The £300 million funding round was led by the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) and multinational energy leviathan Centrica, supported by investors including Rio Tinto, Goldman Sachs, KIRKBI and Mosaic Capital.

The investment will enable the construction of one of the world’s largest long duration energy storage (LDES) facilities in Carrington, Manchester, using Highview’s proprietary LAES technology.

Once complete, Carrington – otherwise known as the location for Manchester United’s training complex – will have a capacity of 300MWh and an output power of 50MW per hour for six hours.

Construction begins on the site now.  Full operation is scheduled for early 2026. Over 700 jobs will be supported during construction and in the plant’s supply chain.

UKIB’s investment reflects its ambition to direct private finance to help new technologies reach commercial scale, as they aid Britain’s transition to Net Zero.

With its £70 million investment, Centrica comes on board as Highview Power’s strategic partner, supporting both Carrington & an accelerated roll-out of the firm’s technology elsewhere in the UK.

Highview believes its programme sets the bar for storage energy systems around the world, raising Britain to global leadership in energy storage and managing grid flexibility.

Highview Power is now at work planning four even bigger LAES plants elsewhere in Britain. The 2.5 GWh facilities, funded with an anticipated future £3 billion, will ensure a fast roll-out of the technology to align with the nation’s LDES (long duration energy storage) goals enabling the ESO’s Future Energy Scenario plans.

Highview Power has developed its LAES technology over 17 years. The technology can store renewable electricity for as much as several weeks, longer than electro-chemical batteries. The company says it is ready to be rolled out at scale, at key grid chokepoints.

Stability services to the National Grid including system balancing, feature among Highview’s business offers, speeding the redundancy of despatchable fossil fuelled power to manage demand volatility.

More manageable storage curbs curtailment costs, too. Last year British bill payers were caught on a £800 million hook, as stilled wind farms claimed compensation simply because the NG was too full to accept their low carbon output.

Highview Power seeks completion by 2035 of its larger UK installations, timed to meet one National Grid scenario of 2GW needed from LAES. That figure would represent nearly 20% of Britain’s energy storage for longer than two hours.

“There is no energy transition without storage” declared Richard Butland, pictured, Highview’s co-founder & CEO.

 “The UK’s investment in world-leading offshore wind & renewables requires a national long-duration storage programme to capture excess wind and support the grid’s transformation.

“UKIB, Centrica and our other partners are backing Highview’s ambitions to bring renewable energy storage into Britain’s economy at scale, liberating the potential of what is both the greenest and by far our cheapest energy source.

Centrica group chief executive Chris O’Shea enthused: “The energy transition is an opportunity that could transform lives. But with the UK’s changing energy mix, and more intermittency from renewables, we have to explore new, innovative ways to store energy so our customers have electricity available when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine”.

Greater Manchester’s mayor Andy Burnham weighed in too. “My vision is for Greater Manchester to be a leader in the green transition. Highview Power’s decision to build one of the world’s largest long duration energy storage facilities at Carrington is a huge boost for the region.

“This new plant will deliver renewable energy to homes and business across our region and bring world-leading technology, jobs, skills and investment to Greater Manchester. I’m delighted to welcome Highview Power”, Burnham declared.

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The cash was raised thanks to the Clean Growth Fund, Eurazeo’s Smart City fund, and Aviva Ventures. The trio join existing investor Copley Point Capital in the 12 year old company.

Cheltenham-based Rendesco works with property developers including Cala Homes & Telford Homes to install low-carbon, networks based on ground sourced heat.  It also operates networks which supply clean heat and hot water to over 8,000 homes nationwide.

As Britain’s third largest source of CO₂ emissions, ridding carbon from heating buildings is a critical challenge.  Rendesco says it is at its forefront.

Today’s new investment comes Whitehall’s closing earlier this year of final consultations on the Future Homes Standard. Its final measures will underpin the incoming government’s plans to decarbonise home heat, including banning from next January the installation of gas boilers in new homes. Similar legislative measures are also driving decarbonisation across Europe.

The cash will accelerate Rendesco’s growth plans, aimed at providing a low-carbon alternative to gas grids and cutting consumers’ bills.  Part of the money will be directed at higher tech, yielding cleverer, more consumer-focused systems to manage home energy.

The new investment is separate from, but complementary to, Rendesco’s joint venture with Last Mile Heat.  Rendesco’s new build home solutions are owned by Last Mile Heat, enabling house builders to install ground source heat solutions in their developments at a considerably lower cost than with other low-carbon heat sources.  The joint venture has already developed a pipeline of £150m worth of clean heat infrastructure, boosting futureproofed heating of dwellings.

Rendesco’s founder Alastair Murray said: “I am pleased to welcome Clean Growth Fund, Eurazeo & Aviva Ventures as investors in Rendesco.

