Whilst this is nothing directly to do with our Neighbourhood Area, some of us attended the Midlands Energy Summit arranged by the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce.
It consisted of a series of presentations and some workshops but was also a way of meeting people who were interested in Energy in its broadest sense. We attended because of the Aspiration in the Neighbourhood Plan for the area to be “Energy Positive” and to see if there were any people who could help us realise that dream.
The presenters were from:
Nottingham University
“How the University is building a sustainable future in unprecedented times”, describing their projects and possible funding for “Green grants for business growth”.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
“The National Picture – Markets evolution and the whole energy system”, describing how the government is pushing for a decarbonised power system by 2035 (which requires investment of £400Bn) and its continued commitment for a net zero economy by 2050.
East Midlands Freeport
Describing how the Freeport is pushing for new & innovative jobs and businesses as it evolves.
The Energy Research Accelerator
Which looked at the activities within the Midlands Engine area, how we compare with other regions in the UK and what they are doing to push forward, changing the balance of our energy generation (e.g. the Nuclear Fusion pilot at West Burton), how the number of Electric Vehicles is being promoted, the Trent Basin local energy network, and HyDEX (Hydrogen generation) including H2GV a bid to create a pilot project of Hydrogen refueling stations on the M1 and 75 Hydrogen fuelled HGVs.
Consultus
“Energy Market Outlook”. A presentation showing how the various issues have affected the European market for energy and what that means for the UK.
REA
How the Global Energy crisis is affecting the UK’s Energy Security and Net Zero Ambitions. How the UK can get to both of these objectives and what the Government is doing to help and hinder these objectives (did you know that on a world scale, 73% of greenhouse gasses are cause by energy (industry, transport, aviation, residential & commercial))
Nottingham University
Energy Institute. How research at the University of Nottingham is helping to drive forward innovative ways of improving energy efficiency in a range of ways.
CENEX
How this research organisation is helping to deliver Low Carbon and Fuel Cell Technologies
This is just a brief synopsis of what was said the full slidesets are available here and here. They are big files and you might need to download them to be able to see them properly