Future Engineering Bets
A podcast & video series hosted by Fred Warner
Board-level conversations for high-stakes decisions across engineering, technology, capital, and risk
Stream the latest episode now
EV Only vs Technology Neutral with John Goodwin | Future Engineering Bets
In this episode of Future Engineering Bets, I speak with John Goodwin, ...Regulatory Affairs Director at Johnson Matthey, about technology neutrality and the need for different solutions across transport and heavy-duty applications.
We explore the UK’s ZEV mandate, Europe’s changing approach to vehicle emissions, charging inequality and the role hybrids, hydrogen fuel cells and renewable fuels could play alongside battery-electric vehicles.
Find John Goodwin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-b-goodwin/
Visit Johnson Matthey’s website: matthey.com
What’s in this episode:
* Why decarbonisation may require more than one powertrain
* The UK ZEV mandate and Europe’s changing policy direction
* Charging inequality and the challenge of ageing vehicle fleets
* How hybrids and renewable fuels could support the transition
* Why tractors, construction machinery and vans need different solutions
* Battery weight, payload and downtime in heavy-duty applications
* Where hydrogen fuel cells could work effectively
* Critical raw-material demand and battery supply-chain risks
* Why lifecycle emissions matter beyond the tailpipe
* How technology neutrality could protect automotive capability and jobs
Chapters:
00:00 Preview
01:39 Introducing John Goodwin of Johnson Matthey
04:04 The ZEV mandate and technology neutrality
05:08 Europe’s uneven transition to electric vehicles
07:22 The driveway divide and a fair transition
09:08 Hybrids, renewable fuels and ageing vehicle fleets
13:14 The challenge of electrifying heavy machinery
17:32 Hydrogen fuel cells and materials handling
19:15 Battery-electric trucks, payload and downtime
23:30 The last 10% of transport decarbonisation
26:06 Critical raw materials and supply-chain pressure
30:14 Looking beyond tailpipe emissions
32:36 Recycling, circularity and technology options
33:54 Automotive jobs and battery dependency
35:06 Closing thoughts
About Future Engineering Bets:
Future Engineering Bets is for CEOs, board members, and private equity investors making high-stakes decisions in electrification, energy transition, and advanced engineering strategy. Get a boardroom-level view of the engineering decisions shaping billions in capital investment and defining the future of automotive and mobility. Each episode breaks down the engineering, commercial, and strategic realities behind topics such as:
* Electric vehicles and the global EV transition
* Hybrid powertrains and the future of internal combustion
* Hydrogen, sustainable fuels, and emerging propulsion systems
* Product strategy and R&D investment at OEM and Tier 1 level
* Market dynamics across Europe, the US, and China
* The impact of regulation versus real consumer demand
If you are responsible for product direction, capital allocation, or technology strategy, this series will help you think more clearly about where to place your next bet.
About Fred Warner:
Fred, Founder of 7Q Ltd (https://7q.ltd/), is a specialist partner and Chartered Engineer connecting capital investment with no nonsense value creation. With a background spanning motorsport, aerospace, automotive, clean tech, rail, and electronics - including experience across F1, Honeywell, GE, and Meggitt - Fred works with CEOs, boards, and investors on high stakes engineering and R&D programmes. Connect with Fred on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fred-warner/Show More
Recent conversations
Why Energy Management Drives Performance
With Mark Preston – Lola Yamaha ABT Team Principal
A board‑level conversation with Mark Preston (Lola Yamaha ABT Team Principal) on how elite motorsport organisations manage energy, performance, and risk under extreme regulatory and competitive constraints.
Can Motorsport Prove Hydrogen’s Future?
With Mark Grain – Extreme H Technical Director
A board-level conversation with Mark Grain (Technical Director, Extreme H) on how motorsport is being used to test, challenge and prove hydrogen fuel cell technology under real race conditions.
Can EVs Be Lightweight, Fast and Exciting?
With Iain Wight – McMurtry Automotive Head of Technology Sales
A conversation with Iain Wight of McMurtry Automotive on lightweight EV performance, fan-generated downforce, battery technology, and what it takes to make electrification genuinely exciting.
Industrial Risk or Strategy?
With Daniel Fung – Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC)
An unfiltered exploration of the UK’s innovation paradox – leading in R&D, yet struggling to scale. Featuring Dan Fung of the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), this conversation examines how funding, industrial strategy, and global competition collide at the point of commercialisation.
What These Conversations Explore
Each Future Engineering Bets discussion breaks down the real drivers, constraints, and failure modes behind major engineering decisions, including:
The focus is on benefit realisation, technical deliverability, organisational reality, and capital discipline, factors that ultimately determine success or failure.
Who Future Engineering Bets Is For
This series is designed for leaders responsible for directional engineering decisions, including:
- CEOs shaping product and technology strategy
- Board directors overseeing engineering led businesses
- Private equity firms and capital investors deploying capital into complex technical environments
- Strategy, R&D, and CTO level leaders influencing long-term capability and valuation
If you are accountable for product direction, capital allocation, or technology strategy, these conversations are designed to help you think more clearly about where to place your next bet.
Why 7Q Created Future Engineering Bets
7Q partners with Boards, PE firms, shareholders and capital investors making irreversible engineering decisions – whether investing, intervening, or preparing for transition.
Future Engineering Bets exists to bring open, intelligent discussion to the types of engineering questions that are often simplified, politicised, or obscured in public debate – but which matter deeply inside boardrooms.
Hosted by Fred Warner
Future Engineering Bets is hosted by Fred Warner, Founder of 7Q and a Chartered Engineer with over 25 years’ experience across motorsport, aerospace, automotive, clean tech, rail, and electronics.
Fred works alongside CEOs, boards, and investors on highstakes engineering and R&D decisions, connecting capital investment with nononsense value creation. The series reflects his longstanding experience of how engineering decisions are made – and how organisations succeed or fail when complexity, regulation, and capital collide.
Want to Get Involved?
If you’re navigating high‑stakes engineering decisions – whether around product strategy, capital allocation, or technology direction – we welcome informed voices and perspectives into the conversation.