CBI Economics Report – Net Zero Economy

Original comment as part of external communications for the CBI Economics Net Zero Economy Report published in February 2024 – Read the full report here

“As the former Chair of Coventry & Warwickshire’s Local Enterprise Partnership and someone who has started, scaled, and sold a technology business here, I know we are at the cutting edge of not just research and development but the industrial application of new technology especially in critical sectors like transport and energy. The CBI report highlights the economic value our engineering heritage continues to unlock for this area as these sectors transition to Net Zero across the whole supply chain.

Warwick Acoustics, one of the 40 tenants at MIRA Tech Park, is a great example of this with an in-cabin audio technology that not only delivers a revolution in sound experience but also uses 90% less power than standard vehicle audio and is made from upcycled materials removing the need for rare earth metals in the manufacturing process. Both energy reduction and sustainable materials are crucial to the future of the global vehicle industry – and companies like Warwick Acoustics are showing how addressing these challenges leads to significant opportunities for economic growth.

Similarly, MIRA Tech Park as a location is expanding its scope for the application of new technology as we work with partners on decarbonised heat, green hydrogen production, and water management. The combination of our expertise in energy system optimisation, cyber resilience, and the validation and verification of new technologies including artifical intelligence make us exceptionally well placed to work across the net zero economy. When you add the global market leading expertise of our parent company HORIBA in precision measurement equipment and test automation data analytics – you have a powerful and unique enabler for the accelerated development and application of new technologies that bring societal and environmental benefit.

However, to ensure this region capitalises on the opportunity the net zero economy brings we need to share expertise and combine assets at a scale beyond our Tech Park cluster. We need to better connect world leading unversity research with application centres of excellence and provide the locations and infrastructure where these cross-sector clean tech businesses can grow and thrive. Towns like Nuneaton still have lower household disposable income than other parts of the region and we need to make sure the green industrial revolution brings valued employment back to the Midlands heartland.

A great example of the power of collaboration is Project ICEBreaker – the hydrogen fuel cell HGV delivered by the consortium of HORIBA MIRA, Intelligent Energy, and Viritech supported by the Advanced Propulsion Centre and Department of Business & Trade. We are also working with a consortium of partners on the challenge to decarbonise construction machinery which is hard to electrify exploring hydrogen as the alternative fuel supply. In both examples there are huge opportunities for growth but there are also challenges we need to work collaboratively with local and national Government to address. Unfortunately with the complexities of local government reorganisation, I feel we have been too insular looking. Hopefully this report will remind those who drive policy for this area that we have a window of opportunity to lead the way which won’t stay open forever.”