GreenTech Business Club Launch
10th November 2010
Welcome to the Greentech Business Network
The GreenTech Business Network has been set up to support the growth of SMEs in the growing environmental technology sector across Nottinghamshire. This is a sector which - so far – embraces wind turbines, hybrid and electric cars, software design, cooling units, haulage, solar homes and manufacturers of industrial waste-to-energy units.
It’s a sector which certainly has diversity, yet is unified by a common theme – the need to reduce energy and resource use, and cut carbon emissions.
Businesses in this sector are also united in another way – they are all innovators in their field.
And the third statement one can make about Nottingham’s and Nottinghamshire’s green-tech sector is that it is growing. Against a background of national and international targets on emission reductions, and spiralling energy costs, industrial and domestic energy consumers are increasingly seeking products and methods that cut their bills and carbon emissions.
Entrepreneurs have responded to these market demands by starting new businesses and it is this thriving, hotbed of innovation that the Greentech Business Network is supporting.
Part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund over three years, the network is focused on the vitality of Nottinghamshire green-tech SMEs. There is no membership fee. Over 2010/11 and beyond we will be holding a programme of regular business presentation events, supplemented by appropriate site visits, breakfast seminars and workshops, to which businesses on our growing green-tech database will be invited. Networking is encouraged.
Events will be held at several venues across the county including Nottingham No.1 Science Park and the city’s first dedicated green-tech incubator unit at BioCity.
A regular newsletter keeping members up to date with local greentech news and club events is also planned.
Events
Most of the network’s events over 2010/11 are currently being organised but the programme so far is as follows:
November 10: launch event at No.1 Nottingham Science Park
December 8: supply chain opportunities being created by renewable energy investments in the public sector including social housing in Nottingham and the NHS estate. Venue: BioCity
December 14: Jonathon Porritt, of Forum for the Future, speaking at No.1 Nottingham Science Park. This event is co-hosted by Blueprint. The theme of Jonathan’s talk will be the dangers of climate change denial but he will be also discussing prospects for the low-carbon economy in the light of the Comprehensive Spending Review and Green Deal announcements. Prior registration for this event is essential. To attend please contact Vanessa Corns at vc@nde.org.uk or call 0115 8764501
Provisional events in 2011 include:
Site visit to Blueprint’s sustainable housing scheme, Green Street, The Meadows, Nottingham, which is the first new housing development in Nottingham where PV has been fitted as standard and owners’ energy bill savings take into account their income from Feed in Tariffs. To be followed by networking at a nearby venue.
Building Nottinghamshire’s Greentech business cluster: who, how and when? Key movers in the greentech business cluster talk about what needs to happen to make this sector grow further.
Alternative vehicle fuels - implication for the transport sector. Local company innovations in engine design means that vehicles can now run on a mix of diesel and biomethane creating fuel savings of up to 40%. This event will look at opportunities for the use of alternative fuels in the transport sector
Following Chancellor Osborne’s announcement in the CSR of £1bn investment in the UK’s new Green Investment Bank, speakers will discuss what the bank will offer in terms of local and regional local low-carbon investment opportunities? Who will benefit from it? When will it begin to operate?
How to turn waste into electricity – and money. Two farmers reveal how they have started businesses which produce electricity from farm waste – sunflower seeds and straw.
Innovations in green housing. One of the biggest energy challenges facing the UK is the retrofitting of its existing housing stock. But, in Nottinghamshire, there are some good examples of what can be achieved with old housing including the recent transformation of two 1950s council houses in Newark by Hockerton Housing Project. Here, developers and architects discuss the opportunities and challenges of converting ordinary local houses into energy efficient homes.
Opportunities in modular solar housing. Two local manufacturers of modular solar housing reveal how they started, what the future holds for this specialist kind of accommodation and discuss local business opportunities.
Renewables: the training landscape. If there is a rise in demand for domestic renewable energy schemes because of Feed-in Tariffs and the Green Deal, are there enough people trained to understand, install and maintain them? Local colleges outline their plans for renewables training in PV, wind, groundsource heat pumps, etc.
Nottingham Green-Tech Business Club is run by public-private regeneration agency Nottingham Development Enterprise (NDE), which has been involved in the development of major infrastructure schemes such as Nottingham’s NET tram and the Midland Station Hub. It also ran Nottingham Science City and continues to host a green-tech working group and the OnCourse Innovation Leadership Programme.
If you want to add your name to the Nottingham Green-Tech Business Club mailing list please email your details to Vanessa Corns at vc@nde.org.uk or ring 0115 8767501.
Alternatively contact NDE chief executive Neil Horsley nh@nde.org.uk 0115 8764498
For questions and suggestions about forthcoming club events and relevant news for publication contact programme organiser Mark Patterson mpatt67@btinternet.com 07708 336171
