Our environmental innovations are delivering real business growth.
According to a recent stock market review the world economy is in rehabilitation. As the global economy shows signs of improvement and we emerge from recession, traditional industries are seeing steady growth, but it is the new and future industries that are emerging as the real drivers behind future economic growth
The strength of these markets is stimulating real Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) growth particularly in the UK, which is one of the major global markets for FDI and a prime global destination for attracting inward investment.
With on average over 30 companies per week investing in the UK, which sectors are driving this FDI growth?
As traditional energy sources run low the biggest challenge facing governments worldwide is how to replace them with new sustainable options and reduce carbon emissions, while at the same time maintaining industrial and business growth.
That is why one of the most active and globally valued markets is the environmental sector, worth £400 billion per year. In 2008 over $155 billion was invested in clean energy companies and projects worldwide with the nuclear industry alone predicted to be valued at around £17bn over the next 20 years.
The British Government has already signalled it’s commitment to developing a low carbon economy, pledging around £67m to help develop the biomass industry in the UK alongside it’s commitment to sourcing 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Offshore wind is at the heart of the UK economy’s shift to low carbon and Britain is, and will remain for the foreseeable future, the largest single market for offshore wind in the world. To capitalise on this, the UK pre-budget report included plans for a £2bn green investment bank fund for low carbon projects. This is alongside up to £60m of funding to develop the right infrastructure for offshore wind manufacturers to base their operations in the UK, something that the Yorkshire and Humber region is keen to see realised.
This region of the UK gives businesses an unrivalled advantage when tapping into the environmental technologies market. The Humber’s location at the heart of the largest planned Round 3 wind farm zone, positioned directly off the region’s coast, represents a major opportunity for energy companies, developers, turbine manufacturers and installation specialists.
Chief Executive of one of the main round 3 wind farm developers, Dr Eddie O’Connor from Mainstream Renewable Power, highlighted the impact wind energy will have on the economy when he stated, “this is about delivering a whole new industry for the UK, one that provides sustainable, secure and indigenous power as well as tens of thousands of new jobs throughout the supply chain. This will have a major impact on the long-term economic development of the UK as well as positioning it as the global leader in offshore wind generation”.
Already home to Europe’s largest port complex and one of the largest development sites in Europe (over 880ha) there is no doubt Yorkshire and Humber provides the right location to enable offshore wind developers, manufacturers and supply chains to deploy and install with ease.
Another fast growing sector is nuclear manufacturing and Yorkshire has become the UK centre for manufacturing for the next generation of nuclear power stations. The announcement that the UK’s new multi-million pound Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC) will be located in South Yorkshire’s Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP), puts the region firmly at the very heart of this industry, which is expected to generate well over £1bn a year.
This was reinforced with the recent £80 million investment from the UK government in Sheffield Forgemasters, a global force in steel production and engineering, enabling the company to supply the civil nuclear power industry and other markets and to compete globally in this lucrative sector.
Yorkshire Forward, the region’s regional development agency is also actively pursuing new business opportunities in other areas of the low carbon energy industry, including a ground-breaking carbon capture and storage (CCS) programme. The region beat off competition from across Europe to secure a carbon capture and storage (CCS) network, the first to be built in the UK with Powerfuel Power Ltd and National Grid securing a £165m grant from the European Commission for the development of a 900MW coal gasification plant with full CCS at Hatfield, Doncaster. This pilot site will incorporate the UK’s first commercial CCS technology, using supplies of coal from Hatfield colliery and is a vital step towards developing a cluster of CCS sites across the region - which has the potential to store up to 10% of the UK’s carbon emissions.
As climate change, fossil fuel reduction and energy security become ever more important issues globally the environmental technologies industry will continue to boom in the coming decades. As companies recover from recession and look forward this market offers unprecedented opportunities for future growth and stability. The Yorkshire and Humber region offers companies unrivalled access to leading edge skills, an experienced workforce, a dedicated knowledge-base, R&D and the right supply chains opening up these new and expanding markets, delivering real business advantage
Our role is to support foreign owned businesses who wish to set up operations in the Yorkshire and Humber region of the UK. For more information on what service and support we can offer click here, to contact us please use the form below: