A freedom of information request issued by leading electrotechnical and engineering services trade body ECA has revealed that over half (52 per cent) of local authorities in the UK said that electric vehicle charge points (EVCPs) are prohibitively expensive to install.
The data also highlighted rapid changes in technology and energy network constraints as other barriers to EVCP deployment in UK districts.
Luke Osborne, ECA energy solutions advisor, said:
“Members of our industry are remarkably well placed to help deliver a net zero carbon UK by 2050. But if local councils don’t have the right infrastructure or funding in place within the next few years, all the promises made at COP26 will have been simple rhetoric.
Newcastle’s Black and White Engineering (B&W) is opening its doors to budding engineers by joining a key initiative to provide career opportunities to young people across the region.
The PlanBEE Kick Off programme is led by Ryder Architecture in partnership with Newcastle United Foundation (NUF), Gateshead College and other businesses across the construction and engineering sector. It provides a six-month paid contract for 16–24-year-olds who are claiming Universal Credit and are at risk of long-term unemployment.
The aim of the placements is to enable young people to gain skills and experience in a specific industry, working in some of the UK’s most innovative and growing businesses. B&W has partnered with Gateshead College to create specific placements for up to seven students.
Alongside their studies at the college, where they spend one day a week in the classroom, they’re engaged with all aspects of the B&W business including mechanical, electrical and building physics design.
EXPRESS BI-FOLDING DOORS INVESTS £40,000 INTO BRAND-NEW EXHIBITION STAND AHEAD OF 2021 SHOW SEASON
The new stand is bigger and better than ever, celebrating the company’s latest and most innovate product ranges
Leading UK bi-fold and sliding door manufacturer, Express Bi-Folding Doors, has revealed the significant investment it has made in a new, innovative exhibition stand ahead of the 2022 show season.
Express has been attending several exhibitions over the past months, with the final of the year having just taken place on the 5th November at the Harrogate Homebuilding & Renovating Show. Express will next be at the Farnborough Homebuilding & Renovation Show on the 15-16th January 2022.
For customers, these exhibitions are a fantastic opportunity to meet and network with the Express team, as well as enjoying exclusive show offers not available anywhere else.
Castrol becomes the official supplier of EV Thermal Fluids for Williams Advanced Engineering’s (WAE) growing electrification programmes and extensive electric motorsport activities
The Castrol ON EV Fluids used by WAE are being specially designed for their high-performance motorsport batteries
Partnership to involve WAE’s wider electrification projects including aerospace and marine sectors
Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) and Castrol have entered into a five-year technical partnership to co-develop high performance Electric Vehicle (EV) Fluids. As part of the agreement, Castrol will become the official supplier of EV Thermal Fluids for WAE’s growing electrification programmes and motorsport activities such as Formula E, Extreme E, ETCR and LMdH.
Castrol will develop and supply EV Thermal Fluids that are suitable for Williams Advanced Engineering’s (WAE) high-performance motorsport batteries from May 2022.
Unicef and Domestic Data Streamers have collaborated with us at BCN3D to create an art installation depicted in the streets of Paris in the form of 3D printed busts to raise social awareness of the issues children face as a result of the mental health pandemic and social stigma.
Barcelona (Spain), 1 November 2021 - Faced with the complexity of anxiety, stress and depression problems caused by the pandemic, Unicef approached creative agency Domestic Data Streamers with a shocking report on the number of children suffering from these disorders in France. Domestic Data Streamers took this information and created 10 busts of real children for a thought-provoking art installation in the streets of Paris.
With millions of people around the world experiencing feelings stemming from these new non-pandemic situations, Unicef and Domestic Data Streamers agreed that it was time to take a crucial stand, ensuring that children will be part of the debate at the World Mental Health Summit 2021 in Paris.
~ Planon position in this IDC MarketScape reflects its ability to meet education customer needs today and for the future, supporting stakeholders across the campus in making optimal decisions to improve faculty, staff, student, and visitor experiences. ~
Brighton, 4 November 2021 – Planon is pleased to be named a ‘Leader’ in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide SaaS Education Maintenance and Facility 2021 Application Vendor Assessment*. The IDC MarketScape assessment identifies Planon’s open platform strategy and ecosystem, digital visualisation capabilities and notable global higher education presence as major strengths that Planon delivers to its clients.
The IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Education Maintenance and Facility Application Vendor Assessment aims to provide potential education software customers with a list of vendors that have taken great strides to incorporate the capabilities and strategies that support the broad needs of maintenance and facility management for education.
Sulzer pumps help Calysseo produce a more sustainable food resource
Sulzer is supplying loop reactor pumps to Calysseo's facility in Chongqing, China, to support the production of an innovative bio-protein for the Asian aquafeed industry. FeedKind® has the potential to reduce pressure on wild fisheries as well as decreasing the agricultural resources and water used to produce animal feed.
A joint venture between Adisseo and Calysta, Calysseo is building the world's first commercial-scale manufacturing facility for FeedKind. The single-cell protein will be supplied to the Asian aquafeed sector, which represents more than 70% of the world's market.
The fermentation process used to obtain the feed solution, being built by Black & Veatch global engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) company, will rely on Sulzer's high-flow AH axial flow loop reactor pumps. These are specifically designed to address heavy-duty applications.
