The Green Edge Reports Roundup, Mar-24: Part Two - Sectors
Continuing with our selection of reports and other publications from this month’s reading list.
Part Two of our crop of green reports from this months reading list. Also see Part One - General.
As usual, you can find all these reports and more in our searchable reports list on The Green Edge Data Portal.
֎ Reports we feel are particularly worth a look.
Energy
CCUS
Curb your enthusiasm: Bridging the gap between the UK’s CCUS targets and reality
Carbon Tracker, March 2024.
The simple message: revise and prioritise. CCUS is probably seen a little (too much in many people’s eyes) enthusiastically as the solution for many energy intensive industries. We need to prioritise where CCUS should be used and this report proposes cement as the start point, as it has no clear options to decarbonise. After reading about CCUS (and hydrogen, for that matter) we are often left with the thought that we should accelerate our efforts in other sectors instead.
Grid
Electricity Systems Operator Markets Roadmap
National Grid ESO, March 2024.
The whole emergence and development of the market for electricity is complex but there are some big messages here: the grid is a major constraint (widely recognised) on the transition to net zero, it has the potential to generate a lot of jobs as the patterns of energy distribution and use change, and it could challenge other players in the wider transition to net zero for scarce skilled labour. This is a thorough document which we have found informative and good for context.
Review of Electricity Market Arrangements: Options Assessment
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, March 2024.
While there is an understandable focus on changing components of the electricity system, there is the opportunity to rethink the market itself, its charging and pricing system, and so on. This is a document which is a part of a wide range of others from DESNZ. What isn’t clear are the skills and employment implications for the various market changes being discussed and proposed.
Hydrogen
The role of hydrogen in a net zero energy systems
National Engineering Policy Centre, Royal Academy of Engineering, September 2022.
A useful primer for those new to hydrogen and its potential in the whole net zero energy system. Worth reading before looking at the UK's hydrogen net zero investment roadmap (HM Government, February 2024).
Nuclear
Civil Nuclear Roadmap
House of Commons Library, CDP 2024/0036, February 2024.
A helpful summary of developments across nuclear, putting them into the broader UK and international energy contexts. A good set of links here to the key nuclear skills taskforce work and outputs. One theme which strikes us is the scale of the nuclear investment programme and the time it has taken to develop a UK-based capability to build both largescale facilities and small, modular ones.
Storage
֎Catalysing the global opportunity for electrothermal energy storage: Promising new technologies for building low-carbon, competitive and resilient energy systems
Systemiq, February 2024.
Like the grid, storage is now developing into a major topic beyond standard batteries for EV and domestic applications. Here we are talking about three main types of storage: sensible, latent, and thermochemical as applied across biorefining, chemicals, food and beverage, textiles, paper and pulp, steel preheating, and into district heating and even grid balancing. The potential is large for electrothermal energy storage (ETES) and this is a helpful introductory guide. What the skills and employment implications are unclear at this stage but sure there are some major opportunities here for the UK.
Network tariffs for V2G (Vehicle to Grid)
enX for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), February 2024.
With the growth of EVs we are developing a large-scale temporary facility which is potentially critical for short term energy shortage. By using dynamic tariffs, peak demand can be reduced which can drastically reduce the installed generating capacity. This calls for widespread education spanning consumers, EV manufacturers, EV charge point design and their installers. We are in the relatively early stages of V2G technology and use, but it is one that has to be factored into national net zero transition plans.
Heat and Retrofit
The impact of 100% electrification of domestic heat in Great Britain
iScience, 26, November 2023.
A key sentence is this paper: “we conclude that the domestic peak heat demand is almost 50% lower than widely cited values.” What does this mean in terms of capacity investment, and for jobs and employment.
֎Decarbonising home heating
National Audit Office, March 2024.
Without a high degree of certainty in consistent levels of demand for heat pumps, it is unlikely that skills supply system will really respond and provide the needed levels of skilled people. Skills are mentioned in this report and how this potential capacity constraint is being tackled. The biggest single shift will probably happen in 2025 when the Future Homes Standard is likely to come into place (this should have happened in 2015 but was postponed). We know the skills are well defined and being practised by a growing group of pioneering installers, but this will have to rapidly increase across a large group of SMEs - a particularly difficult group to engage with.
Scottish Government Consultation on proposals for a Heat in Building Bill
Response by Nesta, March 2024.
A helpful response by Nesta which highlights a potentially breakthrough element in the Heat in Building Bill going through the Government of Scotland: all new home buyers must install a heat pump with in two years of purchasing a property. This would mean around 100,000 home purchases each year would drive a consistently high, and predictable level of demand for heat pumps to allow the whole home heat supply chain to respond. Remember this will include around 25,000 new homes built each year. If adopted across the whole of the UK it would be a transformational change and make hitting the 2050 targets very, very achievable.
