Business and education must collaborate to capitalise on hydrogen opportunities
Collaboration between industry and education is vital if the Tees Valley is to take advantage of the huge opportunities presented by the hydrogen industry, the region’s mayor has said.
The call to action was made by Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen at a special event hosted by Teesside University to showcase to business leaders some of its ground-breaking work within the hydrogen sector.
Mayor Houchen said the potential benefits to the region offered by clean power were comparable to when iron ore was first discovered within the Cleveland Hills.
Pointing out the region’s many benefits, such as its existing industrial infrastructure, embedded engineering skills and expertise and its geographical location, he said the Tees Valley was perfectly placed to capitalise on recent government investment in net zero technologies, particularly hydrogen.
However, unless industry and education providers worked together to ensure that the skills required by the companies operating in the nascent sector were being provided, then the Tees Valley risked losing out to other regions.
He said: “You shouldn’t underestimate how big this opportunity is.
“Here in Teesside we are the ground zero for net zero. We are creating thousands of jobs which is something we haven’t done in a long time.
“The real challenge is creating the skills to match those jobs.
“This is why we’ve got to work together. That will mean education working with industry to ensure that students are being taught what is required, but also industry engaging much more with education providers.”
The event at Teesside University was attended by dozens of business and community leaders from as far afield as Glasgow and Manchester who had an interest in the emerging hydrogen sector in the Tees Valley.
It was organised by the University’s Tees Valley Hydrogen Innovation Project which is helping SMEs to develop new networks, products and processes to support a hydrogen economy in the region.
We are here to work with you, we want to mobilise all of our resources to work together to ensure that we can all share in the benefits of the decarbonisation agenda.
As well as being introduced to some of the work of the hydrogen innovation project, guests also heard about plans for a new £13.5million Net Zero Industry Innovation Centre (NZIIC) spearheaded by Teesside University, with support from the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority and the European Regional Development Fund.
The NZIIC will bring together expert insight, resources and partnerships to grow net zero capabilities and opportunities, placing the region at the forefront of the clean energy agenda and helping to create hundreds more clean energy jobs.
The guests were also given a tour of the university’s hydrogen facilities and laboratories.
As a responsible institution, Teesside University has a dedicated approach to sustainability. Along with embedding sustainability across the curriculum and ensuring its graduates become the socially-responsible leaders of the future, the University is growing its campus in a sustainable manner and undertaking research to support future approaches to sustainability.
The Tees Valley Hydrogen Innovation Project and Net Zero Industry Innovation Centre are flagship projects in its approach.
Professor Nashwan Dawood, Associate Dean (Research and Innovation) in the University’s School of Computing, Engineering & Digital Technologies, told the guests: “We are here to work with you, we want to mobilise all of our resources to work together to ensure that we can all share in the benefits of the decarbonisation agenda.”
In the News
"Business and education must collaborate to capitalise on hydrogen opportunities''
Tees Business, Web, 04/11/2021
Collaboration between industry and education is vital if the Tees region is to take advantage of the huge opportunities presented by the hydrogen industry, business leaders heard this week.
