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about the UK low carbon energy and industry market opportunity
Invest in Lincolnshire's Low Carbon Energy & Industrial Sectors: Key Benefits and Opportunities
Lincolnshire is at the forefront of the UK’s Green Industrial Revolution, creating profitable opportunities for investing businesses in low carbon energy and industrial sectors, aligned with ambitious national sustainability goals.
The Lincolnshire Low Carbon Energy & Industry Investment Opportunity
For investing low carbon energy and industrial businesses, Lincolnshire offers:
Market Opportunity
The UK’s most ambitious industrial decarbonisation project, a dynamic circular economy cluster, and the country’s leading offshore renewables hub.
Industry Clusters
Established industrial strengths in energy generation, energy-intensive industries, and port logistics.
Research & Technology
Advanced, low carbon R&D encompassing power systems, process manufacturing, offshore renewables, and Industry 4.0 technologies.
Specialist Workforce
A technically skilled workforce and education providers addressing the needs of low carbon energy and industrial businesses.
Sites & Properties
Cost-effective industrial sites and properties, potentially with Freeport incentives and large industrial power supplies.
Logistics Infrastructure
Highly developed ports and logistics infrastructure, serving sectors including offshore renewables and process industry.
Multimodal Connectivity
Fast, multimodal access to UK & global markets.
Dedicated Support
Dedicated support for investing businesses.
The UK Low Carbon Market Opportunity
The UK’s 2050 target for Net Zero carbon emissions is creating major growth opportunities in low carbon technology, energy generation and industrial sectors. Lincolnshire’s South Humber Bank is a key hub location for large-scale investment projects.
Areas of opportunity include:
- Industrial Decarbonisation: Requiring major investments in technologies including CCUS (carbon capture, utilisation and storage), and clean hydrogen.
- The Circular Economy: UK targets and regulations for reduced waste and landfill, and more sustainable transport fuels, are creating substantial investment incentives.
- Offshore Renewable Energy: The UK is the world’s largest offshore wind market, with significant growth projected and a 60% lifetime target for UK sourcing of content.
Decarbonisation
NET ZEROuk carbon emissions by 2050
Circular Economy
ZeroUK Avoidable wasteby 2050
UK Offshore Renewables
#1European market
Lincolnshire’s Low Carbon Market Growth Opportunities
Lincolnshire is leading the UK’s transition to a low carbon economy, creating investment opportunities in sectors including sustainable energy generation, energy-intensive industry, the circular economy, and agrifood.
Key areas of opportunity include:
- Industrial Decarbonisation: The Humber industrial cluster is leading the world in large-scale decarbonisation projects, applying technologies including carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) and low carbon hydrogen.
- The Circular Economy: Lincolnshire is home to high-growth business clusters producing energy, innovative fuels and products from waste, and improving agrifood sector sustainability through food waste recycling and recycled food packaging.
- Offshore Renewable Energy: Lincolnshire is home to the UK’s leading offshore renewables hub, focused on Grimsby. Ambitious UK sourcing targets are creating significant growth opportunities for businesses throughout the supply chain.
UK-leading Low Carbon and Related Industry Clusters
Lincolnshire is home to established industry clusters focused on low carbon energy, energy-intensive industry, and the circular economy, creating a range of opportunities for low carbon business investment and growth.
- Industrial Decarbonisation: The Humber cluster includes leading global energy and industrial businesses, providing the scale and range of capabilities required to deliver world-leading, collaborative decarbonisation projects.
- The Circular Economy: Recent inward investors to Lincolnshire are producing energy, innovative fuels or products from waste, and improving agrifood sector sustainability with anaerobic digestion (food recycling) and rPET manufacturing (recycled food packaging).
- Offshore Renewable Energy: Lincolnshire’s highly developed industry cluster includes leading energy, operations and maintenance, and logistics companies, creating potential growth opportunities for businesses throughout the supply chain.
