public sector sites can cut carbon emissions by 70%

Complex public sector sites – such as hospitals, prisons, and military barracks – could achieve a 70% reduction in carbon emissions by 2032 with an average capital cost of £12.6m per site, according to a two-year innovation pilot.

The Modern Energy Partners (MEP) innovation programme was tasked with exploring how to decarbonise the public sector estate, by developing repeatable methods that enable large campus-style sites to meet UK Government commitments on net zero.

MEP was driven and funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) through the £505 million Energy Innovation, and overseen alongside Cabinet Office, and other estate-owning departments, with Energy Systems Catapult providing programme delivery, analytical and technical support.

The MEP pilot used a test bed of 42 sites responsible for over 294,000 tCO2e carbon emissions – equating to 8% of Ministry of Defence (MOD), 17% of Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and 6% of NHS sites.

MEP found that on average for a campus-style to achieve 70% emissions reduction by 2032 the capital cost was £12.6m per site.

The MEP final report provides independent recommendations for stakeholders involved in public sector decarbonisation for campus or similarly challenging sites:

  • Strategic plans to help speed up and scale up action are important: An increase in the pace and scale of decarbonisation across the public sector estate is urgently needed to reach targets. Agreed-upon, organisation-wide and long-term decarbonisation strategies can help simplify processes and cut timelines. More broadly, a public sector-wide reporting framework alongside appropriate carbon valuation will incentivise action.
  • Tailored plans at site level are vital: A tailored and detailed approach is needed for each site. The design stage should consider all aspects of Departmental and site-level governance as well as the appetite for investment in low carbon technology. Working with multiple consultancies in the development of individual design plans can increase idea sharing and avoid technology bias.
  • Delivery capability must be considered: Appropriate resourcing, capacity-building and prioritisation is urgently needed. This includes the capacity building of roles focussed on coordinating the planning and delivery of decarbonisation strategies into existing asset life replacement programmes on site. Important responsibilities of this role will be to select the technology appropriate delivery route and ensure sign-off and access are obtained in a timely manner.

The programme focused on “learning by doing”, MEP tested out the practicalities of scalable decarbonisation through three primary activities:

1. Tested rapid deployment of data gathering technologies and analysis techniques to appraise future net zero progress across 36 of the 42 testbed sites.

2. Developed a systematic and repeatable appraisal approach for the decarbonisation of campus-style public sector sites at 24 of the sites, showing estate-wide programmed deployment can be planned.

3. Worked intensively with four “pathfinder” sites to test out different commercial deployment routes, seeking quality and value for money:

  • Sheppey Prison Cluster
  • HMS Collingwood
  • NHS Goole and District Hospital
  • Catterick Garrison

Energy Systems Catapult chief executive, Philip New, said: “The public sector only accounts for around 2% of total UK emissions. But by both reducing its own emissions and demonstrating an ambitious, systematic and scalable programme of work, it offers an opportunity to demonstrate that it is possible to decarbonise at scale. The potential to procure at scale is likely to drive value for money for the public purse, encourage innovation, support skills building, help levelling up across the country and push technology prices down benefiting the wider economy.

“The Modern Energy Partners programme demonstrated that it was possible to put individual sites on track to hit net zero targets through a sustained effort by people with a mix of skill-sets.

“While some action has already being taken towards reducing emissions within the public sector estate, MEP experienced multiple barriers to delivery which must be overcome to deliver decarbonisation at scale.

“Firstly, each Government department needs a deliverable net zero strategy, which captures the scale and pace required to meet national net zero commitments.

“Secondly, the cost of decarbonisation is a key barrier. To make decarbonisation scalable, funding must be available and deployed efficiently within a department.

“Thirdly, MEP found that capability was limited to centrally based sustainability teams and, rather than embedded throughout departmental estate management. Under current conditions, delivery that relies on these small central teams is time-consuming and not scalable.

“Finally, we found that in the future decarbonisation of campus-style sites, like prisons, military bases and hospitals could be possible and could be delivered at the scale and pace required, however it needed to follow a systematic, repeatable and scalable approach.”

