Engineering the UK’s first net zero industrial clusters

The £20 million Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre has been tasked with taking the UK’s biggest industrial carbon emitter sites on a path to net zero by 2040. Professor Mercedes Maroto-Valer, head of the new Centre, says decarbonisation will require a new type of engineer, and joint efforts from industry, government and academia. Many industrial areas of the UK remain heavily reliant on carbon fuels. The six largest industrial clusters by emissions are in Humberside, followed by South Wales, Grangemouth, Teesside, North West England and Southampton. The goal is to create the world’s first net-zero carbon industrial cluster by 2040 and at least one low-carbon cluster by 2030. The Centre will be a one stop shop for all industrial decarbonisation matters – where industry and policymakers can discuss how to accelerate progress, where academia can provide research and innovation expertise and where we can map what we need, and when, to achieve net zero emissions.