Laying the Foundations for Net Zero Industry Wales

To truly understand the origins of Net Zero Industry Wales, it’s helpful to look back a decade to the early efforts of the UK Government and industry to address decarbonisation.

At that time, net zero wasn’t yet the goal, the focus was simply on reducing emissions in energy-intensive sectors like steel, cement, and chemicals. These sectors were identified as “difficult to decarbonise,” requiring innovative solutions such as hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS), technologies that were largely theoretical or small-scale at the time.

Recognising this challenge, the UK Government initiated a series of decarbonisation pathways and focused on supporting these hard-to-abate industries. To make meaningful progress, they identified the industrial heartlands of the UK, Humberside, Teesside, Scotland, the North West, and South Wales as key geographic areas for decarbonisation efforts. This approach introduced the concept of industrial clusters, where industries within a region collaborate to develop decarbonisation strategies while also sharing knowledge and lessons learned with other clusters across the UK.

Building the Cluster Framework in Wales

Unlike other industrial heartlands, South Wales did not have a pre-existing cluster network. While areas like Teesside and Humberside had been working on carbon capture projects for nearly a decade, Wales was starting from scratch. Recognising the need to remain competitive, a group of Welsh stakeholders from multinational industries began informal discussions in 2019 to chart a path forward.

This grassroots effort led to the creation of the South Wales Industrial Cluster (SWIC), a coalition of industries, government representatives, and other stakeholders working together to explore decarbonisation options. In 2020, SWIC successfully secured funding through the UK Government’s Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge, enabling the development of a comprehensive cluster plan.

The cluster plan, completed in March 2023, was a pivotal step. It served as both a roadmap and a team-building exercise, helping stakeholders identify the technologies, infrastructure, and collaborative frameworks needed to achieve decarbonisation. Importantly, the plan highlighted the necessity of a formal entity to safeguard collaboration, manage competition risks, and ensure the secure sharing of sensitive information.

The Creation of Net Zero Industry Wales

The culmination of this work was the establishment of Net Zero Industry Wales. By formalising the cluster’s activities, the organisation provides a structured, legally secure platform for collaboration among industries, government, and other stakeholders. It also ensures the resources required to facilitate these efforts are sustainable, with funding generated through membership and other means.

Net Zero Industry Wales now supports not only the South Wales Industrial Cluster but also emerging efforts in North and Mid Wales. Its creation marked a turning point, transforming informal collaboration into a unified, coordinated approach to industrial decarbonisation.

The journey to establish Net Zero Industry Wales taught us several key lessons:

• Collaboration is Critical in bringing together diverse industries, government bodies, and infrastructure providers is essential for tackling complex decarbonisation challenges. The “Team Wales” approach has been central to our success.
• Infrastructure Matters because decarbonising heavy industry requires robust infrastructure, from hydrogen networks to CCUS facilities and renewable energy grids. Mapping these needs was a core focus of the cluster plan.
• Formal Structures Enable Progress such as establishing Net Zero Industry Wales which allowed us to navigate legal and competitive risks while creating a sustainable framework for ongoing collaboration.
• Investment is Essential in facilitating collaboration which requires resources, and funding mechanisms are crucial to maintaining momentum.

Today, under the leadership of our CEO, Ben Burggraaf, Net Zero Industry Wales is driving forward the decarbonisation efforts of both South and North Wales. We are building on the foundations laid by the cluster plan, ensuring that Wales remains competitive and leads the way in sustainable industrial practices.

Our mission is clear: to make Wales the country of choice for producing sustainable goods and services. By continuing to collaborate, innovate, and invest, we are turning this vision into reality, one step at a time.