Published: 26th September 2025
The clock is counting down to the UK's premier online conference for industrial energy transformation. There are less than two weeks to go before BCECA's 2025 conference programme gets underway. On Wednesday, 8 October 2025, senior stakeholders, innovators, and engineers from across the UK engineering contracting community will come together for BCECA's fifth virtual annual conference, Delivering UK Energy Transformation. This year's programme features a diverse line-up of speakers, who have been invited to share their thinking to challenge and motivate everyone involved in shaping the future of the UK's energy economy.
The BCECA conference is about more than just a series of presentations – it's about testing ideas, making connections and building the partnerships and shared sense of purpose needed to drive change. Widely supported by industry, the conversation will showcase the unique contributions of engineering contractors and their supply chain partners in helping the UK tackle the sometimes-conflicting challenges of energy security, energy affordability, and decarbonisation.
With speakers offering a perspective based on experience at the highest level of the UK government, as well as industry leaders, opinion formers, major contractors, technology suppliers, and supply chain specialists, this year's programme will set the tone for the conversation within the engineering contracting community. This conversation will continue through a series of focused breakout sessions throughout the autumn, culminating in a reception and report-back in the House of Lords in January 2026.
Where is energy transformation headed?
Seismic international changes have prompted a reevaluation of the pace of the energy transformation. Cool heads and steady nerves are needed. Highlights during the morning include an opening keynote from Lord Philip Hammond, a former UK Chancellor and Foreign Secretary. Lord Hammond, who has a keen understanding of economic and political uncertainty, will offer valuable insights into the direction the UK's energy transformation is headed. His contribution signals the conference's core aim, which is to initiate a conversation that connects wider economic policy issues with the challenges of project delivery faced by engineering contractors.
Lord Hammond will be followed by Offshore Energies UK's Head of Energy Policy, Enrique Cornejo. Enrique will point out that the UK's energy systems are still heavily reliant on fossil fuels. Nonetheless, the oil and gas sector is already delivering change, and a predictable investment environment is needed to both retain the UK's global competitiveness and secure long-term energy resilience. Delegates can expect a thought-provoking exchange on the need to achieve energy security through homegrown solutions, while meeting climate commitments.
The first session concludes with contributions from Fluor's Director of Mechanical Engineering, Kaveh Ibrahimi, and Principal Process Engineer, Oliver Carter. Kaveh and Oliver will emphasise the need for strategic thinking and effective collaboration with the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors. They will offer a timely reminder that the UK cannot achieve its net zero ambitions without productive engagement with the organisations that design, build and deliver the infrastructure on which our energy supply depends.
Where does the supply chain fit in?
Following a virtual coffee break, the conversation turns to the supply chain. The second session asks: What does the supply chain need for the effective delivery of UK energy transformation? EIC Director of Market Affairs, Neil Golding, will set the tone by reviewing the developments in the pipeline and providing an analysis of likely delivery timelines. An expert panel of senior people from suppliers and OEMs, including SLB's Concept Solutions Manager, David Knight, Severn Valves' Sales Manager, Lucy Brown, and Siemens Energy’s Business Development Director, Keiren Lake, will then debate the options available to address supply chain issues. The discussion will touch on skills, investment, and digital transformation. Attendees will gain first-hand insight into the opportunities and challenges faced by suppliers. EIC's Head of External Affairs, Rebecca Goldwater, will moderate the exchanges and tease out the answers needed to secure the effective delivery of the UK's energy goals.
Skills shortage – fact or fiction?
The programme continues after lunch with an exploration of the factors that make for thriving workplaces. The conversation will begin with a closer look at labour force issues and revisit the skills conundrum. Petrofac COO, John Pearson, and ECITB CEO, Andrew Hockey, will share their thoughts on the much-debated subject of skills shortages, addressing the question: Do we really have a skills shortage, and if we do, how do we address it?
