Event Objective
The Innovative Zero Carbon Working Group (IZCWG) met on 23 July 2025 at Energy Systems Catapult to be introduced to the region’s newly formed Energy Systems Cluster, which aims to support innovative businesses in this space by equipping them to innovate, test, scale, and succeed in the transition to a Net Zero energy system. Energy Systems Catapult – the secretariat for this Cluster – led a discussion to explore the challenges around smart heat and smart homes, and the opportunities for SMEs to work as part of the cluster to overcome these challenges.
Attendes and speakers
This session brought together innovators from across local authorities, academia, SMEs, utilities, and regional support bodies.
Speakers: Cliff Dennett (Director, IAWM) & Andrew Callard (Incubation Manager, Energy Systems Catapult)
Key challenges identified
Lack of user and system focus – Solutions are often developed around available technology, rather than user needs or system integration. This creates barriers to adoption, especially in complex or underserved areas.
Fragmented activity – While there are strong individual projects across the region, many are operating in isolation. Participants noted the need for coordination between national innovation programmes and place-based initiatives.
Scaling remains difficult – any pilot projects fail to scale beyond initial funding. This is especially true for SME-led solutions, which often lack the investment or partnership routes to move forward.
Opportunities discussed
Using the SES Cluster – Energy Systems Catapult, acting as the secretariat for the cluster, can help coordinate efforts of businesses to work together for their mutual benefit and to align with public and private investment opportunities.
Devolution – As the heat network market is still emerging, the WMCA could provide financial support or guarantees, thereby unlocking private investment and accelerating heat network growth.
A national showcase for flexibility – By deploying a range of energy generating and storage technologies for homes and businesses and rethinking power supply so the end user becomes and consumer and a generator, we can create an ecosystem around power flexibility. This will provide a huge market opportunity for businesses, and could potentially be more acceptable to society than large scale power transmission infrastructure.
About the IZCWG
The IZCWG is a cross-sector network whose membership consists of practitioners from universities, local authorities, businesses and voluntary organisations from across the whole West Midlands region. The group meets quarterly and provides each member with an opportunity to propose and develop collaborative project ideas and to share good practices in relation to the low carbon and innovation agenda.
Chair: Ian Humphreys
Co-ordinated by: Dr. Beck Collins, Senior Sustainability Advisor at Sustainability West Midlands
Want to get involved in realising these opportunities? Please email us at hello@innovationwm.co.uk
Dr. Beck Collins
Slingshot