“This funding means Rendesco is incredibly well capitalised, in parallel to the significant capital available to deploy into capex costs via Last Mile Heat.  Their collective expertise and support will be invaluable as we pursue our ambitious growth plans, rapidly expanding our clean heating solutions to reach millions of homes.”

Susannah McClintock of specialist investors the Clean Growth Fund enthused: “Decarbonising heat is critical to achieving Britain’s Net Zero targets. Rendesco’s heat network solutions provide a cost-effective, efficient route to delivering the low carbon heat required for the transition away from gas to renewables. This investment aligns with our commitment to empower early-stage entrepreneurs to tackle the climate change crisis.”

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In new research published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, they show that electrifying Ukraine’s steel sector to have near zero emissions would generate $164 billion worth of additional gross value added, compared to a pathway based on traditional coal-based steelmaking.

Electrifying eastern Ukraine’s coal-fired forges to run on low carbon renewables could radically also shift the nation’s steel industry from the coal fields of the Donbas towards western and southern regions, and accelerate economic growth.

Robust production of green steel would have ripple effects across Ukraine’s entire economy, argues lead author Dr Alli Devlin, from Oxford University’s Department of Engineering Science

“The vast destruction of Ukraine’s iron and steelmaking assets represents a stark opportunity to rebuild a thriving industrial sector which is independent of fossil fuels”, writes Dr Devlin.

“Ukraine is well positioned to supply European green steel markets, which will provide employment throughout the value chain, and deliver returns to the economy well beyond the original investments.”

Steel makes up a big chunk of Ukraine’s economy. Before Putin’s psychosis, its 21.4 million tonnes produced in 2021 ranked Ukraine as the world’s 14th biggest producer.  But its steel is among the world’s dirtiest, with 2020’s 48 Megatonnes of CO_{2 equivalent}, making up 15% of the country’s entire carbon emissions.

Ukraine wants to join the Eurpoean Union. When it succeeds, it will become subject to the trading block’s EU Green Deal’ target, which mandates for steel at near zero emissions by 2030.

Curiously, south Wales nurtured eastern Ukraine’s early history of producing iron, then steel in industrial volumes, first for Imperial Russia, then for the Soviet Union.

Donetsk, capital of the Donbas coalfield, was named Yuzovka for nearly 50 years until 1919, in honour of Merthyr Tydfil-born John Hughes. Hughes was the forgemaster who sailed from Britain in 1869with over 100 of his countrymen, miners and skilled iron smelters, to set up one of Imperial Russia’s first high-volume iron furnaces.

A Welsh-speaking community in eastern Ukraine with an English-language school and churches dedicated to saints David & George, prospered until 1919. In that year Russia’s new Bolshevik government nationalised the town’s iron works, forcing many families to return to Wales.

So great was Donetsk’s affinity with Britain that, after Putin’s annexation of the Donas region in 2014, locals even jokily campaigned to have Britain assume sovereignty of the city, in view of the region’s debt to John Hughes.

In their new paper, Dr Devlin & colleagues suggest new electrified steel mills should be situated close to cross-border rail hubs and close to the best sources for solar & wind energy.

This strategy would significantly increase demand for land and sea transport services, re-routing them towards Western/EU markets, and also create new demand for the production of green hydrogen and green ammonia for fossil-free fuels.

The report lays out an investment bill of $62 billion over 20 years for Ukraine’s full recovery in steelmaking: $46bn for renewable energy kit, $7bn for energy storage, and $9 billion for electric furnaces. Based on recent performance, the team believe every $1 invested in Ukraine’s basic metals industry would yield an additional $3.28 elsewhere in the economy.

The World Bank estimates that Ukraine’s full post-war recovery and reconstruction needs will require $486 billion.

The Oxford paper says Ukraine’s green steel requirements amount to only 6% of the country’s total $486 bn post-war reconstruction bill, as calculated by the World Bank for the nation’s first decade free of Russian attack.

Ultimately, says the paper, Ukraine could provide the world’s template for the urgently needed transition towards low-emission steel . Now comprising around 8% of total global emissions, steel ranks top of all human production sectors, at 2.8 Gigatonnes of CO₂ per year. In comparison, air transport accounts for only 2.5%.

The war-ravaged country last year outranked England in the new capacityof onshore wind capacity which it commissioned.

With prospective international donors and private investors gathering in Berlin today and tomorrow for the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2024 , the Oxford researchers hope that green steel will be high on the agenda.

“This research is not just another feasibility study”, declared report co-author Dr Vlad Mykhnenko, the university’s associate professor of sustainable urban development.

“It is a call to action for steelmakers, investors, and politicians to ensure that after the war we really build back better.

