IChemE initial response to UK Government’s 2024 Autumn Budget
31st October 2024
On the 30 October, The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, delivered the 2024 Autumn Budget, the first from the new Labour Government. In response, IChemE Chief Executive Officer Yvonne Baker OBE commented:
“This Budget signals a welcome recognition that growth requires investment, and it was encouraging to see Government spending commitments on a range of critical areas where chemical engineers are delivering change, such as life science, biotechnology and carbon capture. We were pleased to see the Chancellor commit to protect Government funding for research and development and we look forward to engaging on how to best direct this resource. We will continue to champion the critical importance of research into rapid process intensification and scaleup; decarbonisation of energy generation; engineering biology scaleup and industrialisation; and energy storage system technology.
“We welcome the announcement of funding for 11 new green hydrogen projects across England, Scotland and Wales. IChemE is at the forefront of work on green hydrogen, leading an international alliance with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers to support industry’s adoption of hydrogen as an energy carrier in the drive to net zero.
“We believe that ensuring a healthy pipeline of new talent into chemical and process engineering – and STEM disciplines more broadly – is critical to addressing the key challenges facing the country, such as the transition to green energy and net zero. We were therefore encouraged to hear the Government’s commitments on funding for core school budgets and further education, and are keen to engage with the details of these and with the new Skills England.
“We now look forward to following up on the detail of these commitments as they are published, and will continue to engage on the development of the Government’s industrial strategy in advance of its publication alongside the Spending Review in Spring 2025.”
Photo credit: Nigel J. Harris / Shutterstock.com
What is chemical engineering?
Chemical, biochemical and process engineering is the application of science, mathematics and economics in the process of turning raw materials into everyday, and more specialist, products. Professional chemical engineers design, construct and manage process operations all over the world. Energy, pharmaceuticals, food and drink, synthetic fibres and clean drinking water are just some of the industry sectors and products where chemical engineering plays a central role.
IChemE
The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) advances chemical engineering's contribution for the benefit of society. We facilitate the development of chemical engineering professionals and provide connections to a powerful network of around 30,000 members in more than 100 countries.
We support our members in applying their expertise and experience to make an influential contribution to solving major global challenges, and are the only organisation permitted to award Chartered Chemical Engineer status and Professional Process Safety Engineer registration.