ZERFT Phase 1 – Standards landscape and gap analysis – January 2022
File type: pdf
File size: 48.94Mb
events
8th annual Sustainability Week
Empowering businesses to accelerate action on sustainability
Event finished: 31st March 2023
Join over 1000 leaders, businesses, financiers, investors, NGOs and policymakers in London and more than 4,500 attendees online to ensure you are part of the sustainable future.
events
2nd Europe CCUS & Hydrogen Decarbonisation Summit: Implementation
Event finished: 9th February 2023
The Summit will bring together 300+ government officials, regulators, key industry stake holders, leading academia and service companies and Connected Places Catapult is delighted to partner with Chameleon Events.
Alan Nettleton, our Lead Systems Engineer will deliver the session on 8 February 2023 titled ‘End User Implementation of Hydrogen’. Alan will highlight our work on hydrogen and decarbonisation, and talk about the Zero Emission Road Freight Demonstrator (ZERFD) project.
Register to hear more and meet with us at the event.
events
Net Zero Projects: Shard Investment Day
Join us on 22 February to hear from innovative UK SMEs who are working to address net zero challenges.
Event finished: 22nd February 2023
Interested in net zero investment opportunities in the transport and built environment sectors? Join Connected Places Catapult at their Shard Investment Day to hear from Innovative UK SMEs who are working to address net zero challenges.
For investors, this event will provide an opportunity to be introduced to high-potential SMEs with net zero projects. It will also offer an insight into the demand for projects presented and help open a dialogue to ensure the right investment decisions are made.
The event will also provide an opportunity for local authority and other relevant stakeholders to hear from firms at the forefront of net zero innovation.
If you are an investor, represent a local authority or other stakeholder and would be interested in attending, please apply now to reserve your spot.
SMEs looking to take part should apply via our opportunity page
events
UK-Latin America Net Zero and Resilience Programme Support Information Webinar
Tackling climate challenges by putting businesses at the heart of research and innovation collaborations between UK and Latin American cities.
Event finished: 23rd January 2023
Connected Places Catapult is developing an exciting new programme working with our strategic global partner ICLEI South America and the governments of Guadalajara (Mexico), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Campinas (Brazil) and Monterrey (Mexico). The programme will develop long-term business-led research and innovation collaborations between these cities and the UK to address city-level challenges related to climate change and resilience utilising UK expertise.
Funded by the UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) via the Science and Innovation Network, this programme will identify local net-zero and resilience weaknesses and form challenge calls with local partners to create collaborations merging local and UK expertise. The programme will then seek to test these solutions in a real-world environment and create a platform to expand these solutions with funding from local development banks and the private sector.
More specifically, the programme will:
- Work with four Latin American partner cities, to further refine their current sustainability challenges. With Monterrey, the focus will be on water resilience.
- Select UK and local companies with solutions that can support the cities in tackling identified challenges
- Support UK and local businesses in exploring synergies between their solutions and incentivise them to explore internationalisation opportunities.
- Create the foundations for co-development and testing of the solutions in a real-world environment in the four selected geographies.
- Work with three observer cities to develop or expand on their existing net zero , which analyse the urban innovation response of each city to climate issues.
The vision is to support the cities in their journey towards net zero, create more opportunities for bilateral trade, investment, and equitable and inclusive economic growth.
Challenges:
- Buenos Aires – Last-mile logistics
Optimise last mile logistics to meet increasing demand for deliveries and reduce the number of freight vehicles in the city centre. - Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara – Mobility
Improve the public transport service by enabling data-driven solutions to provide real time information. - Campinas – Mobility / Last-mile logistics
Enable data-driven transport planning and services to encourage a transition to sustainable transport modes. - Monterrey – Water resilience
Implement changes and solutions that improve the city’s water resilience.
To find out more about the programme, register for the webinar.
events
Interchange
The hub for mobility infrastructure.
Event finished: 19th April 2023
Working from the premise that collaboration and joined-up thinking is a prerequisite to achieving low-carbon and friction-free movement, Interchange will bring together the traditionally separated transport disciplines of road, rail, aviation and maritime with the real estate, energy and tech communities.
Connected Places Catapult is delighted to partner with Meeting of Minds, and we are actively participating in the Interchange steering committee. Our Director of New Mobility Technologies, Henry Tse advises on the Interchange Steering Group, and we are confident that Interchange will cover the issues, challenges and solutions from the perspective of the transport infrastructure ecosystem.
Henry will join the panel on Improving end to end logistics from farmer to fork and plant to port on 19 April at 14.00.
Hear from Dr Wolfgang Schuster, our Executive Director for Ecosystem Innovation who will chair the panel on Scaling the adoption of hydrogen on 18 April at 11.45.
Don’t miss out this important event for the infrastructure community.
Apply to attend which gives you the opportunity to meet with us and to hear more on zero emission infrastructure for transport hub.
articles
Nations pledge, cities deliver
When it comes to humanity’s greatest ever challenge – climate change – the battle will be won or lost in cities. But in an era of huge pressures on public spending and tight municipal budgets, finance is the big challenge. The UK Cities Commission for Climate Investment (3Ci) is working to solve that problem.
articles
Nations pledge, cities deliver
When it comes to humanity’s greatest ever challenge – climate change – the battle will be won or lost in cities. But in an era of huge pressures on public spending and tight municipal budgets, finance is the big challenge. The UK Cities Commission for Climate Investment (3Ci) is working to solve that problem.
articles
Nations pledge, cities deliver
When it comes to humanity’s greatest ever challenge – climate change – the battle will be won or lost in cities. But in an era of huge pressures on public spending and tight municipal budgets, finance is the big challenge. The UK Cities Commission for Climate Investment (3Ci) is working to solve that problem.
This article features in issue two of Connected Places magazine.
Cities are responsible for over 70% of global energy-related carbon emissions yet cover only 3% of the Earth’s surface. They are already home to more than half the world’s population and by the end of the century that will be closer to 80%. Our cities are the engine rooms of national and global economic activity – vibrant, chaotic melting pots of trade, culture and innovation.
Yet cities are the places where so many of humanity’s greatest challenges play out too – from warfare and social unrest to economic shocks and severe weather events. So it’s not surprising that cities are grabbing our attention more than they did only a few short decades ago.
Because if temperature rises stay on their current trajectory, and both the Paris Agreement and 2050 net-zero emissions targets are not met, the outlook is bleak. According to the Swiss Re Institute, without action over the next 30 years global temperatures could rise by 3°C and the world economy could shrink by 18%. The scale of investment required to mitigate that scenario is eye-watering. It is estimated that $4 trillion per year in infrastructure investment is needed in developing countries alone.
Yet adapting to the climate crisis also has its opportunities. The New Climate Economy for instance has estimated that bold action could result in a direct economic gain of $26tn by the 2030s.
Either way, without finance, cities will not achieve a green transition at the scale and pace required. One of the problems is that cities vary significantly in their ability to attract new finance for low-carbon infrastructure. Cities the world over struggle to access private investment. This is often due, among other challenges, to institutional capacity, limited taxation powers, and the constraints of national policies.
Without action over the next 30 years global temperatures could rise by 3°C and the world economy could shrink by 18%. The scale of investment required to mitigatenthat scenario is eye-watering.
The World Bank Group has estimated that among 500 large cities in developing countries only 5% have credit ratings that are recognised on international capital markets. According to the C40 Cities Finance Facility, only 0.8% of the capital managed by pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies and other institutional investors is currently allocated to infrastructure.
So as cities themselves are grabbing our attention more, the question of how to finance the transition to a low-carbon economy is also grabbing the attention of those who lead them.
A new platform for UK cities
One of the ways in which that question is being answered in the UK is through the Cities Commission for Climate Investment (3Ci). It was established, with the support of the UK Government, to address these challenges of collaboration and scale head-on. A joint initiative between the Connected Places Catapult, Core Cities, and London Councils, 3Ci is a coalition of 12 of the UK’s largest cities working together with the wider local government sector and the M10 mayoral group to tap into new ways of securing private investment into place-based net-zero infrastructure.
What 3Ci has found is that, by aggregating the low carbon investment plans of the UK’s largest cities – worth an estimated £330bn – it’s possible to create a more attractive and substantial proposition for investors. Projects include the retrofit of homes and commercial properties, integration of renewable energy, shifts to sustainable transport, circular waste management, and improvements to green spaces and waterways.
Local authorities, even large cities, tend to lack the in-house skills and expertise for the scale of the net-zero investment challenge. So 3Ci is creating a national technical assistance programme to grow the skills base for investment. On the ground a series of geographically diverse pilots will help test and demonstrate the delivery of new financial models that can aggregate opportunities across different sectors and facilitate investment at scale.
Longer-term plans include a development fund to secure £100bn of financing, as well as an investment fund to provide capitalisation worth £200bn, contributing a 10% increase in Gross Value Added and 10,000 new jobs across the supply chain.
New innovations in city finance
The work of 3Ci is in response to the rise of innovative finance in cities – new experiments in combining technical innovation with policy, regulation and bespoke finance instruments to create new ways to fund net-zero infrastructure.
It would be tempting to think that this is mostly a question of how to raise money for a city’s existing spend requirements, for example a project that has a funding gap. It is true of course that cities are now experimenting with new blends of public and private finance, debt and equity, as well as mixing infrastructure investments into portfolios of tradable assets. Performance-based green bonds are being tested where the return to the investor is directly correlated to the impact achieved and the cost of debt then falls as targets are met.
It’s also true that there is a growing appetite for community investment structures where citizens can invest in new infrastructure in their own areas. This is where financial tools can enable a local culture of innovation to develop around the low-carbon economy. Fostering local entrepreneurialism can be a practical way of recognising that municipalities may not have the answers, but the start-up and social enterprise sectors may well do. This is where angel investment funds and equity stakes can support successful start-ups in ways that align them with the city’s own climate objectives, while generating a return so that capital can be reinvested.
But while all of these new finance tools are important, in the long term cities also need to be thinking more innovatively at the project design stage. Designing projects that are fit for private investment from the get-go, and in ways that will maximise their chances of getting funded is crucial.
Practical support for UK cities
A powerful way of doing that at scale is for cities to join forces. To support this, 3Ci is developing a National Net Zero Project Pipeline of local and regionally led bankable projects. This has been informed by a series of regional investor forums that have brought cities and local governments together – often for the first time – with investors to showcase opportunities and build confidence and trust.
In many cases, the technical solutions are largely known and are already being successfully financed and implemented at the local level. The aim is to demonstrate the level of public and private investment required across the UK, and where opportunities might lie for scaling.
Hackney accelerates electric vehicle charging
Nationally, the UK is aiming for 55% of vehicles on its roads to be electric by 2032. But the London Borough of Hackney plans to smash that target by aiming for a 90% uptake by 2030. This is already being facilitated by a rapid roll out of electric vehicle (EV) charge points from around 300 council-owned points today to 3,000 (at least one per estate) by 2030.
The charge points will be powered from 100% renewable sources and in some cases locally generated. But they will also be sustainable in another sense because the scheme is projected to raise more than £9m in income for the council.
Councillor Mete Coban MBE serves as Hackney’s Cabinet Member for Energy, Waste, Transport and Public Realm. For him, the scheme is helping local residents make the green transition easier while complementing other projects to promote active travel and electrify the Council’s own fleet of vehicles.
“These new charging points will help reduce the concerns some people have about switching to an electric vehicle,” he says. “In turn, this will benefit all of our residents as it will also help enhance the borough’s air quality.”
