PE News in brief: trade deal, O&G study, appointments and more

Make UK CEO Stephen Phipson said the government had demonstrated “energy and bravery” in improving relations with Britain’s largest trading partner.

“Removing trade frictions on GB food imports and exports is a priority and will help bring an end to the spectre of food exports bound for the EU lying rotting in British ports while awaiting customs clearance,” he stated.

Confirmation that the two will cooperate on food standards arrangements and link their carbon markets to avoid taxes on carbon-intensive goods such as steel and cement travelling between the UK and EU was also welcome, said Phipson.

Meanwhile, Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) head of energy policy Enrique Cornejo cited the opening of talks on areas including grid linkage and emissions trading as an opportunity to drive down consumer costs, boost energy security and accelerate net zero transition.

“With Europe’s largest CO₂ storage capacity – 78 gigatonnes, equivalent to 200 years of UK emissions – the UK can develop international carbon storage services for European countries lacking capacity, creating a £7 billion market by 2040, while also becoming a leader in low-carbon hydrogen production, both blue and green, for countries with limited production capacity such as Germany,” predicted Cornejo. 

He added that linkage of UK-EU emissions trading systems could create a more robust market and avoid significant costs for UK exporters as the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism comes into force.

UK Steel director general Gareth Stace also approved the emissions trading scheme linkage.

“Crucially, linking the schemes lowers costs for the sector and provides long-term security, particularly if UK ETS prices were to exceed those in the EU in the years ahead, making linkage all the more important for competitiveness,” he explained.

The British Plastic Federation’s council has unanimously elected chief executive of REHAU UK, Ireland, and Scandinavia Martin Hitchin, as the new president of the trade association at the organisation’s annual general meeting.

Hitchin, who succeeds Sumitomo Demag’s Nigel Flowers, has worked in the manufacturing and construction sector for 35 years. He joined REHAU in 1988 and was appointed CEO in 2007. The new president is also vice chair of Hereford’s New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE.

Newcastle-upon-Tyne based oil and gas installation manufacturer BEL Valves has launched a new hydrogen and carbon capture department to develop its products for the expanding markets.

Departmental head and business development director Steve Carty, said: “The UK government is intent on transforming the North Sea into a clean energy hub. This can’t be done without significant infrastructure development and so those who currently supply to traditional energy markets need to have products ready for the new ones or face missing out.”

Additive Manufacturing UK (AMUK), representing the additive manufacturing and 3D printing sectors, has appointed Craig Pyser, CEO of AMufacture, as its new chair. Predecessor Stewart Lane stepped down in April to concentrate on his duties as president of AMUK’s parent organisation the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA).  

Open University academic Dr. Khadija Tahera has created a free, interactive online platform that helps engineers align verification, validation and testing (VVT) strategies with customer requirements, regulatory standards and business objectives.

While VVT technology has focussed traditionally mostly on technical risk, Tahera’s tool. developed with the support of Made Smarter Innovation programme InterAct, combines quality function deployment, failure modes and effects analysis, and design, verification and validation plans testing methodologies.

A new study claims UK oil and gas companies are underestimating the financial risks posed by the transition to net zero, potentially leading to overvalued company accounts and exposing investors to significant losses.

Academics from the UK and France who evaluated company reports and 22 in-depth interviews with industry insiders, claimed in Global Environmental Change that net zero transition was likely to reduce access to capital for fossil fuel companies, push up borrowing costs, and trigger large-scale write-downs.

Loughborough University Business School’s Dr Freeman Owusu warned: “These pressures could have put the future viability of some companies in question. Our findings show that the transition to net zero presents significant risks for oil and gas companies in the UK.”

Pump manufacturer Landia has celebrated the commit of 12 employees who have amassed a total of 200 years with the company.

Leading the pack was operations executive Liz Robinson – present on the day Landia UK was launched by the late Hugh Vaughan . She commented: “Two hundred years of service from such a small number of people speaks volumes for Landia UK.”