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HPE news. Tech insights. World-class innovations. We take you straight to the source — interviewing tech's foremost thought leaders and change-makers that are propelling businesses and industries forward.
Aubrey Lovell (00:00):
Hello again and welcome back to Technology Now. Did you miss us? I'm sure you did. We're a weekly show from Hewlett Packard Enterprise where we take what's happening in the world and explore how it's changing the way organizations are using technology. I'm one of your hosts, Aubrey Lovell. And once again, this week I'm holding on the floor alone in the studio because Michael has been out trackside at the London ePrix, the final race of the 2023 Formula E Championship. And last week he spent some time talking tech and competitive advantage with Maserati MSG racing team Principal James Rossiter and Driver Edo Mortara.
(00:46):
So this week he's picking up where he left off by meeting Maserati MSG Commercial Director Harry Richards, to talk about whether motor racing can ever really be sustainable and how technology is helping. So as always, if you're the kind of person who needs to know why what's going on in the world matters to your organization, this podcast is for you. And if you haven't yet, subscribe to your podcast app of choice so you don't miss out. All righty. Let's get into it. Hello, London. Michael, can you hear me?
Michael Bird (01:17):
Hello again from the ExCeL Conference Center here in London where the whole arena has been transformed into an indoor outdoor race circuit for Formula E, the world's first fully electric racing series. This weekend is the London ePrix, rounds 15 and 16 Formula E's ninth season. This year has had 16 races in 11 cities, and by the time you listen to this, the season would've concluded here in London.
(01:44):
The tracks are all in city centers for a couple of reasons, firstly, so that spectators don't have to travel by car and they can maybe use public transport. And secondly, because the whole point of the series is to show that electric cars are cool, which they arguably weren't back in 2014, and to showcase their capabilities in modern urban environments. As a result of this campaign to showcase all things electric, the series has been carbon neutral since its inception. They take sustainability pretty seriously around here.
(02:12):
Now, Formula E is what's called a spec series, which means all 11 teams and 22 drivers use essentially the same cars. Now in their third generation and featuring the 350 kilowatt powertrains and 200 mile per hour top speeds. Last week we spoke to Maserati MSG's driver, Edo Mortara, and Team Principal James Rossiter about what it's like to be part of a top flight Motorsport team and how they find competitive advantage when your competitors are essentially using the same equipment and how they use a bit of their data.
(02:45):
Now for this episode, I caught up with Harry Richards, commercial director at Maserati MSG racing to talk about how the team and the wider sport approach sustainability and how new technology helps to drive the sport forward. I started by asking him about what Formula E is doing to champion sustainability. So you've been a champion of sustainability in the sport as a whole. Can you just talk me through what Formula E as a sport is doing in the sustainability space?
Harry Richards (03:14):
Sure. Formula E was originally conceived to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles. So when it comes to sustainability, Formula E is really flying the flag. They're the first sport to achieve net carbon zero since inception, and they focus on all sorts of different aspects from the events themselves, running on renewable fuels for ridding the events of single use plastics to the cars themselves and how they operate and how the teams run, ensuring they're the most efficient race cars in the world, made out of recycled materials and things like that. So there's so many different facets of sustainability just in this championship.
Michael Bird (03:50):
Because there's something about the carbon fiber in the cars. Does it get recycled or it's from recycled?
Harry Richards (03:55):
It does, yeah. So any crashes, anything like that, the parts that are damaged get taken back, recycles and reused. So there's very little wastage when it comes to crash damage and things like that.
Michael Bird (04:06):
Gosh. And what do other motorsports do? Do they just chucking them in?
Harry Richards (04:09):
The vast majority of them, yes. I think people are waking up to the fact now that something more has to be done. We can't go on like this, and I think they're taking Formula E as a great example in the world of motorsport and I guess copying them.
Michael Bird (04:23):
So you talked to me a little bit about how Formula E was conceived as this very sustainable sport. Fast forward to today, what is Formula E doing to keep driving that?
Harry Richards (04:32):
Yeah, it's a good question, and I think at the very beginning it was a very general ethos of sustainability as a whole. But now I think they're really focused on those really intrinsic details of the events themselves. Like we mentioned, the cars being made out of recycled materials, the events themselves and how we power them. It's the real details. Another interesting aspect is how it's affecting us as a team. We're under strict sort of controls from the number of people that we're allowed to travel to races, so we're trying to minimize that. So obviously to reduce our carbon footprint from travel around the world, obviously we have this extensive calendar in different locations all over the globe, so they want to minimize that. So we've got to come up with different solutions and how we use technology in this space to allow us to operate remotely.
