Accelerating our region’s decarbonisation ambitions

Research from the University of Hull is driving low carbon innovation, helping the North East, Teesside and Humber (NETH) region meet its decarbonisation aims while powering economic growth.

The NETH region is the largest generator of industrial carbon emissions in the UK, so addressing the decarbonisation challenge here will have significant impact and create a blueprint for sustainable change.

To help tackle this, a trio of industry partnerships with the University has received £180k innovation support for regional decarbonisation in the first round of funding awards from the Northern Net Zero Accelerator (NNZA).

The three winning projects will approach the decarbonisation challenge from three very different perspectives, spanning manufacturing, low carbon energy production and logistics:

• Professor Mark Anderson, Head of the School of Environmental Sciences, will work in partnership with Humber Geothermal Energy to investigate the feasibility of developing deep geothermal energy resources in the Humber region.
• Professor Nishikant Mishra of Hull University Business School received funding to apply innovative logistics practices in the Humber region, recognising logistics as a pivotal sector for driving regional and national decarbonisation goals.
• Dr Ray Wan of the School of Engineering will work with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) to refine manufacturing processes in their composites-based offshore wind blade factory.

Dr Ray Wan continued:

“Validating these models in a production environment will enable us to apply them in large scale blade production, unlocking economic growth through increased production rates and reduced costs.”

The NNZA is a collaboration between the Universities of Hull, Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside, funded by UK Research and Innovation’s Place-Based Innovation Acceleration Account programme.

Dr Carl Samuel is NNZA Project Manager, based at the University of Newcastle, he said:

“The Northern Net Zero Accelerator programme embraces a quadruple helix innovation model – bringing together government, academia, industry, and communities – to support a just and inclusive transition to net zero across the North East, Teesside, and Humber region.”

The NNZA responds to the pressing challenge of industrial decarbonisation, drawing on the university partners’ wealth of expertise relating to net zero and the energy transition, and working directly with industry to develop real-world applications for university research.

The dynamic NNZA partnership will champion projects that:

• Advance high-impact net zero innovations from idea to implementation
• Stimulate sustainable economic growth across the region
• Empower the workforce with the critical skills needed for a thriving net zero economy.

Professor James Gilbert is the NNZA lead at the University of Hull, he said:

“These awards are a fantastic way to drive forward low carbon innovation. The funding allows us to take university research and apply it in real-world settings, helping support regional economic growth and bringing us all a step closer to net zero.

For more information about the Northern Net Zero Accelerator, visit the project webpage.

To enquire about a potential partnership with the University of Hull, email ke@hull.ac.uk