px Group’s Saltend Chemicals Park, in Hull, has been selected as the site for the build of a Green Hydrogen facility and an investment of between £180m and £240m by Meld Energy, the green hydrogen industrial developer.
Meld Energy is an international hydrogen development company and is working with the global energy management company, World Fuel Services Corporation, to develop green hydrogen supply chains. World Kinect Sustainability Ventures, a subsidiary of the publicly listed US Fortune 500 company, acquired a 50% stake in Meld in late 2022.
Meld is currently bidding for development support from the UK’s Net Zero Hydrogen Fund. Should the bid win government backing, FEED (Front End Engineering Design) is expected to begin in November 2023 and would run concurrently with planning application processes. Building would commence less than a year later with a target operation in 2026.
The facility would be the UK’s largest green hydrogen production facility (if built today), with an initial installed capacity of 100MW and the potential to increase its capacity to over 200MW in a second development stage.
The green hydrogen would be produced at the facility using electrolysis, which involves using electricity to split water into its constituent elements: hydrogen and oxygen. Through using renewable electricity for this process, the hydrogen produced would be “green” hydrogen, as compared to grey and blue hydrogen, which is more carbon-intensive. Meld would utilise PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements) with renewable energy suppliers.
The hydrogen produced by Meld would be used to provide energy on-site at Saltend, helping to switch over from more carbon-intensive fuels and chemical feedstock to emissions-free green hydrogen. The Humber is the UK’s most carbon-intensive region.
The UK Government considers hydrogen to be a vital component in the UK energy transition and its journey to Net Zero. Hydrogen has the potential for use in a variety of applications, from powering transport and industry to energy storage, with its only emission being water or steam when consumed.
Geoff Holmes, CEO of px Group, says: “Meld Energy’s decision to invest at Saltend Chemicals Park proves once again that Saltend is the go-to location for industrial decarbonisation and the UK energy transition.
“Meld’s plans are on a scale that will make a significant impact on domestic decarbonisation – it is a project that the government should find impossible to ignore. We have a host of world-class industrial companies on site at Saltend and this potential major investment shows once again the strength of the Saltend offering.”
Chris Smith, CEO & founder of Meld Energy, says: “Saltend Chemicals Park is the perfect site for our green hydrogen facility. Saltend has a rich knowledge of decarbonisation projects and, importantly, has future users of the hydrogen to be produced already in place.
“This project can be online within three years and would deliver an immediate reduction in emissions once production commences. The facility will have the potential to double its production as demand for hydrogen increases in the future to meet Net Zero targets.”
Green light given for commercial TV and film studios at historic Church Fenton aerodrome
On behalf of Makins Ltd, Pegasus Group has secured the approval of reserved matters for three new sound stages/studios, office space and new landscaping at the Church Fenton media complex in North Yorkshire. This follows the grant of outline planning permission, also submitted by Pegasus Group upon the site in 2020.
Having hosted productions such as ITV’s Victoria, the approval of this reserved matters application is a further step in the transformation of this former RAF airbase into a state-of-the-art commercial TV and film studio facility, creating opportunities for the creative, digital and media industries.
The proposals will deliver over 15,000 square metres of new floorspace improving facilities for filmmaking and further cementing the importance of Church Fenton Aerodrome in delivering on wider economic growth aspirations for the council within the creative industries.
Chris Makin, Managing Director at Makins Ltd, said: “This latest permission is an important step forward in our exciting plans for the aerodrome’s future. The ongoing commitment to the site’s revitalisation highlights the dedication of all parties involved in transforming the Church Fenton Aerodrome into a thriving multi-use destination for TV production, events and businesses.
“We are committed to delivering an exceptional facility that will showcase North Yorkshire’s potential and attract talent from around the world.”
Leading the project, Pegasus Group has acted as project manager on the site since 2016, led on the site master planning and landscape design, delivered the heritage input and coordinated the planning application, ensuring the TV and film studio proposals aligned with the council’s economic vision, the site’s historical significance and the community’s interests.
Heidi Boot of Pegasus Group said: “The site’s redevelopment is an excellent example of making best use of previously developed land to generate economic opportunities. The decision recognises the immense potential of the Church Fenton Aerodrome as a location that can attract investment, drive economic growth and foster the development of the creative industries in the region.
“The latest approval will deliver purpose-built studio space to go alongside the existing hangars creating around 1,800 full-time equivalent jobs and adding around £0.94 billion GVA to the UK economy over a ten-year period.”
