Supporting the Construction Industry in the journey towards Net Zero

As the impacts of climate change become increasingly clear, the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) is focused on achieving milestones on our own journey towards net zero. MTC’s Liz Scoffins Advanced Research Engineer, Technology Transformation talks to Construction Worx…

“We are aiming to reach carbon neutrality by the end of 2023 in line with PAS2060 and be fully Net Zero ahead of our West Midlands Pledge date of 2041. Our baseline year is 2021 when our pledges went ‘live’, up to the UK Government’s 2050 Net Zero requirement date. By having a top-level plan, key milestones and taking direct action on our own greenhouse gas emissions, we can create a significant, positive impact on society whilst preparing support for UK manufacturing organisations across many sectors and industries.”

The MTC is currently exploring a range of alternative fuels and power sources, including increasing the number of solar panels on our roof at our Ansty site in Coventry. Aiming to stay technology and alternative fuel agnostic, we believe that a mixture will be needed to satisfy the varying demands across and within different sectors. Through sharing our learnings - including successes and failures, we are able to support others from all industries. One particular area of focus for the MTC are the construction and infrastructure sectors, as the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) highlighted in 2020, the total infrastructure carbon accounts for 54% of the UK’s consumption-based carbon emissions .

A key milestone towards achieving net zero in construction and infrastructure is by developing alternative, greener fuels for powering construction sites (including plants, machineries, welfare facilities etc.). The current diesel fuel not only releases carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere but also other air pollutants such as nitrous oxide (NOx) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs), which are often overlooked as the attention tends to be focussed on carbon dioxide. Alternative fuels such as Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) or biofuels produce less GHG emissions, but are not yet available for use at scale. Batteries, tethered and hydrogen systems produced by renewable means, all have less emissions when compared to other fuels but are not without their own challenges.

Construction and infrastructure will have one of the hardest journeys to achieve greenhouse gas reductions and mitigations of climate change, given the hierarchal nature and complex interdependencies across the supply chain. Vehicles and generators make up a large part of the industry emissions and the elimination of these will take collective action across the supply chain to tackle.

Whether it is through industrial projects directly with arm’s length bodies (ALBs), tier one contractors and SMEs or via large scale industrial programmes such as the Construction Innovation Hub, the MTC is committed to supporting these sectors achieve their net zero goals in line with the UK Government’s 2050 target.

One on-going project has seen us team up with High Speed 2 (HS2), Network Rail, National Highways and Transport for London to examine ways of achieving net zero construction sites, in line with government policy. Other stakeholders include the Department of Transport and Transport for Wales, who guide and shape that future vision for the sector alongside the main project partners. This project aims to provide a framework for future engagement and an action plan for the removal of diesel from all new and existing national infrastructure and construction sites, as well as maintenance works managed and operated by the ALBs and their supply chains. Cutting GHG emissions associated with the development and operation of the transport network is a key strategic objective of the Department for Transport. A vital part of the project and internal sector strategy planning is gathering first-hand insights directly from industry. This will rely on more than just one company and one viewpoint, and this is why the MTC is inviting you to take part in our research. We aim to establish the development pathway to achieve GHG emission reductions and support the whole industry in achieving the Net Zero target on or before 2050. We want to hear from the widest range of organisations across all levels of the supply chain to truly understand the impact, issues and challenges that you face every day. For this to be effective, we are asking you to lend us your voice by answering our questionnaire, which will remain live until June 1st, 2023.

The MTC is taking its own learnings and using this knowledge to support the construction and infrastructure sector transition towards a Net Zero future. Through direct industrial work, collaborative research and development projects and largescale programme, this knowledge is being disseminated and new findings shared. To continue the great work so far, MTC is calling on industry to share their thoughts and be a part of the conversation.

1 Net Zero - where carbon emissions are equal to the amount of carbon (or equivalent) taken out of the atmosphere.

2 Carbon in Infrastructure – where and how much? | Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)