IGEM welcomes new Royal Patron
We are pleased to share that The Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers (IGEM) is honoured to welcome His Majesty The King as our new Royal Patron.
This announcement coincides with the first anniversary of Their Majesties’ Coronations and comes after a thorough review of the Patronages previously held by the late Queen, The former Prince of Wales, and The former Duchess of Cornwall.
IGEM has maintained a strong connection with The Royal Family over the years, with the late Queen serving the Institution since choosing to become our Patron in 1953, and visited gas industry events throughout her reign, and we were always very pleased to attend special occasions for chosen charities and patronages, and to receive Loyal Greetings at our Annual General Meetings each year.
David Tomkin, IGEM President said:
“I’m delighted that The King has chosen to be our Royal Patron – particularly at a time of change and uncertainty, where all members of our professional engineering institution are working to deliver energy to the people of the UK in a safe and secure manner 24/7, whilst working tirelessly to transition the sector to deliver net zero.
“I will be seeking to further connect our downstream installer workforce with the wider energy system to enable collaboration and innovation to achieve climate change mitigation and adaptation across the gas industry.”
IGEM CEO, Oliver Lancaster added:
“It is exciting that our Royal Patron, King Charles III, has already helped to pioneer renewable gas in the UK through the first commercial scale biomethane to gas grid connection in 2012 in Poundbury, which he opened when he was the Duke of Cornwall. After significant growth already, and with much more to come, we look forward to celebrating continued progress in biomethane connections, with Great Britain soon having enough capacity to supply 1.2 million homes.
“We were thrilled to see the Prince of Wales’ first Earthshot Prizes award an organisation manufacturing electrolysers that produce hydrogen, which we’ve had the pleasure of seeing in operation. With the dawn of clean hydrogen, which can be used to power industry, generate electricity, heat buildings and fuel transport, we look forward to supporting the delivery of action that contributes and leads towards a sustainable future for generations to come – which we know is a subject The King has championed for over five decades.”