Chemicals
Yorkshire and Humber is a European leader in the chemical industry and home to one of the largest concentrations of chemical related activity in the UK, making up 10% of the UK total and contributing £15.5 billion to the regional economy. Set to grow by over 35% between 2010 and 2020, you will have access to the highly experienced workforce, supply chains, low costs and availability of land that global companies such as BP, Croda, Yara, Syngentas, Total and ConocoPhillips along with over 400 other chemical companies, have already taken advantage of.
Strategically, Yorkshire and Humber is the perfect location for chemicals and petrochemical companies. You’ll have access to the UK largest ports complex that can handle cape sized vessels along with the capacity to handle huge volumes of imported grains and energy crops, a superb road and rail network, a wealth of storage facilities and a huge European and UK customer base just hours away.
Expertise in Yorkshire & Humber is diverse with the region’s chemical industry making products for a wide range of end uses. This includes everything from paper production and plastics to cosmetics and agricultural products.There’s also access to refinery pipelines, eight major regional rivers with the volumes necessary for cooling and processing and large plots of developable land ideal for building new chemical plants. Land near our region’s ports benefit from a sympathetic planning policy, which will allow for heavy chemical sites to be built.
Huge opportunities exist for the development of green fuels as the renewable transport obligation and EU biofuels directive aim to increase the quantity of biofuels in the UK to 20% by 2020. The scope to develop new refining and chemical processing techniques and to unlock new green processes, working towards meeting the UK and global energy targets, can’t be underestimated.
The rich agricultural heritage already produces vast quantities of feedstocks such as grain, vegetables and energy crops which can all be used for generating biofuel, which is why large plant operators such as Drax and EON are based here. Key fuel and chemical feedstocks are also available, including natural gas, liquid crude oils and ethylene, while the internationally renowned research and development institutions in our region have the capacity to pioneer new commercially sustainable developments.
The uptake of biofuels is being greatly encouraged, as well as the development of second generation biofuels, which explains why our region has one of the largest proportions of biofuel production facilities in the UK. The opportunities presented by biofuels in our region were evident when a £400 million biorefinery, being built for Vivergo BP in partnership with DuPont and Associated British Foods, was announced.
DuPont have also joined forces with industry giant BP to form Kingston Research Ltd, which will focus on the commercialisation of advanced biofuel technology, at a £25m purpose-built development and demonstration facility near Hull.
New legislation and environmental concerns both call for the use and generation of harmful substances to be minimised, so there is huge scope amongst multiple industries to use green chemistry. These industries include fuels, food and drink, pharmaceuticals, healthcare (shampoos and soaps etc) household and even to AEM for paint and coatings. The large cluster of biotechnology companies including Reckitt Benckiser in the Humber are potential clients to target for green chemical advances.
As an inward investor you would be able to utilise the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence in York, who works with the industry to develop cost effective, waste efficient and environmentally friendly technology and processes. The region also offers Europe’s first Masters course in Green Chemistry.
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