SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

EXPERTISEA ROUTE TO NET-ZERO

LEVELLING UP AGENDA

POST COVID-19 ECONOMIC GROWTH

AND RESILIENCE

IMPROVE AIR QUALITY

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NATIONAL AND REGIONAL

POLICY AND ENGAGEMENT

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THEME TITLE SUMMARY OF FOCUS ACTIVITY

POLICY AND ECONOMICS

Providing policy and economic support to policy-makers at a local and regional scale.

ACCELERATING BUSINESS GROWTH

Supporting SMEs in the low-carbon energy sector delivering export sales and sector growth.

LIVING LABS

Utilising the living lab concept to build and develop new large scale demonstrators, providing best practice and showcasing different low-carbon solutions.

ENERGY SYSTEM BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE

To understand behaviours and practices affecting uptake and success of low-carbon technologies to optimise the low-carbon transition.

SKILLS

To deliver a sustainable pipeline of future energy leaders and knowledge transfer experts who can support the UK's transition to net-zero.

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY

To ensure an inclusive working environment and provide opportunities for underrepresented groups in the energy sector.

CROSS-CUTTING THEMESTo support our Big Ideas, we envisage a series of cross-cutting activities which will utilise these initiatives, including:

PROPOSAL FOR ERA-2: THE ENERGY RESEARCH ACCELERATOR PARTNERSHIP

BIG IDEAS FOR A NET-ZERO FUTUREERA-2 IMPACT:

£1.5BNGVA

6,800 jobs

£250M investment

era.ac.uk #energyleaders

THE ERA PARTNERS

®

This summary proposal for a new five-year phase of ERA investment (ERA-2) to support regional economic recovery, has the Government’s net-zero ambition at its heart. Co-produced with our academic partners, our Industrial Advisory Board and local and regional government, we have designed a programme in response to regional and national policy objectives.

DELIVERED BYFUNDED BY SUPPORTED BY

The Midlands has the majority of the national research facilities associated with energy.”UKRI Infrastructure Roadmap, 2019.

10,000 companies

56,000 regional jobs

MIDLANDS IMPACTS

£2.5BN+ capital yearly

NO. THE BIG IDEAS SUMMARY OF FOCUS ACTIVITY

1 ENERGY STORAGEMedium-duration, large-scale, energy storage to include compressed air demonstration facilities.

2 DECARBONISING HEAT

A National Centre for Decarbonisation of Heat, NCDH) (currently being discussed via the West Midlands Stimulus Package) to support the transition from domestic use of gas to alternative options such as heat pumps and hydrogen boilers.

3SYSTEM SIMULATION, DATA, DIGITAL AND INFORMATICS

Grid-scale electricity system modelling for future-proofing infrastructure to develop a digital twin of the electricity system allowing network changes to be analysed in real-time.

4INTEGRATING RESOURCE RECOVERY WITH ENERGY PRODUCTION

Integrating the circular economy with zero-carbon and CCUS acceleration, including production of biochar and utilisation in the property sector; metals recycling; and chemicals from waste production.

5 ALTERNATIVE FUELS

Demonstration of next-generation fuels to include a National Centre on Fuel Standards and support for a regional hydrogen economy through the R&D of green H2 technologies that could use nuclear heat and power.

6LOW-CARBON INTER AND INTRA-URBAN TRANSPORTATION

Developing low-carbon methods of transportation both for the regional freight and logistics sector and individual urban travel.

SUPPORTING POST-COVID-19 ECONOMIC GROWTHThe Midlands Energy Sector supports 30,000 direct jobs and 77,900 jobs in its supply chain.

HELPING MEET NET-ZERO OBJECTIVESSupporting the 2050 and earlier ‘cities transport emissions’ targets via R&D innovation – utilising the Midlands as a ‘living lab’ with solutions that can be applied across the rest of the UK.

LEVELLING UP R&D SPENDThe Midlands has been shown to be under-invested in terms of government R&D spend. ERA-2 allows investment-at-scale across the region galvanising this successful partnership which will be able to mobilise at speed.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EXPERTISEInvestment will enable the UK to build global strength and resilience in energy technology leadership, reducing reliance on energy imports, increasing the UK’s commercial potential.

IMPROVING AIR QUALITYAir quality accounts for 40,000 deaths per year in the UK. Uptake of renewable technologies, electric vehicles and hydrogen, which our programme will support, will reduce emissions over the long-term.

REGIONAL CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIESERA proposes to continue to support the Midlands Engine as it works with the LEPs on regional energy strategy and infrastructure development.