Planet Beyond

Hosted by Fugro

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Sep 2025

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About the show

Welcome to the Planet Beyond podcast. Brought to you by Fugro, the leading partner in uncovering geo-data from the greatest subsea depths right to outer space and hosted by Jon Baston-Pitt. Planet Beyond is about doing business better in our fast changing, and acutely delicate, yet exquisite, world. Together we will explore issues beyond the day-to-day challenges; listen to those who should be listened to; seek out what needs to be done and get aligned around the new tomorrow our children deserve and that we have a responsibility to deliver.

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September 25, 202543 min

Episode 50: Mangroves, Drones, and Data

In a few week’s time the 30th UN Climate Change Conference will take place in Belém, Brazil. While the world is making progress on cutting the carbon emissions that cause climate change, there is much work still to be done. Even if the world were to meet the goals put in place ten years ago in the Paris Agreement, we would continue to face the impacts of climate change. We will also need to focus on adaptation. One adaptation that could both build resilience and absorb carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere is the development of mangrove forests. In this episode, first aired in February 2024, and focused on the outcomes of COP 28, Jon Baston-Pitt was joined by two guests who have been using cutting edge technology to plant new mangroves. Jane Glavan is the co-founder of Distant Imagery. The company combines cutting edge technologies with locally available techniques and materials, to develop drones, balloons and kites that can be used to bring us closer to Net Zero. In Abu Dhabi, their drones are reforesting mangrove swamps, propelling thousands of seedlings into the ground, in every eight minute drone flight. This is a long-term project. Mangroves can take decades to reach maturity. Distant Imagery needed more access to data to track, refine, and share their approach. That has been Fugro’s focus. David Millar shared the importance of the UN Ocean Decade Corporate Data Group, which we first looked at in a February 2023 shortcast . The group is working to make available ocean data from some of the world’s most important private-sector collectors, and share it with potential users, such as Distant Imagery. Host Jon Baston-Pitt Guests Jane Glavan, Co-Founder, Distant Imagery David Millar, Government Accounts Director, Americas, Fugro

August 28, 202537 min

Episode 49: Adding Autonomy to ROVs

Artificial Intelligence is developing at a dizzying pace. One day soon, its proponents promise, it will revolutionise the way we work. The growth of AI could lead to the birth of ‘cobots’, robots able to collaborate safely with humans in shared spaces. But the development of machine autonomy and remote operations has much deeper roots. The goal of robotics has been described as replacing humans in roles that are dirty, dangerous, or dull. Offshore work can often meet all of these criteria. Bringing surveyors to offshore sites on a fossil fuelled vessel is, in carbon terms, dirty. These expert personnel will spend at least some part of the voyage on dull tasks, in between the work they are trained for. And any work offshore carries some level of danger that must be managed carefully. Fugro has developed remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs, that can be launched from uncrewed surface vessels. This eliminates dull and dangerous working offshore, and makes a move away from dirty carbon emissions possible. But remotely operated vehicles face challenges at sea. They must react quickly to changing conditions, and data transmission limits underwater restrict the ability of remote operators to respond in time. In this episode, first aired in March 2023, Jon Baston-Pitt is joined by Fugro’s Mark Bruce, and the National Robotarium’s Yvan Petillot. The conversation took place shortly after a first successful test of remotely operated systems, that will allow ROVs to work efficiently, responding to changes in their environment without human intervention. Host Jon Baston-Pitt Guests Yvan Petillot , Professor of Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Heriot Watt University; joint academic lead, The National Robotarium. Mark Bruce, Product Owner, Next Generation ROVs, Fugro

July 31, 202549 min

Episode 48: Remote Operations in Commercial Space

Some time ago, in an office quite far away, Tim Crain, vice president of R&D at Intuitive Machines, joined Jon Baston-Pitt for an episode of Planet Beyond, alongside Fugro’s Dawn McIntosh and Sam Forbes. In that episode, first aired in November 2022, our guests discussed Intuitive Machine’s plans for the first commercial soft landing on the moon. The mission, which took place in February 2024 didn’t quite go to plan, but did successfully achieve a soft landing with all equipment functional. The work at Fugro’s Space Automation, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Control Complex, or SpAARC continues. This January, 2025, Sam Forbes joined the Engineering Matters podcast , alongside guests from around the world, to trace the development of the Remote Operations Centres. Like the SpAARC, these purpose built facilities allow for control of equipment, without the risks and costs associated with working offshore, or in space. Commercial space activity remains at the top of many nations’ agendas. At the UK Space Conference this month, July 2025, the UK government highlighted the role that space will play in the economy, highlighting areas that will be part of the core focus of a new 10 year industrial strategy. Earlier this year, the European Space Agency reported that it had grown its ESA Investor Network to include 80 members, investing around €1bn in space-related activities. The commercial space sector doubled in size in the decade before this episode first aired. In this episode we are joined by one of the most promising commercial space contractors, and a new control centre based in Australia that will support this and future endeavours to the Moon and beyond. Host Jon Baston-Pitt Guests Tim Crain, Vice President, Intuitive Machines Dawn McIntosh, Space Systems Director, Fugro Sam Forbes, Director, SpAARC , Fugro Introduced by Alex Conacher

