The chief executive of the organisation mapping out the Humber’s route to Net Zero has told of the huge opportunity the transformation can bring - with the chance to emerge as a world leader.
David Talbot heads up Catch, the process industry organisation working with the local enterprise partnership to plot the decarbonisation of the cluster.
About to submit the bid to unlock the detailed creation of the plan, it comes on the back of huge announcements from industrial operators looking to play their part in the grand scheme, with fuel switching and emission abating at the fore.
Alongside major capital infrastructure campaigns totalling hundreds of millions of pounds, the proposals seek to protect vital strategic industries and thousands of jobs, while also paving the way for more.
Equinor, Drax, SSE Thermal, Uniper, Phillips 66 and VPI Immingham, with others, are progressing hydrogen production, use and carbon capture use and storage.
Mr Talbot said: “It is a really exciting opportunity for us in this region.
“It gives opportunity to re-focus on the green agenda. When you look at the industry from Saltend to Drax, to British Steel, the refineries and speciality chemicals right round the Humber Bank it is a great opportunity to drive forward.”
He said it would dovetail with the local authorities’ drive for inward investment too, highlighting the likes of Velocys bringing a green jet fuel refinery to the South Humber Bank, which could emerge with carbon negative credentials.
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“If we become known as a leader in clean growth, it has got to be a fantastic opportunity for further inward investment,” he said. “More and more people want to know the provenance of the product they are getting. As we drive forward to net zero, customers want to know what is happening, how clean a product is, and that’s going to support inward investment if we are seen as a leader.”
Having identified the current position and what could be done in delivery, phase two of the work Catch and Humber LEP are looking to deliver is part of the Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge. “It is a two-year project to deliver the cluster plan, building a model of the Humber region and how we can get to that net zero,” Mr Talbot said.
“We will be working to deliver a model for the region, identifying all the projects and understanding the totality of the opportunity for the region as we develop that road map.”
The Humber is certainly making waves, with ministerial references and the impressive project pipeline of hydrogen and carbon capture schemes recently rolled out.
NetZero on the Humber
“We really are getting that message out now as a region,” Mr Talbot said. “Being the biggest emitter gives us the biggest opportunity to support decarbonisation of the 海角视频.
“The three core projects, Drax, VPI and Saltend all added together give an incredible opportunity to support the net zero position. We are starting to get some real traction. It is great to see the Humber region really joined up on this, truly positioning itself as a region. It is a geographical position that can bring some real benefits.”