North West Cluster
As part of the Government’s commitment to industrial decarbonisation, we have received UK research and innovation funding to accelerate our decarbonisation plans for the region.
We’re proud to introduce our North West Cluster Plan, developed by a consortium of partners including Net Zero North West, Peel NRE, North West Business Leadership Team, Cheshire & Warrington LEP, University of Chester, Liverpool City Region LEP with research partners including EQUANS, Uniper, Progressive Energy, Cadent and SP Energy Networks.
The Net Zero NW Cluster Plan creates a deliverable investment, technology, and infrastructure blueprint for the North West’s net zero transition and low carbon recovery post-COVID-19.
Laid out in the proposal is a strategy for skills and employment opportunities, a focus on projects and investment, and technologies that are all necessary to the net zero transition by 2040.
An April 2022 report outlines the region’s progress in developing a Cluster Plan and how it will deliver on its aim to be the UK’s first net zero carbon industrial cluster. Supporting technical studies underpinning the development of the Cluster Plan can be read below.
In January 2023, we published our final Cluster Plan, which provides a roadmap to decarbonisation for the UK’s first net zero cluster by 2040. Our Cluster Plan demonstrates a £30bn pipeline of live investable projects with the opportunity for £207bn to be invested in the region overall. You can read additional reports and analysis that have helped shape our Cluster Plan below.
In March 2023, as part of the Spring Budget, the government announced that they will be investing £20bn over the next 20 years to further support the deployment of carbon capture and storage. For projects such as HyNet, this was welcomed news and provides a foundation for developing new technologies and significant job creation.
The opportunity
Our decarbonisation and clean growth vision will unlock huge opportunities across the supply chain for regional businesses to tap into, including, engineering support; construction; parts provision; logistics and distribution; third party maintenance; contracts, and many other supporting work streams.
The Net Zero NW Cluster Plan will make more carbon savings than the annual carbon emissions of all North West homes, as well as create and protect high value jobs. New markets and possibilities will be opened up for our businesses to innovate and provide new technologies and services, supporting the North West’s transformation into a world leading net zero economy.
How you can get involved and benefit
Collaboration is key to achieving our net zero ambitions and creating a safer, more sustainable future for our region. That’s why we want to work with like-minded businesses, academia, and the wider industry to deliver on our long anticipated North West Cluster Plan.
Our offering doesn’t stop at our cluster plan. We also provide support to businesses to help them decarbonise and seize this once in a generation opportunity to revolutionise the green agenda.
To do this, we need input from you. What are the opportunities and barriers you’re facing? In knowing this, we can help unlock new funding streams, skills development pathways, and a whole variety of growth avenues.
Publications
Net Zero North West Manifesto - Pioneering a Net-Zero Future
This manifesto is a collective industry partnership commitment and call to action to ensure our region has everything that’s required to be at the forefront of delivering industrial decarbonisation.
Following our work on the North West Cluster Plan, we are working in partnership with industry, regional and national government, to move towards a coordinated delivery of the plan. The NZNW Manifesto outlines a collaborative commitment from industry to achieve net zero and propel the North West to the forefront of clean growth. Focusing on key areas like Energy Generation, Grid Infrastructure, Planning Policy, Skills and more, the document calls for government and industry support.
The Net Zero North West Economic Prospectus
This publication is the result of primary research conducted by Net Zero North West to establish the North West industrial cluster. It demonstrates the enormous potential for industrial decarbonisation in the North West.
The Net Zero North West Cluster Plan
The Cluster Plan lays out a deliverable investment, technology, and infrastructure blueprint for the North West’s net zero transition and low carbon recovery post-COVID-19. It recommends the technologies, infrastructure changes and investment necessary to transition the North West, working with North East Wales, to net zero carbon by 2040. Our cluster plan showcases a £30bn pipeline of live, investable projects with the opportunity for £207bn to be invested in the region overall.
You can read the interim report, the final report, and additional reports and analysis that have helped shape our Cluster Plan below.