I don’t need to go into the ongoing societal challenges we have and still are facing over the last two years but I’m feeling quietly optimistic as we get into a new rhythm of working and living that we can look to the future with a renewed energy to achieve great change.
So why am I so excited? Well up to 3 months ago we weren’t expecting to be in the position we are now in being able to showcase the businesses, clusters and innovation opportunities that are upcoming; however, here we are only a few days before All-Energy & Dcarbonise kick off at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow. The challenge is where to start with all the activities going on, and a big thank you to all those that wanted to be engaged, unfortunately we couldn’t bring everything along but it just shows how much appetite for innovation is out there!
When talking around engineering a net zero future as the theme this year, we need to consider and act on how we invest, as a collective, in clean growth research, development, deployment and scaling to have a realistic chance of achieving our future ambitions and targets.
From an innovation perspective, there are several aspects to financing a net zero world, including how we approach adoption of current solutions at scale, whilst also considering the next generation of technologies, and what current and future demands from places, regions and countries are.
Part of this approach is all about the ecosystem in which “stuff” happens. I am usually in awe of the knowledge, skill, and experience people I speak to have and sense a real desire to make change happen for a net zero future, whether they are a researcher, SME, large business, investor, local authority or place representative. Therefore events such as All-Energy are so important to enable these conversations to happen, with actions that follow to make that positive change that we so need.
Our contribution in all this;
- To showcase some of the innovative businesses and programmes we are working with through our innovation hub exhibition space at stand K40. We have 27 innovators representing many technologies, programmes and clusters over the two days. Also, great to see the Catapults close by at stand M66 showcasing the great work they do
- To provide thought leadership and connection opportunities through the conference sessions. It will be great to hear from several colleagues across the two days with Rob Saunders (Prospering from the Energy Revolution), Mike Pitts (Transforming Construction), and Bryony Livesey (Decarbonising Industrial Clusters) as well as Guy Pattison from Stronger Stories and panel looking at the innovation needs in supporting our urban environments achieving net zero session to name just a few
- Providing information on upcoming competitions and programmes such as Ofgem’s Strategic Innovation Fund and Energy Catalyst
- Listening to emerging trends and future innovation needs as we further iterate our Future Economy thinking
Of course, if I keep going, I’m at risk of starting to list the conference and exhibition programme so I’ll stop there other than saying that I’m personally rather excited about attending the Finance and Funding session: The Great Decarbonisation Challenge – Place based solutions and mobilising finance. A subject that is a must at getting right to really achieve the ambition and scale needed to substantially set us on the way to achieving Net-Zero by 2050.
With this I’ll leave you with a call to action. Think about the conversations you are having, and connections you are making, how will you move them on into positive action for Net-Zero?
I look forward to meeting you either on the exhibition stand, in one of the conference session, or simply roving about making creative connections.
All the best for a great show
Christian
Head of Urban Systems – Innovate UK
You can follow Christian on Twitter