Net Zero Technology Centre: Innovation

INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY Closing in on Net Zero

Anticipating the future has never been more important than today. This is true at all levels, planetary, country, organisational and even individual.

The technology landscape is evolving, and exciting trends are on the horizon to enable the transition to net zero. Businesses need to develop the ability to understand them and translate them into business strategies.

The building blocks are in place, but we need rapid change to spur an upheaval of our energy system in line with the 1.5°C target. We need investment in innovation and technologies across the energy sector, from optimised manning and offshore wind to data and artificial intelligence, creating opportunities for many businesses. Bill Gates expects the emergence of climate technology to generate "eight to ten Teslas, a Google, an Amazon and a Microsoft".

In the oil and gas industry, optimised manning and the transition of personnel from hazardous offshore working environments to a more remotely operated onshore model plays a key role in decarbonising the UKCS basin and helping the industry achieve its Vision 2035 net zero objectives. As part of the Net Zero Technology Transition Programme, the Net Zero Technology Centre's Offshore Manning Optimisation (OMO) project will serve as a "lighthouse project" that will both inspire and equip the broader industry with the tools, technology, techniques, and approaches required to successfully employ remote operations technology and optimised manning practices in brownfield operations in the UKCS. The project will cover multiple deliverables from workforce modelling, change management and commercial models to testing technologies such as digital twins, robotics, and automated systems. Widespread remote operation of UKCS assets would result in reduced operational cost, extended asset life, improved production efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions.

However, 70% of offshore oil and gas CO2 emissions in the UKCS comes from on-site power generation. To mitigate this, offshore wind and energy storage technologies for deep water are rapidly developing. The Crown Estate Scotland (CES), Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing round will enable offshore wind development specifically to provide low carbon electricity to power oil and gas installations by the mid-2020s. This leasing round offers a collaborative opportunity in Scottish waters to decarbonise oil and gas operations. The projects will enable project developers and the supply chain to advance technology development and gain experience in advance of ScotWind, which pledged a multibillion-pound supply chain investment in 17 Scottish offshore wind projects. These projects will also support the delivery of decarbonisation targets within the North Sea Transition Deal (NSTD) and Offshore Wind Sector Deal and be a key enabler of Scotland's energy transition ambition. They will unlock investment, create export opportunities, and kickstart innovation.

Data will be a key enabler to achieve net zero. The development of digitally enabled smart cities around the world has demonstrated the value of integrating, visualising, and analysing data from multi-sectoral monitoring devices to optimise the efficiency of city operations and services, minimise environmental impact, and connect to citizens. Also, part of the Net Zero Technology Transition Programme, the Data for Net Zero (D4NZ) project, is a first for the offshore energy sector, delivering the world's first Smart Energy Basin. Utilising an integrated suite of data science, visualisation and modelling tools, the Smart Energy Basin will be a digital copy of the entire energy basin. It will be utilised to accelerate a range of cross-sectoral decision-making approaches for energy integration.

While digital technology has come a long way, the best is yet to come. Many companies are investing in digital technologies, increasing their use of artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics. For example, the recent RangL 'The Optimal Pathway to Net Zero Luca Corradi by 2050' AI challenge, run by the Alan Turing Institute, used classical and machine learning techniques and expert knowledge to find optimal deployments for technologies, such as offshore wind, blue and green hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage (CCS). These technologies will be instrumental in reaching the UK's target of net zero by 2050.

Investment and innovation in hydrogen and CCS technologies will be vital to decarbonise the manufacturing sector. The UK's Hydrogen Strategy identified hydrogen as a key solution in decarbonising hard-to-abate industries, including chemicals, cement, steel and iron.

Decarbonising these sectors is a monumental undertaking essential to meeting net zero targets. To help realise the ambition, Scotland's Net Zero Roadmap (SNZR) project, part of a government funded challenge, aims to develop a roadmap setting out how Scotland's industrial clusters can move towards net zero by 2040. The project explores a set of decarbonisation scenarios, including hydrogen generation, CCUS, fuel switching, and electrification, to ensure the most appropriate technologies are selected and implemented at the right time. The project focuses on a cluster of industrial activity on the East Coast of Scotland, including many of the largest industrial sites, equating to 80% of Scotland's industrial CO2 emissions.

All of these technologies are evolving, but the pace is too slow. The International Energy Agency (IEA) states that the development of most clean energy technologies is lagging behind.

As government and policymakers spark the requirement for innovation, organisations must be agile enough to adjust and transform, embrace technology, and make decisions based on trusted data and analysis. Companies that can embrace change, and adjust accordingly, will thrive. The Net Zero Technology Centre helps companies navigate trends and developments to help create their roadmap to net zero.

During these times of change, risk and opportunity, agile must become a mindset.