Andritz wins furnaces contract with Sheffield Forgemasters
International technology group, Andritz, is to supply new furnaces for the UK’s largest open die forge.
Following a formal tender process, Andritz, which has its headquarters in Austria, has received an order worth more than £20 million from Sheffield Forgemasters, to supply seven new furnaces for the company’s proposed 13,000 tonne forging line.
With no UK companies able to deliver furnaces of the size required within the time-frame and a number of large European suppliers also unable to meet the tender requirements, Andritz won the contract to supply three forging and four heat-treatment furnaces.
Steve Marshall, manufacturing transformation director at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “The challenge of finding a company with the capability of delivering such large furnaces in the timeframe that we are working to has been substantial, with a number of Europe’s largest suppliers unable to tender against our scope and delivery requirements.”
The furnaces with up to 1,000 tonnes of capacity will feature rail-mounted ‘car-bottoms’ which can roll in and out for the loading of ultra-large components and adopt state-of-the-art burner technology for optimal efficiency.
Steve added: “The furnaces will be the mainstay of our new heavy forging line, delivering both heat-treatment and main forging heating cycles, using the latest burner technologies for optimum efficiency and heat control.
“Andritz demonstrated an ability to work with us on the scope and delivery of the seven major furnaces, crucial to bringing our new forging line into operation.
“New innovation in furnace technologies includes dual-fuel burners which can switch to hydrogen if the technology to move away from natural gas becomes viable.
“The largest furnace will measure 18.5m long x 9.4m wide x 8.1m tall and a separate tender process for smaller, ancillary furnaces for the forging line is underway and will be announced in due course.”
Advanced burners for the main forging furnaces will deliver up to 30 per cent reduction in primary heating gas consumption, a more consistent heat to the steel components and highly accurate temperature control.
The forging line will be serviced by seven overhead cranes, supplied by Jaso Industrial Cranes in a contract recently announced by Sheffield Forgemasters and work is underway to demolish existing buildings for the new 12,700 sq m forge facility.
The UK’s largest open die forge will replace the company’s existing 10,000 tonne forging press and will complement its smaller 4,000 tonne press to serve defence and commercial markets.
Pure Block Management takes on estate management for Immingham housing development
Hull-based property firm Pure Block Management has won a contract to provide estate management services for a new housing development near Immingham in North East Lincolnshire.
The company, which is part of property specialist Garness Group, has taken on the management of the open spaces on the Peter Ward Homes Lindofen View development on the outskirts of the village of Habrough.
Under the contract it will maintain the site’s large, landscaped tree belt as well as four lagoons created to manage water drainage and reduce the risk of flooding.
It will also provide company secretarial duties for the development, which, when complete, will be made up of over 130 three, four and five-bedroom homes.
Pure Block Management director Liam Parker said: “We’re very pleased to add this popular housing development to the portfolio of properties we manage.
“Most of our clients are based in Hull and East Yorkshire so this contract is important for us not just because we are working with one of the best-known housebuilders in the region, but also because it represents our expansion south of the Humber.
“The contract also reflects the breadth of the services we provide to developers, who can rely on us to take care of any aspect of property or estate management on their behalf.”
Edward’s pill dispenser idea wins £5,000 development prize
University of Lincoln student Edward Pitts-Drake has won £5,000 to support development of his idea for an automatic pill dispenser.
The first-year paramedic science student won the money in a Dragons’ Den style competition run by the University’s Student Enterprise service.
Inspired by his grandma who has dementia and struggles to remember to take her medication at the correct dose and timing and Edward’s business, Pills 365 Ltd, designed, manufactured and programmed a machine to help with this.
Edward’s invention could be used in a range of clinical settings, including care homes, hospitals, as well as domestically. The design holds several weeks’ worth of tablets and is equipped with an alarm to alert the patient to their next timed dose. Should they forget to take their pills, the motion sensor will detect nearby movement and re-sound the alarm reminder. Additionally, there is the option to send an email alert to a designated person.
To prevent medication being tampered with, the device can only be accessed with specific tools. It also houses an internal battery which will switch on in the event of a power cut and is equipped with an internal 4G Wi-Fi modem.
Edward said: “The Swans’ Den competition presented me with a unique and challenging competition to win funding as part of a business grant through Student Enterprise and the University of Lincoln Student’s Union. The competition has guided me in business planning and challenged my decision making to create a robust business plan that will allow my design to succeed for many years to come.
