Leading academics at the University of Hull have welcomed the Humber’s huge low carbon backing.
More than £80 million is on its way to the Energy Estuary as industrial decarbonisation is matched with cash to make the region’s health institutions more environmentally friendly.
Both of the region’s carbon capture and storage proposals have been given the green light, with hydrogen a key plank, while Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust has received £40.3 million to deliver significant energy improvement schemes at hospital sites across Goole, Scunthorpe and Grimsby - including replacing coal-fired boilers and steam systems with clean heat pumps.
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has secured £12.6 million, with solar panels, roof insulation and heat pumps also identified. A mass replacement of lighting to greener LED units, substitution of inefficient air compressors, and a new low-carbon energy supply point to Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham are also part of the plan.
Louise Smith, director at Aura, said: “This investment is a huge vote of confidence for the Humber as we ramp up our transition to a Net Zero economy.
“With a third of the Humber’s economy based on high carbon jobs, an inclusive transition to low carbon is critical to the place and its people.
“At the University of Hull and Aura, we embrace the vital role we must play in ensuring the skills and training needs for the region - as it gears up for a low-carbon future - are met, creating a highly-skilled workforce for the Humber.
“Without continued innovation, none of this would be possible. Aura, through its state-of-the-art Innovation Centre, is committed to supporting the development of the low carbon SME supply chain, highlighting the role we all must play in the Net Zero transition.”
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Last October, Ms Smith wrote a letter of support – on behalf of Aura and the University of Hull – for the Zero Carbon Humber project, joining a host of signatories backing the partnership.
Describing it as a “a game changer for the region,” she said: “The technologies developed on the back of a successful bid in the Humber will protect the region against flooding and lead the world in the fight against climate change.
“With the research power of the University of Hull behind Aura, we see Zero Carbon Humber as a real opportunity to continue to develop the skills that we are already building on the back of renewable energy, as we contribute to the 海角视频’s talent pipeline for a low-carbon transition, developing our future leaders and ensuring that academia and industry work closely together to develop the innovative solutions for the challenges currently facing the region and the country.”
With the Humber region aiming to become a Net Zero cluster by 2040, the university is aiming to become carbon neutral by 2027, in time for its centenary anniversary.
Prof Dan Parsons, director at the University of Hull’s Energy & Environment Institute, said: “The university is at the heart of the Humber region’s drive to a Net Zero economy, providing the region and the nation, with the skilled workforce for this low carbon future.
“We recently re-launched our MSc in Renewable Energy, and through partnerships with the likes of Siemens Gamesa, Ørsted and the ORE Catapult, we are now recognised as a key stakeholder in the low-carbon sector. We are also ensuring that our programmes map to our research strengths in Net Zero and that our students have access to the cutting edge of the energy transition.
“The university is also committed to widening participation and improving equality, diversity and inclusivity in the renewables and low-carbon industries. It is part of our commitment at Hull to create a fairer, brighter, carbon neutral future for all.”
It was recently recognised at the Humber Renewables Awards for its offshore wind masters programme. A further course is set to launch this year – the MSc in Advanced Energy Technologies for Buildings and Industry, which has low carbon technologies at its core.