First steps to establish a £100 million compex chemical engineering plant at Saltend have been taken.
Site clearance and ground-pegging has begun to plot the world’s first sustainable rare earth separation plant.
It will form the first part of a UK supply chain in magnet metals for electric vehicles and wind turbines.
Pensana, together with Saltend Chemicals Park owner PX Group and engineering partner Wood Plc, have moved quickly with the easing of restrictions.
The £100 million facility will create more than 100 jobs, and was granted planning consent earlier this year.
Pensana chairman Paul Atherley said: "The works on-site at Saltend mark the early stage of delivering Pensana's nationally significant rare earth separation facility, creating an independent, sustainable supply chain for magnet-critical industries like electric vehicles and offshore wind.
“Saltend will become important to the UK’s Net Zero ambitions, bring high value manufacturing jobs back to Humber and create a platform on which sustainable supply chains can be established in the UK.”
The London-listed business owns mining rights in Angola, where the crucial first stage extraction will take place, before shipping to the Humber.
It announced the plan in December, selecting Saltend over several other UK sites and a German industrial cluster.
Saltend’s ‘plug-and-play’ set-up together with freeport status was cited.
