A 10-strong delegation of businesses will outline the scale of Humber ambition and opportunity for industrial decarbonisation at the inaugural Innovation Zero Congress on 24-25 May.

The climate and clean technology conference is the UK’s largest event to drive the transition to a low carbon economy and will take place at Olympia, London, the UK’s most sustainable venue. The congress will be an opportunity to share the Humber’s 2030 Vision and wider narrative on the national stage and will take place across two days dedicated to accelerating business action towards net-zero commitments.

The contingent sees collaboration from Marketing Humber, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), and the Humber Energy Board, alongside many Humber 2030 Vision partners, and leading regional stakeholders, which will be of critical importance in promoting the scale of the region’s opportunity and delivering the shared vision of decarbonisation. The delegation line-up includes: Centrica Storage Limited, Drax, Equinor, Marketing Humber, Phillips 66, Prax, SSE Thermal, Uniper and VPI.

Launched in 2022 by the Humber Energy Board, the Humber 2030 Vision presents the region’s world-leading decarbonisation opportunity and shares how businesses are already working together, committing to investment of over £15bn to deliver large-scale, critical decarbonisation projects. Attendance at Innovation Zero will highlight this opportunity, bringing the vision to the forefront and showcasing the region’s critical infrastructure and cutting-edge innovation and technology to international audiences.

Dr Diana Taylor, Managing Director, Marketing Humber, has brought partners together to share this joint vision.

Diana said: “The Humber has huge ambition and is making great strides on its decarbonisation journey. The Innovation Zero Congress will be a stand-out opportunity to share this and some of the fantastic partnerships and projects taking place here.

“As convenor, Marketing Humber has brought a strong line-up of businesses together for the Humber’s congress delegation. Through various projects, Marketing Humber works with key stakeholders and partners to increase awareness of the challenges and opportunities for the Humber, as the UK’s biggest emitter of CO2, and we are delighted that the region is now set to take its shared vision to the capital.”

Jonathan Oxley, Director - Humber Cluster at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), will attend the conference and bring the united Humber narrative to the stage. In 2022, the CBI announced the Humber as the location for its first national cluster demonstrator.

Jonathan said: “The CBI is delighted to be supporting Humber 2030 Vision at Innovation Zero. Fresh on the back of the Chancellors' £20bn commitment to CCUS at the budget, there couldn't be a better time to showcase the wealth of industrial decarbonisation and clean energy projects across the Humber. I look forward to taking our shared vision for jobs, growth and decarbonisation to the Innovation Zero stage in May.”

Richard Gwilliam, Chair of the Humber Energy Board and Carbon Storage Director at Drax, said: “Innovation Zero is an exciting event that will bring together organisations from across the country and help drive the transition to a low carbon economy. Both the Humber Energy Board and Drax want to decarbonise the Humber by implementing the Humber 2030 Vision.

“Providing the UK Government makes a firm commitment to developing bioenergy with carbon capture and storage at Drax Power Station, Drax plans to invest £2bn to create the largest engineered carbon removals project in the world at the North Yorkshire site. This will help kickstart a new green economy in the heart of the Humber.”

Guy Phillips, Team Lead Business Development Hydrogen UK at Uniper, said: “Uniper is pleased to be part of the Humber 2030 Vision and we share its aim of decarbonisation in the Humber region. With our Humber H2ub® development at our Killingholme site, we are aiming to deliver 720MW of low carbon hydrogen production later this decade, which could be used to decarbonise industry, transport and power throughout the Humber region.”

Paul Fursey, Lead Executive U.K. and General Manager of Phillips 66 Humber Refinery, said: “Reducing carbon emissions is important to us as a company, to our customers and to society. We provide energy and improve lives, and people are reliant on the products we make, but we need to find a way to produce them in a less carbon intensive way and to enable our consumers to lower their carbon intensity. We’ve been leading the way at our Humber Refinery, which processes renewable waste oils displacing some conventional crude oil derived feedstocks, and is the only refinery in Europe producing specialty battery coke that enables the production of 1.3 million electric vehicles every year. Phillips 66 Limited was also the first UK commercial scale producer of sustainable aviation fuel, which is currently being supplied to British Airways.

“This is a very exciting time for us as we develop the fuels and work to lower the carbon intensity of our refinery and our products. Make sure to come and visit us on the Humber 2030 Vision stand to find out more.”

Over 100 sessions will take place across the two-day conference, with sector forums and decarbonisation working groups running alongside keynote speaker opportunities. The event is expected to welcome 7,000+ executives, 200 exhibitors and 200+ speakers to the capital.

To find out more about Innovation Zero, visit: www.innovationzero.com

To view the Humber 2030 Vision, visit: www.investhumber-netzero.com

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