The Midlands Engine has gone further than any other region in translating government low carbon ambitions into a regional plan for net zero.
Our industry-led Ten Point Plan for Green Growth sets out how we can and will deliver levelling up and economic prosperity. It is how the Midlands Engine partnership will mobilise and spearhead pan-regional action with a focus on green buildings, net zero transport, clean and smart energy, and crucial enablers including green innovation, the energy workforce and green finance.
Exceptional work in low carbon is already underway across our vast Midlands Engine partnership landscape, making the Midlands a leading location for green growth. But the potential for more is phenomenal. By 2041 and by working together, we have the potential to create or safeguard 196,000 green jobs, increase regional GVA by almost £26 billion and reduce carbon dioxide emisions by 36%.
Our Ten Point Plan brings together an impressive spectrum of expertise to identify a key role for the Midlands region in driving green innovation and as a centre for excellence in new technologies and clean fuels, such as hydrogen – as we complement existing partner initiatives and capitalise on the wealth of economic opportunities presented by the shift to low carbon.
Our in-depth report, Smart Energy – An Energy System for the 21st Century, co-authored by the Midlands Engine partnership, Siemens, the University of Birmingham and the Energy Research Accelerator, puts forward a plan for the Midlands to become the UK’s first Smart Energy Region, helping tackle both the cost-of-living crisis and climate change.
Detailing potential interventions and the steps needed to build on a number of projects that are already underway, the report sets out how in real terms, with a smart energy system, by 2050 the region could:
Opportunities to Lead the Way in Smart Energy Solutions is a quick-read companion to the full report summarising the scale and impact of potential interventions.
The Midlands Engine Hydrogen Technologies Strategy has been co-created by partners to crystallise and champion the pivotal role the Midlands and our rapidly growing Hydrogen Technologies Valley can play in low carbon hydrogen – to achieve government ambitions to expand the UK hydrogen economy and drive sustainable growth.
The Midlands is the manufacturing heartland of the UK, with unrivaled expertise and capacity to make and apply low carbon hydrogen technologies to deliver net zero. It is hydrogen technologies that have the power to connect hydrogen generators and end-users – and it is the Midlands that has the power to make those technologies, for use in areas as diverse as transport, domestic heating and off-grid power supplies.
The Green Growth Digital Map is a live tool with functionality for Midlands Engine partners to provide updates and new projects as and when they emerge, ensuring our showcase of regional green growth assets is always up to date.
Developed by the Midlands Engine Observatory, this interactive tool brings our region’s green growth assets to life – showcasing our region’s flagship projects, facilities and key industry leaders, as well as exemplar case studies from across the Midlands.
Natural capital is the elements of nature that directly or indirectly produce value to people including ecosystems, species, freshwater, land, minerals, air and oceans, as well as natural processes and functions. The Natural Capital Monitor places a value on our region’s natural assets so that we can better protect them.
Green Growth
May 19 2023
Some of the Peak District’s biggest industrial employers have announced what they are calling a world-first partnership project to slash their greenhouse gas emissions and ensure a sustainable future for their sector – but questions remain about the environmental credentials of the scheme.
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Green Growth
Mar 16 2023
New research showcases Midlands strengths in the net zero economy with 3 of the UK’s 20 net zero economy hotspots and the sector 1.3x more productive than other regions.
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Economic Opportunities
Feb 2 2023
This week over 170 industry, local government and university stakeholders gathered at Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK’s headquarters at Burnaston, Derbyshire for the HyDEX Regional Policy and Innovation Summit.
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