Low Carbon Knowledge, Research and Technologies
Lincolnshire’s university and cluster organisations provide specialised low carbon research and technologies, enabling investing businesses to innovate, expand, implement best practice and maintain competitive edge.
- The University of Lincoln’s research capabilities enable more sustainable energy generation, power systems, manufacturing, industrial processes and supply chains.
- The University of Lincoln’s dedicated research centres apply UK-leading Industry 4.0 expertise to transform business sustainability, energy efficiency and productivity.
- Lincolnshire’s research organisations and industry partnerships support low carbon businesses in areas including innovation, testing and validation, and supply chain development.
Workforce, Education and Skills for Low Carbon Sectors
For investing businesses, Lincolnshire’s low carbon energy and industrial cluster locations provide access to technically skilled workers and dedicated skills providers - enabling recruitment, faster project delivery, and improved productivity.
- In Lincolnshire, businesses can access large labour pools with the transferable, technical skills required for low carbon energy and industrial investment projects.
- In comparison with key UK competitor locations, Lincolnshire’s industrial clusters offer outstanding workforce numbers in key classifications relevant to the energy and process industry sectors, including manufacturing and chemicals.
- Lincolnshire’s universities and further education colleges deliver courses, skills and qualifications focused on the needs of the area’s low carbon industries.
- Lincolnshire’s average labour costs offer substantial savings versus the national average.
Industrial Sites and Properties for Low Carbon Businesses
Lincolnshire offers a range of high-quality, cost-effective sites and properties for investing low carbon energy and industrial businesses.
Site and property solutions and benefits include:
- Fully serviced, consented industrial sites, ready for immediate development with freehold or leasehold tenancies.
- Sites with large industrial power supplies, potentially from renewable sources.
- On-port and port-adjacent sites, potentially with Freeport tax, customs and planning benefits.
- Fast access to key UK industrial and logistics hubs, ports and airports.
- Significant cost savings versus key competitor UK energy and industrial hubs.
Ports and Logistics Infrastructure for Low Carbon Businesses
Focused on the South Humber ports, Lincolnshire offers comprehensive port and logistics services for businesses in low carbon energy and industrial sectors.
Key capabilities include:
- The UK’s largest port by tonnage (Immingham), handling multiple cargo types.
- Frequent sea freight services to regional and global markets, including Northern European and Scandinavian offshore renewables industry hubs.
- 80% of North Sea power zones and 60% of the European market (2020) accessible within 12 hours’ steaming time of Immingham and Grimsby.
- Specialised offshore renewables logistics serving North Sea wind farms from the Port of Grimsby O&M hub and Humberside Airport.
- Established infrastructure and supply chains for low carbon energy generation and process industries.
Fast UK & Global Market Access for Low Carbon Businesses
Lincolnshire provides businesses in low carbon energy and industrial sectors with fast, multimodal access to UK and international markets.
- Lincolnshire’s central Great Britain location (north-south) enables fast access by road to the UK’s key energy and industrial centres.
- The ports of Immingham and Grimsby offer diverse cargo handling capabilities and global sea freight connectivity
- Airports accessible within 2 hours include East Midlands (the UK’s no.2 air cargo hub), Birmingham and Leeds-Bradford. Within Lincolnshire, Humberside Airport’s Amsterdam Schiphol hub-feeder service enables access to hundreds of global destinations.
- Lincolnshire’s major ports are freight-rail connected. Both Grimsby and Immingham ports offer W12-gauge access for ‘high cube’ containers.
Support for Your Low Carbon Energy or Industrial Business Investment
Working together, Invest Lincolnshire and our partner organisations, including local authorities, education providers and businesses, provide dedicated support to ensure a ‘soft landing’ for companies locating and investing in Lincolnshire.
Home to Leading Low Carbon Businesses
Businesses established in Lincolnshire’s low carbon sectors include
Get the Data on Lincolnshire as a Low Carbon Business Location
Lincolnshire’s low carbon energy and industry Business Location Guide provides essential information and data for companies researching and evaluation Lincolnshire as a potential investment location, including:
