Sustainable aviation fuels to be driven by new Boeing and University of Sheffield partnership
Sustainable aviation fuels which will reduce the carbon emissions associated with flying will be driven by a new partnership between Boeing and the University of Sheffield.
The aerospace company has signed a new research partnership with the University, becoming the founding member of the Energy Innovation Centre, a new Research & Development (R&D) scheme to develop new low carbon technologies.
The Energy Innovation Centre, launched by the University of Sheffield Energy Institute, offers partners from industry access to two of the University’s newest world class research facilities – the Sustainable Aviation Fuels Innovation Centre (SAF-IC) a first-of-its-kind facility in the UK that will help test and certify new sustainable aviation fuels and the Translational Energy Research Centre (TERC), which will contain pilot-scale production facilities suitable for investigating different methods of producing SAF.
Boeing is set to use the partnership to test, develop and assess new sustainable aviation fuels, which are vital to reducing carbon emissions and reaching net zero.
SAF offers the most immediate and greatest potential to decarbonise aviation over the next 20 to 30 years. Sustainably produced jet fuel reduces CO2 emissions by as much as 80 per cent over the fuel’s lifecycle with the potential to reach 100 percent in the future. SAF is certified for commercial use and can be blended by up to 50 per cent with traditional jet fuel without modifications to aeroplanes, engines or fueling infrastructure. Boeing has committed to deliver its commercial aeroplanes capable and certified to fly on 100 per cent SAF by 2030.
The partnership builds on Boeing’s longstanding relationship with the University of Sheffield and its presence in South Yorkshire.
Professor Koen Lamberts, president and vice-chancellor of the University Sheffield, said: “At a time when the UK’s commitment to net zero is questioned and debated, R&D into low carbon technologies and products couldn’t be more important. We are delighted to welcome Boeing as a founding partner of the University of Sheffield Energy Innovation Centre. Our partnership with Boeing spans over 20 years, and together we are committed to developing the type of innovation needed to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges.”
Sir Martin Donnelly, president of Boeing Europe and Managing Director of Boeing in the UK and Ireland, said: “Boeing has a long history in South Yorkshire, having set up the AMRC to drive innovation in aerospace manufacturing, and subsequently opening our first European manufacturing site there. This opportunity to build upon our existing partnerships with Sheffield and to build new ones, while also working toward a more sustainable future for aviation, is a great privilege for us.”
Professor Mohamed Pourkashanian, head of the University of Sheffield Energy Institute, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Boeing as our first member of the Energy Innovation Centre scheme. The EIC has an impact strategy built around delivering societal and economic benefit through rigorous research with industry, and this connection with Boeing takes a step towards making that aim a reality, especially in the exciting and vital realm of sustainable flight.
“Active engagement with industry and commerce is especially critical to ensuring that research is relevant, timely and positive in its practical applications. We look forward to the growth of this scheme, welcoming future partners of any size and any sector, and boosting the UK’s net zero ambitions through innovation R&D.”
Brian Moran, Boeing vice president of Global Sustainability Policy and Partnerships, said: “In order for the aviation industry to meet its net zero carbon emissions commitment by 2050 it will take all of us collaborating and investing in scientific research and testing. We are honored to partner with the University of Sheffield on the UK’s first major SAF hub which highlights our global commitment to developing SAF as a safe, proven, near-term solution to decarbonize aviation.”
Energy Minister Greg Hands said: “This partnership, backed by £7 million government funding, will help accelerate the development of cleaner, fuel efficient flight. This will be vital as we work to end our dependency on volatile fossil fuels, to strengthen our energy security and slash emissions.”
Aviation Minister Robert Courts said: “This new partnership is a great opportunity to boost the use of sustainable aviation fuels. The University of Sheffield has two of the world’s greatest research facilities which Boeing, and hopefully many more, can now use – a crucial step towards a jet zero future.
“Decarbonising the aviation industry remains one of the Government’s top priorities, and earlier this year we set out plans for the first transatlantic flight powered by sustainable aviation fuel to take to the skies in 2023.”
