NEWS 8 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS July/August 2025 www.hpmag.co.uk Young innovators shine at The Big Bang UK competition 2025 The winners of The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Competition 2025 have been announced, recognising the creativity and ingenuity of young people across science, technology and engineering. Top honours — UK Young Engineer and UK Young Technologist of the Year — were awarded at the Big Bang Fair, hosted by EngineeringUK. Aaron Lord, a Year 12 student from Greenhead College, Yorkshire, was named UK Young Engineer of the Year for his project Autopill — an automatic pill dispenser designed to support people with dementia or memory difficulties. The device includes reminders and health monitoring features, combining mechanics, electronics, and CAD. Engineering category winners also included: Junior Engineering: Gayatri Thiru (Invicta Grammar School, Kent) for a solar-powered nanotech device to clean oil spills. Intermediate Engineering: Om Kuravinakop (St Olave’s and St Saviour’s Grammar School, London) for a handheld air quality monitor for asthma sufferers. Senior Engineering: Grace Palmer (WMG Academy, Solihull) for Thrive Transfer Aid, a device to support the safe movement of disabled children. Muhammad Shah, a Year 13 student from Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet, won UK Young Technologist of the Year for Icarus, a decentralised emergency communications system for use in remote areas. Supported by Siemens, the award recognises innovation in digital and sustainable technology. Muhammad, currently sitting A levels, will receive his award at a later school event. Alice Morrish (Invicta Grammar School, Kent) was named UK Young Scientist of the Year for Quantum Karate, while other standout projects included an AI tool for cancer diagnosis, a menopause cooling stick, and a pollution-converting facemask. Dr Hilary Leevers, Chief Executive of EngineeringUK, praised the winners: “They’ve shown remarkable knowledge, creativity and determination. The future of STEM is in very capable hands.” For the full list of winners, visit: www.thebigbang.org.uk/competitionwinners Aaron Lord, from Greenhead College in Yorkshire, was awarded UK Young Engineer of the Year for his project ‘Autopill’ Hydrasun Ltd recently announced the acquisition of Englandbased KC Controls, further strengthening its instrumentation capabilities and expanding its UK footprint. Established in 1986, KC Controls provided industrial process control and measurement instrumentation, as well as flow measurement solutions from renowned manufacturers including ABB, Parker Hannifin and Micronics, to a diverse range of industries in the south of England. The acquisition complemented Hydrasun’s position as Parker Hannifin’s largest instrumentation stockist and distributor in the north of England and Scotland. It also built on Hydrasun’s distributorships in key international markets including the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Senegal/Mauritania. Neil Thompson, Chief Executive of Hydrasun, said: “We are pleased to finalise the acquisition of KC Controls and warmly welcome their team to Hydrasun. We are seeing strong demand for integrated fluid transfer, power and control solutions both in supporting today’s critical energy infrastructure and in other sectors including defence, life sciences and hydrogen, where process control, measurement and associated small-bore tubing systems are critical to system reliability and performance.” “This acquisition underscores our ongoing strategy to enhancing our instrumentation product and service offering while furthering the expansion and diversification of our UK operations into new regions and market sectors.” Andrew Carter of KC Controls added: “Hydrasun has built a strong reputation in the energy sector and joining forces represents an exciting opportunity for KC Controls. We look forward to leveraging our combined expertise and resources to better serve our customers, while expanding our reach across the UK and internationally. This acquisition marks a significant milestone in our journey, and we are genuinely excited about the opportunities ahead.” KC Controls continued to operate from its existing premises in Crawley and traded under the name Hydrasun KC Controls as a separate branch of Hydrasun Ltd. The deal followed Hydrasun’s continued investment in strategic growth, including the 2023 acquisition of Fuel Cell Systems (FCS), a leading provider of hydrogen technologies including fuel cells, modular electrolyser systems, compression and storage, and both mobile and static refuelling solutions. The addition of FCS strengthened Hydrasun’s position as a systems builder and integrator in the emerging hydrogen sector. Hydrasun strengthens UK presence with acquisition of KC Controls
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ0NzM=