OZEV and BEIS to speak at Forum event
Katie Black, the Joint Head of the Office of Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) and Paul van Heyningen – Deputy Director for Net Zero Electricity Networks at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) – will deliver keynote updates at next month’s Transport + Energy Forum.
The event will bring together key stakeholder groups to discuss the actions that need to be taken to reach net zero with delegates set to hear insights from a variety of companies and organisations including National Highways, National Grid, The EV Network, Green 2 Delivery and many more. The event programme can be viewed here.
Katie joined OZEV in November 2020. As joint head, she leads work on strategy and infrastructure within the team. She joined from a role as Director of Policy at the National Infrastructure Commission, the body responsible for providing independent analysis and advice to the Government to ensure the UK meets its long-term infrastructure needs. Prior to this she worked in various roles across the Department of Energy and Climate Change and undertook a secondment to an electricity retailer. A chemist by background, her final Masters project concentrated on some of the technical aspects of carbon capture and storage.
Paul’s team works to ensure electricity networks are ready for the transformation needed to accommodate new low-carbon generation and demand, including from electric vehicles. Paul is a career civil servant who, since 2001, has held a wide range of posts in the UK Government, with a focus on energy, climate change and environmental policy, and most recently relating to the UK’s exit from the European Union. He has a scientific background, with a PhD in molecular neurobiology.
The theme for this year’s Forum event is centred around ‘Taking action to decarbonise now’. With the UK reaching record temperatures of over 40C (104F) for the first time this year, the issue of climate change must be taken seriously with urgent action required now. Focusing on what and how, the Forum event will set out the breadth of the challenge faced with a real focus on actionable solutions that can be taken now.
This exclusive event will connect transport and energy leaders with policymakers, industry groups, NGOs, the supply chain, networks, regulators, the highways sector, tech disruptors, local authorities, customer groups, plus other stakeholders tasked with the job of fully decarbonising our transport and energy systems.
The event will include high-level keynote speeches about how governments and businesses can accelerate the transition to clean transport and energy. It will also include interactive panel debates focused on the key challenges and solutions; educational presentations; and much more.
Attendees will also have access to networking opportunities and a tabletop exhibition, creating the space to form new connections and cross-sector collaborations. The conversations will then continue over an evening reception with delegates given the opportunity to cement relationships and opportunities for collaboration that could have a lasting impact.
And that’s not all – spaces for local councils are provided free of charge so that each participating company is guaranteed access to local government officers who sit at the heart of this transition.
Transport + Energy Editorial Director Alec Peachey said: “We are delighted to have secured the participation of representatives from OZEV and BEIS at this year’s Transport + Energy Forum event. It shows that collaboration between both the transport and energy sectors is key to accelerating the transition to net zero.
“We look forward to hearing updates from Katie and Paul. I’m sure that delegates will be interested to hear how these key central government departments are working together to accelerate the transition to clean transport and energy. We have secured a great variety of speakers and topics and look forward to welcoming representatives from both sectors to Birmingham. It promises to be a fantastic event as we focus on the key actions that need to be taken to decarbonise now.”