The session will continue with a panel discussion that looks at “How We Build a Thriving Workplace” in the context of utilising the huge - and welcome - diversity of people who now deliver our engineering, project management and construction work.
The panel discussion will be chaired by Blair Fraser, Head of Carbon Advisory and Sophie Jacobs, Global Early Careers Team lead at Wood. Those tasked with unpacking this Pandora's Box include Sean McKirdy, Director at RB Plant Construction; Christine McLean, President of the Control and Skills Authority; Paul Mudd, Director at TRS Workforce Solutions; and Mark McBride Wright, CEO of Equal Engineers, a leading thinker on workplace diversity.
Case studies – what do we know?
The final session follows the successful format adopted in previous BCECA conferences. In the fast-paced world of engineering, making business decisions with incomplete information is a common challenge. Learning by doing is nothing new for engineers, and sharing new knowledge acquired from first-of-a-kind projects is important. This is an area where BCECA truly excels, and case study presentations consistently draw an attentive audience.
This year, speakers will share lessons learned during the evolution and delivery of a range of energy transformation projects. The recent government approval for a second runway at Gatwick Airport has brought the environmental impacts of air travel back to the forefront of the political agenda. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is seen as a major opportunity to decarbonise flying. McDermott's Hannah Lainton will open the session with an overview of progress developing the Willis SAF refinery on Teesside. Hannah will discuss the project's status, describe some of the challenges being encountered, and outline the approaches being adopted by McDermott to ensure the successful delivery of a plant designed to produce 50,000 litres of green aviation kerosene per day.
In a further presentation, Luigi Crolla, Head of Energy Transition Technologies at Kent, will focus on the practical pathways to delivering SAF at a commercial scale.
Low-carbon hydrogen production is also seen as a key enabler of the energy transformation. Hydrogen comes in many colours, and the programme features presentations examining two of these. Bechtel's Principal Advisor on hydrogen technologies, Andrew Till, will share his thinking on the design evolution of modular 'green' hydrogen plants, which are scalable to gigawatt capacities. Bechtel's design, which utilises proton exchange membrane technology, offers the potential to reduce overall costs, streamline project execution, and provide a flexible, scalable solution for hydrogen production. Hydrogen is described as 'blue' when the carbon generated from steam reforming is captured and stored through industrial carbon capture and storage (CCS). Topsoe's Global Head of EPC Relations, Carron Feeney, will deliver a presentation on the deployment of Topsoe's autothermal reforming technology in several projects that are nearing final investment decisions.
Offshore wind makes a return to the programme this year. High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) substations are a crucial link in the chain that delivers electricity from the turbine array to the shore and onward to the consumer. Aker Solutions has extensive experience in delivering this technology. Their Portfolio Engineering Manager, Umesh Kelkar, and Delivery Manager, Adam Wintle, will take the stage to discuss the what and the why of HVDC substations, with a focus on the complexities of EPC delivery.
The organisers have successfully packed a great deal of useful content into this one-day programme. Delegates won't just hear from senior executives; they'll also gain insights from policymakers, trade associations, and technical specialists. The mix of voices ensures that every angle of the energy transformation is considered – political, commercial, technical, and environmental. An essential balance if the UK is to achieve energy security and affordability, while staying on track for net zero.
Mark your diary for Wednesday 8 October 2025. Join BCECA and a truly diverse community of experts and leaders online as we collaborate to identify the roadblocks to UK energy transformation, share ideas, and develop workable solutions that must be addressed before the engineering contracting community can make it a reality.
BCECA's 5th Annual Conference goes live online at 09:00 GMT on Wednesday, 8 October 2025.
Malcolm Crawford spent over thirty years in the UK engineering contracting sector, including senior roles at John Brown, Amec, Amec Foster Wheeler and Wood plc. He is currently the Conference Manager at BCECA.
Andy Furlong is a content strategist at Cogent Content Ltd. Cogent Content provides communication and stakeholder engagement support to BCECA.
