’s strategic roads network—of this Acceleration Low Carbon Innovation programme, organised with the help of the Connected Places Catapult. The accelerator was awarded Gold Champion in the Net Zero category of the Engineering Matters Awards. In this episode, we learn about the challenges facing SMEs as they try to enter the complex and highly regulated roadbuilding sector. We hear how the programme was designed to bring together SMEs, established contractors, and roadbuilding experts, helping scale sustainable innovations, in a way that is ripe for emulation by other major clients.Entry for the 2026 Engineering Matters Awards is now open. Guests Melissa Giusti, Principal Innovation Advisor, National Highways Ben Gibbons, CEO, Circular11 The post #329 Scaling Low Carbon Innovation – Engineering Matters Awards’ winners first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Worldwide, water is in short supply and high demand, with very real consequences for human health and security. Many countries struggle to maintain aging networks, meaning that more than 20% of clean water is lost before it reaches the customer. New industries, like data centres, are adding to demand, as they use water for cooling. In this episode, we look at the work of FIDO Tech, which is using AI and acoustics to identify leaks. The idea of listening for leaks is not new. Traditionally, water company engineers would use a steel rod with an ear cup to listen to water flowing through a pipe. But this is a skilled job, which takes time and staff resources to perform. FIDO first developed its process as part of an innovation accelerator backed by United Utilities. Bringing the product to market demanded careful thought about physical sensor design, and rigorous training of their AI. In a four week trial with Thames Water, their system was able to work through 45,000 historic recordings, and identify leaks with more than 90% accuracy. Now, the company is developing their system to allow for real time detection of leaks, across water networks. Guests Victoria Edwards, CEO/Founder, FIDO Tech Paul Parr, Global Technical Director, FIDO TechThe post #328 Listening for Leaks – Engineering Matters Awards Innovation Champion, FIDO first appeared on Engineering Matters.

On the coast of rural Cumbria, in England’s northeast, a once-secretive nuclear site is transforming its legacy by investing in the engineers of tomorrow. Sellafield, known historically for producing weapons-grade plutonium and nuclear energy, has now begun the 100 year process of decommissioning. At the Sellafield Engineering & Maintenance Centre of Excellence, engineers research and develop new technologies for the nuclear industry and engage with the local community.  As the 2025 Community Gold winners at the Engineering Matters Awards, the team at Sellafield has been recognised for their exceptional outreach to local schools, students, and SEND communities, using engineering to inspire and empower the next generation. In this episode, we explore their work, Claire O’Connor, the social impact and community lead and Angela Broggins, work experience lead from the Centre of Excellence, along with Jo Hedley from Branthwaite Academy, explain how their unique, inclusive programmes give students not only technical skills but also the confidence to envision futures in STEM. Whether it’s hands-on robotics with primary pupils, bespoke work experience for neurodiverse students, or creating pathways into apprenticeships and employment, this team is reshaping what access to engineering education can look like. Listeners will learn how the Sellafield Centre of Excellence has shifted the narrative around nuclear engineering, from secrecy to openness, from decommissioning to development. We uncover how strategic, long-term community engagement can spark real change, and how tailored learning has already helped hundreds of young people find their place in the engineering world.The post #327 Nuclear Engineering for School Children – Engineering Matters Awards 2025 first appeared on Engineering Matters.

The past months have seen a shift in international trade, of a scale not seen for decades. New US tariffs have created uncertainty for investors, and promise to spark a global trade war. While these new challenges to cross-border trade are unique, recent years have seen another shift in industrial policy, particularly in the UK, with leaders on both sides of the political divide emphasising a pro-growth, abundance agenda. With such pressures on existing supply chains, and renewed attention to growth and productivity, can manufacturers still aim for decarbonisation? In this episode, first aired in March 2023, we present an idea that promises to boost growth, while meeting climate goals and protecting local supply chains.  Sam Turner, Net Zero champion for the UK’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult, proposes a new approach: not offshoring, but ‘greenshoring’. The strategy would see countries competing not just on their ability to supply cheap labour and materials, but on their ability to reduce carbon emissions and other environmental harms. It’s an approach that has been adopted by Frog Bikes, a manufacturer based in the UK’s Bike Valley, a regional cluster of businesses that aims to develop bicycle manufacturing in the country.  But the company has struggled to find the data it needs to prove its ability to compete in terms of carbon costs. Doing this will require the development of new carbon accounting tools, and of standards that allow them to be validated.  Guests Katherine Bennett, CEO, High Value Manufacturing Catapult Sam Turner, Net Zero champion, High Value Manufacturing Catapult Russ Hall, chief engineer, Net Zero, High Value Manufacturing Catapult  Shelley Lawson, director, Frog Bikes Jerry Lawson, chief frog, Frog BikesThe post #326 Revisited: The Green, Green, Shores of Home first appeared on Engineering Matters.

