Business leaders, academics, utility company bosses and transport bosses are set to visit Sunderland next month as part of a green hydrogen summit in the wake of several investments in the region.
The event is being staged by the North East Energy Catalyst and will feature a number of expert speakers. Organisers say it will give businesses the chance to pose questions to industry leaders about green hydrogen, which backers say can be a replacement for natural gas, can be used in existing gas networks, and is also a replacement for oil-derived fuels such as petrol and diesel, as well as aviation and marine fuel.
Panellists at the Sunderland City Hall event will discuss the challenges and opportunities in deploying green hydrogen projects across the region. And attendees will also receive an update on the HyDeploy project, which has trialled blending of 20% hydrogen in the natural-gas network in locations in the North East.
Read more: TRIG acquires County Durham battery storage project, promising investment
Speakers will include Profr Sara Walker, director of Hydrogen Integration for Accelerated Energy Transitions (HI-ACT) at Newcastle University, one of the event's sponsors, alongside Colin Brown of Lhyfe UK, another sponsor. The panel will also include Will Garrett, managing director of Union Electric Steel Ltd; Keith Owen, head of systems development and energy strategy at Northern Gas Networks, and Paul Rowe, technical director at Wessington Cryogenics Ltd.
David Lynch, energy innovation partnership manager at North East LEP, said: "It is important we understand and unlock the potential green hydrogen has for our future energy mix. Bringing sector leaders together helps improve understanding and shines a light on different perspectives. I look forward to facilitating this session with colleagues and partners and I encourage you to join us."
Colin Brown, UK and Ireland country manager of Lhyfe, said: "As a world leader in green hydrogen, whose UK home is the North East of England, Lhyfe is delighted to be supporting the North East Energy Catalyst’s spotlight on green hydrogen. Renewable green hydrogen production offers significant decarbonisation options for a range of organisations, and the North East is the perfect place to deploy this type of project.
“I firmly believe creating a regional green hydrogen eco-system should allow everyone to benefit, in a way that is open to all while ensuring regional economies of scale. By bringing local representatives from the public sector, academia, industry and transport together we can create something really special for our region’s future."
Keith Owen, head of systems development and energy strategy at Northern Gas Networks, said: "The North is ideally positioned to be at the forefront of emerging hydrogen and low carbon technologies and events like this hosted by the North East energy Catalyst play a leading role in making this a reality. I look forward to showcasing our HyDeploy project, based at our InTEGReL facility at Low Thornley, and discussing how NGN has brought the first blended gas delivered to a community in Winlaton.
“In addition, I’ll be updating delegates on the InTEGReL site where we’ve built the UK’s first hydrogen house, which is being used to demonstrate hydrogen fed appliances. I’ll also talk about our innovative Customer Energy Village set to open in 2023. Our village will showcase the very latest hydrogen and other low carbon technologies, to demonstrate that a rapid hydrogen transition is possible."
Business and organisations in the region interested in using green hydrogen to decarbonise their operations are encouraged to sign up via Eventbrite.
READ NEXT:
