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How do we as engineers design a resilient, low carbon energy future? Explore emerging power generation technologies, the evolving energy mix, and the engineering required to secure a clean, reliable, and future ready energy system. With the UK Government targeting a fully decarbonised power system by 2035 and electricity demand expected to rise by 50% by 2035, the need for innovation across the energy mix has never been greater.
The Energy, Environment and Sustainability Group is one of the most popular for members to tick in their member profiles to be of interest. However, when you ask members what they think it is for, you get as many different answers as questions asked. It was set up as a sector agnostic resource for the various divisions of the institution on the topics in the title. All of the industries represented in the divisions use energy in many different forms; industrial heat, transport and power being the largest. This webinar aims to explore the resource that is available and to show how the group can work across the board.
Details 10.00 - 11.00 BST Monday, 1 June 2026
Speaker Michael Reid, Co-founder & CEO, Solar Polar Limited
Moderator To be confirmed
Nuclear fusion is considered the holy grail of energy production, a near-limitless supply of clean energy that produces nontoxic waste products. With environmental and geopolitical issues furthering the shift toward decarbonisation and energy security, the potential benefits of nuclear fusion for energy production cannot be overstated. However, there are many engineering challenges that need to be overcome before nuclear fusion energy production can be realised. Multiphysics simulation is playing a vital role in addressing the challenges of nuclear fusion reactor design, helping to accelerate the development of this new technology. In this webinar, we will give an overview of functionality in the COMSOL Multiphysics® software that can be applied to fusion reactor design, thermomechanical modelling of the reactor first wall structure, magnetomechanical modelling for characterising the effects of events like plasma disruption on a reactor support structure and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) in a reactor cooling blanket.
Details 12.00 - 13.00 BST Monday, 1 June 2026
Speaker Dr Robbie Balcombe, Technical Director, COMSOL UK
Electricity systems are undergoing rapid change and the UK industry has been one of the pioneers. Decarbonisation has been a strong focus of this, but now it is economics and security of supply that are taking centre-stage; happening in parallel to increasing electrification of heat and transport. This webinar will look at where the power system and demands on it have come from and the transition story so far; the role that renewables have played in this and their journey to maturity; what a secure supply looks like in a low carbon system; and some of the specific technical challenges ahead.
Details 12.00 - 13.00 BST Tuesday, 2 June 2026
Speakers Colin Morgan, Partner, Everoze Partners Ltd Peter Stratford, Partner, Everoze Partners Ltd
Nuclear facilities depend on highly integrated digital systems, ranging from monitoring devices and control room interfaces to remote data processing solutions that now fall within the Cyber Resilience Act’s requirements for secure‑by‑design digital products. Beginning 11 September 2026, all manufacturers and operators must detect and report exploited vulnerabilities in these products, including legacy components still in service. With nuclear energy categorised within Europe’s critical infrastructure landscape under the EU Cybersecurity Strategy, organisations face heightened expectations for rigorous lifecycle security, documented update processes, and robust supply‑chain oversight to safeguard operational integrity and regulatory compliance.
Details 15.00 - 16.00 BST Tuesday, 2 June 2026
Speaker Anthony Long, Vice President, Strategic Solutions Architect, LRQA
Heat Energy is, by far, the largest area of energy demand in the UK and is still predominantly supplied by fossil fuel (especially imported natural gas). But are Government policies actually effective in addressing the heat demand of future homes? Despite this serious problem being known for decades, today fewer than 3% of homes are connected to a heat network and fewer than 1% have a heat pump installed (the Government’s currently-proposed ‘solutions’). A sole focus on so-called ‘low-carbon’ technologies is fraught with problems and will not deliver the desired 2050 ‘Net Zero’ targets, so what can we do? Drawing on decades of experience in this field and application of long-held EESG principles of sustainability, this webinar will challenge the audience to look beyond short-term political ambitions and embrace ‘whole system thinking’ and ‘behaviour change’ to propose a more holistic, strategic approach to heat energy, one that aligns technological capability, ethical and societal responsibility, and environmental necessity. It will also consider the practical, commercially-feasible solutions to the massive and currently unaddressed challenge facing this country and consider the consequential requirements for new infrastructure, jobs, skills, training and supply chains to heat our homes in 2050.
