GreenSpur managing director Darren Robertson speaking at the 14th IRENA Assembly in Abu Dhabi.

Teesside business drives change in global environmental policy ahead of COP28

Teesside business, GreenSpur, is driving the global policy agenda in the fight against climate change as leaders gear up for COP28 in November this year.

GreenSpur, which is based in Stockton-on-Tees, is the developer of the only credible Rare Earth-Free Permanent Magnet Generator (PMG) suitable for wind turbines.

Its managing director Darren Robertson recently spoke at the 13th session of the IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency) Assembly in Abu Dhabi, which brings together Heads of State, Government ministers and industry leaders to facilitate interaction between decision-makers on pressing issues related to the energy transition.

Global leaders will next meet at COP28, hosted in the United Arab Emirates, to take stock of the progress on the Paris Agreement, and align efforts on climate action.

Darren commented: “Global leaders in the fight against climate change recognise that renewable energy deployment is behind the curve. A key challenge lies in the supply chain of critical minerals, particularly rare earth magnets and the realisation that scaling mining will not be enough.

“The solution requires a combination of increasing supply and the adoption of critical mineral substitution technologies, with GreenSpur seen as a leading player in this field. PMGs are at the heart of the renewable energy transition and utilise a vast quantity of rare earth magnets.

“Rare earth magnets are highly efficient and can be used in a variety of applications, from computer hard drives to electric vehicles and wind turbines. However, substantial forecasted growth in electric vehicles and offshore wind deployment rare earth demand is expected to outstrip supply.

“Global rare earth magnet supply is also geographically concentrated, with China producing 90 per cent of global magnet production. With Geopolitical tensions escalating, access to supply has created concerns regarding energy security.

“GreenSpur has developed a pioneering PMG solution which eliminates the need for rare earth magnets and is seen as a leading player in this field.

“My invitation to speak at IRENA’s general assembly demonstrates that global policymakers are looking to GreenSpur for guidance on how to address the supply chain challenges and how policy can support the rapid scale of this technology and drive the energy transition.”

GreenSpur is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Time To ACT, whose mission is to find and develop “undervalued world-beating” clean and renewable technologies in order to support the global transition to Net Zero.

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily