Webinar: Innovating Industrial Decarbonisation - Ecosystem building

The final webinar of techUK's Innovating Industrial Decarbonisation series brought together the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero's Industrial Decarbonisation team, research and innovation hub HVM Catapult, and industry Seagate Technology to share their expertise, showcasing in practice that collaboration is at the heart of achieving net zero ambitions.

We heard from a stellar lineup of presenters including:

Edmund Ward, Deputy Director - Industrial Decarbonisation, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Russell Hall, Chief Engineer - HVMC Net Zero Portfolio, WMG Sustainable Manufacturing and CE Strategy Lead, HVM Catapult
Elizabeth Patterson, Policy and Programme Manager, Seagate Technology

Watch the full webinar here:

Key take-home points included:

State of play for industrial decarbonisation and UK Government priorities...

The Industrial Decarbonisation & Emissions Trading (IDET) covers 39% of UK Territorial emissions - directly responsible for 22% of total UK territorial emissions, and leading the UK ETS which covers a further 17% of UK territorial emissions.
The UK industrial sector plays an essential role in society, with £209 billion economic value (2022), 10% of GVA, and 2.5 million direct jobs (2022), with an estimated 5 million jobs across the value chain.
A range of technologies will be needed for the industrial sector to reach net zero: near-term abatement is dominated by resource and energy efficiency (REEE).
To reach net zero, we need an economic framework that incentivises decarbonisation, protects against 'Carbon leakage', addresses market failures, and supports technology deployment and business demand/growth.
Government priorities include ambitious NDCs and carbon budgets, 2035 net zero power, 4 CCUS clusters by 2030, industrial fuel switching, expanded UK ETS, and 15% reduction in final energy use from buildings and industry by 2030.
Government support through grants and funding, including the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (now on Phase 3) and Local Industrial Decarbonisation Plans funding, are vital to incentivise industry to adopt technologies and drive forward net zero.

Five areas of strategic focus for the UK Government on Industrial Decarbonisation

Digital technologies role within this...

Digital technologies play a key role in the measurement, materials, and simulation for industrial decarbonisation.
For measurement, they allow for live measurement and analysis, resulting in emissions reductions. Digitalisation of energy use is more than smart metering.
AI provides new opportunities for energy optimisation.
Looking ahead, reductions of emissions will rely on using materials differently.
Circular economy (reuse, remanufactured recycle) will be a key enabler for embodied emission reduction.
Digitalisation for material use, lifecycle, properties will enable CE to become a reality. Real life examples include: material passports, chemical composition data.
Digital twins and simulations de-risk innovation at speed, and have seen successes across factories, processes, and products.

Keep up to date with the latest for our Innovating Industrial Decarbonisation series through our series page.

techUK - Committed to Climate Action

Visit our Climate Action Hub to learn more or to register for regular updates.

By 2030, digital technology can cut global emissions by 15%. Cloud computing, 5G, AI and IoT have the potential to support dramatic reductions in carbon emissions in sectors such as transport, agriculture, and manufacturing. techUK is working to foster the right policy framework and leadership so we can all play our part. For more information on how techUK can support you, please visit our Climate Action Hub and click ‘contact us’.

Upcoming climate events

Latest news and insights

13 Jun 2024

techUK responds to consultation on the introduction of a UK CBAM

techUK has submitted a response to the HM Treasury and HMRC led consultation on the proposals for the design and administration of the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

Consultation responses

07 Jun 2024

How does sustainability play a role in the manufacture of products placed on the market and what are the latest legal requirements?

London Tech Week blog by Assent

Industry views

29 May 2024

techUK and Green Digital Skills, Green Software and GreenOps

techUK is asking members to get involved with a new focus area on so called 'GreenOps', a topic that has come up more and more recently. This is an open ended ask and we’re keen to get members involved if they have developed ‘green ops’, embedded the green software foundation principles in to practice, or specifically looked at green digital skills.

techUK news and views