Only one element has the potential to liberate the world from global warming and the grip of the petrostates - green hydrogen. To achieve this, however, big technical, policy and investment hurdles need to be overcome. So, yesterday the Industry Forum launched the first of a series of meetings on this subject with an expert round table on ‘The prospects and pitfalls for green hydrogen’. The meeting was hosted by BASF and led by renewable energy evangelist, Alan Whitehead MP, Shadow Minister for Energy and the Green New Deal. The other speakers were Darren Budd, Commercial Director of the UK & Ireland Country Cluster, BASF; Diana Casey, Director, Energy and Climate Change, Mineral Products Association; Ian Constance, CEO, Advanced Propulsion Centre UK. Key issues which emerged in discussion of the UK situation were: concerns about the current availability of green hydrogen, doubts about the financial viability of using blue hydrogen plus carbon capture as a means of supplying green hydrogen, agreement that green hydrogen is better than batteries for heavy transport applications, anxiety about the front end investment needed to solve the considerable technical problems and build the large-scale production and distribution network required, unanimity on the need for an overall transition plan. Consumers alone are unlikely to fund a rapid transition, so finance ministers and central banks, world-wide, need to consider whether to provide investment finance for a transition to green hydrogen, or face rising bills from climate-change disasters.

The speakers were:

Alan Whitehead MP, Shadow Minister for Energy and the Green New Deal
Thomas Birk, Vice President UK & Ireland/Managing Director, BASF
Diana Casey, Director, Energy and Climate Change, Mineral Products Association
Ian Constance, CEO, Advanced Propulsion Centre UK

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Leading from the front is what is needed in a pandemic, and this is the speciality of career A&E doctor and politician, Dr Rosena Allin-Khan MP, Shadow Cabinet Minister for Mental Health. In June, she led the first ever Industry Forum expert round table on the key issue of ‘Valuing and sustaining the NHS’, which was hosted in their London office by the Iraq Britain Business Council. She described graphically the trauma of working as a front-line doctor during the pandemic, and lessons that need to be learned. Professor Mohammed Al-Uzri, Consultant Psychiatrist and Associate Medical Director at the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust and Alice Sorby, Director Employment Relations the Royal College of Midwives, responded and added their perspectives on mental health care and staff terms and conditions. The wide-ranging discussion that followed indicated that long term planning failures and piecemeal changes may have contributed to staffing and morale issues, as well as wasteful emergency spending on agency staff and procurement. So, in addition to some additional investment, the prescription for NHS recovery is clear goals and bold political leadership.

The speakers were:

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan MP, Shadow Cabinet Minister for Mental Health
Professor Mohammed Al-Uzri, Health and Higher Education Advisor, Iraq Britain Business Council
Alice Sorby, Director, Employment Relations, The Royal College of Midwives

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Vital UK Energy-Intensive industries such as steel, cement, and ceramics face multiple crises: The Ukraine/Russia war has caused a spike in fossil fuel prices that threatens their viability; the need to transition to carbon neutral energy requires large investments in research, and transition, and, there is no overall plan to address these problems. The Industry Forum was therefore delighted that Bill Esterson MP, Shadow BEIS Minister, took time, yesterday, to lead a lunchtime roundtable on ‘Helping Energy-Intensive Industries’. He shared ideas for reducing cost pressures and supporting research, and heard from the industry experts about the complex problems of keeping these essential industries competitive. The meeting was hosted by the Mineral Products Association and Dr Diana Casey, Director, Energy and Climate Change for the MPA, outlined the leading-edge research by MPA members into reducing the carbon emissions from cement production, and the difficulties involved in piloting new fuels such as hydrogen. Robert Flello, the new CEO of the British Ceramics Association, echoed what Diana said. He highlighted the unique difficulties of the ceramics sector which has to use gas as a fuel, needs uninterrupted supply, has to adapt production to new fuels such as hydrogen, and also has many members outside of the areas in which hydrogen will be readily available. The Industry Forum is planning further research and events on this urgent subject.

