The port currently has an operational 5 MW solar array, with further opportunity to scale up solar and wind power
Associated British Ports (ABP), the UK’s leading ports group, and px Group, the owner and operator of high-growth Saltend Chemicals Park, have launched plans for the Clean Growth Hub at the Port of Barry.
The project aims to transform a large area of the operational port into an area of low-carbon, high-growth infrastructure investment. The site has in excess of 100 acres of development land earmarked for investee companies who are:
- Specialists in rare earth processing;
- Battery materials manufacturers;
- Manufacturers who are part of green energy and net zero supply chains; and
- Developing Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) business models.
ABP and px share the vision of a thriving, sustainable industrial hub focused on the industries of tomorrow, creating jobs, mobilising inward investment and boosting local prosperity and opportunity.
ABP’s Port of Barry already has significant low-carbon infrastructure in place and in development. The port currently has an operational 5 MW solar array, with further opportunity to scale up solar and wind power. ABP also has an ambitious partnership at the Port of Barry with Hynamics, an EDF Group subsidiary, to evaluate developing low-carbon hydrogen production and distribution to help reduce local industries’ CO2 emissions.
Henrik L. Pedersen, CEO of Associated British Ports says: “Ports are at the heart of the UK’s green energy transition. This development ensures that Barry will play a greater role as we look to deliver a lower-carbon future. Our vision is for ABP’s ports to be the green hubs which bring together progressive companies that can benefit from collective infrastructure and expertise.
“Building on the proven relationship we’ve developed at Saltend, we are excited to partner with px again to identify suitable projects that will further support the energy transition. and deliver clean growth.”
The Port of Barry is one of ABP’s portfolio of 21 ports around the coast of Britain. It was once the UK’s leading port for shipping coal and now is a growing location for the UK’s 21st century green energy transformation. A gateway for trade and industry into Cardiff, South Wales, and beyond, Barry is a key facility for the region's chemical industry, handling liquid bulks for major companies including Dow Silicones. Barry also has considerable expertise in the handling of steel, scrap metal, containers, dry bulks, coal and aggregates.
The announcement is the next major step in ABP’s ‘Future Ports: Wales Vision’, which sets out an overarching vision for how our network of ports in South Wales – Swansea, Port Talbot, Barry, Cardiff and Newport – allow ABP and partners such as px to turn the challenges of decarbonisation and industrial transformation into hugely significant economic, social and environmental opportunities.