Humber Freeport has signed off nearly £25 million of investment for projects to stimulate growth and create hundreds of jobs across the region.

They include major new facilities that will accelerate the area’s decarbonisation, critical for the UK to meet its net zero ambitions. Each freeport is granted up to £25 million of seed capital funding by the government and the Humber board has now approved seven projects, highlighting the game-changing role it has to play driving significant inward investment.

Key objectives met included maximising opportunities from the net zero transition to create skilled jobs and unlocking the region’s economic potential. They are described as having the potential to reinforce the Humber’s status as the pre-eminent energy cluster in north west Europe, and make a tangible contribution to levelling up the economy.

The seven projects that have been granted funding - subject to further technical assessment - are:

  • Catch’s Humber Industrial Decarbonisation Centre in Stallingborough. The centre will be a regional decarbonisation hub, hosting research, events, conferences and networking to drive further inward investment.
  • Humbergate Infrastructure, led by North East Lincolnshire Council, which will provide the necessary infrastructure to develop the former Courtaulds site on the outskirts of Grimsby.
  • Ideal Heating’s UK Technology Centre and wider developments at its headquarters on National Avenue in Hull. The research and development facility will support low carbon technologies, including heat pumps.
  • RE:Group’s development of a facility for the treatment of waste oil on a currently derelict site in Air Street, close to the River Hull.
  • South Humber Industrial Investment Programme. Funding has been granted for new industrial units for the ongoing programme from North East Lincolnshire Council to improve infrastructure at the ports of Immingham and Grimsby.
  • Development of a site in Hull for the production of low-cost, zero emission hydrogen.
  • Development of a derelict site in east Hull into an advanced manufacturing plant.

Combined - with the last two's developers remaining confidential for the time being - the seven will lever in three times as much investment from the private sector and are expected to create hundreds of jobs.

Humber Freeport chair Simon Bird said: “The board is delighted to have approved a total of close to £25 million of funding for these crucial projects across the region. This clearly demonstrates the vital role Humber Freeport has in securing and distributing significant funding to meet the region’s decarbonisation and economic growth ambitions.

“This funding will allow these projects to progress, creating and protecting jobs, and helping the region on its journey to a prosperous, net zero economy. However, this is just the start. Humber Freeport is working hard to attract hundreds of millions of pounds of inward investment and create thousands of skilled jobs.”

Humber Freeport comprises of three defined tax sites – Hull East, Goole and Able Marine Energy Park and Immingham. All offer incentives for businesses operating within the zones. Benefits include land tax relief, business rate relief, enhanced capital allowances and National Insurance contribution relief for employers.

Decarbonisation is one of three key workstreams established by Humber Freeport, alongside skills and innovation, and will be a key focus for the freeport’s work. Companies that have already announced plans to invest on freeport sites include rare earth exploration company Pensana, which this week revealed a significant fundraising achievement for its Saltend separation plant, and green hydrogen specialist Meld Energy, also investing at Saltend.

At a Humber Freeport Shipping and Maritime Dinner held on Friday, Mr Bird held up the importance of serving such a sector for the ports, while also flagging the recent Metsa Tissue investment announcement at Goole, with 400 jobs coming.

“So many businesses here are leading the way in decarbonisation,” he said, underlining his delight at the freeport finally being up and running.

“We are having to tackle challenging times,” he said. “The consequences of the trouble in Ukraine are still being seen in the economy. Inflation remains stubbornly high, and coupled with interest rates makes the cost of doing business harder than it has been for the last few years. For ports - essentially service providers for other businesses - our role must be to provide the right infrastructure to capitalise on growth that might be out there.”

He highlighted the work with green technologies and carbon capture, and the £15 billion project portfolio under the Humber 2030 Vision banner, in which the Humber ports are almost constant.