A Glimpse into Life at Apollo
Sneha Paul graduated from the University of Edinburgh with an MEng in Chemical Engineering. In September 2023, she embarked on her journey with Apollo, diving into the diverse landscape of renewable and traditional engineering.
We caught up with Sneha to glean insights into her initial months at Apollo and discover the unique experiences that set our company apart in the competitive field.
Describe life in Apollo from your perspective?
The number of different markets that Apollo operates in including oil and gas, decarbonisation, hydrogen and carbon capture and offshore renewables is a great chance for a graduate to get an overview of all major energy sectors within the UK today. It presents an opportunity to get exposure to engineering within a number of industries before specialising.
In just three months, I’ve worked on projects spanning traditional and green energy, showcasing the breadth of opportunities. This chance to move between projects of different business units allows you to be a well-rounded engineer when facing today’s diverse energy landscape.
Moreover, the fact that a number of discipline managers and directors have been promoted internally to that position of leadership showcase Apollo’s commitment to their employee’s personal development and progression.
I look forward to seeing how Apollo supports and facilitates my professional development throughout my career.
Tell us about your favourite project you have been involved with at Apollo?
One of my favourite projects with Apollo has been the opportunity to work on unseen engineering challenges related to the energy transition.
Apollo is heavily involved in both harnessing Scotland’s offshore wind opportunities as well as storing and distributing this energy after it is captured in the form of hydrogen. The produced hydrogen is difficult to store and transport, hence options for transforming it into hydrogen carriers such as methanol or ammonia need to be investigated. An additional challenge is to also ensure the final product has net zero carbon emissions both in production and use.
In this project I evaluated the opportunity to repurpose existing oil and gas assets for the storage and transportation of hydrogen and various hydrogen carriers. Following this I created a process simulation of methanol and ammonia production from the hydrogen feedstock to extract flowrates and energy requirements. This was a fantastic challenge where I collaborated with my colleagues to develop a solution which few have published before.
What makes Apollo stand out compared with other similar companies?
I was immediately impressed during the graduate week. The fact that each business unit director took the time to meet us and take us through that aspect of the business is telling of the level of open communication within Apollo. Within the first few weeks we were introduced to all directors of the company and encouraged to start a dialogue with them regardless of the seniority of your position.
That is also when I was introduced to the Apollo internal graduate development program, the ‘launch pad’, providing a development framework to follow for your first 3 years into the industry. The Launch Pad addresses the 5 key areas of engineering development identified by the Engineering Council UK-SPEC. The programme is built around a personal logbook and training plan, acting as both a framework and a record-keeping document. Thus, the Launch Pad programme provides the foundation and pathway to becoming a chartered engineer within your specific chartership institution.
In the three short months I have been at apollo I have attended two conferences and one masterclass – offshore Europe, the decarbonisation conference and the CCUS and Direct Air Capture masterclass. Apollo encourages you to network and engage in business development right from the beginning of your career, often with the opportunity to present at industry-wide conferences, representing Apollo as an industry leader.
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