 

 

DOWNLOAD HERE: Modern Energy Partners – Summary Report 

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Plastic Park Will Recycle 367,500 Tonnes of Plastic

Plans for the UK’s first £165m Plastic Park – designed to tackle a share of the UK’s 4.9 million tonnes of annual plastic waste – have moved a step closer.

Peel NRE, part of Peel L&P, has submitted a planning application for the Plastic Park to be developed at Protos, the company’s strategic energy and resource hub near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. It will cluster together innovative processing and treatment technologies to get the most value from plastic waste.

Two facilities at the Plastic Park have already received planning consent – the UK’s first waste plastic to hydrogen facility using pioneering Powerhouse Energy technology and a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) recycling plant that will take food and beverage packaging, such as plastic bottles, and recycle them for use in making new packaging products.

Peel NRE is now seeking planning approval for several further facilities which would provide capacity for up to 367,500 tonnes of mixed recyclables and plastic and create 147 new jobs.

The application follows a public consultation where nearly 300 local people took part. An overwhelming majority of respondents agreed that more plastic recycling facilities are needed in the UK.

“As our pre-application consultation showed, the issue of plastic waste is high up the agenda. By clustering various treatment technologies together in one place, we can maximise the amount of plastic that can be recycled and create a circular economy in the North West. Over time, the flow of materials between the different facilities means vehicle movements will reduce and we will use any plastic that can’t be recycled to create hydrogen which can be used as a clean fuel for HGV’s, buses and cars,” Richard Barker, Development Director at Peel NRE, part of Peel L&P, said.

“This will not only create 147 jobs and address the urgent need to tackle plastic waste, it’ll also deliver significant carbon savings, helping the North West reach its ambition to be the first net zero region in the UK.”

It comes as the UK prepares to host the global climate summit, COP26, in Glasgow this November. Peel NRE’s innovative Plastic Park would contribute significantly to the North West of England becoming carbon neutral by 2040. As well as reducing the need for virgin plastic, the facilities would save over 190,000 tonnes of CO2 every year when compared to landfill.

The latest planning application features:

  • A Materials Recycling Facility (MRF): which will separate out dry mixed recyclable materials (such as glass, paper, cans, and card) into different waste streams and send them for recycling.
  • Plastics Recycling Facility One (PRF1): plastic from the MRF and mixed plastics arriving pre-sorted to the site will be separated into different plastic types. The separated plastic will either go to PRF2 or the PET recycling plant already consented at Protos.
  • Plastics Recycling Facility Two (PRF2): pre-sorted plastic from PRF1 will be washed and processed into flaked plastic which can be used to make new plastic products, such as food packaging or drinks bottles.
  • Polymer Laminate Recycling Facility: plastic (such as crisp packets and baby food pouches) will be heated, the plastic will break down into an oil for reuse in manufacturing new products with the aluminium recovered for recycling.
  • Hydrogen refuelling station: taking hydrogen from the consented plastic to hydrogen facility to supply up to 1000kg of hydrogen per day to vehicles, sufficient to fuel approximately 20 HGVs from outside Protos and a similar number of internal HGV movements that will be servicing operations within Protos.
  •  

The application will now be considered by Cheshire West and Chester Council with a decision expected in early 2022.

Peel NRE, part of Peel L&P, is at the heart of the nation’s activity around clean growth and the circular economy – helping the UK achieve net zero by 2050 and supporting regions in their actions to achieve climate emergency targets. They reuse, repurpose, and re-energise natural resources to develop and maintain vital infrastructure across the UK and are experts in renewable energies, district heating, waste to value, water management, materials management and electric vehicle charging.

Their Protos Cheshire energy and resource hub leads the way in low carbon energy and waste management through innovative technologies including the UK’s first plastic-to-hydrogen facility, a 50MW windfarm, a 26MW biomass plant, a 49MW energy from waste plant in construction and a plastic park blueprint to revolutionise plastic recycling nationwide.

 

Source: Energy Industry Review

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The Row House from Urban Splash arrives in the Wirral

House by Urban Splash has delivered six of its factory-built homes to the development along with partner Peel L&P.

The houses include the three-storey Town House design and the Row House – which will be making its debut at Wirral Waters. Each has been set up in Wirral Waters’ East Float area, which faces East Float Dock.

