BEIS has contracted Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, as ‘engineering delivery partner’ to develop industrial decarbonisation roadmaps for 16 industrial sites across the UK as part of the Industry of the Future Programme.
The company will help the sites to develop roadmaps and a plan of interventions that would help to accelerate their progress towards net zero emissions by 2050.
Atkins’ focus in the programme will be on energy intensive industrial sites classed as ‘hard to abate’, such as chemical plants and the paper and ceramics industries. The roadmaps will consider the most viable decarbonisation options for each individual site, including carbon capture, utilisation and storage, fuel switching, retrofits and upgrades, process changes and energy optimisation.
Atkins will deploy its own technology and tools to help analyse carbon, cost and engineering solutions and identify the most cost-effective and pragmatic roadmaps for each industrial site.

Chris Ball, Managing Director for Nuclear & Power EMEA at Atkins, said: “To accelerate the rate of industrial decarbonisation, we need to test and implement a whole range of technology and tools, from proven solutions to trialling new equipment. Decarbonising industrial plants and processes is a complex challenge – there is no single approach that will work for all sites and sectors. Robust, implementable roadmaps that consider both the engineering solutions and the cost viability of reaching net zero will be critical to achieve this, and our work in the scoping studies will apply our expert knowledge in the field to identify the right mix of options to meet each individual site’s net zero goals.”