Thursday 28 February 2019, SCI, 14/15 Belgrave Square, London

Heating in a Low Carbon Future 28 Feb 2019

Synopsis
SCI Energy Group’s first major conference reflects the critical importance of reducing CO2 emissions from the way we heat our homes for achieving the UK’s target of an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050. This conference will explore available and emerging technologies to deliver low carbon energy to buildings, comfort to occupants and energy savings.

The programme will include speakers on developments in heat pumps, smart systems, district heating and hydrogen, and the impact of decarbonisation on infrastructure. Speakers will also address the barriers to uptake and the social impact of options to reduce CO2 emissions from heating. Reflecting SCI’s approach to resolving the energy trilemma, we want to address the reliability, affordability and sustainability of solutions.

Attendees
The event is intended to broker links between science and industry, with a target audience of engineers, business and commercial managers, policy managers, academics in the field, R&D managers, marketing and business development managers, technical and operations managers, and investment decision makers.  SCI Members attending this meeting are able to claim CPD points.

Registration
Early bird rates before Thursday 17 January 2019:
SCI Member £50 SCI Student Member £20, SCI Subsidised Member £35, Non-Member £75

Standard rates after Thursday 17 January 2019:
SCI Member £75, SCI Student Member £25, SCI Subsidised Member £50, Non-Member £100

Programme Highlights
Nina Skorupska from the Renewable Energy Association is keynote speaker on low-carbon heat policy: current status and future direction, and speakers from, National Grid, Energy Systems Catapult, Element Energy, TateHindle & AECOM, KTN and Progressive Energy will discuss:

Overview of Smart Systems – Comfort through Energy Savings
Provision of Low Carbon Energy Routes to Heating
Heat Pumps, Solar Power & Heat Storage – Integration Opportunities
Social aspects of new technologies
Heat Infrastructure/District Heating
Applying technologies to minimise energy consumption in buildings
Impact on Infrastructure
Adding Hydrogen to the gas grid – the HyNet project

Book today
T: +44 (0) 20 7598 1561
E: conferences@soci.org
W: http://bit.ly/LowCarbon_Future
@SCIUpdate

The UK could have the world’s first ‘net-zero carbon’ cluster of heavy industry by 2040, thanks to up to £170 million of new funding announced at COP24climate talks in Poland today (13 December).

Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry today set the world-leading ambition alongside plans for at least one low-carbon cluster by 2030 at UN climate change talks (COP24) in Katowice, Poland. Using cutting-edge technologies like carbon capture and storage, the UK is aiming to become a world-leader in clean technology and services that will be needed as the world tackles climate change.

The UK’s low carbon economy has the potential to deliver export sales of low carbon goods and services around the world, by 2030 annual exports could be worth up to £170 billion and could support up to 2 million ‘green collar’ jobs by 2030 – a key part of our modern Industrial Strategy.

Currently, industry accounts for around 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the UK, with more than two-thirds of these industrial emissions coming from energy intensive industries which are often located next to each other in clusters.

This new funding of up to £170 million, which is expected to be backed by industry, will help heavy industries like steel, ceramics, cement, chemicals, paper and glass to share expertise and innovative low-carbon solutions to clean up the air we breathe as we move to a greener, cleaner economy.

Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry said:

Demonstrating climate action and growing the economy go hand in hand is key to building momentum behind global action on carbon. The UK is a leader in both, cutting our emissions by more than 40% while growing our economy by 2 thirds, but to sustain this track record we need to tackle emissions from energy intensive sectors and bring clean growth to our great industrial centres.

That’s why today I’m launching a mission to create the world’s first ‘net-zero’ carbon cluster by 2040 in the UK with up to £170 million of new government funding. This will help to develop the technologies of the future to transform industry around the world, ensuring the UK seizes the global economic opportunities of moving to greener, cleaner industry – a key part of our modern Industrial Strategy.

By investing in world-leading innovative technology, such as carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS), climate change can be tackled alongside creating highly skilled jobs and generating export opportunities. At the end of last month, Minister Claire Perry co-hosted a global summit in Edinburgh at which she unveiled plans to enable the first UK carbon capture project from the mid-2020s.

Today’s announcement comes as the UK-Canada led Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) celebrates one year of success, now with over 70 members. As part of this, the UK has committed £20 million for a World Bank programme (ESMAP) to help developing countries move away from coal power and embrace renewable energy. To make a real impact on the reduction of coal power, UK government has established the Utilities Taskforce to become influential advocates for the PPCA.

At international climate talks in Poland this year at COP24, the UK and Canada today will announce new members of the PPCA, committing to eradicating coal power while redirecting resources to renewables. Around 3.5 billion tons of coal are currently burnt globally for power every year, contributing to 45% of the world’s emissions.