Speakers included:

Bill Esterson MP, Shadow Minister (Business and Industrial Strategy)

Dr Diana Casey, Director, Energy and Climate Change, Mineral Products Association

Robert Flello, Chief Executive Designate, British Ceramic Confederation

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Success in international trade will be the key factor in determining whether the UK economy adjusts successfully to operating outside of the EU and navigating the turbulence caused by the Covid pandemic, and the Ukraine/Russia war. So, we were delighted, this week, that Andrew Mitchell, Director General, Exports and Trade, at the Department for International Trade could lead an Industry Forum policy roundtable on, ‘Opportunities for UK International Trade in 2022’. The hybrid meeting was hosted physically at the London offices of the Iraq Britain Business Council and the work of the IBBC was summarised by Charles Burbridge, Regional Managing Director of G4S Risk Management Group. Panelists, Geoff Mackey, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Director, BASF, and John Taylor, Oil and Gas, Business Development Consultant with Hydro-C responded and suggested measures that could help British exporters. It was clear that enormous progress has been made in establishing a strong UK department for international trade and that independent operation will enable future trade deals to focus on the UK’s particular strengths in tangible goods, and also take more account of our world-leading services sectors.

Speakers:
Andrew Mitchell, Director General, Exports and UK Trade, Department for International Trade
Geoff Mackey, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Director, BASF
John Taylor, Oil & Gas, Business Development Consultant, Hydro-C

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The UK could escape suffering the worst Covid 19 hit among the G7 nations, as predicted by the IMF, but it would require some deft policymaking to focus Bank of England and Government actions on targeting growth and implementing a coherent strategy for structural change. This was the broad conclusion of Andrew Smith, Chief Economic Adviser to the Industry Forum at an expert virtual roundtable on ‘UK Economic Prospects for 2022 and Beyond’. CEBR Chief Economic Adviser, Vicky Pryce, contrasted UK performance with that of the EU and pointed out the need for a proper carbon pricing strategy to avoid the UK importing carbon intensive materials. Kate Bell, Head of the TUC’s Rights, International, Social and Economics Department, highlighted the lack of growth in workers’ pay since 2009 and the need for an industrial strategy to address this and many other issues.
For further information and summary report please email jwyer@industry-forum.org

Speakers:

Andrew Smith, Chief Economic Adviser, Industry Forum

Vicky Pryce, Chief Economic Adviser, CEBR

Kate Bell, Head of Rights, International, Social and Economics Dept., TUC

The vast scale of the potential changes and opportunities presented by quantum computing were outlined today at an Industry Forum virtual roundtable on ‘The Policy Implications of Quantum Computing’. Leading the discussion was Ilias Khan, CEO of Cambridge Quantum Computing, who highlighted the intense interest from countries such as Germany, China and the US, the high levels of investment by major digital technology companies, and the sky-high valuations of some pre-revenue startups. Marina Jirotka, Professor of Human Centred Computing at Oxford University, and colleagues Philip Inglesant and Carolyn Ten Holter described the research work they have undertaken leading to the launch of their new report ‘Creating a Responsible Quantum Future’. Overall it was clear that the UK is one of the leaders in quantum computing and this could bring big business opportunities and associated economic benefits. Avoiding some of the mistakes made when previous major digital technology changes occurred will, however, require planning and resourcing that must be coordinated and involve central government.
For more information and a copy of the report, please email jwyer@industry-forum.org

Speakers include:

Chi Onwurah MP, Shadow Minister Digital, Science & Technology

Ilyas Khan, CEO, Cambridge Quantum Computing

Marina Jirotka, Professor of Human Centred Computing, University of Oxford

Carolyn Ten Holter, Research Assistant, University of Oxford

Philip Inglesant, Post-Doctoral Research Associate, University of Oxford