IDRIC
NEXT STEPS FOR IDRIC:
DRIVING FORWARD WITH INDUSTRIAL DECARBONISATION Since its launch in 2021, IDRIC - the Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre - has made major strides on the UK’s road to net zero. To date, IDRIC has funded 100 research projects across 34 universities, creating an industrial decarbonisation ‘Knowledge Hub’ for academic research and cluster activities across several key UK industrial regions including the Black Country, Humber, Northwest, Scotland, Tees Valley, Solent and South Wales. The organisation, led by Professor Mercedes Maroto-Valer, the UK’s Decarbonisation Champion, has supported policymakers at both the UK and devolved levels, carried out skills and training programmes, and developed initiatives that promote equality, diversity and inclusion for academic, industry and government stakeholders working on industrial decarbonisation challenges. Through its research funding, convening power and policy support, IDRIC has quickly established itself as the central player driving forward the UK’s industrial decarbonisation agenda. The UK was the first country to publish a dedicated industrial decarbonisation strategy and also the creation of the government-backed Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge providing support for IDRIC. This initiative recognised that around half of its industrial emissions originate from major clusters of energy-intensive sec12 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE
tors like steel, cement and chemicals. By harnessing economies of scale and shared infrastructure in these concentrated industrial zones, the cluster approach taken by IDRIC’s work aims to unlock cost-effective decarbonisation solutions while maintaining global competitiveness. IDRIC’s pivotal role in catalysing the UK’s transition to a net-zero economy is now set to continue with the recent announcement of a £1 million funding injection from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). This new funding will allow IDRIC to build on its successes to date and maximise its impact over the next 12 months through collaborative knowledge sharing, stakeholder engagement, and skills development, to maintain the momentum that has been built in industrial decarbonisation. Professor Mercedes Maroto-Valer, Director of IDRIC