Engineering Matters

By Reby Media

Five times winner of the Publisher Podcast Awards, including Best Technology Podcast, Engineering Matters celebrates the work of engineers who use ingenuity, practicality, science, theory and determin... more

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FAQs about Engineering Matters:

How many episodes does Engineering Matters have?

The podcast currently has 400 episodes available.

Engineering Matters episodes:

June 13, 2019#24 Unleash the Hydrogen Potential
Could the lightest element in the periodic table be the
answer to the world’s most weighty challenge of decarbonising energy? Hydrogen
is the most abundant element in the Universe and the most energy dense. Burning
it creates clean electricity and heat without generating carbon emissions, but
to utilise it, first it must be released from the organic materials or water
that host it. So how do we capture its potential to create clean energy systems
of the future in a cost-effective way?
In this episode we are working with consultant Mott
MacDonald to explore the possibilities for hydrogen as an energy carrier, an
electricity and heat source and as a long-term option for back-up power
storage. We find out how stranded renewables could lead to cheap green hydrogen
and explore the challenges around cost, safety and the need for leadership on hydrogen
energy policy in the UK.
GUESTS
Ian Clarke, Global Sector Leader Energy, Mott MacDonald
Chris De Beer, Energy Storage Specialist, Mott MacDonald
Arnaud De Lhoneux, Business Developent Manager renewable
Hydrogen, Hydrogenics
Guy Doyle, Energy Economist, Mott MacDonald
Stuart Gregg, Innovation Manager, National Grid
Jonny Goldstone, Founder and Managing Director, Green Tomato Cars
Zeynep Kurban, hydrogen consultant, International Energy Agency
Andy Lewis, Innovation Project Manager, Cadent
Faiez Sallie, Oil and Gas Practice Leader, Mott MacDonald
Chris Stark, Chief Executive, Committee on Climate Change
SUPPORTER
Mott MacDonald
Opening
opportunities with connected thinking.
Mott
MacDonald is a US$2bn engineering, management and development consultancy
involved in:
solving
some of the world’s most urgent social, environmental and economic challenges
helping
governments and businesses plan, deliver and sustain their strategic goals
responding
to humanitarian and natural emergencies
improving
people’s lives
Its
expertise by sector includes buildings, communications, defence, education,
environment, health, industry, mining, oil and gas, power, transport, urban
development, water, wastewater and more. Its skills encompass planning, studies
and design, project finance, technical advisory services, project and programme
management, management consultancy and beyond.
The post #24 Unleash the Hydrogen Potential first appeared on Engineering Matters.
...more
31min
June 13, 2019 #24 Unleash the Hydrogen Potential
Could the lightest element in the periodic table be the answer to the world’s most weighty challenge of decarbonising energy? Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the Universe and the most energy dense. Burning it creates clean electricity and heat without generating carbon emissions, but to utilise it, first it must be released from...
...more
31min
May 30, 2019 #23 Becoming an astronaut: Sophie Harker
It was a meeting with the first Briton in space, Dr Helen
Sharman, that changed the course of Sophie Harker’s life forever. A maths
student at The University of Nottingham, she took this advice seriously and
went on to become an aerodynamics and performance engineer at BAE Systems.
Although she is yet to leave planet earth, Sophie has been working on designs
for a revolutionary new aircraft designed to take off from a runway and enter
space in a single stage. Project such as this are just part of the story, and
Sophie is working hard to ensure that when the European
Space Agency put out their next call for astronauts, she is ready, and with
thousands of applicants for every seat, competition will be fierce.
GUEST:
Sophie Harker, aerodynamics and performance engineer, BAE Systems and The IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year
2018
The post #23 Becoming an astronaut: Sophie Harker first appeared on Engineering Matters.
...more
35min
May 21, 2019 #22 Electric Excavators: Cities cut carbon in construction
Since 1913 the world’s most famous flower show
has been held every Spring in Chelsea in London. This year among the electric
blue Persian Slippers, the white and yellow Anthemis Punctata, and the eye
catching, deep pink Digitalis Illumination series of Chris Beardshaw’s Morgan
Stanley Garden, there is a focus on creating beautiful gardens with a lighter