“Green steel would become a sustainable growth promotion machine for Ukraine’s post-war development, and would generate almost twice as much economic growth than the traditional coal-based steel. This means more income and higher living standards for all Ukrainians”.

Through its research commercialisation arm Oxford University Innovation, Oxford is the number one filer of patents among Britain’s universities.  It’s ranked first in Britain too for commercial spin-offs, having created more than 300 new companies since 1988. Over a third of those have sprung into life since 2019.

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Manufacturers have invested significantly in green bus innovation with some 13 different zero emission models now available in the UK. More than four in 10 new single- and double-deckers joining British fleets last year were either electric or hydrogen, and analysts predict and the market could be fully decarbonised as early as 2030, if all the right enablers are put in place.

At present, however, the benefits – from improved local air quality and reduced noise pollution to a more enjoyable passenger experience – are unevenly distributed.

Of all new ZEV buses registered last year, Greater London, at 46.8%, accounted for almost half, despite the capital accounting for fewer than one in six new bus registrations of all types.

While government support has enabled some specific cities to invest, uptake outside the capital is far lower. The rest of England outside London took 30.3% of new ZEV buses, while Northern Ireland received 3.3%, just slightly more than Wales, which accounted for just 2.2%.  Ironically Northern Ireland is home to leading manufacturer Wrightbus, based in Ballymena, County Antrim.

Scotland has enjoyed robust levels of ZEV bus uptake, accounting for 17.5% of all new ZEVs reaching UK roads last year.  This is in part due to operators benefitting from funding from the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge. Holyrood’s cash spurs decarbonisation switchovers by smaller operators of scheduled services, and operators providing rural community and home-to-school services

Equally, the national Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) fund has been instrumental in spurring greater green uptake across the UK. However, the scheme’s lengthy grant application process and narrow time windows for applications mean only the biggest operators with the most resources are successful.

Smaller and rural operators also face a tough challenge due to longer routes and lower passenger numbers, despite the opportunity of mass green mobility helping to boost passenger numbers in semi-urban and rural areas by as much as 65%.

In a new paper Next Stop, Net Zero: The Route To A Decarbonised UK Bus Market, the SMMT sets out the case for a clear timetable to put every region, operator, driver and passenger on the journey to Net Zero.

But the trade body says that timetable must be backed by long-term, accessible support for fleets of all sizes. Passenger levels fell sharply in 2020 as Covid lockdowns took hold. The tight margins faced still by operators as the market recovers dictate that government incentives remain necessary.

The challenge of switching is made steeper – and the need for incentives even more critical – by the higher upfront cost of zero emission vehicles, compared to their predecessors running on fossil fuels such as diesel.

Decarbonising buses also depends on charging & refuelling infrastructure in depots, and establishing the best locations for shared replenishing. Developing this takes time, prompting the trade body to call for smart thoughts and smart actions today.

As Europe’s biggest ZEV market, the SMMT, says Britain needs a strategy to deliver the infrastructure that’s needed as well as incentives required to help operators deliver a mature, functioning ZEV market.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said; “Britain’s bus industry is in a strong position to become the first vehicle sector to decarbonise.

“Reaching that destination, however, requires a clear timetable and appropriately ambitious support. Governments have played a vital role in driving uptake through grant funding, and every region should be supported so that all passengers can enjoy the advantages of going green. Only then will the full benefits of sustainable public transport be realised nationwide”.

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The duo are seeking to deepen their 25 year relationship around the compound of nitrogen & hydrogen.

Global demand for ammonia is estimated to grow to more than 600 million metric tonnes by 2050 due in part to its greater ease of storage and transport when compared with pure hydrogen.  Operators of industrial processes, plus power generators and shipping lines are looking with increased interest at the compound.  Its low carbon variant is predicted to meet two-thirds of ammonia demand by mid-century, implying an estimated market size for low carbon ammonia of over $200 billion then.

Johnson Matthey reckons its patented LCH^TM technology captures as much as 99% of the CO2 released in producing ammonia.  Combined with JM’s autothermal reformer, or in conjunction with JM’s gas heated reformer, the LCH method has been selected for early and prestigious blue hydrogen projects such as BP’s 700-megawatt H2Teesside hydrogen plant, and the 600-megawatt H2H Saltend project undertaken with Equinor and German company Linde.

Thyssenkrupp Uhde brings to the partnership its unique uhde^® dual pressure technology.

The firm’s heritage includes licensing, engineering or building more than 130 ammonia plants worldwide since 1928. It says it leads the market in bigger plants, those producing more than 3,000 tonnes per day.

For Johnson Matthey, its managing director of CT licensing Alberto Giovanzana said: “We know multiple routes are needed in the energy transition. Ammonia provides several options because it can be used directly in power and shipping industries, and as a hydrogen carrier to safely transport hydrogen to areas it is not easy to produce.

