The spatially embedded geographical perspective of industrial decarbonisation: The case of Hynet North West

The UK Government introduced the Grand Challenge to decarbonise industry using low-carbon energy via industrial clusters. The research explored the Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre’s (IDRIC) positioning of industrial decarbonisation in the UK cluster context. This research focused on the HyNet North West deployment project, in the North West England industrial cluster. The cluster approach positioned a geographical context to decarbonisation which is underexplored in literature. The multi-level perspective is an energy transition theory which explores sociotechnical factors, that when aligned deliver successful regime shift. Socioeconomic characteristics are explicitly embedded in systemic structures of the geographical context; explored in this research through heritage, place name and place attachment, and focused on industrial returns to labour. The research identified how socioeconomic factors are implicitly assumed in the multi-level perspective but are considered key for delivering industrial decarbonisation when the host community is misaligned to the project. This study examined the role HyNet industry has in delivering just decarbonisation by exploring the research question “How will industry’s consideration of socioeconomics shape the road for HyNet North West to be a truly transformative mechanism for the host community?”. The research employed an ethno-case study methodology to analyse the influence industry has on existing localised systemic socioeconomic structures in eliciting successful industrial decarbonisation. The research found industry influences both the existing industrial workforce and the external supply chain and could transform local socioeconomics if considerations are made at each of these levels. The findings extend the multi-level perspective to consider the spatially embedded multi-scalar approach to deliver industrial decarbonisation via clusters that are transformative to the host community by prioritising implicit internal and external workforce supply chain activity. An industrial case study is used to demonstrate the findings in practice, identifying spatially embedded socioeconomic challenges, before adopting the developed multi-scalar approach to consider place-based solutions.

Citation

Lewis, E. A. (2025). The spatially embedded geographical perspective of industrial decarbonisation: The case of Hynet North West [Unpublished doctoral thesis]. University of Chester.

Publisher

University of Chester

URI

https://chesterrep.openrepository.com/handle/10034/630103

Type

Thesis or dissertation