NEWS
TECH AWARDS SHOW WORLD WHO WE ARE
£ 52m FUNDING BOOST FOR NET-ZERO TEESSIDE
The Net Zero Teesside carbon capture , utilisation and storage project has been awarded more than £ 52m in funding to accelerate the development of onshore and offshore low-carbon and hydrogen infrastructure .
The fund will be used to deliver the next stage in the planning of a flexible gasfired power station with carbon capture , utilisation and storage capabilities on the Teesworks site .
Net Zero Teesside , a consortium of the world ’ s largest oil companies led by BP , has partnered with Zero Carbon Humber , a similar project , to form the Northern Endurance Partnership .
This is the development of an offshore pipeline network that will see captured carbon dioxide emissions from both Net Zero Teesside and Zero Carbon Humber transported and permanently stored deep underground .
Cutting-edge low emission fuel to be made on Teesside
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new , lower emission petrol set to be rolled out across the UK will be produced in Teesside , securing local jobs .
E10 petrol – a mixture of petrol and ethanol made from materials such as lowgrade grains , sugars and waste wood – will be rolled out across the country from September .
The Department for Transport announced that one of the companies set to benefit will be Redcar biofuel plant Ensus , which will increase its production to develop the new fuel .
E10 ’ s introduction on UK roads could cut transport CO2 emissions by 750,000 tonnes per year , the equivalent of taking 350,000 cars off the road .
Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen said : “ The fantastic news that Ensus , based
Net Zero Teesside aims to be up and running within the next five years and , when complete , it could create 5,500 direct jobs during its construction and add £ 450m to the economy each year .
The scheme plans to capture up to 10m tonnes of CO2 emissions each year , equivalent to the emissions associated with the annual energy use of up to three million UK homes .
The investment has been made as part of the government ’ s Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge , funded as part of the ISCF , its flagship challenge-led innovation programme , run through the BEISsponsored UK Research and Innovation .
Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen said : “ This project is the first of its kind anywhere in the world and is a key part of my plan for jobs , a plan that is delivering good-quality , well-paid jobs for local people .”
on the Wilton site , will be ramping up production of the cutting-edge E10 biofuel shows once again that Teesside , Darlington and Hartlepool are leading the way for the whole of the UK in clean energy , growth and the industries of the future .
“ This boost to our bioeconomy complements many other recent announcements from our region , such as becoming the home of the UK ’ s first Hydrogen Transport Centre , leading research , development and testing of new hydrogen transport technology for buses , cars , trains , lorries boats and planes .”
The digital cluster is one of the few sectors that has not only survived Covid but grown quite significantly .
As we come out of lockdown this presents a fantastic chance to embrace and celebrate the success , new jobs and opportunities that come from a thriving digital sector . With this success also come challenges – we ’ re at serious risk of not retaining the companies here due to a skills shortage , outgrowing their surroundings , a lack of financing for growth .
These all indicate that if we don ’ t build on this success , the investment seen to date in this sector will be for nothing . Yes , we have proved we have a good foundation for a digital sector , but we need to build on this and mature this sector into an international hub for digital development , fused across industries .
As companies seek new staff from around the country and indeed the world to come and work for them as remote workers , now is the time to shout about these successes and use the platform of the Tees Tech Awards to make a statement not to just us here in the Tees Valley , but to everyone looking at us with envious eyes , that this is a fantastic place to work and to start , scale and grow a digital company . The Tees Tech Awards present an opportunity to show the best of us and I encourage everyone in the sector to apply and really show the world who we are and the great things we do .
Dominic Lusardi Non-executive director and Tees Tech Ambassador
The voice of business in the Tees region | 11