Comment by Emily Ford, Senior Energy Policy Advisor – Carbon Policy, at Energy Systems Catapult.

The journey to a Net Zero economy is less like a sprint, and more like an ultramarathon; it demands endurance, strategy and commitment over the long haul. According to the latest Progress Report from the Climate Change Committee (CCC), industry was responsible for just over 11% (47.5 MtCO₂e) of total UK emissions in 2024, making it the third highest emitting sector. This is a 48% reduction in industrial emissions compared to 2008, driven both by concerted decarbonisation efforts, and by changes in the amount and type of industrial activity taking place in the UK. If UK industry is to get to the finish line of the decarbonisation ultramarathon, it will need the right fuel, strategy, data and support.

Find the right fuel: Making electricity affordable

Any ultramarathon runner will agree that getting the right nutrition, or fuel, is an essential part of race success. In industry’s race to decarbonise, electricity is looking increasingly likely to be the fuel of choice. The modelling which underpins the CCC’s Seventh Carbon Budget suggests that electricity would need to constitute 61% of total industrial energy use by 2040, compared to 30% today. So far, industrial electrification has been hampered by the relatively high cost of electricity in the UK, which remains over four times more expensive than gas, and significantly more expensive than in comparable jurisdictions like France and Germany. This means that in the choice between different energy vectors, electricity can feel like an expensive option. What do you do when the fuel you need to race is too costly and doesn’t leave you with enough funds to buy the proper kit – or, in some cases, even pay the race entry fee?

The government’s Industrial Strategy, published in June, included a welcome recognition of the need to bring down the cost of electricity.  The British Industry Supercharger, which currently provides eligible industrial operators with a 60% compensation on network charges, will be uplifted to 90% from 2026; a rate which is more in line with those of our European neighbours. Separately, a new British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will reduce costs by £35-40/MWh for businesses in electricity-intensive industries across eight key sectors from 2027. However, concrete details around how this will be funded are yet to emerge, leading to some concern about the longevity of the scheme. Energy Systems Catapult’s policy work makes the case for reforms to the electricity market to bring down costs over the long-term and reveal value in the electricity system at a granular level. This would bring down system costs, reduce the need for subsidies, and help to inform industrial customers’ decisions on siting and flexibility to best suit their needs.

For those looking to electrify energy-intensive processes, obtaining grid connections which can meet an industrial level of electricity demand can also pose a challenge. In our ultramarathon analogy, grid connections are like the support crew handing out much-needed calorie-dense supplements. A new Connections Accelerator Service aims to make access to these supplements – the grid – timelier and more affordable. This service, which the government has slated for operation by the end of the year, will prioritise projects according to their ability to drive economic growth and employment opportunities. The Strategic Sites Accelerator will also support select industrial sites with grid connections, amongst a range of other roles funded to the tune of £600 million. Will industrial installations be able to get their hands on enough calories to fuel decarbonisation?

Build a training schedule: Knowing your decarbonisation strategy

For ultramarathoners, it’s not just the race day (or week) that counts, but the months and years of training that goes before. Ultramarathon training is expensive, time consuming and needs to be carefully planned out – much like upgrading industrial sites with low carbon technology. Installing new technologies represents not only capex outlay, but also results in site downtime, which impacts productivity.

Previously, the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) financed feasibility studies and the deployment of decarbonisation technologies. Following the recent Spending Review, the IETF will not be extended – leaving industry more exposed to the costs of decarbonising. Many industrial assets have long lifespans and are likely to only go through one asset replacement cycle between now and 2050. Choosing the right asset in the emerging market of low and zero carbon industrial technologies is not without risk. Policy clarity and further studies around technological pathways will support industry to prioritise effective technologies. Think of these as a training schedule for our runner – a roadmap which lays out the steps to success.

The Catapult has the tools and expertise to develop decarbonisation roadmaps. Our Energy Systems Modelling Environment (ESME) is the UK’s leading techno-economic model for whole energy system analysis, and provides in-depth evidence for industry, academia, the CCC and the UK government. ESME Industry uses detailed representations of industry to provide a data-driven view of decarbonisation pathways, including electrification, hydrogen and carbon capture, which can be tailored to specific sites. It offers insight into the trade-offs, timelines and investment needs associated with different decarbonisation strategies, and can answer questions like: What are the technically viable, cost-competitive decarbonisation options for a particular industrial cluster?

Get the data advantage: Raising the standard of emissions data

Data-driven decisions can help industry to prioritise the right innovation and technology. An ultramarathon runner might subject themselves to all kinds of physical and medical tests in order to gather high quality data about their body and its capacity to compete. For industry, it’s important to have access to consistent, comparable emissions data which allows you to accurately model and compare different decarbonisation pathways. Through initiatives like the Smart Manufacturing Data Hub for industrial SMEs, the Catapult is improving data availability and quality, enabling better benchmarking and emissions tracking.

There is already a lot of emissions data being produced across different sectors of the economy, but currently this data is not sufficiently consistent, transparent or comparable. This is down to a complex patchwork of siloed regulatory requirements, and a carbon accounting sector which is still to reach maturity. The carbon accounting landscape is not a pretty sight for our ultramarathoner: not enough water stops (patchy access to data); rough and uneven terrain (a lack of standardised methodologies for producing emissions data); and plenty of spiky gorse scratching at the ankles (disparate requests for data from different users). To address this, the Catapult has proposed an economy-wide regulator to oversee carbon accounting, which would work to streamline the processes of both producing and using robust, comparable emissions data.

Know your competition: Tackling carbon leakage

Of course, any ultramarathon wouldn’t be complete without competition – something that the UK’s industrial operators are all too familiar with. As the UK pushes forward towards a greener economy, the risk of carbon leakage increases – where emissions-intensive processes and businesses move to other jurisdictions with less stringent environmental targets.

To tackle this, the UK will introduce a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in 2027, which will apply to several industrial sectors. This will account for – and apply a charge to – the embodied emissions within imported products. The Catapult’s leading policy work on carbon leakage is supporting UK industry to remain competitive. We support the use of carbon markets to provide incentives for decarbonisation and want to see carbon pricing be applied more consistently across different sectors of the economy.

Work with the right team: Benefitting from whole systems expertise

Becoming a successful ultramarathoner doesn’t depend on one single factor, but on the ability to work at, and ultimately excel across, many different fronts at once. A runner must consider the whole system: their body, their training, the race conditions, and their competition. At Energy Systems Catapult, we take a whole systems view to our work. We are addressing the challenges of decarbonisation through a suite of projects designed to support industry at every level, from national policy to individual sites.

Our Sites platform offers geospatial analysis to understand location-specific opportunities and constraints, portfolio strategies to help companies with multiple sites develop coordinated decarbonisation plans, and tailored decarbonisation pathways that align with business objectives, regulatory requirements, and technological readiness. Our tools are already being used by manufacturers and installation operators across the UK as they move from ambition to implementation.

If you are an industrial operator or technology provider looking to drive decarbonisation, we invite you to get in touch to learn more about how we can support your journey.