The Project

In May of this year, the Orbital O2 tidal powered turbine was sailed out of Dundee, Scotland bound for its home off the coast of the Orkney Islands. Since then the 680-tonne 2MW turbine has been generating power from the fast-flowing tidal waters. In this episode we're speaking to Chris Milne from Orbita Marine Power to find out more about how the company got to this point and what their plans are for the future. We also discuss how Orbital used crowd-funded debt as part of its financing mix for the O2. Find out more about Orbital Marine Power at: https://orbitalmarine.com/o2/Special thanks to Chris Milne of Orbital Marine Power. This episode was edited and mixed by Bren Russell. 

Working in Infrastructure can be enormously demanding. We work under tight deadlines. We deal with complex problems. There's no question that the pressure of the work that we do can have an adverse effect on our mental health. In recognition of World Mental Health day we are sharing a conversation that Nick Chism, chair of the IPFA recently had with Paul Farmer, CEO of Mind, the UK's leading mental health charity.  This interview was originally published by the IPFA as part of their "Our Voices, Our Stories" series. This conversation is useful and insightful precisely because it deals with mental health in the context of the work we do in infrastructure.  We're really grateful to the IPFA for allowing us to share this conversation with you. IPFA is the leading association for infrastructure and energy professionals world wide. We highly recommend that you check them out at https://www.ipfa.org/Find out more about MIND at https://www.mind.org.ukSpecial thanks to Daisy Brooker and Madeline Lowe of the IPFA. This episode was edited and mixed by Bren Russell. 

In part 2 of our series on Infrashares we're talking to Paul Skillicorn. Paul's wastewater treatment project in Texas is currently raising on Infrashares. Paul has a fascinating background having being building projects like this overseas for decades. Can he bring this innovative approach to wastewater treatment and the circular economy to the US? You can find out more about the project here. Importance Notice - this episode does not in any way form any investment advice, recommendation or endorsement of any project. You should undertake your own due diligence before making any investment on the Infrashares platform. 

This is the first of a 2 part series on Infrastructure Crowdfunding platform Infrashares. In this episode, we're speaking to Brian Ross, founder of Infrashares about how Infrashares got started and the challenges he's had to overcome along the way. Find out more about Infrashares at www.infrashares.com

In this episode, we're talking to Carl Dainter and Pierpaolo Avanzi from Mace, about the work they are doing to support the transformation of the aviation sector. We discuss the impact of COVID and the efforts that are underway across the sector to support the transition to a decarbonised future. We also find out about the work that Mace is doing in Iceland to support the development of a Sustainable Aviation Fuel hub in the country. Carl Dainter is Global Head of Aviation at Mace, the international consultancy and construction business, and has spent almost three decades working across the sector. During this time, he has worked on the full range of airports, across all stages of their development. He is responsible for overseeing Mace's aviation consultancy offering across the world and has vast experience in implementing commercial and delivery strategies for complex programmes, having worked with some of the biggest and most diverse international airport clients, including Heathrow Airport, Dublin Airport Authority, Isavia, Manchester Airport Group, Schiphol Airport Group, Hamad International Airport, Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects, Mumbai Airport, Auckland Airport, Changi Airport, Hong Kong International Airport and Groupe ADP.Connect with Carl. Pierpaolo Avanzi is a Senior Manager within Mace Advisory Services. He has a background in Civil Engineering and Infrastructure Investment and Finance and is a Certified Project Finance Analyst. Over the last four years he has predominantly worked within the aviation and energy sectors, currently working on Keflavik International Airport's major development plans. He has also worked on projects including Heathrow Expansion and Halton Green Hydrogen, where he delivered the financial model and led market analysis in support of the business case.Connect with Pierpaolo.

This week (early April 2021), Joe Biden announced his $2 trillion investment programme. We're delighted to welcome back Norman Anderson to evaluate Biden's infrastructure strategy. Norman is a previous guest of the podcast. He's been a member of a number of world economic forum groups including, The Global Advisory Council on Infrastructure and the Strategic Infrastructure Initiative.We also discuss Norman's excellent new book Vision: Our strategic Infrastructure Roadmap Forward .  You'll also find out how you can get your hands on a free copy. 

In this new episode of The Project Podcast, Kenny Whitelaw-Jones and Yusuf Macun discuss all things Hydrogen. We cover what opportunities a new Hydrogen boom brings and what the challenges will be.Yusuf Macun is the Managing Partner at Cranmore Partners. He has more than 20 years of experience in energy and Infrastructure, he is also one of the co-founders of the Project Finance Institute and teaches on the Certified Project Finance Analyst Programme.

Giles Dickson is the CEO of Wind Europe.Wind Europe is the voice of the wind energy industry and represents over 400 companies and organisations across the whole wind power value chain.In this episode, we discuss the expected growth in European wind energy in the coming years, the impact of the European green deal, as well as new innovations in renewable hydrogen.

Norman Anderson is the CEO of CG/LA Infrastructure. He's been a member of a number of world economic forum groups including, The Global Advisory Council on Infrastructure and the Strategic Infrastructure Initiative.In this episode, we discuss why we build infrastructure and how the powerful symbolism surrounding many infrastructure projects reflects all of us.Norman recently wrote, "The right infrastructure shows us who we are". Here, we dig deeper into these thoughts.If you wish to read Norman's publications in more detail, here is the link to his posts in Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/normananderson/#395c98015e4a

In this short episode, Kenny gives an introduction to the Project Finance Institute - what it is, why we created it and how you can get involved. The Project Finance Institute is a dedicated learning community for Project Finance and Infrastructure professionals. Join at members.projectfinanceinstitute.com

Jeremy Connick is a partner at Clifford Chance. He specialises in advising clients operating in the fields of energy, natural resources and infrastructure. Jeremy has a particular focus on transactions in Africa. In addition to discussing the post COVID outlook for energy projects in Africa, we dive into topics around mental health and well-being, especially in a professional context. Jeremy lost his wife to suicide 6 years ago. Jeremy's difficult journey through this experience has led him to speak out about issues of mental health and well being. He plays a leading role in well-being at Clifford Chance. 

In this episode, we talk to Darryl Murphy, Head of Infrastructure at Aviva Investors.  Topics covered in this episode: How COVID has affected the day to day working at Aviva Investors   How Aviva's Infrastructure Assets have performed during the crisisHow resilient the infrastructure sector has been overallWhat lessons Darryl brought from the Global Financial Crisis that have informed this crisis  How COVID may affect aviation beyond the crisis  The role infrastructure may have in the post COVID recovery. 

John travels from London to Edinburgh to Hartlepool discussing the impact technology can have on essential public services. This episode, featuring Dr. Steven Fawkes, Max Carcas and Paul Hewitson, explores what is needed in terms of funding and policy to see greater deployment or integration of digital and clean technologies with physical infrastructure to deliver more efficient, connected, resilient and agile assets.

In this episode Kenny travels to Copenhagen to meet the team from Wave Dragon, a wave energy system under development, and Edinburgh to meet the founder of Pelamis. They discuss the development of the wave energy industry and what problems have to be overcome if wave energy is to complete with wind and solar. 

John walks with infrastructure specialist Laurence Carter as he nears the end of a deeply personal 12-month journey to raise awareness for cervical cancer.

Kenny meets Richard Threlfall, KPMG's Global Head of Infrastructure, to discuss emerging trends in infrastructure development and finance as technology washes over everything in the sector.

John revisits a documentary he made about high oil prices in 2005. Looking back it provides a backdrop to where we are now in energy policy and infrastructure development.