Northern Lincolnshire Business Awards welcomes guest of honour

Chamber Policy

Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce is the collective ‘voice’ of business across the Humber region representing the views and interests of our Members at local, regional and national levels.

Chamber Chief Executive Dr Ian Kelly pictured with the Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, Shevaun Haviland, before her speech

Director General praises work to reach Net Zero at awards

The Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, Shevaun Haviland, was the guest of honour at the Hull & Humber Chamber’s Northern Lincolnshire Business Awards.

Having recently completed her first year in the role, Shevaun reflected on the BCC as a key link between the regional economies of the UK and Westminster in a keynote speech which won the full attention of the business audience, which she warmly praised for their enterprising endeavours, congratulating all the nominees in the room for their successes so far.

The Director General explained to her audience how the BCC was pushing for an emergency budget in light of the increasing economic challenges facing businesses.

“We know businesses are facing huge costs, we have seen inflation rising and now soaring energy costs, with a labour shortage too. We are pressing the Government to do something on that. We are pushing for building the right future for business, with four main areas. Trade, skills and local economic prosperity, focusing on infrastructure and access to finance were key, she said, then leading on to Net Zero.

“We are helping our businesses not only ensure they have zero carbon footprint, but ensuring they are making the most of green innovation,” Shevaun said.

‘Seizing opportunities now makes the UK a global leader, and it is Chamber members like Phillips 66 that drive this’

Recognising the efforts of the event’s headline sponsor, Phillips 66, across sustainable aviation fuels and electric vehicle battery materials production, green hydrogen and carbon capture fields, she said: “I am pleased to hear about Phillips 66 and their work at the forefront of creating an economy of the future and driving sustainable growth.

“Seizing opportunities now makes the UK a global leader, and it is Chamber members like Phillips 66 that drive this. This is a special award for outstanding achievement.”

The first batch of sustainable aviation fuel was sent to British Airways in March after a significant multi-year contract was agreed, while progress continues at pace on wider transformations at the complex South Killingholme refinery.

Mike Wailes, Director of European Strategy for Phillips 66, said: “I’m really pleased to be recognised with a fantastic award.

“We have been working with the government for the last couple of years on these advanced fuels, it is a fantastic opportunity to decarbonise air travel and it has been a real joy working with BA, who are very keen to get domestic supply, and for us it is a significant output. There is so much to talk about in terms of what we are doing, but sustainable aviation fuel is here now, physically coming out. The longer term stuff is Humber Zero, our CCS project and Gigastack, green hydrogen - both working with partners - as we look to replace gases used from the refinery.”

Council leader committed to city

Three weeks into his new job Cllr Mike Ross, the recently elected Leader of Hull City Council, made his first major speech at Chamber Expo to a packed audience of more than 100 business people.

Heading up the Liberal Democrats’ first administration in Hull in a decade, Cllr Ross told his audience how he was keen to engage with and meet the business community in the city he has come to call home and the place where he lives with his family.

Originally from West Sussex, he studied politics at the University of Hull and has been a councillor in the city since 2002, where he has held key portfolios including education and housing.

“Being the Leader of the Council comes with a responsibility to make the City the best it can be, and to attract more people to come here,” said Cllr Ross.

“The role of Leader comes with tremendous authority to make things happen, so I am keen to hear from people, to hear what they want to see happen in the city. Some will be small things, some will be massive things which will take more time, but I want to hear from people living here and making a living here.

“One of the key issues is what sort of council it is – I want to listen and am prepared to listen. I want to hear from people about what they want to see the council doing.”

Cllr Ross revealed he had made a start by writing to all council staff to see what changes they want to see to make improvements.

The lunch, jointly hosted by the Chamber of Commerce and HullBID, heard Cllr Ross put a focus on the City centre which he said had to be supported as it was the focal point of the city.

“The Lib Dems want to support communities across the city,” he said. “It should be about place, and we want to create an environment where our places can thrive, not just survive.

“I want to be prioritising clean neighbourhoods where clean streets will encourage investment.

“Investing in infrastructure is important too – we all know about the road issues and we are keen to shift people away from cars and be greener, so we are starting a major listening exercise to see what the public wants, so we can get it right.”

Cllr Ross then turned to the cost of living and warned of tough times ahead. “The Council will not stand back as the city suffers,” he said. “I do want to see the Council do all it can to help the city thrive. I believe we can achieve more by working together, working in partnership, create an alliance of the willing to stand up for the city and work together.”

A question and answer session hosted by Chamber President Mike Whitehead, saw several members of the audience calling for changes to the city’s bus lane rules, and a show of hands conclusively called for a return to peak time restrictions, rather than all day restrictions.

Other questions included the Albion Street Car Park development, innovation and balancing the books, the Devolution debate, the skills agenda, digital exclusion and of course, the proposed Cruise Terminal.

In response the question from the Chamber’s Vice President and Chair of the Shipping, Transport and Renewables Committee, Cllr Ross agreed he was in favour of the city having a cruise terminal and would like to bring more people in to visit the city, but he didn’t want it to detract from what was already here and he promised he would make sure it was done properly.

Bringing a refreshingly honest session to a close, Cllr Ross urged people to get in touch and let him know what they want to see happen in Hull.

He is listening.