Reimaging Belfast’s maritime economy
While CO2 often makes the headlines, sulphur and nitrous oxides also contribute to the acceleration of global warming. Shipping produces around 14% of these gases, which are also the main drivers of acid rain in cities. If nothing changes, maritime emissions could increase by as much as 250% by 2050.
The City of Belfast has a thriving innovation economy centred around its Titanic quarter. The Council and Artemis Technologies have launched the world’s first 100% electric foiling workboat which is creating new, low-emission ways of moving goods and people across its waterways. The Belfast Maritime Consortium is also now developing a high-speed zero-emission electric hydrofoil ferry, with the first vessel expected to launch as a pilot ferry service between Bangor and Belfast in 2024.
The speed of this development highlights the advantages of bringing together place leaders, investors and inventors. Clare Guinness is the Belfast Innovation District Director and for her it’s an example of how Belfast is punching above its weight and a testament to the power of place-based innovation and collaboration:
“With the talents of Artemis Technologies”, she says, “an anchor tenant in Belfast’s thriving Innovation District, and its revolutionary range of green sea vessels, the city is once again set to be at the forefront of global change, and we couldn’t be prouder.”
A growing partnership across the public and private sectors
3Ci is a first for the UK and it is already attracting attention from around the world. The Commission is also now creating a wider partnership, including UK Government, Innovate UK, Metro Mayors, Combined Authorities, Scottish and Key Cities, Counties and Districts and a growing league of private investors, financiers, advisors, developers and built environment technology professionals.
Want to find out more about 3Ci?
News
Bristol Temple Meads to become testbed for passenger tech
A multi-million pound programme will turn Bristol Temple Meads into the UK’s first ‘Station Innovation Zone’, trialling new technologies designed to upgrade passengers’ experience.
Connected Places Catapult, the UK’s innovation accelerator for cities, transport, and place leadership, and Network Rail, have announced today (Monday 17 October 2022) that Bristol’s iconic train station is to host trials of innovative passenger technologies thanks to a new partnership between Network Rail and Connected Places Catapult.
The programme is selecting start-ups aiming to test new ways to improve various aspects of the passenger experience: from making journeys smoother with smarter ticketing, to making stations more accessible with wayfinding apps; from using AI to improve people flow, to designing better facilities using human-centred design principles.
The Catapult is directing millions of pounds of Innovate UK funding into the programme, which sees Bristol Temple Meads named as the UK’s first Station Innovation Zone. The five-year programme will pioneer the approach and plans are in place to roll out the model to other stations as it succeeds.
“We’re delighted to be partnering with Connected Places Catapult on this new programme which will provide SMEs with crucial funding opportunities and Network Rail with new, innovative ideas on how to further enhance the experience of our passengers.u0022u003cbru003eu003cbru003e“We are committed to developing Bristol Temple Meads into a world class transport hub for the benefit of our passengers, the city of Bristol and wider West of England region, so it is fitting Bristol Temple Meads has been chosen as the UK’s first Station Innovation Zone.”Francis McGarry, Network Rail Wales u0026amp; Western region Investment Director
“Innovate UK is strongly committed to partnerships to deliver future transport systems that are connected, accessible, sustainable, and safe. So, we see this partnership between our Connected Places Catapult and Network Rail as an important step to support delivery of passenger technology for the future.”Indro Mukerjee, CEO, Innovate UK
“Innovation is tough in any industry and rail is especially hard because of the number of assessments and permissions required. The net effect is that it takes too much time and costs too much for most small businesses to engage. Partnering with Network Rail to create a multi-year Station Innovation Zone in Bristol’s vibrant Temple Quarter will enable us to support numerous small companies in navigating these challenges and benefit passengers’ experience of the station.”Nicola Yates OBE, CEO, Connected Places Catapult
Applications opened today for start-ups with ideas that could be trialled in the Station Innovation Zone. Passengers are likely to see the first trials beginning early next year.