The rise of AI and machine learning promises a revolution in how we live and work. Expert reasoning and mundane tasks will be completed for us in the cloud. But the cloud is not ethereal or abstract. It is a globe spanning mass of physical infrastructure. Enabling this transformation will demand a huge expansion in data centre construction.Data centres house the processing and computing power that the world relies on. Investors have pledged trillions for their construction. But their costs are environmental, as well as financial. From energy, to water, to materials, data centres require a lot of resources to build and operate. By 2030 the IEA (International Energy Agency) estimates that worldwide data centres will consume 1,000 terrawatt hours of electricity. Today an average data centre uses 300,000 litres of water a day.  However sustainability in the industry is improving. In this episode, Josh Parker, head of sustainability for Nvidia, explains how improvements in chip design and accelerated computing have led to massive gains in efficiency over the last ten years, doing the same AI workload uses 100,000x less power. Sustainability gains go beyond operational energy use. As Professor Deborah Andrews highlights, e-waste and water usage are key issues the industry must address. And, as Damien Dumestier explains, the scale of this new sector will, perhaps, push innovation all the way into space. In this episode we explore what the industry is doing to become more sustainable, from improving energy efficiency, building data centres in novel and remote locations and by using AI itself to improve sustainability across industries. Guests Professor Deborah Andrews, professor of Design for Sustainability and Circularity, London South Bank University Josh Parker, head of sustainability, Nvidia Damien Dumestier, head of the ASCEND feasibility study, Thales Alenia Space Resources  IEA 2025 Energy and AI report The post #325 Real world sustainability and the digital revolution first appeared on Engineering Matters.

This February, with the flick of a switch, there was a vast shift of power on Europe’s borders. The Baltic states’ electrical grids, built in the 1960s while these countries were forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union, had been under the control of Moscow. In one weekend, the transmission system operators in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, working with partners in Poland and across continental Europe, disconnected from Russia, and synchronised their systems with those of their neighbours to the West. While the switchover took only a weekend of testing, and synchronisation occurred in an instant, the project was decades in the making. For the Baltic nations, the threat of Russian aggression had been clear as early as 2007, when Estonian institutions suffered a massive cyber attack. But securing the political and financial support of their neighbours would take careful diplomacy. The €1.6bn project would also require the deployment of cutting edge grid systems. These included synchronous condensers, needed to add inertia to grids as they move towards widespread use of renewable energy; new connections with the continental European grid; and investments in new high voltage lines and battery storage. In this episode, three of the leaders of this project, from Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland, share how they made the case for this investment in European energy security, and the work needed to upgrade grid systems across the region. They describe the excitement of the moment when synchronisation occurred, and the benefits to countries across Europe of a grid system that is secure and ready for the energy transition. Guests Hannes Kont, director of the synchronisation programme, Elering Donatas Matelionis, head of power systems operations, LitGrid Remigiusz Warzywoda, deputy director, international cooperation, PSE Photo  A new pylon in Estonia, part of the upgrade necessary for synchronisation. Courtesy of Tönu TunnelThe post #324 A Shift of Power on Europe’s Borders first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Engineers from around the world gathered at the Postal Museum in London for the Engineering Matters Awards 2025, presented in partnership with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, IMechE, and Engineers Without Borders UK, EWB UK. In this episode, we introduce the award gold champions. In episodes to come, we will look in more detail at each winning entry.  The awards celebrate the impact that engineers have on people and the planet. This year, Gold Champion trophies were awarded to adi Group, ABB, Fido, Keltbray, the Lightyear Foundation, National Highways, Red Pitaya, Rolls Royce, and Sellafield Centre of Engineering Excellence. The Engineering Matters Awards will return in 2026, with entries opening soon. Guests Mateja Lampe, CEO, Red Pitaya Matt Lamb, Senior Design Engineer, Hiperenergy, Keltbray Melissa Giusti, Principal Innovation Advisor, National Highways Thomas Huggenberger, Product Manager, ABB Fabiana Cavalcante, Global Head of Mobile E-Power, ABB Victoria Edwards, CEO, Fido Katie Jarman, Assistant Chief Engineer, Rolls-Royce Novel Nuclear Alan Lusty, Founder/CEO, adi Group Emma Zeale, STEM Outreach Programme Manager, The Lightyear Foundation Rosie Mellors, Community Manager, The Lightyear Foundation Angela Groggins, Work Experience Lead, Sellafield Centre of Excellence Claire O’Connor, Social Impact Community Lead, Sellafield Centre of ExcellenceThe post #323 Engineers Deliver Impact: The Engineering Matters Awards 2025 first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Seagrass meadows are the engineers of the marine ecosystem. They provide habitats, support biodiversity, prevent coastal erosion and sequester carbon dioxide. For this reason Italy has embarked upon a world leading project to map these coastal ecosystems at a national scale, enabling it to plan protection and restoration measures that will improve ocean health and meet legislative targets.  This is only possible thanks to recent advances in coastal mapping technology and the sophisticated integration of state of the art data collected by a range of sources from satellite sensors, lidar and multibeam echosounders to hyperspectral cameras on autonomous underwater vessels. Guests Dr Hannah Brocke, co-founder and chief strategy officer, PlanBlue Benoit Cajelot, regional manager climate and nature, Europe and Africa, Fugro Professor Francesco Cinelli, Professor of Marine Ecology at University of Pisa  Dr Knut Hartmann, chief operating officer EOMAP, a Fugro company. Featuring Giordano Giorgi, project director, Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) Resources Mapping Italy’s seagrass for biodiversity gain by Planet Beyond Partner Fugro is the world’s leading geo-data specialist, collecting and analysing comprehensive information about the Earth and the structures built upon it. Through integrated data acquisition, analysis and advice, Fugro unlocks insights from geo-data to help clients design, build and operate their assets in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner.The post #322 Engineering Ecosystems: Italy’s Seagrass Meadows first appeared on Engineering Matters.

