The Black Country LEP has launched the Black Country Industrial Decarbonisation Programme, a project funded by central government which aims to help build a cost-efficient energy infrastructure across the region. 

The Black Country Industrial Decarbonisation Programme is one of only six UK decarbonisation projects funded by BEIS and UKRI. Delivered through the Repowering the Black Country programme, the project will initially develop four pilot hubs in the Black Country, with the aim of working with businesses to reduce industrial carbon emissions by 1.3m metric tonnes over the next ten years, while continuing to support and grow the region’s manufacturing sector.

Decarbonisation of industry is a top priority for the current government, which has committed over £20bn to industrial decarbonisation investments over the next 10 years, and pledged to make the UK a net carbon country by 2050. The Black Country Industrial Decarbonisation Programme will develop approaches to decarbonisation which work in the Black Country, with a view to then applying them more widely across the country. 

This could include measures such as improving resource efficiency in manufacturing processes, phasing out the use of gas as a fuel, developing hydrogen-based infrastructure, introducing carbon labelling on manufactured products and expanding the scope of emissions trading schemes.

Matthew Rhodes, project director Repowering the Black Country, said: “We need to adapt our infrastructure to the clean future set out by governments worldwide at COP26 … and to ensure our industry is ready to seize the opportunities for clean growth created by the transition to a zero-carbon world.”

West Midlands mayor Andy Street commented: “I’m delighted to see the Black Country at the forefront of our efforts to respond to the global climate crisis.”

For more information, visit the Repowering the Black Country website where you can sign up to email updates.

For more information and resources to help your business become more environmentally friendly, visit our Going greener page.