UPDATE: Please note that due to the ongoing COVID-19 (Coronavirus) situation, we have made the decision to postpone the Strategy Workshop until September. If you have already registered, please contact us to arrange either a refund, or direct registration for the rescheduled event. Apologies for any inconvenience.
In conjunction with the Chief Executive for the UK Catapult Centres’ and our Industry Partners’ responses to our report Absolute Zero, our 2020 Annual Forum will detail routes to innovation through seminars and breakout sessions (see Programme) for the below sectors.
| Construction |
| Whatever happens with material innovations by 2050, construction will have to make much better use of less material: what are the technical options to achieve this, and how can they be commercialised? |
| Transport Systems and Mobility |
| With zero emissions, the UK will be operating in 2050 with few if any flights and with all electric road and rail vehicles. What are the options for developing the infrastructure and connections in a newly integrated transport system that maximise mobility while minimising demand on a constrained and intermittent electricity supply? |
| Materials and Manufacturing |
| Under Absolute Zero emissions, there can’t be any additional embodied carbon, and we will only be able to transform materials by electrical means. Which materials will be available and at what scale, what processes does this prioritise and how does this effect the design and manufacturing of downstream goods? |
| Energy Systems |
| The Absolute Zero report anticipates that the last decades rate of growth in non-emitting electricity generation will continue to 2050, and as vehicles, heating and processes electrify, even this rate of growth will not meet demand comparable to today’s total energy requirements. How will the UK grid develop, and using today’s technologies, how will load balancing be achieved in the period of transition before breakthrough technologies operate at scale? |
| Food and Drink |
| From farm to plate, the complex system that delivers today’s UK diets is energy intensive and dependent on transport and agricultural emissions. With today’s technologies, what diet is compatible with the requirements of Absolute Zero, and where are the most promising innovation opportunities for short-term expansion compatible with zero emissions? |