Row House comes in three sizes, one with two bedrooms and two storeys, another with three bedrooms and 2.5 storeys, and a third with four bedrooms and three storeys. Each Row House has a private terrace and access to a communal garden.

The Town House design comes with three storeys and can have up to five bedrooms. The Town House model is prominent in Manchester’s New Islington neighbourhood.

House by Urban Splash is making 40 modular houses for the first phase of the East Float neighbourhood, which will ultimately have 350 homes. Lloyds Bank provided a £5m development loan for the project, with the understanding that more will be provided as the scheme advances. All of the modular houses will be made at House by Urban Splash’s factory in the East Midlands, using modern methods of construction.

“We’re absolutely delighted to deliver our first brilliantly-designed, precision manufactured homes to this new neighbourhood – including our first ever Row House homes,” said House by Urban Splash senior sales manager Toby Brown.

“We’ve never created our Row House homes anywhere before so this is a great opportunity for buyers on the Wirral to be early adopters and secure themselves a home completely different to anything else on the market.”

East Float is just one part of the wider Peel L&P Wirral Waters project, which spans 500 acres of land and will ultimately have up to 13,000 homes and 20m sq ft of mixed-use floor space.

Richard Mawdsley, director of development for Wirral Waters, said that the arrival of the homes was a “significant example of progress” at the scheme.

“Together with the other developments along Northbank, we are creating a new mixed, sustainable neighbourhood – a community for all,” Mawdsley said. “These innovative homes will sit alongside new public realm, including pocket parks and dockside walkways, helping to support healthier communities with a focus on fresh air and active travel.”

Wirral Waters residents are expected to move into their East Float homes starting in early spring.

by Julia Hatmaker

 

Source: Place North West

 

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North East’s ‘hidden’ engineering feat

The North East is famous for its walls – Hadrian’s is probably the best known but various town and city walls across the region are also of great historic significance.

 

Every year, millions of people visit them and marvel at the engineering skills displayed by their construction.

 

However, a similarly impressive set of walls has been built in recent months and the work has gone almost completely unnoticed.

 

With a combined length of more than a kilometre, reaching almost 8.8 metres at the highest point and with a surface area in excess of 4,800 square metres, the seven retaining walls now approaching completion at The Rise housing development, in Scotswood, are believed to be the biggest such structures built in the UK in recent years – and there are nine still to build.

 

They are creating a series of terraces on the steeply sloping Tyneside valley – allowing the construction of new homes which are part of a major regeneration programme in Newcastle’s west end.

 

The impressive engineering feat is being delivered for the New Tyne West Development Company (NTWDC) a public-private partnership comprising Newcastle City Council and Keepmoat Homes.  It is driving a £265 million project to deliver around 1,800 mixed tenure homes on the 148 acre site.  To date just over 400 have been completed.

 

Director, Lee McGray, said:  “This work has been steadily progressing for several months, almost unnoticed.  However, it deserves to be recognised as major piece of civil engineering, which is enabling the safe and cost-effective redevelopment of this steeply sloping site.”

 

Several specialist companies were engaged to determine the best solution  – 3E Consulting Engineers, Retain Solutions the retaining wall contractor, Remedy Geotechnics provided the detailed design and construction drawings for the reinforced soil walls and HMH Civils the groundworks and specialist civil engineering works.

 

McGray continued:  “After a huge amount of on site testing, technical planning and computer modelling, it was decided that, rather than cut into the hillside, terraces should be created using an Allan Block system, which met the overall stability requirements and offered lower ground bearing pressures.”

 

Allan Block systems are manufactured and supplied in the UK by Colinwell Masonry.

 

Remedy Geotechnics Technical Director, Daniel Simpson, explained:  “These are really quite big walls.   I’m not aware of anything of that size being built in the UK recently.  There was quite a lot of analysis involved, and we used a lot of test data in the detailed design of the reinforced soil retaining walls.

 

“This is a modular system, utilising specifically designed hollow blocks.  Starting from the bottom, a layer of blocks is set on a levelling pad and the drain is placed behind.  Granular fill is added and compacted up to the top of the block and the first layer of geogrid is laid.  The process is then continued until the required height is reached.”

 

The first seven walls so far created have enabled the second phase of housebuilding at The Rise to get fully underway.  The remaining nine walls will be completed as up to 1,400 more new homes are delivered.