June 26, 202527 min

Episode 47: Innovation in Offshore Wind Biodiversity

Over three episodes, we’ve been learning about ways to maintain, and even improve, biodiversity around offshore wind farms. We’ve heard how the industry is helping to shape biodiversity policy. We’ve talked to researchers who are developing ways to monitor the interactions of birds and turbines. And in this final episode, we’re going to discover innovative ways to monitor biodiversity across marine ecosystems more efficiently, and less invasively. Umberto Binetti is a marine biodiversity expert, working for developer RWE . He explains that current monitoring requirements focus on construction, when the most disruption is expected. Some wind turbines are now reaching the end of their design life, and face mandatory removal. This could see foundations that have become a biodiversity hotspot being dismantled, at great expense and risk to offshore workers, with a negative impact on marine life. RWE’s SeaMe project at the Kaskasi windfarm in Germany, supported by the German Alliance for Marine Research ( DAM ), is using a suite of innovative technologies, including drones, autonomous underwater vehicles, eDNA, and machine vision to provide holistic monitoring of wind farms. Fugro’s Dan Smith is working on the BeWild project at the CrossWind wind farm in the Danish North Sea, in collaboration with Wageningen University, Mecal , Seekable and the Rich North Sea . The project uses Fugro’s uncrewed surface vessels and remotely operated vehicles, alongside other equipment, to collect high resolution images for three-dimensional photogrammetry, and eDNA. These innovations will help develop holistic ecosystem-wide monitoring, allow wind farm owners, regulators, and other stakeholders to understand the most effective means to ensure wind farms have a positive impact on nature, as well as on climate change. Host Jon Baston-Pitt Guests Umberto Binetti, Marine Biodiversity Expert, RWE Daniel Smith, Offshore Wind Biodiversity Solution Owner, Fugro

May 29, 202534 min

Episode 46: Best Practice for Offshore Wind Farm Biodiversity

Offshore wind farms promise to provide much of the clean power needed for the energy transition. But in their construction and operation, they interact with wildlife above and below the water. In this episode, the second of three on biodiversity and offshore wind, we learn how scientists are developing best practices for protecting birds and enhancing biodiversity underwater. Jesper Kyed Larsen is a bioscience expert working with Vattenfall, and focused on how we can measure interactions between birds and wind turbines. His work explores how vision systems and machine learning can be used to track birds as they fly around wind farms, and will help shape mitigation measures to reduce collisions. Isaac de Boer Ferrier is project manager for the Rich North Sea programme at the North Sea Foundation. His organisation has been conducting research on how to encourage the formation of oyster beds around wind farms, which will boost biodiversity on the seabed around turbine foundations and anchoring systems. These projects, and more, are shared through the Rich North Sea Toolbox , a guide to enhancing biodiversity around wind farms. Host Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro Guests Jasper Kyed Larsen, Bioscience Expert, Vattenfall Isaac de Boer Ferrier, Project Manager, The Rich North Sea, The North Sea Foundation Image credit The Rich North Sea

April 24, 202542 min

Episode 45: The Future of Carbon Capture

Decarbonisation is vital to maintaining a safe and liveable world. Much of the carbon that human industry emits can be avoided through the use of renewable energy and other new technologies. But not all carbon can be handled in this way. Some industries generate carbon emissions not just from their energy use, but as a result of inherent processes: a good example of this is cement manufacture, which releases carbon dioxide as a chemical byproduct, and also requires kiln temperatures which cannot be achieved using electricity. Other sectors would see commercial challenges and unnecessary job losses in a rush to renewables. And we were emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide for two centuries before we understood the impacts it would have on our environment. Carbon capture promises to fill the gaps in climate change mitigation that decarbonisation can’t reach. Carbon can be captured at source from those facilities that can’t eliminate emissions, or directly from the air. The question then is what to do with the carbon captured? That’s what our guests in this episode have been addressing. Dr Camelia Knapp is a professor of geology who has been exploring suitable sites for its storage. Fernando C Hernandez is global chairman at the Society for Low Carbon Technologies, whose work focuses on promoting commercial applications for captured carbon and promoting policies that will make carbon capture a viable proposition. Host Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro Guests Dr Camelia Knapp, Professor of Geophysics, Boone Pickens School of Geology, Oklahoma State University Fernando C Hernandez, Global Chairman, Society for Low Carbon Technologies