Bradford-developed artificial intelligence system will fight airline industry cyber attacks
A team of Bradford researchers in the Bradford-Renduchintala Centre for Space AI has developed an AI-based system to combat cyber-attacks against aeroplanes and air traffic control.
Cyber attacks, including ransomware, malware and bot attacks, are considered a major threat to aeronautical systems the world over.
Prof Fun Hu, inaugural director of the Bradford Renduchintala Centre for Space AI, is leading a research team at Bradford to develop AI-based solutions to thwart such attacks.
She said: “The project aims to define an intelligent and secured aeronautical data link communications network, based on software defined networking, augmented with AI, to predict and prevent safety services outages, to optimise available network resources and to implement cybersecurity functions to protect the network against digital attacks. The University of Bradford leads the Cyber Security work package in the SINAPSE project.”
Prof Hu recently presented the team’s work, Machine Learning and Cyber Security: Robust Protection Against Digital Attack, to the EU SESAR webinar ‘Innovative Solutions for ATM Resilience’, as a part of the SINAPSE project.
SINAPSE started in May 2020 and is funded under the EU H2020 Single European Sky ATM Research Joint Undertaking (SJU), with a remit to develop solutions to cyber-attacks directed at air traffic control and aeroplanes.
The Professor added: “We developed a framework to tackle potential digital attacks on aeronautical communication networks using federated learning. While the prototype produced encouraging results, a lot still needs to be done to ensure the framework be efficiently and realistically applied to the real aeronautical environment.
“Currently we rely on open datasets to test our framework. The next stage of development will involve testing the algorithm on real traffic and attack patterns of the aeronautic communications applications.”
The Bradford team designed an innovative cyber security framework using collaborative machine learning, considering a hybrid-SDN architecture that maps onto the Future Communication Infrastructure, to provide digital and secure communication capabilities for integrated communication, navigation, and surveillance.
North Yorkshire Innovators team up to secure funding for green hydrogen project
A collaboration between two North Yorkshire companies has secured £297,000 of funding from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy Industrial Net Zero Innovation Portfolio to support the switch from natural gas to hydrogen and help the UK meet its target of becoming net zero by 2050.
Pipeline experts Sustainable Pipeline Systems and end-connection experts Smartflow Couplings will now begin feasibility work at SPS’s site in East Heslerton, near Malton, as part of BEIS’s Industrial Fuel Switching Programme.
North Yorkshire sustainability consultant Andy Rickard will be working with the two companies to identify local industries and sites interested in utilising green hydrogen available at SPS’ North Yorkshire demonstrator base from 2024. This may include farms using offroad vehicles currently fuelled by diesel which could use hydrogen combustion engines. Hydrogen can be made from biomass creating a more sustainable energy cycle.
The project aims to show the feasibility of automated mobile pipeline construction with reduced carbon footprint and advanced digital integrity monitoring. SPS MASiP system has been developed for the hydrogen era for which a new backbone of hydrogen pipelines is needed for the UK, Europe and beyond. This development will support high pressure and larger diameter pipelines needed to connect industrial centres with the hydrogen supply needed for the future
SPS have formed a hydrogen advisory pipeline panel with most of the leading energy companies active in developing hydrogen options to guide the development of a full scale hydrogen pipeline demonstrator in 2023. The demonstrator aims to show end use as well as advanced pipeline construction technology for hydrogen fuel supply in industrial infrastructure.
Andrew Stevenson, CEO of SPS, said: “We are proud to be playing an integral role in the preparation for a new hydrogen pipeline transportation network to support the UK’s fuel switching plans.
“We are already at the forefront of pipe technology innovation, including digital monitoring to reduce environmental impact and monitor networks for leaks and fatigue failures.
“This project will allow us to use the expertise developed in other energy arenas to support decarbonisation.”