“Combining our expertise and over two decades worth of partnership with thyssenkrupp Uhde, we are excited to offer this technology which will allow our customers to produce ammonia with significantly lower CO2 emissions.”

Thyssenkrupp Uhde’s chief operating officer Lucretia Löscher said: “We are committed to our purpose, ‘we create a livable planet’. With this strong partnership we further broaden our portfolio of climate-friendly solutions and can help our customers even better to reach their sustainability goals.”

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Headed by Devrim Celal, the fulfilment platform has announced a multi-year deal with municipal utility Saint John Energy, (SJE) in New Brunswick on Canada’s east coast, licencing Kraken’s end-to-end customer service platform.

As Kraken’s first partner in the North American energy market to license its customer platform, SJE can now use Kraken to support its progress towards a decentralised, decarbonised grid for its 36,000 customers.

SJE will adopt Kraken’s end-to-end utility operating system, enabling it to create & brand new green energy-focused services, deliver advanced customer care through relentlessly efficient processes, and flexibly manage its distribution network.

Kraken, which is part of Octopus Energy Group, will import and integrate all of SJE’s residential & business customers onto its all-in-one customer service, billing, optimisation, and asset management platform.

As Canada’s oldest incorporated city, Saint John on the 45^th parallel has been a test bed for electrification. Its 70,000 or so inhabitants face average January temperatures of minus 12 Celsius, and 167 days a year when temperatures do not rise above freezing point.

So the municipal power provider has had to come up with energy innovations, deemed among the most forward-looking in north America. More than 75 percent of the city’s customers have homes & premises heated by electricity. More than 70 percent of customers rent water heaters, and more than 20 percent of residents rent heat pumps.

In 2019, SJE became the world’s first utility to deploy a Tesla Megapack to store power, cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and reduce grid strain.

As the utility continues to employ solutions to reach Net Zero, the partners say Kraken’s end-to-end management platform will be critical in supporting the utility’s future energy transaction needs while easing emerging grid constraints resulting from new technologies in renewable generation and consumer low-carbon behaviours.

Greg Jackson, founder of Octopus Energy Group, said: “Around the globe, Kraken partners with some of the most trusted energy brands to decentralise, decarbonise, and above all, modernise the grid.

“Saint John Energy’s track record as an innovative early adopter makes this partnership a natural fit for us as we look to drive the energy transition worldwide. As our first utility and distribution partner in North America, we are excited to support Saint John Energy in bringing more affordable, reliable solutions to its customers in Canada.”

Ryan Mitchell, president and CEO of Saint John Energy said: “We’re proud and excited to partner with Kraken, which not only has a transformative platform but an international reputation for best-in-class solutions tailored to the energy industry.”

“Implementing its solutions will give our customers more information and control over their energy needs” Mitchell added.  “It will allow Saint John Energy to pursue more innovative solutions in clean energy and the transition to Net Zero.”

The Canadian deal follows Kraken’s recent pilot partnership to reduce grid constraints in Connecticut, its successful U.S. launch of SmartFlex, and a licensing agreement with a Texas-based energy asset manager, Tenaska.

Kraken currently looks after 54 million utility customers across the globe. Managing around 155,000 domestic devices— or over 38 GW of contracted power, it stands as one of the largest residential virtual power plants in the world.

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Originally developed by Shell Oil, Stanlow at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire began in 1924 – pictured – as a production site for bitumen, also blending and cleaning imported crude oil. It is now among the UK’s largest and most complex refineries, processing 10 million tonnes of crude each year.

Following its purchase in 2011 by Essar Oil UK, since re-branded as EET Fuels Ltd, Stanlow has received major investment, advancing the owners’ ambitions to make it the world’s first low carbon refinery, and among the globe’s biggest hubs for steam-cleaning fossil fuels into “blue” hydrogen.

EET Fuels, controlled by billionaire brothers Prashant and Ravi Ruia, today announced its non-specific intention for forthcoming events in celebration, including donations to charities community groups. Details will be released in coming weeks.

EET chairman Prashant Ruia commented: “For a century, Stanlow has kept Britain moving.

“We are immensely proud of the refinery’s heritage and its unwavering commitment to supplying high-quality products and fuels safely and reliably. We want to recognise the thousands of colleagues who made this happen.

“The Stanlow story is only just beginning. The massive transition strategy we are implementing, with the ambition of making Stanlow the world’s first low carbon refinery, as well as the UK’s leading producer of hydrogen as part of the HyNet consortium, is set to re-position Stanlow and the North West of England for the next 100 years and beyond.”

Manufacturing has taken place at Stanlow since 1924, first of bitumen and specialist solvents. Aviation spirit was added to the output during World War 2.

