In preparation for a dynamic and productive 2024, Associated British Ports, the UK’s largest port operator, has welcomed commercial and property expert Lex Hanham to its Business Development team, where she will be spearheading projects to accelerate the UK’s clean energy transition.

Having originally joined ABP as a Graduate Management Trainee in Southampton, Lex has more than 15 years’ experience at the organisation. She has successfully delivered projects across a wide range of business functions, from operations to property management and from  project management to commercial.

Ralph Windeatt, ABP Head of Business Development, commented: “I am delighted to welcome Lex to the team. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge, skills and insight from her hugely successful time in Southampton and she joins at an exciting time for the development of our pipeline. I am confident the experience she brings from her time in the ports industry will strongly benefit existing and future customers in this role.”

Prior to ABP, she served as a Development Officer at the Royal Yachting Association and a Yacht Broker at Portway Yacht Sales. She holds a BSc in Marine Geography from Cardiff University and volunteers at Lymington Town Sailing Club.

Reflecting on the news, Lex Hanham, ABP Business Development Manager, said: “I find joy in the pursuit of possibilities; the satisfaction of turning opportunity into reality and forging connections and lasting partnerships with customers. I am excited to be a part of the team sculpting a future for our ports defined by growth and innovation.

“Transitioning from the core port business to the dynamic realm of alternative energy is not just a shift in focus; it’s a leap into a future sector where success is measured not just in profits but in the positive change we catalyze for generations to come. I look forward to being a part of the fusion of business acumen and environmental stewardship, where every strategic move echoes a commitment to a greener, more sustainable world.’’

With projects such as Immingham Green Energy Terminal (IGET) under way, the past years have reinvigorated public interest in ports’ role as enablers of net zero. This facility will use CO2 shipping to deliver decarbonisation without risking deindustrialisation and will create a cleaner, greener and more prosperous future for the UK.

This focus on sustainable solutions has been amplified by ABP’s sustainability strategy, ‘Ready for Tomorrow’, which sets out the company’s plans to invest £2 billion in decarbonising its own operations by 2040 as well as enabling the wider UK energy transition through large-scale clean energy infrastructure projects.

A salient example of a project in the pipeline includes the Viking CCS on the Humber, which has secured Track 2 status in the Government’s cluster sequencing process. This is an important step towards attaining an economic licence for the permanent storage of CO2 in the Viking fields. The project will reuse existing pipelines and decommissioned gas fields to provide a very cost-competitive solution for storage of CO2 emissions.

Once complete, Viking CCS will have the capability to store up to 10 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030, rising to 15 million tonnes per year by 2035. This can make a significant contribution to the UK’s sixth carbon budget. The project also has the potential to unlock £7 billion of private investment for the Humber region across the CCS value chain. This will bring significant benefits to the local community and the UK overall, including the potential creation of up to 10,000 new, good quality jobs during construction and a contribution of £4 billion of GVA to the economy.

Following last week’s historic announcement about the use of the first Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) transatlantic flight, ABP is proud to be part of this journey with a major SAF plant from LanzaTech planned for our Port Talbot site, part of a new green hub to include floating offshore wind (FLOW), hydrogen, carbon capture, cleaner steel and low-carbon logistics.