The Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering is a pioneering new award designed to recognise and encourage innovation in engineering. The £1 million prize, officially launched this month, is international and aims to show how engineering can make a difference to the world.

The initiative is a result of the growing appreciation by business, industry and policy leaders of the need to focus attention on engineering worldwide. According to the official website, the Royal Academy of Engineering will award the Prize, “every other year to an individual or team of up to three people, of any nationality, responsible for advancing the application of engineering knowledge”.

An independent charitable trust, the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation, has been set up and a number of engineering companies have donated to an endowment fund to provide the prize money. The Royal Academy of Engineering will deliver the Prize on behalf of the trust.

British Prime Minister David Cameron was present at the launch event. During his speech he said, “I am delighted that the Queen has put her name to this prestigious prize, which I hope will carry the same stature as the Nobel Prizes. For too long Britain’s economy has been over-reliant on consumer debt and financial services. We want to rebalance the economy so that Britain makes things again – high-skilled high-value manufacturing and engineering should be a central part of our long-term future.”

Labour leader Ed Miliband also supported the Prize: “Just as engineering has helped us meet the big challenges in the past, it will be engineering that helps us meet new challenges.”

The first Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering will be presented in early 2013.

You can read British Prime Minister David Cameron’s full speech here.

Cavotec’s innovative automated mooring solution MoorMaster™ was a key component in two significant awards this month. The 2011 Western Australia Engineering Excellence Award and Australia Bulk Handling Award 2011 for Best Practice in Occupational Health & Safety both went to Cavotec partners that rely on MoorMaster™ for the safe mooring of vessels.

The awards celebrate the ground breaking technical characteristics and operational benefits of the MoorMaster™ application at the Utah Point iron ore berth at Port Hedland in Western Australia.

MoorMaster™ is a vacuum-based automated mooring technology that eliminates the need for conventional lines. Remote controlled vacuum pads recessed in, or mounted on, the quayside, moor and release vessels in seconds. The technology dramatically improves safety and operational efficiency, and also enables ports to make infrastructure savings. It has performed more than 40,000 mooring operations at ferry, bulk handling, Ro-Ro, container and lock applications around the world.

The technology is also being employed at other bulk handling applications in Western Australia. Earlier this year, Karara Mining ordered 12 MoorMaster™ units, for use at their dedicated bulk handling facility at the Port of Geraldton. Eight such units are also in the final stages of commissioning for Hamersley Iron, a subsidiary of Anglo-Australian mining group Rio Tinto, at the Dampier Fuel Supply Wharf in the Port of Dampier.

Environmentally-friendly biofuels hit both the headlines and the skies this week when a United Airlines aircraft successfully completed a commercial flight powered by biofuel.

Other leading airlines have also recently experimented with biofuels as a way of reducing emissions and combatting rising oil prices. Boeing recently announced that biofuels would make up 1% of the fuel it uses annually by 2015 and estimated that biofuels could reduce flight-related greenhouse-gas emissions globally by up to 80 percent. The air transport industry is currently responsible for 2 percent of man-made carbon dioxide emitted globally.

Despite recent testing and positive results, according to Big Think there are no concrete plans to continue these experiments due to the prohibitively expensive cost of aviation biofuels, which can reach nearly six times the cost of regular jet fuel.

Oil prices increased nearly 500% from 2003 to 2008, indicating that global petroleum production is still in high demand. The lack of viable alternatives to petroleum for aviation fuel only goes to increase the urgency of the search for alternatives. 

At Cavotec, we always enjoy hearing about innovative technologies that enable airports to operate more sustainably and work more productively. We shall be following the development of this particular approach with interest.

Earlier this year, Cavotec received an important order as part of a project at London’s Heathrow Airport for ground support systems for Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Under this contract, Cavotec will deliver hatch pit systems, converter caddies, power units and cable crocodiles.

In the US in September, Cavotec completed a takeover of INET, a leader in the engineering and manufacturing of ground support equipment headquartered in Fullerton, CA. This acquisition further consolidates Cavotec’s position in North America, with nearly 200 employees and colleagues working from three manufacturing facilities and from Cavotec’s own local offices. The deal also marks a milestone in Cavotec’s presence in the U.S. market, given INET’s U.S. and international clients, which include Lockheed, Boeing, NASA, Northrop Grumman, as well as many international airports such as Miami, Bangkok, Cairo, Toronto and Vancouver.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) published a review this week recommending that the UK’s share of international shipping emissions should be included in climate targets and carbon budgets.

An article published by Port Technology International describes how the CCC’s recommends inclusion of shipping emissions in country’s carbon budgets, which could account for up to 11 percent of total emissions permitted under the Climate Change Act by 2050. The article also details how the review also provides a detailed assessment of the UK’s share of current international shipping emissions, projected emissions up to 2050 and estimates of the abatement potential from shipping.

Under the Climate Change Act, it is Parliament that must decide whether to include emissions from international shipping in carbon budgets. The UK’s target to reduce emissions in 2050 by 80% below 1990 levels.

At Cavotec, we always enjoy hearing about innovative technologies that enable the ports, airports, mining and tunnelling and general industries to operate more sustainably and work more productively. We shall be following the development of this particular approach with interest.

Image: Martin Pettitt, Wikimedia Commons

US giant FedEx Express, the cargo airline of FedEx Corp., has installed a vast vegetated roof as part of an ambitious environmental initiative taking place in Chicago, USA.

The green roof at O’Hare International Airport measures some 175,000 square feet and is one of three FedEx Express has installed at its facilities at the airport, which aim to reduce air pollution and storm water runoff, more than double the average life of a roof to 40-50 year, lower energy costs by 35 percent a year and reduce airport noise.

At Cavotec, we always enjoy hearing about innovative technologies that enable the airports, ports, mining and tunnelling and general industries to operate more sustainably and work more productively. We shall be following the development of this particular approach with interest.

Global engineering group Cavotec’s new listing on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm was marked with a special ceremony in the Swedish capital today. Cavotec CEO Ottonel Popesco rang the bell at 9.00am CET to signify the first day of trading. He then made a short speech before being interviewed by the NASDAQ OMX media team.

You can watch the ceremony here.

“We are delighted to have successfully completed the move to the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm. This is an important milestone in Cavotec’s development that reflects our geographical footprint in that we have substantial presence in Europe and where the importance of Asia, the Americas and other key areas continue to grow,” said Ottonel Popesco.

In recent years, Cavotec has made substantial strategic investments in innovative products — such as automated mooring systems, Alternative Maritime Power for ships and in-ground utility systems for aircraft — and in a global network of companies. As a result, the Group has a well-established presence in more than 27 countries in a wide variety of sectors. Its activities are broadly divided across four market units: Ports & Maritime, Airports, Mining & Tunnelling and General Industry.

“We are very happy to be here at the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm, and we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership in the years ahead,” added Michael Scheepers, Director, Investor Relations & PR.