The pumps are being engineered to handle the unique challenges of the bioprocessing application. Sulzer is adjusting the pump design for clean-in-place (CIP) and to withstand corrosion and erosion, as the broth contains entrained gases as well as solids. In addition, to enable the facility to reach a processing capacity of 20,000 tonnes (approx. 22,000 tons) per annum, the pumps will be able to deliver a high flowrate with a 900 kW motor and a discharge diameter of 1.2 m (48 inches).
Rebecca Ruan, Key Account Sales Manager at Sulzer, concludes: "We are excited to be part of such an innovative project that can truly help to reduce the carbon footprint of the Asian aquafeed industry. As Calysseo aims to expand its capacity even further with a larger plant, we look forward to collaborating with the company in the future with our state-of-the-art pump equipment."
Parker presents new ‘Expert Insights’ leadership tech talk on mobile electrification
Etoy, Switzerland, 1. November 2021 - Parker Hannifin, the global leader in motion and control technologies, will present a new ‘Expert Insights’ tech talk on Thursday 18 November 2021. International keynote speaker Mark Jeffries will moderate the discussion on the topic of mobile electrification with two Parker leaders.
Companies across the globe are pursuing decarbonization as part of their emissions reduction strategies, including Parker who this year announced a goal to become carbon neutral by 2040. Many off-road machinery and transportation companies are focused on electrification, and this option is a game-changer – enabling vehicle design engineers to work with an entirely new architecture.
In the second discussion of the series, Parker’s Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, Mark Czaja, and VP of Business Development - Motion Systems Group, Paul Horvat, will discuss the implications of clean technology. The talk will explore how mobile electrification is evolving, key sustainability considerations and the possible influences of technology advances, business investment and government policy,
Following the recent completion of Sulzer's purpose-built service center in Birmingham, the facility was officially opened by His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent on October 27, 2021. The investment in this state-of-the-art service center represents Sulzer's ongoing commitment to delivering the next generation of service excellence and provides 24/7 support to customers around the world.
Located on the prestigious Birmingham Business Park, the latest enhancement to Sulzer's extensive network of service centers has been specifically designed to optimize workflows. It ensures customers receive best-in-class service in terms of quality and speed of repair. Following the official opening, guests were given a guided tour of the new facilities and shown how their businesses will benefit from the latest in advanced repair technologies provided by Sulzer.
Building on the legacy of the Camp Hill site, which has provided engineering expertise for 100 years, Sulzer has relocated its wealth of engineering knowledge and craftsmanship to a purpose-built facility. The comprehensive range of in-house design skills and cutting-edge technology are being used to deliver precision repairs and improve equipment performance.
Following the autumn budget today (27 October), Alastair Wilson, Tax Partner at MHA, believes the Chancellor missed a trick by failing to address long standing issues blighting the manufacturing sector including supply chain issues and freight costs:
“The Chancellor’s budget did little to address ongoing pressures being felt across the UK manufacturing sector including supply chain issues and rising shipping and fuel costs.
“The highlight for manufacturers will be the positive expected tax relief from the increased scope of qualifying costs within the R&D Tax Reliefs regime to include certain data and ‘cloud’ costs which up to now were the burden of businesses. However, the Chancellor should have gone further by making Robotic Process Automation software costs a specific inclusion as a qualifying cost, which would help the government accelerate its aim of ‘high productivity, high wages’ across the economy.
“The extension of the £1m Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) until the end of March 2023 is welcome but is unlikely to change many businesses’ investment plans and certainly will not offset the negative financial impact to come from the rise in Corporation Tax announced in the March 2021 budget, or the increased level of National Insurance for employers (which will become the Health and Social Care Levy) announced in September.
“The increase to the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage which will come into effect from April 2022 are clearly beneficial for employees but will add to the wage inflation being experienced by employers. The combined impact of the NIC increases and the Minimum/Living Wage levels will automatically cause wage inflation of more than 5% for many employers from April 2022. Ultimately these will likely end up being passed on to end consumers.
“In short, it was a very quiet budget for the manufacturing sector that did little to solve the ongoing issues being experienced across the sector. As some in the industry have said, it may not be a ‘high productivity, high pay’ economy but more a ‘high cost’ economy.”
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The engineering skills shortage has over time become more acute. Finding the right personnel who are capable of carrying out complex maintenance tasks quickly and efficiently to keep plants up and running is an increasing challenge. The ever-growing application of renewable energy resources also adds to this challenge, particularly when it comes to measuring power quality. Mark Bakker of Fluke looks at how advancements in power quality test instrumentation are helping to alleviate some of these pressures.
With cost pressures rising and a shortage of sufficient skilled staff to carry out regular maintenance and inspection, it can be difficult to give all installed equipment the attention it needs. Constraints on costs, limited in-house technical resources and a lack of adequate training are just some of the common factors that can lead to maintenance best practices not being followed. Particularly challenging applications, such as those in hard-to-reach areas, can also contribute. The lack of technical expertise has in recent times become even more pressing, with the IET reporting that to meet demand for skilled labour, the UK requires 186,000 engineers to be trained immediately, while Germany reports a shortage of 340,000. Similar shortages are reported in France.
Plugging such vast skills gaps will not happen overnight, and so new technological solutions are required that allow personnel to carry out effective maintenance in less time and using less resources, while also ensuring maximum safety. In response, new advances in test and measurement devices which offer truly plug-and-play functionality are helping to deliver more effective and timely maintenance routines, helping to avoid the risk of downtime, reduced capacity or expensive equipment failure.
