YORKSHIRE SPOTLIGHT
FEATURE SPONSOR
GERMAN OFFSHORE WIND TRADE MISSION TARGETS HUMBER POTENTIAL
Senior figures from the German offshore wind and renewables sector visited the Humber recently on a trade mission to foster closer ties between the two countries.
Organised by Team Humber Marine Alliance (THMA) and supported by the region’s local authorities, the Chamber of Commerce and the Humber LEP, the three-day visit took in many of the region’s offshore wind and renewables facilities on the north and south bank of the river.
WIND ENERGY AGENCY (WAB) 15 delegates from the Wind Energy Agency (WAB), northwest Germany’s wind energy industry network, toured Green Port Hull, including Siemens’ offshore wind manufacturing sites, Able Marine Energy Park, the CATCH training facility at Stallingborough, Port of Grimsby East, as well as THMA member companies in Grimsby, Hull, Scunthorpe and Immingham.
Ronny Meyer, Managing Director of Bremerhaven-based WAB, said: “As the Humber is one of the leading regions for offshore wind in the UK it is an absolutely key market for us.
“The mission will also allow us to share knowledge and come to a better, more transparent understanding of the issues that we both share, such as research, skilled workforces and the potential for business development.
“The UK and Germany are probably the most significant markets for offshore wind in Europe, if not globally and it is a win- win situation on both sides.
“It will be interesting to see how the Humber is developing, as we have found that for wind energy to thrive it is essential to have a good political and economic support at a federal, but also at a local level.”
COMPANIES AND ORGANISATIONS INVOLVED
Companies and organisations on the trade mission included BTC, Bremen Economic Development, Eurogate Container Terminal Bremerhaven, Frauenhoffer IWES and Smulders Deutschland.
THE SAME CHALLENGES Mark O’Reilly, Director at THMA, said: “Like WAB and German Wind we are faced with the same kind of challenges and relish the same kind of opportunities.
“We have actively worked for a number of years now to help create closer ties between the German and Humber offshore wind and marine sectors and to generally raise our profile abroad.
“Last year we had a very successful trade mission to Bremerhaven and Hamburg and this mission is a reflection of the increased importance with which the Humber is now viewed.
“Now we are in the next phase, Siemens are here and specialist, lucrative offshore wind and marine related trade is increasing across the North Sea, of which this latest trade mission is another example. The marine expertise has always been here. Now the offshore wind expertise is also here, offering very real possibilities of a long and continued offshore wind industry centre of excellence on the Humber.”
TATA STEEL
Ronny Meyer
“The result has been some very real deals in Europe for Humber and Team Humber Marine Alliance member companies, more of which I’m sure we will hear about in the coming weeks and months.”
ALAN JOHNSON MP
THMA patron, Hull West and Hessle MP, Alan Johnson, who gave the welcoming speech at a dinner in Hull Guildhall, said: “When I first came to Hull 17 years ago any talk of a fully fledged offshore wind industry on the Humber would have been nothing more than a pipe dream, just hot air. That all changed about five years ago when we first heard that Siemens was genuinely considering a manufacturing facility in Hull.
One of those THMA member companies on the trade mission’s itinerary is Tata Steel, which has invested significantly to develop a dedicated wind energy hub at its Scunthorpe site.
Deirdre Fox, Director Strategic Business Development at Tata Steel, said: “We are very interested in closer ties with German business as we are looking to develop the market not just here in the Humber, but in Germany and other parts of Europe.
“This mission offers us a fantastic chance to show exactly what our facilities are capable of.
“In the future we are absolutely looking closely at how we collaborate and work with supply chain partners so that we can build maximum value for the Humber region and the wider UK economy.”
WINDENERGY HAMBURG 2014 This inward trade then headed to Germany the following week to attend WindEnergy Hamburg 2014.
Team Humber Marine Alliance (THMA)
26
www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100