Turbine blades for Scottish Power’s £4bn East Anglia TWO offshore windfarm will be built in Hull by Siemens Gamesa in a billion-pound contract. The agreement will see Siemens Gamesa supply 64 offshore wind turbinesfor ScottishPower’s third offshore wind project in the southern North Sea. The turbines have a a rotor diameter of 236 metres – almost as tall as the observation deck at the Shard building in London. Almost 33km off the Suffolk coat, East Anglia TWO will be capable of generating enough to power the equivalent of almost one million homes. The 115 metres-long blades will be manufactured at Siemens Gamesa’s offshore wind blade factory in Hull, where the workforce has risen to about 1,300 people after recruitment of more than 600 new employees over the last year. Keith Anderson, CEO of ScottishPower, said: “Today is tangible proof of the importance of Britain’s Clean Power Mission – our East Anglia projects are delivering UK jobs, UK supply chain contracts and UK green energy. “Getting more projects like East Anglia TWO off the blocks quicker will turbo-boost the UK’s supply chain, giving companies like Siemens Gamesa the confidence to invest in facilities like this blade factory in Hull. “Britain’s clean power targets are achievable but demanding. We’ve doubled our investment and are ready to play our part with Government as it gets barriers out the way to build more projects like this, alongside the electricity networks needed to ferry green, homegrown power across the country.” Darren Davidson, UK and Ireland vice president for Siemens Energy and Siemens Gamesa, said: “The UK is the first leading industrial country to simultaneously phase out coal power and be a leader in offshore wind. If we’re to achieve our net zero targets, it’s mission critical this momentum is maintained. “As well as delivering the blades to power the UK’s energy transition, our factory in Hull is acting as a catalyst for economic growth and green jobs across the region.” The contract award comes just after ScottishPower confirmed it is doubling its investment in the UK – from £12bn to £24bn – between 2024 and 2028. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower will fire up our industrial heartlands and break down barriers to growth in our hard-working towns and cities. “It will strengthen our national security – protecting our children and grandchildren from the climate crisis, and impact this will have on their future prosperity. “By acting decisively and early, the UK has an opportunity to lead the world in the industries of the future – working in partnership with businesses like ScottishPower and Siemens Energy – creating real energy security, cutting energy bills and building jobs and supply chains in the UK.”

Hull-based clean hydrogen producer HiiROC is working with Siemens on its hydrogen production technology, helping customers to decarbonise their operations and support their Net Zero ambitions. Under the agreement, HiiROC will use Siemens’ control technology and factory and automation expertise to ensure the safe, efficient automation of hydrogen production and support in scaling. HiiROC’s proprietary Thermal Plasma Electrolysis (TPE) technology is designed to meet rising demand for low-cost, scalable solutions for clean hydrogen production at the point of use, which helps to significantly reduce costs by removing the need for specialised storage and transportation. Mike Plant, Head of Engineering at HiiROC, said: “Partnering with Siemens has allowed us access to a wide product range of solutions for the hazardous and demanding environment we operate. Not only that, but the support and industry leading knowledge Siemens has been able to provide on topics such as cybersecurity and software development is crucial to the product development and future upscale and production of our technology, which ultimately makes hydrogen an economically sustainable fuel source for millions of businesses worldwide.” Andy Lane, senior commercial manager at Siemens, added: “The costs to transport and store hydrogen remains prohibitively expensive for businesses to make the switch at scale. The UK is also many years away from having an expansive hydrogen pipeline network for industry to tap into, despite positive early progress in its development. “Powered by Siemens technology, HiiROC’s compact, low-carbon, low-cost solution to producing hydrogen at the point of use is a game-changer for the energy transition. They’ll enable many fuel-hungry businesses to meet their decarbonisation targets. “No single organisation can deliver Net Zero alone. And we’re proud to work alongside like-minded innovators like HiiROC to tackle the energy transition – one of society’s biggest challenges.” The TPE process splits gaseous hydrocarbons into hydrogen and solid carbon without creating carbon dioxide. This highly efficient process, recognised under the UK’s Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard, requires only a fifth of the electricity of water electrolysis. As a key technology partner, Siemens will collaborate with HiiROC to advance product development, while its global developer support community will help in achieving the hydrogen producer’s international expansion goals. Siemens, which has ambitious commitments to decrease carbon emissions and contribute to a more sustainable society, works with organisations across sectors to decarbonise using technology.