(05:16):
So I think it's 32 people we're allowed on site on a race weekend from an operational standpoint, but then we have a team of six back at our headquarters in Monaco who are working round the clock in real time with all the information that our engineers have here to support us. The other thing is obviously freight. We have a huge amount of kit that we have to transport around the world. So another control that formula E put on us is to minimize that and we're trying to reduce that season on season so we're not taking unnecessary kit all around the world and creating unnecessary carbon emissions.
Michael Bird (05:46):
So what are the flagship ESG policies you'd love to see coming along for the sport and the team within the next say, 5 to 10 years?
Harry Richards (05:54):
Sure. I think what's interesting about our team, probably different to most other teams here, is how we've taken a more holistic view of sustainability and we've really focused on empowerment, diversity, finding performance in the differences and championing underrepresented individuals and communities through the power of this platform that we have. You'll notice we've raced with the Pride flag on the side of the car, which I think is an incredibly powerful tool as well to shine a light on underrepresented communities in motor sport in particular.
(06:25):
I think from that stance, what I'd love to see is more female representation in this sport. I think we've got a real opportunity here as a new dynamic, exciting property in the world of motorsport to attract a younger female oriented workforce. And we see it in our team. I've got some incredible female colleagues, and I think they're doing an incredible job at shining a light and inspiring a younger generation of females that this is an opportunity, this is a platform for everyone. And that's something I'd really like to see continued because I think at the moment we're just scratching the surface and I think there's incredible things to come.
Michael Bird (07:01):
Do you think motorsport can ever truly be green?
Harry Richards (07:04):
It's a very good question. It's one that of course we get asked a lot. We were here to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles. We're here to become a test bed for new technologies that then trickle down to everyday life to you or I in our road cars and in smart city infrastructure and things like that. So you're always going to get the question, well, isn't this just unnecessary? Why do you need to travel around the world to do this? And I'd counter that with, there needs to be a flag bearer. There needs to be someone to inspire. And I think Formula E and Maserati MSG racing have done an incredible job at that. And I think the short term cost and the immediate cost, it pales into insignificance. When we talk about the innovations and the technology that's coming out of this championship that in the long run will help us live more sustainably and become a more sustainable society.
Michael Bird (07:54):
What message would you have to other organizations who might be looking at what Formula E is doing? What can they learn from Formula E as a sport?
Harry Richards (08:03):
It's a tough one to answer that. Formula E was created in a bubble. It had a completely blank canvas to start from. We basically got to design it from the ground up with all of these policies and sustainability really at the core of every decision that was made from the very beginning. So I can appreciate that for a long established organization, making changes is challenging and there's always going to be people that are resistant to change, but what I would say is be open to learn and make those small changes. Everyone coming together to do so is going to have a big impact.
Michael Bird (08:41):
Okay. We'll head back to our interview with Harry in a little bit, but first it's time to head back to Aubrey in the studio.
Aubrey Lovell (08:49):
That's fantastic. Thanks so much, Michael. We'll come back to you in a moment, so don't go anywhere. Don't try to drive the car, and enjoy the racing. Next up, it's down to you, our audience. We open the floor for you to give your recommendations on books which have changed the way you look at the world, life and business in the last 12 months. They could be technology-based, they could have changed the way you work, or they could have just made you look at the world in a totally different way. And as usual, if you want to share your recommendations, there's a link in the podcast description. Just record a voice note on your phone and send it over.
Sam Datta (09:25):
Hi, my name's Sam. I'm a producer from Manchester in the UK and the book that I've read recently that's changed my perspective is The Great CEO Within by Matt Mochary. Matt was one of the great early Silicon Valley investors, and this book is really the culmination of his experience. I'm generally not a huge fan of business books, but I read it for work and it was quite transformative. It's really about not only growing your business and knowing when to grow and knowing how to grow, how to achieve product market fit, how to hire the right people, when to hire the right people, but it's also about making sure that you stay grounded and keep your friends and family on board for what is inevitably a tumultuous journey and ensuring that essentially you stay sane through the stresses and strains of running a business or facing any great project challenge in life. It's actually genuinely helped me in my work, and I'd thoroughly recommend it to anyone who is not only interested in business, but interested in the way we as humans function under stress and some very good tips for dealing with that.
