Environmental engineering has certainly increased in popularity in recent years particularly as the climate crisis continues to generate colossal concerns around the globe. As a result, green engineering is coming on leaps and bounds, with renewable engineering plans, solutions and achievements dominating headlines as businesses, individuals and countries are all challenged to meet new climate goals. In light of this, our latest blog explores the latest news in green engineering across the globe.

The need for innovative engineers

Despite the sudden surge in environmental awareness, green engineering has actually been around for quite some time, with roots tracing back to around 10,000 BC when humans first started developing societies and cities. While this may be so, the current climate systems aren’t getting better, but worse. And if we hope to tackle this impending disaster, then the world is going to need engineers and their expertise. However, there is a need for a change in mindset when it comes to green engineering. We should not simply be solving problems but predicting them and fixing them before they have developed.

Green Railway Roadmap

Encouragingly, it seems that the green engineering initiative has already started with recent news in the UK revealing that the Railway Industry Association (RIA) North has published a new plan detailing how it believes the region’s network should be electrified and improved to decarbonise passenger and freight journeys. This includes lines that could benefit from alternative technologies such as batteries or hydrogen.

Elaborating on this latest innovation, Julie Carrier, Decarbonisation lead at RIA North and co-author of the report, comments:

“We know the North has ambitious targets for Net Zero emissions from transport by 2040, and the railway industry is eager to play its part in this. Not only do we need to decarbonise our industry, but we need to increase the capacity of our railways to take even more passengers and freight through a pipeline of electrification projects.

“We hope that our proposals will help inform the debate about how the industry can deliver these, providing the greatest benefits to passengers and the North’s economy.”

Justin Moss, chair of RIA North added:

“Whilst we have seen some progress with commitments from the government in the Integrated Rail Plan, these do not go far or fast enough to reach our climate targets.” “To ensure they can be delivered at good value to the taxpayer the industry needs a long-term programme of electrification work starting immediately, which would also help support thousands of green jobs in the sector and drive economic growth around the country.”

Greece runs exclusively on renewables

Elsewhere, Greece breaks a new record by running the country entirely on renewable energy for five hours for the first time ever. This was achieved by using solar, wind and hydroelectric power.

Nikos Mantzaris, a partner at think tank the Green Tank said that this achievement, which occurred on October 7th 2022 was important because 

"it shows that a 100% renewable electricity system is within reach in Greece, a concept that was considered impossible by most opinion and decision makers in Greece before."

"The road for the deployment of renewables in Greece during the last decade has been bumpy with many hurdles and periods of stagnation. An electricity system with increasing shares of renewables is technically feasible if it is supported by energy storage technologies and adequate grids."

Greece aims to more than double its green energy capacity, and reaching these goals will certainly mean an increased dependency on the skills of green engineers.

Sustainable seaweed solution

Over in Australia, Flinders University materials researchers and German biomaterials developer one-five are using seaweed extracts to develop next-generation biopolymer coating materials that could solve packaging waste dilemmas for the fast-food industry.

These have been designed with the intention of replacing the fossil-based plastic currently used in some fast-food packaging. The result represents a landmark achievement in creating a next-generation sustainable and ecologically responsible biopolymer.

Commenting on this green engineering milestone, Claire Gusko, one-fıve co-founder said:

“We are able to reduce harmful plastic pollution with this product, and we are also using feedstock that is environmentally regenerative.”

“Seaweed cultivation helps to naturally rehabilitate marine environments, reduce greenhouse gases, and mitigate coastal erosion. It’s important for us to use sustainable inputs upstream to ensure our products are environmentally safe, from cradle to grave.”

This discovery will no doubt have a huge impact on reducing pollution in the packaging and plastics industry in the near future.

With so much movement occurring as a result of climate change, environmental engineers will find themselves amidst innovative and exciting times. There will no doubt be a wealth of new opportunities to evolve these changes and be a part of something that directly impacts us all.

Looking for your next engineering role? Check out our latest jobs or get in touch with the team to find out what opportunities we have for you.

With developments in environmental engineering constantly evolving, the skills required of professionals do too. Consequently, the global skills deficit has led to many businesses simply not being able to recruit the right staff with the right skills, preventing them from not only anticipating potential engineering issues, but also planning for the future and reaching climate energy goals.

Want to know more about how our team of experts support the hiring needs of green engineering? Then contact us today.