Green aerospace hub set for take off in South Yorkshire as government pumps cash into sector

South Yorkshire mayor Dan Jarvis is in talks with government about establishing a hub dedicated to low carbon flight.

Airship company Hybrid Air Vehicles plans to establish a factory within it creating 500 jobs. It has been working with the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, part of Sheffield University, based in Rotherham.

Now, ministers have announced £685m for ‘green aerospace tech’.

The Aerospace Technology Institute will fund for zero-carbon and ultra-low-emission aircraft.

CEO Gary Elliott said: “With Government investment matched by industry, the ATI will be able to invest more than £1 billion over the next three years in the cutting-edge technology needed to move towards our net zero targets.

“This has allowed us to reopen ATI funding to new applications from April and we will work with BEIS and Innovate UK to ensure that this funding drives UK economic growth and reduces global aviation emissions.”

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Last month, Hybrid Air Vehicles announced it was working with the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, Doncaster Council and others on a factory for its Airlander 10 aircraft ‘within a new, green aerospace manufacturing cluster in the South Yorkshire region’.

The firm says the giant craft produce just 25 per cent of a plane’s carbon emissions, set to fall to zero when a fully electric version comes out in 2030.

It has received £140m funding including £11m from grants and government funding including from the Aerospace Technology Institute.

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Commenting on the ATI funding announcement, Ben Morgan, AMRC research director, said: “This is a significant announcement that will be welcomed across the aerospace sector.

“The University of Sheffield AMRC will continue to work with the ATI and our industrial partners to champion the development of net-zero technologies and supply chains in the UK.”

A government spokesman said ATI had been instrumental in supporting the emerging aerospace cluster in Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, which is sponsored by Boeing.

He added: “We have funded high-end titanium casting facilities, supported Boeing’s first UK manufacturing facility in Sheffield, as well as cutting edge 3D printing capability at the Welding Institute in Sheffield.”

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