Details 10.00 - 11.00 BST Wednesday, 3 June 2026
Speakers Ian Arbon, Senior Partner, Engineered Solutions Ltd
Moderator Kay Tor, Chair, IMechE Energy, Environment and Sustainability Group
Ultra efficient components for turbomachinery are critical for the acceleration of technology to net zero emissions for flight and land-based power. The secondary air system plays an important role in limiting the metal temperatures of these vulnerable components, whilst allowing the turbine inlet temperature to be maximised. Bleeding of cooling flow from the compressor inherently generates a thermodynamic loss in the primary power cycle and aerodynamic losses in the turbine, hence the management of this valuable resource is key to performance improvements. This webinar will provide an overview of secondary air systems research conducted at the University of Bath with a focus on experimental, computational and theoretical modelling approaches. Generally such research has been undertaken using turbine rigs running close to engine-operating conditions. The approach at Bath is to conduct more fundamental research to measure, to compute and, most importantly, to understand the flow and heat transfer using generic, specifically designed, highly-instrumented experiments. The understanding obtained from these fundamental investigations assists the interpretation of results obtained for more specific engine conditions and geometries, and this in turn informs their design. Topics for consideration include:
Details 12.00 - 13.00 BST Wednesday, 3 June 2026
Speaker James Scobie, Reader (Associate Professor), Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath
By early 2026, data indicates that wind and solar power officially overtook fossil fuels in the EU electricity mix for the first time in 2025, accounting for 30% of the total, while fossil fuels dropped to 29%. This milestone represents a major turning point, with wind alone supplying 17% of EU electricity, surpassing gas generation. Renewable energy - considered crucial to limiting climate change - produced a record amount of electricity in Great Britain in 2025, with wind energy being the biggest single renewable source of electricity, according to the provisional figures from the National Energy System Operator (Neso). This webinar will focus on the role that wind energy will play in the future energy mix including:
Details 10.00 - 11.00 BST Thursday, 4 June 2026
Speakers Elias Dencker, Director, Renewable Strategy
Moderator Graham Hawkes, Associate Director, Frazer-Nash Consultancy
What is hydrogen storage? What critical role does it play in the renewables landscape in the UK? What job opportunities are available, and what skills are important for working in this area? Discover more about the fascinating ideas we are working on towards engineering a hydrogen economy.
Details 12.00 - 13.00 BST Thursday, 4 June 2026
Speakers Jamie Fuery, Mechanical Engineer - Net Zero Energy Team, AtkinsRéalis Chris McMichael, Sector Delivery Lead - Energy Storage and Hydrogen, AtkinsRéalis
It is recognised as good practice to implement Human Factors in the design, operation and maintenance of power and energy facilities, especially safety critical systems - with the aim of optimising system operability and minimising human error. This presentation will outline what is meant by Human Factors, highlight key Human Factors topics, and introduce key Human Factors principles and methods. It will conclude by outlining common approaches to implementing Human Factors within organisations. A Q&A session will aim to answer your questions, drawing on decades of specialist experience.
Details 12.00 - 13.00 BST Friday, 5 June 2026
Speakers Michael Wright, Chartered Human Factors Specialist, Director, Wright Human Factors Ltd
Drawing on the National Energy System Operator (NESO) Future Energy Scenarios 2025 which revised down the role of hydrogen in the energy transition while highlighting a larger long-term role of biomethane, this fireside chat will explore how a largely overlooked resource could become the cornerstone of the net-zero transition. The discussion will examine biomethane’s strategic role in the energy transition, from underpinning the circular economy—by converting agricultural residues, sewage, and municipal organic waste into renewable gas—to decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors such as heavy industry, transport, and heating. It will also consider how domestic biomethane production strengthens energy security by reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels. It will review infrastructure and technology, highlighting biomethane’s “drop-in” advantage: its ability to utilise existing gas transmission and distribution networks without major new build. During the session, we will examine policy and market dynamics, including European Commission initiatives such as REPowerEU, support mechanisms like the Green Gas Support Scheme, and address regulatory bottlenecks. Finally, the session will assess the future challenges and outlook while positioning biomethane as a pragmatic, scalable, and resilient contributor to a diversified low-carbon energy system.
Details 15.00 - 16.00 BST Friday, 5 June 2026
Speaker Keji Ajewole, Interface Oversight Project Manager, Sizewell C
Moderator Richard Lilleystone, Chair, Gazasia Ltd