Turning the Tide in the UK’s Energy Estuary
James Newman OBE, Chair of the Hull and East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (HEY LEP), highlights why decarbonising the Humber’s industry is not only about safe-guarding the jobs of today, but also about investing in the industry of the future.
The Humber has a long and proud history of energy and manufacturing — and with our extensive port system — supplying products and raw materials to customers around the world. However, producing these goods and generating energy in our region inevitably means our region has significant greenhouse gas emissions associated with it.
In fact, the Humber is the largest centre of industrial emissions in the UK, with our carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from industry and energy in the region amounting to some 7% of the UK’s total CO₂ emissions. So, on that basis, it is fitting that the Humber also has the largest coordinated effort to tackle these emissions, supported by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Led by the Hull and East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (HEY LEP) and ably supported by CATCH, the Humber Industrial Cluster Plan (HICP) is a £2.6M project to develop a roadmap to develop the optimal pathways to significantly decarbonise the region’s industry by 2030, and to get it to net zero by 2040.
The HICP is supported by private sector partners in the region who are already cooperating on key projects to remove CO₂ in our region, such as Humber Zero, V Net Zero and Zero Carbon Humber (part of the East Coast Cluster). The Humber Industrial Cluster Plan combines these important projects together in a complex model that will help optimise decarbonisation of the energy and industry in our region. We’ve mapped the connections between these projects in an infographic titled The Humber: a 2030 Vision for Industrial Decarbonisation.
The Humber Cluster Plan team will use the output from this sophisticated model, along with many other factors (including natural means of CO₂ removal, planning & regulatory considerations and public engagement) to develop a roadmap for our region’s industry. The roadmap will also address questions such as: How can we maximise the opportunities for local businesses to participate in the supply chain for these multi-million-pound projects? How do we give the people in our region the skills and opportunity to apply for the vast array of skilled and semi-skilled jobs needed to construct and install the necessary equipment — and then operate it for years to come?
To mark World Environment Day, UKRI has launched a video on the Humber Cluster Plan bringing all our key stakeholders together to showcase the progress made so far.
The HEY LEP (and our colleagues in the Greater Lincolnshire LEP) are already working closely with local authorities, the Department of International Trade and organisations such as Marketing Humber to promote opportunities for inward investment in our region, and to support businesses within our region to grow. By combining this decarbonisation knowledge with designated development zones for business — and our skills and supply chain knowledge — the Cluster Plan will also provide a compelling case for businesses seeking to get to Net Zero to locate their new or growing operations in our area.
The HEY LEP is proud to be working with CATCH and our private sector partners to deliver a Humber Industrial Cluster Plan in March 2023 that will turn the tide on industrial emissions in the UKs’ Energy Estuary, helping the manufacturing and energy businesses in our area to do good for people, business and planet.
Want to know more?
The Humber Industrial Cluster Plan is supported under the Industrial Decarbonisation challenge, part of the UKRI Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. ISCF addresses the big societal challenges being faced by UK businesses today, backed by £2.6 billion of public money, with £3 billion in matched funding from the private sector. You can read more about what we do here.
