Member Article

New jobs from fuel cell factory

350 new jobs will be created by an energy firm in the North East - as well as hopes of the region becoming an international centre for green battery manufacturing.

Regional development agency One North East has recently granted Diverse Energy £100,000 to help support plans for a new fuel cell factory.

Dr Alastair Livesey, operations director for Diverse Energy, said: “This development will help us to further improve our work.

“It will enhance demand for our clean, low carbon PowerCubes and mean rapid expansion of our manufacturing capacity.”

The PowerCube technology is designed to replace polluting diesel generators used for mobile communications, and offers zero local emissions of greenhouse gases. This should reduce greenhouse emissions by 80%, and offer a fast return investment of less than two years.

Dr. Graham Bulman, Project Manager at the Enterprise Europe Network, said: “A key objective of the Network is to work closely with businesses to find new technology partners and access finance for new product development with emphasis on Europe’s agenda for small businesses, sustainability and innovation. We are delighted to have been of assistance to Diverse Energy.”

The North East is currently home to the UK’s mercury-free battery factory Rayovac in Washington, and has also been named as the country’s second Low Carbon Economic Area (LCEA) and the first to focus on low-carbon vehicles.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .