Energy Innovation Agency meets the Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero

  • Monday, November 13, 2023
  • Posted By The Growth Company

A leading Government Minister has praised the Growth Company and the Energy Innovation Agency (the Agency) for leading the way in energy security and in creating green skills and jobs, during a recent visit to The Green Skills Academy (GSA) in Trafford, Greater Manchester.

The Rt Hon Graham Stuart MP, Minister of State for Energy Security spoke about how the UK is leading the way in the area of energy security, mentioning how we have cut our emissions more than any other economy. During the tour the Minister held a roundtable discussion around how the government’s Green Jobs plan will progress to deliver the skills needed for the UK workforce.

During the visit on Thursday 9th November, The Rt Hon Minister toured the facilities at GSA and learnt more about the latest green technologies emerging. As part of the visit he met with David Schiele, Director of the Energy Innovation Agency, to discuss the work the agency is doing to help innovators of low carbon technologies to accelerate their solutions to market and how we are helping to drive the Greater Manchester city-region towards its net zero ambitions.

“We need to increase the adoption and deployment of energy innovations to help us accelerate the transition to a carbon-neutral economy. The Agency is working with innovators and businesses to connect innovative products to end-users. We welcome the visit by The Rt Honourable Minister, Graham Stuart MP and are delighted to be able to share the innovative work we do to create a more carbon neutral economy for communities, businesses, organisations and industry across the Greater Manchester region.

 

At the Growth Company we don’t just support the Net-Zero agenda through our network of innovators and businesses, but also focus on solving some of our greatest challenges, including the green skills gap, supported by our colleagues at the Green Skills Academy. Here, the Growth Company is able to develop the skills to install and maintain new green technologies that will not only place Manchester at the forefront of emerging technologies but also support the city-region to reach its ambitious 2038 carbon-neutral target.”  

David Schiele, Director of the Energy Innovation Agency

As part of the visit the Minister met with four innovators who have been supported by the Agency to help them overcome barriers to success, whilst supporting and empowering them to bring their innovations to market faster.

The four in attendance were:

Enviroheat, who provide low carbon electric heating and hot water.

Flutter Shutter have patented energy efficient window replacement shutters, and thermal retractable rollers.

O-Innovations, have created a wind turbine that harnesses wind from any direction.

Mole Group, who have created EV charging points that can be drilled below the road surface to install electric charging points.

 

The Rt Hon Minister learnt more about these exciting technologies, discussing how with the help of the Agency, they would be able to commercialise their energy efficient solutions more quickly and how this would help Greater Manchester meet climate change targets.

As the visit progressed the Minister saw more of how the Growth Company is paving the way for a more sustainable future for all, and what the Growth Company’s goals are to reach net zero in 2035.

“It's been inspiring to visit the Green Skills Academy, hearing directly from apprentices, innovators, and educators. Tens of thousands of jobs will be created as we green the economy and the Academy is making sure people in Greater Manchester have the skills to access those well-paid roles in sectors ranging from building retrofit to EV charging."

The Rt Hon Graham Stuart MP, Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero