Alexandre Marceau-Gozsy wins Sustainability Excellence Award at Ricardo Leading Lights 2023

Alexandre Marceau-Gozsy, a programme manager who has spearheaded Ricardo’s aerospace centre of excellence in Montreal, Canada, has been presented with the Sustainability Excellence Awards on behalf of his team, at the 2023 Ricardo Leading Lights Awards. 

The annual Ricardo Leading Lights awards reward and highlight Ricardo people who, in their daily work, have consistently gone over and above for clients, partners, colleagues or the global communities we have the privilege to serve. Within the awards programme, the Sustainability Excellence award recognises our colleagues who are leading by example in our own Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) commitments towards achieving our own ESG targets.

Alexandre is helping Ricardo to shape sustainable mobility, principally through his work on aerospace decarbonisation projects for companies ranging from start-ups to blue chips. Being named as winner of the Sustainability Excellence Award is a recognition of the work that the Ricardo aerospace and Pratt & Whitney Canada teams undertook to develop fuel-efficient, low-mass internal combustion engine solutions, focusing on reducing fuel usage by 30% compared to conventional aerospace gas turbine. This technology can potentially be used for aircraft main propulsion and reduce total aircraft CO₂ emissions by similar values.

The project is an outstanding example not only of Ricardo’s sustainability credentials but also of the Ricardo’s long-term vision to support aerospace sector clients around the globe on their own decarbonisation journey. The company is building and maintaining aerospace expertise in Montreal, as it’s the third largest centre of aerospace manufacturing in the world. While the Ricardo Montreal centre of excellence is dedicated to aerospace, it continues to enjoy the support of Ricardo’s worldwide engineering community. 

Alexandre explained: “Ricardo has embarked on a journey towards zero-emission transportation years ago, starting with the transition from fossil fuels to zero emission for ground vehicles. In this journey, Ricardo acquired knowledge and expertise that uniquely position us to support a similar transition in the aerospace industry. Developing clean combustion technologies, validating zero emission ground technologies viability for aerospace application, integrating emachines, fuel cells and batteries to new or existing aircrafts are a few examples of how and where Ricardo can make a tangible difference in the decarbonisation of the aerospace industry.” 

“The push towards decarbonisation is forcing OEMs to reconsider their development processes something not seen in decades. Our expertise in sustainable transportation ideally positions Ricardo to support customer from start-up to OEMs in their search for sustainable air transportation solutions. We are witnessing the beginning of a transition towards zero emissions solutions in aerospace, a transition that will give Ricardo the opportunity to leverage its decades of engineering excellence.”

Summing up what the Sustainability Excellence Award meant to him, Alexandre said: “It’s a reminder that the actions we take towards sustainability are worth it even if they take more energy to accomplish. It’s also a recognition that every personal decision we take daily such as cycling to work, have a small impact today but can have tremendous impact on the generations to come.”