Awaiting Public Project Summary

This project is about the development of a new business model and capability to enable the utilisation of industrial waste gases from the foundation industries, to generate affordable feedstocks and chemicals for use in the production of consumer products in the UK. Such an industrial symbiosis model will displace the import of non-sustainable materials from outside of the UK currently used to supply the consumer goods industry thus building a new UK value chain whilst simultaneously helping to mitigate the waste emissions from the foundation industries (specifically paper, chemicals, and steel). Aside from the technical aspects of the project, additionally, the business model development will frame the economic incentives that will likely be required to make the model work (e.g., carbon taxes on imports of fossil-based materials). The project will uniquely bring together partners from across the whole supply/value chain to achieve this.

The South Wales Industrial Cluster (SWIC) is a diverse mix of critical industry from the Pembrokeshire coastline to the Welsh/English border. They have converged with common objectives for decarbonisation and clean growth. Some of the sectors represented include: §Steel making§Oil Refining§Power§Nickel manufacturing§Insulation manufacturing§Chemical§LNG import§The Royal Mint§Whole host of general manufacturing SWIC Deployment will create pathways and opportunities to promote Wales as a leading global player in decarbonised industrial and economic growth. SWIC's goal is Net Zero Carbon (NZC) by 2040\. Regional CO2 emissions are 16 million tonnes annually (5% of UK total), comprising 10 million tonnes direct from industry and 6 million tonnes from power generation. Achieving NZC will provide a significant contribution to the UK's goal of becoming net zero by 2050\. NZC must be realised in the broader context of "People, Planet and Profit". This will be achieved through sustainable clean growth, within a globally-competitive market, maintaining a growing and diverse industrial sector region, which will potentially protect 103,000+ existing jobs. There is potential to grow this number through export of skills and services globally, from a centre of green excellence. SWIC will devise options to support regional hydrogen deployment and to develop Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (as an interim measure). It will nurture symbiosis between industry, cities/towns, transport, and agriculture. It will appraise solutions and select those that have the greatest impact to economic CO2 emission reduction. Deployment will define Partner project scopes to support investment decisions that will advance projects towards construction. The pooled expertise of the deployment Partners and broader SWIC membership will ensure arrival at the best solutions for deriving significant carbon reduction. SWIC, through ongoing engagement, is actively supported by Welsh Government. There is also support for SWIC by local authorities, which aim to ensure that they can provide the necessary jobs to protect the future of their communities. SWIC is actively working with other UK cluster regions to optimise decarbonisation outcomes. SWIC Deployment will provide the UK with lower carbon steel and reduced carbon cement products that form the backbone of the wider UK Infrastructure Industry. Costain is leading the project, supported by a wide breadth of key Partners. Phase2 represents an opportunity to integrate efforts, reinforce a direction and to further scope/define the action required to achieve the SWIC vision.