Companies confirm commitment to Yorkshire Energy Park scheme

Further leading companies have committed to making the proposed £200 million Yorkshire Energy Park their home – including the world’s largest manufacturer of lithium batteries and electric vehicles.

Listed on the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, BYD Company Ltd is one of China’s largest privately owned enterprises and has now confirmed its intention by entering into a commercial collaboration agreement with Yorkshire Energy Park developers.

Situated in the heart of the UK’s growing Energy Estuary, the proposed scheme is located within the boundary of Preston South village in the East Riding of Yorkshire. It will bring together businesses from across the globe, generating a multi-million pound investment boost for the Yorkshire and Humber economy and creating more than 1,000 jobs within one million sq ft of new development, including manufacturing, storage and ancillary office space.

The occupiers will benefit from best value and resilient energy solutions, as well as on-site electricity generation, energy storage facilities and multiple grid connections. An education and research campus, associated on-site accommodation, a data centre, facilities to support new and growing businesses, and sports facilities for the community are also part of the plans.

Yorkshire-based developer Sewell and Eco Parks Developments Ltd have partnered with London-based Chiltern, a national renewable energy, infrastructure and technology project facilitator, to develop the scheme.

BYD joins household names including E.ON, Vodafone, Legal & General and SSE Utilities, who have already backed the energy park plans.

Since its inception in 1995, BYD quickly developed expertise in rechargeable batteries and became a relentless advocate of sustainable development, successfully expanding its renewable energy solutions globally with operations in over 50 countries and regions.

Its creation of a Zero Emissions Energy Ecosystem – including affordable solar power generation, reliable energy storage and cutting-edge electrified transportation – has made it an industry leader in the energy and transportation sectors.

Now, subject to planning approval, BYD plans to design and deliver battery storage for the Yorkshire Energy Park’s occupiers and participate in the proposed on-site National Energy and Digital Technology College through a student exchange programme with partnering Chinese higher education institutes in Shenzhen, China.

Jerome Qi, Sales Director at BYD Europe, said: “The Yorkshire Energy Park is the first of its kind and we haven’t seen anything similar in the UK. It’s a very exciting project and is interesting enough for the future of our industry for us to be part of it.

“I know Hull and the evolution the city and the Humber region has gone through industrially, as well as from a business point of view. I have seen that push from Local Government and business, and it is one of the few places that has managed to deliver and transform the region.

“BYD is the world’s largest manufacturer of lithium batteries and electric vehicles. Nowadays, energy storage is a hot topic across Europe.

“In terms of what BYD will bring to the region, being part of the Yorkshire Energy Park will promote a very strong message that a major global company has chosen this area of Yorkshire to invest in.

“Taking into account this very fast growing market, BYD wants to support with its products and technology. It will bring skills to the region to allow it to become a reference point for this sector in the UK.”

Along with BYD, Asanti Datacentres Limited has also confirmed its commitment to the business park. Asanti is run by a management team with over 50 years’ worth of combined experience in the data centre industry and they have been involved in creating and running several data centres across the UK to date.

The business has recently committed to an occupational agreement to design, fit out and manage a secure data centre with disaster recovery space, which protects data in the event of emergencies.

Stewart Laing, Founder and Managing Director of Asanti Datacentres Limited, said: “We are very excited by the scale of the opportunity the Yorkshire Energy Park presents and we are already talking to investors.

“Leveraging our decades of experience in the IT and data centre services sectors, our aim is to bring up to 30 high quality jobs, ranging from IT technology specialists to data managers, to the Humber.

“We will develop local expertise and provide a world class data centre facility within the Yorkshire Energy Park, partnering with other local companies to provide additional services to their customers, such as hosting applications and bringing The Cloud, which is used for sharing and storing data on a huge scale, to more of a local level.”

Chris Turner, Chairman of the Yorkshire Energy Park, welcomed the latest support for the development.

He said: “We are delighted that BYD and Asanti Datacentres Limited are committing to the Yorkshire Energy Park project. Today’s confirmation of their collaboration in the project, both commercially and in the proposed new academic and vocational training campus, is to be welcomed locally, regionally and nationally.

“Their commitment is a major positive step and reinforces their support towards the significant inward investment the energy park will bring to the Yorkshire and Humber region.

“Attracting international companies to the UK in the wake of Brexit is a challenge and support on this level can only have positive economic benefits.

“We are extremely grateful for the support of the local authorities and Humber Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) in helping us bring this major, long term energy technology inward investment.”

The Yorkshire Energy Park is an ideal location for businesses looking for power and data resilience, links to research and development, reinforced by an exceptionally strong transport infrastructure and access to a skilled workforce.

The synergies with like-minded companies and infrastructure will be second to none for companies looking to thrive and grow.

Although the land for the proposed Yorkshire Energy Park site is in the East Riding of Yorkshire, it is owned by Hull City Council and the authority gave the go-ahead to the land terms for the former aerodrome site in March.

Councillor Steve Brady, Leader of Hull City Council, said: “This is great news for the region.

“The partnership between Hull City Council and Yorkshire Energy Park will generate multi-millions of pounds for the Humber economy, creating hundreds of jobs and generating a robust, long-term income stream for Hull City Council.

“A lot of work has been done to make sure the scheme sponsors engage with the statutory agencies to develop the best project for the area. The developers have also committed a significant amount of time to involving the community in shaping the plans and the results of this engagement have led to substantial public support.

“This will be very important in strengthening the Humber’s position as the UK’s Energy Estuary.”

The proposed development is expected to be heard at East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s planning committee shortly.