This announcement of the Station Innovation Zone follows the Government’s levelling-up announcement of £95m for the Bristol Temple Quarter regeneration programme and the Catapult funding will complement the ongoing revitalisation of the station. Around £60m of the funding from Government will enable improvements in and around Bristol Temple Meads Station, including three new entrances to the station, as well as infrastructure works and new public spaces nearby.
“We are delighted that Connected Places Catapult and Innovate UK have chosen Bristol Temple Meads as the country’s first Station Innovation Zone. Temple Meads is at the heart of Temple Quarter, and the innovation funding from the Catapult, combined with recent funding of £95million Bristol secured from Government, matches our commitment to making Temple Meads and its surrounding area a world-class gateway to the city region. This is an exciting new chapter for Brunel’s iconic train station as we prepare for new sustainable homes, quality jobs and inclusive opportunities in Bristol.”Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol
The University of Bristol is developing its presence in Temple Quarter near the station, recently opening the Temple Quarter Research Hub, housing the Bristol Digital Futures Institute with a large scale data-center and a sector agnostic digital twin.
u0026quot;Bristol Digital Futures institute is a cross-disciplinary research institute driving digital innovation with a focus on inclusion, prosperity and sustainability. We look forward to working with Connected Places Catapult on the Station Innovation Zone to transform the way digital technologies are created, deployed and consumed by transport hubs such as our own railway station at Temple Meads.”Professor Dimitra Simeonidou, Co-Director of Bristol Digital Futures Institute
events
Sustainable Innovation Forum at COP27
Be part of the COP journey by joining us.
Event finished: 10th November 2022
Together with Climate action we have created a discussion panel titled From Global to Local: “Climate change will be won and lost in cities”. You will hear from 3Ci speakers such as Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol or Susan Aitken, Councillor of Glasgow how we can maximise collaboration between cities to ignite new global innovations and how cities are driving systematic change using innovative financing techniques, smart policies and digital technologies to develop a climate smart and resilient built environment.
The panel will be screened live on Thursday 10 November 2022 at 12:25.
Don’t miss out this important discussion and register to hear more.
articles
Zero-Emission Road Freight – What’s next?
Connected Places Catapult is working alongside Government, industry and academia to help accelerate the transition to zero-emission road freight. It’s been 18 months since we published our ‘Pathway for Long-Haul Heavy Goods Vehicles’ report. So, what has happened since, and what’s next?
articles
Zero-Emission Road Freight – What’s next?
Connected Places Catapult is working alongside Government, industry and academia to help accelerate the transition to zero-emission road freight. It’s been 18 months since we published our ‘Pathway for Long-Haul Heavy Goods Vehicles’ report. So, what has happened since, and what’s next?
articles
Zero-Emission Road Freight – What’s next?
Connected Places Catapult is working alongside Government, industry and academia to help accelerate the transition to zero-emission road freight. It’s been 18 months since we published our ‘Pathway for Long-Haul Heavy Goods Vehicles’ report. So, what has happened since, and what’s next?
The scale of the challenge is clear. Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) are vital to industry and represent the backbone of trade and commerce worldwide. They are responsible for ensuring we have access to food, medicines, and goods of all kinds. 89% of domestic goods transported in the UK in 2020 were moved by road – the vast majority of which in HGVs. However, these vehicles produced 16% of UK domestic transport greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, and this needs to be reduced to zero by 2050.
The Pathway to Long Haul HGVs report was, itself, a culmination of extensive research and stakeholder consultation. Connected Places Catapult investigated the promising technologies for zero-emission road freight and started to build the business case for large scale trials and wider deployment. We consulted widely on state of the art and barriers to deployment.
Potential pathways to zero or low emission HGVs, produced by Professor Neville Jackson on behalf of Connected Places Catapult.
