Manufacturing for Net Zero

The UN Conference on Climate Change COP28 closed on 13th December last year, a day later than scheduled but with definite progress having been made in discussions. Not least was in the historic decision to “transition away” from the use of fossil fuels. The conference also agreed to: “a new, specific target on tripling renewables and doubling energy efficiency by 2030.”

Held in Dubai in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) the approach adopted by COP28 was innovative and dynamic, promising a continuous process towards achieving carbon reduction targets. For instance, a communique on the COP28 website on 14th December announced that: “The COP28 Presidency has curated a series of ‘after-hours’ networking events throughout the conference to drive climate-tech innovation.”

This series of events was known as COP Connect and attracted 600 attendees, among them those representing “climate- tech start-ups, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, accelerators, NGOs, government officials, academics and corporate leaders.”

The communique continued: “The cross-disciplinary nature of the events has enabled stakeholders from across the ecosystem to explore potential investment opportunities, share research-based learnings, and discuss policy design and implementation.”

Adnan Amin, Chief Executive Officer of COP28 commented: “The COP Connect platform has facilitated dialogue between emerging climate start-ups who have the solutions to tackle climate issues, and the investment community that can take those solutions to the scale required. We look forward to seeing this inclusive approach being taken forward at future COPs to continue driving innovation and building the climate-tech ecosystem.”

Progress Being Made

In recent years, the UK has made significant advances in producing technological solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and for combatting climate change, notably in the expansion of renewable energy sources. This is particularly true with the significant increase in wind power capacity. Offshore wind farms in particular have attracted both innovation and investment, contributing invaluably to the UK's clean energy generation.

Technological improvements in wind turbine design, such as larger and more efficient turbines, have enhanced the reliability and cost-effectiveness of wind energy. ANR Manufacturing has recently been active in using our precision engineering skills to produce wind turbine components.

Smart grid technologies have also been introduced to enhance the efficiency of energy distribution and consumption. Smart grids incorporate advanced communication and control systems, allowing for real-time monitoring and optimisation of energy flows. This enables more effective integration of renewable energy sources into the grid, as well as the management of energy demand.

Additionally, it is important to recognise how the UK has been supporting the use of electric vehicles (EVs). ANR has also been heavily involved in EV engineering projects. The development of high-capacity, longer-lasting batteries has extended the range of EVs, making them more attractive to consumers, therefore positively supporting efforts to decarbonise the transportation sector.

New Green Solutions

COP28 has potentially laid the foundation for technological enterprises to come forward with new innovative projects to tackle climate change. To repeat the words of the Conference CEO: “The COP Connect platform has facilitated dialogue between emerging climate start-ups who have the solutions to tackle climate issues, and the investment community that can take those solutions to the scale required.”

ANR Manufacturing is totally committed to Net Zero objectives and therefore to those offering new technology to reduce carbon emissions, on whatever scale this might be. However, given the potential momentum of COP28 decisions, the market is likely to become increasingly competitive for green solutions. So, while investment may have been attracted for a given project, further actions to refine and ready products for market may still well be required.

This is where our Design Support Service can be really helpful. As we say on our website: “We can take a customer’s requirement, and within their design support brief use 3D Solid Works? software to import existing models and help to either modify them or create new models prior to production. This will ensure the best manufacturing processes are utilised.”

We also explain that our electronic design and manufacturing services can respond to the customer's needs quickly: “This initial time period is often the most vital, getting a prototype product to market before the competition.”

ANR has achieved excellent outcomes for customers with a variety of new technology projects and we enthusiastically support enterprises devoted to action on climate change.