The challenge
Decarbonising industry is essential to reaching net zero, but it remains one of the most complex and regionally specific aspects of the transition. There is no single pathway to industrial decarbonisation, and this uncertainty must be carefully accounted for when planning how the electricity network evolves.
Individual sites may pursue differing approaches – full electrification, hydrogen, hybrid solutions, or efficiency led strategies. Each pathway has distinct implications for energy demand, timing, and required infrastructure.
Historically, limited visibility of site level decarbonisation plans has meant the sector has relied on regional models and standard assumptions. With more accurate and granular stakeholder data, this will support targeted investment – to better manage asset risks and network curtailment.
That’s why we launched Net Zero Industrial Pathways (NZIP), a coordinated, evidence-driven project that puts real industrial data at the centre of network planning.
What NZIP does
Partnering with Net Zero Energy Systems, NZIP provides a structured, collaborative framework to understand how industrial sites plan to decarbonise. Working directly with each site, we assess:
- Current energy use
- Existing network connections
- Preferred technology pathways
- Expected changes in demand over time
Each assessment combines stakeholder engagement, technical analysis, and scenario alignment to ensure outputs are consistent with wider system planning frameworks.
By bringing this real-world information together, we can build a clearer picture of how much energy different areas will need in future. These insights feed directly into our Distribution Future Energy Scenarios (DFES) and Network Development Plan (NDP), ensuring network upgrades are targeted exactly where and when they are needed.
Why NZIP matters
NZIP strengthens planning across the whole energy system:
- Local businesses gain confidence that network capacity will consider their decarbonisation timelines, reducing the risk of connection delays, supporting investment decisions and safeguarding existing employment.
- Local authorities gain clearer visibility of future energy needs, helping inform development and economic planning.
- Regulators and system operators receive more robust, transparent data to improve national demand projections.
- For SP Energy Networks, NZIP means we can target investment at the right time, in the right place, at the right scale which will improve capital efficiency, and strengthening regulatory justification
Robbie MacQuarrie, Lead Energy Systems Specialist and NZIP Project Manager at SP Energy Networks said: "Industrial businesses are at the heart of the energy transition, but there is no single route to decarbonisation. Understanding how sites plan to evolve is essential to ensuring the network is ready to support future growth and investment."
"Through NZIP, we're working collaboratively with businesses to build a clearer picture of future energy requirements. We're encouraging industrial organisations across our licence areas to get involved so their plans can help inform future network development and investment decisions."
Impact so far
Building on the success of the North East Wales Industrial Decarbonisation (NEWID) project, which demonstrated the value of site-level engagement, we’re now scaling NZIP across our licence areas in Scotland, England and Wales.
The insights gathered are already shaping our DFES, helping us more accurately predict how local energy demand could evolve, and our NDP, which maps out the network upgrades needed to meet that demand. By using real data, we’re improving our ability to forecast local needs and plan the network upgrades needed to support them.
So far, through NZIP, we’ve:
- Assessed hundreds of industrial sites across diverse sectors, including manufacturing, chemicals and heavy industry.
- Collaborated with dozens of major stakeholders and industry clusters.
- Mapped hundreds of megawatts (MW) of potential future demand.
- Improved visibility of when and where demand will materialise.
Early engagement has already helped align network planning with major industrial investment timelines.
By improving forecasting accuracy, NZIP is expected to contribute to £6m – £20m in network investment efficiencies during the RIIO-ED3 period, supporting a secure, timely and cost-effective transition to net zero.
Meghan Davies, Energy and Net Zero Programme Manager, Ambition North Wales, said: “At Ambition North Wales, we recognise that delivering economic growth and achieving our net zero ambitions go hand in hand. The work undertaken through NEWID and now NZIP provides valuable evidence to support strategic planning for major opportunities such as the Flintshire and Wrexham Investment Zone, Anglesey Freeport, and wider industrial decarbonisation projects across the region.
“Continued collaboration between industry, network operators and regional partners is essential to ensure the energy infrastructure needed for future investment is delivered in the right place, at the right time, enabling North Wales to realise its full low-carbon economic potential.”
What’s next
As NZIP continues, we’re expanding geographic coverage, deepening sector-specific engagement, and enhancing modelling granularity with key sectors, building a more complete set of industrial site data, and refining our scenario modelling.
In future, insights from NZIP position the project as a potential input to national planning frameworks and whole-system coordination initiatives, while strengthening collaboration with regional and national stakeholders, helping ensure the wider system is ready for industrial decarbonisation at scale.
Get involved
NZIP is built on collaboration. To understand future energy needs, we need direct insight from the businesses shaping them.
If you operate an industrial site or represent a business cluster within our network, your insight is critical to ensuring the network is ready for when you need it. Participation helps ensure your future energy needs are reflected in network planning and investment decisions.
To find out more or to participate in NZIP, please contact - strategicoptimisation@spenergynetworks.co.uk or get in touch with your usual network planning contact.