Cllr Mike Ross with Mike Whitehead

Mighty Mariners net place in the league!

Irene Keal, Chair of Chamber in North East Lincolnshire celebrates Grimsby Town’s return to league football at a Civic Reception held for the Club at Grimsby Town Hall. The Mighty Mariners won promotion after a successful play off campaign which took them to Nottingham, Wrexham and London, followed by an open top bus tour of Grimsby to celebrate. It was a real roller coaster for fans, with last-minute winners, three lots of extra time and high drama, but they did it! Congratulations to the team, the Club and the fans from everyone at the Chamber!

Humber Zero project is right on schedule

Humber Zero, a ground-breaking, £1bn-plus decarbonisation project, is on schedule to start construction next year, stakeholders were informed.

A meeting at Healing Manor Hotel, near Grimsby, heard public consultation on the proposals would took place this month.

The project, which will look to remove up to eight-million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2030 from the Immingham industrial cluster, is a collaboration between the Phillips 66 Limited Humber Refinery and the nearby VPI Immingham combined heat and power plant.

Chris Gilbert, Technical Manager at the Humber Refinery, told local stakeholders it would be the first, industrial scale carbon capture project of its kind in the world.

Humber Zero will create 2,500 construction jobs, 200 permanent roles and sustain more than 20,000 jobs directly or indirectly.

“The Humber is the largest industrial emitter of CO2 anywhere in the UK,” said Mr Gilbert. “It emits up to 50% more than the next largest, in South Wales.

“It is a huge industrial hub, comprising a lot of energy-intensive businesses.”

The Humber’s decarbonisation had a big role to play in the Government’s 2050 net zero carbon emissions target.

It had an advantage of being close to viable, safe storage for the captured CO2.

VPI project director Jonathan Briggs explained the proposed carbon capture facility at VPI – something similar will be built at Phillips 66 – and the process involved.

He said: “Stacks on both sites will be retrofitted with technology to capture carbon using a solvent. The CO in fluid form will be taken by pipeline and stored safely and permanently in the depleted gas fields under bed of the North Sea.”

Dr Richard Lowe, director and energy sector lead at consultants AECOM, is leading on the environmental works to support Humber Zero.

“We are currently progressing with consenting for the two post-combustion carbon capture plants,” he said.

Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes MPs Lia Nici and Martin Vickers attended the Healing Manor event. Lia said: “The issue is getting across to the public how exciting this project is. We need to get the message out there it will create lots of jobs.”

Humber Zero was awarded £12.5m from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), to progress with Front End Engineering Design (FEED). This grant was matched equally by Phillips 66 Ltd and VPI.

Grimsby and Cleethorpes MPs, Council Leaders and business guests pictured at the Healing Manor event

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE Phillips 66 help showcase opportunities of the future

Students inspired to look at careers in decarbonisation at the Humber Industrial Decarbonisation Conference.

Lead by the Humber Industrial Cluster Plan (HICP) and Phillips 66 Humber Refinery, the event was held as part of Humber Business Week at the Baths Hall in Scunthorpe.

Around 1,000 students from schools across the region discussed job prospects with businesses in the morning and over 150 supply chain companies attended in the afternoon to hear about the opportunities available to them.

Phillips 66 Humber Refinery projects were showcased alongside many other businesses from the Humber Industrial Cluster Map, truly bringing the region’s decarbonisation journey to life. Companies shared their plans, economic benefits and the exciting opportunities and careers available for the students.

Chris Gilbert, Technical Manager at the Phillips 66 Humber Refinery, said: “It is important young people and the supply chain know about the huge opportunities that will be available in the area to help the Government reach its net zero ambition.

“They are uniquely placed to take advantage of this region being a focal point for the reduction in industrial carbon emissions.

It is important industry engages with them and this event has presented that opportunity.”

Alongside Phillips 66 Limited and VPI Immingham, SSE, Drax, British Steel, Centrica, Equinor, Uniper, and National Grid Ventures were among those showcasing ‘The Humber: A 2030 Vision for Industrial Decarbonisation Map.”

The event welcomed a special guest, television personality Guy Martin, to engage students and promote the decarbonisation projects across the Humber.

The former British motorcycle racer, from Grimsby, said: “It has been a peach of an event. I met some interesting folks and it’s been fantastic.”

Dizel, a 15-year-old Melior student, was excited to meet Guy.

“He has inspired me to want to be a mechanic when I am older,” he said.

The Humber Zero project, one of the many decarbonisation projects happening across the Humber region, is hoping to start construction at the end of 2023. This means in just over a year there will be a demand for high-skilled construction jobs.

It is estimated that the project will create around 2,500 construction jobs, 200 permanent jobs and safeguard up to 20,000 jobs.

Phill Dalowsky, headteacher at The St Lawrence Academy in Scunthorpe, said: “For too long, there has been doom and gloom around job prospects for young people around here. Young people have heard today about amazing opportunities on their doorstep that are specialised and relevant to an everchanging world.”

Decarbonisation plans on show Special guest Guy Martin inspired students

You can find out more on www.phillips66.co.uk

For companies interested in further opportunities with the Humber Zero project, please scan the below QR code for the Humber Zero Carbon Capture Supply Chain Engagement Day.

Decarbonisation is intended to refer to projects which reduce carbon emissions across the Humber region.