The UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC), chaired by Lord Deben visited Tyseley Energy Park (TEP) to see a demonstration of Birmingham City Council’s Hydrogen Bus fleet. The demonstration took place at TEP’s low and zero carbon refuelling station, home to the UK’s largest green hydrogen refuelling facility.

Speaking about the visit David Horsfall, Director at Tyseley Energy Park said: “It was an honour to host the CCC today and share the history and future ambitions of the site. The potential of this site is huge and by working in collaboration with world class partners like those in attendance today TEP will accelerate the delivery of low and zero carbon power, transport, heat, waste, and recycling solutions for a greener, cleaner, healthier Birmingham.”

The delegation then received a tour of the University of Birmingham’s Energy Innovation Centre (BEIC). Funded by the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership the BEIC stimulates collaborative research to overcome local energy challenges and demonstrate new technologies.

At the BEIC the CCC discussed how TEP, through its collaborations with the University of Birmingham and wider partners is driving the delivery of low and zero carbon transport, heat, waste, and recycling solutions for a greener, cleaner, healthier Birmingham.

Professor Martin Freer, Director of the Birmingham Energy Institute and the Energy Research Accelerator said: “The delivery of a greener and cleaner ecosystem for Birmingham and the wider West Midlands region will only be achieved through the collaborative efforts of partners like the CCC, Birmingham City Council, industry and academia all coming together. It was a pleasure to bring everyone together and discuss how we can drive the delivery of carbon reduction across the region.”

Katie Trout, CEO, Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) added:“This was a really exciting opportunity for us to show everything that is happening at Tyseley Energy Park. Through our unique triple helix structure of bringing together public, private and academic partners, GBSLEP has contributed very much to what is going on here. We’ve put £11 million of Local Growth Funding into three projects across the site. This is all part of the work that we’re doing around net zero and I’m really pleased that it’s a critical part of our plans going forward to drive clean, sustainable growth.”

This visit formed part of an entire day of events to mark the start of the CCC’s ‘climate conversation’ initiative.

Hosted by Birmingham City Council and key partners, the CCC met a range of groups across the city including college students, faith leaders, business leaders and members of the city council’s cabinet and leadership team.