Green Port Growth (GPG), the programme created to establish East Yorkshire as a world-class centre for renewable energy, has appointed Dr Alan Lowdon as its Research & Development Director.
Dr Lowdon will provide support and identify new opportunities for key businesses working in the offshore wind and wider renewables sectors to capitalise on the proposed Siemens investment at Hull’s Alexandra Dock.
Companies within the offshore wind supply chains need to develop products that perform better, are cheaper and more reliable. This is to enable them to remain competitive in this constantly advancing market place. The GPG research and development strand will help them engage with suppliers and customers within offshore wind (and wider renewables) supply chains.
Not only will Dr Lowdon assist businesses in providing his renewable energy experience and expertise, but GPG’s research and development will also help secure financing. Funding, such as the GPG’s Regional Growth Fund programmne, and support is available for businesses across Hull and the East Riding that need to overcome specific research and development challenges in order to develop new products and processes.
In addition to this, the GPG programme will also be working to achieve the UK government target of reducing the current cost of energy from £140/MWh to £100/MWh by 2020.
Dr Alan Lowdon, R&D Director of the Green Port Growth Programme, explains:
‘’The region has the basis of an excellent innovation infrastructure, with academia, businesses and individuals ready, willing and able to contribute in order to position the Humber at the forefront of offshore renewable energy. Siemens’ arrival is testament to this.
“What is important is retaining a focus on the region’s core strengths and using them as a platform for success. These include maritime logistics, equipment installation and operations and maintenance. I expect to see GPG assisting companies (large, medium and small) and academia to build capacity around these very important strategic pillars. This includes the data and analytics related to these areas, as well as mainstream engineering.
“As a result, I expect the Humber to lead the way by becoming a hot-bed of state-of-the-art operations and maintenance practice.”
The Green Port Growth research and development support funding is being led by CASS – the University of Hull’s business-facing renewables and low-carbon organisation. It has already been identified that there are clear opportunities within the University that beneficiaries of the GPG Programme will have access to such as at HIVE, CASS and The Logistics Institute.
Tim Rix, Chair of the Green Port Growth Programme Board, said: “The recruitment of such an experienced specialist is a real coup for the Humber. Dr Lowdon’s proven approach to helping innovation start-ups to turn their ideas into commercial viable businesses will play a crucial role for the emerging renewables sector in the Humber.”
Cllr Steven Brady, Leader of Hull City Council , added:
“The Siemens investment in the city is set to secure long-term economic growth and job opportunities for the region, so it’s vital that we support local businesses and enable them to capitalise on this. Dr Lowdon’s appointment is a key step in achieving this objective.”