environmental footprint. To achieve this they rejected diesel fuelled
excavators and turned to a battery powered machine, Volvo Construction
Equipment’s ECR25 Electric, to prepare the site.
Low noise, no
emissions and zero fossil fuel means a smaller carbon footprint and better air
quality. It is little wonder then that cities all over the world are demanding
cleaner construction solutions as they strive to contribute to reducing
national carbon emissions and lower the rate of global temperature rise. In
Oslo for example, the Municipality has demanded zero carbon on all of its new
construction sites. This means a range of new solutions are needed including
electric construction equipment, and manufacturers are investing to meet
emerging demand.
GUESTS
Ahcène Nedjimi, Electromobility Specialist, Volvo Construction Equipment
Julie Furber, Head of Electric Power, Cummins
Romeo Thomassen, Omsorgsbygg
Anreas Walnum, PON
Equipment Norway
SUPPORTER
3D
Hubs
3D
Hubs makes manufacturing of high precision custom parts easy and cost-effective.
3D Hubs’ online platform provides readily available production capacity for the
fastest lead times and most price-competitive parts. Simply upload designs to
receive instant quotes. 3D Hubs’ automated Design for Manufacturing (DFM)
analysis detects any potential issues before production begins, eliminating
risk and accelerating the manufacturing process for engineers. Founded in 2013,
3D Hubs has produced more than 2,000,000 parts, serving engineering companies
of all sizes. To get an instant quote for your parts, go to 3dhubs.com.
Interviews in Oslo were recorded at the Nordic
EV Summit organised by the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association
The post #22 Electric Excavators: Cities cut carbon in construction first appeared on Engineering Matters.
...more
21min
May 09, 2019 #21 Electric Aviation: Meeting demand for low emission flight
Norwegian airline Widerøe needs a new fleet of planes to serve its
regional passenger base. But it doesn’t want to buy conventional aircraft. It
wants a zero emission fleet to undertake its 450 flights per day, and move 2.8
million passengers per year. But so far, no electric planes have been certified
for commercial flight and Widerøe is calling on the industry to step up its
efforts and deliver aircraft with electric propulsion systems. In fact Norway
has set a target to electrify all of its aircraft by 2040 and the European
Union has committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 75 percent by 2050.
The race is on for the aviation sector to deliver.
But it won’t be easy. Chief executive of VoltAero, the French developer
of an advanced 9 seater hybrid electric plane called Cassio explains in this
episode, the technical challenges are surmountable. But certification from
safety regulators will take time.
Episode recorded at the Nordic EV Summit organised by the Norwegian
Electric Vehicle Association.
FEATURING
Stein Nilson, chief operating officer, Widerøe
Dr Jean Botti, chief executive, VoltAero
Neil Swanson, director, EVA
Scotland
SUPPORTERS
This episode is supported by 3D
Hubs
3D Hubs makes manufacturing of high precision custom parts easy and cost-effective. 3D Hubs’ online platform provides readily available production capacity for the fastest lead times and most price-competitive parts. Simply upload designs to receive instant quotes. 3D Hubs’ automated Design for Manufacturing (DFM) analysis detects any potential issues before production begins, eliminating risk and accelerating the manufacturing process for engineers. Founded in 2013, 3D Hubs has produced more than 2,000,000 parts, serving engineering companies of all sizes. To get an instant quote for your parts, go to 3dhubs.com
The post #21 Electric Aviation: Meeting demand for low emission flight first appeared on Engineering Matters.
...more
17min
May 03, 2019 #20 Electric Vehicles: Lessons from world leading Norway
How did Norway become the world’s most successful electric
vehicle market? Last month almost 80 percent of all new cars sold in Oslo were
EVs and across the entire country it was 58 percent. Even more remarkable is
that the soaring popularity of EVs is despite the lower operating efficiency
that batteries achieve in cold climates. This in turn exacerbates the biggest
challenge facing the manufacturers and policy makers who are seeking to
convince vehicle owners to shift away from thermal power: range anxiety.
So what is Norway’s secret to overcoming the challenges as
decarbonising transport and what can other countries learn from the land of the
midnight sun? Find out in this episode of Engineering Matters.
Created at the Nordic EV Summit, organised by the Norwegian