 

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The Booming Hydrogen Market

Booming hydrogen market heralds water technology opportunities

 

 

  • Global market could grow to be worth up to US$12 trillion
  • Opportunities for water technology suppliers
  • Particular focus expected on green hydrogen projects

 

 

The hydrogen economy is at the start of a period of growth, with the size of the global market predicted to be as much as US$12 trillion by 2050, according to the latest research.

 

As part of global decarbonisation efforts, hydrogen is expected to emerge as an alternative fuel. Given water is the main feedstock for hydrogen production, the boom in the hydrogen market presents a range of opportunities for water and wastewater businesses, a report from BlueTech Research has found.

 

Particular growth is expected in terms of the number of green hydrogen projects, those where hydrogen is produced by water electrolysis powered by renewable energy. The size of plants is also expected to scale significantly in coming years.

 

The EU anticipates investment of up to €470 billion (US$557B) into hydrogen production and infrastructure by 2050, with annual capital expenditure of US$200 billion. In the period 2020-2030, the EU itself is expected to invest between €24-42 billion (US$29-50B) in electrolysers and €220-340B (US$260-400B) in scaling-up production and directly connecting 80-120GW of solar and wind energy capacity to the electrolysers.

 

However, the report notes that while there is a global agenda to push for green hydrogen, there are concerns about the amount of water and renewable energy needed.

 

 

Report author Kim Wu, a research analyst at BlueTech Research explains: “Water demand could be a concern for the large number of green hydrogen projects being planned, particularly for water utilities and councils, or in water-stressed areas as some hydrogen projects might expect to use tap water supplied by local utilities.

“Interestingly, water utilities have a unique role to play in the hydrogen economy. There are different pathways that water utilities can produce hydrogen at their wastewater facilities and benefit from implementing those processes.” 

 

 

Conventionally, hydrogen has been produced via steam methane reforming (SMR) using natural gas as the feedstock. To date, 90% of hydrogen from methane or light hydrocarbons is produced from SMR and the hydrogen produced is mostly used as a chemical feedstock.

 

 

Wu said: “With companies and governments leading and actively pushing towards net zero carbon emissions, there is an ongoing shift in which hydrogen is now being considered as the clean energy carrier in addition to a chemical feedstock.”

 

Green hydrogen projects also rely on the availability of, and investment in, renewable energy infrastructure. Suitable hydrogen storage and transport facilities will also be needed which amount to significant investment costs, the report suggests.

 

BlueTech Research chief executive and founder Paul O’Callaghan summed up the findings of the report: “After years of research and development, anticipation and slow market growth, the hydrogen economy is beginning to take off, fuelled by the pressing global agenda to decarbonise.

 

“Our research highlights different opportunities for water and wastewater business in the growing hydrogen technological and economic landscape. A particular focus will be on green in green hydrogen production, in which hydrogen is produced by renewable energy through electrolysis.”

 

The full report Water and the Hydrogen Economy is available to BlueTech Research clients.  To find out more visit www.bluetechresearch.com 

 

Today Construction Europe reported Vinci and partners will launch a huge hydrogen initiative:

French construction giant to help grow €1.5bn fund for clean hydrogen infrastructure solutions

Construction and concessions giant Vinci, along with two other Paris-headquartered companies – gas technology firm Air Liquide and energy firm TotalEnergies – has launched a huge investment fund, dedicated to the development of clean hydrogen infrastructure solutions.

With major businesses in Europe, the Americas and Asia participating, the alliance says it plans to build a fund totalling €1.5 billion, which will be invested across the value chain of renewable and low carbon hydrogen.

Companies named by Vinci as either on board or soon to be include Plug Power, Chart Industries, Baker Hughes, Lotte Chemical, Axa, Groupe ADP, Ballard, EDF, and Schaeffler.

Leadership in energy transition

Vinci reports that €800 million has already been raised. With the fund managed by Hy241, a joint-venture partnership between Ardian and FiveT Hydrogen, the group will soon move to the selection of hydrogen projects in which to invest.

The company said it expects the fund to contribute to projects with a total value of approximately €15 billion.

 

Vinci’s chairman and CEO, Xavier Huillard, said, “Vinci is taking concrete action to support the development of clean energy by mobilising all its divisions in concessions, construction and energy, with the aim of actively combating climate change and decarbonising mobility in particular.

“By launching this investment fund today, hand in hand with other major industrial leaders, we keep moving forward to make green hydrogen a strong lever in achieving our objectives.”

Benoît Potier, chairman and CEO of Air Liquide, said, “Hydrogen has become a central element of the energy transition. The time to act is now, not only as companies on a stand-alone basis, but by joining forces with states, other industrial groups and the financial community.”

Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, said, “We are convinced that a collective effort is needed to kick-start the hydrogen sector and take it to scale. We are…proud to launch and invest in the clean hydrogen infrastructure fund, which will also give us privileged insights in the sector”.

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10,000 Factory Build Homes

Modular housing developer ilke Homes is eyeing a pipeline of 10,000 factory-built homes over the next five years after securing £60m in new funding from Homes England and several other investors.

The developer said that regulatory pressures and ESG criteria have pushed the industry to scale up its modular construction strategies.

Modular developers like ilke have ambitious green agendas. This year, for example, ilke launched ZERO, its initiative to build thousands of zero carbon homes.

Having already delivered five such sites, ilke is aiming to deliver nothing but zero carbon homes by the end of the decade at no extra cost to investors or housing associations.

As part of the £60m fundraise, Homes England, the government’s housing accelerator, provided £30m of debt to ilke Homes, having previously invested £30m in 2019.

Homes England’s backing reflects the government’s explicit support for factory-built homes in combating the country’s housing shortages.

The remaining £30m came from a number of other investors, including The Guinness Partnership, Middleton Enterprises, Sun Capital and TDR Capital.

High (initial) cost of modular

ilke said the new investment will be “transformational”, allowing it to scale up production and accelerate capacity, quadrupling delivery from two to eight homes a day – which would also bring down manufacturing costs.

The company plans to invest heavily in automating more of its manufacturing processes to drive efficiencies, secure more sites and expand its “package deal” strategy, which offers full development service of site, infrastructure and homes.

Being able to deliver that many homes will be crucial for ilke, which reported an operating loss of £34.6m in the year to March 2020 – the latest figures available.

In its annual report, the company said it “continued to be very much in its development phase” and, as a startup business, expected to incur further liabilities over the following year.

As a result, its housebuilding delivery has yet to offset the costs of setting up and expanding its production capacity.

Given growing support from the industry and from the government, ilke – which wants to become one of the 10 largest housebuilders in the UK – has remained optimistic about its potential. Being able to deliver zero carbon homes at no extra cost will become a reality by 2030, the company recently said at the Chartered Institute of Housing annual conference.

Gearing up for the green revolution

Stephen Stone, board member at ilke Homes, said: “This announcement proves that there is a shared ambition among the public and private sectors to find innovative solutions to structural issues that have dogged the construction and housebuilding industries for decades.”

Stone joined ilke Homes earlier this year after 13 years at FTSE 250-listed housebuilder Crest Nicholson where he was CEO and, later, chairman.

He added: “This new funding will help us create hundreds more highly skilled, green jobs for an economy that is gearing up for a green industrial revolution. The fact that our own clients continue to either invest or increase their stakes in the company is testament to the dynamic approach ilke Homes has taken to housebuilding in the past three years.

“Faced with regulatory pressures and a requirement to meet ESG criteria, we are finding that investors are increasingly scaling up their MMC strategies.”

Harry Swales, chief investment officer at Homes England, said: “Manufacturers like ilke Homes are vital if developers are to build new sustainable homes at the pace and scale the country needs.

“This debt facility from the Home Building Fund shows our commitment in increasing productivity and efficiency in construction to meet government’s housing delivery ambitions.”

 

Source: PlaceTech

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MODERN FINANCE FOR SME DEVELOPERS

Mambu Powers New Challenger Bank GBB To Help UK Government

Meet House Building Target by Tyler Smith

The SaaS Cloud Banking platform Mambu has been selected to power the latest digital offering of the new British bank GBB.

Founded to get Britain building, with a particular focus on property and development finance, GBB will act as a lender to SME property developers in the most underserved regions of the UK.

Currently, only around 245,000 of the government’s annual 300,000 house building target is being met. Mambu’s cloud-native platform will make it easier for GBB to respond to market changes while delivering banking products and excellent customer experiences, driving long-term growth and profitability.

Mambu has been working with GBB for 3 years, responding to a brief to innovate and iterate as it grows.

GBB is seeking to support the recovery of Britain’s construction sector by providing property development loans of value between £1 million and £5 million to regional property developers, SMEs, and construction companies across the North East, Yorkshire, and North West.

GBB expects to receive its banking license later this year in order to be able to offer bespoke development financing; an area of commercial lending that currently remains particularly underserved by incumbent banks.

Its proprietary tech platform enables full end-to-end delivery of property development lending and includes a dynamic risk rating tool.

GBB opted to compose its own architecture with Mambu’s SaaS banking platform, as opposed to a more traditional ‘bank-in-a-box’ approach. This ensures the flexibility to swap out components as required, avoiding vendor lock-in and wholesale re-platforming.

Mambu enables GBB to develop and launch bespoke lending products using an easy-to-configure platform, which benefits from continuous upgrades.

 

Stephen Lancaster, Chief Information Officer, GBB

Stephen Lancaster, Chief Information Officer of GBB commented, “One in three property developers in the UK is denied financing. Many avoid applying for loans altogether, fearing rejection. Traditionally, SMEs have been the most underserved group as existing banks and lenders tend to prioritise higher loan values. Our mission is to turn things around, and we can only do that by leveraging today’s best-in-class cloud technology.

“We partnered with Mambu because, like us, they are customer-obsessed and understand technology’s role in providing customers with a better experience. The team understands our market really well and has supported us in our journey to becoming a bank every step of the way.”

 

This comes after similar UK challenger banks, including Tandem, also adopt Mambu’s SaaS Banking platform.

 

Elliott Limb, Chief Customer Officer, Mambu

“Unlike most challenger banks, GBB recognises the potential of Northern England. This part of the UK has been underserved for decades, and GBB’s model is vital to its development,” added Elliott Limb, Chief Customer Officer at Mambu. “We have a strong partnership with GBB and are looking forward to supporting them in bringing financial access to the property developers and SMEs in the regions.”

 

 

 

 

GBB aims to lend £3 billion over five years, building a £1 billion-plus balance sheet. It will fund almost 20,000 homes and several million square feet of office space, supporting the creation of over 100,000 jobs. For savers, competitive fixed rates will be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

 

Source: The Fintech Times

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A TOTAL MODULAR SOLUTION

“A total modular solution”: Euramax and MGI MD on ambitious plans for growth

Nick Cowley joined Euramax Solutions as its new Managing Director in 2019 – but not long afterwards, he learned the company’s existing owners were planning to sell. What could have been a challenging and uncertain moment turned into a major opportunity, however, as Euramax went on to become part of fast-growing Modular Group Investments – a firm that Nick now helps lead as its MD. Here, he gives his thoughts on what lies ahead for the two companies.

Nick, what was Euramax Solutions like when you first joined? And how has it changed under your leadership?

I was appointed as Euramax MD back in 2019, when it was already a large, widely respected uPVC window manufacturer with a very strong presence in the leisure market.

It started out specialising in windows for narrow boats in the ‘50s, before diversifying into the broader holiday home sector, then spreading into construction much more generally.

Because of that heritage, leisure will always be a big part of what Euramax does – but as Managing Director, my aim has been to diversify and increase our presence in the builders merchant and enter the modular construction sectors, using our core strengths of delivery and service solutions.

We’ve being working with some of the country’s biggest merchants, serving both the trade and the DIY market, as well as some highly respected modular builders. In the coming years, we want to significantly expand in both these areas.

Tell us how you first came across MGI, and the rationale behind Euramax’s acquisition.

Soon after joining Euramax Solutions, I was informed that our American owners were looking to sell the company.

I suggested to the CEO that I help him find a buyer, and he agreed, so I set about looking for the right business to take Euramax forward.

Before long, I found MGI. The relationship had a very twenty-first century beginning – I simply came across them one day on LinkedIn.

But after meeting Michael Garratt, MGI’s founder and CEO, it very quickly became clear he was the person I was looking for.

