connected-clusters-report-energy

ConnectedClusters Landscaping Study 24
Development of the cluster
Creation
Set in this context, the West Midlands
Energy Capital cluster brings together
a comprehensive range of actors from
industry, academia and the public sector.
Together they have developed an environment
for market-led energy innovation through
triple-helix partnerships that culminate in the
establishment of ‘Energy Innovation Zones’
(EIZs) for new technology demonstration
and validation.
The West Midlands builds on a firm foundation
of centuries-old industrial heritage; however
the fast-changing nature of industry demands
solutions to modern energy challenges.
A constellation of recent key investments
in the region has cemented its leadership
in energy. These include significant funding
of the Midlands’ universities through the
Energy Research Accelerator collaborative
programme, locating the UK Governmentfunded
Energy Systems Catapult in the City
of Birmingham, and significant European
Regional Development Fund projects.
The cluster has been adept at bringing together
diverse stakeholders to unite around a common
mission of energy innovation. As part of this
process, a key point of differentiation has been
the cluster’s unique approach to informing local
and national policy; shaping the market and
creating opportunities for climate innovations.
A number of universities in the Midlands
(Nottingham, Birmingham and Loughborough)
had previously collaborated under the
auspices of the Midlands Energy Consortium
on collaborative teaching programmes and
combined research. That same partnership
expanded with the addition of Aston and
Leicester University and jointly bid for and won
an ambitious partnership, the Energy Research
Accelerator (ERA). This project was funded
by government to the tune of £60 million with
match funding from industry of an additional
£120 million. The ERA universities are
spread across the entire Midlands geography,
East and West, however, Aston University and
the Universities of Birmingham and Warwick
are in the West Midlands. More than 500
academics work in energy-related research
in the region.
Additionally, Coventry, Birmingham City and
Wolverhampton Universities have strong built
environment research groups, focused on
energy efficiency and low-carbon buildings.
Another significant foundation stone for
the cluster, bringing critical mass and acting
as a key anchor, was the location of the Energy
Systems Catapult in the City of Birmingham.
The catapult programme is an initiative funded
by the UK government, designed to transform
the UK’s capacity for innovation in certain
key sectors. The UK has a range of Catapult
centres focusing on a range of different
technology sectors. Whilst the Catapult has
a national remit, it is undoubtedly a boost
for the critical mass of energy activity in the
West Midlands.
The Catapult has formed many new streams of
activity. Nearby in the East Midlands, another
organisation, the Energy Technologies Institute
(ETI), a public-private partnership established
in 2007, had reached the end of its lifecycle
with its funding period drawing to a close.
Some of the streams of activity from the ETI
were ongoing and still showed a great deal of
potential. A deal was reached to transfer these
streams of activity from the East to the West
Midlands as part of the Catapult.
The sustainability team within Birmingham
City Council, though limited in capacity,
had developed ambitious plans for the
redevelopment of the City of Birmingham.
This was underlined by the formation of the
Green Commission, a body that drew together
stakeholders from across the city to shape
the development of the City, covering a broad
range of issues from everything from natural
capital and fuel poverty through to major
infrastructure investments. This period saw
the City invest in a district heating, cooling
and power scheme feeding the major local
government buildings in the city centre,
which was then linked to the refurbished
New Street Station. This was powered by a
centrally-located energy centre managed
by the Birmingham District Energy Company.
Most recently there has been a development
of the concept of a low-carbon refuelling
station, now being constructed at the Tyseley
Energy Park, linked to the creation of a clean
air zone within the city centre. The sustainability
team and the Green Commission had a major
influence on the ambitions of the City of
Birmingham, which was eroded largely due
to local government budget cuts which had a
significant impact on Birmingham City Council.
The Green Commission was then reshaped
into Energy Capital, which first had a Greater
Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise
Partnership (GBSLEP) focus, but then
expanded to cover the entire West Midlands
Combined Authority.