NET ZERO
TEES PASSION
Focus – Tees Valley Business Board member Sophie Walton has been tasked with driving engagement and leadership in science , innovation and technology , as well as strengthening the region ’ s biomanufacturing footprint .
Why CPI ’ s Sophie Walton is keen to drive Tees Valley Business Board agenda
PICTURE : STUART BOULTON WORDS : ANDY PASSANT
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new independent voice is being given to business leaders as the Tees Valley gears up for a cleaner , greener future .
Tees Valley Business Board has been set up to tap into local expertise and know-how at a time of potentially gamechanging developments across the whole region .
The board , which is private sector-led , is made up of experienced business leaders who are drawn from key sectors and provide a diverse breadth of knowledge , contacts and influence . They will play an important part in driving economic growth and inward investment , while acting as ambassadors for the area and feeding into the work of the Tees Valley mayor , the Tees Valley Combined Authority and local authorities .
Roles are voluntary and must be juggled with often challenging day jobs .
One of the members is Sophie Walton , a biotechnologist by background who works for CPI , a leading technology innovation enterprise .
Along with Professor Paul Croney OBE , vice-chancellor of Teesside University , Sophie will focus on driving engagement and leadership in science , innovation and technology , as well as strengthening our biomanufacturing footprint .
Sophie said : “ I have lived in the Tees Valley for 17 years . My Tees colleagues like to remind me that I ’ m really a soft southerner , but having worked and lived here for a while and with my children now growing up in our community , I hope I can just about count myself as an honorary
Teessider ! I just think the Tees Valley is an awesome place to live .
“ I ’ m passionate about my role on the board , helping to provide an independent voice to ensure support is tailored to the specific needs of Tees businesses , and to get some of the great things happening here known across the wider North-East and the UK .
“ Net zero is a massive piece within our innovation planning , looking at how we can support the industries we have here to decarbonise and use technology and innovation to bring in the industries and supply chains of the future .
“ We have a huge heritage of bioprocessing in this region , with established businesses like Fujifilm playing an instrumental role in the Covid pandemic and producing lifesaving vaccines for us all .
“ Another example is Marlow Foods , producing Quorn , a household name that I ’ m sure we ’ ve all had at some point as veggie curries , burgers or sausages .
“ A lot of the ‘ new fuel ’ technology investments coming to Tees are also based on bioprocesses , such as Nova Pangaea , which uses a bioprocess to make sustainable aviation fuel .
“ We ’ d like to see us land lots more biotech startup and scale-up companies in Tees Valley and I ’ m really driven to try to make that happen , both through my role on the business board and through the ‘ day job ’ at CPI .
“ CPI is part of the UK ’ s Catapult network and has been fantastic at supporting bio businesses in Tees . We ’ ve helped small and large companies to scale up bio technologies and get them out into the commercial marketplace .
“ We ’ d love to do more of this , but we need to attract more of these businesses here in the first place .
“ If we can help them scale and develop here , hopefully we can retain the full-scale production and manufacturing here .” Sophie said another important achievement is the development of a strong partnership with Innovate UK , with millions of pounds given as grants to Tees businesses to help them develop net zero technologies through its recent Launchpad scheme .
Although she says “ there is still a lot of pain out there ”, in terms of recession and the continued pinch of inflation , she believes this region is “ well placed ” for future growth .
“ We understand that it ’ s hard out there for business . However , we do feel there is a lot to be optimistic about ,” she said .
“ We are attracting major clean , green growth players and projects such as Net Zero Teesside and SeAH , while the Teesside Transport Plan will better connect the region .
“ We were also excited to hear the announcement of the electric arc furnace . It ’ s great to see steel ‘ coming home ’ to Redcar .
“ This region has got such a lot going on . We need to shout about our area .”
Find out more about the Tees Valley Business board at teesvalley-ca . gov . uk .
The voice of business in the Tees region | 27