Michael is extremely knowledgeable about modular construction, and we both shared a passionate belief that offsite and MMC has huge potential for growth in the years ahead.

Obviously, when I first started looking for a buyer, I had no intention of going on to have a role in whatever business acquired us – but with MGI, the synergies were so strong that it just made sense.

That’s how I became Managing Director of MGI, as well as Euramax.

What are your ambitions for MGI?

Essentially, our aim is to be able to provide building products utilised in the modular construction supply chain.

We want to reach a situation where an MGI lorry can roll into a customer’s factory and supply them with everything they need – from doors and windows to roofing, decking, cladding and so on.

To achieve that goal, we’re looking to acquire companies that are either in the modular supply chain already, or have expertise that we can bring into modular.

Most recently, for example, we’ve acquired Rapid PVCu systems. MGI doesn’t specialise in fenestration – as I’ve said, we want to cover the whole spectrum of modular components – but Rapid was another case where the synergies were too good to turn down.

We also want to pay a lot of attention to how the different products in the modular supply chain interact with each other, too.

What often happens at the moment is that companies just supply a particular product, then leave it to the customer to work out how that product will work alongside all the other components they’re buying in.

At MGI, we’re interested in developing a total modular construction system – windows that interface with cladding, which interfaces with decking and so on, to make modular builders’ lives as easy as possible.

Are there any particular criteria a company would have to meet for you to consider making them part of MGI?

We’re looking for well-run, medium-sized businesses with expertise in MMC already – or if not, expertise that would easily translate to the modular sector.

Beyond that, we’re very flexible. We know that, if you’ve run a business you’re passionate about for decades, it can be really difficult to leave all that behind – so we’re totally open for existing owners to stay on in some capacity and help us drive the business forward.

Equally, if someone’s looking to retire completely, we’re very happy to help them exit the industry, and build on the foundations they’ve created.

Ultimately, our message is that if you’ve got a business that you think would fit the bill, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

For more information, call MGI on 0330 1340290 or email nick@modulargroupinvestments.co.uk

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Magnet technology paves the way to commercial fusion power

Tokamak Energy has demonstrated a transformative magnet protection technology that improves the commercial viability of fusion power plants.  This next generation technology delivers higher performance than alternative magnet systems. 

Results from the latest tests validate a revolutionary approach to scaling up high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets, which are highly resilient to plasma disruptions.  The technology, known as “partial insulation”, allows the magnets to be built and operated at power plant size and provides a simpler alternative to traditional superconducting magnet protection systems.  It therefore enhances and accelerates the commercial viability of fusion power.

“For the first time, this latest test gives fusion developers an option for a new design of superconducting magnet that will be resistant to damage, reducing the cost and complexity of damage mitigation systems and the threat of downtime.  The world needs energy that is clean, secure, cheap and globally deployable, and the magnets Tokamak Energy is developing will enable this future.  Tokamak Energy’s two world leading core technologies – the spherical tokamak and HTS magnets – are central to the company’s mission to develop economic fusion in compact power plants,” said Chris Kelsall, CEO of Tokamak Energy.

Tokamaks use magnets to contain and isolate a plasma so that it can reach the high temperatures at which fusion occurs.  High magnetic fields are necessary for tokamaks to contain the superheated fuel, and higher magnetic fields enable a smaller tokamak.  High temperature superconductors can create these much stronger magnetic fields and so are important for commercial fusion power.

Building on this success, the Tokamak Energy team is currently manufacturing a new test facility and demonstration system with a full set of magnets.  This will test the interaction of all the HTS magnets and validate their use within a full tokamak system for the first time.  The new magnet system is scheduled for testing in 2022.

Robert Slade, Advanced Technology Applications Director at Tokamak Energy, said:

“This impressive demonstration of partial insulation technology opens the door to a new frontier in magnet technology, enabling the novel technology we have developed for our spherical tokamaks to be utilized in a wide range of emerging applications that need high field compact HTS magnets.”

The full results of the magnet test campaign have been presented by Senior HTS Magnet Engineer, Bas van Nugteren, at this year’s European Conference on Applied Superconductivity (EUCAS 2021) – (see video link below). The benefits of partial insulation for a fusion scale tokamak feature in the recently published peer reviewed roadmap for fusion magnet technology in the Superconductor Science and Technology journal.