Electric Vehicle Association
FEATURING
Ola Elvestuen, Minister of Climate and
Environment, Norway
Lan Marie Berg, Vice Mayor for Environment and Transport, The
City of Oslo
Erik Lorenzten, Head of Analysis and Consulting, Norwegian
Electric Vehicle Association
Manuel Fernandez, Senior Vice President of Operations
Europe, Tritium.
Steven Dorresteijn, Sales Manager Europe EV Charging
Infrastructure, ABB
Pedro Dominguez, Director, EFACEC Electric Mobility
Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General, Amnesty International
SUPPORTERS
This episode is supported by 3D Hubs
3D Hubs makes manufacturing of high precision custom parts easy and cost-effective. 3D Hubs’ online platform provides readily available production capacity for the fastest lead times and most price-competitive parts. Simply upload designs to receive instant quotes. 3D Hubs’ automated Design for Manufacturing (DFM) analysis detects any potential issues before production begins, eliminating risk and accelerating the manufacturing process for engineers. Founded in 2013, 3D Hubs has produced more than 2,000,000 parts, serving engineering companies of all sizes. To get an instant quote for your parts, go to 3dhubs.com
The post #20 Electric Vehicles: Lessons from world leading Norway first appeared on Engineering Matters.
...more
35min
April 18, 2019 #19 Future of 3D Printing
From additive manufacturing in
space, to 3D printing customised pharmaceuticals and non-planar electronics,
the next revolution in 3D printing is already underway. In this episode we head
to the International Space Station and interview the engineer behind a world
first in 3D printing, “The Refabricator”. This 3D printer that can not only
print plastic in space, but can recycle it too offering massive potential for
future treatment of plastics on earth. We also consider how additive
manufacturing is making the move from being a prototyping technology to
becoming a complementary technique in the production chain and look at how newer
methods like material jetting could prove disruptive in pharmaceuticals and
electronics.
According to online manufacturing
platform 3D Hubs, today’s additive manufacturing market is a $10bn industry and
it is growing by an incredible 24% every year as adoption increases and new
technical innovations in methods and materials emerge. Back in 1986 when Chuck
Hull filed the first patent for his stereolithography apparatus, he could not
have predicted that the industry would evolve from his SLA machine that could
print photo responsive plastic in thin layers, building components by their
cross section and curing them with ultra violet light, to printing metals,
ceramics and even organic materials.
Learn more about the future of 3D
printing in this episode.
GUESTS
Dr Robert Hoyt, Tethers Unlimited
Ben Redwood, 3D Hubs
Professor Richard Hague, Centre for Additive
Manufacturing, University of Nottingham.
RESOURCES
Engineering Matters listeners are invited to follow this link for a
free sample of 3D Hubs “3D Printing Handbook” or visit their website to read “3D Printing Trends Q1 2019”
More on The Refabricator here
The post #19 Future of 3D Printing first appeared on Engineering Matters.
...more
27min
April 04, 2019 #18 Cocoa Power
Four thousand years after it was first used as a form of
nutrition for the Olmec people of Mesoamerica, engineers are finding new ways
to harness the potential of the fruit from the miraculous Theobroma Cacao tree,
better known today as cocoa pods. Their solution could provide rural farming
communities in Ghana with a new form of renewable energy, that simultaneously
makes use of the one part of the cacao fruit that is left to rot, the husk.
By examining the thermal properties of the four main types
of cocoa pods a team at Nottingham University have proved that these husks are
not waste at all, but a power source, that when gasified could generate
electricity for remote farming communities. A solution that if delivered at a
local scale would create a circular economy for the cocoa bean fruit and take
the country even further along its journey of poverty reduction.
Listen now to find out more about the story of cocoa and how
it could transform off-grid communities in equatorial cocoa growing nations in
this episode.
GUESTS
Professor Jo Darkwa, University
of Nottingham
Dr Julius Ahiekpor, Centre for Energy,
Environmental Sustainable Design, Ghana
SOURCES
The
True History of Chocolate – Sophie and Michael Coe
The University of Nottingham
Kwame
Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
The post #18 Cocoa Power first appeared on Engineering Matters.
...more
27min
March 21, 2019#17 Acting on climate change
