Scotland's Net Zero Infrastructure programme

Funder

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund

Timeframe

March 2021 – February 2024

Overview

This £30m UK Government funded initiative, with industry match funding and linked to the Acorn carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, will bring together academic and industrial partners to develop a major package of work designed to progress a national low carbon infrastructure.

This important programme will provide a significant boost to the region’s fast-growing low carbon credentials, paving the way for onshore and offshore developments totalling in excess of £3 billion.

As the academic partner, the Centre for Energy Policy (CEP) will lead work around understanding the longer-term economic impacts and job preservation and creation opportunities as Scotland transitions away from oil and gas to low carbon fuels like hydrogen and CO2 removal technologies such as CCS.

The SNZI initiative compliments work that is already underway on Scotland’s Net Zero Roadmap project, which CEP is also contributing to.

Partners

Lead partner – Storegga, Other partners – SSE Thermal, National GridPetrofacLNG9/GB-Tron and NECCUS 

Publications

Project funder

Children’s Investment Fund Foundation/Bellona Foundation

Project timeframe

August 2021 – April 2022

Overview

Countries across the world, including the UK, are grappling with how best to address the dual challenges of economic recovery and delivering a net zero transition by 2050 in an efficient, effective and coherent way.

This project will seek to close a crucial research and knowledge gap that exists around the role that net zero investments can play in supporting the Covid-19 economic recovery, thereby setting important foundations to underpin the transition to a prosperous, sustainable and more equitable net zero economy.

Focusing on the UK, it will explore how strategic investment, particularly in relation to the mix and timing of public and private finance, can be used effectively to accelerate the net zero transition whilst delivering positive societal and economic outcomes.

Publications

Investigating Wider Economy Impacts of Net Zero Industry Development – Scotland's Net Zero Infrastructure Project (SNZI)