The North East Wales Industrial Decarbonisation Cluster (NEWID) has unveiled its brand new plan — kickstarting a strategy for industrial decarbonisation across North East Wales, in 2025 and beyond.
The NEWID project partners — Uniper, Bangor University, Wales & West Utilities, SP Energy Networks, and Net Zero Energy Systems — have worked for over a year to develop the plan, which was made possible by grant funding from Innovate UK.
The launch event held at AMRC Cymru saw the partners, alongside project sponsor Net Zero Industry Wales (NZIW), reveal the plans to a packed audience outlining how the region can meet Wales’ net zero goals by 2040.
The report states that decarbonisation of the cluster is technically possible by 2040 — with CCS, electrification, and hydrogen fuel switching as the main drivers, alongside infrastructure development and deployment in the 2020s and early 2030s.
However, the required infrastructure development and deployment in the 2020s and early 2030s is critical to achieving these goals — the NEWID project sees complementary strategies by local businesses plus wider collaboration with North Wales and the North West of England as essential to delivering an optimal overall solution for the wider region. This work could also act as a springboard for supporting decarbonisation of additional discrete sites in Wales along the way.
The NEWID cluster plan launch represents the beginning of this journey, and local and regional businesses are invited to contribute to its comprehensive strategy going forward.
Significant public and private investment is also required (over £5 billion of CAPEX investment) across decarbonisation pathways — including CCUS, hydrogen, and electrical transmission connections – to realise the plan.
In line with this, the NEWID partners made clear the need for support and investment from both UK and Welsh Government. At the event, Ken Skates MS, Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales echoed this — depicting Welsh Government as a key partner in helping industry in the region to decarbonise.
Reflecting on the day’s events, he said:
“I am very pleased to see the results of this report, which represents the culmination of many months of effort and research by the NEWID project partners. Backed by Net Zero Industry Wales, which the Welsh Government established to support the decarbonisation of industry across the nation, I am confident that this plan will serve as a blueprint for the clean energy transition in North East Wales. That these plans are already being taken forward by regional projects like HyNet is even more encouraging.
“As part of our commitment to decarbonisation and the transition to net zero, we must ensure that there is benefit in terms of securing and creating high-quality jobs and delivering prosperity for local communities. The NEWID Cluster Plan will enable this to happen and help the region on its journey to net zero. I am only too happy to lend it my support.”
The plan’s delivery will be empowered by Net Zero Industry Wales — an independent body which supports Welsh industry on the delivery of net zero. To date, NZIW has put collaborative partnerships front and centre — supporting NEWID and leading the project to develop its industrial decarbonisation plan for North East Wales as well as providing advisory services on the launch event.
Ben Burggraaf, CEO of Net Zero Industry Wales, said:
“It’s genuinely exciting to see the plans of the NEWID team. Their report shows that a mixture of energy resource and greater grid capacity, alongside other efficiency measures, can only be achieved through collaboration across industry, manufacturing, and the public sector.
“With the right support, I really do believe that North East Wales can become one of the UK’s leading clean energy transition hubs. NEWID’s report should be the framework to make it happen. The report builds on our ‘Team Wales’ approach, and I am delighted to support its findings and offer support to businesses and partners across North East Wales to take this forward.”
The NEWID Project Partners said:
“NEWID’s objective is to support the decarbonisation of industry within North Wales through a comprehensive plan, which needs the backing of local businesses, government, and investors to become a reality. Although initial implementation of the plan focuses on North East Wales where the largest industrial sites are located, the longer term aim is to further evolve the plan to support the decarbonisation of all industry throughout North Wales.”
“The NEWID team is grateful for the support we have received so far and for funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Innovate UK to make this project happen. We hope that the launch event will serve as a springboard for further collaboration and cooperation across North East Wales to decarbonisation the region and hit net zero by 2040.”
