164 YEARS OF TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION MAY 2020 Powering ahead? Why a new generation of giant battery plants, or gigafactories, are key to the UK’s electric vehicle ambitions 20 24 34 TheEngineerUK theengineeruk The Engineer UK civil engineering: A flood defence consumer technology: How an LATE GREAT ENGINEERS: The life plan for hull promises to deliver innovative loudspeaker technology and achievements of Archimedes - a tripple whammy of benefits harnesses the power of graphene Antiquity’s greatest engineer LOCKDOWN? SKILL UP! All our classes have a virtual, live online option Interact live No travel costs The comfort of with trainer & or time your home your peers (Pets Can Join Free) With our Virtual Student & Live Online Training options, you don’t have to leave the comfort of your couch, kitchen table or hammock! Your passport to success Our Training Passports off er you a • Certifi ed Training Instructors comprehensive training and development plan in one single purchase. 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Call: 01926 333777 Visit: solidsolutions.co.uk ESTABLISHED 1856 164 CONTENTS YEARS OF TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION VOLUME 300 • ISSUE 7917 • MAY 2020 12 30 10 24 36 20 34 4 Editor’s Comment 12 cover feature 24 consumer technology 36 from the archive The future of the UK’s automotive Giant gigafatories for the production of Canadian startup Ora is looking to take How automotive engineers turned their sector hinges on our ability to avoid the lithium-ion batteries will be essential to graphene mainstream with innovative talents to Iron lung design during mistakes of the past the future of the UK car industry loudspeaker technology the 1956 polio pandemic 6 NEWS 16 VIEWPOINT 30 Q&A Feature 38 scifi eye Beyond line of sight UAV trials aim to Ian Risk asks whether Covid-19 could An expert panel discusses trends Forget the Terminator scenario, the stimulate innovation and fast-track catalyse the digital revoluion? and developments in the fast-moving future of AI based warfare could be far commercial applications of drones field of XR weirder than that writes Gareth L Powell 18 mailbox 8 covid-19 NEWS Readers speculate on the long-term 32 software products 40 secret engineer Engineers from industry and academia impact of the current pandemic on UK Leading suppliers showcase the lastest Our anonymous blogger calls for a join forces to fight Coronavirus engineering and manufacuring releases and applications more visionary approach to process improvement 10 NEWS ANALYSIS 20 civil engineering 34 late great engineers How SMEs are the unsung heros of the Why a flood defence scheme for the The life and times of antiquity’s greatest 42 digest engineering Covid-19 fightback city of Hull offers a host of benefits scientist, Archimedes of Syracuse Take part in our monthly crossword COVER Image: Tesla’s Gigafactory1 Editor Jon Excell Commercial director Justyn Gidley Production Kyri Apostolou News 020 8076 0576 +44 (0)20 7738 5454 +44 (0)20 7738 5454 +44 (0)20 807 6779 Display 020 8076 0582 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Recruitment 020 8076 0581 Features editor Stuart Nathan Business development manager Publishing director Luke Webster UK subscriptions £75 pa UK/£117 pa overseas. +44 (0)20 7738 5454 Paul Tilston 01722 714847 Contact comments@ theengineer.co.uk. 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Printed by Pensord, +44 (0)20 7738 5454 Andrew Ganassin For more information please email up for our FREE weekly email Press Ltd, Blackwood, NP12 2YA [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] newsletter and tailored job alert 3 May 2020 / www.theengineer.co.uk EDITOR’SNOVEMBER COMMENT 2019 JON EXCELL READ MORE ONLINE Ba ery manufacturing Engineering a Covid-19 fi ghtback; reshoring scale-up will be vital to UK’s UK manufacturing; and dealing with nuclear waste post pandemic economy www.theengineer.co.uk hilst the UK undoubtedly has a proud history of innovation, an historic failure follow us at to tap into the commercial potential of some of its most striking technological @TheEngineerUK breakthroughs is a cause of considerably less pride. 