Tees Business Tees Business Issue 15 | Page 7

/NEWS Serving the Teesside Business Community | 7 BUSINESS BITES A CGI of how a new £250m waste-to- energy plant at Redcar Bulk Terminal could look. MPI’S £500K STEEL DEAL £250m plans for Redcar waste-to- energy plant to create 400 jobs P lans have been unveiled for a £250m waste-to-energy plant at Redcar Bulk Terminal (RBT) to help power the economic regeneration of South Tees. Yorkshire-based waste management company PMAC Energy has secured 25 acres of the terminal’s land for the development, which could create up to 400 local jobs at the heart of the South Tees Development Corporation site. Subject to permit and planning approvals, the plant could be producing waste-derived fuels in 2021 and generating enough electricity to power 56,000 homes. The announcement came just two weeks after RBT signed a major land and handling agreement with Sirius Minerals Plc that will see up to 10 million tonnes of Polyhalite – a type of potash and multi-nutrient fertiliser – pass through the facility each year. Garry O’Malley, RBT’s general manager, said: “This announcement is hugely significant, not only for our businesses but for the whole South Tees region. “We’ve worked closely with PMAC Energy on this project for a number of years and it’s another reflection of the continued resurgence of Redcar Bulk Terminal and this site. “Like many others on Teesside, we were dealt a hammer blow when SSI closed – so much so you could say RBT’s mere survival is a success in itself. We’re grateful for the strong support we received during these difficult times, in particular from Greybull who provided us the capital and energy required to turn the corner. “The fact we’re seeing significant growth, diversifying our business and attracting new companies to the Tees, is an incredible achievement. “Projects like this – which could bring hundreds of millions of pounds and many valuable jobs to Teesside – are heralding the start of a new era for RBT and our employees.” ANOTHER BIG BOOST FOR SIRIUS MINERALS S irius Minerals has agreed a deal with Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), a Fortune 500 US-based agri-business, as its North American partner. Sirius has signed an agreement with ADM for the supply of its starch- based binding agent to be used in the production of Sirius’ POLY4 product. And as part of the deal, Sirius says it will design and construct a binder Sirius Minerals managing director Chris Fraser handling facility with the support and (right) and Andrew Percy MP, the former Northern expertise of ADM, at or close to the Powerhouse minister, at Woodsmith Mine. firm’s materials handing facility on Teesside. The ADM announcement comes as the under way. Sirius then revealed in July that its fifth major development from Sirius. The firm revealed in June it had signed a subsidiary York Potash and Redcar Bulk Terminal (RBT) had entered into a materials seven-year supply deal with Intercontinental Trade DMCC Dubai (ITL), one of the largest handling agreement under which RBT will suppliers of fertiliser to Nigeria. provide port and ship loading services from its existing Redcar Bulk Terminal port facility. A week later, Sirius began construction And then the firm signed a 10-year on its 23-mile fertiliser transport tunnel at Teesside’s Wilton International site, double supply deal with Guangzhou Eiliseng providing a direct link to its Woodsmith Biotech and Yantai Service Agricultural Science and Technology in China. Mine, south of Whitby, which is already well Tees-based research and innovation centre the Materials Processing Institute has continued to strengthen its ties with international steel producers, as part of a collaborative £500,000 research project. The Institute has partnered with the University of Leicester and TWI to support Chinese steel manufacturer Nanjing Iron and Steel Company (NISCO). The project forms part of a £2m investment by NISCO at the University of Leicester in creating a UK-based steel research activity. TEESSIDE UNIVERSITY JOINS RESEARCH INITIATIVE Teesside University is to provide even more doctoral-level training opportunities for early career researchers as part of an innovative new funding stream. The Doctoral Training Alliance (DTA) Programme, led by the University Alliance, has received an award of almost £6m from the European Union to support the development and international mobility of research talent from around the world. The funding will support the DTA’s three disciplinary areas across applied biosciences for health, energy and social policy. TON-UP FOR FAMILY FIRM A Tees family business is celebrating its 100th anniversary. PC Richardson, now based in Stokesley, was established during World War I by Percy Richardson and is a fourth-generation business specialising in steeplejack services. Percy established the company in Middlesbrough in 1918 after working for a German chimney building company in Skinningrove during the war years. Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen says investments into the South Tees Development Corporation site on the former SSI steelworks, near Redcar, could attract BILLIONS of pounds of investment, creating “many, many thousands” of jobs. #TalkingUpTeesside