Recognising the importance of refineries closer to customer markets, Shell in 1949 began a three-year build programme to create a fully-fledged crude oil refinery.

Essar Group acquired Stanlow in 2011, and has since invested a claimed $1 billion on improvements.

Now employing more than 700 people directly and the same total again in its local supply chain, Stanlow remains a prominent supplier to the North West’s major fuel retailers, to Manchester Airport and leading commercial airlines, and to  the region’s trains and buses.

Through HyNet and other initiatives, EET Fuels is investing $1.2 billion over the next five years to decarbonise its operations. It aims for a 95% cut in carbon emissions by 2030 through energy efficiency, carbon capture and fuel switching.  If achieved, that figure will deliver a 12.5% reduction the North West’s overall carbon emissions.

In February 2023, Essar announced a new entity Essar Energy Transition (EET) would position Stanlow as a leading hub for energy transition in the North West.  EET plans to invest US$3 billion in developing a range of low carbon energy transition projects across the site before 2029.

They include state-of-the-art ventures in industrial Carbon Capture and Hydrogen Fuel Switching, to be achieved this decade.

The Stanlow site is also home to EET Hydrogen, founded in 2022 under the name Vertex Hydrogen. EET bills the offshoot as the UK’s leading hydrogen production project. It is developing 1GW of blue hydrogen for the UK market, with follow-on capacity set to reach 3.8 GW.

More on Stanlow’s centenary here.

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Based at Lichtenfels, near Kassel in central Germany, Voodin Blade Technologies says its lumber blades help turbines reduce CO2 emissions by up to 78% against conventional materials, and cut up to 20% from turbine production costs.

The four year old start-up has attached its innovative structures, 19.3 metres in length, to an existing turbine tower already erected at Breuna, near Kassel.  60- and 80-meter blades are also taking shape on the firm’s drawing board.

Voodin’s boss Tom Siekmann says that while up to 90% of wind turbines are recyclable, conventional blades are currently not. Their usual construction is of fibreglass and carbon fibre sealed with epoxy resin.  Though some manufacturers are trying, the materials have proven difficult and expensive to break down.

Holz on to your Hütte! Wir in it, to spin it!

Conventionally sourced turbine blades have a working life of up to 25 years. With the first generation of blades now reaching end of life, towers – sometimes known in Germany as ‘white asparagus’ – need to be re-equipped with replacements.

Voodin makes its wooden blades from laminated veneer lumber, or LVL, a sandwich of many thin layers, glued together.

“At the end of their lifecycle, most blades are buried in the ground or incinerated. This means that, at this pace, we will end up with 50 million tonnes of blade material waste by 2050. With our solution, we want to help green energy truly become as green as possible,” said Siekmann.

Voodin Blade Technology uses CNC – ‘computer numerical control‘ – lathes to create complex 3D shapes.   The method allows for a high level of automation, obviating the moulds used in conventional manufacturing.  CNC milling also adds flexibility and versatility to designs as they advance to reality.

Increased automation means less labour and so cheaper production. Manufacturing thus does not need to be offshored to countries with lower labour costs, avoiding delay in supply chains. Production can even be achieved closer to the host turbine parks, further trimming back emissions and transport costs.

The company believes wooden blades can even flourish in challenging working offshore, where around 85% of current turbines are located

“According to all our tests, our blades are even more durable than the existing fiberglass blades, as they show fewer fatigue characteristics and are proven to endure all kinds of onshore weather conditions extremely well,” Voodin co-founder Jorge Castillo explained.

Blade on the feather, body between the knees

Traditional German respect for wood, natural materials and forests runs deep in the country’s ecological culture.  Former Bundestag MP Josef Göppel, a past advocate for community energy in Angela Merkel’s government, represented a forestry-dependent seat in Bavaria.

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With gas boilers banned from 2025 as a heating source in new English  & Welsh homes, analysis of recent official data on heat pump installations in new homes points to the necessity for builders to up their game radically.

Of the 1.1 million new homes logged as finished between 2019 and 2023 in the two nations, only 4.53% – fewer than one in twenty – had either air- or ground-source heat pumps fitted by the builders, ready for use when the first owners moved in.

The figures emerge from analysis by price comparison website Confused.com of compulsory Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) issued by local planning authorities in respect of new dwellings.

Year-by-year analysis indicates that pump installations are improving, but still far too slowly. Air source heat pumps were fitted to only 2.68% of new homes in 2019. That share rose to 7.58% last year, buoyed by increasing environmental concerns & advances in heat pump technology.

Scale economies mean companies fitting the devices as part of a home’s initial construction can achieve unit savings as high as 60% against the prices paid by individuals to convert their existing homes.