We can reuse and retrofit buildings to extend their lifespans, and reduce their embodied carbon impact. But some structures may not be suitable for full reuse: some will have reached the end of their safe life; others will have no viable reuse; and some retrofit projects may require partial dismantling to reduce loadings on the original structure. But demolition or disassembly does not need to mark the end of the life of building materials. With care and planning, these can be dismantled and used anew. Around the UK, we see centuries old pubs and homes built using recovered timbers, from ships and structures. But this is just a starting point for materials reuse. In this episode, a follow-up to episode 315 Renewing the world, without costing the planet, we learn why architects and engineers should plan for materials reuse, from design through to demolition or disassembly. We examine how different materials can be reused. And we look at the development of trading platforms that enable the use of reclaimed materials at scale. Guests Will Arnold, head of climate action, IStructE Prof. Katherine Cashell, Department of Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering (CEGE), University College London Mike Davies, co-founder/director, SD Engineers Image credit Installing a Re:Crete bridge in Wallis, Switzerland, courtesy of EPFL, under CC-BYThe post #321 Circular Construction – Designing for Disassembly first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Quantum mechanics has transformed our understanding of reality, but how did we get here? In this episode, we celebrate the International Year of Quantum, marking 100 years since the birth of this groundbreaking field. From the fierce debates between Einstein and Bohr to the mind-bending implications of superposition and entanglement, we explore how quantum mechanics has reshaped modern science and technology.  Dr. Paul Cadden-Zimansky, Associate Professor of Physics at Bard College, a physicist and science communicator, untangles the complicated history and science behind quantum mechanics. With years of experience bridging complex scientific ideas and public understanding, Paul takes us on a journey through the milestones and debates that defined quantum theory in the early years of its development. The episode explores how quantum mechanics emerged from early 20th-century experiments, the heated philosophical battles that shaped its interpretation, and why its implications continue to challenge our understanding of reality. Paul explains how quantum mechanics has shaped groundbreaking technologies throughout the 20th and early 21st century. We learn how quantum theory is fuelling today’s cutting-edge technologies, from quantum computing to secure communications.  Guests Paul Cadden-ZimanskyThe post #320 International Year of Quantum: 100 Years of Quantum Mechanics first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Britain’s biodiversity has been declining sharply over the last 50 years. The country is now one of the most nature-depleted nations in the world. Despite legislation and efforts to stem the tide of wildlife population decline, little has helped.In February 2025, the UK government announced a new approach to reintroductions of beavers in England. The animals’ dam-building helps maintain wetlands and dissipate floods. But they are not nature’s only green engineers. Looming above the charming rodents are bison, whose grazing can help maintain biodiverse woodlands. In this episode, originally aired in 2023, we look at a project to make use of this behaviour. Some Wildlife Trusts and organisations now support a more nature based approach to wildlife and land management. Rewilding is the process of helping nature return to its natural state and one of the best ways of doing that is by letting big animals do the job of wildlife managers. In Kent, in the Summer of 2022, a family of European Bison, the first to roam wildly in the UK for thousands of years, were released into the Blean Woods. The hope is as they move through the woods, they will interact with the environment around them creating better, more livable habitats for the entire ecosystem. It’s also not just Bison, across the UK species that once lived here are being returned to see if they can play a role in managing and improving this island’s depleted wildlife. Guests Paul Hadaway. Kent Wildlife Trust Sara King, Rewilding Manager, Rewilding Britain Resources For more on the Bison reintroduction project, click here For more on Rewilding Britain, click here  2025 Defra Guidance on wild release and management of beavers in EnglandThe post #319 Revisited: Green Engineering, with Bison first appeared on Engineering Matters.

