【CIC - See What I See】Innovation: The key for the world to tackle climate change | 【香港建造新視野】 創新：應對氣候變化的關鍵
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity, and it is imperative that we find ways to adapt to the changing environment. With the aim to foster discussion and new ideas among the industry, Construction Industry Council recently invited Professor David Gann, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Development and external affairs) from University of Oxford and the Chair of the UK Atomic Energy Authority to discuss the role of innovation in helping our built environment adapt to the climate crisis.
Pressing Need for Innovation
Our world is now in an era of both crises and opportunities. At the beginning of the sharing, Prof Gann first highlighted the construction industry's resource-hungry nature and the urgency to reduce carbon emissions and invest in renewable energy sources. “In the last 20 years, we have burnt 50% more fossil fuels globally. To achieve net zero in 2050, we will have to displace 11,000 mega tonnes of carbon emissions with renewable energy, which is equivalent to building the largest offshore wind farm – or a major nuclear power plant - every day for the next 30 years. And that would require an investment of 10 billion pounds every day till 2050.” Prof Gann said. And this results in a pressing need for innovation in the construction industry, particularly in the areas of sustainability and digital modelling. He stressed that the industry must take a more proactive approach to sustainability.
To achieve this, Prof Gann suggested that the industry should embrace new technologies and processes, particularly in the areas of AI and digital tools. He cited ITER, the world’s largest fusion plant project as an example. A new design, a robotic handling system which helps integrate materials for the fusion machines are in place for the project. In the last few years, a lot of start-ups have been deploying novel tools and techniques such as virtual design tools in the project. NVIDIA, world’s best chip manufacturer for AI is now working closely with Oxford University & Atomic Energy Authority to develop a new design environment so that they can work concurrently on complex design options for STEP - the UK’s first-of-a-kind fusion powerplant to be built at West Burton, Nottinghamshire, UK.
Although new technologies and tools are now available for us to integrate around cost, time and quality, Prof Gann emphasized the importance of attracting and developing talented individuals who can leverage these tools to drive innovation and integrate sustainable. solutions in the industry. That will require a cultural change in the industry where leadership is responsible in setting the tone of working together. He observed that Hong Kong is now on the right path with the successful introduction and adoption of Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) and Building Information Modelling (BIM) in the industry. With these digital tools, the construction industry can reduce reliance on labour, particularly on larger sites while reducing cost and improving quality of work.
Adaptable built environment
According to Prof Gann, we need to think creatively about how we can maximize the potential of today's designs to create more adaptable and sustainable structures. He emphasized the importance of an integrated design environment, such as a digital twin, that allows for a comprehensive view of all parameters at once. The construction industry, a significant contributor to carbon emissions, needs to play a big part in reducing its carbon footprint. He suggested that value engineering be used to identify the most adaptable, long-term, and high-quality materials – rather than simply reduce initial capital costs. He also stressed the need for a clever configuration of design to maximize the potential of today's structures.
Beyond innovation
Policy innovation is as important as innovation itself. To foster innovation, the industry has to work closely with the authority and regulators. Prof Gann used Oxford University’s vaccine development project as an example that they succeeded in shortening the development time during COVID – from 12 years to 1 year - with the support of regulators. It’s important for the world to create international standards and regulations that stimulate innovation and drive investment to the right places.
?
On the other hand, Prof Gann agreed that innovation can play a big role in improving the safety of construction projects when there is more collaboration and engagement with workers on the ground. He stressed that it is important to involve people in the process of developing and deploying new technologies.
?
Sustainable energy
In the sharing Prof Gann also discussed the potential of fusion energy, which he believes will become commercially viable by 2050. However, he cautioned that we cannot rely solely on that to solve the climate crisis. We need to find solutions that are commercially viable and that can be implemented quickly, such as wind farms, nuclear power, and carbon capture. Concerning the built environment, we need to find ways to reduce energy consumption in energy-hungry buildings such as hospitals, construction plants, and equipment.
?
Finally, Prof Gann noted that the young people coming into the industry will face many challenges that require them to innovate. He is happy to learn about the exciting time for the construction industry in the next ten years, particularly with the aggressive railway projects in Hong Kong. But he thinks that Hong Kong is also facing a similar situation with the UK in terms of labour shortage.
?
领英推荐
In conclusion, Prof Gann shared a lot of his experience on sustainability as well as the situation in the UK with the participating members. He emphasized the importance of innovation – particularly generative AI - in helping our built environment adapt to the climate crisis. And he believes that technology will never plateau, that we should all keep working on innovative ideas and technologies to solve the crisis together.