But today’s figures point to greedy volume house builders preserving their profits, shirking social and environmental responsibilities, by leaving owner-occupying individuals to face the greater unit cost and inconvenience of post-completion private retrofits.

Linked to the 2025 ban on gas boilers in new homes, the Sunak government has adopted a Johnson-era target of 600,000 heat pumps installed by 2028, replacing conventional gas boilers.   But the goal has been dogged by criticism of poor subsequent promotion from Whitehall, low awareness among consumers of the technology & fears about its supposed complexity. A continuing lack of skilled retro-fitting pump technicians and ambiguous messages from makers of conventional boilers, are among factors also stalling the drive.

Measures by Sunak’s government to speed up domestic pump adoption include raising last year to £7,500 grants to replace conventional boilers. Even that improvement failed to boost retrofit installs of pumps; spending watchdog the National Audit Office found last month that, over the eighteen months to January,  they ran at less than half the required rate.

Last month the government launched a planning consultation, cutting separation distances between homes of external devices.

Geographical uptake of domestic low carbon heat remains patchy, the survey finds. King’s Lynn & W Norfolk tops the list of best authorities identified by Confused.com for heat pumps fitted as standard.  52.12% of its 1,300 dwellings finished during the four year  period feature an air source device.  Ceredigion, with 39.26%, and Breckland in Norfolk with 38.58%, occupy lesser medal positions in a top 10 table, borne up by Cornwall’s 24.2%.

Worst areas are Liverpool city council, Halton on Merseyside and Sandwell in the west Midlands. None of these laggard authorities recorded more than 0.1% of its new builds with heat pumps.

Fastest improvers over the four years among the nations’ planning authorities include Bromsgrove, where integrated heat pumps appeared in 0.6% of new homes in 2018, but in over 46% last year. Councils in the Cotswolds, Isle of Angelsey, Pembrokeshire and Dacorum in Hertfordshire also all leapt from negligible numbers, to over a third of new dwellings in 2023.

Read the full Confused.com report here.

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The public welcomes the prospect of zero-emissions aviation technologies, despite unfamiliarity and even some concerns over their viability.

Researchers for the Jet Zero Council, a partnership between the UK government, industry and academia focused on reducing aviation emissions, quizzed 2,000 travellers about their attitude to kerosene-bereft flying.

They found British adults need thorough reassurance that any new aviation technologies are rigorously tested to ensure their safety before they are introduced commercially.

On average, they believe zero-emissions aviation – i.e. battery- and hydrogen-powered aircraft – to be around 15 years off commercial use.

Despite concerns about range and weight, 37% said they would fly on a battery powered aircraft, and a further 40% said they’d consider it. The public is more confident about hydrogen-powered aircraft, with 35% saying they would take a flight powered by hydrogen, and a further 47% said they’d be open to it.

Emma Gilthorpe, CEO of the Jet Zero Council, says, “It’s great to see how confident the general public are about zero-emissions aviation technologies. Battery- and hydrogen-powered aircraft are a crucial part of decarbonising the future of flight, and it is important that industry makes it as easy as possible for the public to embrace these technologies as they enter service”.

Rachel Gardner-Poole, Chair of the Jet Zero Council Zero Emission Flight Delivery Group, says, “It is really helpful to see the views of the general public on these important topics.  Battery electric aircraft are already being used on a daily basis by some UK-based private flying schools, and will expand significantly to urban and rural settings in the near future, with regional flight also anticipated. Meanwhile, emerging hydrogen propulsion will be capable of domestic flights, and in the longer term, international routes will be flown using hydrogen. Jet Zero Council members are at the forefront of this work and it’s very exciting to see that some of these technologies are projected to enter the commercial market before the end of the decade.”

“It’s important to recognise that aviation is already on the journey to net zero. Commercial flights are using Sustainable Aviation Fuel right now, which are a key part of aviations sustainable future, alongside the zero-emissions aviation technologies of the future”.

“As an industry, we need to clearly communicate the safety and performance of these new technologies and I look forward to the day when transatlantic flight has zero impact on the environment.“

To find out more about the Jet Zero Council, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/jet-zero-council.

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As the world’s largest offshore windfarm in construction, Hornsea is expected to be operational by 2027. It will contribute toward the UK government’s goal of 50GW of offshore wind by 2030.

Over-bending, abrasion and fatigue of underwater cables present a challenge for offshore wind developers such as Ørsted. The patented system offered by Balmoral Comtec, a company in the Balmoral Group, uses materials designed to improve operational performance and increase resistance to mechanical fatigue.

The protection system locks together mechanically, removing a reliance on chemical bonding, notoriously unpredictable and problematic to validate over a field’s life.  The supplier says its technology guarantees market-leading strain and stiffness levels, unachievable through traditional component design.

