Innovation to top the agenda at Advanced Engineering

This year’s Advanced Engineering 2024 is shaping up to be a must-attend event for engineering and manufacturing professionals, offering them a glimpse into the future of innovation. Taking place at the NEC, Birmingham on 30 and 31 October 2024, it will play host to a range of cutting-edge innovations and developments.

Now in its 15th year, the leading annual show is keeping the same successful format as last year, having received high praise from exhibitors and visitors in regards to the cross-industry floor layout. Anyone interested in attending this year’s event can register for a free ticket on the Advanced Engineering website here.

This year’s show will expand on the success of two forums introduced last year — the Main Stage and the Advanced Materials and Technologies (AMT) forum. The Main Stage will feature keynote speakers and key industry players, while the AMT forum will delve deeper into end-user case studies across all sectors.

Such expansions have been made to compliment the success of the annual show’s rebrand in 2023, having presented a fresh look for visitors. The event featured a new cross-industry floor layout, which was previously divided into several zones, allowing a broader range of exhibitors from a variety of industrial sectors that included marine, motorsport, construction, medical, rail and sport.

Over 8,800 visitors were able to explore both events, which included 400 exhibitors from Advanced Engineering and 202 from its co-located show Lab Innovations, all with a single badge. Among the visitors were representatives from well-known companies including Airbus, Rolls-Royce, IBM, Boeing, McLaren, BAE Systems, Catapult HVM, the Department for International Trade and Jaguar Land Rover.

Positive feedback
Alison Willis, director at Easyfairs, the organiser of Advanced Engineering, said: “The overwhelmingly positive feedback from 2023 confirmed that the changes made worked, with exhibitors and visitors having found that the new approach created a more collaborative atmosphere for better interaction and networking.

“This year, the forums will offer industry insights on the following trending topics; sustainability, innovation, Government and policy, automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and skills and levelling up, all of which have been curated by our outstanding advisory board and industry partners. We are also planning to broaden our scope by providing high-quality content from an even greater variety of industrial sectors.”

Andrew Kinniburgh, director at Make UK - Defence, added: “I think the fact that there are so many visitors that I would describe as high-value engineering and manufacturing businesses in one place is quite unique in the trade show world in the UK. From our perspective, it is really useful to have all of those companies in one place.”

In the spotlight at this year’s show will be Flux Aviation which is set to debut its prototype electric aircraft on the show floor. The innovative start-up is on a mission to accelerate the transition of aviation towards electric power, and is already making waves in the industry having recently been recognised as the ‘Most promising solution by Innovation Zero,’ ‘Manufacturing Start-up of the Year by Made in the Midlands’ and ‘Cleantech Startup of the Year‘ by the Midlands Startup Awards.
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Also joining the line-up is ZeroAvia, a provider of hydrogen-electric propulsion and fuelling solutions that will be presenting its hydrogen electric powertrain and fuel cell demonstrators. The company, which was named America’s number one green tech company by TIME magazine last year, continues to push the boundaries in sustainable aviation and will provide an in-depth look at its innovative approach to zero-emission flight.

Mark3D, the Markforged reseller of high-end 3-D printers, will be showcasing the UAV Sensus drone and Robo Challenge’s Spectre robot — cutting-edge technologies with advanced capabilities. Meanwhile, the University of Southampton will be revving up at Advanced Engineering with its electric Formula Student car, offering visitors the chance to witness the future of motorsport engineering. The student-driven project exemplifies the fusion of education and innovation in the electric vehicle (EV) space.

BEDEO, a British electric vehicle supplier and manufacturer, will host a live interactive demonstration of its electrification retrofit technology. This will showcase the transformation of a van into a fully electric vehicle, a hands-on exhibit allowing visitors to see the electrification process in action.

Autonomous vehicles will also be in the spotlight, with Ohmio unveiling its autonomous shuttle, a self-driving vehicle designed to enhance public transport efficiency and safety. Vehicles from Nissan and RML, a leading high-performance automotive engineering company, are expected to make an appearance at the show too. In the marine sector, ARGO Engineering will introduce its DynaProa and FastRig Windwing concepts, offering innovative solutions for wind-assisted propulsion in marine transport.

Alison Willis continued: “Advanced Engineering continues to be a platform for groundbreaking innovations across sectors. This year’s line-up further reinforces our commitment to showcasing the very best in engineering and manufacturing across a range of applications.

“A common theme that flows through a lot of these demonstrations is sustainability — whether it is through electrification, hydrogen power or wind energy. These innovations are not only shaping the future of our industries but also addressing the urgent need for cleaner, greener solutions too. We look forward to seeing how they will inspire people to work in STEM, while ensuring knowledge exchange and collaboration.”

Keynote speakers
Six industry leaders — and 150-plus other speakers — are set to have been assembled by show organiser EasyFairs UK & Global to share their expertise and insights on critical industry issues during talks across several different forums at Advanced Engineering 2024.

Brian Holliday, the first of this year’s keynote speakers, is a leading figure in industrial technology and digital manufacturing. As the head of Siemens Digital Industries for the UK and Ireland, he oversees advanced automation, industry software, systems integration and R&D and is an expert on productivity, digital manufacturing and industrial strategy, often contributing to media discussions.

The next speaker Matthew Atkinson, lead research engineer at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), is an expert in automotive engineering, specialising in replacing metallic structures with injection moulded composites. His work focuses on interior mechanical commodities like cockpit, seating and loadspace features and his innovative approach has earned him multiple patents, including for the Range Rover 18MY Executive Seating.

Next, Shaun Harris is currently director of support and chief engineer with the Royal Air Force. With a distinguished 37-year career in the RAF, he has held numerous leadership roles. His extensive experience spans engineering, logistics and information warfare. Mr Harris has served around the world, from the UK and the USA to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Also set to speak are Solange Baena, UK lead for the aviation environmental roadmap at Airbus, and Leonie Moffat, laser radar sales account manager at Nikon. Completing the lin-up is Stefan Lawrenson, senior polymer chemist at Scott Bader, who specialises in sustainable technology and polymer chemistry. His research focuses on enhancing nanoparticles and synthesising eco-friendly materials.

Alison Willis concluded: “This year’s show brings together some of the brightest minds in the industry. Their diverse expertise will provide deep insights into pressing issues like Industry 4.0, supply chain management and sustainability. The line-up of speakers highlights the spirit of innovation that Advanced Engineering is all about, and our commitment to fostering knowledge exchange within the engineering community. I’m sure the knowledge and inspiration they will bring to the event will be of value to all visitors.”