10 Maps which will shape the UK’s Green Heat Revolution
Centre for Net Zero (Octopus Energy), September 2021.
A great collection of maps covering the building stock, owners and renters, deprivation, new build, gas network connections, heat networks, offshore wind and hydrogen, boiler and heat pump installers, training centres for heat pump installers, and manufacturing hotspots. All critical to the whole retrofitting challenge. It would be good if the Centre for Net Zero were to make this a real time dataset available to local authorities drafting their net zero and skills plans.
Blowing hot and cold: reflecting the potential value of air-to-air heat pumps in UK energy policy
RAP, November 2023.
Typical of the work of RAP, this briefing note is so helpful and clear around options for home space and water heating systems in a post-fossil fuels world. Well worth adding to your library of retrofitting materials.
Net Zero Policy Tracker: March 2024 update
Green Alliance, March 2024.
We’ve placed this UK-wide net zero policy tracker here because ‘heat and buildings’ are the worst performing sectors (10% of emissions are covered by confirmed policies) which is not surprising given the NAO report on the decarbonisation of home heating (see above). Agriculture and land use is also a weakly performing sector (18%) whereas the best performing one is power (87%).
Circular Economy
Response to the DEFRA consultation electrical waste: reforming the producer responsibility system
Environmental Audit Committee, House of Commons, March 2024.
We are sure DEFRA will find this letter informative and probably challenging as the lack of progress and recognition of the issues raised will restrict the development of the circular economy in the UK. We have seen before from the Chartered Institute of Wastes Management’s report on future manpower and skills requirements for the circular economy that there are a wide range of growth opportunities over the next 20+ years.
Built Environment
֎Global ABC Roadmap for Buildings and Construction, 2020-2050. Towards a zero-emissions, efficient, and resilient buildings, and construction sector
Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, and published by UNEP and IEA, 2020.
Moves us towards a common vision using common language. Identifies eight key activity areas and drills down into each of the areas, like urban planning and materials. We would suggest this report and roadmap is an excellent introduction to the whole of area of decarbonising buildings and construction, and it would be great to use the detailed activities to derive the key skills, knowledge and behaviours for the future.
The Resolution Foundation Housing Outlook
Resolution Foundation, March 2024.
A useful context document capturing some key aspects of the UK housing stock e.g. quality, age, size, etc. When we look at reports like this what hits you is the major challenge we have ahead to raise the quality of the housing stock of which energy efficiency is just one part.
Fashion and Apparel
The Circular Fashion Ecosystem: A Blueprint for the Future
Institute of Positive Fashion and British Fashion Council, August 2021.
A detailed and comprehensive report, describing three targets being delivered through 10 actions areas and making 30 recommendations. Skills are picked out for both sorting and recycling as being required for moving ahead.
Finance
Local Climate Bond Toolkit
Green Finance Institute, November 2023.
Here we learn from eight pioneering local authorities that have already issued local climate bonds (LCBs), raising £6mn from 2000 people. For every 100,000 people in the UK there are £4bn in savings. This suggests there is huge potential for widespread engagement with LCBs and the toolkit says the potential is around £3bn. The eight pioneering local authorities are West Berkshire, Warrington, Islington, Camden, Cotswold, Telford and Wrekin, City of Westminster, and Lewisham. LCBs by definition are local and so help drive engagement and physical demonstration of progress towards net zero.
Flying Blind: In a holding pattern. The continued absence of climate and transition risks in financial reporting
Carbon Tracker, February 2024.
While we have often reported the widespread uptake of carbon reduction targets by corporations, this does not always appear well reported in the Annual Report and Accounts (audit reports). Here 140 companies are reviewed (fully listed in Table 6, Appendix 3) and there are a lot of “reds” on the simple chart produced here. It does not make for encouraging reading. If items are not being well reported, it probably means they’re not happening, which implies skills investments aren’t taking place either.
Saving (for) the plant: the climate power of personal banking
Project Drawdown, December 2023.
This report shows the impact individual actions can make on reducing emissions and the extent to which education is needed to move people away from carbon-intensive banks. Just taking Figure 2: Average emissions reductions by individual climate action in which it says: “Moving US$8k from a carbon-intensive bank to a climate-responsible bank can yield indirect emissions reductions 2x the direct emissions reductions of adopting a vegetarian diet.” Gosh, who would have thought.
The Financial Sector and the UK’s Net Zero Transition (HC227 November 2023): Government response to the committee’s First Report
Environmental Audit Committee, House of Commons, HC550, February 2024.
The EAC is always a good source of policy challenge and tracking, and this response from the UK Government, in which it parades its achievements and states its intentions, is a useful snapshot of where we are right now. A key number for us here is the £14bn per year investment in low carbon/clean tech across the UK from both the public and private sectors.
Forestry and Timber
Skills needs for mass timber production and adoption in British Columbia: Summary for policymakers
Place Centre and Smart Prosperity Institute for the Future Skills Centre, February 2024.
Much like plastic was “the future” in 1967, timber has a major role to play in the development of low-carbon construction and buildings. Here we have the whole supply chain from production to adoption covered across 15 occupations. While the UK timber industry is small compared to Canada, there is huge potential for further growth and wood application. Worth noting that in France all new public buildings must have at least 50% timber in their construction: perhaps a lead the UK could follow? There is a more detailed report for those that want to dig further into the specific skills and occupations.
Manufacturing
Options for a National Plan for Smart Manufacturing
National Academies, 2024.
Smart manufacturing is made up of three main components: plantwide agility and optimisation; sustainable production (included clean tech, net zero, circular economy etc.); and resilient demand-driven supply chain. Workforce aspects are covered in Chapter 3 and makes use of the CESMII Smart Manufacturing Workforce Development Model which lists a programme of courses similar to that of the Manufacturing Technology Centre in the UK.
High Value Manufacturing Catapult Annual Review 2022-23
HVM Catapult, December 2023.
Catapults have been around for 12 years and have developed greatly. The HVM now employs 3,700+ people and is a major trainer of apprentices (at least 5th in the engineering and manufacturing sectors). We list the report here because of the highlighted work of the HVM on carbon accounting standards, on hydrogen, etc. A question we have been pondering is the relationship between a vibrant, future-viewing engineering and manufacturing sector, and the capacity and capability of the UK economy to successfully navigate the net zero transition. We have been posing this question when looking at the demands for engineering-based roles for the transition and the steps to develop a fully circular economy.
Transport
Maritime
Alternative fuels: The journey for UK ports and harbours
Connected Places Catapult, March 2024.
A great summary of the range of challenges and the options that confront ports and harbours of all types and size (split here into three broad categories: low, medium, and high complexity). What strikes us is the scale of the challenges and the different skill mixes that flow from the chosen path of development.
OGCI Transportation Workstream: Economically viable and sustainable biomass for marine fuel use
OGCI, February 2024.
We try to keep track on the various solutions for marine fuels, and here is another one from Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI). We need to make a few decisions soon as to which technologies are preferred, as the transition costs for shipping are high and they impact world trade.
Electric Vehicles
The Road to Clean: How to message electric vehicles in a changed environment
Potential Energy Coalition, March 2024.
While this document has been drafted for the USA it is relevant to the UK and the take-up of EVs, and how to communicate the gains and benefits of clean tech changes to our current lifestyles. Would be good to test the principles captured here in the UK for a range of net zero transition changes.
The Future Costs of Running an Electric Vehicle: The impact of changing energy prices on the cost of motoring
ECIU, November 2023.
While this report is about energy costs and various scenarios over time, our interest is in the need for good information for consumers to make informed choices to aid EV charging decisions, and how this marketplace will work out. When we compare how the market works for petrol and diesel, which declared prices per litre to its electric equivalent, we need a common approach with a simple set of payment systems. There’s much to happen as the new market emerges in every country alongside the evolution of battery technology with the promise of hugely extended range potential.
Aviation
Launching Hydrogen-Powered Aviation
Hydrogen in Aviation, March 2024.
Hydrogen has two potential roles in aviation: as a feedstock for SAF or as a direct fuel. It identifies skills as being a key area for action and lays out some specific next steps: the scoping of high-level knowledge and skills; development of occupational standards; curriculum development for the occupational standard; roll out to providers; and, delivery of training over an extended period. When we look at the range of parties behind Hydrogen in Aviation, the skills development work needs to take place across airport operators, airlines, aerospace businesses etc. Also worth looking at the Airbus perspective Exploring hydrogen. The Impact, Challenges, and Options (September 2021).
Advanced Air Mobility and Community Outreach: A Primer for Successful Stakeholder Engagement
National Academies, 2024.
Several sectors are making major shifts in technology and business models, and this requires both the sectors and their wider ecosystems to work together to ensure there is a whole industry into the future. None more so than the aviation industry. This report walks this path. We’d add this: without collective engagement the skills capacity and capability issues will not be surfaced and be acted on.
Water
A Summary of England’s Revised Draft Regional and Water Resources Management Plans
Environment Agency, March 2024.
Simple message: crack on with building reservoirs and stopping water losses. There will be a significant growth in water demand towards 2050, and this requires addressing both long standing supply and demand issues. Addressing this shortfall will drive major civil engineering investment and employment.