connected-clusters-report-energy

University of Birmingham | Climate-KIC 43
the service they provide. Here, there is an
opportunity for smaller firms and intermediaries.
The logic is that the innovative firms sell
solutions not chemicals.
Here, value is added by an in-depth
understanding of customer requirements,
and the applications for the products that are
being produced by the industry. The logic here
is simple. If you are selling the user a chemical,
and have no understanding of the application
they are using that chemical in, then it is a
simple commodity that can easily be replaced
by another supplier. However, in developing
different relationships based on tacit knowledge
of the customer’s application, it may be possible
to encourage more efficient use of chemicals
and better customer solutions.
Here there is a role for new business models
– this could be people that are not traditional
chemical producers, but start-ups with a new
role, eg, application expertise, or potentially
being a solution provider, or a broker, etc.
It is hoped that by focusing on so-called
‘application engineering’, additional value
can be created in a greener and in a more
sustainable way.
With the new methods of working, enabled by
new technologies, the cluster seeks to answer
questions about how the chemical industry and
their partners in a value creation network
might evolve, by creating space for new ideas
and creating value in new ways. Who will
have the largest share with digitalisation and
3D printing? Is it the one who has the printer,
the one who has the powder that is produced,
or the one who has the software, who will be
the ones to gain in the future?
Whilst there have been a number of
environmental improvements to the way that
services are provided on site, some still see
these as incremental and not radical.
The park is already having to consider how
to adapt to climate change. Over 32,000
containers a year pass through the park,
many on the River Main which runs through the
park and divides it in two. The park’s strategic
location on the water has been important to the
movement of goods. However, changes to
the climate have seen the water level in the
Main fall. This in turn presents significant
challenges for the shipping of goods into
and out of the park, given that the Main is a
significant transport corridor.