Paul is a Chartered Engineer and experienced Senior Programme Manager who has 20 years’ experience across the electricity transmission, sustainability, automotive, investment and education spaces with, amongst others, NESO (when its function was part of National Grid) and JLR (Jaguar Land Rover).
His engineering grounding was at NESO’s Electricity National Control Centre in a variety of strategic, operational and review roles. This included around three years on shift as part of a team of three looking after the GB electricity transmission network roughly south of Nottingham.
There his career focus switched to sustainability and following some study and a stint looking at the environmental impact of National Grid’s London Power Tunnels activities, he spent around seven years focused on improving the environmental footprint of JLR’s cars. Starting on vehicle mass and then looking at the entire product’s value chain, he worked in product development, alongside a life cycle assessment specialist, in roles that led to deriving the strategy for improving the environmental impact of the products beyond their tailpipe emissions… including consideration of how they could interact with the electricity grid.
His career then led to developing renewable energy infrastructure where he programme-managed the early development stages of multiple projects in response to NESO’s pathfinder initiatives. This involved all aspects of development, from land and planning through to investment, regulatory and technical engineering workstreams.
Paul also is an assessor on the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) CPD-certified professional practice short online courses via their technology partner GetSmarter.
Paul holds degrees from Oxford and Cambridge and further role-specific post-graduate qualifications from Cambridge and Bath.
Key aspects of Paul’s experience include:
– Programme managing the development phases of a portfolio of electricity transmission grid stability projects through to final investment decisions, including one now in the final stages of commissioning
– Supporting the operational readiness of a grid stability project
– Authorised as a Control Person (Operation) at NESO’s ENCC working as part of a team of three on the South Transmission Desk (covering roughly south of Nottingham)
– Authoring internal post-event analysis reports at the ENCC; publishing weekly advice guides to control engineers
– London Power Tunnels sustainability
– Business Development for National Grid
– Gas distribution (metering and emergency response)
– Leading the development non-tailpipe product environmental improvement strategy for Jaguar Land Rover in conjunction with an environmental life cycle assessment specialist.
– Leading circular economy projects – such as Innovate UK’s REALITY project focused on integrating post-consumer recycled aluminium into new Jaguars and Range Rovers.
– Creation of mass properties models for future cars to enable product development and delivery of product targets
– Acting as lead author on externally published papers:
- Factual based on GB’s electricity transmission companies’ performance
- Thought-leadership based on implementation of circular economy practices
– EPSRC funding panel member; Innovate UK funding applications
– Leading and/or building cross-functional teams at JLR and in the investment space
– Supporting professionals undertaking further education; at times acting as an informal industrial tutor:
- Post-graduate Certificate in Sustainable Value Chains
- Post-graduate Diploma in Power Systems Operation and Management (pre-course support)
– Helping over 300 students identify sustainability challenges in their organisations and develop strategies to address them via the CISL online short courses
Paul is driven by reducing the environmental impact of our day-to-day lives while enhancing the quality of those lives. He feels happiest bringing together professionals across organisations to solve complex problems to help with this aim. This could be in the energy transition or through more considered product and/or value chain design.
Outside of work Paul will be found with his young family, involved with or playing sport, or finding an excuse to go to the coast.
Paul Cassell
Principal Engineer