What Is SNZR?

The Scottish Net Zero Roadmap (SNZR) project is part of a Government funded challenge to develop net zero industrial clusters by 2040.
The aim is to develop a road map to show how the industrial cluster along Scotland’s East Coast can be decarbonised. It is currently emitting some 9.3 million tonnes of CO2 p.a. – This is around 80% of Scotland’s industrial emissions.

A number of scenarios will be explored to establish a series of clearly defined pathways to net zero for the range of industrial sites within the Scottish industrial cluster. The project will also investigate the infrastructure (renewables, hydrogen, carbon capture) which will be necessary to deliver this and analyse the policy levers which can be used to support industrial decarbonisation.

Why is it needed?

The purpose of a roadmap for industrial planning is to allow the industrial sites within it to make informed decisions about their future activities and investments. It will also allow policy makers to be made aware of the support required to meet the targets that they have set.

Another key aspect of a roadmap is that it allows policy makers, infrastructure owners and site operators to work together to meet a shared goal.

The SNZR project is working to bring these stakeholders together to help drive a just transition and ensure a prosperous future for Scotland.

The funding context (how it all came together)

In June 2019, the UK Government set a target for reducing UK carbon emissions to Net Zero by 2050.

In order to meet this target the UK Government set up the (Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund) ISCF to fund and support the Government’s industrial strategy which is defined by 4 key themes, they are:

  1. Clean growth
  2. An ageing society
  3. The future of mobility
  4. Artificial intelligence and the data economy.

The SNZR roadmap activity falls within the clean growth area of the fund.

UK Industrial cluster plans

Within the ISCF the “Industrial decarbonisation challenge” (IDC) provided funding to 13 projects projects across the UK, this included: 6 Roadmaps (now called cluster plans), 6 deployment projects, and the Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC).

SNZR is one of six research projects in the ‘Decarbonisation of industrial clusters: cluster plan’ competition. This will ensure the UK has a net-zero industrial cluster by 2040.

The cluster plan projects are:

  1. Scotland’s Net Zero Roadmap (led by NECCUS)
  2. Net Zero Tees Valley – Decarbonising the Full Cluster: Roadmap Pathfinder (led by Tees Valley Combined Authority)
  3. Humber Industrial Decarbonisation Roadmap (led by Humber Local Enterprise Partnership)
  4. North West Hydrogen and Energy Cluster: Route to Net Zero (led by Peel Environmental)
  5. South Wales Industrial Cluster (led by CR Plus consultancy)
  6. Repowering the Black Country (led by Black Country Consortium).

These projects were chosen by competition and were announced in January 2021

Goals of the SNZR Project

The SNZR project is working to bring stakeholders from across the cluster region together in order to help drive a just transition and ensure a prosperous future for Scotland.

Various modelling scenarios will be completed and then compared to provide a strong vision for the path that Scottish industry can take. This will produce a dynamic source of live information that can be used in many future decision making scenarios.

The SNZR project will additionally support the delivery of the Clean Growth Grand Challenge as well as the Industrial Clusters Mission. The UK Government has a stated ambition to establish the world’s first net zero carbon industrial cluster by 2040, with at least one low-carbon industrial cluster by 2030.

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