Zero Carbon Humber unveils raft of supporters in letter to Energy Minister

In an open letter to Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng, SSE Thermal and its Zero Carbon Humber partners have called on the Government to back their major funding bid, providing evidence of the strength and breadth of support for the ground-breaking project.

The letter is accompanied by 45 formal letters of support from non-partner organisations who recognise the proposals’ unique offering and unrivalled benefits for the environment and the economy. These supporters include international trade bodies; business and investment groups; local authorities and LEPs; equality and diversity organisations; trade associations; academic institutions; training providers; and supply chain networks.

The open letter, signed by the twelve-partner coalition, including SSE Thermal, states that they “believe this illustrates the unified strength of Zero Carbon Humber Partnership’s ISCF bid” to make the Humber the world’s first net-zero industrial cluster by 2040.

Among those providing letters of support are:

• Several international bodies such as the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute; the Norwegian-British Chamber of Commerce; and the European Alternative & Renewable Transport Fuels Forum;
• National and regional organisations such as the Energy Institute; Women into Manufacturing and Engineering; the Northern Powerhouse Partnership; the NP11; the CBI; Make UK; the Federation for Small Business; the Humber Chamber of Commerce; CATCH; and Marketing Humber;
• Educational, skills and training institutions including Women into Manufacturing & Engineering; Aura Innovation Centre; Leeds University; Sheffield University; Grimsby Institute; and Bishop Burton College;
• Three regional LEPs – Humber LEP; Greater Lincolnshire LEP; and York & North Yorkshire LEP;
• The four Humber councils – Hull City Council; East Riding of Yorkshire Council; North East Lincolnshire Council; and North Lincolnshire Council;
• Several other major national and international businesses including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries; Premier Oil; and Penspen.

Earlier this month, the twelve-organisation partnership submitted a bid to phase two of the Government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund for a carbon capture, hydrogen and infrastructure project worth £75m. If successful the bid would unlock a potentially multi-billion pound project which could transform energy and industry in the region while reducing the UK’s annual emissions by 15%.

You can find out more about Zero Carbon Humber at www.zerocarbonhumber.co.uk