Pictured on the left above, Balmoral Comtec’s projects director Fraser Milne said: “Hornsea 3 will be a vital project for the UK’s energy transition. We’re thrilled to play a role”.

Work will be carried out in the firm’s 250,000sq ft factor in Aberdeen, by members of Balmoral Group’s 650-strong workforce

“As windfarms and turbines expand in size, scale and complexity”, Milne went on”, our industry leading expertise, scalable manufacturing capability will be crucial as offshore wind developers and OEMs navigate these complex challenges.”

For Ørsted, its Hornsea 3 project director Luke Bridgman, said: “Hornsea 3 is a nationally-significant renewable energy project, providing low-cost, clean energy at scale.

“To successfully deliver an offshore windfarm of this magnitude, it’s vital that we draw on the extensive knowledge and expertise of our teams, contractors and suppliers. We look forward to working alongside Balmoral Comtec as we progress through the next stages of construction.”

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Energy Systems Catapult was launched in 2015 by Innovate UK, the arms-length governmental body steering marketable scientific research.

The Catapult has since built a team of nearly 300 experts across energy technologies, including engineering, consumption, financial & commercial management and energy policy. It draws on sector-leading test facilities & modelling tools, as well as data amassed in more than 500 research projects.

Dr Cocker’s 28 years of industrial experience includes spells with innovators and some of the UK’s biggest energy companies.  In the past decade he chaired both the Energy Innovation Centre and the Energy & Utilities Industrial Partnership.

He said: “The Catapult has created an impressive track record helping promising clean technology businesses to bring innovative energy products and services to market.

“With just 26 years left to hit our Net Zero target, this is an incredibly important and exciting time. We are seeing companies aiming to transform the energy system, making the transition to a zero-carbon economy easier, cheaper, more accessible, and simpler for consumers.

“There are a host of economic opportunities that innovators – large and small – can seize as we make the move to Net Zero. I look forward to helping the Catapult team to support these talented innovators to reshape the sector.”

The Catapult’s chief executive Guy Newey said: “Tony will be a fantastic addition. He brings a wealth of sector experience and expertise that will help bolster our mission to accelerate Net Zero energy innovation.

Dr Cocker will step into the role previously held since 2015 by Nick Winser CBE. The departing boss said: “Energy Systems Catapult has come so far since it was founded. We have helped deliver economic growth, supporting hundreds of companies to create new products and services that will be key to getting us to Net Zero.

“In our work in Local Area Energy Planning or Warm Home Prescription, we have ignited a spark in the innovation space to create a better approach that benefits both consumers and innovators

Based in Birmingham, Energy Systems Catapult is part of a network of nine world-leading technology and innovation centres. It fosters collaboration between industry, government, research organisations and academia.

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RenewableUK, the Offshore Wind Industry Council, the Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland say their Industrial Growth Plan plots a course to mark out the UK as a leader in offshore wind’s global growth.

The UK’s offshore wind industry already employs 32,000 people, the plan calculates. Each new big offshore turbine park can add £3bn to the economy.

Employment is set to rise to over 100,000 by 2030. Ten years further on, investment in new marine spinners will create an wealth of over £90bn for the nation, says the report.

Steps set out in the group’s plan would support an additional 10,000 jobs a year and boost Britain’s GDP by £25 billion more between now and 2035, if the nation can accelerate yearly offshore deployment to 6GW, in line with our net zero targets.

The UK, the researchers note, already boasts the world’s second biggest national pipeline of offshore wind projects at all stages of development. At nearly 100GW, that stands at more than six times the nation’s capacity now generating.

Choke points already noticeable in making, equipping and deploying maritime spinners could yet scupper those targets, though.  The Plan identifies strategic new factories and manufacturing capabilities needed to head off the threat.

Key technology areas enabling  uninterrupted investment include manufacture of wind blades and turbine towers, foundations, cables and other key components and services for projects, both in UK waters and for export.

Invoking new AI technologies, the document sets out plans to expand testing facilities for cutting-edge technology, such as new materials  for blades and floating collars.  Under the aegis of Britain’s Catapult technology stimulators, a new national innovation hub for the sector should be created, incorporating a new advanced technology institute.

Almost £3 billion of new funding must be directed at turbine enablement, says the report. With private finance doing the heavy lifting, a return to the economy of just under £9 for every £1 invested is possible.

Many of Britain’s competitors have introduced new incentives to attract investment in offshore wind projects and domestic manufacturing, hoping to replicate home success.

RenewableUK boss Dan McGrail said: “Our plan is the deepest dive ever into offshore wind’s supply chain, identifying the highest-value components and services which the UK should focus on to get the biggest economic bang for our buck from future wind farm development.

