18 | Tees Business
Serving the Teesside Business Community | 19
“You can’t have a vision
of the future based on
what you know today.
You have to imagine
the unimaginable and
then figure out ways
to achieve it.
”
“Some people do think
I’m a Don Quixote or a
dreamer, but what I will
say is that the things I was
talking about five years
ago are now starting to
happen.
”
is so huge. We could be targeting billions of
GDP for the UK if it was being harvested on
an economically viable scale.
“If you then imagine that in 10-15 years’
time we have access to responsibly
recovered syngas or shale gas and are
turning it into chemical production, then it’s
clear to see that such a competitive energy
or feedstock source can help to underpin the
industry.
“If we realise those natural reserves
then we can underpin not only the process
industry but all the other industries too –
construction, aerospace, automotive, energy
and everything else. The alternative is that
not one molecule of polymer is made in
the UK, a situation that would put all of our
industries at a competitive disadvantage.
”
If his vision is followed, Booth can see
Teesside taking advantage of its existing
position to becoming a major force in a new
industrial revolution.
“Teesside and the North-East generally is a
good place to build chemical and processing
plants because of the potential symbiosis
between what each plant produces. If you
see energy as the glue, rather than the
chemical processes, then you can see why
other industries would benefit from being
on Teesside. For instance, a paper mill
might need low grade heat that the process
industry here might normally disgard.
“Teesside could be blessed with
significant quantities of hydrogen, so
there is potential for us to offer a huge
hydrogen storage base. If we’re able to
store meaningful supplies of hydrogen then
it opens the possibility of working towards
even better hydrogen fuel cells for buses,
dust carts and other vehicles.
“My vision is for the UK to be back at the
forefront of novel technologies, that we have
regrown our economy and that Teesside is a
significant part of our re-emerging chemical
industry.
“Alongside the manufacture of chemicals,
this area can be developing power and fuels
for the nation. In my mind’s eye, I see us
capturing industry’s carbon and converting
it into valuable products, thereby securing
jobs and the value that goes with that, at the
same time setting an example for the rest of
the planet. That is what Teesside can be.
”
So what does this industry mean to Booth
personally?
“I’ve lived it all my life. It’s given me a
great career, though it’s not been without
its trials and tribulations. But if I’m proud of
anything it’s that, along with many others,
I’ve been a guardian of the industry’s light
switch.
“If I can do my bit to draw a line under
what has been decline and be part of a
chemical sector renaissance then I’ll leave
the industry a very happy person.
”
When he’s not discussing Teesside’s
future on home territory, Paul will usually be
canvassing support elsewhere.
“I fly probably three times a week, he
”
reflects with a wry smile. “I’m on a flight to
Sittard tonight. Tomorrow I’m on the Eurostar
to London for an all-day meeting. Last week
I was in Warsaw, before that Brussels and
before that Maastricht.
“I’m getting older, so the traveling gets
tiresome. When I go on holiday, I don’t want
to go on another aeroplane or anywhere near
a hotel. They hold no mystery or romance to
me.
”
So what drives this bastion of the chemical
industry when he sometimes faced criticism
for what he says?
“It’s how I’m wired up, he replies.
”
“There’s a saying that goes never be a
prophet in your own kingdom, and some
people do think I’m a Don Quixote or a
dreamer. I do care what people think of me,
of course, but I can take it.
“What I will say is that the things that I
was talking about five years ago are now
starting to happen. Back then I was talking
about resource efficiency and recycling and
now they are both starting to happen. There
was no shale gas science ten years ago.
“You can’t have a vision of the future
based on what you know today. You have to
imagine the unimaginable and then figure out
ways to achieve it.
”
And what is Paul’s message to his fellow
Teessiders?
“I think it’s back to the Boro message
– believe. We all need belief. We need to
find our self-confidence and start working
together more than we have done. Success
breeds success. All it needs is one or two
projects to start the ball rolling – and if you
don’t try, you won’t succeed.
”