Smartflow specialises in designing and manufacturing dry break couplings to improve the efficiency of fluid transfer processes, as well as bespoke design and supply of end connections such as the SPS pipe connections. The manufacturer will aim to develop a high performance 36 inch diameter coupling to use across the SPS hydrogen network.
The two companies have worked together on developing 12” pipe assemblies for the past five years but this will be the first time they have partnered on exploring larger diameter pipelines which will be required for hydrogen roll-out. The feasibility phase of the project is expected to be completed by the autumn with a follow-on demonstrator project going ahead early 2023.
Gary Thompson, Managing Director of Smartflow, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to build on the work we have started in partnership with SPS during the early development, to facilitate the switch to hydrogen fuel.
“Our aim is to increase the Technology Readiness Level of the end connection system, with the intention of having pipe diameters developed up to 36” by 2024.
“Hydrogen gas can cause a lot of problems for standard carbon steel pipes and welded connections, so this project will require a corrosion resistant connection to match SPS’s patented MASIP pipeline product.”
Evergreen hires digital lead following 277% growth
Sheffield-based healthcare communications consultancy, Evergreen PR, has hired former Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games brand manager Charlotte Faulkner as its digital lead.
In her new role, Faulkner is responsible for driving forward Evergreen’s online offering, using her digital and branding expertise as part of Evergreen’s unique MERTO map approach to helping health organisations uncover the Most Effective Route To Outcomes.
She brings almost a decade of experience in content marketing, brand management and impact measurement, having worked in digital and brand roles for the likes of Jaywing, Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and Brighton Marathon.
Her impact is already being felt, with a new Evergreen campaign for the Royal College of General Practitioners’ Veteran Friendly GP practice programme delivering a 227% uptick in accreditations – the target outcome – and open and click-through rates for newsletters improving across clients.
She joins at an exciting time for the agency, with Evergreen recording a 277% growth in 2021, making it the fifth-fastest growing consultancy in the UK. The agency, which works with healthcare clients including the Personalised Care Institute, OutsideClinic, Ascenti and Quorn, was the big winner at the recent PRCA Dare Awards, taking home six awards including Small Consultancy of the Year 2022.
Evergreen PR managing director, Leigh Greenwood, said:
“After a period of significant growth, we’re really delighted to welcome Charlotte to the core Evergreen team.
“Not only does her skillset and experience add an extra level of expertise to our offering but she is also a great cultural fit and motivated by our purpose of improving people’s health by delivering business outcomes.
“She’s a great hire and we’re excited to see the direction she takes in her career with Evergreen in, as we continue on to work towards our vision of becoming the consultancy of choice for organisations that transform people’s health.”
Commenting on her new role, Faulkner said:
“It’s been great to join Evergreen PR at a time where the agency is growing so quickly. As a team, it’s clear that we’re all aligned in our ambition and purpose, working smartly to deliver communications that improve people’s health and produce impactful results for clients. I look forward to working with the Evergreen PR team and our clients to deliver more award winning work in the future.”
Recruitment headache continues for small firms
New figures released by the British Chambers of Commerce reveal firms’ recruitment struggles remain at record high levels. The data for the leading business group’s Quarterly Recruitment Outlook for Q2 2022 was drawn from a survey of over 5,700 businesses.
Attempted recruitment in Q2 remained broadly the same as the previous quarter, with 61% of firms looking to find staff (60% in Q1 2022). But more than three quarters of firms (76%) continue to report recruitment difficulties, dropping just two percentage points from Q1 (78%).
The construction sector is facing the most severe recruitment challenges, with 83% reporting difficulties. This is closely followed by production and manufacturing on 79%, logistics on 79% and hospitality on 78%.
In the face of rising business costs, less than a third of employers (28%) have increased their investment in the last three months. Smaller firms are even less likely to report an increase, at just 19%.
Head of People Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, Jane Gratton, said: “Businesses remain under huge pressure to fill jobs, but record levels of recruitment difficulty are showing no signs of improvement. Solutions are urgently needed, so that firms can keep their doors open throughout these tough times.
