The Humber 2030 Vision has been launched uniting industrial pride, highlighting large scale investment and demanding government attention.
A £15 billion pipeline of projects set to clean up heavy industry and promote green manufacturing, creating thousands of jobs and securing multiple times those, has been collated into a proud portfolio to put before policy makers and markets.
Previewed throughout The Waterline Summit, fringe events and at recent political party conferences, it will be the go-to guide to sell the Energy Estuary’s ambition.
Read more: Pipelines at the core of the Humber's grand decarbonisation plan to be put before the public
Jonathan Oxley, who has recently moved from heading up the Humber Industrial Cluster Plan to take a leading role in the CBI’s move towards “walking the talk” and the pioneering Humber demonstrator programme, officially unveiled the 32-page glossy document - also available online here.
He said: “The Humber is the UK’s Energy Estuary, vital to a great many businesses needed here, in the region, across the UK and further afield. It is also the UK’s largest centre of industrial emissions - because it is producing the goods and services other people need.
“Just industry and energy production here creates 6.5 per cent of the UK’s CO2 emissions. If we want to get to Net Zero we are going to have to do something about industrial clusters like the Humber.
“It is also recognised by the World Economic Forum as one of two most important industrial clusters to keep an eye on for decarbonisation. The great and the good of Davos are looking at the Humber. The Humber is on the world stage.
“This is a wonderful document, a compilation bringing together the largest decarbonisation projects in our region. This is our opportunity to demonstrate the opportunity to deliver change that’s better for people, place and planet in our region.”
Published by the Humber Energy Board, working with the Humber Industrial Cluster Plan and Marketing Humber, it opens with Jorgen Sandstrom, a leading figure at the WEF, stating “there are few places around the world more crucial to the road to Net Zero and industrial decarbonisation than the Humber - it is a location from which so much can be achieved and learned”.
And it was lapped up by key figures addressing the launch, with strong interest in inward investment beyond the project pipeline expressed as co-locating appeals.
Dafydd Williams, head of policy for ABP in the Humber, with the ports touching so many of the elements, said: “The Humber doesn’t have a great history in collaboration and working together, but we are in a really good place in this regard. We have seen really good collaboration and communications and I think it is a first of its kind.
“The LEPs put together the Humber Energy Board, one of few cross-Humber initiatives doing some really positive work, where everyone - all the key businesses - are coming round the table. This Humber 2030 Vision catalogues the sheer range of things going on. This demonstrates we have the attention of the government and the attention of investors, and that is a really happy place to be in. In terms of decarbonisation we have all stepped up and are punching at the right weight for once, externally, beyond our boundaries.”
Concern over government uncertainty was flagged, with a sense that any bumps in the road in terms of Net Zero policy are short term, with examples of slight slipping of announcements highlighted. It followed former Energy Secretary Chris Huhne claiming there had been “backsliding” on the agenda in recent times. Reassurance came from recent meetings from stakeholders with Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg and Climate Minister Graham Stuart’s appearance at the Carbon Capture and Storage Association's conference this week.
Equinor is behind two plans for hydrogen production, as well as joint ventures with SSE Thermal on power generation and storage. Project manager Ian Livingston said: “We have seen fantastic progress and this is great news for the Humber. We just need a little more stability and progress from government at this critical time.”
Jade Fernandez, stakeholder manager at SSE Thermal, where the Keadby cluster is key, said: “We have some great projects, we are seeing more ambition and in the next 12 months, in decisions with planning, we have a lot of opportunity we need to maximise. Some stability around the government would be great, as it would give reassurance for industry, but we’re also working around that, understanding this needs to happen and how we get there.”
Mr Oxley said through the CBI, he was feeding into the Skidmore Review of Net Zero pace and efficiency. He said there were “very live conversations” and the review team were “very receptive” about the Humber’s Net Zero ambition realisation. “The momentum is still very much there,” he said, “We have a legally enshrined target of 2050 which remains a key statement of intent.”
As part of the CBI demonstrator project he is heading, a first ever sub-regional office is being opened at Ergo, neighbouring the Aura Innovation Centre venue for the launch at Bridgehead Business Park, Hessle.
Mr Oxley said “It is part of the Seize the Moment campaign launched about 18 months ago, launching a move from advocacy to action. We talk about walking the talk, rather than coming out with policy language and text we are stepping into the space of how we enact it on the ground. It shows the benefits of businesses coming together and working in collaborative, collegiative ways, like pharma in Cambridge, Silicon Valley and oil and gas in Aberdeen.
“Power of businesses clustering together shows what can be done on innovation, skills and supply chain. When they come together they flourish.”
This was a view endorsed by David Theakstone, asset performance manager at VPI Power in Immingham, where carbon capture and hydrogen proposals will feed into the refining sector.
“We have a great tapestry of projects going on,” he said. We will have skills where people can use the Humber as a cooking pot to spread that knowledge around the world. The ability to become a decarbonised hub, with training and knowledge is very exciting.”
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