March 27, 202538 min

Episode 44: Biodiversity and Policy Setting in Offshore Wind

Offshore wind farms are key to supplying the energy the world needs, sustainably and reliably. We know they are vital to meeting our decarbonisation goals; but we don’t fully understand their impact on ecosystems. With thousands of turbines due to be installed over the next decade, we must build our knowledge of their interactions with marine life, and develop systems to ensure a positive impact on biodiversity. Over three episodes, we’ll cover different topics from policy to practice, to innovative technologies and hear how wind farm developers and NGOs are working together to deliver more biodiversity around wind farms. In this first episode, Cristina Simioli and Emma Hospes join host Jon Baston-Pitt to share the work the sector has been doing to establish a common understanding of biodiversity, best practices for its protection and a need for a common policy. Cristina is Director for Offshore Energy and Nature, at the Renewables Grid Initiative, and lead of the Offshore Coalition for Energy and Nature (OCEaN). OCEaN is split into two regions, North Sea & Baltic, and Mediterranean & Atlantic. As Cristina explains, the lessons learned about biodiversity by early movers in the north of Europe, are now being shared with those getting to work in the very different environment of the Mediterranean. Emma leads the biodiversity programme at Ørsted, the Danish renewables operator. The operator primarily works across Northern Europe and Emma shares how there is still a long road ahead before a common consensus on what good likes in terms of biodiversity is reached. And explains how the company is working to share lessons learned, and what is needed to build the required consensus. Host Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro Guests Cristina Simioli, Director, Offshore Energy and Nature, the Renewables Grid Initiative (RGI) Emma Hospes, Head of Biodiversity Programme, Ørsted

March 13, 202518 min

Short: Leon Koning – Back on Dry Land

In December, Planet Beyond talked to Leon Koning about his ambitious plans to cross the Atlantic with three teammates as Team Row4Cancer, part of the World’s Toughest Row. He set out with four goals: getting to the finish line, beating the rest of the teams, beating the world record, and remaining friends with his fellow rowers. In this short, Leon returns to Planet Beyond, following his arrival back on dry land. The team achieved three of their four goals, he tells host Jon Baston-Pitt. He shares the physical and emotional challenges of the row and we learn how the team kept themselves motivated, through the headwinds of their 5,000km journey. As their row reached its final days, the team looked forward to their return to their friends and families, and to fresh food. Leon tells us about enjoying the world’s best burger, and about a key lesson he learned from the voyage: whatever goals you have on your list, the best time to do them is now. Host Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro Guest Leon Koning, Legal Counsel, Europe and Africa, Fugro

February 27, 202536 min

Episode 43: The Mental Groundwork of Infrastructure

Infrastructure projects transform our world. Our ability to travel and to work, our individual health and our community cohesion, are all built upon the successes of infrastructural engineering. But these projects routinely underperform. They are delivered late, and over budget. Around the world, we consistently see projects delayed by unexpected ground conditions. In this episode, Jon Baston-Pitt is joined by an old friend and colleague, Rod Eddies. Rod has spent his life investigating what is happening in the ground below our feet. His experience on infrastructure projects has led him to a new area of study: what is going on at the foundations of our thinking, as we set about planning infrastructure projects? Rod believes that we should pay attention to the findings of behavioural science and economic geography, which show how unseen voids in our thinking—cognitive biases, overreliance on heuristics—can turn into sinkholes of time and cost. The only firm foundation for any project, Rod believes, is to reject unjustified assumptions, engage early on and reduce uncertainty in the subsurface, before a final investment decision is made. This tried and tested approach reduces wasted cost and enables a project to be delivered on time and on budget. Host Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro Guest Rod Eddies, Solution Director for Land Site Characterisation Fugro

February 13, 202519 min

Short: Dan Smith – A Career with Impact

How can you build a career with impact? Dan Smith has a simple rule: ‘Follow your interests—when you look back, it will look like you had a plan’. Dan’s first interest was in cooking, and he started his career as a chef. But when he realised that he would not reach the Michelin-starred heights of that highly competitive field, he turned to a new interest: engineering. He wanted to have a practical impact, so after his undergraduate degree, started by volunteering with Engineers Without Borders in Africa. In his work in Ghana and Uganda, he sought to support local engineers as they brought their skills to their own communities. He looked for more ways he could use his skills impactfully. Qualifying for a masters scholarship, on the basis of his volunteer experience, he turned to the private sector. With Royal HaskoningDHV, and then with Fugro, he developed a career using data to monitor and improve biodiversity around offshore wind farms. Dan sees three main ways to have an impact. One can take a hands-on approach, fixing practical problems—but the scope of this work is often limited to a particular community. Or one can take a role setting impactful policy or corporate strategy—but this work can feel alienated from its outcomes. Dan proposes a middle way that has worked for him: developing specialist skills that can be impactful across projects, as part of a collaborative team. In this episode, he shares how following our interests can help us develop those skills. Host Jon Baston-Pitt Guest Dan Smith, Offshore Wind Biodiversity Solution Owner, Fugro