“We have written to the Government outlining a three-point plan on how they can work with businesses to solve this:
• Firms must be encouraged to find new ways of unlocking pools of talent – by investing more in training their workforce, adopting more flexible working practises and expanding use of apprenticeships;
• Government must help employers invest in training by reducing the upfront costs on business and providing training related tax breaks; and
• The Shortage Occupation List (SOL) must be reformed to allow sectors facing urgent demand for skills to get what they need.
“The SOL is not currently fit for purpose and should be more flexible, so it supports firms experiencing a national recruitment crisis. Recruitment difficulties have been at record highs for a year.
“There are 1.3 million unfilled jobs in our economy and now fewer people in the workforce than before the pandemic. This is holding back productivity and growth, and employers are at their wits’ end. It is putting livelihoods at risk and damaging the economy. The Government must reform the SOL criteria to include more jobs at more skill levels to give firms breathing space to invest in their workforce.
“Employers cannot wait for a new Prime Minister before this is sorted. Shortages are impacting not only on their ability to service order books but also on the morale and wellbeing of their people. The economic challenge we are facing is huge and unless we start to fill the hole caused by 1.3 million vacancies, we cannot get back to growth.”
Clarion celebrates ongoing partnership with Leeds school
Clarion is celebrating a successful first year of partnership with Dixons Trinity Chapeltown school in Leeds. Working with Ahead Partnership, the successful law firm has delivered a bespoke programme of activities over the last nine months designed to help enable students to fulfil their potential, as part of the business’ ongoing commitment to making a positive contribution to local communities and championing diversity and inclusion.
Currently with around 700 pupils aged between four and 16, Trinity Chapeltown offers a curriculum and approach designed specifically to serve the community of Chapeltown and Harehills. It has a culture with excellence at the core and is committed to creating a world-class school which will transform the lives of every child who attends by creating equality of opportunity. Established just five years ago, the school was judged ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted in November 2021.
Emma Lowe, legal director at Clarion, who is leading the initiative, said: “As a firm, we’re keen to give back to local communities and wanted to build a long-term relationship with a school in Yorkshire where we felt our team could play a real role in inspiring and empowering pupils to achieve their potential. Clarion has been involved in various activities through Ahead Partnership since 2011 and we are now very much looking forward to focusing our efforts on supporting Dixons Trinity Chapeltown in particular into the future – a school that we feel has values aligned to our own.
“We’re working with Ahead Partnership and the school’s careers leader to create a bespoke activities programme that will have a meaningful impact on their students, with activities that will develop confidence and employability skills and in turn enable them to act upon their aspirations. Critically, our programme’s sole intention is not just to promote careers within the legal profession, but to help students unlock their potential, whatever that may be, and improve social mobility as a consequence. We want to build a long-lasting partnership with Dixon’s Trinity Chapeltown that will continue for many years to come, and hope that this work will help support and benefit the lives of many students as a result.”
Ash Jacobs, Vice Principal at Dixons Trinity Chapeltown, adds: “We’re thrilled to be working with Clarion whose culture fits so well with our own approach – we both believe that it’s about being values driven, having a clear vision, focusing relentlessly on results and building strong relationships at all levels. This partnership will give our pupils exposure to a wide range of careers, including those in professional services, increasing their understanding of the breadth of jobs and learning opportunities open to them.”
Already, the Leeds law firm has undertaken a number of activities from providing judges for a public speaking competition run by the school to delivering interview preparation workshops for pupils and then following up with mock interviews. It has also launched a book donation project and has given the school books by award-winning Manchester barrister Sally Penni MBE, who spoke at a Clarion event last October as part of Black History Month. During June, the Clarion team worked alongside the school’s PE department and ran an exercise workshop that tied in with a firm-wide health and fitness initiative that it was running. A number of colleagues also took part in a careers fair at the school.
In addition, over the course of the academic year, Clarion has welcomed a number of students from years 9 and 10 into their offices to, amongst other things, meet the team, speak at firm wide events and take part in tailored activities.