The UK government has put moving to a cleaner, greener economy at the heart of its Industrial Strategy. Through the Clean Growth Grand Challenge, the transformation in the clean energy sector has contributed to the whole of the UK cutting its emissions by more than 40% since 1990 while growing the economy by more than two-thirds – the best performance on a per person basis of any G7 nation.

But UK has always been clear that the move to a cleaner economy must be both public and private sector led, which is why the modern Industrial Strategy establishes clean growth as one of the greatest economic opportunities of our time – with heavy industry now set to also benefit from this new clean revolution and seize the vast global economic opportunity that comes with it.

Power stations are also set to benefit too from the move to a cleaner economy. To make a real impact on the reduction of coal power, UK government is working with investors to establish the Utilities Taskforce – a group comprising companies which supply electricity to UK homes – to become powerful and influential advocates for the alliance and encourage investors to commit funds into the thriving clean energy market instead of investing in coal projects.

The UK’s first carbon capture, usage and storage project could be operational from the mid 2020s under a government action plan.

Work will begin early next year to identify opportunities to transform the UK’s fossil fuel infrastructure for use in carbon capture and storage, diversifying the oil and gas sector.

More than 50 international leaders, chief executives of major energy companies, manufacturing businesses and finance firms gathered to discuss the next crucial steps for making cutting-edge carbon capture technology a reality.

Ahead of COP24, the government will show the UK’s continued leadership on tackling climate change by setting out an action plan to enable the development of the UK’s first CCUS project, commissioning from the mid 2020s. The overarching ambition is to roll out the technology at scale in the 2030s, subject to costs coming down sufficiently.

This work is part of our Industrial Strategy Grand Challenge to maximise the advantages for UK industry from the global shift to clean growth.

Read more about this announcement.

Velocys has secured a site for the UK waste-to-jet-fuel project which it is developing in collaboration with British Airways and Shell.

Velocys plc (VLS.L), the renewable fuels company, is pleased to announce that it has secured a site for the UK waste-to-jet-fuel project which it is developing in collaboration with British Airways and Shell.

The site of approximately 80 acres, near Immingham, North East Lincolnshire, is in an Enterprise Zone and earmarked for industrial development within the Local Plan. Development is subject to planning consent; the formal planning application process is expected to begin in 2019.

Altalto Immingham Ltd, a subsidiary of Velocys, has entered into an option agreement which gives it the right, but not the obligation, to acquire Rula Developments (Immingham) Limited, the company which owns the site, for up to three years. The project team is developing the engineering and business case for the project, and the project is also subject to funding and a final investment decision, which would include a decision to proceed with the acquisition of the Immingham site. In the event that the Company in consultation with its partners decides not to proceed with the purchase, the liabilities incurred as a result of the agreement are not material to Velocys.

Back in June, the Biofuels Digest reported that Velocys had secured funding to deliver the next development phase of their UK waste-to-sustainable jet fuel project.  A grant of £434k has been secured from the Department for Transport under the Future Fuels for Flight and Freight Competition.  The award of this grant, together with ongoing policy support provided by the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, will help this innovative waste-to-fuels project bring jobs and clean growth to the UK.  The project is being developed with the financial and technical support of Shell and British Airways, and £4.5m has been committed by the industry partners including Velocys.

The new facility will take hundreds of thousands of tonnes per year of post-recycled waste, destined for landfill or incineration, and convert it into clean-burning, sustainable fuels.  The jet fuel produced, to be used by British Airways, is expected to deliver over 70% greenhouse gas reduction and 90% reduction in particulate matter emissions compared with conventional jet fuel. This would contribute to both carbon emissions reductions and local air quality improvements around major airports. The project partners expect to reach a final investment decision in the first half of 2020.

The next development stage will include detailed pre Front End Engineering and Design engineering study and site permitting activities. Advanced Plasma Power has been selected as preferred gasification technology licensor for this UK waste-to-fuels project. APP offers an efficient and tested solution for conversion of waste to synthesis gas (for onward conversion to fuels via Velocys’ Fischer-Tropsch process).

In a boost to the long term commercial viability of the project, changes to the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation came into force on the 15 April 2018. For the first time, renewable jet fuel is to qualify for credits under the RTFO, providing long term policy support for sustainable aviation fuels.

Read more:

Immingham site targeted for the UK’s first commercial scale waste-to-jet-fuel plant

Ctrl Hub’s Managing Director, Mark Lisgo describes how digital solutions can provide the key to more effective and proactive Supply Chain and Contractor Management.

It is all too easy to take your supply chain for granted.  When operations are running smoothly, it seems far important to hit the next target, close the next deal, or focus on that upcoming project.

You would like to think that your suppliers (and your customers for that matter) operate to the same high standards.  That they strive for the same high quality product or output every single time.

