EWS | DIGEST IN BRIEF Flywheel cuts crane energy costs Flywheel energy-saving technology developed by Formula 1 motorracing engineers has cut the energy consumption of a tower crane by 40% in a live trial. Construction firm Kier is using the flywheel as an energy-storage system to power a tower crane on a project in Liverpool. The Punch Flybrid system reduced the size of the generator needed by the crane during a trial at the Shakespeare North site. Flybrid managing director Tobias Knichel said it was the first time a flywheel energy-storage system had been used on a live construction site. Such forwardthinking leadership deserves the very positive results achieved during this trial, he said. Batterbee to lead Atkins applied technology practice Atkins has appointed John Batterbee, formerly technology solutions director at Costain, to lead its new applied technology practice, which has been formed in response to a growing demand for digital services. Batterbee will bring together and expand Atkins digital services and data analytics to create a service that will help clients unlock the benefits of digital transformation. At Costain, Batterbee was responsible for helping clients with digital disruption and to realise the value of technology transformation. He has delivered solutions across a diverse range of sectors, including defence, energy, transport and water. CIBSE Awards proposal to New quantative entry form will more CIBSE has proposed a series of changes to the entry process for its annual Building Performance Awards (BPA) that would increase the visibility of energy-performance data. It plans to introduce a separate entry form for quantitative data on energy performance, alongside the qualitative form already in use, to maximise the value gained from the data for applicants and the industry. The Institution says this should make the entry process simpler and help improve the sectors understanding of building performance. CIBSE is asking for feedback from members and the wider industry on proposals that it believes will create a clearer and fairer process, while also making it easier for the judges to assess the performance claimed in entries. By having a separate form for energy performance, the data will also be ready for processing by CIBSEs partner University College London, which is compiling a benchmark database. Projects can be showcased on the achievements, according to the BPA organisers. Eventually, this should create a more streamlined process and can be combined with other awards, such as those organised by RIBA, with which CIBSE has been working to align criteria and share data. In-use energy data entered for the RIBA awards could also be added to the CIBSE database. We are trying to balance the need for clarity and useful information with the desire to make it as easy as possible for entrants, said CIBSEs technical manager, Julie Godefroy. The very fact of having monitored energy use is an achievement, so the new form tries to recognise this, while offering options for gathering more granular information where possible. Read more on page 16. The consultation is open until 6 May at Max Fordhams Passivhaus home won a 2021 CIBSE Building Performance Award 8 May 2021 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE May 21 pp08-09 News 2.indd 8 23/04/2021 15:43