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 & Townsend

Resources

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Built Environment,

Partner

Infrastructure 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/ESA

The 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, ICE

The 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/SMARTCITIES8040112

The 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, Costain

The post #347 Revisited: The Pipeline to Net Zero first appeared on Engineering Matters.