University welcomes £45m funding for low carbon projects

‘HUGE VOTE OF CONFIDENCE’: The University of Hull

The University of Hull has welcomed an announcement that around £45m of funding for low carbon projects across the Humber region has been secured.

Included in the funding, announced this week by the Government, is £12m for Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to install low carbon technologies including solar panels, heat pumps and new roof insulation.

Also planned is the mass replacement of lighting to greener LED units, substituting inefficient air compressors, and a new low carbon energy supply point to Castle Hill Hospital.

The Zero Carbon Humber Partnership, which late last year was supported in an open letter by the University of Hull’s Director of Aura, Louise Smith, also received £21m to deliver H2H Saltend, one of the world’s first at-scale low carbon hydrogen production plants on the north bank of the Humber.

Ms Smith said: “This investment from the Government is a huge vote of confidence for the Humber, as we ramp up our transition to a net-zero economy.

“With a third of the Humber’s economy based on high carbon jobs, an inclusive transition to low carbon is critical to the place and its people.

“At the University of Hull and Aura, we embrace the vital role we must play in ensuring the skills and training needs for the region - as it gears up for a low carbon future - are met, creating a highly-skilled workforce for the Humber.

“Without continued innovation, none of this would be possible. Aura, through its state-of-the-art Innovation Centre, is committed to supporting the development of the low carbon SME supply chain, highlighting the role we all must play in the net-zero transition.”

FUNDING WELCOMED: Louise Smith

The Humber region is on an ambitious journey to become a net-zero cluster by 2040. The university aims to be a carbon neutral organisation by 2027, in time for its centenary anniversary.

The new funding from the Government also included a further £12m to project Humber Zero, which plans to decarbonise the industrial complex at Immingham, North East Lincolnshire, by creating a carbon capture and hydrogen hub, providing cost-effective and low carbon energy supply and storage opportunities to industry and the National Grid.

With the Humber region creating 40 per cent of the UK’s industrial emissions, these projects aim to capture 25 million tonnes of carbon every year.

It will create a low carbon hydrogen energy supply chain to power the region’s homes and businesses, while safeguarding tens of thousands of jobs.

Professor Dan Parsons, Director at the University of Hull’s Energy and Environment Institute, said: “The university is at the heart of the Humber region’s drive to a net-zero economy, providing the region and the nation with the skilled workforce for this low carbon future.

“We recently re-launched our MSc in Renewable Energy, and through partnerships with the likes of Siemens Gamesa, Ørsted and the ORE Catapult, we are now recognised as a key stakeholder in the low-carbon sector. We are also ensuring that our programmes map to our research strengths in net-zero and that our students have access to the cutting edge of the energy transition.

“The university is also committed to widening participation and improving equality, diversity and inclusivity in the renewables and low-carbon industries. It is part of our commitment at Hull to create a fairer, brighter, carbon neutral future for all.”