A report examining the UK Chemical Supply Chain for Battery Manufacture has found that the UK chemical sector could capture a £4.8bn per annum market share by 2030 meeting the needs of UK-built vehicles alone.

Following a deep assessment of the current capability to support the development and growth of the UK’s battery manufacturing industry, the forecasts are based upon the strong foundation of UK-based companies who are already embedded within many global battery supply chains. Currently three fifths of a vehicle battery pack’s value is the chemicals and materials. With the UK boasting some of the largest suppliers of materials to produce cathodes, anodes and electrolytes, the UK is well-placed to capitalise on this.

Through strategic Government support and collaboration between our Automotive and Chemical sector there is a real opportunity to expand our existing capabilities and grow capacity to support volume production of batteries built in the UK for domestic use as well as significant growth in exports, especially as EU battery production grows.

For battery cell manufacturing to be economically viable there is a need for local suppliers of many materials. However, the expectation is that battery chemistry will evolve over the next decade, so it is fundamental that the companies involved within this supply chain are primed for innovation as well as manufacturing investment. An increase in capability and capacity offers further export potential.

Government has already invested £246m through the Faraday Battery Challenge which has delivered valuable assets like the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre and provided invaluable opportunities for the chemical, battery and automotive sector to work together and learn from one another. In order to realise this £4.8bn supply chain opportunity, the Government will continue to have a critical role to play in supporting the strategic investments in the UK battery and battery materials sectors, while also continuing to provide targeted funding for CR&D that allows the UK chemical sector to co-develop battery technologies with its customers.

Ian Constance, CEO, Advanced Propulsion Centre, said: “with transport shifting towards electrification batteries are set to play a major part in our future propulsion mix. Today’s report highlights the opportunities available to our Automotive and Chemical sectors to come together and collaborate to make the UK the go-to-place in Europe for battery cell manufacturing. We need to ensure that we have a rich and diverse supply chain here in the UK to anchor and attract Automotive OEMs supporting them to grow and flourish from the production of next generation low carbon vehicles.”

Sue Dunkerton OBE, Interim CEO, KTN, said: “the role of the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) is to connect people to accelerate innovation, driving UK growth. We are excited to have been part of this important project – together with our partners at Innovate UK, APC WMG and E4tech – to use our knowledge and connections of the UK chemical sector to shine a light on UK capability in this area and help develop this critical supply chain opportunity.”

Dave Greenwood, Professor Advanced Propulsion Systems, WMG, University of Warwick, said: “automotive batteries will halve in cost, double in energy density and see tenfold increases in manufacturing volumes before the end of the next decade. To do this we need advanced materials supplied in bulk and at very high quality. High value opportunities exist in cathode powders, anode powders, electrolytes, collector foils and separators, and the supply chain to provide them is in its infancy.”

Adam Chase, Director, E4tech, added: “it has been very positive to see two industries working towards a shared opportunity. There is a clear industrial logic for expanding UK battery production and the UK Chemicals sector is ready and willing to scale up to meet the challenge. A lot now hangs on receiving clear demand signals in the form of a major battery plant investment in the UK.”

The report has been produced by E4tech, commissioned by the Advanced Propulsion Centre and Innovate UK (supported by Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) and WMG at the University of Warwick). They conducted a deep assessment of the current capability to support the growth of a UK Battery Manufacturing Industry.

Based on the ambitions to stimulate the supply chain so the UK can attract a ‘Giga-factory’, this report engaged with members of the supply chain who would support volume production capacity, finding them keen to seize the opportunity.

The EI Humber Branch and CATCH are delighted to invite you to our Charity Golf Day

Date: Friday 31st May 2019
Times: Tee times from 12.00pm
Venue: Grimsby Golf Club, Littlecoates Rd, Grimsby DN34 4LU

Tee Times start from 12.00 and are followed by a meal and presentation. We will be playing 18 holes over this excellent Harry Colt designed Par 70 course. The format will be a better ball pair’s stableford competition off ¾ handicap and is open to both women and men.

The cost per person is £35.00 / £70.00 per couple (discounted for Grimsby GC members) and this includes 18 holes of golf, fish & chips meal afterwards and prizes (competition, nearest the pin, longest drive etc.) Please ask if you are interested in any company sponsorship opportunities.

