Innovate UK set to play key role at Innovation Zero 2024

Innovate UK agency is set to play key role at Innovation Zero 2024, the UK’s largest net zero industry gathering

The international congress, for which registrations are now open, includes more than 175 content sessions, featuring leading experts in climate change mitigation, clean technology innovation and implementing low carbon solutions.

Registrations are now open for Innovation Zero 2024, the UK government-backed two-day international congress taking place at London Olympia from 30 April to 1 May 2024. The congress is set to be one of the largest sustainability and net zero expos ever seen in the UK, with 12,000 delegates expected and a comprehensive programme featuring hundreds of world-class speakers across 175+ content sessions, who are experts in climate change mitigation, clean technology innovation and implementing low carbon solutions.

Registration for the congress, chaired by former Secretary of State for International Trade, Sir Liam Fox MP, is free and the event has high-profile support from the UK government and the UK’s national innovation agency Innovate UK. Innovation Zero 2024 will provide a unique meeting place for announcements, partnerships, deal-making and collaborations for those who develop, produce, deploy, and fund low carbon solutions. Click here for free online registration for Innovation Zero 2024.  

Lead partner for Innovation Zero 2024, Innovate UK will be playing a key role at the congress, providing speakers at a number of the sessions and forums over the two days of the event. Indro Mukerjee, CEO of Innovate UK, said:

“As the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK is focusing on the major opportunities for UK businesses. We are committed to supporting businesses in net zero innovation that delivers impactful solutions for both the environment and the economy.

“We are pleased to continue our support for Innovation Zero for the second consecutive year. This support exemplifies the power of innovation in driving sustainable solutions and propelling businesses toward a future of environmental and economic prosperity.”

Following a record-breaking launch event in May 2023, new developments for Innovation Zero 2024 include a parallel event, Infrastructure Zero, which will attract a dedicated audience of infrastructure professionals, to connect the policymakers, funders, industry leaders and innovators needed to maximise the impact of an estimated £40bn per year net zero-related infrastructure investment in the 2020s.

A series of 14 targeted content forums including Energy, Finance and Industrial, Food and Agriculture, Advanced Tech, Oceans and Water, Minerals and Materials, Carbon Markets and Aviation and Shipping will each cover a range of issues such as Policy, Investment, Scaling Clean Technology, Low Carbon Leadership, Green Infrastructure, Circularity, and Supply Chain.

Innovation Zero includes more than 175 highly topical content sessions, with leading experts in climate change mitigation, clean technology innovation and implementing low carbon solutions. The sessions include discussions on the scientific context for innovation on net zero, Calculating the cost, Financing net zero, Funders’ views on financing infrastructure, Communicating climate challenges, Scaling solutions in green energy, Unleashing the power of hydrogen, developing offshore wind, The role of nuclear energy, Solar energy, Bridging the funding gap, Investing in emerging markets, Retrofitting residential and commercial, Decarbonisation and adaptation in urban environments, The collaboration ecosystem, Opportunities in carbon capture, utilisation and storage, Decarbonising the supply chain, Nature-based solutions, Protecting ocean ecosystems and much more.

Some of the 600+ leading experts speaking as part of the Innovation Zero 2024 programme include: -

• The Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP, Shadow Secretary of State of Climate Change and Net Zero.
• Dr Sweta Chakraborty, CEO North America, We Don’t Have Time.
• Bob Wigley, Chair, UK Finance.
• Rhian-Mari Thomas, Chief Executive, Green Finance Institute.
• Shaun Kingsbury CBE, Chief Investment Officer, Just Climate.
• Simon Sharpe, Director of Economics, UN Climate Champions.
• Rt Hon George Eustice MP, Former UK Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs.
• Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Member of the House of Lords.
• Susanne Mecklenburg, Head of Climate Office at the European Space Agency.
• Rt. Hon. Carwyn Jones, Former First Minister of Wales and Chair, Size of Wales.
• Olivier Wenden, CEO, Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.
• Dhara Vyas, Deputy CEO, Energy UK.
• Melanie Leech CBE, Chief Executive, British Property Federation.
• Mike Pitts, Deputy Challenge Director, Innovate UK.

Innovation Zero 2024 chair, former Secretary of State for International Trade, Sir Liam Fox MP, said: “The enormous success of the inaugural Innovation Zero congress in 2023 is being built on for 2024 and our vision is to double the size of the event, focusing on more clean technology sectors which are vital to innovating the transition to a low carbon economy. As the event chair, I am delighted to be joined by the 600-strong line up of industry, financial and policy experts who will be discussing the pathway to deliver net zero in the UK and beyond.”

Big name exhibitors already confirmed for Innovation Zero include Innovate UK, HSBC UK, NatWest, UK Power Networks, National Gas, National Grid, Tees Valley Cluster, Humber Cluster, Solent Cluster and Aramco Ventures, with more set to be announced over the coming weeks. The 30+ partners signed up to support the event include leading organisations like Bankers for Net Zero, British Chamber of Commerce, Renewable UK, UK Green Building Council, GIIA, CCSA, Forum for the Future, Imperial College London, and the British Business Bank.