A ground-breaking conference later this year is set to showcase the achievements and opportunities for energy, clean growth and decarbonisation in the North of England.
The ‘Energy and Clean Growth in the Northern Powerhouse’ conference is the first time an event of this scale has been co-ordinated by all 11 Northern Powerhouse Local Enterprise Partnerships – the ‘NP11’ LEPs – with over 1,000 people expected to attend across three days of keynote speeches, panel discussions and seminars. It will also feature a major exhibition, giving key organisations a platform to display their projects and discuss issues face-to-face with attendees.
This unique event, hosted at Hull’s Bonus Arena in November, will showcase the North’s successes and aspirations; debate the hot topics for policy makers; consider future technologies and ground-breaking research; assess the economic environment for businesses of all sizes and their workforces; and illustrate the case for inward investment across the North of England.
The event will also examine opportunities for SMEs and those in the supply chain, as well as exploring skills provision, the economic impact of the sector, new innovation and future technologies, strategy and policy issues, and will unveil all the latest news and updates in the sector.
It is organised by Humber LEP on behalf of the NP11, a collection of the 11 Local Enterprise Partnerships that cover the 76 Local Authorities in the North of England, and in conjunction with the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy’s Green GB & NI Week.
Though the full line up is yet to be finalised, the organisers are putting together a host of speakers including politicians and policy makers, leading figures from the business world, academics in the field, and media specialists.
As well as a host of activities taking place as part of the conference – including the large exhibition area, break-out meetings and social events – there will also be a gala dinner, set be held in the spectacular Hull Minster.
The conference itself will be held at the Hull city-centre based Bonus Arena – a state of the art venue that opened just last year and has a versatile 1,200 square metres of events floor space.
Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry said: “The UK has shown the rest of the world that cutting emissions and prosperity can go hand in hand. This is set to continue, with the UK becoming the first major economy to legislate for net zero.
“All sectors of society and corners of the country can benefit from this shift to a greener, cleaner economy so it’s great to see business leaders from across the Northern Powerhouse coming together during Green GB & NI Week to discuss how best to seize all the opportunities of clean growth.”
Henri Murison, Director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, added: “Energy is one of the key drivers of the Northern economy. In the coming decades it will be a major source of jobs and growth in the Northern Powerhouse, unlocking significant productivity improvements if government back us and what we can offer the UK consumers and businesses to help achieve net zero through decarbonisation.
“This important event is a great opportunity to showcase the specific assets the Northern Powerhouse has to offer as well as the pioneering work in decarbonising heat and transport with hydrogen, the supply chain to build Small Modular Reactors and lead the world in decommissioning in nuclear and delivering Carbon Capture and Storage to make heavy industrial areas overall carbon negative, making industries like steel sustainable long term.”
Roger Marsh OBE, Chair of the NP11 and Chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, said: “The North of England once powered the Industrial Revolution and now it’s time for us to fuel the UK’s clean growth revolution.
“We have a unique opportunity across the North to unlock the economic opportunities that de-carbonising our economy will bring and embrace the new technologies that will drive our future growth.
“This is a priority area for the NP11 and we’re looking forward to working in partnership across the North to achieve our shared goals.”
Lord Haskins, Chair of the Humber LEP, said: “We are incredibly proud to be hosting this first-of-its-kind event, which is a fantastic opportunity to show the wider world what we have on offer across the North of England.
“This region truly is the country’s powerhouse, with energy being an absolutely vital sector which has made its home here in recent decades, but it is vital that we continue to grow this industry whilst overcoming the challenges associated with the region such as high carbon emissions and skill retention. This event is a great chance to debate these issues whilst also reflecting on our successes and considering how to maximise our future opportunities.
“We are particularly pleased to be working alongside other Northern LEPs, illustrating that by working in co-operation with each other, rather than competition, we can become a world leading region in energy and clean growth.”
If you are an organisation that would be interested in taking an exhibition space, being a headline partner, sponsoring part of the event, or ensuring that your marketing is seen by attendees & invitees, please visit www.npenergyconference.com or contact Humber LEP’s Energy Lead, Richard Royal on r.royal@humberlep.org