Actemium Automation achieves membership in The Solent Cluster
The Solent Cluster is the first major decarbonisation collaboration to reduce southern England’s emissions
Actemium Automation’s Hampshire business unit has joined forces with a group of international and regional organisations working collaboratively to substantially reduce CO2 emissions from industry, transport and households across the Solent and the south coast of England.
The Solent is recognised as one of the leading contributors of CO2 emissions from energy-intensive manufacturing processes every year. The Solent Cluster will introduce sustainable fuels for local transportation, the aviation and the shipping sectors; create low carbon energy to heat homes, businesses and public buildings; and open up new highly skilled jobs opportunities
This effort could position the Solent at the centre of low carbon fuel production in the UK and make a major contribution to the country’s Net Zero ambitions by 2050. The Solent region has the capacity to potentially capture and safely store up to 10 million tonnes of CO2 annually as part of the project’s ambitions.
Founding members of The Solent Cluster, ExxonMobil and University of Southampton, have each shared details of their vision for the Solent. In a recent socioeconomic report released by the Cluster, it confirmed over 70,000 jobs could be secured, including the creation of over 18,900 new skilled jobs as part of a potential £11.9bn economic boost for the Solent region. The Cluster also has the potential of over £4.4 billion gross value added to the economy by 2035.
“We are excited about the opportunities presented by the initiatives of The Solent Cluster,” says Donald Wibberley, Business Unit General Manager for Actemium Automation Hampshire. “We’ve made it our priorities to protect the environment and to invest in and support our communities.
“We leverage our role as an integrator to support and advise our clients throughout their energy efficiency projects, including the audit, design and maintenance of solutions that consume less energy. Our objective is to be pragmatic and open and opt for solutions that are most effective and best suited to the context of each of our clients. We believe that environmental challenges can be addressed a variety of ways and solutions are available to suit all clients, no matter what their situation or needs may be.”
Actemium works with a founding member of The Solent Cluster, ExxonMobil, on many of their initiatives. In addition, Actemium are system integrators for other large-scale customers in the region, delivering projects that assist with the industrial automation and control of their facilities.
“The Solent Cluster is an important opportunity to decarbonise the Solent Region, and we are proud to be a part of this collaborative effort to significantly reduce CO2 emissions from multiple sectors,’’ said Dan Ammann, president of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions.
Dr. Lindsay-Marie Armstrong, associate professor of mechanical engineering and academic cluster lead for the Solent Industrial Decarbonisation Cluster at University of Southampton, said: “The formation of a decarbonisation cluster that spans the public, private and higher education sectors is a monumental step forward for the region.”