We look forward to seeing you on the day.

To register, please contact:
Simon Mackenzie on 07753 837782 or email simon@testexndt.co.uk
David Talbot on 07581 008385 or email david.talbot@catchuk.org

The Government needs to move away from vague and ambiguous targets and give a clear policy direction to ensure the UK seizes the industrial and decarbonisation benefits of carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS), says the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee in a report published today. The report says CCUS is necessary to meet national and international climate change targets at least cost and argues the technology could play a significant role in supporting productivity growth outside London and the South East.

The UK is considered to have one of the most favourable environments globally for CCUS, but the technology has suffered from 15 years of turbulent policy support, including the cancellation of two major competitions at a late stage. No commercial-scale plant has yet been constructed in the UK.

Carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) is a set of technologies which can together capture carbon dioxide from waste gases, and either ‘lock up’ this carbon dioxide in long-term storage or use it in industrial processes.

The report notes that in the UK, failure to deploy CCUS could double the cost of meeting our targets under the Climate Change Act 2008, rising from approximately 1% to 2% of GDP per annum in 2050.

Failure to deploy CCUS would also mean the UK could not credibly adopt a ‘net zero emissions’ target in line with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C aspiration. This latter target is a more ambitious policy on which the Committee on Climate Change will set out next week (on 2^nd May) whether the Government should commit to a net-zero target and the date to achieve it.

The report recognises the Energy Minister’s personal commitment and support for CCUS but finds there is a lack of clarity concerning the Government’s ambitions for CCUS, both in terms of time-scale for deployment of CCUS and the level of costs reductions the Government is demanding from the technology before it gives it support.

Anna Turley, Labour MP for Redcar and Member of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, said: “The UK has an opportunity to lead the world in the development of a new CCUS industry. In addition to helping to tackle UK carbon emissions, CCUS can play a crucial role in delivering much needed investment in skills and infrastructure and supporting regional growth and jobs.

“The current Energy Minister has been a champion for CCUS, and there have been some encouraging recent developments, but the CCUS industry has been the victim of years of turbulent policy support and suffered a series of false dawns. The Government now needs to give the ‘green-light’ to CCUS and ensure that we seize the domestic growth and jobs opportunities of this modern, green industry.

“CCUS is crucial to meeting the UK’s climate change targets and will be vital to achieving a ‘net zero’ target. But Government support is needed to make CCUS a reality. The Treasury needs to shake off the blinkers in its attitude to CCUS, take a more nuanced approach to the costs but also recognise the benefits. CCUS is the best and most cost-effective way to reduce our carbon emissions. Without CCUS many of our heavy industries could face closure. CCUS has a critical role to play in decarbonising our economy and modernising UK industry – the Government should now throw its full support behind CCUS and put the right policy levers in place to ensure that this technology can deliver on its potential.”

Rather than seeking unspecified cost reductions, the report says the Government should kick-start CCUS by aiming to bring forwards projects at least cost. The report also says the ambition to “deploy CCUS at scale during the 2030s” is so broad as to be meaningless, recommending the Government provide clarity by adopting specific targets in line with the Committee on Climate Change’s recommendation [see paragraph 16 of the report].

The Government has set a target to commission the first CCUS facility by the mid-2020s. Five clusters – Teesside, Humberside, Merseyside, South Wales, North East Scotland – have been identified as well suited to early CCUS deployment. The report recommends this ambition is raised to target the development of first CCUS projects in at least three clusters by 2025.

The report also recommends that the Government consider an alternative to running a third competition for funding and urgently consult on approaches to allocate funding for CCUS industry clusters, to ensure that the approach selected promotes collaboration and benefits CCUS development across the UK.

The report recommends that the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review take account not only of CCUS’ costs, but also its wider benefits – notably to extend the lifetime of heavy industries which will otherwise need to close under the requirements of the Climate Change Act. The Committee also recommends the Government task the National Instructure Commission – or a third party – to conduct a cost benefit analysis of the potential role of CCUS to decarbonise industrial emissions and that the results of this assessment should be taken into account during decision-making on spending for national infrastructure.

The report recognises CCUS as a particularly useful technology in tackling carbon emissions, with its potential application to many different areas of the economy. For example, carbon capture technology can decarbonise waste gases from power stations and industrial facilities; help to produce clean hydrogen fuel from natural gas; and remove greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere via bioenergy with CCS (BECCS) or direct air CCS (DACCS).

As part of this inquiry, the BEIS Committee held an evidence hearing in Teesside where it questioned representatives from the five key areas for CCUS industry clusters (Teesside, Humberside, Merseyside, South Wales, North East Scotland).

Taking training to where it is needed is part of the business philosophy of Maersk Training who have a global footprint in instructing in the oil & gas, maritime and wind energy industries. Identifying the Humber region as an important hub in the renewable energy section, triggered the establishment of the company’s fourth centre in the United Kingdom. The centre, just outside Grimsby, is in conjunction with CATCH, who are a recognised connection to the industry in the area.

John Abate, the Managing Director of Maersk Training in the UK explained the connection. “CATCH is an industry led partnership with a purpose to develop competencies and support the local business community. Principles close to our own and we look forward to working closely in partnership with CATCH to support that vision.”

The newest centre opens on May 1st to fulfil the need of delivering the best competency-based training through one of the broadest course portfolios in the area. The current portfolio includes all GWO courses, including the newly launched GWO Blade Repair course, making Maersk Training the only provider in the world to offer the complete set of GWO courses.

David Talbot CEO at CATCH said ‘we are really pleased to be partnering with Maersk Training at our site here at CATCH.  The Maersk name is synonymous with quality in the offshore environment, and we welcome them to the Humber region at a time when the offshore wind sector deal has been announced that will secure the UK’s position at the forefront of the industry, and the Energy Estuary as a leading region within the UK.’

Maersk Training started in Denmark 40 years ago and has since established a reputation for raising standards across the three core industries it serves. Today it has three other centres in the UK, two in Denmark and others in Norway, Brazil, India, the Middle East and the United States as well as numerous satellite operations with the aim of having training on the doorstep.

Sometimes the need for training becomes even more localised. For a decade two specialised containers have individually toured the world. They each contain a simulator which opens the opportunity to assess candidate crane drivers, to instruct new ones and to re-evaluate and realign the abilities of current staff.

In the world of renewals Maersk Training in the UK offered world’s first Mobile Training Solution for the wind industry. It’s a three-container solution, currently set up at Walney it delivers GWO training for Ørsted. A second unit is currently under construction with the potential to deliver instruction at a new government backed college in Taiwan. Maersk Training in India have developed and deployed a single container unit.

Rob Howes, the Senior Learning and Development Specialist of Ørsted Offshore Wind Operations –

“It is great news that Maersk Training are moving into the Humber region and particularly into CATCH.  CATCH is a fantastic learning facility that benefits the Humber massively in terms of Skills and Training.  Ørsted are proud to work with Maersk Training as our main provider for Offshore safety training and it is great they will be practically on the door step of our New East Coast Hub Facility in Grimsby, where we hope to Employ up to 400 people over the next few years.  The East Coast Hub building will service 5 of our Offshore wind farms operating out of Grimsby and the fact we can access Offshore safety training locally has huge benefits.  We wish Maersk Training and CATCH the very best with this agreement and we look forward to working with them in the future.”

Tronox Holdings plc completed its acquisition of the titanium dioxide business of The National Titanium Dioxide Company Limited, known as Cristal, becoming one of the world’s leading producers of high-quality titanium dioxide and zircon. This highly synergistic combination positions Tronox to increase production and better meet global demand in a competitive global market.

For more information about Tronox, please visit www.tronox.com.

CATCH is pleased to be working with the University of Lincoln within a collaboration of FE colleges, employers and wider stakeholders, in an exciting opportunity to develop an Institute of Technology that will deliver much needed high-level technical skills.

CATCH is part of 2 separate bids for the Northern Lincolnshire region that have progressed to the final stage of the competition and more details will follow.

Please follow the link below for more information…

https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/news/2019/04/1529.asp