5 W From the computer to the jet engine, Britain has let some of the most THINGS theengineeruk transformative, world-changing technologies slip though its fi ngers to see other The Engineer UK countries reap the economic benefi ts. WE’VE Fortunately, many of the factors that drove this damaging dynamic are now in The Engineer UK the past. Much of the engineering and scientifi c research base - once distant from the LEARNT coal face of industry - is now arguably more engaged than ever with the commercial THIS realities of the world, and initiatives like the government’s Catapult centres ENGINEER JOBS are helping to create a climate for promising technologies to cross the so-called ISSUE Find your next engineering job commercial valley of death and begin contributing to the economy. online at The EngineerJobs But the impacts of historic inaction sometimes linger on. Automation And a case in point is one of the most ubiquitous engineered components on the 1 helps UK SME planet: the lithium-ion ba ery - power source for our portable electronics devices, lap scale up to 1 million top computers, smart phones, and the electric vehicles that are being produced and protective visors per sold in ever increasing volumes. week As we report in this issue’s cover story, the UK has some serious pedigree in the fi eld: the technology was invented here and, in more recent times, Nissan’s 2 Drone package Sunderland ba ery plant was the largest of its kind in Europe. But as vast ba ery delivery market producing “gigafactories” spring up across the world, Britain is falling down the list of to be worth £21bn by ba ery manufacturing nations. 2030 Given the speed with which the automotive sector is switching to the production Europe of electric vehicles, this is a worrying situation. The fear is that as vehicle producers MISSION 3 projected to switch to producing greater volumes of electric vehicles and wind down internal reach 450GWh of STATEMENT combustion engine production the high cost of importing ba eries (which can annual battery The aim of account for around 40 per cent of the value of an EV) will erode the commercial case production by 2030 The Engineer for making cars here. In our report, we talk to some of those at the frontline of UK ba ery development is to champion Augmented about the need for a new generation of UK-based gigafactories and examine the 4 reality and promote challenges and opportunities created by this scale up. technology is engineering There are, as we report, many reasons to be optimistic that the UK won’t fall enabling remote further behind: a world class research base; a joined-up ecosystem of academic working innovation and researchers and industry partners; and a growing technological edge in some key technology areas. But it is clearly vital - as we look ahead at the industrial priorities of post- Ninety percent development pandemic UK - that we don’t allow this window of opportunity to close permanently. 5 of the key industrial city of across all of Hull is below the high the UK’s key tide line engineering sectors. EDITOR • [email protected] Excell May 2020 / www.theengineer.co.uk 4 Quick Turn 250MB VCN-430A CV5-500 BEST OF V TC-760C BRITISH MANUFACTURING In 1987 Yamazaki Mazak made a commitment to manufacturing in the UK. It is a commitment that endures to this day and continues to produce some of the most popular and iconic machines in British industry, from QUICK TURN lathes through to the UK-designed manufactured VTC-800 series. Enjoy the Best of British with Mazak. VTC-800/30SR www.mazakeu.co.uk MAY 2020 Read more online Follow us at: @TheEngineerUK AEROSPACE theengineeruk • Airbus E-Fan X moves step closer to maiden electric flight The Engineer UK The Engineer UK AUTOMOTIVE www.theengineer.CO.UK • Overnight charging key to NEWS unlocking EV market, says report CIVIL & STRUCTURAL • Widespread calls for non- Skyports joins ‘beyond visual essential construction to end ELECTRONICS & line of sight’ UAV trials COMMUNICATIONS Project aims to validate drones in non-segregated airspace • Entangled photons boost for uncrackable quantum keys JASON FORD reports ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT kyports been accepted • 3D printed coral structures into the UK Civil Aviation could lead to better biofuels Authority’s (CAA) Regulatory Sandbox RAIL & MARINE programme to trial beyond • Late great engineers: Robert Svisual line of sight (BVLOS) UAV Stephenson flights in non-segregated airspace. The CAA’s Regulatory Sandbox SKILLS & CAREERS was established in 2019 to create • Roundtable report: addressing an environment where innovation in aviation can be explored in line industry’s changing skills with its core principles of safety, requirements security and consumer protection.