Net Zero North West (NZNW) is pleased to announce that Britain’s Energy Coast Business Cluster (BECBC), Glass Futures and HyNet Alliance have all joined the organisation as affiliate members.

The announcement comes as NZNW continues to focus on building a fully geographic and sector representative partnership to drive a Whole System approach to delivery of the industrial cluster.

Affiliate membership of NZNW is designed to deliver a framework for greater collaboration between the organisation and like-minded sector and project alliances and cluster bodies by focusing in on shared goals and outputs around industrial decarbonisation.

It provides access to a range of support including industry insight, funding guidance and opportunities, policy support and research and other reports which can assist in their transition to net zero.

As the North West moves increasingly into a delivery phase, members have the unique opportunity to shape the ways in which the region meets its low carbon targets by contributing to the collective efforts of the other institutions working within the cluster.

They are also able to benefit from their fellow members’ expertise as they seek to continue their individual transitions, particularly in sharing knowledge around the NZNW-identified key themes of skills and workforce development, supporting innovation, forging stronger relationship with the investor community and the different pathways around the energy transition.

NZNW’s membership has now grown by a third in the past 12 months as more and more businesses and organisations have actively joined the drive towards a low carbon future.

Dr Sarah Harrold, Head of Strategy and Government Engagement at Glass Futures commented: “In addition to welcoming NZNW as a member of Glass Futures, we are pleased to be an affiliate member of NZNW because of the clear synergies between the aims of our two organisations. Glass Futures is a centre for skills development, with our open access innovation facility poised to be a safe and accessible learning environment for the glass industry and their supply chains to encounter new technologies.

“We look forward to building strong relationships with other members, developing innovative partnerships and leveraging the Glass Futures innovation facility to demonstrate and deploy emerging best practice, and translate learnings into our memberships for accelerated adoption,” she added.

Dianne Richardson, CEO of BECBC, highlighted the importance of Cumbria’s role in this collaborative effort. “BECBC represents companies across the entire energy sector supply chain and covers the whole of Cumbria. Collaboration with the North West is vital to achieving net zero, as it allows us to pool expertise, resources, and innovation from across the region.

“By working together, we can ensure that Cumbria plays a leading role in meeting the region’s low-carbon goals while unlocking growth opportunities for local businesses,” she said.

David Parkin, Chair of the HyNet Alliance, added: “The Alliance brings together organisations connecting to, or building, HyNet’s hydrogen and carbon capture infrastructure, aiming to deliver the full ambition of the project whilst leaving a legacy for local people.

“As the leading industrial decarbonisation project in the region, HyNet has collaborated with NZNW since its inception. We look forward to working with other members to drive down carbon emissions and foster a broader ecosystem of sustainable industries across the North West,” he added.

Jane Gaston, CEO of NZNW, added: “I am excited for how our three new affiliate members can help us and each other drive the transition to industrial decarbonisation in the North West in a way that is fair and equitable for all and which creates new opportunities and jobs along the way.

“The decarbonisation opportunity that is presented to us is not just regional but national and international, and HyNet Alliance, BECBC and Glass Futures will play a pivotal role in this,” she continued.

Businesses interested in becoming members of Net Zero North West can reach out to board members for more information.

For more information on Net Zero North West and its initiatives, visit their website at https://netzeronw.co.uk