CIC - See What I See
創新：應對氣候變化的關鍵
氣候變化是人類面臨的重大挑戰之一，我們必須設法適應不斷變化的環境。為了促進建造業與不同行業的討論並激發新構思，建造業議會最近邀請了牛津大學發展及外部事務副校長兼英國原子能機構主席戴維 · 甘 (David Gann) 教授 ，與一班行業領導人物分享並探討如何在建築環境中融入創新以助我們去應付氣候危機。
?
創新的迫切性
我們的世界現正處於危機和機遇並存的時代。甘教授在分享會上首先指出建造業對資源的龐大需求以及減少碳排放和投資可再生能源的迫切性。「在過去20年間，全球已經燃燒了50%以上的化石燃料。為了在2050年實現淨零碳排放，我們將不得不用可再生能源替換11,000萬噸的碳排放，這相當於在未來30年每天建造最大的海上風力發電場或大型核電廠。這亦代表著每天100億英鎊的投資，直到2050年。」甘教授說。這正正反映為何建造業迫切需要在可持續性和數碼建模等領域上作出創新。他強調建造業界必須採取更積極的可持續性方法去完成工程。
甘教授建議行業應該採用新技術和流程，特別是在人工智能和數碼工具方面。他以將在英國諾丁漢郡西伯頓建造的首個聚變發電廠STEP為例子。該項目使用了新的設計和機器處理系統，用於集成聚變機器的材料。在過去幾年，許多初創企業相繼在該項目中部署了嶄新的工具和技術，例如虛擬設計工具。NVIDIA是全球頂尖的人工智能芯片製造商，現正與牛津大學和英國原子能機構密切合作，開發一個全新的設計環境，以便他們可以為ITER同時進行複雜的設計選項。
雖然現有的新技術和工具可以整合成本、時間和質量，但甘教授強調吸引和培養能夠善用這些工具推動創新和提高行業可持續性的人才更為重要。這就需要逐步改變行業文化，而領導層就需負責設定合作的方向。他觀察到，香港的建造業已成功引入和採用了組裝合成建築法（MiC）和建築信息模型（BIM）。通過這些創新工具，建造業在大型工地上可以減少對前線工人的依賴，同時可降低成本和提高工作質量。
?
適應力強的建築環境
根據甘教授的說法，我們需要運用創意去思考如何最大程度地發揮當今設計的潛力，創建更具適應性和可持續性的建築物。他強調了綜合設計環境，例如可以同時全面地考慮所有參數的重要性的digital twin。建造業是碳排放數一數二的行業，因此需要在減少碳足跡方面多下功夫。他建議避免只減低起始資本成本，使用價值工程來找出最具適應性、可長遠使用和高質量的材料。他還強調了工程人員需要巧妙配置設計，以最大程度地發揮當今建築物的功能。
超越創新
政策創新和創新本身同樣重要。為了促進創新，行業必須與政府部門和監管機構密切合作。甘教授以牛津大學的疫苗研發項目為例，說明他們在COVID期間成功將開發時間由12年縮短至1年，全因得到了監管機構的支持和配合。全球需要創建國際標準和法規，以刺激創新並將投資引向正確的方向。
另一方面，甘教授同意當項目採用創新科技並提升與現場工人的合作和參與，將可以大大提高建築項目的安全表現。他強調重點是將人們納入開發和部署新技術的過程中。
?
可持續能源
在當天的分享會上，甘教授還跟與會者分享了聚變能源的發展潛力，他認為到2050年聚變能源將可商業化。然而，他警告說我們不能僅依賴聚變能源來解決氣候危機。我們需要找到商業上可行且可以快速實施的解決方案，例如風電、核能和碳捕捉。至於在建築環境的層面上，我們需要找到減少能源消耗的方法，特別是在醫院、建築工廠及設備等能源需求大的建築物中。
最後，甘教授指出，進入建造業的年輕人將面臨許多需要創新的挑戰。他很高興了解到香港未來十年建造業的發展前景，特別是政府積極推動的鐵路項目。但他認為香港在勞動力短缺方面也面臨著與英國類似的情況。
總的而言，甘教授在會上與建造業議會成員們分享了他的在可持續性工作的經驗以及英國的情況。他強調創新，特別是生成式人工智慧可幫助我們的建築環境適應氣候危機。他相信科技永遠不會停滯不前，我們應該繼續共同努力開發創新的想法和技術。