“Pill Dispenser v3 is in the prototype stage and built on the successes of version two, it will be the next level of automated medication dispensing management, as well as being an extremely easy device and ecosystem for the device user and carers. The funding has enabled me to speed up the process of prototyping and testing, which will allow the product to come to market in a shorter timeframe than I’d previously planned.”
European retail leader calls for fairness for front line workers
Debbie Robinson, the Central Co-op CEO and European Vice President of Euro Co-ops, has rejected talk of “levelling up” and said what the north needs is to get its fair share back, as well as fairness for front line workers.
She said: “When I hear that the Bank of England is worried that an increase in the minimum wage is going to impact inflation it’s just ridiculous, so the pay thing is crucial. It’s got to be significantly higher than where it is today.”
Debbie was speaking at the latest in the series of Elevenses interviews, launched by Paul Sewell at the 2021 edition of Humber Business Week. During the interview, which is available to watch in full on the Humber Business Week website, Burnley-born Debbie demonstrated how her career decisions have been influenced by her childhood and her role as a mother and grandmother.
She also underlined the values of fairness which inspired the Co-op even before its formal launch in 1863 and which are still at the heart of an organisation employing over 7,500 people across 21 counties.
She said: “I think people are a bit fed up at the moment. When you’ve got your nurses and your doctors and your rail strikes going on it’s a strong indication that people have had enough.
“Something I really believe in is pay and entry-level workers, and we just need to pay people a bit more money to help them through. Central Co-op is trying to lead the way on finding ways that we can improve the terms and conditions for all of our colleagues.
“You should be able to earn the money to buy your own food. I don’t think anybody down the food chain should be supplementing it for anybody else. If somebody isn’t being paid enough to put food on your table how are they going to be able to afford food? Surely people deserve to earn enough money to be able to buy their own food, heat their own homes and have a decent life? Make work pay!”
Debbie added that she sees young people as particularly hard hit by the cost of living crisis. “The idea behind the Co-op was that people were working really, really hard and they couldn’t get by. Does it sound familiar? Here we are in 2023. Working was not enough to pay for your food and your housing.
“My heart bleeds for young people. It might have been difficult in terms of unemployment in the 70s and the 80s, and it really was, but the challenges now are absolutely immense.”
Debbie also demanded fair treatment for workers from their customers, revealing that her biggest fear is for the welfare of her team.
She said: “Now times are really hard financially and the levels of abuse that people are facing in that environment are really shocking. I think of what people have to face every single day. Everybody has a right to go to work and return home safely.”
Engineering consultancy prepares for further growth following management buy-in
Leeds engineering consultancy, RWO is preparing for further growth and expansion following a management buy-in.
Current directors Alex Erskine and Reece Kesson have each taken a 25% stake in the holding company of the RWO Group as part of an undisclosed deal. Founder and current Managing Director Ross Oakley retains a 50% stake in the business.
Alex will look to build on his position as group director for civils while Reece will continue to develop his role as group director for structures.
Both will have responsibility for each of their disciplines within the business as part of an overall strategic plan to take the business forward and drive growth in national construction, building, infrastructure, leisure, healthcare and residential sectors.
The move also ties the business closer together, facilitating greater collaboration and improved client service across the civils, structures and its geotechnical departments which form the core services RWO provide.
Managing Director Ross Oakley said: “I believe the future is extremely positive for the company and we look forward to developing further the range and quality of the services we offer and supporting our clients as they too invest in developing their operations despite the challenging times.
“We have in place a growth strategy for the business and several strategic partnerships, which will help progress the business further and bring even greater opportunities. I’m already extremely proud of what RWO has become and look forward to us achieving even more success in the future.”
Bradford mermaid washes up on Yorkshire beach to highlight plastic waste issue
The Yorkshire-based co-founder of social enterprise Be The Future has ‘washed up’ on the shores of Runswick Bay as a reclaimed waste mermaid, to highlight the sheer amount of plastic waste in the sea for World Ocean Day.
Helen Hill from Bradford created her costume, weighing in at 6kg and four metres long, using hundreds of plastic bottles, a broken tent, broken toys and other waste products. She says 42 such costumes would be needed to reflect the amount of plastic that’s tipped into the sea every second.