You have an expectation that they have the same commitment to health and safety as you.  They have proper procedures and systems in place.  All of their workers are suitably trained, qualified and competent to perform the task in hand.

You might assume that they have the same level of integrity as you.  They do not cut corners.  They put their hands up and accept liability for their own actions or omissions.

Far too often, however, you will only discover that all is not as you had hoped.  Unfortunately, that discovery generally happens once an incident has occurred, or an unsatisfactory outcome has arisen.  Instead of proactively addressing issues, damage limitation – finger pointing – becomes the required course of action.

According to the HSE, in the United Kingdom in 2017/18 there were:

• 144 fatal injuries to workers;
• 555,000 self reported injuries at work; and
• 71,062 non-fatal injuries reported under RIDDOR

(Source: Health and Safety Executive Report – Health and Safety at Work 2018)

Hoping for the best is not an acceptable course of action.  Injuries and incidents are going to occur.

You can have the most detailed, thorough vetting procedures and pre-qualification exercise in the world.  All that gives you is a snapshot of the position prior to commencement of a contract.  If the supplier questionnaires are filed away, never to be looked at again, they quickly become obsolete.  Continuously updating those files is a laborious and time-consuming task – and is therefore expensive.

Say an accident occurs on site, or out in the field.  Your admin and legal teams will go into panic mode, hunting for the relevant PQQ, requesting updated information.  Hoping that the relevant qualification or certification is still in date, and that the proper risk assessments and processes have been implemented.

Contractual liability should, in theory, flow through the supply chain and sit where the problem occurs.  This is not always the case.  If a supplier (or its lawyers) can see a potential avenue toward avoiding or reducing a liability, they will almost certainly look to take it.  A party who has suffered injury or financial damage will not necessarily look to the person most culpable.  They will seek the person with the deepest pockets or the person with the reputation to protect.

Reputational damage rarely passes down a supply chain in the same way that contractual liability would be expected to flow.  The bigger the name, the bigger the reputation and the bigger the target for all those who might look to take a go – be it injured parties, press, the general public or regulators.  You can point to the supplier who was at fault, but Joe Bloggs Limited does not capture attention in anywhere near the same way as a household name client or a tier one contractor.

The world we live in has changed enormously over the past twenty years.  We have instant access to news and information.  We demand real time data.  It is becoming less and less acceptable or defensible to simply point the finger down the supply chain and say “it was their fault, we thought everything was fine”.

It is also no longer acceptable to say “I prefer using paper” or “this is how we have always done things”.  Your competitors will not tolerate this from their workforce.

Digitisation is key to proper supply chain and contractor management – unless you are prepared to dedicate a team of admin staff (and the huge cost that entails) to continually request and monitor supplier information.  Why not redirect your human resources to tasks and projects that will generate revenue?

Technology provides an audit trail that can evidence that things have been done properly, and are being done properly.  It provides factual evidence. It removes guesswork, doubt and wriggle room.

Real time data capture and real time reporting allow you a far greater understanding of how your supply chain is performing.  You can respond instantly to issues as they arise, instead of having to scramble after damage has already been done.

By proactively managing your supply chain, you can influence and guide how they perform.  You can promote best practice and efficiency that enables them to perform better and more cost effectively.  You can significantly reduce risk.  That all benefits everyone involved.

Few things are certain in these fast paced times.  This, however, I am prepared to say with total certainty.  Companies who embrace digitisation will thrive against those who are unwilling to accept or face change.  You must move ahead, or you will ultimately cease to exist.

To learn more about how Ctrl Hub can support you to manage your supply chain more effectively please visit our website in the first instance www.ctrl-hub.com

Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry has visited Drax Power Station’s bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS) pilot plant.

You’ve heard this one before haven’t you? A UK regional location promoting itself to expanding businesses with a bold claim – in this case, ‘Britain’s Best Industrial Base.’ The project in question is the £30 million South Humber Industrial Investment Programme. The location: the South Humber port towns of Grimsby and Immingham.

You may also hold some negative perceptions about this place. As with many industry hubs in northern England, the last few years haven’t always been plain sailing.

When the South Humber team commissioned research to identify the area’s offer to investing businesses, we already knew it was better than people thought. In spite of those negative perceptions, the area had been developing rapidly as a major offshore renewables industry hub – ready to serve the world’s largest offshore wind farms. It was also home to the UK’s outstanding food industry cluster, and at the heart of the country’s biggest ports complex – providing businesses with global freight connectivity.

More information about South Humber can be found at www.southhumber.co.uk

We hadn’t previously known that our skilled labour profile compared favourably with the UK’s top advanced manufacturing locations – a positive by-product of our offshore, manufacturing and process industries heritage. And our interviews with local industry leaders showed how those technical skills are possessed by unusually resilient and motivated people – partly a consequence of working in tough, offshore environments. On top of all that, our research highlighted the South Humber cost advantage – significant labour and property cost savings versus key UK competitor locations.

