The Net Zero NW Cluster Plan

The Net Zero NW Cluster Plan will set out the transition to net-zero for industry in the North West of England and North East Wales. It will describe the investments, technologies, infrastructure changes and sequencing required to fulfil the UK's Industrial Clusters Mission.

The project focuses on two key objectives:

* Establishing a low-carbon industrial cluster by 2030, by deploying anchor investment projects including HyNet hydrogen and CCUS infrastructure
* Establishing a net-zero carbon industrial cluster by 2040, underpinned by multi-vectored industrial decarbonisation solutions

Industry and public sector bodies, building on the preliminary research completed in Phase 1, will collaboratively promote and engage on plans to decarbonise, ensuring businesses have a strong voice in planning decarbonisation activity in line with current and future business needs whilst leveraging inward investment opportunities.

Energy consumers, networks, generators and academia will research and quantify data and evidence necessary to reach consensus on the most viable options to decarbonise in line with national and local political declarations.

The project will engage and support other complementary initiatives in the region, including but not limited to HyNet (an anchor project), the NW Hydrogen Alliance, E-Port, Mersey Tidal Energy, North West Nuclear Arc and others.

The largest industries in the cluster account for over 6 million tonnes of carbon emissions per annum, from diverse facilities that include oil refining, downstream processing, cement, fertiliser production, glass manufacturing, base chemicals, food manufacturing, automotive, and personal care products. Further industrial emissions are associated with other industry across the broader NW region, extending up to Lancashire and Cumbria. Industrial process energy and heat consumed across all businesses in the area is over 27 TWhr per annum-the region of North Cheshire alone uses 5% of UK power. Several manufacturing and light industrial businesses reliant on energy intensive processes are located in business parks with the potential to employ shared infrastructure, including heat networks, smart grids and decentralised generation.

The project takes an industry and innovation-led approach guiding the decarbonisation of the first UK industrial cluster on a low-cost, low-regrets basis whilst exploring opportunities for shared infrastructure with the South Wales industrial cluster and others.

By enabling multiple industrial facilities to reduce their emissions by the greatest possible extent, with knock-on effects in the reduction of commercial, domestic and transport emissions, the Net Zero NW Cluster Plan will realise over 33,000 new jobs, over £4bn investment and the world's first net-zero industrial cluster.