“For example, it shows that the UK will need three hundred giant turbine towers every year for offshore wind projects between now and 2030 to deliver government targets. The plan charts a clear course for us to ensure that we seize that massive economic opportunity”.

Energy secretary Claire Coutinho added: “Plans set out by industry today will work with our £1 billion Green Industries Growth Accelerator to make sure the UK can build out the supply chain – including the turbine blades and high-voltage cables that we will need to produce cheaper, cleaner, more secure energy.”

Read the industrial growth plan here.

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The project could capture up to 235,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) every year. As over half of the waste processed at the facility is organic, installing CCS would enable the plant to take more CO₂ out of the atmosphere than it produces.

The Welsh Government’s Carbon Budget makes clear that Wales needs carbon removal solutions to mitigate other polluting parts of the economy to achieve a Net Zero economy.

Opened in 2019 in partnership with five local authorities forming the North Wales Residual Waste Treatment Partnership (NWRWTP), Parc Adfer currently diverts up to 232,000 tonnes of unrecyclable waste from climate-damaging landfill.

As recognised by the National Infrastructure Commission, emissions from energy from waste plants are lower per tonne of waste compared burial in land.

With CCS installed, Parc Adfer will support the Welsh Government’s ambition to have 100% zero carbon power by 2035.  Over 1,000 jobs in the green economy are anticipated while it is built.

HyNet link

The proposal has been put forward for grant support from the UK Government as part of the expansion of their ‘Track-1’ carbon capture programme.

The captured carbon will be transported using the pipeline network currently being developed in the region for the HyNet carbon capture cluster, one of the first two priority carbon capture clusters selected for development in the UK.

“To deliver Net Zero, Wales needs to find a way to produce carbon removals, or negative emissions, at scale”, said Enfinium CEO Mike Maudsley.

“Installing carbon capture at the Parc Adfer facility would transform it into the largest generator of carbon negative power in Wales, decarbonise unrecyclable waste and support the green economy in Deeside and North Wales.”

Ben Burggraaf, CEO of Net Zero Industry Wales, commented: “North-East Wales has an exciting opportunity to leverage technologies like carbon capture and hydrogen to produce the sustainable goods and services of the future. It is critical that projects like those at Parc Adfer move forward as quickly as possible to maintain our competitive advantage over other countries.”

Consenting assessments on the CCS project will commence later this year. By the summer, the UK Government is expected to provide an update on which projects are progressing through the Track-1 HyNet Expansion programme.

Besides Deeside, Enfinium has three operational sites in West Yorkshire and Kent, plus two in construction. The firm diverts 2.3 million tonnes of unrecyclable waste from climate-damaging landfill, extracting enough gas therefrom to power 500,000 UK homes.

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A technique known as plasma gasification, and specifically the latter’s proprietory RadGas technology, are the parties’ intended route to riches.

RadGas is a specialised process that converts domestic waste and biomass sources into synthesised gas.

It works by linking together a fluid bed gasifier, a direct current (DC) plasma furnace, and a heat recovery boiler. The partners say RadGas offers an efficient, reliable process to produce a clean source of combustion, purged of tars and particulates.

ABSL’s small RadGas demonstrator in Swindon is a first-in-field play, converting household waste into limited quantities of grid-quality, synthesised biomethane.

Hatch’s relationship with ABSL began when it provided tips on operating the trial plasma furnace at the latter’s Swindon site.

Today’s alliance sets higher ambitions. It commits Hatch to delivering a scaled up DC furnace fit for full commercial operation at greater volume, and dedicated to RadGas.  Secondary goals include integrating RadGas into other new products.

Robert Francki, Hatch’s global managing director for energy, said: “ABSL’s RadGas technology has tremendous potential as a GHG reducing solution for turning waste into low carbon products. We are proud to contribute our well-honed furnace technology and unique ability to engineer and deliver integrated, technologically advanced, and complex facilities.”

“We see this strategic alliance as an exciting step to building a long-term partnership that will underpin delivering a robust technology today and long into the future,” said Nathan Burkey, ABSL’s chairman. “Hatch’s gasification expertise and heritage in implementing technology bring world class delivery capability to our RadGas offering.”

ABSL provides design and support to engineering contractors and third-party developers of advanced biofuel facilities.

The firm – Advanced Biofuel Solutions Ltd, in full – also operates the world’s first plant converting household waste into bio-substitute natural gas (BioSNG) through gasification. Its Swindon hub converts 8,000 tonnes of waste every year into 22GWh of gas.

Hatch’s activities centre on technology development, project execution and professional services.  The firm works at stages from project conception, through implementation and into operations support.

For nearly seven decades, it has worked worldwide in electric smelter technology. Many of its and its clients’ implementations in advanced furnace operation are unique. It deems that many of the tie-up’s RadGas requirements sit comfortably within its knowledge envelope.

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