Megan Lipp, head of business development at Ahead Partnership, which has been working with the school since 2019 and is working with Clarion to design and deliver this social value programme, said: “We are so grateful to Clarion for making this long-term commitment to working with Dixons Trinity Chapeltown to inspire and support their students.
“We know that engaging young people around careers and skills from school-age and helping them to make connections with a professional network can have significant impact, and we’re looking forward to continuing to work in partnership to develop students’ confidence and guide them in thinking about the career and learning opportunities available to them after school. It is especially important that young people get these experiences with employers after successive periods of lockdown. It is predicted that the achievement gap between lower income areas and their wealthier peers could be as large as 75% as a result of the pandemic, so being able to ask business volunteers their questions and learn about the working world directly is a really tangible and effective way for employers like Clarion to prepare young people for a post-Covid world.”
Commercial insurance broker Attis 20% ahead of 2022 forecasts – grows team by over 30% and projects £6m turnover for year
Fast-growing commercial insurance broker Attis is forecasting revenue of over £6m for 2022, with gross written premium set to exceed £60m. If achieved, the figures will outstrip projections by more than 20% for the Leeds-headquartered group, which includes commercial broking, employee benefits and credit solution arms.
Since the 2020 launch of its Leeds head office, led by directors Keith Browne, Neil Beck and Justin Chadwick, Attis Insurance has opened five further offices to cover the Manchester, Halifax, Teesside, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire regions and now employs over 100 people, up from 75 at the start of the year.
The business is backed by chairman Joe Henderson, who sold his Leeds-based, 30-year-established Henderson Insurance Broking Group to global professional services firm Aon for £90m in December 2017.
Mr Henderson said: “We started the business in the face of all the challenges of the global pandemic and yet we are on track to achieve robust growth that effectively puts us two years ahead of forecasts by the end of 2022. We expect to hit £100m in gross written premium by 2024 and since our launch in 2020 we have also settled over £4m in previously outstanding property insurance claims for clients.
“The exceptional costs involved in setting up the business are behind us and were smaller than anticipated, and in the last six months we’ve got great traction. We set out to be a disruptor, challenging the complacency of industry giants and offering a fresh perspective and more effective way of doing things, and that has clearly been well received by our growing client base.
“We have a fantastic, and expanding, team in place, including an apprenticeship programme that has attracted some outstanding young people and is very much part of our long-term development plan. Added to our outstanding reputation for service and network of local offices, we have established a great foundation for growth.”
With further senior hires and new offices in the pipeline this year, the firm expects to make an executive broking director appointment imminently.
Attis director Neil Beck added: “We are very clear that Attis differentiates itself from other commercial brokers in everything we do. The progress we’ve made so quickly, and faster than anticipated, shows that the UK commercial market was obviously ready for a truly independent broker, focused more clearly on service, that aims to help directors to actively protect their balance sheets from risk.
“We are already becoming known for our swift decision making and innovative client support and, as we are seeing, there is huge demand for that at the moment and we aim to maintain our expansion nationally in 2022 and beyond.”
Energy cost review hopes to yield lower prices for consumers
The exposure UK consumers to volatile global gas markets and energy costs could be radically reduced in the long term, thanks to a transformational review into Britain’s electricity market design, launched today by the UK government.
The Review of Electricity Market Arrangements will seek views on a wide range of options to address the combined challenges of responding to higher global energy costs, the need to further boost energy security, and move the UK to a cleaner energy system.
Some of the changes being consulted on include:
- introducing incentives for consumers to draw energy from the grid at cheaper rates when demand is low or it’s particularly sunny and windy, saving households money with cheaper rates
- reforming the capacity market so that it increases the participation of low carbon flexibility technologies, such as electricity storage, that enable a cleaner, lower cost system
- de-coupling costly global fossil fuel prices from electricity produced by cheaper renewables, a step to help ensure consumers are seeing cheaper prices as a result of lower-cost clean energy sources
“In what could be the biggest electricity market shake up in decades, I am confident that this review will significantly enhance GB’s energy security and supply for generations to come.”