Be The Future is set to crowdfund to raise £18,000 to help launch ‘EDUtainment’ kits aimed at young children to engage them on the topic of climate change. The “EDUtainers” are about to launch a crowdfund to raise £18,000 to help them launch new ‘EDUtainment’ kits combining learning with fun activities. Featuring a new book, game and activity pack aimed at young kids (age 4 to 7) bursting with hope, wit and playful action to engage them on the topic of climate change.It comes as a survey of 2,000 people in the UK by Be The Future shows over a third of parents (37%) would love to teach their kids more about climate change if they had the right tools or ideas. Two in five parents (42%) said they aim to teach their kids as much as they can about climate change and a similar number (38%) said they’re not worried about sharing the realities of it with their children – even if it might scare them.
Helen Hill said: “As David Attenborough famously said, “what happens next is up to every one of us” – but crucially this doesn’t have to be a scary fact. Our collective fear, anger and paralysis won’t turn this climate beast around – nurturing a reaction of active hope rather than despair is the only way forward. Our reclaimed waste mermaid tails symbolise the fact that one of the best ways to engage and teach kids about climate change is through play.
“The new Little Mermaid film has been released by Disney – and with UNESCO saying that by 2050, plastic will likely outweigh all fish in the sea, it’s the perfect opportunity to raise awareness about the sheer amount of plastic pollution in the sea for World Ocean Day.”
Government pledges £7m to support internet connectivity for businesses in rural areas
The new fund aims to bring together satellite, wireless and fixed line connectivity to help farmers and businesses take advantage of the latest agricultural technologies on offer by improving the connectivity on farm.
This is in addition to a number of government pledges to boost rural digital connectivity announced within the last year, which included an £8 million grant scheme to offer internet connectivity by satellite to the most remote homes of the country, and ‘Project Gigabit’, the government’s flagship £5 billion programme to improve internet speeds in rural areas.
The new plans were formally announced at the Future Countryside Conference by Defra Secretary of State, Thérèse Coffey.
The new announcement comes off the back of the NFU’s campaigning for better digital infrastructure in rural areas. The NFU’s recent Digital Technology Survey highlighted that more than a fifth of members believe their broadband speeds are a barrier to their further use of digital technology.
Over a third of members also said that if their business had faster broadband speeds, they would use this to improve their speed, efficiency, and frequency of business tasks.
The new announcement means that there is more opportunity for businesses in remote areas to make use of new technologies for agriculture and tourism that may require internet connectivity on farm.
NFU Vice President David Exwood said: “We have been campaigning for further investment in the country’s rural digital technology infrastructure for some time, so we welcome the government’s £7 million funding package which will help make farming businesses more productive and efficient.
“The NFU’s recent Digital Technology Survey revealed fewer than half of our members have broadband speeds adequate for their business needs. Fibre is often too expensive for farm businesses to install and the rollout is not happening fast enough.
“The government’s commitment to invest in alternative broadband solutions will be vital to enable farmers and growers to access good broadband speeds, regardless of where they live.
“With UK food security high on the political agenda, there is an urgent need to produce more of what we do well here. That means providing our farming businesses with the tools they require like decent broadband to enable them to meet their huge potential in producing food for the nation, helping tackle climate change and deliver on our net-zero ambitions.”
University of Bradford gears up to launch first-ever management summit
Some of the UK’s leading business minds will help launch the University of Bradford’s first ever MBA Management & Leadership Summit starting on Friday June 16th.
Nicola Thompson, ex-CEO of MADE.com, who has also worked with fashion brand ASOS, will join alumni Ian Adams, a director with NHS Resolution, and Paul Donovan, Chair of Eku Energy Group & action.ai, to launch the summit.
The summit will be hosted by the University of Bradford’s School of Management, as it ventures into a year celebrating 25 years of the Distance Learning MBA, as well as the School’s 60th Anniversary.
Professor Amir Sharif, Dean of the Faculty of Management, Law & Social Sciences, said: “This is a very exciting time for the School of Management, as we venture into a year celebrating 25 years of the Distance Learning MBA, as well as the School’s 60th anniversary.
“We are pleased to offer alumni from the MBA programme an opportunity to join us in our home city of Bradford, for our first Management and Leadership Summit. This is a great opportunity for our global MBA peers, alumni, and Bradford academics, and to take advantage of a free programme of talks and activities. MSc and DBA alumni would also benefit from attending.”
Throughout the summit, speakers and guests will explore a range of activities relating to the latest developments in leadership and management.