About Tokamak Energy

Tokamak Energy is a leading global commercial fusion energy company based near Oxford, UK.  The company is developing the fusion power plant of tomorrow while commercialising the tech applications of today.

Tokamak Energy is pursuing fusion through the combined development of spherical tokamaks along with high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets.

In the ST-40 fusion prototype, Tokamak Energy has developed the most advanced compact spherical tokamak in the world – a key enabler of commercial fusion.  Plans are underway for the ST-40 to operate at 100m degree plasma in 2021, which will be a key milestone for commercial fusion and the first privately funded fusion module to reach this landmark globally.

Tokamak Energy received five US Department of Energy grants in 2020, creating partnerships with leading expertise in the US National Laboratory System.  The company is partnering with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory to develop the ST-40.  It has also received a £10m grant from the UK Government as part of investment under the Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) programme.

Tokamak Energy is working with CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, on high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets in developing a proprietary technology that will scale to the large magnets necessary for fusion power modules.  HTS magnets also have applications for particle accelerators, aerospace and for several other industrial sectors.

The company, founded in 2009 as a spin-off from the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, currently employs a growing team of over 180 people with talent from the UK and experts from around the world.  It combines world leading scientific, engineering, industrial and commercial capabilities.  The company has more than 50 families of patent applications and has raised over £100m of private investment.

Once realised, fusion energy will be clean, economic, and globally deployable – a key enabler for meeting international climate policy goals.

www.tokamakenergy.co.uk

 

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Eurobrick at the Imperial War Museum

Parkside is a new 1,500m2 building designed and built as a collaborative and creative space for Imperial War Museums’ staff in Southwark, London. The three-storey building provides a flexible workspace for 180 staff with formal and informal meeting areas, a café and breakout spaces.

Parkside is designed to support IWM in fulfilling its vital mission to improve public understanding of war and conflict through its exhibitions, events and programming. The new space will also support IWM’s commitment to develop smarter working practices across the whole organization.

Architects Jestico + Whiles developed IWM’s vision into a striking design and Reds10, delivered the building using the latest off-site construction techniques.

Eurobrick has over 30 years’ experience working with off-site construction companies to provide a flexible, real brick finish that allows for some creativity in the finished design. They offer brick and stone slip systems to suit any project and supplied their popular P-Clad system for the IWM project, having worked with Reds10 on a number of projects already.

 

Approximately 890m2 of the P-Clad system was supplied, along with Wienerberger Marziale bricks which were specially ordered and cut. Marziale is a brick with bright buff tones and distressed features that give it a weathered, traditional look. Eurobrick supplied whole Marziale bricks for the construction of a boundary wall, along with specially cut brick slips, headers and corners.

The design of the brickwork was technically challenging, with a mixture of vertical and horizontal stretcher bond and bespoke brick soffits and sills, which Eurobrick also supplied. The recessed bays were laid in vertical stretcher bond with alternating thicknesses of brick slips to create a relief effect in the brick courses. The narrow brickwork columns between the windows were detailed with corner bricks returns into the reveals. The columns were laid in horizontal stretcher bond, with bespoke vertical stretcher bond window heads and soffits and bespoke vertical stretcher bond angled sills.

It was a challenging layout and one of Eurobrick’s most experienced approved installers, Façade Install, fitted all of the brick cladding. Some of the brick slip installation was completed in the factory and some in-situ, once the modular building had been delivered to site. Using P-Clad helped this complex design become a reality and assisted with successful project delivery. Eurobrick’s systems are adaptable and ideal for the demands of contemporary modular architecture.

“The IWM project used brick slips as the external finish throughout but incorporated a number of challenging details. Eurobrick helped develop and deliver solutions to enable these details to be constructed. Reds10, the architects and client are delighted with the new facility. We have worked with Eurobrick on a number of projects and found them very helpful and responsive, providing excellent service.” Reds10

The project brought together offsite and traditional construction techniques to deliver a complex modular build, with difficult site conditions in Central London. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was successfully completed in 2020. The end result is an impressive building with a level of detail that proves the versatility of P-Clad perfectly.

 

For more information on Eurobrick systems and products, please visit www.eurobrick.co.uk or call 0117 971 7117.

 

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