So, the strapline Britain’s Best Industrial Base isn’t a baseless boast – we’re not inclined to boasting. It’s built on research and solid evidence – that South Humber’s combination of added value (skills, connectivity, supply chains…) and low costs makes it a match for the UK’s best industrial business locations.

Over the coming months and beyond, we’ll be sharing our insights, data and news – and those of our industry partners – revealing just how much South Humber has to offer to industrial businesses and the people who work for them. You can also get the key facts and statistics right now – by downloading our in-depth Location Data Guide from the home page.

We’re therefore pleased to invite you to follow South Humber – Britain’s Best Industrial Base. We look forward to revealing a thriving businesses location that we think will impress you, and possibly surprise you too!

The South Humber Team

When:  Tuesday 2^nd October

Where:  Grimsby Auditorium

10am – 6.30pm

Book now at www.businesshive.live

This year we have a great variety of local speakers covering current, engaging topics and 2 Keynote talks that will be nothing short of inspirational.

We have over 60 exhibitors just waiting for you to come and talk to them at their stands and see if business can be done together.

Plus, we have our own pop up restaurant, The Lincolnshire Kitchen serving a delicious lunch menu courtesy of The Lincolnshire Chef and free tea and coffee all day.

This isn’t your average business expo, this is Business Hive Live 2018.

A new report has been launched by global energy skills body OPITO in partnership with Robert
Gordon University’s (RGU) Oil and Gas Institute which looks at skills requirements for the oil and
gas industry over the next 20 years.

The purpose of the research is to ensure that action can be taken to safeguard more jobs and also give
the current workforce opportunities to up-skill as new roles are created in oil and gas and renewables.
A new skills strategy will be developed as a result of the report, so that the industry is prepared for
the expected changes.

Whilst total employment will fall gradually over the next 20 years, the report shows that 40,000 people
will need to be recruited into the industry to sustain ambitions to achieve Vision 2035 and the energy
transition. This will help sustain the UK industry for many years to come.

How many people will be recruited?
More than 40,000 new people are expected to be recruited over the next 20 years on the basis that
the industry can achieve the goals around Vision 2035 and the wider energy diversification. By 2035 it
is expected that the industry should be able to sustain over 130,000 roles in 2035, (170,000 in 2017).

How many people will retire or leave to work elsewhere over the next 20 years?
It is likely that around 80,000 people will retire or leave the sector for other reasons by 2035.
The industry has lost 70,000 people between 2014 and 2017, will there be more of the same?
The sharp hit experienced over the last three years is not expected. Production is predicted to increase
in the short term and then post 2021 start to reduce as hydrocarbons become increasingly difficult to
produce. There will likely be a more gradual reduction of numbers employed in the sector of around
1.5% per year (compared to the 10% experienced in the last three years). Much of the reduction will
be met by people retiring.

What is Vision 2035?
There are still an estimated 20 billion barrels of remaining hydrocarbons to be recovered, however
these will become increasingly more challenging to extract. To provide a clear sense of direction for
the sector, the Oil and Gas Authority in collaboration with Oil and Gas UK created a new vision for the
industry – Vision 2035, based on maximising economic recovery from the UKCS and a doubling of the
international footprint of the UK based supply chain. Vision 2035 captures the ambition of the industry
to produce an additional 3 billion barrels of oil and gas by 2035 and to double the UK’s share of the
global oil and gas supply chain market from 3.7% to over 7% by 2035. The industry is currently
developing a roadmap for Vision 2035.

What sorts of new jobs will be created?
New roles will be required in areas such as data science, data analytics, robotics, material science,
remote operations, new materials, nano-technology, change management and cyber security. It is
important that a skills strategy informs the creation of new courses and training programmes. The low
carbon transition is also expected to create roles which can be transferred from oil and gas. The
Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, the UK’s leading innovation and research centre for offshore
wind, wave and tidal, recently predicted 30,000 jobs will be created in the UK by 2040 in tidal power
and wave energy.

Which jobs will be most affected by technology?
The UK Workforce Dynamics report looks at job families rather than specific job titles. It shows that
posts that involve high degrees of routine physical work and data handling are more likely to be
affected by automation. This can lessen risk exposure, reducing repetitive or high risk tasks to improve
safety.

What will a new skills strategy involve?
The skills strategy that will emerge from the review is likely to include the development of new
programmes and courses involving input from employers, trade unions, governments, agencies,
educational establishments and commercial training organisations. To make the most of energy
transition opportunities, common standards will be needed across the energy sectors to create a more
flexible workforce for the future.