Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has launched the build out of a new £150 million complex chemical engineering plant on the Humber Bank, where 125 jobs will be created.
Breaking ground at Saltend for the Pensana rare earths processing facility - where precious metals will emerge from for use in electric vehicles and offshore wind farms - he put the project in the fast line by confirming funding as his foot pushed the ceremonial spade into the ground.
And with government backing, together with news earlier this week that its bonds were verified as green investments, company chairman Paul Atherley is “very confident” the capital will now come to complete.
Read more: Pensana plans for offshore wind to power magnet metals plant in Yorkshire Energy Park battery link
Mr Kwarteng, taking the opportunity to launch a first critical minerals strategy for the UK, said: “Supporting a company like Pensana, that refines critical minerals used in magnets for electric vehicles is really important. What Pensana does for electric vehicles is critical, and all the things we use in the modern world depend on this type of work.
“China has a lead on critical minerals, which it feeds into the supply chain for electric vehicles, mobile phones, things we use all the time - even fighter jets. We will provide a critical minerals strategy to make sure we can produce more of these here, so we can have resilience.
“It is all about reindustrialising, bringing skills and well-paid jobs to the Humber, and other areas, something we are very focused on. It is high-skill, high-wage employment and that’s really exciting.”
The sustainable standards will also be seized upon as brands themselves have to declare carbon ratings for products. Pensana is to be powered by offshore wind, and there are second phase plans to recycle turbines too, using hydrogen produced as part of the Zero Carbon Humber initiative with neighbouring Equinor.
“We need to recycle and recover, and no one size fits all, there are lots of things we need to do on the journey towards energy transition,” Mr Kwarteng said.
“We may be behind China but people are looking to us, to see what we are doing. EVs are one of the fastest growing products, people want to buy them, and for every EV we need minerals available. We have seen from PPE to gas, we need a level of independent sovereign capability.”
Mr Kwarteng wouldn’t be drawn on the figure for the backing, from the Automotive Transformation Fund, but added: “We have given a set amount, but what we have given is dwarfed by the investment they have provided. It is about herding in private investment. I want Britain to be at the forefront of crowding private investment in to drive growth.”
Launching within the freeport zone beside Port of Hull, part of the former BP Saltend site that PX Group acquired, Pensana is establishing its own mining operations in Angola while also looking at supply from Australia and South America.
Mr Atherley, who told at the outset how Saltend Chemicals Park appealed because of the immediately available infrastructure and resources, said its green credentials could help the UK leapfrog China as manufacturers are forced to analyse supply chain sustainability.
He said: “This is something we have been working towards for four years, and we’re incredibly proud to have the Secretary of State here to launch the strategy. It symbolises how important the UK government takes it, and this is a huge step forward to secure supply chain resilience.
“To have the green bond recognition alongside government backing makes this very attractive. We are very confident, we are underway, we will take 12 months for construction and six months for commissioning, and by the end of the next calendar year we will be in production.”
Read next:
UK Government green light for 8GW of new offshore wind
Hydrogen world leader Air Products teams up with VPI for Immingham production plan
Equinor and SSE Thermal to buy Saltend power station for £341m
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