At a unique hackathon in Manchester, a diverse group of hackers, coders, and gamers gathered to design digital solutions for the nuclear industry, blending innovation, teamwork, and pressure-driven problem-solving.  The event, called HackAFuture, served as a groundbreaking careers initiative, offering the winning team not just bragging rights, but jobs with AtkinsRéalis developing their solution.  This was the brainchild of Darren Grears, Director, Head of Digital, Nuclear & Power EMEA at AtkinsRéalis and Sam Stephens, Head of Digital, Nuclear, at AtkinsRéalis. They share insights into what made them want to set up the HackAFuture event and why digital and gaming skills are required in the nuclear industry. This episode travels through the 24 hours of the hack, from the kick off, to the winner being announced. With insights from judges, organisers and competitors on the HackAFuture event, it gives a glimpse of the future of the nuclear industry.  Guests Darren Grears, Director, Head of Digital, Nuclear & Power EMEA, AtkinsRéalisSam Stephens, Head of Digital, Nuclear, AtkinsRéalis Candice Long, Digital Solutions Wngineer, AtkinsRéalis Alexandra Hussenot, Chief Revenue Officer, Igloo Vision  Partner AtkinsRéalis is a world-leading professional services and project management company dedicated to engineering a better future for our planet and its people. Employing over 37,000 people across Canada, the US and Latin America, the UK and Ireland, and Asia, the Middle East, and Australia, AtkinsRéalis creates sustainable solutions that connect people, data and technology to transform the world’s infrastructure and energy systems.The post #318 Gaming Out a Career in Nuclear first appeared on Engineering Matters.

When we search for causes of accidents, we often assume a binary: either mechanical failure, or human error, were to blame, and we must pick between them. But labelling an accident as caused by human error doesn’t teach us anything. It makes no effort to understand what caused people to make the decisions they did. From aviation and healthcare to energy and defense, understanding how people interact with complex systems is key to improving safety, efficiency, and decision-making. At the most recent annual Thomas Hawksley lecture, organised by The Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Professor Sarah Sharples, the chief scientific advisor to the Department for Transport, opened a discussion titled Humans and Automations – Safety by Design. In this episode, we hear her advice on how to consider the science of human factors in engineered systems. Mark Young, Professor of Human Factors in Transport, was part of the discussion, and joins the episode to explain how cognitive factors like workload, stress, and situational factors all contribute to humans abilities to make decisions, particularly when under pressure.  As we move into an ever more autonomous world, humans in many sectors are becoming overseers of complex systems. This creates a new paradigm for human factors, not just asking how to get the best performance out of humans in a system, but how to empower people to intervene when a system goes wrong. Guests Sarah Sharples, chief scientific advisor, Department for Transport  Mark Young, professor of human factors in transport, University of Southampton, President of Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human FactorsThe post #317 Human Factors, Human Error, and Safety by Design first appeared on Engineering Matters.

AI is evolving so fast it eludes definition. The potential impact of the field is barely understood, even by those working in it. ‘Move-fast-and-break-things’ practitioners are deploying AI systems in autonomous vehicles, in courts, in medical diagnosis, and now even at the heart of the US federal government.  Few of the constraints that govern individual and corporate behaviour are being applied to the field. Large corporations are shaping the sector faster than governments can act. In a society where few have a useful understanding of the technology, neither market signals or social norms can steer how good AI systems are produced, and harms prevented. But experts and institutions are proposing systems that might professionalise the sector, establishing best practices and avoiding harms.  In this episode, Fordham Law School’s Chinmayi Sharma shares her proposal for a ‘Hippocratic Oath for AI’, that could bring the same professional duties to AI developers as are followed by surgeons. Peter Bannister, whose business Romilly Life Sciences supports the development of cutting edge medical devices, explains how his institution, the IET, is already shaping a professional approach to this technology. And Humboldt Prize-winning pharmacologist David Colquhoun shares a story from early in his career that illustrates the importance of ongoing monitoring of adverse effects of innovative products. Guests Chinmayi Sharma, Associate Professor, Fordham School of Law Peter Bannister, MD, Romilly Life Sciences David Colquhoun, Fellow of the Royal Society, Honorary Fellow, UCL References AI’s Hippocratic Oath, Chinmayi Sharma Code, Lawrence Lessig We Need a Building Code for Building Code, Carl Landwehr Digital Empires, Anu Bradford The Application of Artificial Intelligence in Functional Safety, The IET Responsible Handover of AI, Sense about Science DC’s Improbable Science, David ColquhounThe post #316 What Can AI Engineers Learn From Medical Professionals? first appeared on Engineering Matters.

How should engineers think about their duty to design safe structures? For IStructE’s head of climate action Will Arnold, this duty extends beyond the structure, to the safety of everyone on the planet. With renewable energy cutting operational carbon emissions, the majority of the engineering sector’s impact on climate change now comes from embodied carbon. Today, the World Health Organisation estimates that 150,000 excess deaths each year are caused by climate change. Embodied carbon from construction accounts for 10% of climate changing emissions. Around 15,000 deaths each year could be attributed to poor design that does not consider these costs. In this episode, we learn how engineers have extended the lifespan of structures around the world, minimising or entirely avoiding new impacts on the planet. As UCL’s Katherine Cashell explains, structural engineers now have a wealth of techniques and technologies that they can use to renew, retrofit, and preserve existing structures. With these tools in hand, they can meet client and public demands, while cutting financial and carbon costs. Resources PAS 2080: Carbon Management in Infrastructure and Built Environment The Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard Part Z – A proposed amendment to the UK building regulations IStructE Climate Action Report 2024 Guests Will Arnold, head of climate action, IStructE Prof. Katherine Cashell, Department of Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering (CEGE), University College London Mike Davies, co-founder/director, SD Engineers Balduino Del Principe, associate, ArupThe post #315 Renewing the World, Without Costing the Planet first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Ten years ago, Fugro set out on an ambitious mission: to bring expert staff off of vessels, and into a purpose built remote operations centre, or ROC. The first of these ROCs, in Houston, now allows specialist staff to work on multiple projects at once, giving customers the real time data and analysis they need to compete in the fast-paced markets at the heart of the energy transition. In the decade since, Fugro has established ROCs around the world. In this episode, we learn how staff in Houston, Aberdeen, Dubai and Perth are enjoying a better work-life balance, without the need to spend weeks away from home, working offshore. The move will allow Fugro to diversify the workforce and recruit staff skilled in other areas, such as IT and software. And it means employees  can devote more of their working time to where it will have the most impact and value for customers. As the global network of ROCs has been rolled out, Fugro has been developing not just remote analysis, but remote command and control, of vessels and survey vehicles, with autonomy playing an increasingly important role. This allows Fugro not only to compete for individual projects, but to offer remote operations as a service. At sea, these developments can now shrink the climate and financial costs of performing surveys. But the concept has gone much further, with the Australian Space Automation, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Control (SpAARC) facility now working with Intuitive Machines to bring remote operation to the moon. And this work is laying the foundation for increased use of remote operations in more mundane, earthly, applications. Guests Ryan Trahan, Remote Operations Surveyor, Houston, Fugro Fionnuala Richard, Regional Manager Americas Remote Operations Centers Vitto César, Remote Operations Centre Senior Geophysicist, Aberdeen, Fugro Jeff Richardson, Regional Manager Europe and Africa Remote Operations Centres, Fugro Ross Macfarlane, Manager, Middle East and India Remote and Autonomous Operations Resource Centre, Fugro Samuel Forbes, Director, The Australian Space Automation and AI Robotics Control Complex (SpAARC), FugroThe post #314 Remote Operations, To the Moon and Back first appeared on Engineering Matters.