As young people all over the world protest over political
inaction on climate change, we ask how engineers can prevent our planet’s
temperature rising past the point of no return. Responding to this challenge
means that engineering professionals, businesses and institutions must do
things differently. They must say no say no to carbon intensive development,
leave fossil fuels in the ground and focus on developing the solutions that
will enable the world to transition into a low carbon future.
Working with us on this episode is consultant Mott
MacDonald, which is increasingly refusing to work on carbon intensive projects;
is developing new technical solutions; and has embarked upon a global climate
resilience initiative. These steps are enabling it to support organisations all
over the world in lowering their carbon emissions and taking us closer to keeping
global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees centigrade.
Like the medical profession, which developed the Declaration
of Helsinki that went beyond the legislation of the day to reform practices in
medical research on human beings, academics are arguing that engineers should
do the same. This would mean creating a Declaration of Climate Action that compels
professional engineers to ensure that their work does not contribute to climate
change and upholds their professional duty to protect future generations from rising
global temperatures.
GUESTS
Dr Rob Lawlor, lecturer in applied ethics, University
of Leeds
David
Viner,
global practice leader for climate resilience, Mott MacDonald
Ian Allison, global head of climate resilience, Mott MacDonald
Rebekah Marsh, engineering geologist, Mott MacDonald
Mark Crouch, carbon management team leader, Mott MacDonald
Clare Wildfire, global practice leader for
cities, Mott MacDonald
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
The Infrastructure
Carbon Review, sets out the commercial as well as environmental and social
benefits of cutting carbon.
PAS
2080, is the first international standard for managing infrastructure
carbon, which provides a framework for how to do it.
Mission
Possible is a document that sets out the steps required to keep climate
change to under two degrees.
Dr Rob Lawlor and Helen Morley’s paper: Climate
Change and Professional Responsibility: A Declaration of Helsinki for Engineers
SUPPORTERS
Mott MacDonald – Opening opportunities with
connected thinking.
Mott
MacDonald is a US$2bn engineering, management and development consultancy
involved in:
solving
some of the world’s most urgent social, environmental and economic challenges
helping
governments and businesses plan, deliver and sustain their strategic goals
responding
to humanitarian and natural emergencies
improving
people’s lives
Its expertise by sector includes buildings, communications,
defence, education, environment, health, industry, mining, oil and gas, power,
transport, urban development, water, wastewater and more. Its skills encompass
planning, studies and design, project finance, technical advisory services,
project and programme management, management consultancy and beyond.
The post #17 Acting on climate change first appeared on Engineering Matters.
...more
27min
March 08, 2019 #16 Designing green buildings
Rudi Scheuermann
Do plants hold the key to making cities healthier?
Could we design buildings that don’t take away green space, but
create it?
That don’t demand energy, but generate it?
Rudi Scheuermann of consultant Arup thinks so. By employing
a range of design techniques including cladding structures in living plant
walls and engineering bioreactive facades that generate biogas, he says that greener
buildings can improve air quality, mitigate noise pollution and create
healthier environments.
With over 4.2 billion people living in cities, and buildings
contributing to 36 per cent of global energy use, curbing their energy
intensity and taking a new approach is vital if we are to limit the effects of
climate change and meet the growing demands of urbanisation. With a further 2.5
billion people expected to move to cities by 2050 the pressure is on to create
better structures that don’t cost the earth.
GUEST
Rudi Scheuermann, global building envelope design practice leader, Arup and author of “Cities Alive : Green Building Envelope”
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Arup
Transport for London
World Economic Forum
Environmental Research Group, Kings College London
The post #16 Designing green buildings first appeared on Engineering Matters.
...more
22min

FAQs about Engineering Matters:

How many episodes does Engineering Matters have?

The podcast currently has 400 episodes available.

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