More than 150 delegates from across the world are expected to attend the European Steel Environment and Energy Congress (ESEC), which is taking place at Teesside University from Monday.
The three-day conference has been organised by the Iron and Steel Society and the Sustainable Development Group of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. The last time such a meeting was held at Teesside University, or Constantine Technical College as it was then known, was in 1937.
The conference will be opened by Teesside University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Graham Henderson CBE DL and speakers include: Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for the Environment; Jean-Pierre Birat, Secretary General of the European Steel Technology Platform; Cornelius Louwrens, UK Business Director and Chief Operating Officer, Sahaviriya Steel Industries UK; Graham Hillier, Director of Strategy and Futures, Centre for Process Innovation and Bjorn Debecker, Scientific Programme Officer, European Commission - Research Fund for Coal and Steel.
ESEC 2014 will build upon the success of previous events and will combine Clean Tech 3 - the 3rd International Conference on Clean Technologies in the Steel Industry; EECR2 - the 2nd International Conference on Energy Efficiency and CO2 Reduction in the Steel Industry and the International Conference on Materials Efficiency and Product Life Cycles in the Steel Industry.
The four themes of the conference will be: • Clean Technology. • Energy Efficiency and CO2 Reduction. • Material Efficiency. • Product Life Cycles. The congress will also include visits to SSI's Teesside Steelworks, and the Materials Processing Institute (formerly Tata Steel R&D Teesside Technology Centre). There will also be a dinner held at Middlesbrough FC’s Riverside Stadium.
Dr Paul Shelton, Assistant Dean in the University’s School of Science &Engineering, said: 'Some of the world’s leading experts in metallurgy will be attending this congress and we are delighted to be able to welcome them to Teesside University.
'It will be a fantastic opportunity to showcase not just the facilities and research capability we have here at the University but also the tremendous wealth of engineering expertise and industrial heritage which is present in the region.
'We are looking forward to being able to explore new ideas and concepts with our counterparts from around the world.'
The conference chairman, Louis Brimacombe of Tata Steel said: 'We think is something of a landmark for the steel industry bringing together a range of previously successful conferences with a focus on the steel industry and the challenges associated with environment and energy for both process and product into one major event.
'This conference will showcase innovation and technology, demonstrating that in working towards meeting the major challenges a range of new opportunities will emerge.'
Stephen Catchpole, Managing Director of Tees Valley Unlimited, the Local Enterprise Partnership for Tees Valley, will welcome delegates at the dinner. He said: 'The steel industry is of huge importance to the economic wellbeing of Tees Valley so it is appropriate that our area has been chosen as the location for such a prestigious international conference.
'This important event will give delegates an incisive insight into how the challenge of creating a sustainable steel sector is being addressed.'