Words from Simon Earles: Stepping down as chair
Simon Earles, Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Director at Bristol Airport and inaugural chair of Hydrogen South West, who is stepping down from leading the cluster at the end of June, reflects on his time in the post and what he hopes to see in the future.
As my time as Chair of Hydrogen South West draws to a close, I’d like to reflect on what has been an incredible, rewarding journey. It began two years ago, when we started to consider just how we could bring together some of the most innovative businesses across the South West to create a hydrogen ecosystem that would enable our companies to thrive and to support the UK’s Net Zero ambitions.
With our board spanning a range of sectors, including shipping, aerospace, and utilities, what is now Hydrogen South West was born in October 2021. We have developed a clear strategy – centred around people, projects, partnerships and profile and have successfully begun its implementation We know our strengths: R&D/Innovation and scaling this up; aerospace; skills; and building on our nuclear legacy.
And we have been on an exciting journey ever since. From my time as chair there are many highlights to look back on, but I could not have imagined then that we would reach the levels of collaboration and engagement that we are seeing now.
From supporting the creation of a number of pioneering pilot projects, including the Hydrogen Hub at Bristol Port, bringing hydrogen equipment to Bristol Airport, a full calendar of events, delivering practical webinars for our members. Our work on skills has given businesses real-world knowledge on hydrogen they can use right now. The pace of change and innovation amongst our partners is hugely inspiring.
We also extended our reach beyond just the South West, with our potential being recognised by the UK’s new ‘Hydrogen Champion’, Jane Toogood, being referenced in the UK Government’s Net Zero Review (led by Chris Skidmore), featuring in the Jet Zero Strategy as a centre for international investment in sustainable aviation, and showcasing our members at our first Parliamentary Reception.
Through our national outreach, the South West is now seen as a natural home for a decentralised model of hydrogen, where research and innovation not only enables decarbonisation here in the UK, but can support our industries to export and compete globally.
We have developed our Board to include representatives from Business West, Western Gateway, GW4 and the Great South West – ensuring that our business members are working closer with government, academia, and research and technology organisations so we can accelerate the change. We are working closely with Net Zero Wales and our partners in the South Wales Industrial Cluster, with more opportunities to explore no doubt.
From the relatively small number of big companies that originally formed Hydrogen South West, we now have over 40 members from an ever-widening list of sectors, from multinationals to small start-ups. And from a standing start, we’ve built a burgeoning community on social media, discussing and sharing the latest news and policy.
But this is just the beginning. Hydrogen South West has so much more it can and will do to accelerate the change. Under new Chair, Andy Clarke of Costain, I have no doubt we will see the membership continue to grow, our influence extended, and most importantly, real-world hydrogen projects coming to fruition.
Just last month, I paid a visit to Appledore in Devon where Hydrogen South West member Tower Group is leading a consortium to deliver hydrogen-powered support vessels for offshore wind. This is a prime example of the sort of project where our partners and our region are taking a lead, drawing on existing strengths to develop future industries, with all the job creation that comes with that. A state-of—the-art maritime centre will be built in the heart of this new ecosystem, demonstrating the South West’s unique role in R&D and innovation.
And earlier this month I had the privilege of representing Hydrogen South West at the Western Gateway National Hydrogen Conference held in the International Conference Centre at Newport. Over 600 delegates all with a shared commitment to moving the hydrogen agenda forward – a real illustration of how far we have come but also the support to move things forward and seize the opportunity for our region.
As I sign off, I want to thank the Board, our membership, and supporters for everything we have achieved in these past two years, and I look forward to seeing Hydrogen South West go from strength to strength in the future.
I have every faith in you to #acceleratethechange