Materials: What is the way forward?
Author : Roger Haw, Flame Hardeners
06 January 2023
Materials science will become the premier discipline for the next 25 years, says Roger Haw, Managing Director of Sheffield-based Flame Hardeners Ltd.
The approach to net zero and the high cost of energy will inevitably lead to an intensive investigation into the manufacture and use of materials within the next decade. And, subsequently, the manufacture and application of different materials will lead to the development of new materials.
The traditional materials in the manufacture of engineering components (mainly steel and iron) use large amounts of energy and it is feasible that the current sources of energy usage will not contribute towards net zero.
It may be that, realistically, it will be realised that net zero is an ambition that cannot be totally satisfied, and that a better approach of 80 percent toward net zero is more acceptable. Almost all of the people in the engineering industry with whom I have discussed this matter agree that the requirements are unrealistic.
Read the full article in DPA's January issue
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