Aubrey Lovell (10:29):
Thanks for that. So right now it's time to head back to London where we will rejoin Michael, interviewing Maserati MSG's Commercial Director Harry Richards.
Michael Bird (10:38):
So I want to just talk about technology. We are now on Gen 3. Is that good enough? Is it going to be a Gen 4 or a Gen 5?
Harry Richards (10:47):
This championship has developed at such an incredible rate of knots. If we go back 10 years and look at the first Formula E cars, we had to have two cars to last the length of the race. The drivers came in halfway through and jumped into a new car because the batteries couldn't last long enough. Within three, four years, we'd had the Gen 2 car, which was a big leap. We had one car, it was faster. It allowed the driver to complete the whole 45 minute race in one car. And then fast forward four more years, and we've got this Gen 3 car, which is the most incredible electric vehicle I've ever come across. The most powerful electric race car. It's the most efficient and it's the most sustainable. Like we touched on the materials that are used.
(11:29):
There's definitely a Gen 4. There may even be a Gen 3 Evo, which is just an evolution of this making small changes. But I think there's some really exciting advances that are coming. We haven't even scratched the surface of battery chemistry. We haven't scratched the surface of automation. There's so many areas to be explored so far, and I think what's really exciting about this space is it's moving so quickly. What's key is that we remain ahead of the curve and that we are the driving force in the automotive industry, and that we're extracting learnings from this to go into road cars.
Michael Bird (12:02):
For some listeners, they will have come from Formula 1s or other motorsports where the races are longer. There used to be things like refueling. Is that the stuff that's maybe down the line for Formula E?
Harry Richards (12:13):
We won't be refueling, but we may be recharging. No, so this is definitely something that's being looked at. They've experimented with various fast charging technology. One of the partners of the championship is ABB, and they're right at the forefront of EV charges. So we are hoping that next season there'll be a fast charging pit stop introduced, which again, will add some drama, it'll add some excitement. I think it'll form the basis of team strategy in the same way we see now with attack mode that forms most of the basis for teams and their strategic decisions. I think pit stops are going to be that in the future with fast charging technology.
Michael Bird (12:52):
And is the aim for that to lead to longer races?
Harry Richards (12:55):
I think what's interesting about Formula E in these 45 minute races that we have, have allowed us to attract this very different audience, an audience that are used to consuming short form content. And 45 minutes is, in my opinion, a great amount of time to keep people engaged. There's a lot of drama happening on track and from start to finish, it's all good. So whilst I'm sure they will experiment with different length races, I think 45 minutes is actually the perfect length of time for a race.
Michael Bird (13:26):
I really enjoyed speaking to both Harry and also Edo and James from last week's episode. As before, I just wanted to say a huge thanks to the team for helping us put this episode together. That's it from me, from the London ePrix, back to Aubrey in the studio.
Aubrey Lovell (13:42):
All right, we're getting towards the end of the show, which means it's time for, and I don't have my singing partner, this week in history, a look at monumental events in the world of business and technology, which has changed our lives. And the clue last week was happy birthday to us. Yes, it's the formal incorporation of Hewlett Packard. This week in 1947, William Hewlett and Dave Packard had started their company nine years earlier out of a shed with $500 to their name and initially produced low frequency oscillators such as the HP200 A, which were devices used to test sound equipment. Their first big customer, it was Disney, which used them in the movie Fantasia, and catapulted the shed based outfit into one of the world's largest electronic companies with Hewlett-Packard Enterprise being spun out in 2015.
(14:34):
And next week, the clue is it's 1987, and this legend is about to spawn a new gaming era. Know what it is? I kind of think I do, but I'm not going to tell. All right, everyone. That brings us to the end of Technology Now for this week. Keep those suggestions for life-changing books coming, using the link in the podcast description. And in the meantime, thank you to our guest, Harry Richards, and to our listeners, thank you all so much for joining us. We really do appreciate you listening to us every week and following us on our journey.
(15:04):
Technology Now is hosted by Michael Bird and myself, Aubrey Lovell. This episode was produced by Sam Datta Pollen and Zoe Anderson with production support from Harry Morton, Alicia Kempson, Alison Paisley, Camilla Patel, Alyssa Mitri, and Alex Podmore. Technology now is a lower street production for Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. We'll see you next week. Make it a great day.