Hydrogen Strategies and Co-operation in the North Sea Region Conference: Speakers Announced

The ‘Hydrogen Strategies and Co-operation in the North Sea Region Conference will be held in Edinburgh on Tuesday 11 October 2022.  It is a One Day Conference organised by the North Sea Hydrogen Ports and Maritime Community (NS HyMaP) and is part of the Maritime UK Week as it has a maritime focus.

A number of speakers have accepted invitations to speak.  These include Cameron Davies, Senior Policy Advisor in the Hydrogen Strategy Team at BEIS.  The Strategy was published in August 2021 and was updated in July 2022.  A number of new policy documents and consultations have also been published. Cameron will bring us up-to-date with progress of the Strategy’s implementation and outline future activities.

As well as BEIS, a number of other UK Government Departments are very active in the development of low carbon and hydrogen solutions.  The Department for Transport (DfT) published a Clean Maritime Plan in 2019 where hydrogen plays a key role.  This has led to competitions to fund Clean Maritime projects and the results of some of the hydrogen projects will be features at the Conference.

The projects include:

Hydrogen Bunkering for Crew Transfer Vessels.  Paul Turner, the CEO of CMB Tech in the United Kingdom will outline the results of the project and the way in which the project fits into the wider plans of CMB Tech whi have been very successful in developing a hydrogen refuelling station, vessels and trucks

Direct Ammonia Fuel Cells for Maritime Propulsion.  Ammonia is one of the hydrogen derivatives that is being seriously considered as a key maritime fuel.   Professor john Irvine from the University of Saint Andrews will present the results of the project and Saint Andrews is one of the leading UK universities working in the hydrogen policy arena.

Hydrogen in an Integrated Maritime Environment (HIMET.)  Matt Storey, the Hydrogen Development Manager at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) will outline the results of this project.  EMEC and the Orkney Islands Council have played a key role in the developing the Orkneys as a hydrogen economy.

Co-operation in the North Sea Region, will be an important feature in the creation of a hydrogen economy in the Region and it is imperative that co-operation is a key aspect in research and innovation and in the import and export of hydrogen across the Region.    Scottish Development International (SDI) plays a key role in this area and Murray Bainbridge, Senior Trade Specialist in Energy and Low Carbon Transition will talk about SDI’s work.   There have already been high levels of co-operation between Scotland and Germany in terms of hydrogen with separate Agreements between Scotland, Hamburg and Bavaria.    Germany will soon need to import hydrogen and Scotland is in a strong position to export hydrogen.  Alan Mortimer, the Director of Innovation at Wood plc will discuss these opportunities map a way forward.

As one of the North Sea Region’s busiest and most important ports, Hamburg will play a key role in the development of a Hydrogen Valley Port.   Sibyl Scharrer from the Renewable Energy Cluster in Hamburg will look at the development and discuss links with Scotland and other places in the North Sea Region.

These speakers will ensure an excellent Conference and Edinburgh is easily accessible by road and air.  The venue is by one of Edinburgh’s mainline rail stations and Edinburgh Airport is less than 30 minutes by regular bus and tram services.  The Airport does not seem to have experienced the delays of some other UK Airports and is well linked to many airports in the North Sea Region.  Transavia is providing a new route from Rotterdam into Edinburgh and Rotterdam Airport has recently been modernised and extended – offering a great alternative to Schiphol Airport.

If you would like to register or want to know more about the Conference, please go to the European Policy Solutions website (https://europeanpolicysolutions.com and click the link to seminars.  You can also contact Jon Jordan at [email protected] or ring Jon at +44 1259 781404