Heating up innovation

Last week saw the conclusion of the current Scottish Enterprise Can Do Green Heat Challenge, providing an opportunity to hear from our successful 16 companies and learn more about how they will drive change across the heat sector. This sold out showcase event offered a chance to hear about where funding to address feasibility of new interventions has helped support the wider mission towards energy transition.

Following some early morning networking, our session opened with some context from the SE Innovation Systems Team Lead, Terry Hogg . He flagged the learning journey offered through the Can Do programme, with a platform for participating companies to test and demonstrate their innovation. Aligned to the Scottish Enterprise mission led approach, Terry set out the role for the Innovation Ecosystems team in terms of supporting the utilisation of innovation assets such as the 英国斯特拉斯克莱德大学 Technology and Innovation Centre, which hosted the event. In addition, he raised awareness of the wider role for demand driven innovation challenges and the opportunities to facilitate change e.g. Retrofit Challenge supporting Local Authorities and Registered Social Landlords to source new solutions from the private sector in addressing heat across their housing stock.

Following the launch of the green heat challenge last year, the successful applicants received between ￡30k-￡50k to undertake feasibility studies and explore the opportunities for their business. They were given a three month period to undertake their projects, with this event offering a platform to share their journey. Each company was given 10 minutes to present their findings, with detail offered on the nature of their business, the innovation they wished to explore, the outcomes from their project and the next steps, including commercial applications for their research and development. Our companies ranged from start-ups, university spin outs and long established businesses looking to diversify.

Rather than spend time detailing every company through this article (with a press release summarising their activity), instead I wanted to capture some of the shared observations from the day. My initial reflection related to the breadth of solutions offered to the concept of green heat. Alongside innovation in fields such as heat pump and solar panels, there was opportunities to consider the building process and the utilisation of more sustainable practices. Several companies looked to the monitoring of heat across both domestic and industrial applications, with others looking at how their solutions would connect with larger scale energy interventions such as district heating. Common across many of these firms was the concept of partnership and working with academic institutes and innovation centres such as Built Environment - Smarter Transformation to test their ideas. Many of the presentations made reference to the role that their own local authorities had played in terms of wider business support and raising awareness of these types of opportunities.

Alongside the company presentations, we were joined by our keynote speaker Patrick Harvie, Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, active travel and tenants rights. Opening his speech, he emphasised the need for collaboration at the heart of the transition to Net Zero, with the climate challenge one shared by us all. Issues such as the cost of living crisis will be magnified if we are not capable of identifying solutions to net zero in the near future. In 2021, the Scottish Parliament launched their Heat in Buildings strategy, committing ￡1.8bn to addressing these issues, with over 150k households supported to date. A key point raised in the talk was that ambition is technology neutral and there is a need for more than one solution. A product which works in a commercial office, often will not provide the same outcomes in a tenement flat. Yet in developing these solutions, there are applications beyond these shores, providing markets to enable Scotland to lead in the transition to greener development.

One of the priorities for the event was the chance to bring together our participants, both to nurture the community of Can Do firms, yet also help provide a platform to inform a wider audience around what solutions the market can provide. In closing, there was a recognition of how Scottish Enterprise can act as a connector across the ecosystem and drive changes in the industry. Alongside the wider Green Heat Innovation Support Programme, there was awareness raised of other opportunities such as the Clean Heat Event due to take place later in the month. As a country, we must avoid the risk of innovating in a vacuum, and find ways to ensure that companies are empowered and connected to lead change.

Thanks to Borvo Limited,?Gecko Glazing, Geothermal Energy Ltd,?Hutchison International,?Kionnali Living Systems Ltd,?LIND Limited,?Loco Home Retrofit, Net Zero Heat Ltd,?OBJEXS,?Prioto Ltd,?Q-zeta,?Scene Connect Ltd./ZUoS Ltd,?SOLTROPY LIMITED, Star Renewable Energy,?Thermoelectric Conversion Systems Limited?and?Turnbull & Scott (Engineers) Ltd?for sharing their stories and helping demonstrate the impact of the Can Do Programme.

P.S. It has been a pleasure working with Morag Clark over the last year, who has really led this project and worked to ensure its successful delivery. From project initiation to the showcase event, she has really been at the forefront of pulling together this work.