Even early on in high school, John and Giovanni’s passions were engineering-focused. They both had an interest in problem-solving and naturally excelled in chemistry, physics, and maths. This made studying Chemical and Materials Engineering at University a clear choice for them.

Together, John and Giovanni are working towards innovative research on seawater batteries for their Final Year Project. They aim to address critical issues in energy storage by exploring alternative, more sustainable solutions that can be used for future developments in the industry. Through the Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (BE(Hons)) programme, this project bridges the gap between theory and practice, enabling students to solve real-world challenges in ways that mirror their future professional roles.

“Our Final Year Project is on sea water batteries, which are a subset of metal air batteries. Instead, we're using sea water as the electrolyte for the battery,” says John.

“The point of the project is to improve the efficiency of the cell, and we do that by optimising certain design parameters,” adds Giovanni.

“Current storage solutions such as lithium-ion batteries are not so cost effective. They have safety issues and overall, they're not that efficient. Metal air batteries serve as a promising alternative as you can use other metals that are more abundant, reducing costs. They also have higher theoretical energy capacities which make them a better option," says John.

"As it’s an air battery, it's more lightweight, so you can have more of the battery to store energy, which will make it more feasible for the future."

“I thought that engineers were people who just 'made stuff'. Now as a student here at the University of Auckland, I know that their jobs are so much more than that," says John.

"From accounting for the feasibility of a project from a financial side, knowing that just because you have a cool idea, it still needs to be feasible for you to actually do it. As chemical engineers specifically, we’re looking out for people, plants, and the environment."

“Engineering is a lot more practical, especially when you pick your specialisation, you really understand what engineers do on a day-to-day basis,” adds Giovanni.

“If you're considering studying Engineering, if you enjoy problem solving and being a critical thinker, then I'll say go for it,” says John.

Find out more about the programme structure, entry requirements, fees, and key dates for the Bachelor of Engineering (Honours).