While over the last decade, when UK decarbonisation has been achieved to a large extent through de-industrialisation, we at IDRIC have demonstrated that economic prosperity and sustainability can work together.

From the outset, we brought together critical stakeholders across academia, industry, cluster bodies, policy makers, skills providers and third sector organisations. Through this unique and coordinated approach, which includes direct collaboration with 41 research institutions, we have integrated engineering, environmental and technical solutions, alongside perspectives on complex economic, behavioural and policy issues.  

IDRIC’s model consists of an interdisciplinary portfolio of challenge-driven research projects, co-created and co-delivered with industry and other research end-users. The co-created nature of our research across the whole ecosystem means that the impact of our outputs is accelerated. It has also served as a model for co-delivering projects that timely address industry challenges and has highlighted the importance of cross-sector knowledge exchange.

For example, our work on decarbonisation technologies is turning up immense co-benefits (beyond emissions reduction) to be realised from industrial decarbonisation: for example, jobs, community resilience, health, trade competitiveness, innovation and geopolitical gains (local, national or even global). IDRIC has, for the first time, evaluated and quantified the jobs and skill requirements for industries in the UK (both clusters and dispersed sites) to decarbonise and ensure a place-based just transition.

Second, we found that equity, justice and just transitions are key. Public attitudes and people's views on decarbonisation affect its emplacement, and public concerns involve legitimacy, accountability and social acceptance, as well as forms of engagement.

We have funded 100 projects covering a wide spectrum of topics related to industrial decarbonisation. As a result, we have accumulated a vast body of knowledge that offers valuable insights into the challenges and solutions for the sustainable transition of our industrial heartlands. IDRIC’s Knowledge Hub curates the outputs from all our projects and provides open access to all our resources. We have built this up over the last three years and it currently houses more than 200 outputs including reports, policy briefs, webinars, training materials, academic publications and more.

Beyond that, we are currently synthesising all these outputs into the Frontiers Report series as a way of bringing together this wealth of knowledge and sharing it with the wider community (each will be summarised in New Energy World over the course of the next few months, starting this week).

In addition, a comprehensive ‘Research and innovation agenda for net zero industries’ will collate insights from industry, policymakers and academia, and set the future research and innovation agenda for industrial decarbonisation in the UK.

Our work on decarbonisation technologies is turning up immense co-benefits to be realised from industrial decarbonisation: for example, jobs, community resilience, health, trade competitiveness, innovation and geopolitical gains.

In June, our annual conference will bring together all our stakeholders to review the priorities, challenges and opportunities ahead. Working with our recently launched Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)-funded Centre for Doctoral Training in Green Industrial Futures, we will be discussing the key role of talent and workforce development, emerging technologies, collaborative innovation and transformative policy.

Finally, a few key lessons. First, we need to develop a wide range of technologies – there is no silver bullet here. IDRIC’s research has demonstrated the importance of not focusing on a single technology, while also illustrating how decarbonisation technologies are interconnected and we should not develop them in separate tracks. Moreover, there are synergies and opportunities when combining multiple technology approaches, for example on process and system integration.  

Second, technology is usually ahead of policy and business models. Research in policy, workforce, finance, public perceptions and other enablers is as important as technical solutions. Third, research cannot just focus on the UK; we need to share lessons learned and shared challenges internationally, to accelerate progress and avoid repeating costly mistakes. Offshoring emissions is not an option for mitigating climate change. Collaboration will make us go further and faster.

While IDRIC will wind down its transformative current phase this year, the need for the functions IDRIC is delivering – the research work plus bringing together the relevant players in an environment that allows and encourages trust and collaboration, reduces barriers and accelerates progress – will continue for decades.

The UK needs to take long-term decisions on the future, to invest in research and innovation and to lead activity towards the industry sector attainment of net zero, whilst achieving social and economic prosperity. IDRIC’s legacy as a catalyst for change in industrial decarbonisation will endure, reminding us that as the urgency grows for climate change action, the quest for sustainable industrial futures is within our reach.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are strictly those of the author only and are not necessarily given or endorsed by or on behalf of the Energy Institute.

• Further reading: ‘Helping deliver the Tees Valley’s net zero ambitions’. The UK’s Tees Valley has long been home to major heavy industrial and petrochemicals manufacturing sites. But is now also home to the Teesside University’s Net Zero Industry Innovation Centre. Find out how it aims to help the emergence of several low and zero carbon initiatives including carbon capture, direct air capture and hydrogen. 
• The energy transition will be a failure unless all domestic consumers are able to participate fully with innovative energy products, services and tariffs, says Chloe McLaren Webb, Project Manager at the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE), which is helping with this social imperative.