LIDP

A number of partners have come together to form a partnership to work collaboratively with businesses and the community to develop a Local Industrial Decarbonisation Plan (LIDP) for the West of England Industrial Cluster (WEIC).

The cluster, and the LIDP, is focussed on a ‘Hub’ of activity in Portbury Avonmouth Severnside (PAS) with spokes out to dispersed industrial clusters across the wider West of England.

This is an immensely important programme of work which will be running through to the end of February 2025, and provides significant opportunities for PAS and the wider area as we work towards decarbonising.

This is a national programme which has huge potential for the region in the coming years.

The partnership* has been successful in securing funding of up to £608k from Innovate UK, to develop the LIDP. The partners include:

• Ameresco Ltd
• Black Country Industrial Cluster Ltd
• Bristol City Council
• Copper
• Hydrogen South West
• North Somerset Council
• SevernNet Ltd
• Severnside Carbon Capture and Shipping Hub Ltd
• The Bristol Port Company
• University of the West of England
• West of England Combined Authority (Lead)

We encourage you to get involved, and if you’d like to know more please email.

*The West of England Industrial Cluster is a group of public and private partners led by the West of England Combined Authority. We have been awarded UK Government funding to create a Local Industrial Decarbonisation Plan for the West of England in 2024.

For the past year, the WEIC partners have been working diligently to connect with and gather date from a diverse range of local industrial emitters and have synthesised their findings into their LIDP for the region.

The WEIC LIDP provides a clear roadmap for reducing industrial emissions while ensuring economic resilience and long-term business competitiveness. It also acts as a platform to connect and help businesses access shared infrastructure, reduce costs, and accelerate their transition to low-carbon solutions, making industrial decarbonisation more feasible.

The Plan builds on existing clean energy and innovation initiatives, such as Bristol City Leap, the Severnside Carbon Capture and Shipping Hub, and the emerging hydrogen economy in the South West.

It aligns with key regional and local strategies, including the West of England Combined Authority’s Local Growth Plan and economic strategies from Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset, and South Gloucestershire.

The LIDP presents a comprehensive strategy to mitigate up to 7 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. In addition to its environmental benefits, implementation of the plan is projected to contribute £3.5 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the economy by 2040 and create over 15,000 new jobs.

The Plan launch event was held in Lawrence Weston on 7 March 2025 and brought together local political, community and industry leaders.  

For latest updates please see https://weic.co.uk/

SevernNet led the Circular Economy Study for the LIDP. Since its establishment in 2008, SevernNet has encouraged businesses and stakeholders to work with their neighbours, fostering collaboration and industrial symbiosis.The Hub has since been recognised as a centre of expertise in the circular economy, driven by the practices of its world-leading businesses and SevernNet’s initiatives.

Building on it’s past work, the UKRI funding enabled SevernNet to develop a comprehensive CE Programme, a key initiative within the cluster pipeline aimed at reducing emissions and wastage, lowering costs, and creating investable projects. 

With relevance across all industrial sectors and activities, it is possible that up to 30% of the Hub’s emissions could be achieved by decreasing demand for energy and raw materials​. Circular economy principles such as increasing machine, operator, process and energy efficiency. Enabling the circular use of resources including heat, metals, gypsum, aggregates, wood, electronics, plastics, water and residual resource management are high priorities for the cluster. 

We’re pleased to announce that the Local Industry Decarbonisation Plan has moved into Phase 1 of delivery, and we’re inviting businesses and organisations of all sizes to take part in our updated Industry Survey.

In this phase, we are monitoring regional emissions and supporting the development of Mission Net Zero, a new £5 million initiative funded by Innovate UK’s Net Zero Living programme.

The Mission Net Zero digital platform will help unlock investment and improve energy planning across the region – bringing together the data and tools needed to reduce carbon emissions and accelerate progress.

Whether or not you’ve taken part in previous surveys, we want to hear from you.

By completing the survey, you will:

1. Help shape the region’s decarbonisation strategy

2. Contribute to the design of new low carbon infrastructure

3. Ensure your organisation is signposted to relevant funding and support

The survey has been redesigned to make it quicker and easier to complete – taking around 20-30 minutes. Please have your latest energy consumption data available when you begin.

Your insights will directly inform how the region reduces emissions, grows sustainably, and builds a low carbon future.

If you have any questions about the survey, please email LIDP@SevernNet.org where you can also request a telephone call back.

Feel free to forward the survey link above to any local businesses/ contacts/ networks you think might be interested in completing the survey or might be interested in the Local Industry Decarbonisation Project more generally.

We are very grateful for your input.