With electricity demand set to at least double over the next 13 years, REMA will focus on establishing a fit-for-purpose market design, identifying and implementing the reforms needed to GB electricity markets that work for businesses, industry, and households. This includes consulting on both the continued evolution and expansion of existing schemes, such as the Capacity Market and Contracts for Difference, and the introduction of more fundamental change where needed to guarantee uninterrupted supply during periods of no wind or sun at the lowest cost possible for consumers.Ringrose Law launches industry leading technology to enhance their client experience
Earlier this year Ringrose Law launched Perfect Portal to enhance and improve their client experience.
Perfect Portal is the industry’s leading digital onboarding and client-centric technology solution for law firms and is used by a number of client focused law firms across the country.
The technology includes a brand-new client onboarding software, allowing the firm to centrally deal with all enquiries coming into the business, creating a personal service to clients, understanding their needs and ensuring they are dealt with by the right person.
The technology also includes a Ringrose Law app for clients to download at the start of their matter that supports every area of law, with integrated features from electronic verification of identity, open banking for verification of funds, payment on account, document completion, digital signing of documents, matter updates and more. The app allows clients to upload and access documents and receive updates on their file 24/7, whilst still receiving a personal one to one experience with their legal adviser.
The firm launched the software earlier this year for their Personal Injury & Medical Negligence Teams and their Residential Conveyancing Team and hopes to have integrated it into all departments by the end of the year.
John Knight, senior director of the firm, says: “We are a personable legal practice that puts our clients and their individual needs at the forefront of what we do. Whilst we still maintain a very personal client experience, the new client App, should clients wish to use it, sets us apart from our local competitors, the App looks fantastic, is easy to use and provides our clients with access to their file at their own convenience.
“Our new client onboarding process allows us to track every enquiry into the firm, gain valuable insight and feedback information at a level that we haven’t had before, and helps us improve our client service all the time.”
For more information or to speak to a member of the team please contact wecanhelp@ringroselaw.co.uk
Mass transit system for West Yorkshire to be discussed by Combined Authority
Plans for a mass transit system in West Yorkshire to improve connectivity, air quality, provide alternatives to car travel and connect communities to jobs and education will be discussed at the next meeting of the Combined Authority on Friday 22 July.
Following on from an initial consultation in 2021, the revised West Yorkshire Mass Transit Vision 2040 will set out the process for developing a new system of transport to make the region greener, more inclusive, and better connected.
The vision also shows how mass transit has the potential to lower carbon emissions, boost the economy by improving access to jobs and training, speed up regeneration and improve the quality of life.
In the engagement on the 2021 Vision, around 90% of respondents said they supported the Combined Authority’s vision for Mass Transit.
It also highlights the benefits for disadvantaged communities in West Yorkshire and the potential for improved connectivity to hospitals and for districts with growing populations.
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “This is an exciting time for the region as we move ahead with our work to radically improve our transport network to make it fit for the future.
“A new mass transit system in West Yorkshire will be a key element of this and has the potential to provide communities with a quick, reliable service, integrated with cycling, walking, bus and rail.
“Alongside our plans to improve local bus and rail services, Mass Transit will help connect people and places, opening up job and leisure opportunities and making it easy to get to the places that are important to people.
“A new mass transit system for West Yorkshire has cross-party support, locally and nationally, and I am working hard to ensure that this commitment continues. Our Mass Transit proposals are an important part of our work to deliver a transport system that will benefit many generations to come.”
Combined Authority members will be asked to endorse the West Yorkshire Mass Transit vision, approve a new governance model including creation of a Member Transit Strategy Group and Transit Senior Leadership Board; and the creation of a development team, reporting to the Combined Authority’s director of mass transit and Chief Executive.
As part of its recent £830 million City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, £200 million is allocated to Mass Transit for the next five years, although the full system as planned will require further funding from government in the future.