Within the Pathway document, we set out actions that we felt would enable the transition, which included:
- Setting a clear vision
- Funding and de-risking the transition
- Developing trust in the technology
- Deploying initial infrastructure
- Progressing regulations and standards
- Building the UK supply chain
- Enabling a sustainable market
The key recommendation was to gather evidence and mature the technologies through large-scale demonstrations operating in real-world conditions in the UK.
The Catapult’s business case work helped to secure £20m of funding to accelerate the rollout of zero-emission road freight, and following the publication of our study in March 2021, Innovate UK launched the Zero Emission Road Freight competitions, covering areas such as hydrogen fuel cells, electric road systems, supply chain technology, battery electric HGVs and supply chain technologies. The winners of these competitions were published in August 2021.
This funding enabled industry partners, such as vehicle manufacturers, infrastructure providers and technology companies, to come together with local authority representatives, freight operators and academics to develop detailed plans for the rollout of large-scale trials. The Catapult has been at the heart of these conversations, which have included representatives from the Department for Transport, Innovate UK, National Highways, National Grid, the Zemo Partnership, Logistics UK, the Road Haulage Association, and many others.
Further good news arrived earlier this year, as it was confirmed that major funding has been secured to deploy the significant infrastructure and large number of vehicles needed for successful trialling of zero-emission HGVS, in a real-world commercial context in the UK. Again, the Catapult’s technical and cost modelling inputs contributed to this funding award.
In addition, the Catapult has produced a suite of outputs to help inform partners and build robust foundations for the trials. The Catapult’s focus areas have included trial data strategy, export potential, safety and regulations, standards and market operations. This has included publication of the following reports which are available to download.
The purpose of this report is to document findings from a review of global standards and provide recommendations on a standardisation programme that would enable safe and effective roll out of Zero Emission Road Freight Trials and establishment of a longer-term sustainable market.
ZERFT Phase 1 – Market opportunity mapping – March 2022
File type: pdf
File size: 24.8Mb
The purpose of this report is to examine the UK’s export opportunity in three emerging zero-emission HGV technologies: Hydrogen Fuel Cells, Battery Electric Vehicles, and Electric Road Systems.
ZERFT Phase 1 – Regulation and safety roadmap – March 2022
File type: pdf
File size: 187.43Mb
The purpose of this report is to set out the safety activities that are required for safe on-road Zero Emission Road Freight Trials.
ZERFT Phase 1 – Summary of Concept Safety Analysis – March 2022
File type: pdf
File size: 184.09Mb
The purpose of this report is to set out findings from a review of the hazard landscape and key safety considerations for the proposed Zero Emission Road Freight Trials.
ZERFT Phase 1 – Data objectives and data stakeholder mapping – March 2022
File type: pdf
File size: 20.47Mb
The purpose of this report is to identify what data needs to be collected from trials for evaluation purposes, to outline necessary data collection methods and to identify key stakeholders that would need to engage with this data collection approach.
ZERFT Phase 1 – Comparison of Transport Decarbonisation projects – March 2022
File type: pdf
File size: 51.1Mb
The purpose of this report is to explore Connected Places Catapult decarbonisation projects across road, rail, maritime and aviation. To consider potential alignment, pre-empt interoperability challenges, highlight operational and implementation synergies and accelerate industry learning.
What’s Next?
Now that funding has been secured and foundations have been laid, the next step is to progress with the design of the demonstrator projects, and consider how such demonstrations can progress to wide-scale commercial deployments of the right infrastructure and vehicles to meet the needs of freight operators.
Meanwhile, the Catapult will be undertaking work on a host of enabling actions, as per the recommendations detailed within reports, to ensure technology can be deployed in a safe and secure manner. This will include investigations into standards, regulations, safety and security and UK export potential. If you would like to be involved in these discussions, please send an email to zeroemissionroadfreight@cp.catapult.org.uk.
Connected Places Catapult is looking forward to continuing on this exciting journey towards a cleaner future!
